DPS Engineering Services
General Contracting
Design · Build · Manage
A food plant needs its building, utilities, process equipment, hygiene strategy, and controls to work together. DPS coordinates construction and process-critical scopes around equipment delivery, sanitary requirements, installation interfaces, and commissioning. The contracting structure, professional approvals, licensing, permit responsibilities, and use of qualified local contractors are confirmed for each jurisdiction before the project proceeds. Constructability reviews connect site conditions with the agreed engineering design.
The Service
Food-facility construction includes more than the building shell. Floor drainage, hygienic finishes, room pressures, utility capacity, equipment loads, and control interfaces affect both installation and operation. DPS brings these requirements into the construction programme, coordinating process specialists and building trades within the agreed delivery model, including projects developed by a separate engineering firm.
01
Equipment deliveries, process piping, utility cutovers, and commissioning create dependencies beyond building completion. Separate building and process schedules can leave access conflicts, idle crews, and unfinished production interfaces.
02
Coved transitions, floor slopes, drains, penetration seals, finish materials, and ceilings need to reflect the food process. Passing a building inspection does not establish that the facility meets all product-specific hygiene or audit requirements.
03
Electrical design needs VFD-load information, structural steel needs equipment weights, and equipment pads need anchor templates. These shared interfaces require coordination before procurement and construction fix the conditions in place.
04
Late changes to floors, walls, drainage, ventilation, or process infrastructure can disrupt the finished facility. Applicable food-industry requirements and review responsibilities should be included in design development and construction scope.
The DPS Approach
DPS connects process engineering, P&IDs, equipment requirements, sanitary piping, CIP, controls, and commissioning with civil, structural, roofing, insulation, HVAC, fire-protection, and electrical trades. Constructability reviews and coordinated schedules address equipment access, loads, service connections, and the building conditions needed for startup. Direct and specialist-partner work is allocated in the agreed scope.
General contracting is arranged according to the jurisdiction. Applicable direct licensing, qualified local general contractors, professional design approvals, permit applications, and safety responsibilities must be confirmed rather than assumed. For third-party designs, DPS reviews the documents against field conditions and food-facility interfaces before defining the construction package, budget, and recommended revisions.
Capabilities
Bring building construction and food-process requirements into one coordinated programme. DPS connects civil, structural, hygienic finishes, process mechanical, electrical, controls, HVAC, refrigeration, and commissioning scopes, with trade responsibilities, licensing, permits, and the contracting arrangement confirmed for the project location and the owner’s delivery requirements.
Coordinate site work, foundations, slab drainage, loading docks, structural steel, process mezzanines, equipment loads, and location-specific structural requirements.
Connect insulated panels, cold-storage systems, vapour control, doors, sanitary walls, floors, coves, ceilings, and drainage with the operating environment.
Coordinate sanitary piping, equipment setting and alignment, vessels, utility tie-ins, and CIP infrastructure against the process design.
Bring power distribution, MCCs, VFDs, lighting, motor circuits, PLC/SCADA, HMI, alarms, and emergency-system interfaces into the construction plan.
Coordinate ventilation, room-pressure relationships, refrigeration, ammonia or glycol interfaces, make-up air, balancing, and operating requirements.
Link mechanical completion, utility startup, process testing, CIP checks, controls verification, training, as-built records, and O&M information with handback.
Compare food plant design-build and design-bid-build through owner control, package boundaries, licensing responsibilities and project execution.
Build a food plant interface matrix covering building, process, utilities and controls, using a four-system integration lesson and explicit owners.
Set food plant performance acceptance by product, pack, operating time and saleable output, distinguishing phased release from full-system acceptance.
Scope & Deliverables
Use this scope framework to discuss the outputs, interfaces, and acceptance requirements for your project. The engagement defines the work and responsibilities to be included.
| Trade / Scope Category | Scope of Work | Deliverables |
|---|---|---|
| Site & Civil |
| Site plan, foundation engineering, slab joint and slope-to-drain layout, civil permit packages |
| Structural |
| Structural calculations, steel shop drawings, mezzanine load capacity documentation |
| Building Envelope |
| Envelope thermal calculations, panel layout drawings, R-value verification documentation |
| Interior Finishes |
| Finish specification schedule, floor slope and drain location plan, material compliance certificates |
| Process Mechanical |
| Process piping isometrics, equipment installation qualification records, CIP circuit verification |
| Electrical & Controls |
| Electrical one-line diagrams, panel schedules, controls functional specification, IO lists |
| HVAC & Refrigeration |
| HVAC load calculations, air balance reports, refrigeration P&IDs, commissioning records |
| Commissioning |
| Commissioning protocol, punch list tracking, as-built drawing package, O&M manuals |
The contracting arrangement must be checked for the project jurisdiction. Where DPS has the required direct licence, that role can be defined in the agreement. Where a local licensed general contractor is required, the project can be structured with a qualified local partner and defined DPS engineering or management responsibilities. Confirm licence status, permit filings, professional approvals, and statutory duties before engagement.
The process creates additional requirements for drainage, sanitary finishes, utility loads, airflow and room pressures, hygienic boundaries, equipment access, and commissioning. These must be coordinated with building codes and applicable FDA, USDA-FSIS, SQF, BRC, and owner requirements. The aim is an agreed construction basis that supports production and review by the responsible authorities, rather than an assumed certification outcome.
Coordinated engineering and construction allow the team to examine constructability, equipment interfaces, trade sequencing, and changes together. Design assumptions can be checked against field conditions before they become installation conflicts. The actual cost and programme depend on scope, site conditions, procurement, and risk allocation; any comparison with another delivery method needs a defined baseline rather than an assumed percentage saving.
The delivery model combines process-critical engineering and installation expertise with specialist trade contractors. Process piping, equipment, controls, and commissioning responsibilities are defined alongside building-shell scopes such as concrete, steel, roofing, HVAC, fire protection, insulation, and electrical distribution. Confirm who physically performs each package and who is responsible for supervision, quality, safety, licensing, and schedule in the project agreement.
Yes. A construction engagement can use third-party engineering documents. Before mobilization, review the design for constructability, site conditions, sanitary requirements, equipment interfaces, and scope completeness. DPS can identify conflicts and recommend revisions, then define the construction scope and budget around the agreed documents. Design authority and approval responsibility remain explicit where the original engineer or another licensed professional must review changes.
Project Experience
Golden West Food Group
Explore the Golden West Food Group relocation from Los Angeles to Fort Worth, including facility buildout, equipment logistics, utilities, and commissioning.
Confidential Client
See how DPS coordinated a ground beef line project in an operating Los Angeles facility, with phased installation and early lower-rate production.
Coordinate scope, schedules, budgets, procurement, quality, safety, risk, and turnover across individual food plant projects and phased capital programmes.
Coordinate process piping, equipment setting, utilities, power, instrumentation, controls, CIP, commissioning, and turnover for food and beverage facilities.
Coordinate process diagrams, facility layouts, utility loads, hygienic requirements, controls specifications, and capital planning for food and beverage facilities.
The Next Conversation
Share the site, design status, equipment plan, production constraints, and jurisdiction. DPS can help define the trade packages, contracting arrangement, approvals, and construction interfaces required to move the project forward.
Discuss Your Project