Replacing critical fire systems at major pharma campus

At large pharmaceutical campuses, some of the most important infrastructure is also the least visible. Underground utility networks may have been installed and expanded over decades, while manufacturing operations continue around them. When ageing infrastructure begins to fail, replacement becomes more than a maintenance issue. It requires careful planning and coordination across an operating site.

For one major pharmaceutical company, a catastrophic fire-main failure within a GMP manufacturing building underscored that challenge and led to a long-term program to renew the campus fire-water network. The program encompasses replacement of ageing underground piping, installation of new building fire closets, and upgrades intended to strengthen the resilience of this campus-wide life-safety system.

A phased approach to a campus-wide challenge

Since 2022, Ramboll has been actively supporting the program through an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) delivery model. Our work brings together engineering, digitalization, safety, and construction management alongside four excavation crews and two riser-closet crews.

Approximately 5.6 miles of fire-main replacement is planned through 2032 within a broader network of roughly 13 miles. Phase 1, running from 2022 through 2028, targets approximately 2.5 miles of cast-iron piping on the western portion of the campus. Phase 2 calls for another 1.8 miles of replacement from 2027 through 2030, followed by approximately 1.2 miles of site-wide push-on piping during Phase 3 from 2029 through 2032.

Making underground conditions visible

However, the scale is only part of the challenge. Decades of infrastructure additions have created a congested underground environment, while existing utility drawings may be incomplete or no longer reflect current field conditions.

To improve the information available as work progresses, Ramboll’s digitalization specialists are also using reality capture to document sections of the fire main and neighboring utilities while excavations are open. Handheld mobile LiDAR, precision GPS and 360-degree imagery capture conditions before they are covered again. The resulting point-cloud information is incorporated into coordinated 3D models and utility CAD deliverables, creating a reusable spatial record of installed infrastructure and other visible subsurface features.

Renewing critical infrastructure for the long term

The fire main project demonstrates how ageing infrastructure can be addressed as a planned, multi-year capital program rather than through isolated responses to individual failures. With phased EPC execution and better information about the infrastructure below ground, the client is systematically replacing a critical life-safety network while continuing operations across an active pharmaceutical campus.