MEP Co-Ordination - Approach Simplified (Visit Https - WWW - Mepcoord.com) - LinkedIn

2/14/24, 4:12 PM MEP Co-ordination - Approach Simplified (visit https://www.mepcoord.
com) | LinkedIn
Home My Network Jobs Messaging Notifica
MEP Co-ordination -
Approach Simplified
(visit
https://www.mepcoord.com)
15 min listen
0:00 14:48
HANISH MOHAN
Improving organisation culture by adding 1 article Follow
values
September 15, 2020
Open Immersive Reader
Alt+A
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/mep-co-ordination-approach-simplified-visit-hanish-mohan/ 1/23
2/14/24, 4:12 PM MEP Co-ordination - Approach Simplified (visit https://www.mepcoord.com) | LinkedIn
The main purpose of this article is to guide the freshers in

MEP team who are new to the building construction about
the core subject of MEP Co-ordination effectively &
efficiently.
MEP Co-ordination - Basics
For the Electrical and Mechanical engineers who had just

entered the building construction business, MEP might be a
new term to them. MEP basically is Mechanical Electrical
Plumbing in full form. Mechanical goes for Air Conditioning
system.
Electrical for Power related systems.
Plumbing for Water systems.
(Initially if Plumbing system included fire fighting later it is

considered a seperate entity. So MEP is now also known as
MEPF.)
Lets eloborate these three/four segments wrt to MEP

Coordination :
M - Mechanical - Piping and Ducting
E - Electrical - uPVC ducting, Busbar, Cable Ladders, Trays

and Trunking,
P - Plumbing - Water supply, Sewage, Vent, Rain Water,

Condensate drain & Fire fighting (seperated)
F - Fire fighting - Water used for life safety
There can be further classification in Mechanical piping and

ducting like inlet and outlet or Supply, Return or Fresh air
etc resp. But as far as MEP co-ordination is concerned,
these can be confined to ducting and piping.
Now basically, all these services has a source and an end

product. And also the route taken from source to the end
product has been designed by the engineer, keeping in
mind several factors to keep the efficiency and reliability
high (this will be discussed in future topics)
Why we need MEP co-ordination?
Keeping in mind that there are more than 10 different

physical paths through the same area or corridor (say), the
chances of clashing with each other are very high. So, we
do a small engineering exercise so that there is no clash
and the key factors (efficiency and reliability) are least
effected. This exercise is what we call MEP co-ordination.
Advantages:
Avoid unwanted reworks.
Save labour and cost based on above.
Streamline the MEP works.
Helps in better planning.
What can be done in MEP co-ordination?
In simple words, we take a good study of the individual

service routings. And we see how it can be re-arranged in a
way that the services doesnt clash with each other and also
with Structure and Architecture. We also make sure that a
service is least effecting the other wrt maintenance in
future.
The key factors (efficiency and reliability) along with vision

of future maintenance of individual services makes MEP co-
ordination design and installation a quality job.
NB: The finalisation of a successful MEP co-ordination can be

considered only after RCP co-ordination
MEP Co-ordination : Efficient way of doing
Before starting, let me brief about the three services wrt

MEP Co-ordination.
1. The most important and clinical element out of these

services will be Drainage(plumbing) because of the
slope constraint. So a seperate space and path not
interfering with the slope of drainage needs to be kept
in mind.
2. Second important service will be HVAC because of the

sheer size & weight of the ducts and pipes and the
difficulty of installation. So there should be sufficient
space and accessibility around the duct/pipes since the
insulation usually are done at a later stage.
3. Electrical/ELV installations are comparitively easier

because of the cable tray are light weight and thin. But
the most maintenance or future upgradation will be
needef for power or telecommunication network.
Hence, these should be kept at the most accessible
path. So unless there is a water line running parallely
above the tray/ladder, the electrical path can be the
lowest.
4. Services like water supply, fire fighting(in plumbing)

and trunking (in electrical) can be taken through
anywhere as these are the simplest paths easy to
manouver.
Now that you have got a brief idea about the 3 services,
lets move on to how an efficient MEP coordination can be
sought out:
(Consideration of space above false ceiling depends on

project to project. But if our requirement is not met, then we
can ask to lower the false ceiling for smooth functioning of
the building in future. This is discussed in the last section)
HOW?
When the 3 MEP services are being designed, the

concerned department Engineers needs to sit together and
decide the paths of their services in the most conjusted
areas (usually the corridors). First they need to take a
horizontal segregation like shown below.
Next, to draw a vertical limit as shown below to make sure

the main runs are not being hit by other services.
Once, this is done, we get a final space for the three

services a shown below
Please note that these spaces are made for the main runs
and not branches. Branches can be easily coordinated with
the available space. (Also read point 4 in the top section)
This seggregation of space during the initial stage of design

will be really helpful to avoid many clash within the MEP
services. Understand that there will be around 8 to 10
designers doing the job and hence this co-ordination at the

design stage is very important.
This is the best possible way to get a clash free MEP routes
in conjusted area.
The second way of doing it is when the design is lagging

and the construction takes the lead so that the above
scenario doesnt work because of the time management
(most common scenario and 90% of the project I have
worked goes like this). Here we make use of tools like
BIM/Revit where in if we get the 3d model of the individual
service on time, we can work around to get a clash free
model. BIM/Revit is the quickest and efficient tool available
currently to do this job. The speciality being if there is a
change made in one service we will know where else its
clashing in its route and with whom.
But this is a job where pressure will be high due to the fast
pace of construction.
So, its always recommended to do it the former way.

Remember DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME, EVERYTIME.
HVAC : Acceptable changes for clash free MEP

Coordination
To begin with, whatever design drawings we get from the

HVAC designer, lets not forget that there is a lot of effort
and time gone for this. He would have already considered
many factors and constraints to get the design to this level.
Respecting that, the factors which we can change from a

HVAC shop drawing are the following:.
DUCT
1. Aspect ratio
The size aspect (height x width) can be changed (width x

height) if the airflow is not affected. If the designer allows,
even length-width can be changed in measurements also.
2. Offsets
In the initial shop drawings, there will be very little offsets

as the designer will be considering only HVAC pipes and
ducts. When other MEP services comes in the picture, then
there will be areas where it will be needed for more offsets.
Again unless the losses are minimum (consult with the
designer), then these offsets can be made.
3. Rerouting
Re-routing is another method to avoid clashes. Since, HVAC

ducts sizes are generally big, if there is an isolated path
which can be taken inside the building, then go for it. This
will give other services enough space.
Even in a corridor, as shown in the previous write up, see

the side where the feeding is high and shift the main duct
accordingly. This will avoid number of crossing which helps
in smooth running for other.
4. FCU position
If the FCU's are to be placed in corridors, they need to be

closely coordinated with Drainage lines (Plumbing) as the
condensation line has to be connected to them. Try to keep
the FCU unit at the soffit level unless its a cassette unit. This
is feasible when the FCU can be accessed easily for future
maintenance. But in case of bigger void areas (for eg. above
RCP height greater than 1.5 mtr), the FCU needs to be
lowered for easy access to repair and maintain in future.
CHWP
For chilled water pipes which is also an HVAC service, can

also go for changes mentioned in point no. 2 and 3. Offsets
and rerouting can be done extensively as these are forced
water circulation. But it should be done before the
manufacturing order for the offset piece and bends are
given.
NB: The changes above mentioned are not mandatory if

there are ways to avoid clash by co-ordinating other services.
As mentioned before, the installation of HVAC is most
cumbersome and hence try to give them minimum trouble.
Plumbing: Acceptable Changes for clash free MEP

Coordination
As mentioned in the HVAC section, the Designers effort

needs to be respected here before going for any
modifications.
Drainage
Nothing much can be done here as this is the most critical

service as far as MEP Co-ordination is concerned. But if the
area is too conjusted and if you are looking for a lineancy in
drainage line routing, then the following are optional:
A. Lowering
The whole line from the starting point of any floor (eg. U
trap in the soffit) to the shaft can be lowered with the slope
in tact. By doing so, the false ceiling height should be kept
in mind.
B. Rerouting
Since the drainage is taking the wastes from the above

floors to the plumbing shaft and from there to the drainage
treatment system in the ground or below, the option
should be checked to alternate route away from other MEP
services. This can be done during the first stage of the
design itself in consultation with other MEP service

designers.
But touching a drainage line as mentioned above should be

done only in case there is no other option
Water Supply
Water supply line being a forced system, it can be rerouted

and bend/offset to the designers wish. The only thing to
check is that the loss is not high (but usually, can be
ignored).
Fire Fighting
Same like water supply, fire fighting is also forced water

system and can be manouvered in a way so as not to have
big loss in flow.
One important thing here to remember is that the branches

are taken from top of the main line so the space above the
main run needs to kept in mind. This is to generally avoid
sedimentation and blockage in future. But the option of
taking the branches from sides are also possible in critical
areas (no option for height above the main run).
Condensate Drain
As mentioned in HVAC section, the condensation from an

FCU needs to be connected to the drain line. Since these
are small pipes and the slope required will be more, its
always adviced to inform your counter HVAC designer
about the placement of FCU. An FCU touching the soffit will
be the best method as long as there is direct access to the

for future maintenance FCUs (usually in small ceiling voids).
Rain Water/Storm Water
Since the main co-ordination for this is in the roof and

underground (unless there is a change in shaft location),
horizontal co-ordination can be avoided in other floors.
Only shaft co-ordination within plumbing (as plumbing
usually has a separate shaft) needs to be taken care.
So these are the exercises that can be worked on Plumbing

system wrt MEP co-ordination.
Electrical & ELV: Acceptable changes for clash free MEP

Coordination
The major items in Electrical & ELV are the second/third

fixes like Busbars, Cable ladder, tray & trunking. The
flexibility of these makes them the most easiest (except for
Busbar) of the service to reroute or offset where required.
Busbars
Since Busbars are the heaviest of MEP services, with respect

to the routing, this heaviness factor should be considered.
While busbars are usually designed from Susbstation to the

Main panel (MSB/MDB) or from MDB to the SMDBs in each
floor (thru Electrical shaft) in a high rise building, the route
should be designed in a way to avoid MEP congestion.
But if unavoidable, make sure that the busbar is taken away

from plumbing lines or CHWP.
Apart from Busbar, note the following for other Electrical &
ELV services:
-Easy Manouvering
So an Electrical & ELV service can be played around wrt

MEP co-ordination without much intellect. But the only area
where the problem comes is the cable sizes. Since the
cables are installed at a later stage, always remember the
size of cables which the cable tray carries. For heavy cables
(above 150mm square), it is always adviced to minimize
offsets (both horizontally and vertically). Atleast sufficient
space for the offsets should be given considering the effort
for sharp bending. For eg. a 45 degree bend or offset
instead of 90 degree.
-Lowest Service
Always remember, the cable laying will be done sometime

after cable tray installation. In this timegap, other MEP
installation would have been completed. Hence, its always
advisable to route the cable tray at the lowest point or just
above the false ceiling (in RCP area). This helps cable laying
easy unaffecting other services.
The only check to be done is that no drainage/water lines

are running parallely above these trays/ladder.
The telecom authorities install their cables on the final

stages. So the ELV cable tray is recommended to be the
lowest or just above the (wherever) false ceiling.
-Light fittings
The number of light fittings will be more than any other

final fix in MEP. Hence, the height of light fittings which will
take space above false ceiling needs to be considered.
Generally this being 10cm for normal lights, the MEP
services are run atleast 15cm above the RCP so that the
lights can be placed without any hindrances. A thorough
check on the height of lights for customised lighting
projects will benefit the MEP coordination in a better way.
-Concealed Point wiring
To help MEP co-ordination, the point wiring containment

(conduits) can be made concealed (using PVC pipes)
instead of open GI conduit. This has to be done during
slab/core wall casting. This will save a lot of time and labour
during the MEP installation. This will also avoid the amount
of trunking used which will also a cost saving.
These above points if considered, will ease the electrical

part in MEP co-ordination.
Service Support Co-ordination
This is an area neglected by most. The supports of

individual MEP systems and RCP are different and are
governed by many factors like the load, seismic condition,
spacing etc.
And this co-ordination will be least considered during

design development stage because the design department
has a tendency to handover this task to the installation

team.
Irrespective of whose responsibiliy (design or installation),

the support systems of each service needs to be
coordinated to avoid clashes.
There are certain things which should be considered while

doing this:
1. Sequence of installation
Once the MEP co-ordination design is final, the sequence of

installation will be established. At this point, most individual
service engineers (in installation team), will go ahead as per
this. But if the support co-ordination is not done prior to
installation, then it will lead to plenty of reworks.
A small study on the supports by all the three MEP

departments will help in a combined decision on which all
supports can be installed first and which needs to wait will
help avoid this rework.
2. Same Support for different services.
If the route of more than one service is either parallel or

crossing at many points, then the support can be designed
in such a way to hold them together. Please note
constraints mentioned in the earlier blogs. If carefully
checked with all the MEP services together, then this task
can be very useful.
But note that these are subjected to the approval of the

consultant / specification from project to project.
3. Span adjustment
The support coordination helps in adjusting the span

(within acceptable limits) of support horizontally as well as
vertically. This is usually useful when a heavy HVAC duct

crosses other MEP services.
4. RCP Support
We MEP guys generally neglect this part. The RCP supports

used to hang the False ceiling from the soffit needs to be
taken care of. Vertically there are options available for
adjusting the RCP support. But horizontally the support run
takes a height of 1cm to 5cm. So our MEP services should
be atleast 15 cm above the top of false ceiling to be on the
safe side (Please read the above topic on Electrical part).
RCP Co-ordination: the final ruling of MEP Co-ordination
Every project is led by the Architect. Hence, the final

finishes are of atmost importance. Thats where Reflected
Ceiling Plan comes into the picture and so is the RCP co-
ordination.
The MEP final fixes (like HVAC supply & retun grills, Fire
Alarm detectors, Sprinklers, Lights etc) are to be arranged
well with false ceiling design and alignment. This is called
RCP co-ordination.
Proper care to keep the RCP aesthetic with MEP

functionality intact is a fine engineering thought process.
Things to keep in mind here are:
MEP priority
Though different MEP services have same importance, there

are priorities within MEP final fixes wrt RCP coordination .
The first priority is given to LIGHTS as these will be always
ON to avoid shadow areas. Second will be given to
detectors and sprinklers as these are life safety devices and
have a span radius to activate. The placement can be
adjusted with the span radius. Next priority can be the grills
and so on.
RCP support
Already mentioned in the support co-ordination system

topic.
Symmetry
When MEP final fixes are placed in symmetry wrt the RCP,
and the functionality explained, then the architect cannot
comment much. The eveness of lights, the distribution of
detectors/sprinkles, the placement of final fixes in equal
intervals are some way to get this done.
Its always better to get the RCP layout and MEP team doing
this exercise rather than Architect dictating where to place
the final fixes. This will keep the MEP service functionality
proper and avoid arguments on authority approval.
As important is the knowledge of MEP to the Architect/Civil

engineers, so is the importance of a architectural vision for
MEP engineers. This will reduce the clash between
Architecture and MEP and will help keep the aestheticisml
also in tact.
Access doors
Access doors are required for future maintanence of

equipments. The location of such should be placed in such
a way so that the particular equipment is easily reached on
to. There shall not be any MEP final fix on an access door
location
Once the RCP coordination is done, there need to be a

micro co-ordination again above the false ceiling to get the
respective service branches to the final fixes. If proper MEP
co-ordination and Support co-ordination is done, then this
final touch is a time saver.
Architecture & Structure design - Accommodating wrt

MEP Coordination.
Often the MEP Engineers have the predicament to request

to the Arch or Structural team for some modification which
can ease the workforce life in the project during the
installation stage. Most think that "you are given a room
and you have to design things with whatever constraints
the room has". A civil designer may not be (or rather is not)
an expert in the functionality of MEP. So, a MEP designer
can get into the structure and architecture at the early
stage of design(or atleast before approval of Civil/MEP
shop drawing) and communicate with the counterpart
designer regarding his requirements.
One of my boss used to say that if the project is led by MEP,

then the life of engineers at site would not be this tensed.
This is because, the complexity of MEP is not easy to
understand and especially for the Civil team(excemptions are
there). And I had felt it right many a times...
As I have mentioned previously, a project is led by an

Architect. And hence, the structure and architecture of a
building can play a major role in conditioning the MEP co-
ordination to a greater extend.
Usually, as you know what happens is the MEP designers

has to accomodate all his services in the allocated space by
Architect. I am not saying that all the architects are
stringent in this case, I personally have worked with some
brilliant Archs who knows what MEP is... but most of the
time you dont have this boon (here again comes the
importance of educating them about MEP and equally
important is that we understand their point of view also).
As far as MEP co-ordination is concerned, there is a void

above false ceiling to run our services horizontally and
service shafts to run vertically.
These two areas are the most conjusted areas where we can
get some lineancy from the Structure/Architecture team if
we provide the details during the interim stage itself. For
this we need to have a good study on the Civil part of the
building.
Once, this is done, the areas where we can put our foot are:
Void above RCP
1. Request for more void space to run the services with

proof. If required, we can even request to lower the
False ceiling. But then we will have to do some
brainstorming sessions with Architect to get this
approved.
2. Mentioning that, the lowering of RCP or adjusting the

levels of bulk heads of RCP can be obtained but again
we have to convince the Architect with sufficient
backups (like a 3D model would do). A 5cm lineancy is
no harm for anyone. But if not requested at the very
early stage, later it would lead to unwanted clashes
b/w departments.
3. Sunken slab requirement and required extra space to

run the services.
4. Similarly, the supports of RCP are versatile. If the MEP

designer can provide relevant details to the Architect
on how the routing of our services are, this will help
them to design the support accordingly.
Shafts
1. The vertical shaft for Mechanical and Electrical has to

be seperate. And if possible plumbing shaft to be
isolated. So, check for sufficient number of shafts in the
building.
2. Along with the quantity of shafts, it will be better if we

can check for its size and see if the services are
accomodatable. These numbers and size are important
because the openings in the void has to deal with the
design of reinforced bar in the concrete. So, an early
assessment will help the Civil team.
3. The position of shaft can be changed to a more logical

location if needed. This can be checked and requested
with the Structural/Architectural designer.
4. The accessibility to the shafts including the size of shaft

door can be discussed and finalised.
Others
1. The utility rooms of MEP (Electrical Room, small plant

rooms) can be requested to be added/moved to a
different location, in terms of a better distribution
point of view. Any non-utilised space can be asked for
this.
But for all the above negotiation's, we as MEP has to keep

our design final and then communicate as above.
I hope the article has given a brief view on what MEP co-
ordination, its importance and how to deal in the simplest
way possible. So, keeping these in mind, proceed to get the
cumbersome MEP Co-ordination task under control.
Disclaimer: The above article is entirely on the

authors discretion and his view based on his
experience and findings. The design and site
constraints may vary from project to project or
company to company and so is the opinion of
different individuals.
Report this
Published by
HANISH MOHAN
Improving organisation culture by adding values 1 article Follow
Published • 3y
MEP Co-ordination : Brief and Simple - for the freshers in MEP Building Construction
Like Comment Share 184 25 comments
Reactions
25 Comments
Most relevant
Add a comment…
Girish Kundagol • 3rd+ 1y

General Manager at VESTIAN GLOBAL WORK PLACE SERVICES PRIVATE
LIMITED
Hai Hanish, Systematically explained MEP AFC priority, I am into PMC

managing interior fanout projects, (MEP) and into BIM too,
As explained by you, Plumbing DW piping is given first priority, but we
have Electrical lighting conduiting, FA AFC detectors, Power receptacles for
signages PA true ceiling speakers directly fixed to true ceiling, This
…see
is bit
more
Like Reply
Narender Rana • 3rd+ 8mo

Planning Engineer & Delay Analyst
one of the most practical and comprehensive article about MEP work in
building. its really useful for planners who belongs to civil background and
looking for concise explanation about sequencing of services in their
program.
Like Reply
Load more comments
HANISH MOHAN
Improving organisation culture by adding values
Follow

MEP Co-Ordination - Approach Simplified (Visit Https - WWW - Mepcoord.com) - LinkedIn

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

MEP Co-Ordination - Approach Simplified (Visit Https - WWW - Mepcoord.com) - LinkedIn

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

MEP Co-Ordination - Approach Simplified (Visit Https - WWW - Mepcoord.com) - LinkedIn

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

2/14/24, 4:12 PM MEP Co-ordination - Approach Simplified (visit https://www.mepcoord.

Home My Network Jobs Messaging Notifica

September 15, 2020

Open Immersive Reader

The main purpose of this article is to guide the freshers in

MEP Co-ordination - Basics

For the Electrical and Mechanical engineers who had just

Electrical for Power related systems.

Plumbing for Water systems.

(Initially if Plumbing system included fire fighting later it is

Lets eloborate these three/four segments wrt to MEP

M - Mechanical - Piping and Ducting

E - Electrical - uPVC ducting, Busbar, Cable Ladders, Trays

P - Plumbing - Water supply, Sewage, Vent, Rain Water,

F - Fire fighting - Water used for life safety

There can be further classification in Mechanical piping and

Now basically, all these services has a source and an end

Why we need MEP co-ordination?

Keeping in mind that there are more than 10 different

Avoid unwanted reworks.

Save labour and cost based on above.

Streamline the MEP works.

Helps in better planning.

What can be done in MEP co-ordination?

In simple words, we take a good study of the individual

The key factors (efficiency and reliability) along with vision

NB: The finalisation of a successful MEP co-ordination can be

MEP Co-ordination : Efficient way of doing

Before starting, let me brief about the three services wrt

1. The most important and clinical element out of these

2. Second important service will be HVAC because of the

3. Electrical/ELV installations are comparitively easier

4. Services like water supply, fire fighting(in plumbing)

(Consideration of space above false ceiling depends on

When the 3 MEP services are being designed, the

Next, to draw a vertical limit as shown below to make sure

Once, this is done, we get a final space for the three

This seggregation of space during the initial stage of design

designers doing the job and hence this co-ordination at the

The second way of doing it is when the design is lagging

So, its always recommended to do it the former way.

HVAC : Acceptable changes for clash free MEP

To begin with, whatever design drawings we get from the

Respecting that, the factors which we can change from a

The size aspect (height x width) can be changed (width x

In the initial shop drawings, there will be very little offsets

Re-routing is another method to avoid clashes. Since, HVAC

Even in a corridor, as shown in the previous write up, see

If the FCU's are to be placed in corridors, they need to be

For chilled water pipes which is also an HVAC service, can

NB: The changes above mentioned are not mandatory if

Plumbing: Acceptable Changes for clash free MEP

As mentioned in the HVAC section, the Designers effort

Nothing much can be done here as this is the most critical

Since the drainage is taking the wastes from the above

design itself in consultation with other MEP service

But touching a drainage line as mentioned above should be