The Constructing Mega Facilities: Advances in Planning, Design and Engineering Summit took place from the 9th to 10th of April, with attendees from all over the construction sector coming together in Houston, Texas at the Blossom Hotel. The two day conference had a wide and comprehensive agenda that involved dozens of presentations from expert speakers, panel discussions, workshops and networking breaks. 

Our attendees discussed a range of topics from navigating regulatory and optimising design strategies to incorporating sustainable practices and embracing the latest technological advancements, promoting innovative approaches to design, planning, and execution of mega facility construction.

This article will provide a session recap for those who didn’t get the chance to attend and serve as a reminder for those who attended.

Accelerating Excellence: Disruptive Innovation for Faster, Smarter Projects
Erik Magsamen, Vice President and Project Executive at JE Dunn Construction

Erik stated that when compared to 1970, 40% less value is added per worker in the construction sector in 2020. Prioritising speed comes at a risk as productivity declines as hours worked increase as well as the overall quality of work. The payoff of innovation can lead to faster project completion, improved cost certainty, improved safety metrics and higher quality. Taking action and thinking differently, by considering not building how we always have, thinking about how new materials or methods could help and borrowing techniques from other industries, we can grow and innovate together, with disruption driving success and revealing actionable insights for implementation.

Water Project Delivery and Process Challenges for High Tech and Mega Facilities
Daniel Wilson, Market Director – Industrial Water at Kiewit

Daniel discussed water delivery method considerations such as a progressive design build, delivering projects faster by integrating design and construction, allowing work to begin before the design is fully complete, achieving cost certainty much earlier in the process. He also shared how self-performing the work with Kiewit instead of an out-of-region builder or non-self-performing design builder can provide the best value, saving tens of millions with lower subcontractor markups and no additional premiums. Kiewit’s goal is to optimise RO recovery, minimise brine flow and maximise brine TDA (total dissolved solids), squeezing an extra few percent in recovery. The challenge is to minimise or eliminate concentrators, which can be done by designing a ZLD (zero liquid discharge) system with minimal liquid discharge savings that lowers the cost of water recovery from $12-13/1000 gallon to $4-6.6/1000 gallon.

Integrated Planning, Design, and Construction of Advanced Semiconductor Factories
Mohamed Sawan, Former Senior Director of Construction, Technology Development Sites at Former Intel Corporation

Semiconductor fabs have massive material requirements, need as much electricity as a small city to power them as well as well-controlled cleanrooms with strict control over temperature, humidity and vibration, proving to be a very complex and challenging project to undertake. Frequent changes in construction requirements affect the factory planning process of the technology process cycle and design, and construction. Optimising all elements of the program, including construction, to support this goal can significantly reduce the time and resources required, but integrating elements into a signal-generating execution program is difficult. Using front-end planning and a scope management system in the design process ensures a real-time schedule and constraint management to enable predictable and accurate program planning. Schedule integration is key for managing large construction projects and improves labour efficiency and project schedule and controls, however requires excellent communication, clear expectations and trust between disparate groups.

Custom AHUs for Mega Facilities
Victor Yeramian, Business Development Director at XNRGY Climate Systems

Victor recapped the latest projects undertaken by XNRGY in Montreal and Mesa, Arizona, highlighting their custom-built solutions and high-capacity capabilities. He showcased their product offerings to our audience such as their fan array bank controller that reduces system installation and commissioning times with integrated automation, automatically configures fan motor control parameters and provides diagnostics. He discussed XNRGY’s design philosophy, the 7-year warranty provided on the rotor, testing at the factory to validate dewpoints and commissioning to lower risk.

Factory of the Future: Defining a Vision and Strategy
Brian Breuhan, Global Manufacturing Optimization Strategist at General Motors

Brian started his presentation explaning the concept of the factory of the future, a ‘production system of the future, where sustainability, circularity, and Industry 4.0 are integrated with existing processes based on lean, Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), and Six Sigma frameworks to advance the maturity of the network, supply chain, and overall production system’. He introduced the two steps for planning and executing the factory of the future vision, specifying the activities of “Ideas & Innovation” from the “Analysis of the Ideas” and grounding yourself with the notion that the analysis comes after you innovate. He highlighted the importance of competitive benchmarking by understanding how your competitors are defining their factory of the future vision and what technology is available to support or improve your processes, whether it’s from a smaller company or from outside your industry. Brian provided a plan of execution roadmap with all the different factors and analyses to consider, such as training employees, utilising software and the ability to deal with change. He summed up his presentation by recapping the importance of developing a top-down vision, concurrent engineering being a priority using digital tools, leveraging benchmarking, assessing risks before implementation of new technology or automation, and finally, anticipating resistance to change.

Avoiding Construction Pitfalls and Schedule Delays with your Resinous Flooring
Brian Scanlon, Senior Vice President at QuestMark

Brian discussed the pitfalls commonly found in industrial flooring, sharing his insights from his work at QuestMark. Material issues can include lead time and shortages, problems with storage, and the need to consider finances to secure them. They must be temperature-controlled and have efficient logistics when it comes to unloading. When considering safety, site-specific safe work plans must be in place, with researched and enforced pre-qualifications. Environmental considerations include installation adhering to the manufacturer’s guidelines, including air temperature, slab temperature, relative humidity and other critical factors. The building should be weather-tight and climate-controlled to protect against debris, ensure proper bonding and maintain optimal curing conditions (including cure windows and prevention of blush). When dealing with contractors, qualification enforcement and a vetting process must be in place, as well as checking if the firm has the capabilities to fulfill the requirements when it comes to their finances and labour force.

Putting AI into Practice
Mike Sewell, Director of Innovation at Gresham Smith

AI can be used to build a better plan for the design process, being able to deliver innovation expected by clients, utilising its capabilities to create a user-centric design and enhance engagement with clients. Mike explained three different use cases of AI at Gresham Smith when working with clients. Daedal can be used for interactive space planning, enhancing client engagement in the design process by enabling them to define space requirements visually and evolve design processes to maximise thought leadership and enhance client experience. MPATH React captures user sentiment and physiological responses during design reviews, providing objective insights into user experience, ensuring more human-centred design solutions. TwinSight connects the user to your processes & progress, by optimising layout, showing rapid scenario evaluation, conflict detection via knowledge transfer, early site decision making and risk assessment and mitigation.

Coating Solutions For Advanced Manufacturing
Paul Pineda, Market Segment Manager for Data Centers and Semiconductors at Sherwin-Williams

Paul began his presentation with an introduction about Sherwin-Williams as a company and their work across the continent. He explained the advantages of shop-applied fireproofing, significantly reducing safety risks, shortening project schedules and lowering overall safety costs. By not requiring fireproofing to be carried out on site, schedules can be cut by 90 days, 8% on construction site insurance can be conserved and up to 3 million saved on cleanup alone. He discussed their high-performance flooring systems, with extended durability and service life, advanced moisture vapour tolerance and fast installation. He summarised his talk by detailing Sherwin-Williams’ comprehensive support for a safe and efficient build process, leveraging expertise and a large network of qualified applicators to enhance project efficiency and their proven track record of work across North America on all major advanced manufacturing facility projects.

Flooring Solutions: How to select the strongest floor for your facility
Karla Velasco, Regional Sales Engineer at Bekaert Corporation

Karla explained the differences between sawcut/jointed floors, jointless floors and seamless floors, discussing each system’s key points to consider when choosing a flooring system. Slabs on grade are often overlooked during the early phases of project planning, yet once a facility becomes operational, these floors are critical to the overall performance, efficiency, and long-term usability of the building. Achieving a superior facility slab begins with a proactive approach to slab reinforcement selection. Bekaert’s innovative slab solutions help building owners understand the importance of properly designed and coordinated facility floors, addressing potential challenges before they become costly issues. By selecting appropriate reinforcement solutions, facility owners can ensure optimal floor performance throughout the lifecycle of the building. Each floor reinforcing concept offers unique advantages and trade-offs. The choice depends on project-specific requirements such as load demands, environmental conditions, budget, and long-term performance goals.

Regulatory environment at TDLR and in Texas
Steve Bruno, Deputy Executive Director at the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation

Steve discussed how TLDR support industry expansion through common-sense licensure and health/ safety regulation of construction-related people, places and things, such as air conditioning contractors, boilers, EV charging units, electrical contractors, elevators, and industrial housing and buildings, among other programs. TDLR is the primary occupational licensing agency in Texas, with the goal to protect the health and safety of all Texans and ensure they are served by qualified and competent professionals. TLDR ensures all contractors who install, repair or maintain systems related to air conditioning, heating or refrigeration have a TLDR license and that ACR companies employ an ACR contractor in each permanent location. They also oversee the elimination of architectural barriers that ensures all Texas buildings are accessible and functional for all persons with disabilities. They regulate anyone who performs or offers to perform non-exempt electrical work in the state of Texas, ensuring they have a license and perform work through a licensed contractor. They carry out inspections on modular buildings that are installed on permanent foundations in an industrial context.

Seamless, Safe, Durable Turnkey flooring Solutions for Battery Gigafactories
Reed Goodwin, Global Linings Director, and Brian Mahoney, Global Accounts Manager, at Stonhard

The pair from Stonhard began their presentation by detailing the Stonhard difference and their offering of front and back-of-house solutions. They explained the purposes and benefits of resinous coatings such as increased durability, chemical resistance, stain resistance, slip resistance, and abrasion resistance. Resinous coatings also have the benefit of having thermal shock properties, static control and ESD properties, low VOCs, and spark-proof properties, protecting the final product. They discussed the unique considerations for cleanrooms, as well as the portfolio of solutions for non-cleanroom spaces and administrative areas. They ended their keynote by highlighting the importance of choosing the right system for each area from the beginning, taking unique considerations into account throughout the design stage and continuously checking quality.

Material Compatibility & Innovative Construction Solutions to Reduce Schedules, Save Money, and Promote Sustainable Building Practices
Boris Brkanovic, Vertical Market Manager – Manufacturing at Sika Corporation USA

Boris explained the importance of innovative waterproofing materials, protecting a facility’s most valuable assets when it comes to roofing, flooring, concrete and expansion joints. He detailed the challenges faced, such as controlled environments like clean rooms requiring strict humidity and dew point standards, and the hazardous conditions inside. Boris discussed how a fully bonded waterproofing system is better than a multiple-component dampproofing system, preventing lateral water migration. Concrete slab designs can be made better by lessening the number of joints, reducing cracking and curling, eliminating steel reinforcement and utilising specialty admixtures, leading to a faster movement of goods, increased flatness tolerances, less maintenance and joint repairs and decreased AGV and forklift repair.

Maximizing the Benefits of Reusing Existing Facilities: Cutting Costs and Saving Time
Katharina Gerber, Customer Engagement Manager at Siemens

Katharina shared how utilising a digital twin can allow for the realistic simulation and validation of products, machines, lines and complete plants. The Digital Twin combines the real and digital worlds, enabling a continuous loop of optimisation, both for the product and the production, providing a foundation for flexible and efficient manufacturing. Dr Gerber shared how the Siemens Numerical Control (SNC) Factory, in Nanjing, China and the challenges faced during its construction were solved with the use of a digital twin. The factory improved productivity by up to 20%, boosted volume flexibility by up to 30%, improved space effectivity by up to 40% and increased the speed of material replenishment by 50%. They also saw electricity savings of >5,000,000 kWh/year, water savings of >6,000 m³/year and a CO2 reduction: >3,000 tons.

Reimagining HVAC for Critical Environments in High Purity Manufacturing Cleanrooms
David Rausch, Sr. Business Development Manager at Phoenix Controls

David explained how the impact of inconsistent pressurisation, lack of environmental quality management, lack of production space flexibility and ineffective sustainability can lead to lost or low-quality product, increased downtime, high operating costs and how Phoenix Control can provide solutions to these issues. By considering the Critical Quality Requirements as key factors in the design of a mega facility, such as airflow and pressurisation control, temperature and humidity, filtration, airborne particles and ESD/out-gassing and individual exhaust systems on specialty machinery. He explained by using Phoenix Control tracking pair venturi solutions, spaces can easily be repurposed or switched from
positive, negative or neutral directional airflow while maintaining tight temperature & humidity control. He summarised how Venturi can provide a significant difference in performance at low ACH and provide optimal energy savings with better infection control performance.

GenAI-Powered Semiconductor Manufacturing: Towards the Autonomous Fab
Jae-Yong Park, Vice President, Head of AI & Smart Manufacturing at Tata Electronics

Jae-Yong talked about how GenAI can be used to fine-tune process parameters, reduce variability, and enhance yield in semiconductor fabrication. AI-powered computer vision and predictive analytics for real-time defect identification and process correction can be deployed for autonomous detection and quality assurance. He also discussed how digital twins can be used to leverage AI-driven simulations and real-time feedback loops to enable self-optimizing, fully autonomous semiconductor manufacturing. The next steps in GenAI include synthetic data learnings, federated learnings and digital transformation from every source.

Texas: A Model for Successful Economic Development
Larry McManus, Director, Business and Community Development at the Texas Office of Economic Development and Tourism within the Office of the Governor

Larry began his presentation by explaining EDT’s mission to highlight the state of Texas as a leading global business location and premier travel destination. He discussed why Texas should be the leading pick for businesses, with one of the lowest tax burdens in the country, the second largest civilian labour force in the nation and number one for foreign trade zone economic impact. Texas’s central location allows for easy access to markets around the world. Texas offers reductions for franchise tax, no personal income tax, has a reduction of property taxes and limits on the ability of local governments to increase property taxes. Texas led the nation for jobs added over the last 12 months, adding 274,300 nonfarm jobs from November 2023 to November 2024, has 33 foreign trade zones allowing the flow of goods without formal customs entry and in September 2024, had exports totalling approximately $30 billion.

Constructing Solar Mega Projects
Jeremy Teresinski, Senior Director of Construction at Qcells USA Corp

Jeremy gave a brief overview of the importance of solar mega projects in the energy transition, current market trends and discussed the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and its key provisions relevant to solar energy, investment tax credit details and the incentives provided for domestic manufacturing and labour standards. He shared the challenges in constructing solar mega projects, such as site selection and permitting hurdles, the logistics of transporting and assembling large components and grid integration challenges. He also covered the importance of workforce training and development, addressing the current labour shortages in the industry and the role of robotics and automation in the industry with examples. He finished his keynote with an overview of Qcells’ contributions to the solar industry, their investment in domestic manufacturing and the integration of self-perfomed construction service.

Construction & Design Considerations for Foreign Based Equipment
Matthew Mendoza, Staff Program Manager at Lyten

Matt shared his insights on how to design equipment to be US-compliant and meet the standards set out by key regulatory bodies in the US when evaluating electrical standards, structural integrity, material standards, environmental standards, and safety standards. He shared his insights on the best practices to reduce risk, the importance of involving AEOR and GC in a vendor kick-off meeting, keeping proper documentation that meets UL, CE, and other certifications and sharing all required standards at the start of the project and in contracts. Matt also discussed factors to consider for efficient installation, like mechanical and electrical integration and ensuring parts can be procured in a timely manner.

Tariffs, Turbulence, and Trade compliance: Navigating the US Policy Whirlwinds
Luke Tillman, Head of Global Trade Affairs and Compliance at LONGi

Luke provided a much-needed session discussing the effect of President Trump’s tariff-focused policy agenda and advised our audience to be aware of shifting contract language and to make sure to add each tariff together to learn the total rate. He also gave his insights on doing due diligence on supply chain transparency, mapping suppliers from raw materials to the final product. Audits should be prioritised in high-risk regions where labour practices may be subject to extra scrutiny, such as Xinjiang. He advised to always vet suppliers, make sure all documentation can be available within 30 days and always be wary of the fact that the government may change compliance requirements.

Delivering Onsite Clean Energy via Central Energy Plants
Amir E. Mirshahi, Director Utilities & Sustainable Energy Infrastructure Technology Development Sites at Ford Motor Co.

Amir discussed how clean energy plant projects reduce environmental impact by offsetting natural gas use to achieve carbon neutrality. It saves 52 million gallons of water annually — 1.6 billion gallons over 30 years — through efficient heat pumps and an optimised geothermal field. The Central Utility Power Plant can power over 50,000 households, with chiller and steam capacities supporting major cooling and heating demands. The design centralises natural gas use, minimises indirect carbon emissions through cogeneration, achieves zero air emissions, and ensures a net positive environmental impact. It is also future-ready, allowing easy conversion to renewable fuels and carbon capture technologies. The assembly plant design eliminates 75% of direct carbon emissions.

Systematic Problem Solving Techniques with Innovative New Technologies – how they can be applied to battery manufacturing processes
Humam M Alwan, Global Reactive Problem Solving Program Management Lead – Software and EHE at Stellantis

Humam shared the Stellantis practice of systematic problem solving that uses structured methodologies that efficiently identify and address root causes of complex manufacturing issues. The method first asks you to identify what’s happening rather than what is wrong, and consult meaningful data that leads to more information that can be used to pinpoint the issue that becomes knowledge which forms the basis of the convergent thinking used to find a solution. By using the process of elimination by ‘talking’ to the parts and making decisions using statistical confidence, an engineer can arrive at a solution. He then shared how cutting-edge strategies and new technologies can be used to boost decision-making and problem-solving capabilities in dynamic manufacturing environments.

And the Winner is…

We ended the Constructing Mega Facilities: Advances in Planning, Design and Engineering with the CONMEG Award Ceremony, Innovatrix recognised outstanding contributions in three categories based on feedback collected over two days of the conference. Our Best Dressed Booth was awarded to Phoenix Controls for making the best impression in the networking area with David Rausch accepting the trophy!

Our second CONMEG Award for Outstanding Engagement went to Karla Velasco from Bekaert for being our most active attendee over the two days, thanks to their entry in the Event App game, Q&A participation and ability to spark meaningful discussions!

The final trophy of the night, the CONMEG Top Presenter Award, was taken by Chairperson Mike Sewell from Gresham Smith for being the most outstanding speaker of the conference, as voted by the attendees of the summit!

Sponsors

The Constructing Mega Facilities: Advances in Planning, Design and Engineering Summit was supported by a wide range of sponsors who brought their teams to our exhibition hall, and Innovatrix would like to thank them again for their support.

If you want to attend our next construction summit and have the opportunity to hear presentations like these and many more, join us for our BGSEUROPE event, taking place next month, discussing the design and engineering of battery manufacturing facilities in particular. Discover the latest innovations and trends in gigafactory technology, meet with solution providers and hear talks from industry leaders, attend the 3rd European Battery Gigafactory Summit: Advances in Planning, Engineering and Operations taking place in Berlin, Germany on May 14-15, 2025.

For more information, visit our website or email us at info@innovatrix.eu for the event agenda. Visit our LinkedIn to stay up to date on our latest speaker announcements and event news.