Brandt Companies is familiar with the unique challenges and strict requirements around working on a correctional facility, so when the opportunity to renovate and expand the Rockwell County (Texas) jail arose, Brandt chose Trane. “It was very intentional that we wanted to work with Trane,” said Scott McMillan, senior mechanical engineer at Brandt. “Trane has great resources on the controls side and smoke control projects, in particular. Ultimately, Trane delivered and was instrumental in the success of this job.”
Expanding and Improving
Rockwall County, just outside Dallas, is growing fast. Unfortunately, its jail population is growing as well. Initially built in 1988 and expanded in 2000, the facility was hovering between 90 and 95 percent capacity, limiting the staff’s ability to manage it. In addition, the old building needed frequent maintenance.
“The existing jail was kind of a hodgepodge of about three or four different iterations, and some of those were in constant need of repair,” said Rockwall County Sheriff Terry Garrett. “We were continuously repairing the same items over and over. Also, when it’s crowded, there’s going to be more tension. There are more inmates in a cell and no room to move them if they’re not getting along.”
In 2018, Rockwall County voters approved a $50 million bond to expand the detention center. Completed in fall 2022, the 83,000-square-foot addition doubled the number of beds and added natural lighting, recreational yards, vocational and classroom spaces, offices, a larger kitchen, and improved medical facilities, including behavioral health care.
“We have quite a few mental health programs, and that’s an important part of our mission,” said Garrett. “Many of our inmates have some type of mental health issue, which could be drug-induced or some form of psychosis. They have trouble functioning in society, and we have worked to help them with that.”
Commitment to Community
The jail redevelopment project was a perfect fit for the Brandt Companies, a design-build contractor based in Carrollton, TX, near Dallas. This would be the first design-build jail project ever completed in Texas, and the Brandt team was excited to take that on. Also, the correctional facility is a vital community asset. Brandt saw an opportunity to enhance public safety and support inmate rehabilitation.
Community has always been a major piece of Brandt’s mission. Since its founding in 1952, the company has made numerous commitments, both through its contracting work and volunteer spirit. For example, over the past decade, Brandt has forged a major partnership with Special Olympics Texas, which provides year-round training and competitions for children and adults with disabilities.
“Our company is passionate about providing opportunities for our state and local community,” said Chad Salge, vice president of virtual design and engineering at Brandt. “The Rockwall County Correctional Facility seeks to rehabilitate and reintegrate inmates back into the community, and that had a lot of significance for our team. Projects like the correctional facility and our support for Special Olympics—they’re all part of our efforts to build community.”
Unique Challenges
The correctional facility upgrade was spearheaded by Rockwall County Commissioner Dennis Bailey. The owner’s representative, Broaddus, selected the general contractor, design-build team Adolfson and Peterson, and tapped Brandt as the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing contractor.
“We asked Brandt early on to come in and be kind of a multi-contractor,” said Bailey. “They handled the HVAC but also the plumbing and a lot of other issues.”
The detention facility offered several challenges for Brandt. First, equipment had to be both effective and tamper-proof, ensuring no pieces could be used for self-harm or to hide weapons. Also, because inmates are not allowed to freely leave during an emergency, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) has strict rules on removing smoke and other agents from the building.
“A jail is certainly not a simple place to build,” said Bailey. “You’ve got the state overseeing everything you’re doing, and you have to get approvals before you even get into the building.”
Still, Brandt’s decades of experience as a design-build contractor, plus its internal expertise in both correctional facilities and state requirements, helped the company anticipate what was needed to complete the facility and gain TCJS approval.
“We knew the challenges inherent to this type of project—the security aspects and how you build things,” said McMillan. “We definitely had to do things differently, down to the grilles, security bars, and ductwork. It all points back to security and life safety, which made it a really unique project.”
The Smoke Test
Perhaps the greatest challenge was ensuring the systems detected and removed smoke within the state’s very stringent requirements. The TCJS guidelines are clear about how the equipment and controls must operate during a smoke event.
The Brandt engineering and commissioning teams worked closely with the fire alarm installer and Trane to help improve the sequence of operation, which was critical to the project’s success. As they encountered problems during months of preliminary testing, the team would make the necessary adjustments and test again. This ongoing process continued until it produced repeatable results.
“We spent months trying to find ways to break the system,” said McMillan. “We were lighting smoke candles in buckets in different parts of the room, trying to find ways we could fail the system. The rules are quite strict: we have 60 seconds to detect the smoke and 15 minutes to clear it. If we can’t do that, we don’t pass the test, and we can’t occupy the building.”
For the Brandt team, Trane was the obvious choice for equipment and controls because they shared a determination to deliver great results regardless of the challenges. Because it was a design-build job, Brandt wanted all systems to be fully integrated and thoroughly tested, and having collaborators with that same attitude was critical. In addition, Brandt’s experience with Trane’s team on similar projects inspired tremendous confidence.
The TCJS final inspection and testing was challenging. All parties were on site to troubleshoot problems. It is not uncommon, despite months of testing and commissioning, for the team to hit a snag during the final tests. “The team anticipated what the inspector’s questions were going to be and had the manpower to fix all the problems before they left,” said Bailey. “It was a great team effort.”
The TCJS inspectors planned to be at Rockwall for several days but, with the rigorous effort from all participants, wrapped everything up in one (long) day.
For their diligent work on the jail, Brandt was awarded the TEXO Distinguished Building Award and an Associated General Contractors-Texas Building Branch Award.
A New Detention Facility
Jails are unique facilities because there are people inside trying to break things. Since the facility opened, there have been a few incidents—someone tried to remove the plates on the intercom system—but overall, the facility has worked out well.
“Anytime you get into a new facility, you’re going to have a little bit better sense of ownership and morale,” said Garrett. “Instead of being in an old, dank, dark place with a lot of maintenance issues, we have this nicer, larger space, which helps us do our jobs.”
Even though the facility has been open for nearly two years, the project is not “over” for Brandt. The company is committed to maintaining the detention center long into the future.
“We want to serve the client through the project’s entire lifecycle,” said Salge. “For the Rockwall correctional facility, we design, build, and maintain it. And then, further down the line, when they need additional renovations, we have all the historical IP [intellectual property] to serve them.”
For more information, visit www.trane.com.
