Foodservice Design - Rough-Ins, Connections Points and Everything in Between

Foodservice design isn't just a speciality consultant required to get through a health department, it is an art form where the foodservice designer is the artist, the building envelope is the canvas, and the building plans they create are their art. Every foodservice designer has their own unique style. They even have their own vocabulary. The plans they create are the design and they guide the construction of the kitchen.

a foodservice designer's style is a compilation of their life experiences and the lessons they learned along the way

Their designs are never identical and they never stop improving their process. They couldn't stop if they wanted to. Foodservice design is a wide and ever-changing medium guided by architectural trends and innovative new technology. As foodservice designers finish projects and gain experience they inevitably gain insight into their design flaws. They then inject this insight back into their building plans as notes and details to prevent the next project from the issues of the past. This feedback loop is a core tenet of foodservice design, it is also the main reason that no two foodservice designers are alike. Simply put, a foodservice designer's style is a compilation of their life experiences and the lessons they learned along the way.

In the foodservice world, a single set of construction plans contains lines, symbols, notes, details, schedules and legends that together form the design and layout of each piece of kitchen equipment. While the layout is important, these plans also become the user manual for how to engineer and construct this particular kitchen. They touch every trade in the construction process because the foodservice equipment demands it. Some examples of foodservice engineering that you will find in almost every set of foodservice plans are electrical outlets, plumbing valves, floor sinks, mechanical exhaust ductwork, refrigeration lines, beverage conduits, wall backing, and slab depressions. These days it is not uncommon for foodservice design to also include color 3D isometric views that also show electrical outlets and plumbing valves. These 3D color views are perfect for explaining their one-off creations to the eyes of the reader who can range from the architect, engineer, contractor, electrician, plumber, chef, restaurateur, and even the health department.

The result of a creative professional with so many variables is a plethora of different approaches to foodservice design drawings; some based on perfecting foodservice construction methods, others based on showing off the skill and artistic value of the designer, and some based on passing the burden of liability onto others. Passing liability may seem negligent but in construction liability is a fine line between what needs to be done and how to do it, and it's up to the foodservice designer to determine their individual risk and reward. Some foodservice designers will take the risk of telling subcontractors exactly how to build something with the expectation that they receive the reward of a proper installation. Others may decide to let the subcontractors provide the means and methods as long as the finish line is the same. Inevitably all foodservice designs are a combination of all of the above approaches but still conform to two trains of thought when it comes to the electrical, plumbing and mechanical portion of their designs; either they create rough-ins drawings or they create connection point drawings.

Rough-Ins

Rough-in is just the term used for the first stage of the installation process, the other stage being the final connection. Foodservice equipment requires water and dedicated electric to be brought within 36" of the equipment, typically located in the closest wall behind the equipment.

These locations, or suggested installation points, are typically referred to as rough-ins and are provided by some foodservice designers that offer rough-in drawings.

When they are still able to access the inside of these walls, the electricians and plumbers will run their wires and pipes to junction boxes and pipe hangers located behind each piece of equipment. These locations, or suggested installation points, are typically referred to as rough-ins and are provided by some foodservice designers that offer rough-in drawings. Each junction box is referred to as an electrical rough-in and each water or drain location is referred to as a plumbing rough-in.

Rough-in drawings will typically include dimensions from the floor and walls to provide the electricians and plumbers with exact locations for each rough-in. Sometimes rough-in drawings will also show the location on the equipment where each rough-in needs to connect to, this is referred to as the connection point.

Connections Points

After the rough-ins are installed and inspected, walls are closed up and finished and the foodservice equipment can be delivered. At this point the electricians and plumbers must finish the installation by making the final connections. Each piece of foodservice equipment has a specific location where the electrical and plumbing must be connected and these locations are referred to as connection points.

Connection point drawings show these locations with itemized tags for every piece of equipment along with a itemized table that provides each piece of equipment's utility requirements.

The itemized tables, or schedules, are created for both rough-in drawings and connection point drawings and there are only minor differences between a schedule for rough-in plans and a schedule for connection point plans. For example, rough-in schedules contain rough-in heights, whereas connection point schedules contain connection heights.

Each piece of foodservice equipment has a specific location where the electrical and plumbing must be connected and these locations are referred to as connection points.

Once the equipment is delivered, the electricians and plumbers begin the process of making the final connections by connecting the rough-ins to the connection points on the equipment. When these connections are made on the jobsite by subcontractors they are referred to as field wiring and field piping. When these connections are made in the factory by the manufacturer they are referred to as factory wiring and factory piping. Once the field wiring and field piping connections are made, the installation is completed and the kitchen is ready for final inspections.

Two Types of Foodservice Designers

When it comes to the steps of the foodservice equipment installation process, all foodservice designers agree that rough-ins are the first step followed by final connections once the equipment is delivered. All foodservice designers also agree that the best way to convey the rough-in requirements to the subcontractors is with rough-in drawings even though subcontractors could get the information they needed from manufacturer data sheets. But not all foodservice designers create rough-in drawings and to explain why I need to separate foodservice designers into what they really are, foodservice consultants and foodservice dealer/designers.

Foodservice Consultants

Foodservice consultants can be broken into two types, management consultants and design consultants. We are only talking about foodservice design consultants. They are typically hired by architects and join the design team alongside structural engineers, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, lighting consultants, and other architectural consultants.

With their tried and true formulas they can predict the size of any kitchen, serving area and dining room by only knowing how many people visit a building each day.

Foodservice consultants specialize in large facilities such as educational dining halls, corporate cafeterias and military bases. With their tried and true formulas they can predict the size of any kitchen, serving area and dining room by only knowing how many people visit a building each day.

They do not participate in the sale of the equipment but they do create detailed written specifications listing every piece of kitchen equipment and it's accessories. They even go into detail on the methods of installation for a specific project. These specifications are attached to a project's foodservice drawings like an addendum to be used by the eventual foodservice equipment dealer as guidelines for which equipment is to be sold and how it should be installed. Foodservice consultants can be thought of as design specialists with their only source of income coming from their design fees.

Foodservice Dealer/Designers

On the other side of the coin are foodservice dealers that offer design services. These days it is not uncommon for foodservice equipment dealers to offer some design services. There are even many foodservice equipment dealers that specialize in foodservice design. Even these dealers are typically using design as a sales tool since the bulk of their profit comes from the sale of the equipment, not the fees from the design services they provide.

Foodservice dealers work very closely with their equipment installers and stainless fabricators so when a restaurant needs a complex installation or one-off stainless piece under a tight budget it falls right into the dealers sweet spot.

These hybrid dealer/designers are sometimes referred to as design/build foodservice equipment dealers. Restaurants are optimal design clients due to their tight budgets and complex custom installation requirements. Foodservice dealers work very closely with their equipment installers and stainless fabricators so when a restaurant needs a complex installation or one-off stainless piece under a tight budget it falls right into the dealers sweet spot. Unlike consultants, dealers know exact equipment and installation costs and are able to start with a budget and work backwards. This lets them react quickly to a chef's changes which typically take the form of a wishlist and are only held in check by the budget. Combine that with their stainless fabricator and installer connections and it's not hard to see why restaurants are a good fit where others have trouble keeping up. Foodservice dealer-designers are the design/build specialists of foodservice.

Foodservice Consultants & Foodservice Equipment Dealers Working Together

It doesn't matter how great the foodservice consultant is or how great their design is, if they don't have a quality foodservice dealer providing and installing the equipment then the project could still be a failure.

Foodservice consultants work closely with foodservice dealers to make sure the projects they design are completed correctly. It doesn't matter how great the foodservice consultant is or how great their design is, if they don't have a quality foodservice dealer providing and installing the equipment then the project could still be a failure.

In the construction bid process, architects create the drawings & specifications for bid and the winning contractor sends submittals of every material back to the architects for approval. The architects then reconcile what was submitted versus what they designed and give their approval. Then the contractor can proceed with building the project using the submitted and approved materials. This submittal process takes the liability off the designers and places it on the contractors, instead of the architects telling the contractor what to build, they are now just accepting what the contractor is offering to build. If the architect draws something that cannot be built, then they are forced to accept what the contractor proposes.

This submittal process takes the liability off the designers and places it on the contractors, instead of the architects telling the contractor what to build, they are now just accepting what the contractor is offering to build.

On the other hand if the contractor proposes something they cannot deliver, the contractor may be liable to deliver what they proposed regardless of the circumstances. This step is required in construction, it's easy to draw a pretty picture but submittals force reality to step in before the tangible construction begins.

A similar process occurs in the foodservice world between foodservice consultants and foodservice dealers. Foodservice consultants are like architects and foodservice equipment dealers are the contractors.

Foodservice consultants will send out their foodservice drawings and specifications to at least (3) approved foodservice equipment dealers for pricing and the winning foodservice equipment dealer will send back submittals.

There is no guarantee that exactly what the foodservice consultant designed will make it to the winning bid so it is the foodservice equipment dealer's responsibility to provide rough-in drawings matching their submittals.

These submittals contain the equipment and accessories the dealer is providing based on their winning bid. These submittals also contain rough-in drawings based on the specific equipment quoted. There is no guarantee that exactly what the foodservice consultant designed will make it to the winning bid so it is the foodservice equipment dealer's responsibility to provide rough-in drawings matching their submittals. This step ensures whatever was submitted can still be installed correctly by sending it back to the consultant for approval. You can think of rough-in drawings as a subset of the submittal package, besides telling the electricians and plumbers how to install the equipment they also allow changes from the original design to be picked up by contractors once the foodservice consultant has signed off. The main thing to take out of this is that rough-in drawings are a requirement everytime a foodservice consultant designs a project.

Rough-In Drawings vs Connection Point Drawings

Why Some Consultants Create Rough-In Drawings

If rough-in drawings are created by the foodservice equipment dealers as part of the submittal process then that must mean that connection point drawings are created by foodservice consultants. And while that is correct, it's not mutually exclusive, some foodservice consultants also create rough-in drawings...but why? Rough-in drawings pass liability from the consultant to the dealer, so why would consultants want to keep liability and complete the rough-in drawings themselves? The answer is that foodservice consultants feel like the placement of the rough-ins is integral to their design and it's not hard to see why they say that.

Rough-in drawings pass liability from the consultant to the dealer, so why would consultants want to keep liability and complete the rough-in drawings themselves?

Locating electrical outlets may seem droll but a small thing like this can make or break a foodservice operation. These consultants do not want to risk the design being compromised due to somebody else misplacing a rough-in so they take it upon themselves to provide the rough-in drawings. They are the design expert on the project and rough-ins are no walk in the park, one incorrect rough-in can cost thousands of dollars in change orders, so it only seems fitting that the design specialist take on the more challenging parts of the design process.

But what happens when the design is changed during submittals, how can a foodservice consultant provide rough-in drawings for a design that could change? Most consultants require a foodservice equipment dealer to create their own set of rough-in drawings but some allow the dealers to only create a new set of rough-in drawings if the equipment is changed. Or, and this is important, the dealer can continue to use the consultant's rough-in drawings but the dealer must handle any changes in the field and take liability for the consultant's rough-in drawings as if they were their own.

Having two sets of rough-in drawings is no different than having one wrong set of rough-in drawings if you ask me, a better way would be if the consultant and dealer could share the same Revit model and keep the design up to date but our industry isn't there yet.

So basically an equipment dealer can save themselves the work of creating new rough-in drawings for what might only be a few changes by reviewing the consultants rough-in drawings, owning the project, communicating any changes to the other contractors, and making sure everything is installed correctly. It's a relationship built on trust in an industry that likes to point fingers instead of owning up to their own faults. Having two sets of rough-in drawings is no different than having one wrong set of rough-in drawings if you ask me, a better way would be if the consultant and dealer could share the same Revit model and keep the design up to date but our industry isn't there yet. No industry is there yet but as Revit models get more accurate to the end result of the job, doesn't it make sense that we all work on the same model?

Connection Point Drawings

Connection points are the locations where the electric wires and water pipes connect to each piece of equipment. Connection point drawings or connection plans show these locations using symbols and tags. Unlike rough-ins where the junction boxes and water valves are placed in the walls, connection plans only contain symbols that are placed on the equipment. These symbols are accompanied by a schedule or table of each piece of equipment's specific utility requirements. Connection plans are used to convey each piece of equipment's MEP requirements without attempting to show how each piece of equipment should be connected.

They leave the issue of how each piece of equipment is connected to the eventual equipment dealer who will create the rough-in drawings. They are effectively saying, here is what needs to be connected and where to connect it, the foodservice equipment dealer will provide the rough-in locations at a later time, but put in the following utilities in these general areas. The foodservice equipment dealers on these projects do not have a choice, they must create rough-in drawings for the electricians and plumbers otherwise the project could be halted.

They are effectively saying, here is what needs to be connected and where to connect it, the foodservice equipment dealer will provide the rough-in locations at a later time, but put in the following utilities in these general areas.

These rough-in drawings must also be sent to the foodservice consultant so they can be reviewed and accepted, effectively returning the project to the same path as it would be if the consultant completed the rough-in drawings. This approach let's the consultant provide only the equipment requirements and leaves the rough-in locations and field connections for the dealer. It is a great way of conveying the MEP requirements to the engineers when the architectural walls may still be in flux. It is also efficient, there is no double-work, and the liability is clearly placed on the dealers that create the rough-in drawings.

It is also the logical choice when the foodservice consultant is designing a neutral equipment list which is common when working for the government. On these projects the government wants to keep competition fair so the consultant must provide three manufacturers for each piece of equipment. This effectively forces the consultant to hold off on the rough-in drawings, not knowing the exact equipment makes completing the rough-in drawings a crapshoot.

The Best of Both Worlds

Two trains of thoughts and two types of foodservice design drawings with the same common goal, to result in a well engineered and well constructed kitchen. It's clear that both the rough-in locations and the connection point locations are important and meaningful to the project so why not show both. This could mean rough-in designers add connection points and connect them together to show the contractors where to place the rough-in and also where to connect to each piece of equipment, also known as the field wiring and field piping.

In Revit, Rough-Ins are just different types of families. Electrical Fixtures for the electric outlets, Plumbing Fixtures for the water valves and drain pipes. Mechanical Equipment is used for chilled water, steam, and other mechanical systems.

Connection Points are another type of family called Generic Annotations. These are 2D families that are view specific, whereas Rough-In families are real 3D objects that are visible in 3D views.

For connection point designers this could mean they only add a select set of rough-ins that if not placed by the foodservice designer could end up being missed altogether. Some rough-ins that come to mind here are floor sinks, beverage conduits or convenience outlets.

Or maybe this just means that because a high level of detail may not be necessary when the MEP engineers are ready to get started, designers can start with connection points and then add the rough-ins and field wiring later. Many designers are already doing these exact things and are easily spendings days to weeks on each project. Well we are here to tell you that you don't have to spend 30%-50% of your design time doing the MEP portions of your project, with our solutions the MEP portions of your design process can be done in 25% of the time it normally takes.

With the newest release of KitchDesigner foodservice designers now have the ability to create their own placement rules to automate the placement of rough-ins, connections points, and the field wiring or field piping between them. Our new customizable interface lets foodservice designers create their own set of rules to place rough-ins, connection points, or a combination of both.

Or if you are just getting started, use the Restore Default Rules button and we will load a full set of 3D Rough-Ins or 2D Connection Point symbols into your project. All of that is now included.

Designers can use rough-in heights to place floor, wall, or ceiling rough-ins and they can specify the placement of each symbol relative to the equipment. The MEP design process that typically took days to weeks has been reduced to just minutes.

With the newest release of KitchDesigner foodservice designers now have the ability to create their own placement rules to automate the placement of rough-ins, connections points, and the field wiring between them.

We realized the mistakes of our ways and have now given the designers the choice to create their own path or use our default setup that now includes a full set of 3D rough-ins and MEP connection points. Every setting related to the placement of each individual symbol has now been exposed to the designer.

You can even set a field wiring linetype to connect your rough-ins and connections points together. Foodservice designers can use KitchDesigner to create connections plans during design development and when the project gets to construction documents they can seamlessly add rough-ins and field connections. All with just the click of a couple buttons.

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