Week Nine: Second Day of Building

On Sunday the group visited the farm with the goal of completing the roof portion of the shed. At the EPRA office some components for the roof were cut to the correct size. These were used to finish the triangle roof supports. After this was done Suku, Nicole, and the group moved the shed components on-site to the garden while we still had Suku's truck. While this happened, some of the group was at the farm to open the shed that was nailed shut.

We cleaned the shed and the surrounding area to make it easier and safer to work. We had a lot of difficulties figuring out how to move the roofing components nine feet above the ground. Last visit we coordinated with Suku to get two ladders to aid in construction. The ladders were eight feet and five feet tall which made it very difficult to reach the top of the shed. In addition, there were many wasps in and around the shed. There may have been a nest nearby, but fortunately no one was stung.

Re-planing how to attach the roof.

Eventually the group moved a picnic table that would give us a platform to stand on as we lifted the roof. The plan was to affix the triangle-supports to each other, and then move them to the top of the shed. This was so that they could sit on top of the shed without someone having to hold them in place. While this was going on, the corrugated roofing was being cut down to the proper size.

Cutting the corrugated roofing panels.

Unfortunately it started to drizzle and thunder. We did not want to take the forty minute walk back to Drexel in a thunderstorm. All of the shed components were placed in the shed, and the shed door was locked. The group arranged with Nicole for our non-international members, Amanda and Greg, to finish the project after the third term at Drexel University was over and exams were complete. The new work date is to be determined during the week of June 17th once everyone has their Summer schedules straight.

The remaining work includes:
1) Finish putting the roof components on the shed
2) Level the rain barrel area
3) Build the rain barrel support
4) Install gutters and hardware to the shed and rain barrel

Week Eight: First Day of Building Complete

Our first build day has been complete.  About halfway through the day though, we realized the the work would take longer than we thought and so we planned to continue working on it this coming Sunday.

We were at the EPRA office making any needed wood cuts and built the triangle frames for the roof.  We did this there is no electricity at the garden.  We were hoping to be able to get some of the wood on the shed, but the cutting and ground work took all day.  A few members of our group went to the garden with Nicole, and cleared away growth from the area.  This included the vines growing on the side of the shed and area where the water catchment barrel would be housed.

After taking on site measurements of the shed (this time with an actual measuring tape).  We discovered that the photo analysis created a significant amount of error in the measurements.  Because of this modifications had to be made to the budget to make up for extra supplies needed.  A few supplies came off of the budget too after we found out that we either did not really need them or we could find the for free from somewhere else.

Prices are based off in-store purchases at Lowe's.

Below is the modified budget.  Please click on it to view.

Some of the budget modifications included no longer purchasing a hose and adding more wood materials and roof paneling to make up for the errors in photo measurement.  We found some additional wood in the backyard of the EPRA office which were will be using for the base of the water barrel supports.

The group is going back to hopefully finish on Sunday.  If for some reason more needs to be done after that day an extra day will be spent on the farm to finish it after the presentation.  This is to give other group members the time they need to study for their finals which are scheduled for the following week.  We have every intention to see the project to its completion.

Week Seven: Thank You, Air Products!

Our group is pleased to announce that our project is now being sponsored by the Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.

"Air Products touches the lives of consumers around the globe in positive ways every day. With over 20,000 employees and operations in more than 50 countries, [they] serve customers across a wide range of industries from food and beverage, health and personal care to energy, transportation and semiconductors. [They] supply a unique portfolio of atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, performance materials, equipment and services.

Founded in 1940, Air Products has built a reputation for its innovative culture, operational excellence and commitment to safety and the environment. [Their] aim is to develop lasting relationships with our customers and communities based on human qualities: understanding their needs, doing business with integrity and honesty, and demonstrating a passion for exceeding expectations."

You can find out more about Air Products at their website:

www.airproducts.com

As to the progress of the project: Materials are being purchased as of Wednesday and building is to commence the following Sunday.


"Company Overview." Air Products Serves Customers across a Wide Range of Industries from
     Food and Beverage, Health and Personal Care to Energy, Transportation and Semiconductors.
     N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2013. <http://www.airproducts.com/company/company-
     overview.aspx>.

Week Six: Background Information

Total Watering Area:

Based on the area spreadsheet for each bed on the farm, the total area of the beds as well as the watering area for each plant was calculated.

Plant Name	Area  (ft^2)
Garlic then cherry then tomatoes	40
Arugula	16
Beans then spinach	40
Corn	72
Tomatoes	80
Black eyes peas	104
Collards	16
Carrots	84
Peppers	64
Broccoli	40
Bubba’s bed	8
Garlic then beets	104
Sweet potatoes	40
Okra	40
Beans	88
Beets	32
Chard	16
Eggplant	24
Kale	80
Total area:	1132

The amount of the rainfall will definitely vary, depending on the seasons and the weather. Because of the storage provided by the rain barrels, hopefully the amount of water will not run scarce but will be enough to provide watering to all the beds continuously. Based on an average rainfall on that area, an approximate amount of water collected monthly was calculated.

Since the plants need 164 mm of water depth (6.4566 inches) to be fully watered, the total amount of water needed to water all the beds at the same time was calculated.

The Budget

The budget is organised into a bill of materials (BOM). The BOM, shown below, lists all the items to be used in the project and the location they can be purchased. 

(Click to View)

The first three sections, roofing materials, water catchment and hosing, are parts included in the system. The tools/transportation includes all the tools necessary to build the system. The optional section includes items that may or may not be included in the final  design. There are also price totals with and without all the optional items; however, if one optional item is used the others optional items may or may not dinner. Thus the "totals with optional items" amount is the absolute maximum cost, but probably more than the project will ever cost. 

Week Five: Pair-Wise Decision Matrix and Communication with Nicole

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Page 1 (cont.)

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(Please Click on the Photos of the Charts to View)

Pairwise Decision Matrix:

The pairwise decision matrix is a method of comparing ideas based on a series of specifications. In this case the ideas are design concepts for a farm irrigation and water catchment system.

Pairwise Weights:

The specifications on the spreadsheet were taken directly from the project proposal and expanded to cover all the needs of the farm. Each specification was assigned a relative need to each other specification (see right section of Pairwise Weights” spreadsheet): a “0” shows a specification of lesser importance to the column heading, a “1” signifies equal importance, and a “2” means the specification is more important. This effectively ranked each specification so that they could be assigned a relative weight.

Concept Ratings:

Each concept is given a brief title in this section. Some “concepts” such as rain are included to determine if the spreadsheet is effective. Each concept is scored for each specification in the concept ratings section.

Result:

The results tab shows the scores of each concept which are weighted based on the pairwise weight calculations from the first sheet. The final score for the each concept is the sum of all the weighted values. 

To sum this up, the decision matrix: 
1) Established the needs for the farm and their relative importance
2) Compared each design concept on its ability to meet those needs
3) Ranked each concept based on a weighted score of how well the concept could meet the need

Using a decision matrix allowed the choice of system to be a quantitative and calculated decision based on data, instead of a qualitative decision that did not systematically address the needs of the farm. This allowed for the formation a comprehensive solution that the group could present to the community garden representative, along with data to back it up. 

Also the decision matrix made the group consider different design concepts. For example, the hose and water-catchment system was not a top choice until it was compared through the decision matrix; however, it is now apparent that this system has a good balance of cost effectiveness and ease of use. 

Communication with Nicole:

Our group needed to communicate with Nicole in order to finalize some ideas regarding the project and start thinking about a detailed final design for construction. We scheduled a phone call to report all our findings to Nicole, so she could decide which available option suited her idea of how the the project should be fulfilled considering all the specifications that she considered crucial. The catchment system for the rainwater was already set to be from the shed's rooftop. However, there were multiple options on how to distribute the collected water. Based on the Decision Matrix, which took in consideration various factors, attaching a hose to the rain barrel and manually moving it from a bed to another, seemed like the best choice. This also made sense out of the context of the Decision Matrix for Nicole biggest need was for a source of water.

First, we generally explained to Nicole how the spreadsheet matrix works, with all its components. She looked over the needs that were displayed and she agreed on how every need was ranked in comparison to the others: equally important, less important or more important. She was satisfied with the outcome so the group will now start working on a final detailed design, taking in consideration every component of the plan and having a clear idea on how the distribution system will perform.

Second, we informed Nicole about all our new findings which she can look into and examine form the group’s blog. Third, we discussed a possible transportation method for the materials from the shops to the garden.

There will be further communication with Nicole in the future, because as a group we will clearly need to work on some final touches related to the system implementation. 

Week Four: Our Project Proposal

Final Draft of Project Proposal for the EPRA Rainwater Catchment/Irrigation System 2.0

Week Three: Our Design Development of the Roof

Full Project Proposal Coming Soon on Upcoming Posting!

Where We Are with the Project:

Our group has handed in the project proposal and received back our initial suggestions for revision.  After the revisions are complete we will resubmit the form for approval of the project.  We have been working on the developmental of the roof design and collection barrow.  Once we have solidly enough designed these sections, we plan on working more on the design of irrigation part of the system.  This way at least the farm will be able to have a method to collect water in place.

Below is an early sketch for ideas of how we would collect and move water without a pump.  The general process of it is: 

1. The water flows from the slanted roof to the gutter into a single gutter pipe.
2. It then goes through a two wire filters and into a collection tank.
3. A valve at the bottom of the tank controls water flow for when water is needed from the tank.
4. From here the water would go to the irrigation system to be given to the plants.

This system is without a motorized pump.  Our goal is to have the system work only using gravity if we can.  This way the overall cost is lower and there is no worry about a source of electricity.

As you can see the roof is slanted in the drawing.  We found the ideal angle for water collection from the average monthly rainfall for Philadelphia, PA.  This was found on weather.com with the graph shown on the side.  We looked at this and saw that between all of the months it looked like the normal amount of rainfall during water collection times (warm months so system does not freeze) was around 3.7 inches per month.

http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USPA1276

Along with the data of the monthly rain, we did photo analysis of two photos of Greg in front of the shed.  By comparing Greg's known height to the shed, we were able to determine the dimensions of the shed.  We put all of this information into an excel spreadsheet in order to determine the best angle to set the shed's roof at so that it would collect the most amount of rain without having things get constantly stuck on it.  The length here is the projection of the roofing tiles we selected (which are 144 inches long) onto the roof.  This helps to determine the amount of volume of rain that the roof will collect.  There will be a bit of tiling that will be an overhang of about four inches which can be either over the back or the front of the shed.  We determined the best position would with the overhang on the high end, so that the gutter will be best attached well to the low end of the roof.

"Average Weather for Philadelphia, PA - Temperature and Precipitation." Weather.com. The
     Weather Channel, n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2013.
     <http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USPA1276>.