Engineering Clarity: Valve Elevations for City College’s Chiller Plant

Engineering | Valve Mapping | CAD Elevations | As-Built Documentation | New York

Behind the Valves: Design Support for Steel Platform Planning

In July 2025, DCMS was contacted by Shafi Rahman, Design Manager at Willdan | Genesys Engineering, P.C., to assist with a precision drafting task at The City College of New York, located at 160 Convent Avenue, NY.

The goal was clear: develop detailed CAD elevations for five valves inside the college’s chiller plant. These technical drawings would serve as a foundation for the design of custom steel maintenance platforms, ensuring safe and accessible mechanical layouts.

Bird’s-eye view of The City College of New York campus,

Scope of Work: Targeted Drawings from Reality Capture

The request, based on direct coordination with the engineering team, included:

• (1) lateral elevation for each valve (head-on view)

• (1) perpendicular cross-section showing the valve in context

• Each elevation covering 20 linear feet along the pipe axis

This effort would ultimately support both structural design and coordination with the existing mechanical infrastructure.

Close-up of one of the five target valves inside City College’s chiller plant

From Site Scan to Precise Documentation

To deliver the requested outputs, DCMS leveraged its previously captured Matterport Pro3 digital twin, now available for virtual walkthrough: View the Matterport Tour

Using this scan, our team identified each bubbled valve with spatial clarity, verified against AutoCAD plant layouts provided by the client. This hybrid approach allowed us to extract dimensional data directly from the field while maintaining the precision needed for fabrication-grade drawings.

Matterport digital twin of the chiller plant interior, used to verify valve locations and etract spatial data for CAD elevations.

Drawings That Drive Decisions

Each CAD elevation includes:

• Valve dimensions and flange details

• Pipe routing and elevation relative to structural elements

• Clearances and spatial context for steel platform design

  
  

All 10 elevation views were delivered in both DWG and PDF formats, meeting the client's CAD standards and enabling seamless integration with platform engineering workflows.

One of ten CAD valve elevations created by DCMS, showing dimensional accuracy and layout clarity for steel platform planning.

Efficient Timeline, Coordinated Access

The project was executed within a tight one-week window, from July 24 to August 1, 2025. On-site coordination was led by Mohsin, the field engineer at City College, who ensured timely access to the chiller plant and assisted in verifying site conditions. This close collaboration between the DCMS and Willdan teams enabled a smooth, efficient workflow, allowing deliverables to be completed ahead of schedule and without disruption to ongoing facility operations.

Matterport Pro3 scan in action—capturing every angle for platform-ready valve documentation.

Why These Elevations Matter

When retrofitting active MEP systems in tight mechanical rooms, accuracy is everything. These valve elevations helped minimize guesswork, reduce field measurement time, and streamline the design of physical platforms that are safe, accessible, and code-compliant.

Through strategic documentation, DCMS helped Willdan's team move faster from existing conditions to engineered solutions.

Detailed valve elevation produced by DCMS, enabling platform engineers to design around real-world dimensions

Ready for Your Next Engineering Challenge?

At DCMS, we support engineering teams with precision documentation that transforms field complexity into clear design decisions. Whether you're planning custom platforms, retrofitting MEP systems, or mapping existing infrastructure, our as-built expertise ensures you always start with certainty. From valves to platforms, let’s get it done right.