Springfield School District HVAC Improvements

Springfield, Oregon

Over the past three years, Alliant Systems has proudly partnered with Springfield Public Schools (SPS) to deliver district-wide HVAC upgrades through a strategic and collaborative design-build approach. Funded by one-time federal investment, this initiative focused on modernizing mechanical systems across 18 K–12 school facilities, ensuring that each dollar was maximized to improve comfort, air quality, and energy efficiency for students, staff, and faculty.

Alliant also worked closely with Systems West Engineers on a major standalone project at Thurston High School, further enhancing the district’s commitment to providing healthy, high-performing learning environments.

The multi-year effort began with comprehensive site investigations and facility assessments to establish clear, data-driven design requirements. From there, Alliant leveraged its expertise in Target Value Design (TVD), budget control, constructability reviews, and technical planning to ensure that every project was delivered safely, efficiently, and within the district’s fixed budget.

A Collaborative, Transparent Process:
From day one, Alliant implemented a transparent and disciplined design-build process that aligned scope, schedule, and cost across all campuses. A centralized project dashboard provided real-time visibility into progress across all schools, allowing the district to easily monitor timelines, costs, and milestones.

At the system level, Pricing Variance Logs (PVLs) broke down each school’s HVAC scope into detailed components, covering cooling systems, enhanced indoor air quality measures, and DDC controls. These PVLs were essential in tracking live pricing against historical benchmarks and setting accurate cost targets early in design.

Regular weekly coordination meetings with SPS stakeholders ensured alignment between design intent, budget realities, and construction sequencing. This proactive, open-book communication allowed the team to make informed design adjustments in real time and maintain absolute transparency throughout the process.

Results and Impact:
Through this disciplined and collaborative approach, Alliant Systems successfully delivered all intended HVAC improvements on budget and on schedule, while exceeding expectations for system performance and indoor environmental quality.

The result is a district-wide mechanical upgrade program that demonstrates how strategic design-build delivery and Target Value Design can provide exceptional value to public school systems—enhancing comfort, reliability, and air quality for generations of Springfield students.