What Our Clients are Saying
John Van Haren
O&M Manager
We hired Rigsbee Engineering as an owner’s representative to help us navigate a battery energy storage system (BESS) safety upgrade. We needed Ryan’s expertise to help us manage our fire protection (FP) contractor and ensure that the design intent and path to NFPA 855 compliance was not only in line with the code but also the most efficient and cost-effective design. Ryan was able to help us evaluate different system options while working with the FP contractor on design choices and helping them to get past hurdles with the city and fire department (FD) during plan check and the approvals process. There were several issues that Ryan found solutions to quickly where others could not. For instance, he helped us to find the correct permit information, which was listed under an old address, enabling the FD to move forward with the plan check process that had been at a standstill. Additionally, when the FD arbitrarily decided to require a 0.6 gpm/sf sprinkler density (which would have been a significant cost implication including a total system redesign and addition of a fire pump), Ryan was able to reason with the FD. He provided them with code requirements and design intent, keeping the design at 0.3 gpm/sf,which led to plan check approval on a pre-action fire sprinkler system for an indoor BESS in CA. This was just the first of many projects Ryan worked with us on --he is currently working with us on additional projects in California, and he will be helping with our fleet across the country.
Jim Beeman
Plant Manager
I was referred to Rigsbee Engineering in May 2021 by an architectural consultant we were working with at the time. Our facility had complex fire and building code compliance challenges and needed an engineering consultant to guide us through those challenges. From the start, I found Ryan to be highly qualified, highly responsive, personable and proactive in his approach to the project. Early on, he established constructive relationships with the Moreno Valley Fire Prevention Bureau and Building and Safety staff members to understand and work through their specific requirements in the most efficient and timely way possible. Ryan took the time to get to know my team and our unique circumstances, always keeping the best interests of our company in mind throughout the project. I would not hesitate to recommend Ryan Rigsbee to anyone requiring code consulting support for their operation.
Michael Koster
CEO
I have worked with Ryan Rigsbee for several years on many cases, the most poignant of which involved a luxury cabin that caught fire due to vapors from a newly stained deck and a pilot light of a propane refrigerator. During this fire event, there were significant wind forces and I hired Ryan to create a computational wind dynamics model to show how wind acts on the windward and leeward sides of the building. Ryan built a 3- dimensional model with the exact geometry of the building including wind orientation and speed based on NOAA data during the fire loss event. The outputs and report from this modelling exercise far exceeded any other expert’s engineering calculations and scientifically confirmed the characteristics of wind and flow direction on the windward and leeward side of the building. I have recommended Ryan Rigsbee more times than I can remember and will continue to work with him on my cases.
Orland Obtera
Project Manager
The team at Rigsbee Engineering, and specifically Ryan, have been instrumental in the progress, production and design of fire and life safety systems in a Metro essential facility in California. The design build project team had gaps between the civil teamand the fire contractor, which is why we brought Ryan on to the team mid-project. He helped us to define the problem and then provided the solutions. For instance, the team did not have a member that could find a design solution for the connection of the city water through a remote underground fire tank and connecting to the fire pump in the building due to specific constraints of the pump and geometry of the site (the elevation change is significant and the pump well is required to be gravity fed). Ryan designed an effective solution that was flexible enough to redesign components of the system to reduce material delivery times. The project is on a tight budget, and Ryan is always available to jump in to provide solutions. He has been and continues to be an integral part of this project team.