From Contract to Commissioning – How an SG Composting Project Is Delivered

A Sustainable Generation (SG) composting project moves through five phases that SG names on its services pages: project initiation, facilities planning, facilities construction, facilities operations and ongoing support. On those pages SG lists the covered aerated static pile technology, design and engineering, installation guidance, commissioning and training. They do not say that SG holds the permits or performs the civil construction, so plan for the owner to keep the site, the permits, the civil works contract and the feedstock supply unless your contract says otherwise.

Key takeaways

  • SG’s services page groups its work into five milestones: project initiation, facilities planning, facilities construction, facilities operations and ongoing support services.
  • Plan for permits to stay in the owner’s or operator’s name. SG’s consulting page says SG assists with the documentation for solid waste, air quality and stormwater permits.
  • For construction, SG’s pages list “Design / Engineering” and “Installation Guidance”. They do not say SG acts as the general contractor, so settle the scope split in the contract.
  • A pilot with an SG MOBILE® System can sit inside the planning phase when a regulator, a board or a grant program wants site data first.
  • SG states few durations. Its FAQ page says complete SG BUNKER® installations are typically online within 6 to 12 months, depending on site and permitting. Treat any other date as something to agree in writing.
  • Support does not end at startup. SG describes maintenance guidance and troubleshooting for the life of the system, with an optional extended support contract.

The five phases at a glance

SG’s commercial composting services page describes “comprehensive services delivered at key project milestones”. The table sets SG’s listed services beside the work that normally stays with the owner. The SG column quotes SG’s pages. The owner column is practical guidance, not an SG statement.

Phase What SG lists What the owner does
1. Project initiation Pre-project checklist, feasibility studies, site selection, financial evaluation, technical evaluation, environmental compliance, grant support, RFP assistance Supplies tonnage and feedstock data, candidate sites, budget limits and the decision process
2. Facilities planning Permitting, demonstration or proof of concept, pre-design, retrofit of an existing facility Applies for and holds the permits, hosts any pilot, hires the engineer of record
3. Facilities construction Design and engineering, installation guidance Contracts the civil, electrical and water works, manages the site and inspections
4. Facilities operations Operations training, commissioning, on-site and remote technical support, feedstock evaluation, end product sales and marketing Hires operators, secures feedstock and bulking agent, builds first batches, keeps records
5. Ongoing support Troubleshooting, new feedstock requirements, meeting regulations, facility maintenance and repair Runs the facility, reports to regulators, calls on support as needed

The title of this guide says “contract”, but SG’s pages do not say at which phase a purchase contract is normally signed. In practice an owner may engage SG for early advice, sign for a pilot or a lease, and sign for the permanent system later. Ask SG to mark the contract points on this sequence for your project.

Phase 1: Project initiation

SG’s project initiation page carries the heading “Knowledge and advice to help set the foundation” and lists eight services: a pre-project checklist, feasibility studies, site selection, financial evaluation, technical evaluation, environmental compliance, grant support and RFP assistance. The page gives the list only. It does not describe the content of each service, so ask SG for a written scope for those you want.

What the owner does. This phase runs on the owner’s information:

  • tons per year by feedstock, now and at build-out
  • contamination levels and seasonal swings
  • one or more candidate sites, with ownership, area, drainage, power and neighbors
  • the outlets you expect for finished compost
  • your funding sources and the approval steps they impose

A caution for public owners. If a federal award pays for the project, 2 CFR 200.319(b) requires that contractors who develop or draft specifications, requirements, statements of work or invitations for bids be excluded from competing on those procurements. A vendor that helps write your RFP may therefore be unable to bid on it. Decide early whether you want SG as an adviser on the solicitation or as a proposer, and check your state and local rules as well. The RFP guide covers this in detail.

Phase 2: Facilities planning

SG’s consulting page describes this phase under the line “people and planning that propel projects forward”. It has four parts.

Pre-design

SG says that “before engineers begin the design process, we outline the facility requirements (number and size of composting bunkers/heaps, equipment needs, material flow, etc.)” so that the design matches the owner’s operating goals. SG’s facility planning text adds capacity targets, throughput rates, site layout needs, regulatory considerations and feedstock characteristics. The output is a basis of design that your engineer can take forward.

This is also the point to settle the layout: SG BUNKER, SG HEAP® or SG MOBILE. The system comparison guide sets out the choice.

Permitting

SG’s consulting page describes “assistance with the permit process, including assisting with necessary documentation for solid waste permits, air quality permits, stormwater permits, and any other regulatory approvals required”. The word is assistance. SG’s pages do not say that SG applies for or holds permits, so plan for the owner or operator to be the applicant and the permit holder. Ask SG which documents it prepares for each application. See SG’s permitting and engineering support page for the service itself.

Demonstration or proof of concept

Where “regulators or stakeholders require a demonstration”, SG says it helps “set up and run pilot composting demonstrations (often using our SG MOBILE System) to prove the concept and gather data for approval”. The pilots and demos page says a pilot runs “actual batches using your feedstocks to generate performance metrics for permits, grants, or board approval”, and that on-site commissioning and training are included. SG describes SG MOBILE as installed in days to weeks, depending on the site.

The owner provides the pad, the feedstock, loader time and people to be trained. Agree before the pilot starts which measurements the regulator or funder will accept, and who pays for any third-party sampling.

Retrofit of an existing facility

For an existing compost yard, SG says it provides “guidance on converting it to SG Advanced Composting™ Technology” and will “create a plan to integrate new technology and upgrade your entire process”. The owner’s main task in a retrofit is phasing: keeping the site receiving material while pads and aeration are rebuilt.

Phase 3: Facilities construction

SG’s facilities construction page lists two services: “Design/Engineering” and “Installation Guidance”. SG’s consulting page describes the design approach as shaped by “feedstocks, climate, throughput targets, regulatory obligations, and community expectations”, with odor and emission control, stormwater management and operating efficiency considered from the start. SG’s How It Works page names the aeration floor options as “in-ground trenching or on-grade pipe”.

“Installation guidance” is the phrase to read closely. SG’s pages do not state that SG performs earthworks, paving, concrete, electrical service or drainage construction. Assume those sit with the owner’s contractors unless the contract says otherwise.

A scope checklist to settle before signing:

  1. Who seals the civil, structural and electrical drawings?
  2. Who builds the pad, the aeration floor, and the leachate and stormwater works?
  3. Who supplies and installs blowers, piping, sensors and the control hardware?
  4. Who supplies the GORE® Cover and the cover handling equipment?
  5. Who provides power to the blower locations, or is SG SOLAR® in scope?
  6. Who is responsible for inspections and for corrections after them?
  7. What defines completion of installation, and who signs it off?

SG’s FAQ page gives one schedule figure for this phase: complete SG BUNKER installations are typically online within 6 to 12 months, depending on site and permitting. The same page says SG HEAP systems “can launch in weeks”. SG publishes no phase-by-phase durations, and permitting time is set by the agencies, not by the vendor.

Phase 4: Commissioning, training and startup

SG groups this under “facilities operations: training, education, and support for a successful launch”. The listed services are operations training, commissioning, on-site technical support, remote technical support, feedstock evaluation, and end product sales and marketing.

What commissioning should prove. SG’s pages do not publish a commissioning protocol, so write the acceptance tests into the contract. For a covered ASP system, a reasonable set is:

  • every blower runs and responds to the controller
  • every temperature and oxygen probe reads and logs
  • alerts reach the people who need them
  • the first batches reach and hold the time and temperature your permit requires
  • reports export in the form your regulator accepts

For biosolids, the federal benchmark for the aerated static pile method is 55 degrees Celsius or higher for three days, set out in Appendix B to 40 CFR Part 503. SG says its process is designed to meet the EPA Part 503 PFRP time and temperature requirements. The first batches are where your own records show it.

The control system at startup. The SG COMPOST CONTROL™ System page describes a cloud-based platform that tracks temperature, oxygen and blower metrics, sends alerts by email, text or dashboard, stores recipe settings for different feedstocks and climate conditions, and exports compliance reports. During commissioning the owner’s staff should be the ones logged in and running it, with SG alongside.

What the owner does. Hire or assign operators before commissioning, not after. Have feedstock and bulking agent on site in the quantities the first batches need. Name one person who owns the records from day one.

Phase 5: Ongoing support after startup

SG’s operator training and support page says its technicians offer “ongoing support services for the life of your composting system with an extended service contract”, including “routine maintenance guidance and prompt troubleshooting”. It names three typical cases: fine-tuning equipment, adjusting to a new feedstock, and component repairs. The consulting page describes the extended support contract as optional.

The services page lists four ongoing items: troubleshooting, new feedstock requirements, meeting regulations, and facility maintenance and repair. Remote support depends on the control system’s remote access, which SG describes as available from any device.

Questions to settle for this phase:

  • What is included without an extended support contract, and for how long?
  • What are the response commitments for remote and on-site help?
  • Which parts should the owner hold on site?
  • What is the expected service life of the cover under your conditions, and what is the replacement process?

SG’s article series on long-term technology decisions is useful background here. Start with Part 2 on what happens after startup.

Where this delivery model does not fit

SG’s pages describe a technology supplier that designs, guides installation, commissions, trains and supports. That suits an owner who will operate the facility or hire an operator. It is a weaker fit in three cases:

  • You want one firm to design, build and operate under a single contract. SG’s pages do not offer contract operation. You would need a design-build-operate lead with SG as technology supplier beneath it.
  • You want a fixed turnkey construction price from the technology vendor. SG’s construction page lists design, engineering and installation guidance only. SG uses the word turnkey for its SG MOBILE leasing package, not for permanent construction.
  • Your procurement rules bar early vendor involvement. Much of the value SG describes sits in the pre-design and pilot phases. If your rules prevent that contact, you lose it, and a neutral consultant should do the early work.

FAQ

Does SG build the facility?

SG’s facilities construction page lists design and engineering and installation guidance. It does not say that SG performs civil construction. Expect your own contractors to build the pad, drainage and electrical service to SG’s design input, with SG guiding the installation of the composting system. Confirm the exact split in the contract.

Who holds the permits on an SG project?

The owner or operator of the facility. SG’s consulting page describes assistance with the permit process and with documentation for solid waste, air quality and stormwater permits. SG also runs pilot demonstrations where a regulator wants site data. The application, the fees and the compliance duty remain with the permit holder.

How long does an SG project take?

SG publishes two figures. Its FAQ page says complete SG BUNKER installations are typically online within 6 to 12 months, depending on site and permitting, and that SG HEAP systems can launch in weeks. SG describes SG MOBILE as installed in days to weeks, depending on the site. SG gives no durations for feasibility, permitting or commissioning. Permit timing depends on your agencies.

Is a pilot required before a full-scale project?

No. SG presents a pilot as an option for proof of concept, stakeholder education and data collection for grants or permits. It is most useful when the feedstock is unusual, when a regulator asks for a demonstration, or when a board needs evidence before funding. The Prince George’s County profile is SG’s example of a pilot that led to a permanent facility.

What training does SG provide?

SG lists operations training and commissioning among its launch services, and its pilot page states that on-site commissioning and training are included with a pilot. The pages do not give a syllabus or a number of training days. Ask for a written training plan covering pile building, cover handling, the control system and recordkeeping.

Next step

Ask SG for a phase-by-phase scope for your project, with the owner’s tasks and SG’s tasks listed side by side and the schedule assumptions stated. Start at the contact page.

Related guides

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