Facility Perspectives v2#1 March 2008

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facility integrating people – process – place VOLUME 2, NUMBER 1, 2008 MARCH – MAY Official magazine of the Facility Management Association of Australia Ltd Print Post Approved 340742 00155 $9.95 inc GST ANTARCTICA Renewable Energy at the Edge of the World The Next Step in Sustainability – The Greening of Existing Buildings The Commercial Buyers Guide to Renewable Energy FM Events: The Power of Three Preview of FMA Australia’s premier event ideaction 2008 – Enabling Sustainable Communities

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Volume 2 Number 1 March 2008

Transcript of Facility Perspectives v2#1 March 2008

Page 1: Facility Perspectives v2#1 March 2008

facility

i n t e g r a t i n g p e o p l e – p r o c e s s – p l a c eVOLUME 2, NUMBER 1, 2008 MARCH – MAY

Offi cial magazine of the Facility Management Association of Australia Ltd Print Post Approved 340742 00155 $9.95 inc GST

ANTARCTICA Renewable Energy

at the Edge of

the World

The Next Stepin Sustainability – The Greening of Existing Buildings

The Commercial Buyers Guide to Renewable Energy

FM Events: The Power of Three

Preview of FMA Australia’spremier event ideaction 2008 – Enabling Sustainable Communities

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ISS FACILITY SERVICES: A GLOBAL COMPANY WITH A LOCAL ETHOS ISS Facility Services is one of the world’s largest facility services

companies. It has a global workforce of over 435,000 personnel in

50 countries and annual revenue in excess of AU$15 billion.

The rapid growth of the company over the past 20 years largely

stems from its ability to draw upon its global experience to deliver

high quality services in the many countries where it operates.

More recently, its success has been driven by its ability to provide

integrated facility services that provides its clients with service

solutions that are even more efficient through process and labour

optimisation.

ISS Facility Services entered the Australian market in 2002 through

the acquisition of Flick Pest Control, an Australian-renowned brand

name. Since then, ISS has purchased a broad range of companies

and has extended its capacity to provide a full scope of Facility

Services. In Australia, ISS is a multi-service organisation employing

over 22,000 people in the provision of facility management,

maintenance, cleaning, security, non-clinical support services for the

health industry, grounds maintenance and washroom services. It has

a customer base of more than 100,000 clients and annual revenue

of more than AU$700 million.

ISS is one of a handful of companies globally that offers a wide

range of service solutions that can be combined to meet all

of a customer’s service and support functions into one single

solution.

ISS is the largest provider of cleaning services globally and in

Australia. For more than 70 years, ISS has continually raised the

standard for cleaning services throughout the world.

ISS Security is the second largest provider of security services

in Australia. Core Services for the Security division include

general security guarding, emergency response, consulting

services, operational risk management, development and

implementation of safety plans and a focus on service supply to

the Australian Aviation and Maritime Security Sector.

ISS Facilities Management Services is a division which provides

a management structure and operational solutions with a

management team to cater for any facility service requirement

a client might have.

ISS Grounds and Maintenance Services is a growing division

within the company and currently has 160 staff operating in

NSW and Victoria.

As part of Route Based Services, ISS Pest Control enjoys

national coverage and provides preventative and reactionary

services for a large commercial and domestic base.

ISS Washroom Services is one of only two national providers for

this service in Australia. With a business-to-business customer

base of 28,000, ISS is continually looking for a more advanced

product range and now proudly introduces ISS Pure Water.

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EDITORS COMMENTS

MAX WINTER

An eventful year aheadWelcome to the March 2008 issue of Facility Perspectives

Sustainable development is very muchat the heart of this issue, with a hostof articles and perspectives that place

the questions and also some of the practicalsolutions for the built environment, on thetable.

As we hear news worldwide of extremeweather events with an intensity anddamage on such a massive scale that itchallenges our comprehension, it is nosurprise to see that topics such as climatechange, reducing carbon emissions andwhat we as managers of the builtenvironment can do, has taken the centrestage of our awareness.

This year’s event calendar alonecontains Green Cities February 10-11Darling Harbour; CRC for ConstructionInnovation’s Clients Driving Innovation:Benefiting from Innovation March 12-14Gold Coast, which contains a seminarstream on Sustainable Construction for theFuture; the British Institute of FacilityManagement (BIFM) 2008 annualconference Sustainable FM – Meeting the

Challenge March 18-19 Keble College,Oxford U.K; the Australian Institute ofRefrigeration Air Conditioning and Heating(AIRAH) – ARBS 2008 April 21-23 MECCMelbourne; Facility ManagementAssociation of Australia (FMA Australia)ideaction 2008 Conference May 7-9 GoldCoast, which carries Enabling SustainableCommunities as the Conference theme; SB-08 September 21-25 MECC Melbourne, theWorld Sustainable Building Conferenceseries which is held every three years; andthe International Facility ManagementAssociation (IFMA) World Workplace 2008Conference October 15-17 Dallas, TexasUSA.

The Facility Perspectives editorial crewwill keep you posted on the major topicthreads of these events, and also articles ofinterest from overseas as we strengthen oureditorial alliances with kindred publicationsoverseas.

Max WinterEditor

Level 6, 313 La Trobe Street, Melbourne VIC 3000Tel: (03) 8641 6666 Fax: (03) 9640 0374

Email: [email protected] Web: www.fma.com.au

Front Cover: Sustainable Energy at Mawson, Antarctica.Photography: Peter MacGee

Published by:

ABN 30 007 224 204Editor-in-Chief: Ric Navarro

Layouts: Anthony Costin

National Sales Manager: Phil Haratsis

430 William Street, Melbourne VIC 3000Tel: (03) 9274 4201 Fax: (03) 9329 5295Email: [email protected]

Web: www.executivemedia.com.au

Offices also in Adelaide, Brisbane and Sydney

Editorial: WinterComms

Director & Editor: Max Winter

Assistant Editor/National Communications Manager:Melanie Drummond

Staff Writer/Communications Officer:Bianca Frost

WinterComms Sydney Correspondent:Marie Geissler, Geissler Communications

Editorial enquiries:Tel: (02) 4471 1252 or (03) 8417 6577

Email: [email protected]

Stock Images: Photo Disc, Jupiter Images,Digital Vision, Creatas.

Printed by Superprint Pty Ltd

The editor, publisher, printer and their staff and agents are notresponsible for the accuracy or correctness of the text ofcontributions contained in this publication or for theconsequences of any use made of the products, and theinformation referred to in this publication. The editor, publisher,printer and their staff and agents expressly disclaim all liability ofwhatsoever nature for any consequences arising from any errorsor omissions contained in this publication whether caused to apurchaser of this publication or otherwise. The views expressed inthe articles and other material published herein do notnecessarily reflect the views of the editor and publisher or theirstaff or agents. The responsibility for the accuracy of informationis that of the individual contributors and neither the publisher oreditors can accept responsibility for the accuracy of informationwhich is supplied by others. It is impossible for the publisher andeditors to ensure that the advertisements and other materialherein comply with the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth). Readersshould make their own inquiries in making any decisions, andwhere necessary, seek professional advice.

©2008 Executive Media Pty Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproductionin whole or part, without written permission is strictly prohibited.

2008 Awards for ExcellenceNOW OPEN!

Nominate yourself, a colleague or a project for the2008 Awards for Excellence, to be presented atideaction ’08 on the Gold Coast.

There are four award categories:

3 FMA Australia & Rider Levett Bucknall – Industry Award

3 FMA Australia & Transfield Services – Environmental Achievement Award

3 FMA Australia & Tungsten – Young FM Practitioner Award

3 FMA Australia & Culligan Water – Facility Manager of the Year Award

All nominations must be received by 17.00 on Monday 31 March 2008.Call Rosie Bennett at FMA Australia on 03 8641 6666 for more details.

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IN THIS ISSUE

20 The Next Step in Sustainability:The greening of Existing Buildings

Having taken some time for ‘green’ initiatives to surface on the general public’s radar, newand exciting construction projects continue to make headlines with an array of leadingtechnology building ‘smarts’. Thankfully, the role of the facility manager in ensuring these‘smarts’ deliver in the ongoing operation of these buildings is beginning to achieve theattention and recognition it deserves. But is this all there is to the ESD equation? FacilityPerspectives’ Max Winter investigates.

2 Editors Comment 4 FMA Chairman’s Address 5 FMA CEO’s Address 7 Fast Facts & News

33 MANAGING AN AUSTRALIAN ICON – Brisbane City Town Hall

47 ESSENTIAL SAFETY MEASURES Building Update

52 FM AROUND THE GLOBE Facebooking up to the Future

72 SOFTWARE CASE STUDY The Business Challenge in Managing Essential Safety Measures

74 PROPERTY FOCUS Supporting business objectives through effective CRE

16 FM EVENTSFMA Australia ideaction PreviewEarly Bird registration extended until 14 March 2008FMA Australia’s premier event ideaction 2008 – Enabling SustainableCommunities will canvas the key issues concerning corporateaccountability in the sustainable performance built assets. Participatein an engaging and thought-provoking program, enjoy some fantasticsocial and networking events, and make the most of the relaxedoutdoor lifestyle on the beautiful Gold Coast.

27 ENERGY & THE ENVIRONMENTBuyers Guide to Renewable Energy. Bianca Frost investigates some of the myths and misnomerssurrounding so-called “green energy” to assist you in selecting theright product, at the right price, for your facility.

36 FM EVENTSBritish Facility Managers rise to the challengeThis year the British Institute of Facility Management (BIFM) AnnualConference (March 18-19) topic is Sustainable FM – Meeting theChallenge. Bianca Frost spoke to BIFM CEO Ian Fielder about theissues, trends and challenges currently facing the British FM industry.

39 FM LEADCritical Maintenance – Facility Management in today’s HospitalsFor facility managers responsible for hospitals, effective maintenanceis critical, 24/7. Melanie Drummond spoke to James Smith, facilitymanager at Mount Private Hospital in Perth, about the issues facingfacility managers in the HealthCare system.

43 ESD & THE ENVIRONMENTBecoming carbon neutral – the future is now Stephen Hennessy, Director of sustainability strategists for the builtenvironment at Steensen Varming discusses the issues around carbonneutrality.

49 FM COMMENTSustainability in the workplace: How green is green?The widely held belief is that the commercial and public sectors are atthe vanguard of the charge to address climate change. But are theyreally doing as much as they say? Mark Phillips reports.

54 ESD & THE ENVIRONMENTRenewable Energy at the Edge of the WorldMelanie Drummond interviews Australian Antarctic Division EngineersJeremy Bonnice and Peter Magill about their involvement withAntactica's energy projects, enabling the delivery of renewable energysystems to the edge of the world.

60 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FMA Australia Accreditation – Leading the Industry ForwardFMA Australia’s Facility Management Accreditation System (FMAS) hasbeen designed to provide facility professionals with industryrecognition of their skills, experience and knowledge. MelanieDrummond spoke to AFM1 accredited Edward Japutra and his mentorMichael Rowlands about the process of accreditation and mentoring.

66 FM ACTION AGENDAThe work of the Sustainability Working Group. The FM Action Agenda’s Sustainability working group is steadfastlyworking toward their objectives. FM Action Agenda’s Deputy ChairStephen Ballesty reports on their progress.

68 PROJECT PROFILEWorkplace 6 – Sydney’s Green Star SuccessWorkplace 6 has achieved Sydney’s first ever 6 Star Green Star Ratingfor a commercial office building. Melanie Drummond spoke toengineering consultants Waterman AHW about the contribution of thebuilding’s leading edge engineering systems.

76 FM EVENTSThe Power of ThreeAt a recent AIRAH forum three top-flight researchers unveiled thefindings of a comprehensive study that for the first time ever revealsthe views of Australian building users on ‘green’ buildings. MarkPhillips attended the launch and files this report.

REGULARS

FEATURES

3 WA Focus: Facilities Management in Western Australia3 FM in the Retail Sector3 FM around the Globe: Beijing's Water Cube3 FMA Australia ideaction 2008 Report

Next Issue

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i n t e g r a t i n g p e o p l e – p r o c e s s – p l a c e

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CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE

We will be focusing on building even stronger relationships withgovernment bodies and industry leaders in order to advocatethe significant role that facility management plays in the

Australian economy and ensure that the industry is represented in thepolicy decision making process. FMA Australia has already begun toaddress this matter by issuing a pre-budget submission to the federalgovernment for a single, national energy efficiency rating system whichwill be the first of many communications to take place this year.

In particular, as many of you will know, there is a huge focus on theissue of sustainability and the significance of facility management indelivering sustainable outcomes. This is a big concern for the industry inAustralia where we have the highest per capita emissions of all industrialcountries.

To this end, I was delighted to be invited by the United Nations toparticipate in an online discussion on ‘Achieving SustainableDevelopment’. The purpose of the discussion is to convene a panel ofexperts, practitioners and policy makers from within and outside of theUN, to discuss the challenges that countries face in integrating the goalsof economic growth, social development and environmental protection,with the aim of establishing policy initiatives that can help those countriesto achieve sustainable development.

In particular we’ll be identifying the barriers to integratingsustainability in development strategies and implementing thosestrategies, as well as how we can support countries to effectively utilisethe good practices of countries that have made significant progress inpursuing the goal of sustainable development.

This is a fantastic opportunity to promote the Australian facilitymanagement perspective to an international forum and ensure that weare adequately represented. I intend to address the difficulties ofestablishing an integrated approach to sustainability and energyefficiency and discuss the three key areas that facility managers can lookat to reduce carbon emissions and increase cost savings:3 Improvements in the management and use of existing infrastructure3 Sustainable retro-fitting of existing buildings3 Sustainable design of new buildings and re-developments

It goes without saying that, of all the building and constructionprofessions, facility managers are best positioned to have the greatestinfluence over sustainable management practices, from planning anddesign through to disposal. This is a key element that I will be

advocating throughout the discussion, in addition to the need toestablish a comprehensive approach to sustainability throughout the lifecycle of facilities.

The outcome of this forum will constitute an important contributiontowards this year’s Annual Ministerial Review on the same theme, whichwill be held in New York in July 2008 during the Substantive Session ofthe Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

The FMA Australia ideaction conference will this year offer its owncontribution to the sustainable development arena, the focus being‘Enabling Sustainable Communities’. I’m pleased to say that it’s shapingup to be a fantastic event, offering some real solutions and cost-savingideas to considerably reduce the carbon emissions in your buildingportfolios and to address some of the key issues facing you as facilitymanagers in the current environment.

We’ve just finalised the conference program which you’ll find later onin the magazine, so make sure you take a look as we’ve secured somehighly influential speakers who will tackle the topic of sustainability from arange of thought-provoking perspectives.

Of course, the conference is being held on the Gold Coast so therewill also be plenty of opportunities to relax, unwind and make the mostof your surroundings. We have organised an entertaining social program,including the ever-popular Awards for Excellence ceremony at the GalaDinner. You can now make your nomination for one of the four awardcategories so make sure you visit our website, www.fma.com.au, for theawards criteria and nomination form. You’ll also find more informationabout the conference itself and the ability to register online. I lookforward to seeing as many of you there as possible for what promises tobe a highlight in the facility management industry calendar.

As members of FMA Australia it’s important to remember that we areall ambassadors for the Association. We can all play a part in furtheringthe interests of facility management and the work that the Association isdoing whenever the opportunity arises, and must ensure that we do sofor the benefit of the industry as a whole, in order that facilitymanagement receives the recognition that it deserves.

Enjoy this edition of Facility Perspectives.Andrew McEwanChairman

Chairman’s Message

Welcome to the fifth edition of Facility Perspectives and the first for thenew year. 2008 promises to be a big year for FMA Australia and thefacility management industry in general, one in which we can build onthe successes of 2007 and continue to advocate and grow the industry atevery opportunity.

ANDREW MCEWAN

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CEO’S ADDRESS

Iam delighted that at the beginning of my second year as CEO we aregoing from strength to strength and I believe that members will soonbe reaping even greater benefits of being a member of the

Association. We are continually seeking to improve our offering and to ensure

that it is relevant and valuable to the facility management industry. Alarge part of this is helping to further the interests of facility managersthrough representation at a government level.

With this in mind, and in response to the government’s invitation, wehave made a submission which calls for a standardised energy efficiencyrating system to be implemented at a national level.

The largest growth area in carbon emissions between 1990 and2004 was the energy sector, which accounted for 68.6% of Australia’s netemissions. It therefore follows that energy efficiency is of criticalimportance to reducing our emissions. This is particularly relevant to thefacility management industry, as emissions from commercial buildingsaccount for 12-13% of net emissions and 84% of a building’s emissionsstem from heating, ventilation, air conditioning and lighting. These areareas that are directly under the control of facility management,demonstrating that the industry is of vital significance to reducingemissions from commercial buildings.

The submission indicates that there are many ways that facilitymanagement can contribute to energy emission savings in commercialbuildings, such as:3 existing buildings could achieve energy emissions savings of about

10% through improved management alone;3 sustainable retro-fitting has the potential to achieve energy savings

of up to 50%; and,3 fully integrated new building design has the potential to use up to

65% less energy than conventional buildings.Given that these targets all require effective management to be

achievable, it’s clear that the role of facility managers is crucial in thisprocess.

There are currently eight methods of assessing building energyefficiency potential across Australia and four that rate efficiencyperformance.

It is believed that the number of rating schemes confuses thesituation for anyone wishing to assess the energy efficiency of theirbuilding. There is no consistency or basis for comparison between the

existing schemes and no nationally accepted criteria for measuring andassessing efficiency. Perhaps the most important factor affecting us is thatthe current systems do not effectively recognise the performance of thefacility management industry.

In order to maximise energy efficiency potential we are calling for asingle, national energy efficiency rating system which rates the potentialof the infrastructure and then rates performance against potential. Weare proposing that each building gets a rating for the:3 building’s potential (owner rating);3 performance of FM areas (FM rating); and3 performance of the tenancy (tenant rating).

These ratings should then be combined to produce an overall rating.This kind of rating ensures that each area of building management isrecognised individually and issues can be more easily identified andaddressed at the correct level.

It also creates incentives for each area to achieve maximumpotential, thereby effectively decreasing the level of energy emissionssignificantly more than if the system remains as it is.

The proposed single national system for measuring energy efficiencywill not only allow accurate comparisons between buildings in terms ofsustainability, but will give greater recognition of the impact that thefacility management industry has on building efficiency and help to raisethe profile of the industry in the wider community.

We are also submitting a response to the Department of ClimateChange and Water’s ‘National Greenhouse and Energy ReportingSystem, Regulations Policy Paper’. This paper outlines the government’splan to create a national framework to allow corporations to reportgreenhouse gas emissions and actions to reduce emissions. Ourresponse will consider the needs of the facility management industry andensure that the collective voice of facility managers is given dueconsideration in the formation of this system.

Our focus is firmly on sustainable development and thecorresponding advocacy of the facility management industry. In the nextissue I hope to be able to update you further on the progress of theseissues and on other projects that are in the pipeline.

I look forward to seeing you at ideaction ’08. David DuncanChief Executive Officer

CEO’s Address

2008 has begun on a very positive and proactive note for FMA Australia,a position which we will be striving to continue and improve throughoutthe year.

DAVID DUNCAN

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FAST FACTS + NEWS

Melbourne Convention Centreawarded 6 Star Green StarRating

The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) has awarded the newMelbourne Convention Centre a 6 Star Green Star rating for its innovativeenvironmental design, under the Green Star – Convention Centre PILOTrating tool.

6 Star Green Star certification demonstrates World Leadership,indicating that the Melbourne Convention Centre has set a new globalstandard for Convention Centre design.

“The Green Building Council congratulates Plenary Group on its 6 StarGreen Star rating,” said Green Building Council of Australia Chairman TonyArnel. “By raising their green standards to the highest level during thebidding and design process, Plenary have demonstrated their strongcommitment to a sustainable future.”

“The Victorian Government should also be congratulated for theirleadership in setting a requirement for the Melbourne Convention Centreto be green,” continued Mr Arnel.

“By commissioning the development of the Green Star – ConventionCentre PILOT tool specifically for this project, the Victorian Government hasdemonstrated unsurpassed commitment to the greening of Melbourne’sbuilt environment.”

The Melbourne Convention Centre was awarded points for innovationin recognition of its pioneering use of chilled floor slabs in conjunction withdisplacement ventilation, as well as the installation of a backwatertreatment plant in a large public building, and for driving productinnovation in the supply of new sustainably harvested timber veneeredboard.

“The scale of the project has provided the opportunity for thedevelopment of new and innovative green solutions,” said Mr Arnel. “TheConvention Centre PILOT tool will now form the basis of the GBCA’s newGreen Star - Public Buildings rating tool, to be developed in 2008.”

He added, “The project was very strong overall. For example, full

points were awarded in the Management category, recognising Plenary’scommitment to managing the environmental performance of the productboth during construction and in the ongoing operation of the facility. TheMelbourne Convention Centre is arguably the best of what is a smallnumber of green Convention Centres internationally, demonstrating thatVictoria, and Australia more generally, is leading the way in green building.”

The new Melbourne Convention Centre is due to open in 2009 andhas already attracted major international business events.

Woods Bagot bag awardsAustralian design and consultancy firm, Woods Bagot, is the recipient of

two prestigious Emirates Glass LEAF Awards for its work on the new QantasFirst Lounge at Sydney Airport and the City Central Tower 1 building inAdelaide.

Considered one of the highest accolades in the architectural calendar,the LEAF Awards recognise and reward excellence within the architecturaland design field.

With nearly 150 entries from 33 countries, the 2007 Awards wereannounced on November 29 last year in London. There was keeninternational competition for the Awards with many leading names in thearchitectural and design fields and several new and less well-knownorganisations vying for the coveted awards in eleven categories.

Woods Bagot was first founded in Adelaide in 1869 by Edward Woods,and now has offices across Australian, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

The Qantas First Lounge won the LEAF International Interior DesignAward with the judges applauding its “clever and thoughtful response tothe architect’s work”.

The City Central Tower 1 building was awarded a commendation in itscategory of Focus on Sustainable Environmental Ability. The judges wereparticularly impressed by “the manner in which the architect was able tocreate something principled in a commercial environment”.

For a full report of winners and nominees, visit www.designbuild-network.com/awards/

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FAST FACTS + NEWS

Cashing in oil for the World’s first carbon-neutral city

Smartsoftware announces new solution for architects and engineers

A vision of a carbon-free future was revealed at the World Future EnergySummit in Abu Dhabi on January 21, 2008.

With population increases, especially in coastal urban areas, placingincreasing pressure on the natural environment through habitat loss, wastedisposal and pollution, the great challenge of the 21st century is to find waysof dealing with the growing demand for energy, land, water and otherproducts dependent on natural resources.

It is perhaps then less of an irony than a shrewd business strategy, thatone of the worlds’ richest oil producing countries, Abu Dhabi, has revealedplans for a US$15 billion zero-carbon, zero-waste, car-free city.

The city is called Masdar – which in Arabic translates into the “source”, areference to the sun.

Housed within six-square kilometres, electricity will be generated byphotovoltaic panels, while cooling will be provided via concentrated solarpower. Water will be provided through a solar-powered desalination plant.Landscaping within the city and crops grown outside the walled city will beirrigated with grey water and treated waste water produced by the city’s watertreatment plant. Cars will be prohibited from entering the city, and internaltransport will be restricted to walking, bicycles or rides on small, electricvehicles that run on underground paths.

Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar said, “Masdar has asimple promise – to be the world’s centre for future energy solutions. It is notabout discussion. It is about action.”

“I am very pleased with the progress Masdar has made over the past 21months. We are making bold but strategic investments; applying scale andcapital to drive down the cost of renewable energy, accelerating innovation,sponsoring research and building human capital.

“Our promise is as multi-faceted as the problem, which is why we havedeployed a basket of solutions to develop and deliver sustainable solutions tomeet the world’s future energy needs.”

The city of Masdar is part of the government’s larger Masdar Initiative, amulti-million dollar investment company specifically set up to “explore,develop and commercialise” future energy sources.

The ambitious programme involves a series of forward-looking projects inAbu Dhabi, West Asia and beyond. Its focus is on renewable energy projectsincluding solar, wind and hydrogen power generation, sustainabledevelopment and planning including cityscapes, and education and researchinto future energy technologies that are environmentally benign.

Already, the Masdar Clean Technology Fund, a US$250-millioninvestment fund, has concluded its first year with strong deal flows and hasdeployed “most of its capital,” one year ahead of schedule. A further US$1billion fund is also in the pipeline and a partnership has just been announcedbetween Masdar and BP to build a US$500m industrial-scale, 500MWhydrogen-fired power plant, the largest of its kind in the world.

It is envisaged that Masdar city, planned close to the Abu Dhabi airport,

will eventually grow to have over 50,000 residents and 1,500 businesses whencompleted in 2016, and be home to international business and leading mindsin the future energy field.

Lord Foster, internationally renowned architect and Masdar designer, saysthat Masdar will be “design in a holistic sense” and “be an inspirationalmodel.” The city will be at least 70% less energy intensity than a conventionalcity, and be laid out so as to keep “cool in a warm climate,” with a south-east-north-west street alignment. Further, the city will be of “high density,” with noseparate zones as such for industry, culture space and residences et al.

Every roof would be an energy source at Masdar, and over half theresidents would have access to green spaces within a minute’s walkingdistance. The architecture would be “timeless”, combining a mix of traditionalArabic design forms and elements such as courtyards, splashing fountains anddomed roofs with modern, state-of-the-art, western skyscrapers.

Besides its goal of carbon and environmental neutrality, the drivingprinciple behind Masdar is to create an urban design model that delivers animproved quality of life, which could then be replicated elsewhere.

Says Dr. Al Jaber: ‘”Masdar City will question conventional patterns ofurban development, and set new benchmarks for sustainability andenvironmentally friendly design – the students, faculty and businesses locatedin Masdar City will not only be able to witness innovation first-hand, but theywill also participate in its development”.

“Masdar is an example of the paradigm shift that is needed. Thestrategic vision of the Abu Dhabi government is a case study in globalleadership. We hope that Masdar City will prove that sustainable living can beaffordable and attractive in all aspects of human living - from businesses andmanufacturing facilities to universities and private homes”.

Link: www.masdaruae.comAlso announced at the World Future Energy Summit in January, was the

establishment of the Zayed Future Energy Prize, funded by the Abu Dhabigovernment, which will award over US$2m dollars annually to honourindividuals and organizations for their excellence and innovation in theinnovation, development and implementation of sustainable energy solutions.

The Zayed Future Energy Prize will be awarded to three individuals ororganisations that have made significant contributions in the global responseto the future of energy. The award is named after the United Arab Emiratesfounding father and conservationist His Highness the late Sheikh Zayed BinSultan Al Nahyan and will be chaired by R.K. Pachuari, Chairman of the NobelPrize winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Projects and innovations in the following fields are eligible fornomination: renewable and sustainable energy; efficient use of traditionalsources of energy; conservation; sustainable energy policy andcommunication and public awareness.

More details on the nomination process and jury composition will bereleased with the call for nominations in April 2008.

Smartsoftware, an international provider of software and service solutionsfor the Engineering, Architectural and Professional Services sector announcedrecently that they have partnered with US software company Newforma tobring an innovative Project Information Management system to the AustralianAEC market.

Newforma’s flagship product, Newforma™ Project Center was designedto create a more productive environment for project-based teams byorganising project information, facilitating information exchange, andenabling efficient project process. This system was developed to addresstime-consuming information searches, disconnected project email, scatteredproject files and awkward handling of transmittals which were among themain sources of disruption, frustration and inefficiency.

Smartsoftware’s research with a dozen leading Australian and NewZealand architectural and engineering firms established that managers easilyidentified with the difficulty of finding the right information quickly and easily,having project specific e-mail disconnected from other project data and theproject team constantly exceeding their Inbox size.

As Mark Hansen, smartsoftware’s General Manager explained, “We sawthat by taking on this innovative product and combining it with our existingbusiness management software, that we could really offer our clientssignificant value. By extending our scope to include Project InformationManagement it allows us to cater for the vast majority of our clients softwareneeds.

Unlike document management systems and extranet collaboration

portals, Newforma Project Center software allows the user to file MicrosoftOffice Outlook email with other project documents without having to move,copy or tag any files. Another function is the software’s ability to search termsin 200 industry file formats, including Outlook and attachments, as well as inthe BIM (Building Information Model) object properties of (AutoCAD) DWGand DWF files. It also provides a seamless way to assign, track and respondto issues as they arise, allows for managing large file transmissions, and mostimportantly “drapes” its solution over a company’s existing infrastructure.Users do not have to stop using their existing applications or reconfigureexisting servers. About smartsoftware

Smartsoftware is an international provider of operational software andservice solutions for the Engineering, Architectural and Professional Servicessector.

Visit www.smartsoftware.net or email [email protected] Newforma Project Center

Newforma® Project Center, Newforma’s flagship product, creates a moreproductive environment for project managers and the project team byorganizing project information, facilitating information exchange, andenabling efficient project processes.

The smartsoftware team will be offering live demonstrations at the Formand Function Expo in Sydney from 10-12 April, 2008.

For more information visit www.smartsoftware.net or [email protected]

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Page 12: Facility Perspectives v2#1 March 2008

10 • fac i l i typerspectives

FAST FACTS + NEWS

Szencorp chooses greywatertreatment system

The award winning Szencorp building at 40 Albert Road SouthMelbourne, in keeping with its policy to use only the best “green”technology to ensure an environmentally sustainable profile for thecommercial office tower, chose Nubian’s GT600 Grey Water TreatmentSystem for the building’s greywater.

The system, which was designed in conjunction with Tiller + Tillerand installed in the basement of the Szencorp Building by SustainablePlumbing Solutions, has already realized excellent water saving results.Capable of treating up to 1,500 litres of grey water a day to class A waterquality without the use of chemicals, “this biological treatment plant hasbeen a welcome feature to our sustainable building” says Tony DoroticState Manager Victoria for Energy Conservation Systems. The OasisGT600 is set up to receive grey water from two showers and ten handbasins, the treated re-cycled water is then used for toilet flushing. It isestimated that the water savings in a year will be around 78,000 litres.

The idea for the sustainability initiatives of the Szencorp Building wasthe vision of Peter Szental, Managing Director of the Szencorp Group ofCompanies. He was concerned that commercial buildings were majorusers of energy and water, and on current projections would account for20% of Australia’s greenhouse emissions by 2010. Deciding to lead byexample in the practical design of the Szencorp building, he hasdemonstrated how they can become more environmentally friendly.

It has achieved the highest possible green rating in Australiaincluding a 6-star GreenStar design rating and 5-star ABGR & 5 StarNabers. Usage of power and water day and night is metered andrecorded providing information for benchmarking against governmentand private rating tools, and vital information for sustainable buildings forthe future.

Key Features of the Szencorp BuildingNatural air flow through out the building – Automated opening

windows, automated louvers and open air meeting spaces.

The first fieldtrial of a CeramicSolid Oxide FuelCell in real lifeconditions inAustralia. The full cellconverts natural gasinto electricitysupplying 90% ofthe hot water and is85% efficient.

A weatherstation that works inunison with theBuildingManagementSystem was installedto control ventilation and provide data for the heating and coolingsystems. The weather station monitors wind speed, wind direction,rainfall, barometric pressure and air temperature.

Lighting design and installation is world’s best practice utilising newgeneration triphosphor and T5 lamps, dimmable DSI ballasts controlledvia an intelligent occupancy based system achieving 1.4 watts per 100lux.

A low energy IT solution which features LCD flat panel Screens,reducing heat-load on the building.

To improve the quality of the indoor environment an energy savingcentral vacuum cleaning system was installed.

An upgrade of the lift controls and lift car to modern standardsensured smoother, safer operation reducing the energy consumption.

The underground car park has CO sensing which operates lightingwhen people are present and the exhaust fans to remove the carbonmonoxide when cars are presents.

For more information and interview with Szencorp or Nubian pleasecontact: Marie Geissler T: 02 9380 5510, E: [email protected]

Gregory Commercial Furniture

Gregory and Damba merge to deliver BETTER choice!

Gregory Commercial Furniture, Australia’s leading ergonomic seating solutions supplier, and Damba

Furniture, a leading New Zealand based commercial furniture manufacturer, recently merged to form the

largest commercial seating design and manufacturing company in ANZ. GCF today offers an extensive range

of Commercial Seating Solutions, as well as a growing range of Workspace Solutions (covering desking and

storage) and Healthcare Solutions (including specialty seating and beds).

While the Australian Design Award winning “Dual Density Posture Support System” remains Australia’s

leading ergonomic seating range (and to this day the only seating system to have received an Australian

Design Award), GCF now offers the added choice of the patented Softcell seating technology, as well as a

range of economical general office seating. Like the Dual Density System, Softcell was also developed by a

physiotherapist to deliver improved posture while seated, and hence greater well-being for users.

Better still, GCF’s Boxta, Inca and CO2 task seating ranges now have GECA (Good Environmental Choice

Australia) certification, with certification pending for other popular ranges. So, with our line-up now

encompassing Gregory, Softcell and Damba products, you’re guaranteed choice, quality, and value.

To find out more, call: 13 ERGO (13 3746) or visit: www.gregoryaustralia.com.au

Page 13: Facility Perspectives v2#1 March 2008

fac i l i typerspectives • 11

FAST FACTS + NEWS

The retiring type?

Not yet, apparently

A new Australian Bureau of Statistics report shows that Australiansare not just working longer because they want to, but also becausethey have to.

Rising interest rates, inflation and grocery prices combined withfalling stockmarkets and superannuation values, are just some of thechallenges facing Australia’s ageing workforce.

While impressive wage growth in some sectors and lowunemployment levels across the country generally bode well for theAustralian economy in times of financial and market unrest overseas, itseems Australian workers are not only working longer, but retiring later.

A recent Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) report shows of the7.4 million people aged 45 years and over who had, at some time,worked for two weeks or more, 4 million (54%) were in the labour force,3.1 million (42%) had retired from the labour force, and the remaining329,400 (4%) were not currently in the labour force but had not retired.

One of the most graphic figures presented by the ABS, shows thatin the past 20 years the percentage of women in work after theyreached 60 has trebled from 12% to 36%.

The average age for women who had retired, said the ABS, was48, but in the past five years this age had ballooned out to 59. Forthose still working, results showed that working women are putting offretirement for even longer, with most women reporting that they werenot thinking of retiring until the age of 62. Fewer than 50% of thosesurveyed had any retirement age in mind at all.

The working life of men has also lengthened. On average, menhad retired at 58 years of age, but those still working were not thinkingof retiring until at least 65.

Perhaps not surprisingly, is the fact that for those in the labourforce who intend to retire, the most common factor influencing their

decision about when they would retire was ‘financial security’ (44% ofmen and 41% of women).

The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia has recentlyreported that the average super balance at a retirement age of 65would be $183,000 for men and $93,000 for women. With longer lifeexpectancies, this clearly is not enough money for individuals to liveout the remainder of their lives with, at least not in the manner in whichmany asset-rich baby boomers have become accustomed. In fact, theassociation estimates that 70% of workers do not have adequateretirement savings to fund the latter years of their life.

The other factors influencing retirement age were ‘personal healthor physical abilities’ (40% of men, 40% of women), and ‘reaching theeligible age for an old age (or service) pension’ (12% of men and 11%of women).

For men, the most commonly reported main source of income atretirement was a ‘Government pension or allowance’ (52%), followedby ‘superannuation or annuity’ (22%).

In contrast almost half (47%) of women at retirement relied on theirpartner’s income as their main source of income, followed by a‘Government pension or allowance’ (33%) and ‘Superannuation orannuity’ (7%).

Decreasing access to Government pensions means that more andmore Australians will be dependant on Superannuation and their ownpersonal savings and asset wealth to fund their retirement.Liberalisation of superannuation requirements including tax-freeprovisions will assist Australian workers with their retirements, however,recent share volatility and increasing inflationary pressures indicate thetrend for Australian workers to retire later, are not likely to changeanytime soon.

Page 14: Facility Perspectives v2#1 March 2008

12 • fac i l i typerspectives

FAST FACTS + NEWS

The Direction of Professional Development in FMA AustraliaInterview with Ann Maree Bullard, Manager of ProfessionalDevelopment for FMA Australia

FP: What is currently planned for professional development thisyear?

AMB: A range of professional development programs have beensuccessfully run over the last seven months in FMA Australia and moreare currently being advertised. Many of these programs have been onmore generic rather than FM specific topics. However this will change asthe work of the Professional Development Advisory Group (PDAG)comes to the fore.

The PDAG is composed of senior Facility Managers from a range oforganisations in the public and private sectors including Department ofDefence, Holmesglen Institute of TAFE, Multiplex Facilities Management,Tungsten Group, Sodexho, Transfield Services and Corporate Real EstateServices.

The PDAG has taken the results of the survey on professionaldevelopment that was done with members last year and developed thisinto the topics (with proposed content and presenters) that we intend torun in the rest of 2008.

These topics include:3 Financial Principles in FM3 Strategic Planning for Facilities3 Understanding and Developing Service Level Agreements3 Environmental Management/Sustainability3 Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity3 The Future of Facilities Management in Australia3 Attracting, Developing and Retaining FMs3 Leadership and Management in FM

3 Asset Management.FP: Is professional development available to all members around

the country?AMB: We offer the same topics in each major city, however whether

a session runs depends on whether it is financially viable, that is whetherthere are enough interested people. Hopefully we will be runningsessions in Brisbane, Canberra and Perth over the next two months, aswell as in Melbourne and Sydney.

FP: Have you trialled alternative delivery modes?AMB: We ran our first webinar in December. A webinar is an online

seminar during which participants dial into a conference call to enablethem to communicate with the speaker and watch an interactivepresentation via the web. It had 51 participants and received verypositive feedback. We will continue to use this format for short sessionsin the future.

Presenting OpportunitiesFMA Australia continually reviews potential new topics and

presenters for professional development events. If you are interested inpresenting on a topic that you think would be of value to membersplease contact Ann Maree Bullard on 03 8641 6612. She will consult thePDAG for feedback on what is proposed.

Joining the PDAGIf you would like to join the PDAG and assist determine the direction

of professional development for FMA Australia, please contact AnnMaree Bullard on 03 8641 6612. The PDAG meets monthly byteleconference. New members would provide valuable input.

Affordable Housing Competition announced

In a joint response to community needs,and the ACT Government’s HousingAffordability Action Plan, the Royal AustralianInstitute of Architects (RAIA) and the HousingIndustry Association (HIA) have teamed up toannounce the ACT Affordable HousingCompetition to promote the value ofsustainable, delightful andaffordable housing.

The Affordable HousingSteering Group, March 2007reported that “In the periodbetween 2000 and 2003, themedian house price in Canberraalmost doubled. This pricegrowth reflected strong demandfor dwellings driven by a lowunemployment, sustainedwages growth, low interestrates, relatively lower returns oncompeting investments andsubsidies such as the firsthomeowners grant.

The effect on housingaffordability was significant. In2000-01 a median priced housein Canberra cost around threetimes the median householdincome. By 2003-04, this ratiohad risen to around six, due to house pricesgrowing considerably faster than income. As aresult, access to affordable properties for ACThouseholds on Australian median incomebecame limited. As at the December quarter2006, the median house price in Canberra was$398,000.” (Affordable Housing Steering

Group Report, March 2007)“This situation must be reversed. The ACT

Government, through its Housing AffordabilityAction Plan, has called upon architects andbuilders to contribute to the housingaffordability solution and is seeking excellencein affordable design and construction. The

RAIA and the HIA with the support of the ACTGovernment will partner on exciting andcreative initiatives, which showcase bestpractice in this area of, thus far, high demandand poor supply.” said Melinda Dodson.

Appropriately launched in ArchitectureWeek the competition will acknowledge clever,

innovative solutions and promote the value ofcollaboration between builders, architects andthe ACT government. “Entrants will be askedto design a solution for one of three sitesincluding one outer Greenfield site, an innerGreenfield site and a recycled building site.Creative solutions to each site will be

encouraged.Melinda Dodson noted that

“The competition objectives areseen in context of the broadergovernment reform seekingefficient land release, and tax andregulatory practices that increaseaffordability. The ACT governmentis commended for its minimum15% land release target foraffordable housing, as a positivefirst step. The RAIA is lookingforward to working with the HIAand the ACT government incontributing to sustainable, qualitydesign outcomes in affordablehousing in the ACT.”

The competition will include astudent category and entries closeThursday, 20 March 2008. Briefand registration details areavailable through the HIA and the

RAIA.

Contact: Sophie Clement email:[email protected] and to discovermore abuot the RAIA, log on towww.architecture.com.au

Page 15: Facility Perspectives v2#1 March 2008
Page 16: Facility Perspectives v2#1 March 2008

Performance, maintenanceease & massive variety withForbo’s Eco PortfolioWith a fist full of eco awards and eco certified product la-

bels, easy-care longevity and a 130+ strong colour/texture

palette, Forbo’s Marmoleum, Artoleum and Dutch Design

ranges more than satisfy most flooring needs.

They also achieve maximum credits in the Green Star Mate-

rials Calculator.

The wide offering of monotone shades, cools, warms, neu-

trals, naturals and vibrant colours means there is an option

for almost any mood of décor, enabling a plethora of looks.

Design flexibility and options are further extended as Mar-

moleum dual is available in not just sheet format but also

two different tile sizes.

Adding to this environmentally friendly portfolio are Furni-

ture Linoleum (for furniture and desk pads) and Bulletin

Board (for noticeboards and work stations) – both of which

co-ordinate with the flooring ranges.

Extremely durable and with excellent Life Cycle Assessment

scores, every one of these products is made from natural,

renewable raw materials such as linseed oil, rosin, wood

flour and jute.

Marmoleum, Artoleum and Dutch Design all feature Top

Shield, an extra tough finish that keeps floor cleaning costs

and maintenance to a minimum. Being also inherently bac-

teriostatic, these floor surfaces do not need the application

of significant quantities of disinfectants, even in healthcare

applications under normal conditions. Dry maintenance

methods mean very little waste water is generated for dis-

posal.

A point of interest for healthcare operators is that a major

study has found that Marmoleum completely inhibits the

growth of the MRSA superbug (Methicillin-Resistant

Staphyloccus Aureus), and except in the most extreme lab-

oratory testing conditions, even killed the superbug. * Cur-

tis Gemmel, Professor of Bacterial Infection and

Epidemiology at the University of Glasgow, May 2006.

Forbo is the world’s first and largest linoleum manufacturer.

For further information or samples, contact Forbo Flooringon 1800 224 471 or check www.forbo-flooring.com.au.

Page 17: Facility Perspectives v2#1 March 2008

Big commercial and industrial sites often bring their own unique problems. One way to overcome many of these issues is by outsourcing your non-core operations from asset maintenance to facilities management. Spotless are the leaders in managed services. We support many of Australia’s largest companies by creating safe and effective work environments designed to get the very best from your people. The result is more effi cient, more fl exible service delivery every time. Spotless, will allow you to focus on your core business with confi dence.

You managethe business.We’ll manageeverything else.

Spotless. Our people make the world work

www.spotless.com

Page 18: Facility Perspectives v2#1 March 2008

16 • fac i l i typerspectives

FM EVENTS

ideaction is the official conference of the Facility ManagementAssociation of Australia and is widely recognised as the premier event inthe facility management calendar. ideaction ‘08 focuses on EnablingSustainable Communities. Owners and managers of facilities are facedwith increasing demands for corporate accountability in regard to thesustainable performance of their built assets, making this one of the keyissues that the facility management industry must address in the future.

You are invited to participate in an engaging and thought-provokingprogram that will focus on sustainability across a range of perspectivesand enjoy some fantastic social and networking events. Of course, you’llalso have the opportunity to make the most of the world-renownedbeaches, balmy weather, world heritage listed rainforest and relaxedoutdoor lifestyle on the beautiful Gold Coast.

ideaction 08:Enabling Sustainable Communities7-9 May 2008Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre, Queenslandwww.fma.com.au

Page 19: Facility Perspectives v2#1 March 2008

fac i l i typerspectives • 17

FM EVENTS

The Conference ProgramThe Facility Management industry is a significant contributor to the

Australian and global economy and consequently also contributes to thepressure on natural resources such as water, energy, land and materials.As demand for FM services increases, the challenge for the industry inthe future is how to do more with less.

As custodians of built assets, facility managers are in a uniqueposition to influence the shape of the built environment towards a moresustainable model.

The conference program features some highly respected andentertaining speakers who will address the subject of sustainability fromvarious angles, with the aim of giving you new ideas, solutions andperspectives on the most important issue facing facility managers in the future.

Speaker Highlights

Dr Peter EllyardFuturist & Strategic Analyst

Dr Peter Ellyard is a futurist and strategist.Currently Chairman of the Preferred Futuresinstitute and the Preferred Futures Group, whichhe founded in 1991, he also chairs theSustainable Prosperity Foundation and two start-up environmental companies.

Peter is a former Executive Director for theAustralian Commission for the Future. He held

CEO positions in a number of public sector organisations and was alsoChief of Staff for an Environment Minister in Canberra for three years.

Peter Ellyard has been a Senior Adviser to the United Nations systemfor more than 30 years including to the 1992 Earth Summit where he wasa senior advisor on both the climate change and the biodiversityconventions. He is the author of the best selling book ‘Ideas for the NewMillennium’ (1998, 2001) and ‘The Birth of Planetism’ (2007).

Presentation: Peter will address the increasing demands forcorporate accountability with respect to the sustainability performance ofbuilt assets. Greater understanding and awareness of sustainability issuessuch as climate change and depletion of natural resources has promptedthe need for immediate action toward improved stewardship of ourresources and communities.

Romilly MadewChief ExecutiveGreen Building Council of Australia

Romilly is the Chief Executive of the GreenBuilding Council of Australia. She has previouslybeen a Board Member and Chair of the UrbanCommittee for the ACT Government’s LandDevelopment Agency and has a background asACT Division Executive Director of the PropertyCouncil of Australia and National Executive

Director of Sustainability. In 2006 she authored Australia’s first cost benefit analysis of green

buildings: “The Dollars & Sense of Green Buildings: The Business Casefor Green Commercial Buildings in Australia”.

Presentation: “Challenges and Opportunities for Creating GreenBuildings in the new Kyoto Environment”.

Not understanding the impact of Australia signing the Kyotoagreement for the property industry will be to the peril of the industry.

Signing the Kyoto agreement has created opportunities for greenbuildings in Australia. There is great capacity within the property sectorto reduce its impact on the environment and to become the mostsignificant contributor to Australia’s efforts in dealing with climatechange. The 4th International Panel of Climate Change report showedthat globally, buildings represent the single biggest opportunity forgreenhouse gas abatement, exceeding the energy, transport andindustry sectors combined. Romilly Madew will outline these challengesand opportunities.

Keith BrewisDirectorGrimshaw Architects Australia

Keith Brewis has expertise in leading highlycomplex civic projects as demonstrated inGrimshaw’s work at Paddington Station inLondon, Southern Cross Station in Melbourne,and the Fundacíon Caixa Galicia in A Coruña, alllandmark projects which included masterplanning and strategic management services.

Having successfully secured the commission for the redevelopment ofSpencer Street Station in Melbourne in 2002 Keith relocated to Australiato lead this project and to establish Grimshaw’s Australian venture.

Keith Brewis is a UK registered architect, a member of the GreenBuilding Council of Australia; sits on the Commission for Architecture andThe Built Environment (CABE) advisory panel in the UK and on PropertyCouncil (VIC) Sustainability Committee and the recently formed industrygroup Steel: Framing the Future, sponsored by the University of Sydney.

Presentation: “Embedded intelligence”Keith Brewis describes the Grimshaw practice philosophy, which

embodies the phenomenon of “collective memory” characterised bystructural legibility, innovation and a rigourous approach to detailing andsustainability in their work.

Lindsay BevegeManaging DirectorBusiness Outlook & Evaluation

Lindsay Bevege is Managing Director ofBusiness Outlook and Evaluation and is the co-author of several innovative studies thatmeasured improvements in staff productivity ingreen buildings. Lindsay has also developedmarket transformation, innovation and culturalchange programs for a range of industries,

including developing the City of Melbourne’s Zero Net Emissions by2020 strategy.

Presentation: Employee Productivity in a Sustainable BuildingLindsay will present a case study which describes a shift by two

companies to sustainable office accommodation which led toimprovements in a broad range of business productivity indicators. Theshift delivered business gains that far exceed the cost of upgrading theIndoor Environment Quality (IEQ) of the offices.

For more information onSession Speakers, please visit

www.fma.com.au

Page 20: Facility Perspectives v2#1 March 2008

18 • fac i l i typerspectives

FM EVENTS

ideaction ’08: Conference Program

For all enquiries on the ideaction ‘08 conference, please contact the conference organisers at:Think Business Events, Level 1, 299 Elizabeth St, Sydney NSW 2000

Ph: 02 8251 0045 Fax: 02 8251 0097 Website: www.fma.com.au Email: [email protected]

WEDNESDAY 7 MAY 2008 – SITE VISITS9.00am:Coaches depart for Site Visit 1: Millennium Arts Complex BRISBANECoaches depart for Site Visit 2: Desal Plant/Marine Precinct GOLDCOAST11.30am:Coaches depart for Site Visit 3: Carlton Brewhouse Lunch and SiteTour12.15pm:Coaches from all site tours arrive for lunch and site tour at CarltonBrewhouse3.30pm:All coaches depart Carlton Brewhouse for Gold Coast4.00pm:Coaches arrive in Gold Coast6.30pm - 8.30pm:Welcome Reception

THURSDAY 8 MAY 2008 – CONFERENCE DAY 1Exhibition open from 8am8am:Registration Opens9am:Opening Address: David Duncan, CEO, FMA AustraliaKeynote Address: Dr Peter Ellyard, Futurist and Strategic Analyst10.30am - 11am: Morning Tea/Exhibition11am - 11.45amConcurrent 1:Title: Practical Guide to Socially Sustainable FacilitiesPresenter: Lois BesnardConcurrent 2:Title: Technology Innovations Simplify Carbon ManagementPresenters: John Martin & David SagConcurrent 3:Title: The Colour of Money. The Business Case for EnvironmentallySustainable DevelopmentPresenter: Chris Mobbs11.50am - 12.35pm Concurrent 4:TBCConcurrent 5:Title: City Central: Post-occupancy Evaluation of a Sustainable HighPerformance WorkplacePresenters: Megan Antcliff & Sean CowardConcurrent 6:Title: The Impact and Measurement of Change on People and PlacePresenter: Beverley Honig12.35pm - 1.30pm:Lunch – Networking / Exhibition1.30pm - 3pm:Hypothetical: Sustainable FM – Been There, Done That3pm - 3.30pm:Afternoon Tea / Exhibition 3.30pm - 4.30pm:Closing Keynote: Challenges and Opportunities for Creating GreenBuildings in the New Kyoto EnvironmentRomilly Madew, Chief Executive, Green Building Council of Australia4.30pm - 4.45pm:FM Action Agenda Presentation4.45pm - 5.00pm:Closing Day 1: Andrew McEwan, Chair, FMA Australia7pm:Conference Dinner

FRIDAY 9 MAY 2008 – CONFERENCE DAY 2Exhibition open from 8am9.30am - 10.15amConcurrent 7:Title: What in the New IR Laws is Relevant to FM Entities?Presenter: Tim CapelinConcurrent 8:Title: DEGW Strategic Brief for Stockland “Stockhome” WorkplaceRevitalisation Presenters: Chris Alcock & George WebsdaleConcurrent 9:Title: Sustainable Cultural ChangePresenter: Mark Kelly10.20am - 11am:Keynote Address: Embedded Intelligence – Keith Brewis, Director,Grimshaw Architects Australia11am - 11.30am:Morning Tea / Exhibition 11.30am - 12.15pm:Panel: Enabling Sustainable Communities – The Integration of Urbanand Facility Planning12.20pm - 1.05pmConcurrent 10:Title: Sustainability in Building RegulationPresenter: Glen BrumbyConcurrent 11Title: Case Study: Exploring Opportunities to Apply SustainabilityPractices to an Existing Multi-function Campus Presenter: Steve JonesConcurrent 12:Title: The Role of Facility Ecology for Quantitative Productivity,Performance and Wellbeing Gains in BuildingsPanel Discussion1.05pm - 2pm:Lunch - Networking / Exhibition2pm - 2.45pmConcurrent 13:Title: Realising the Full Potential of Life Cycle CostingPresenter: Dick ListerConcurrent 14:Title: The Process Involved in Managing Buildings in a SustainableMannerPresenter: Doug SmithConcurrent 15:Title: Pimpama Coomera Waterfuture Master PlanPresenter: Sayed Khan2.45pm - 3pm:Refreshment Grab 3pm - 4pm:Closing Keynote: Employee Productivity in a Sustainable Building –Lindsay Bevege, Managing Director, Business Outlook & Evaluation 4pm - 4.30pm:Global FM Presentation and Launch of ideaction 09.4.30pm:Close of Conference & Networking Drinks

Page 21: Facility Perspectives v2#1 March 2008

fac i l i typerspectives • 19

FM EVENTS

Site Tours – Wednesday 7 May 2008 This year, ideaction ‘08 is offering some fantastic site visit

opportunities, providing fascinating insights and behind the scenesknowledge of some of the Gold Coast’s best known locations.

Site Tour One:Marine Precinct/Desalination Plant (departs Gold Coast)(includes lunch and site tour at Carlton Brewhouse)Marine Precinct: The Gold Coast City Marina is Australia’s world

class working marina, providing facilities to service boats weighing up to150 tons. This is a true working marina incorporating sixty-four purpose-designed marine factories providing five star facilities for boat building,boat maintenance and service plus ancillary marine industries. This sitetour will showcase the unique business model operating at the site withthe integration of the various business entities and service providers tothe Marine Industry Sector. You will be given an understanding of theelements that drive projects from ‘concept‘ to ‘operating marina’ and anoverview of the various legislative frameworks that govern operationsand impact viability.

Desalination Plant: The Gold Coast Desalination Project is a jointinitiative between the Queensland State Government and Gold CoastCity Council, to construct the first large scale water desalination plant onAustralia’s eastern seaboard by November 2008. This site tour willpresent the community challenges and environmental hurdles ofobtaining fresh water from the ocean – a modern ‘water into wine’miracle! You’ll receive an overview of the elements of the Alliance andthe delivery, ownership and operational models that support the facility.Other interesting aspects will include operational cycles, budgetingcycles and forecasting of repairs and maintenance.

Site Tour Two:Millennium Art Centre / Carlton Brewhouse (departs Brisbane)(includes lunch and site tour at Carlton Brewhouse)Take a ‘back of house’ tour through one of Queensland’s most

architecturally and environmentally significant developments. The projecthas been awarded numerous industry accolades, including the 2007Professional Excellence in Building Award and the Building of the YearAward by Queensland’s Australian Institute for Building. To meet theproject’s strong focus on environmental sustainability, integrated leadingedge initiatives were implemented including a chilled beam airconditioning system and a river cooling system. This site tour will take inthe technical aspects of the management of the complex’s buildings andstate of the art environmentally awarded operational systems.

Site Tour Three:Carlton Brewhouse (includes lunch)Experience one of Australia’s largest

breweries and discover how yourfavourite beer brands are made. See thespeed of the bottling line and state ofthe art brewing and packagingtechnology in action. This site tour willbe of special interest to FacilityManagers as it showcases ‘just in time’facilities, the forecasting of productionneeds, the management of stagedmaintenance and manufacturing shut-downs in a 24hr facility, as well as anaward-winning water managementsystem. After the one hour tour, returnto the Brewhouse to enjoy a sumptuousbarbecue lunch accompanied by all yourCUB favourites in the beer garden.

For more information on site tours including costs, times and departurelocations, please visit www.fma.com.au and click on the ideaction ’08logo

How to RegisterIf you wish to attend the Conference please access the Conference

website at www.fma.com.au and complete the online registration form.Online registration is strongly recommended.

Registration Fees

*To qualify for early bird registration, registration fees must bereceived by the published date. Registration fees are based on date ofpayment receipt, not the date of receipt of registration form.

^ Student Registration excludes attendance at the Gala Dinner.Student ID is also required for verification upon collection of namebadge at the conference.

Sponsorship and Exhibitionideaction ‘08 promises to be our most successful conference yet and

we are looking forward to welcoming some of the most respected andinfluential figures in the industry. There are plenty of opportunities foryour company to be a part of this major event in the FM calendar,including corporate supporter packages, sponsorship of a speaker orsession and exhibiting your products and services at the expo, all ofwhich will bring significant exposure for your company as part of theideaction marketing campaign.

The Sponsorship and Exhibition Prospectus is available to download onthe Conference website www.fma.com.au or alternatively please contactus at [email protected] or phone + 61 2 8251 0045for further information.

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION FEE

Standard FMA Australia Member Full Registration AUD$1725

Standard Non Member Full Registration AUD$2125

FMA Australia Member Day Registration AUD$1050

Non Member Day Registration AUD$1295

Student^ FMA Australia Member Registration(must be full time student) AUD$495

Confirmed Sponsors

ISS Facility Services Platinum Supporter of ideaction ’08

3 CRC for Construction Innovation3 Sustainable Living Fabrics

3 AG Coombs3 Judd Farris

3 Kingfisher Property Recruitment3 Pink Hygiene Solutions/Rentokil Initial

3 Transfield Services3 Urban Maintenance Systems

3 Valorem Systems3 Rider Levett Bucknall3 Tungsten Group

3 Movers and Shakers Business Relocations3 RUD Chains3 UNE Partnerships3 Bekaert Specialty Films

3 JLG Prolifts3 Thomas & Betts3 Culligan Water

www.fma.com.au

Page 22: Facility Perspectives v2#1 March 2008

purging chimneys, an automated sunlight control system, a centrallylocated atrium between the major floorplates and the use ofarchitecturally innovative walkways plus meeting and dining areas toimprove workplace productivity.

Having undertaken a commitment (or at least an appreciation) ofecology sustainable development however, the architectural, engineeringand construction (AEC), Corporate Real Estate (CRE) and indeed facilitymanagement sectors have progressed to the broader considerations ofwhole of life planning and the question of embodied energy forbuildings.

These business sectors appear to be arriving at something of ajuncture in their path toward the evolution of the built environment. Onthe one hand the commercially built environment have an ageingbuilding stock and a need for ‘new’ workplaces, and on the other theyhave the increasing realisation that from an embodied energy point ofview, it does not make sense to demolish and rebuild entire buildingsfrom the ground up.

The business cases for the complete demolition of buildings and thesubsequent construction of newer ones will still exist, and there will nodoubt be compelling arguments such as IT upgrades, mechanicalservices upgrades and capital appreciation and realisation issues that willcontinue to drive these instances. It is also true that the incidence ofGreen Star rated office fitouts and their supporting services havematured to the point where there are also excellent business cases forthe major restructuring of existing buildings to significantly higher GreenStar standards.

At one of the better examples of this, namely 40 Albert Road inSouth Melbourne, facility management state that “the project has proven

20 • fac i l i typerspectives

ESD + THE ENVIRONMENT

The next step in sustainability: The greening of existing buildings

Having taken some time for‘green’ initiatives to surface onthe general public’s radar, newand exciting constructionprojects continue to makeheadlines with an array ofleading technology building‘smarts’. Thankfully, the role ofthe facility manager inensuring these ‘smarts’ deliverin the ongoing operation ofthese buildings is beginning toachieve the attention andrecognition it deserves. But isthis all there is to the ESDequation? FacilityPerspectives’ Max Winterinvestigates.

When FMA Australia promoted a ‘green’ seminar series deliveredby Spowers Architects MD Ros Magee at the turn of themillennium, it was the first time many of us had heard of the

concept of ‘embodied energy’ – the energy consumed by all processesassociated with the production of a building, from the acquisition ofnatural resources to product delivery.0 The FMA Australia ‘green’ seminarseries highlighted how buildings such as 60L (60 Leicester St, Carlton)would benefit from the use of recycled timber, and materials that usedless embodied energy such as non-chromium plated furniture.

While the building has had its problems, 60L was, and still remains, aleading example of what is possible in ecology sustainable design,incorporating features such as:3 Natural light throughout via the atrium and light boxes 3 Natural air circulation, with chimneys designed to draw out hot air 3 Grey and black water treatment on site 3 Tenant agreements to follow green principles, including sorting

waste, limiting use of heating and cooling, and no toxins 3 Bike racks and shower facilities 3 Energy and water efficient facilities

Subsequent newer buildings such as 30 The Bond at Hickson RoadMillers Point in Sydney achieved a Five Star Green Star rating throughthe use of not new, but at its scale, certainly innovative chilled beamtechnology, an atrium and automatically controlled external shades.

More recent projects such as Melbourne City Council House 2 (CH2)have taken these initiatives a significant step further and included ‘smarts’such as cogeneration systems and rainwater reticulation systems.

The National Australia Bank building at Docklands has likewisebenefited from an “H” style building configuration utilising thermal

40 ALBERT ROAD, SOUTH MELBOURNE

Page 23: Facility Perspectives v2#1 March 2008

that sustainable buildings are a good business model – retrofittingreduces day-to-day running costs and increases a building’s value”1.

A significant portion of that business model is the expected andmeasurable increase in workplace productivity. Achieving measurableincreases in workplace productivity is the Holy Grail of ESD major capitalworks and refurbishments because any incremental productivity increaseequates to significant savings in the largest cost of doing business –salaries and wages. Workplace productivity increases also contributetowards notable enhancements in the corporation’s bottom line.

At the same time, the science of building performance measurementis improving, with purpose-built and manned units such as MABEL(Mobile Architecture and Built Environment Laboratory) able to quantifyand qualify the cause and effect of workplace environmental variables.Also available is dedicated software such as Integrated EnvironmentalSolutions building performance modelling able to provide buildingperformance assessment in the application of engineering andarchitectural solutions to existing and proposed buildings.

While most of our existing building stock is still around the 2.5 to 3Star Green Star rating, a significant number of refurbishments in the lastdecade have had ‘green’ as a stated objective in their outcomes, and assuch these refurbishments are steadily raising the benchmark ofexpectations for ecologically sustainable outcomes. Some of the morecelebrated existing buildings to benefit from the use of technology areas follows:

40 Albert Road South Melbourne Victoria40 Albert Road in South Melbourne is Australia’s first green building

refurbishment project to achieve a 6 Star Green Star rating and NABERS5 Star Water rating. The multiple award-winning retrofit project hasrefurbished and restructured a 20 year old building and transformed itinto one of Australia’s highest rated green building, with a reported 13%increase in staff productivity.

The building boasts a host of leading-edge building smartsincluding:Energy3 Ceramic Fuel cell producing 1kW of electricity and 1kW of domestic

hot water (meets 90% of the building’s hot water needs)3 Polycrystalline (4.8kW, 4.6 MWh pa) and amorphous (1.1kW, 1.47

MWh pa) solar panels generate 6.1 MWh pa of electricity.3 Lighting systems - high efficiency lamps and ballast used with

integrated occupancy sensor/control system3 High efficiency office equipment: water boiling units, chillers,

printers, PCs3 Integrated occupancy sensing: In addition to controlling lighting

occupancy sensors also used to reduce air-conditioning load to anarea when unoccupied and used for out-of -hours securitymonitoring

3 Gas engine air-conditioning: This unit incorporates a small naturalgas fuelled reciprocating gas engine which is directly coupled to aconventional refrigeration compressor. This unit provides a costeffective means for providing building heating/cooling, reducingsummer peak electrical loads and greenhouse gas emissions.

3 Windows: increased window area and skylights allow greaterdaylight penetration (resulting in reduced artificial lighting), allwindows double-glazed

3 All electricity supplied from the grid is 100% green power.Indoor Environmental Quality3 Use of low VOC carpets, paints3 E-zero carcass construction used low emission particle board3 E-zero joinery and wall panelling – all face joinery and wall panelling

use E-zero (low emission) MDF (medium density fibre board)3 Carbon monoxide sensors in carparks3 Natural ventilation system - operable windows at the ends of each

floor allow fresh air to enter each office floor, displacing warmer/staleair via the centrally located stairwell/thermal chimney - this isautomatically controlled by the building management system

3 Indoor air quality tests (based on the ASHRAE standard) showed nodetectable formaldehydes and VOC levels so low they wereequivalent to a rural setting.

Water3 Water efficient AAA tapware (6L/min), showerheads (9L/min); AAAA

toilets (3L/4.5L flush)3 Waterless urinals3 Greywater recycling: grey water collected from hand basins and

showers is filtered, disinfected and stored together with stormwaterfrom the building rooftop. This recovered water is used for toiletflushing saving an estimated 12,000 L pa.

3 Rainwater collection (2 x 2,200L tanks)3 Cooling tower water consumption eliminatedWaste3 centrally located segregated waste bins on each floor: recyclables,

organics, general waste3 paper recycling bins only at each desk3 Waste generation is 94kg/for each staff member which is 54% lower

than the 173kg average waste generated by office workers perannum

3 81% of waste collected is recycled, organic waste is composted3 Waste to landfill has consequently been reduced by 81%3 Discharge to sewer reduced by over 70%Materials3 Reuse of the Structure – 96% of the existing structure re-used3 Re-use of the Façade – 88% of existing façade re-used3 Recycled material from the existing site made up 98% of the

construction materials for the new building3 Recyclable carpets3 Reconstituted timber veneers were specified as finishes for all doors

and cupboards forming entries to the service/amenities and in thereception area

3 Wood pulp panels – pressed wood pulp panels have been utilised asfeature walling the office and receptions areas

3 Recycled aluminium ceiling tiles (>90% post-industrial recycledaluminium)

3 Phenolic resin desktops3 Minimum use of joinery pull hardware: The use of specific hardware

has been minimised by designing the pull in tot eh joinery unit.3 Leather upholstery is non-chromium treated3 Meeting room tables are made from recycled stringy bark timber3 Synthetic rubber flooring for the kitchen areas3 Polyester (not vinyl) privacy and graphics film was used to provide a

degree of screening on glass panels in areas of the fitoutLike most cutting edge buildings, there have and continue to be

challenges in the maintenance and fine-tuning of the building’stechnology, and new lessons are being learned and shared for futuredevelopment.

500 Collins St Melbourne Victoria500 Collins Street is a 30-year-old 28-level multi-tenanted refurbished

office building that has achieved the Green Building Council of Australia’sfive star Green Star rating.

It provides an important example for the large pool of existingcommercial building stock which contributes heavily to the performanceof the commercial building sector as a whole. Significantly, it is has beenmonitored before and after the upgrade and indicates improvedoccupant productivity.1

Kador, the owners of 500 Collins Street, and Sustainability Victoriaconducted a workplace productivity study following a green fit out of anumber of floors. The research was conducted by Business Outlook andEvaluation on two building tenants; law firm Oakley Thompson andstockbrokers Lonsec. The study involved staff surveys, examination of sickleave records, typing tests and billable hour’s ratios. Carbon dioxide andcarbon monoxide levels, along with temperature and relative humidity,were also measured.

The results are impressive and speak for themselves:3 average sick days per employee per month reduced by 39%3 sick leave costs reduced by 44%3 speed and accuracy of typing increased3 lawyers’ billing ratios increased, even as average hours declined

Apart from the workplace productivity increases, the refurbishmentsaved about $15,000 a year in energy bills and cut greenhouse gasemissions by more than 1,700 tonnes a year.2

The company believes, quite rightly, that the refurbishment hasdemonstrated that old, energy-inefficient buildings can be upgraded to ahigh-quality sustainable outcome with tenants in place. Kador took thefairly unusual step of undertaking such a major project while they hadtenants in place, upgrading three floors at a time while the rest wereoccupied. Their management team were particularly adept at keepingtheir tenants informed through direct contact and newsletters, and inmanaging any complaints that arose. Demolition and strip out works

fac i l i typerspectives • 21

ESD + THE ENVIRONMENT

CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

Page 24: Facility Perspectives v2#1 March 2008

One of the more recent adoptions has been XML/SOAP. Thisis a technology that has allowed disparate systems tocommunicate and share data in a managed and far simplerway than was previously possible.

What is XML/SOAP?

SOAP was developed by Microsoft and IBM, amongst others,and provides a way to communicate between softwareapplications running on different operating systems, withdifferent technologies and programming languages.

Previous technologies were able to do this, but SOAP allowsthis to be done over the Internet with the ability to get around“firewalls” and proxy servers.

SOAP is a protocol for accessing a Web Service, where a Webservice is a standardised way of integrating Web-basedapplications over an Internet protocol backbone.

What does this mean in simpler terms? As an exampleAutomated Logic uses Web Services to allow other softwareapplications (e.g. MS Excel) to access data from theWebCTRL Building automation system. Some actualinstallations are highlighted later on in this article.

Automated Logic was among the first to implementXML/SOAP (Enterprise Integration) in our WebCTRL serversoftware. 3rd party software can read and write data from thebuilding automation system. This can be as simple as readingpoint data (e.g. temperature) into an Excel spreadsheet. Orcould be more complex such as interfacing with an AfterHours Air Conditioning application.

Automated Logic has built functionality, using web services,into the server that allows 3rd party software to:• Retrieve point data• Write point data• Retrieve complete Trend Logs• Retrieve Reports Data

The following diagram shows how the WebCTRL serverresiding on the Ethernet IP LAN gathers the data from the

building automation system and allows 3rd party software toaccess the server over the LAN.

(Note that other system data, including security, lightingcontrol and life safety, can be accessed via the WebCTRLserver)

XML/SOAP allows users to write applications to suit theirneeds. The following describes 3 examples of applicationsthat are using this technology:

After Hours Air Conditioning (AHAC)

Waterfront Place in Brisbane, was the subject of a BASupgrade that was recently completed. Part of the contract wasto provide an AHAC request and reporting system.

Upon logging in to a dedicated web server, the user ispresented with a choice of zones and is asked to select thedesired, date, time and duration of air conditioning required.

If their password access permits they can also see thehistorical usage of AHAC and temperatures for that zone.

Using SOAP the AHAC system submits requests for AC anddisplays usage and zone temperatures.

Similar systems have also been installed in the Herald andWeekly Times and 484 St Kilda Rd buildings in Melbourne.

VOIP Interface

The Kumutoto Building in Wellington, New Zealand, home toMeridian Energy Ltd., has installed a Voice over IP (VOIP)interface to the WebCTRL BAS. This allows the user tocontrol:

• Blinds, windows and lighting scenes in the meeting roomsfrom Cisco VOIP phones in over 30 rooms throughout thebuilding.

A simple menu on the phone allows simple user friendlycontrol, whilst reducing the “clutter” of wall and table topcontrol devices.

Dynamic Building Modeling

The Forestry SA building in Mount Gambier has interfaced theWebCTRL BAS to a dynamic building modeling program,AEM4.

AEM4 calculates the theoretical energy consumption of abuilding, based on live temperature and humidity data,supplied by WebCTRL.

WebCTRL then compares the actual metered consumptionwith the AEM4 data. AEM4 assumes that the building iscommissioned and running correctly. When a discrepancy isdiscovered, indicating a malfunctioning air conditioningsystem, WebCTRL will raise an alarm and alert the buildingmanager by email.

These are just examples of successful WebCTRL / SOAPimplementations. SOAP now provides the tool for buildingowners to expand the usefulness and capabilities of thebuilding automation systems.

XML/SOAPin the Building Enterprise

Building automation has embraced many technologies from the IT world over the past fewyears, enabling a greater standardisation of systems. This has allowed greater levels ofintegration between Building Automation Systems (BAS) and other systems including, accesscontrol, CCTV and fire safety systems etc.

ADVERTORIAL

Page 25: Facility Perspectives v2#1 March 2008
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24 • fac i l i typerspectives

ESD + THE ENVIRONMENT

were carried out at night and carpet was kept on the floor for as long aspossible to reduce the noise for the tenants below.

The air flow modelling used for the optimisation of the chilled beamtechnology, (which normally requires a virtually airtight building façade)was comprehensive and believed to be a first for an existing tenantedbuilding in Australia.

Australian Ethical Investment Offices at Trevor Pearcey House(Block E), Bruce ACT

An office refurbishment and fitout designed to achieveenvironmental benefits and resource efficiency as well as increased staffcomfort and productivity, the building refurbishment gained a 6 StarGreen Star rating – office design.

Situated at 34 Thynne Street, Block E, Traeger Court, in Bruce ACTand part of the Fern Hill Technology Park (about 5km from the CanberraCBD), the building is one block in a complex of 5 near identical, squaretwo storey blocks. Prior to refurbishment it was a standard 20-year-oldcommercial office building with a net lettable area of about 1000sqm.

The refurbishment features:3 passive cooling and ventilation combined with a wider thermal

comfort band (19˚-26˚C) reducing demand on mechanical systems3 double glazing3 external walls are ‘reverse brick veneer’ – thermal mass on the inside

is insulated (75mm) from the outside air temperature3 R5 insulation under the metal deck roof3 improvements to the shading panels3 exposing the ground floor slab3 evacuated tube solar hot water heating

The building is designed to be passively cooled in summer by a‘night purge’. When the night temperature drops well below the internaltemperature the windows open automatically to draw cool air into thebuilding. Hot air is exhausted via the stacks and the louvered windows inthe barrel vault.

The Building Management Systems consist of C-Bus lighting control,sub-metering, a basic BMS (Building Management System), Water Guard

leak detection and complete building commissioning, producing savingsof an estimated 75% reduction in CO2 emissions*.

Water efficient features incorporated into the building include:3 taps upgraded to 4L per minute, showerheads to 5A fittings – 6L per

minute3 upgrade of the existing single flush toilets to dual flush with a 9/4.5L

system3 urinals upgraded with a Sani-Sleeve low water use system reducing

water use by 95%3 rainwater tanks collecting from the roof and plumbed for use in

flushing the toilets3 garden drip irrigation with moisture sensor

Estimated total draw on mains water: 9.24L per person per day,which constitutes an estimated 75% reduction in water use.* Therecycling rate for the project also represented an increase of 80% byweight.

Comparisons with estimates for previous premises and for averageCanberra office buildings.Driven by an increasing sense of necessity, the architectural and

engineering skill sets required to deliver on the greening of the BuiltEnvironment while still in its infancy, have come a long way in a relativelyshort time. What will the future hold? One vision is fully interactivebuildings that operate in much the same way as cars deliver occupantneeds presently, and that fully mimic nature’s heating and coolingsystems to produce negligible carbon emissions. Others see a hydrogeneconomy with buildings that produce their own non-grid dependentpower. Whatever that future holds, the lessons learned from each newproject will bring us collaboratively toward it.

References0 http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/yourhome/technical/fs31.htm

1 http://www.yourbuilding.org/display/yb/40+Albert+Road,+South+Melbourne,+VIC

2 http://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/www/html/2575-green-building-productivity.asp

3 http://www.austethical.com.au/company_information/about_us/offices_-

_trevor_pearcey_house/australian_ethicals_green_office_building

NABERS (the National Australian Built Environment Rating System) is the gold standard performance-based rating

system for existing buildings. NABERS rates a building on the basis of its measured impact on the environment and

incorporates the respected ABGR (the Australian Building Greenhouse Rating) for energy and greenhouse efficiency.

Applications for training from suitably qualified individuals to become Accredited Assessors

under the NABERS OFFICE Scheme are now being received.

For more information, training dates and to register visit www.nabers.com.au

2008 will see the launch of a suite of new NABERS tools. The new

tools will be launched in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth at the NABERS Benchmark

Conference Series in May. For more information visit www.nabers.com.au

Benchmark

A TRAINING SCHEME WELL WORTH THE ENERGY.NOW OPEN: NABERS OFFICE Accreditation Training Sessions, running throughout 2008.

Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and Perth. PLACES ARE STRICTLY LIMITED.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21

Page 27: Facility Perspectives v2#1 March 2008

REDUCE YOUR BUILDING’S CARBON FOOTPRINT

To Carbon Roadmap your building

contact A.G. Coombs Group.

Telephone John Cucé 03 9248 2700.

CARBONROADMAP

A.G. COOMBS

agcoombs.com.au

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A.G. COOMBS GROUP

ADVISORY | PROJECTS | SERVICE | TECHNICAL MANAGEMENT

A.G. Coombs offer:

� Single point of responsibility

� Warranted Star rated outcomes

� Extensive experience in all aspects of building

energy effi ciency

� Industry leading experts, accredited Green Star

and ABGR professionals

� Innovative management tools for assessment, project

management, tuning and performance management

� Energy effi ciency maintenance and building

tuning programs

� Product independence – best of breed technology

A.G. Coombs transform buildings for Star rated energy effi cient performance. We work with you to deliver the best path forward through staged targets to reduce greenhouse emissions. Along with the necessary environmental benefi ts, we will reduce your energy costs, and help improve the building’s value.

302258A_AG Commbs.indd 1 4/3/08 12:27:37 PM

Page 28: Facility Perspectives v2#1 March 2008

Reducing peak electricity use forprofit and community benefitExtreme peaks in electricity demandare expensive for everyone. Typicallyoccurring on just a few hot summerafternoons and cold winter nightseach year, they put pressure on util-ity companies to provide reliablesupply and increase the price for allconsumers.

Building infrastructure just to handleextreme peaks leads to inefficientuse of resources. Utility companiesthat can minimise or delay expensiveextra investment by reducing peakdemand are willing to pay busi-nesses to reduce their electricity de-mand from the grid. Energy Responselinks demand with supply, workingwith these utilities and businessesto run peak load reduction programs

Participants come from all sectors –from commercial buildings and RSLclubs to wood product manufactur-ers; government facilities to mines;

mushroom farms to telecommunica-tions companies. They reduce de-mand either by temporarily turningoff specific equipment, reschedulingprocesses or switching some or alltheir load to local or standby genera-tion.

“Facility Managers play a key role”says Energy Response Managing Di-rector Michael Zammit. “They under-stand operations and the needs oftenants or staff. Many have under-taken energy audits and are veryaware of electricity load and patternsof use. They can devise workableplans that benefit the communityand add thousands of dollars directlyto their bottom line. Receiving up to24 hours advance warning of a po-tential issue on the grid can in itself,be extremely valuable”.

For more information visitwww.energyresponse.com

Page 29: Facility Perspectives v2#1 March 2008

fac i l i typerspectives • 27

RENEWABLE ENERGY BUYING GUIDE

While debate over the degree of mankind’s contribution to globalwarming continues, the overwhelming consensus that climatechange is real and happening now is mobilising individuals,

corporations and governments alike to invest in green friendly product andenergy alternatives. For facility managers in particular, increasingly strictcompliance regulations, rising energy costs and the growing push todemonstrate responsible corporate citizenship, are creating strong demandfor energy-efficient solutions to building operation requirements.

In 2001, the previous Australian government introduced the MandatoryRenewable Energy Target (MRET) to enforce compulsory investment inrenewable energy. However, this target is set at only a relatively low 2-3% ofour total energy generation. Interestingly, the total percentage ofrenewable energy being fed into the national energy grid is currentlyaround 8%-5% more than federally legislated requirements due to thedemand created by residential, commercial, state and local governments.

The remainder of electricity on the national electricity grid comes fromgenerators that burn black and brown coal, and other high-polluting fossilfuel sources. Coal burning – especially that of brown coal as usedpredominantly throughout Victoria – is the most greenhouse intensive formof energy generation in the world and is collectively responsible for 35% ofAustralia’s total greenhouse gas emissions.

To put this in some perspective, a single 20-storey office block can usemore than four gigawatt hours (4 million kWhs) of electricity every year,producing about 4000 tonnes of greenhouse gas. This is equivalent to the

greenhouse pollution emitted from nearly 1000 cars each year. To combat further increases in Australia’s greenhouse emissions, the

government has introduced a mandatory Clean Energy Target of 15%renewable energy by 2020 but there is broad agreement that this is notnearly enough to reduce Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions in time toavoid the risk of dangerous climate change.

Kim Barnett, Program Manager of GreenPower, a government run,national renewable energy accreditation program, says that any approvedGreenPower purchases made by consumers are additional to MRETrequirements and give consumers an opportunity to go beyond what thegovernment has mandated through regulation.

“For example,” says Barnett, “a customer on just 20% GreenPower isbuying roughly seven times more ‘new’ renewable energy than a customeron standard electricity”.

Energy retailers and a whole crop of emerging renewable energyproviders now offer a growing range of “green” energy products thatdeliver a variable percentage of electricity purchased from renewablesources such as wind, solar, bio-mass and hydro. The big question is, whichof these products are genuinely promoting cuts in our greenhouse gasemissions, and which of those are simply exploiting the desire of thosewanting to “do their bit” for the environment?

What you need to know…

Buyers guide toRenewable EnergyWho gets the green light on green energy?BY BIANCA FROST

Origin – GreenEarth Wind Off-setOrigin claim more customers purchase GreenPower from them than

from any other energy retailer in Australia. GreenPower approved, the GreenEarth Wind Off-set energy plan is

a ‘block’ product, which means you buy a fixed amount of green energyno matter how much electricity you use. Depending on your electricityconsumption, achieving the equivalent of 100% of your energy usagemay mean buying more than one block.

Available nationally, you don’t have to be an Origin customer topurchase Origin’s GreenPower renewable energy. Supply agreementsincluding a ‘top up” option can be tailored to quantities and lengths thatsuit your businesses needs.

The GreenEarth Wind Off-set policy costs an extra 5.5 cents extra foreach unit of GreenPower.

Green Electricity Watch rating: rr

Origin13 24 63 • www.originenergy.com.au

Climate Friendly – Climate Neutral EmeraldClimate Friendly sources its carbon credits from 100% GreenPower

approved wind farms in Port Lincoln, South Australia, east of Ararat inWestern Victoria, and from Shark Bay north of Perth in Western Australia.

This company is not an electricity retailer. Instead, Climate Friendlypurchase carbon credits on your behalf. While Climate Friendly is part ofa global green energy company funding renewable energy projects inChina and Turkey, only the green energy bought from Australian sourcesmeets GreenPower’s criteria. The renewable energy you purchase is thenfed into the national grid on your behalf, but you will still need to buyelectricity from your normal supplier.

Expect to pay around 4 cents per k/W on top of your regular energybill for this kind of green energy investment.

Climate Friendly also supply carbon credits to off-set or “neutralize”air and car travel, freight and even paper use.

Green Electricity Watch rating: rr

Climate Friendly (02) 9356 3600 • climatefriendly.com

BASED ON PURCHASING GREENPOWER TO THE EQUIVALENT OF 100% OF AN SME’ ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION WHEN USING LESS THAN 160 MWHPER YEAR.

Green is the new black as far as current marketing trends are concerned. With everythingfrom domestic consumables to large scale industry projects promoted as “green”, “organic”,“carbon-neutral” or “environmentally safe”, the green bandwagon offers a boon tomarketers looking to target the “green” dollar of well-meaning consumers. So lucrative isthe green dollar that the term “green-washing” has been coined to describe the practice ofopportunistic marketers looking to capitalise on the demand for greenhouse gas-neutralproducts and services. This month, Facility Perspectives’ Bianca Frost investigates some ofthe myths and misnomers surrounding so-called “green energy” to assist you in selecting theright product, at the right price, for your facility.

Page 30: Facility Perspectives v2#1 March 2008

28 • fac i l i typerspectives

RENEWABLE ENERGY BUYING GUIDE

What is GreenPower?GreenPower is a national renewable energy accreditation scheme

administered by a collection of state government authorities to guaranteethat so-called “green” energy is sourced from environmentally sound sun,wind, water and waste electrical generators.

All accredited GreenPower energy is subject to stringent environmentalstandards and can only be derived from energy facilities built after January1997. Renewable energy from generators established prior to this date isnot eligible for GreenPower accreditation on the basis that one of the keyobjectives of the GreenPower scheme is to drive investment in newrenewable energy projects.

Once a GreenPower energy generator is approved, they are subject toan annual compliance audit to ensure that retailers and consumers receivethe full amount of accredited renewable energy that they are paying for.

Why use GreenPower?By buying GreenPower, consumers can increase the amount of

renewable energy investment and generation in Australia over and aboveany mandatory targets. To date, GreenPower sales have representedgreenhouse gas savings of nearly 4.5 million tonnes, which is equivalent totaking one million cars off our roads for a year.

Which generators have GreenPower accreditation?Currently there are over 169 new renewable energy generators that are

accredited under the GreenPower program. GreenPower only accreditscompanies that produce electricity from eligible renewable energyresources.

What qualifies as eligible renewable energy?GreenPower has established a number of specific criterions for eligible

renewable energy sources. Renewable energy is energy derived fromsources that cannot be depleted or energy that can be replaced, such assolar, wind, biomass (landfill gas, municipal solid waste, agricultural wastes,energy crops1, wood wastes2), wave (tidal), hydro (small scale or on existingdams3) and geothermal energy.

Why choose GreenPower for your business?GreenPower offers your business the opportunity to reduce polluting

greenhouse gas emissions in Australia. Nationally, almost 27,000organisations and over 600,000 residential households purchase accreditedGreenPower energy. By choosing GreenPower you will be driving demandfor electricity made from renewable sources. It also means that yourbusiness will be adopting an environmentally-responsible image that manyemployees and consumers will respect and value.

Research has shown that the majority of consumers prefer to buy fromcompanies who position themselves as responsible corporate citizens. Interms of GreenPower, a survey conducted by Artcraft Research in 1999showed that 79% of respondents agreed with the statement: “If I had thechoice of buying goods from a company that contributes to a GreenPowerscheme versus one that does not, I’d definitely buy from the one that doescontribute to GreenPower.”

How much does green energy cost?The average cost per unit of traditional fossil fuel generated electricity

is about 12 cents per kilowatt hour, but this varies from state to state andfrom retailer to retailer. GreenPower usually costs around 5 cents extra perunit in addition to the normal charge for electricity made by that supplier.Some retailers set a fixed price for GreenPower, rather than charging youaccording to how much you use. In this case the ‘charge per unitGreenPower’ listed is calculated from average Australian electricity use. Forexample, if a 10% GreenPower had a fixed cost, this cost has been dividedby 680 to get the unit cost for GreenPower, because 10% of averageAustralian electricity use is 680 kWh.

Which is the best green energy plan for your business?The best energy plan for your business depends on a number of

factors including overall usage and the ratio of peak to off-peak usage.There are 119 different GreenPower accredited energy products on the

market, 37 of which are suitable for small to medium enterprises (SME’s)and 30 for large businesses.

The various merits of these products have been evaluated by GreenElectricity Watch, an independent online ranking system funded by theAustralian Conservation Foundation, the Total Environment Centre andWWF Australia. The website was developed to provide consumers with afour-star rating system to evaluate the plethora of green energy productsthat have flooded the market in recent years.

Now in its fourth year, the list ranks products based on how much theproduct increases renewable energy in Australia; how clearly provided isinformation about the product, including web, call centres, and printedmaterials; how much the retailer increased the percentage uptake ofGreenPower; and, what proportion of accredited GreenPower is in theproduct.

Penalties are given for practices which Green Electricity Watchconsiders misleading, or which may divert people away from GreenPower.Penalties can have a big impact on a product’s final score.

Which plans do the Green Electricity Watch recommend?Like GreenPower, the Green Electricity Watch does not recommend

individual products or retailers, but they do suggest that consumers look forthe GreenPower logo and purchase as close to 100% GreenPowerapproved energy as they can afford and have incorporated a four-starranking system to indicate how well each product performed against thesites particular criteria.

Why buy GreenPower and not just any renewable energy?There are two kinds of renewable energy forms, accredited and non-

accredited. Accredited forms of renewable energy are those certified ascoming from new renewable generators – additional to when the schemestarted in 1997 – and are contributing to greenhouse gas emissionreductions over and beyond legislated targets. The larger the sales ofaccredited energy, the greater the real cuts to our greenhouse emissions.

Non-accredited forms are those that have been part of the electricityfor a long time such as hydro and bagasse (sugar cane), or other renewable

COzero – COzero BusinessCOzero was founded by Nick Armstrong, a graduate of Sydney

University, and Dan Sullivan, a web, software and UI developer. COzeronot only provides carbon off-setting via GreenPower recognizedrenewable energy products, they offer a bespoke range of services forcompanies including a full environmental audit and consultancy service,while their website encourages members to car pool, share energy-saving tips and socialize.

Another non-retail, GreenPower trader, COzero Business purchasesits carbon credits from two main sources in Australia – the Mt Miller WindFarm on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, and the Alinta Wind Farmlocated south of Geraldton in Western Australia’s Mid-West region.

COzero costs an additional 4.84 cents for each unit of GreenPowerused to offset your carbon energy emissions.

Green Electricity Watch rating: rrr

COzero1300 BE NEUTRA • www.cozero.net

BASED ON PURCHASING GREENPOWER TO THE EQUIVALENT OF 100% OF A LARGE

BUSINESS USING MORE THAN 160 MWH PER YEAR.

Pacific Hydro – Pacific Hydro 100%Pacific Hydro is a global company that was founded in 1992 by three

hydro electrical engineers from Melbourne.Pacific Hydro began with the construction of several hydro power

stations in Victoria. Later they built Australia’s first privately funded windfarm at Codrington near Port Fairy in Victoria’s south-west. They nowproduce more than 1,800 MW of energy from hydroelectric and windfarm projects across Australia, the Asia-Pacific and Latin America.

Pacific Hydro’s 100% GreenPower is only available to medium andlarge business or government bodies within Australia. The minimumtransaction is 2,000 MWh per year and is available nationally with flexiblecontract terms.

Again, Pacific Hydro does not retail electricity, but is a decoupledrenewable energy provider and investor. Costs per KWh are variable,depending on the supply negotiations between companies and PacificHydro.

Green Electricity Watch rating: rrr

Pacific Hydro(03) 8621 6000 • www.pacifichydro.com.au

Page 31: Facility Perspectives v2#1 March 2008
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30 • fac i l i typerspectives

RENEWABLE ENERGY BUYING GUIDE

sources that are contributing to existing MRET’s. Non-accredited renewableenergy will be fed into the national electricity grid regardless of consumerdemand.

The whole point of the GreenPower scheme is to facilitate additionalgreenhouse emission cuts via demand generated by the free marketmechanism. Purchasing non-accredited renewable energy essentially makesvery little impact on our emission output, which is ultimately what theglobal community must achieve if we are to divert the worst effects ofhuman-assisted climate change.

How do I know that the energy I am purchasing is GreenPowerapproved?

All GreenPower accredited products carry the GreenPower tick ofapproval, and will clearly display the percentage of GreenPower theycontain.

What kind of green energy plans are available?Retailer’s structure and charge for GreenPower in several different ways.Some retailers charge per unit of GreenPower that you use. If you buy

10% GreenPower, you will be charged this extra cost on 10% of yourelectricity consumption.

With other GreenPower products, you purchase a fixed amount ofGreenPower based on a set number of units per year or per day, which arethen charged at a fixed rate. Under this kind of plan, you can determine thecost of your GreenPower in advance. Sometimes these are sold as differentsize blocks. However, the proportion of GreenPower in those blocks canvary depending on how much electricity you use. For example, the moreelectricity you use over and above the average calculation, the smaller thepercentage of GreenPower energy you are likely to receive. Likewise, theless energy you use, the greater the percentage of GreenPower coveringyour usage.

In some other cases, retailers will charge a fixed amount but give you avariable amount of GreenPower equivalent to a percentage of yourelectricity use. For example, your energy company commits to feed 10%,or 50%, or 100% of your energy consumption as GreenPower into the grid,but charge you a fixed amount regardless of the total amount of energythat you use.

Finally, there are some products that offer more than 100%GreenPower. Under these kinds of plans, energy retailers are purchasingmore GreenPower on your behalf than you actually use. Essentially thisproduct allows the consumer to offset the non-renewable or non-accreditedrenewable energy consumption of other energy users.

For more information about GreenPower and to find out whichenergy retailers are GreenPower accredited visitwww.greenpower.gov.au. For a ranking guide on particular GreenPowerenergy plans and products, visit www.greenelectricitywatch.org.au.

1 Only crops grown on land cleared prior to 1990 are eligible under the GreenPower program.2 Only wood waste sourced from existing sustainably managed forestry plantations and clearingof specified noxious weeds are eligible. Use of any materials from high conservation-value forestsis not eligible.3 Hydro-electric power projects must have adequate environmental flows. Projects that involveconstruction of new dams or diversion of rivers are not acceptable under GreenPower criteria.

GreenSwitch – Green SwitchGreenSwitch is a business unit of the not-for-profit Global Green Plan

environmental organization.The GreenSwitch model allows you to quickly and simply buy back

your greenhouse energy emissions online by entering the amount ofyour energy usage from your electricity bill, then choosing what mix ofwind, solar, hydro and biomass renewable energy sources you wish topurchase. The amount you pay will depend on the amount and mix ofenergy sources you choose.

An online account will be created for you that records your previouspurchases and allows you to view and re-print yourGreenPowercertificate.

Like most GreenPower traders, GreenSwitch also allows you to off-set emissions from particular events, conferences or seminars that youmight conduct, allowing you to display the GreenPower logo oncollateral related to the event.

Green Electricity Watch rating: rr

GreenSwitch(03) 9822 6335 • www.greenswitch.com.au

Ark Climate – Ark Climate BusinessArk Climate provides “decoupled” products which allow consumers

to switch to government accredited renewable energy without changingelectricity retailer.

As with other GreenPower products the consumer’s money is paid toa renewable energy generator to replace the energy that the consumerhas drawn from the national grid. Without this payment the energywould automatically be supplied from non renewable sources.

Ark Climate is the online carbon trading arm of the privately ownedAustralian CO2 Exchange (ACX). ACX has over 15 years experience inthe fields of environmental sustainability and energy efficiency, and offera complete Carbon Management Program that covers everything fromreal time energy and resource monitoring to analysis and solutionsimplementation.

Current clients purchasing Green Power carbon credits via ArkClimate include the Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA), Cityof Melbourne, Colonial First State Investments and Minter Ellison.

Green Electricity Watch rating: rr

Ark Climate (03) 9682 4200 • www.arkclimate.com or www.co2ex.com.au

Provider Contact NSW VIC QLD SA WA TAS ACT NT

13 13 58

(03) 9682 4200

13 12 45

1300 13 2045

1300 CLIMATE

13 23 56

1300 BE NEUTRAL

13 88 08

13 10 46

13 14 93

(03) 9822 6335

13 10 02

1300 662 778

13 GREEN

(03) 9620 4400

1300 307 966

1300 360 294

13 13 53

13 34 66

1300 136 749

(02) 9518 3121

GreenPower Buyers GuideBusinesses can all the customer service numbers below or on their electricity bill and ask to join up to an accredited

GreenPower product. Remember each energy supplier will have their own name for the accredited GreenPower

product they sell, such as ‘GreenLiving’ or ‘GreenEarth’, and have different options for the percentage of GreenPower

you can purchase.

Organisations in these states allow you to remain with your

current electricity retailer but purchase GreenPower credits

from them as well.

Page 33: Facility Perspectives v2#1 March 2008

Urinals – The water waster!

It is extraordinary to think that just

one urinal with a nine litre cistern

flushing every 15 minutes uses over

315,000 litres of water per year.

Not only is this excess water usage a

cost to businesses but we are wasting

one of earth’s increasingly precious

resources that we can no longer ignore.

By investing in water saving urinal

technology you can do your part to

help the environment and your budget.

Dave Smith, General Manager for Pink

Hygiene Solutions says, ‘By simply

controlling the amount of water being

flushed though the urinal, your business

could save up to 90% on urinal water

consumption.’

It is important to note that a “waterless

urinal” is a concept and in actual

fact they do need some water to be completely effective. The December

2007 publication of Asia Cleaning Journal states that ‘the issue with

waterless urinals is that the eventual

build-up of uric scale will cause

problematic odours sooner or later…’

and could lead to problems in the

drains that require expensive specialist

repairs.

Not only does water saving urinal

technology help save on water usage

but it can also stop odours, prevent

blockages and improve hygiene. All this

makes a trip to the washroom much

more pleasant for your visitors and

keeps your reputation intact.

Reference: Asia Cleaning Journal, December 2007

Urinal flushing is one of the worst offenders when it comes to excess water consumption.

Urinals can waste large amounts of water every year but you can help to reduce water consumption by investing in

the eco-Pink water saving solution. eco-Pink protects the environment because it dramatically reduces urinal water usage and eliminates the need for harmful chemicals.

ADVERTORIAL

Page 34: Facility Perspectives v2#1 March 2008
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fac i l i typerspectives • 33

MANAGING AN ICON

Brisbane City Hall serves as one of the most prestigious venues on offer in Queensland’scapital. Covering almost two hectares of land in the heart of the city, the 80-year-old iconicstructure is one of Brisbane’s finest examples of architecture. The city’s beloved building iscertainly one that belongs to the people, from weddings to dance classes for seniorcitizens, hundreds of memorable events pass through the doors of the City Hall each year.Melanie Drummond spoke to Brisbane City Hall’s Facilities Manager Stephen Page aboutthe challenges involved with managing a heritage building that rarely ever closes.

Heart of the City – managinga Brisbane Landmark

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MANAGING AN ICON

For Stephen Page, Brisbane City Hall’s Facilities Manager, having asense of humour is just one way to keep smiling while managing oneof the city’s busiest facilities.

“Well I’ve got no hair left! I think to a degree your stress levels go upand down depending on what’s happening and you tend to learn to livewith it to a degree. I try as best as possible to separate my home life frommy work life.”

An electrician by trade, Steve stepped into the hectic role of sole facilitymanager for the City Hall just 18 months ago.

“The Brisbane City Council was starting up their own FacilitiesManagement department in 2000 and they appointed an externally sourcedFacilities Manager to start things moving. I worked with the original FacilityManager for a few years and learnt quite a lot about what was expected, heunfortunately left Council and moved onto the State Government. Thegroup evolved to provide Facility Management services across more of thecouncil buildings and after gaining valuable experience at a number of sitesI have ended up at Brisbane City Hall.”

Since the City Hall was opened by the Governor of Queensland SirJohn Goodwin on April 8, 1930, it has remained a popular spot for variousevents and visiting tourists.

“Just to give you an idea of how busy we are here, in the last 12months we’ve held: 34 exhibitions, 35 gala events, 265 meetings, 120performances, 58 receptions, 9 school events, 10 weddings and 55 otherevents including sales, church services and memorials etc. We also house aseniors club that operates in various function areas of city hall, they conductdance classes and Play Bridge, cards and have art classes - we held 854 ofthose events last year.

“We also have a childcare facility here which has about 100 children onsite right through to kindergarten age. The childcare facilities here havebeen operating since the early 1940s and the facilities are open to thepublic, numbers permitting of course. The children have internal andexternal play areas plus the full range of facilities you’d expect from anormal childcare centre. Most of the children come and go from the one liftin the building and unless you were there at the busy times you wouldn’tknow they were here at all.”

As well as playing host to Brisbane City Council meetings and events,the City Hall has another esteemed tenant - the Museum of Brisbane, whichis also located on site and comprises four gallery spaces that cover an areaof 600sqm.

Luckily, the formidable building has more than enough room tocomfortably deliver the multitude of events and functions it hosts each year

“There are 300 rooms in the building all up, ranging in size. The largestroom is the Grand Ballroom or the Main Auditorium as we call it. The roomdimensions are 37.7 metres in diameter and it has a total area of 849 squaremetres. It has the capacity to fit 1230 people on the ground floor plusanother 214 in the gallery. If we want to have a banquet style arrangementwe can house 800 patrons. The main auditorium houses a magnificent PipeOrgan which is absolutely fantastic to listen to on those occasions when wehave an organ recital. There are 5 other glorious function rooms of varioussizes and themes that are available for hire.”

Steve says keeping on top of interior presentation, maintenance, andhygiene standards is essential for a building that has such a widespreadpublic profile.

“We’re constantly painting the place because it’s an old building and it’soften getting damaged with things coming and going. There are all thetimber finishes, tiled floors, parquetry floors, concrete floors and walls andsolid plaster that need to be maintained - there’s a lot of plaster in the placewhich is easily damaged. There’s also general building maintenance - thebuilding is air conditioned, originally it wasn’t and a lot of the equipmentwas put into the available spaces. In some instances it’s no longer practicalto maintain this equipment and it needs relocating to a more suitable spot.Some of it isn’t exactly pretty either and we need to take this all into accountwhen we plan any improvements. A lot of the services have been installedover a period of time and a lot of them have been updated over the yearsas they’re quite old.”

Aside from dealing with the everyday nuances that an 80-year-oldbuilding can deliver, part of Steve’s role involves adhering to strict heritagebuilding requirements when undergoing any maintenance or developmentsat the City Hall.

“There is always a lot to learn especially when you are dealing withbuilding methods from the 1930s. Trying to deal with heritage related issueslike timber floors is also an issue we face and subsequently try to makegood on when they’re damaged. We’ve got a conservation plan that weestablished in 1992 and that is essentially our working bible, we work from

that to ensure we tread lightly in relation to areas of heritage significance.We also have to consider the requirements of the tenants and the hirers withany of our intended activities – this is often the biggest hurdle, with a lot ofwork being performed outside of hours.”

To guarantee money is spent effective and efficiently at the City Hall, itis crucial that Steve deals with contractors who have experience working onheritage sites. Locating sufficiently skilled contractors and building materialsthat keep in line with heritage requirements has in the past createdchallenges for keeping to anticipated timeframes for upgrades and repairs.

“We have our own heritage architects working with council and theycan make a fairly decent decision on the spot and smooth things out to adegree with the state and federal government requirements. One thingwhich can cause a problem at times is sourcing materials. For example, mostof the doors and timber finishes are Maple or Silky Oak and the timber sizesused are now pretty difficult to duplicate, so preservation is a necessity.Wear and tear from events do take a toll on the original building materialsand in some instances we have to rebuild items to original specifications asthey can fail. It could come down to something as simple as a doorknob”.

“As you can imagine we do also sometimes need to be able to sourcespecialists on occasion such as stone masons, parquetry flooring contractors,Pipe Organ tuners and so forth. These trades are far from common now andthe good ones are in great demand, so you get them when they areavailable and sometimes there is a delay. Trying to source people who canprovide that level of service can often be difficult.”

The City Hall also employs a standard array of contractors such as fire,lifts, and HVAC and enlists the services of engineering specialists andheritage consultants as required.

“We have a small internal trades group including electricians, plumbers,carpenters, painters and telecommunication technicians, which I share withthe rest of the Council sites. This group affords me a timely response to urgent issues, however theyoften subsidise their resources with sub-contractors to meet our needs. Thecatering is contracted out as are the majority of the audio visual eventrequirements. The cleaning staff works for the operations team and its blendof internal and external providers which is fairly easy to deal with. The in-house cleaners do have a love for the building, and a lot of them have beenhere for quite a few years so they know what the requirements are, which isgreat.

“We’re very lucky we’ve also got an in-house electrician who takes agreat deal of care with the building and is always coming up with innovativeways to improve the maintenance factor and energy efficiency for lighting.More recently he has been doing some experimentation with light emittingdiodes (LEDs), to see if it would be more sensible to do some retrofittingwith those.”

Steve has found it vital to have access to up-to-date information relatingto the site when addressing heritage requirements – an objective whichoften proves the most demanding facet of working for the City Hall.

“The biggest challenge for this site is obtaining up-to-date informationrelating to the building, there have been so many changes over the yearswith not as much attention paid to the information. Some of the areas havebeen refurbished a multitude of times and yet some other areas areextremely original. Unfortunately some of the original infrastructure is hiddenbehind walls or other structures and that can impede access. We’readdressing this as we undertake a series of audits within the building. Just togive you an idea, if we go to paint a wall we can’t just paint it. We have todo scrapings on the wall to see what the original colours were and see if wecan return it back to the original colour.”

As part of a 10-year-plan to restore the building to its original state, aseries of audits on the entire structure are already underway. Steve’s long-term strategy also includes developing and maintaining one repository forrecords relating to the physical structure of City Hall.

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MANAGING AN ICON

“That is my ultimate goal and it will make it a much easier place to manage.At various times they’ve had cleanups here and not realised just what hasbeen thrown away.

Another aspect which has impacted on that is that the site has beenused for a number of different purposes, years ago it housed a great deal ofcouncil office staff and a lot of those moved out in the 1980s to an officetower that was built for them. Those rooms were subsequently returned tofunction rooms. As you can imagine at those times when they’re movingpeople around, records can get lost.”

“I take a lot of ownership with regards to the building and believe thatmy input into the delivery of maintenance and capital works will bring thesite forward to a much higher level than without my involvement. I also seemyself as the “compliance policeman” for the site and since I started thelevels of compliance has been raised a few notches.”

Risk Management is also top of this busy facility manager’s priority list. “City Council has its own corporate risk management area and it deals

with the general policies which apply to council and as a venue we have tofit into that. Brisbane City Council has embraced zero harm for workplacehealth and safety some years ago and that means no harm to anyone atanytime. The intention is to bring your workplace health and safety injuryrate right down to zero by addressing all known risks and changing workpractises accordingly. It’s been a steep learning curve particularly for FMs atcouncil as we were typically inundated with requests to improve the healthand safety of our sites.

“As you can imagine with an old building like this with great big marblestaircases which don’t have handrails you can get your hand around to holdon to, you come up against problems. This is when it is good to have yourown Heritage Architects available.”

Whether it’s the latest in health and safety requirements or discussingthe latest in record- keeping essentials, Steve says knowledge sharing withcolleagues in the Facilities Management industry is crucial factor in keepingon top of the latest developments.

“The industry as a whole is evolving rapidly and as every FM in theindustry knows, a facility manager has to wear many guises. It’s important tostay on top of developments and technology advancements in FM - there isa public requirement for us to do that. There is an expectation of people inthis role to at least have a basic understanding of what is required in areassuch as sustainability, so they are able to source an answer or a design tomeet the requirements.”

Steve keeps in regular contact with previous Facility Mangers from theCouncil and has found maintaining networks in the industry a valuablesupport network when problem solving.

“Networking is vital, like anything if you can make a phone call and talkto somebody and get their ideas on a problem, you can get your answerfairly promptly. Being the only FM, you can be isolated from the rest of theworkgroup to a degree so it is good to touch base with people whounderstand what you’re going though and what your role entails. The role ispretty demanding and it can be easy to isolate yourself through immersingyourself in the workload, however it is still a good idea to nurture thoserelationships from time to time to ensure you have an effective network ofsupport.”

While other Facility Managers might be daunted by the manychallenges of facility managing one of Brisbane’s most adored landmarks,Stephen Page enjoys the responsibility of his diverse and demanding role.

“It’s a varied role, you never know from one day to the next whereyou’re going to be taken. There is a lot of responsibility and the buckdefinitely stops with this position. Often a decision has to be made andsometimes they’re hard decisions, you have to live with them right or wrong.Sometimes you’re literally thinking on your feet. The best thing here is thepeople, everyone here puts in an enormous effort to deliver the best andthat’s from the very bottom to the very top. There is a level of understandingthat it’s the home of the Brisbane City Council and it deserves that little bitof extra effort from all. There’s definitely pride among people working here.”

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WORLD NEWS AND IN BRIEF

FP: Why was the theme of sustainability chose for this year’sannual BIFM conference?

IF: We chose sustainability because it’s is a very topical issue and whenwe looked at our conference in 2007, we felt that the underlying themesof sustainability and environmental issues were prevalent in many of thesubjects covered and many of the 2007 delegates that we spoke to alsorequested that we cover sustainability in full for our 2008 conference.

FP: What are the main topics that will be addressed in theconference?

IF: Most of the talks will be linked to sustainability – not necessarilyjust from an environmental point-of-view, but also from one of longevity.Our speakers – who come from a range of client and supplierorganizations – can choose topics related to sustainability and link them toeither environmental issues, sustainability issues or simply talk about issuesfacing facilities management in the long term.

FP: Who are your keynote speakers?IF: We’ve got a number of keynote speakers from a number of

backgrounds, taking quite a wide range of different approaches to thetheme of sustainability.

For example, we’ve got the Chief Executive of Oxfam who’s going tolink sustainability - not so much to environmental issues - but within thecontext of providing services within the not-for-profit and charity sectorwhose key focus is in securing human beings the basic essentials of life.

We’ve also engaged a key forecaster who’s going to be linkingsustainability issues particularly with relation to the government agenda.His name is James Woodhouse. He is a professor and futurist who’s a very,very keen supporter of the targets that government is arguing industryshould be adopting regarding sustainability.

Beyond that, we’ve got a whole wide range of case studies that client

organisations and suppliers have linked together which talk about veryspecific sustainability projects like energy sustainability, to demonstrate theoutcomes partnerships and good governance can achieve in relation tosustainability.

FP: How many delegates are you expecting at the conference?IF: Last year we had delegates from over 22 countries and this year

we are looking for around 400 delegates to attend the conference.What we have found is that, while this is really designed to be BIFM’s

UK-based conference, there are still a large number of interested peoplewho visit from overseas – people from as close as Europe and Ireland, andas far away as the Russia’s, the Middle-East and Africa.

This year we are also expecting delegates from FM associations in theUS and Australia.

FP: What professional backgrounds will your delegates have? IF: We expect people from five different streams to attend: end-users

from client organisations looking for best practice and networkingopportunities who will come from wide-ranging backgrounds in both thepublic and private sectors; management providers in FM working at highstrategic and tactical levels and very often providing services to the clientorganisations such as management advice and guidance; service providersfrom the catering, cleaning, security, front-of-house, concierge services,mechanical, electrical sectors; consultant service providers and othervarious product providers.

FP: What other events will be held during the conference?IF: There will be a whole range of side events that will compete

alongside the main events of the conference and deal with some veryeclectic subjects.

For the first time, we are hosting a Boardroom Challenge and invitingyoung people in the FM industry to come in and present an initiative or a

British Facility Managersrise to the challengeBeginning on the 18th of March 2008, the British Institute of Facility Management (BIFM)will hold their 2008 annual conference. Conducted over two days among the hallowed redbrick buildings of Keble College, Oxford, this years topic is Sustainable FM – Meeting theChallenge. Facility Perspectives’ Bianca Frost spoke to Ian Fielder, founding member andcurrent CEO of BIFM, to discuss the conference and find out what issues, trends andchallenges are currently facing the British FM industry.

KEBLE COLLEGE, OXFORD

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fac i l i typerspectives • 37

WORLD NEWS AND IN BRIEF

project to some quite esteemed VIP’s who will act as a board and willcritique the young FM’s ideas.

We have also organised events like, ‘how to network in FM’.Networking is a particularly valuable skill in FM and having someone whois a good networker on your team can deliver some really good results. Alot of people in FM either don’t like networking or are not naturalnetworkers, so this event is designed to give them very useful andpractical tips on networking within the FM environment.

FP: What are BIFM’s aims for the conference?IF: We have two main aims. Firstly, we are aiming to provide an

important networking event that brings people together and can assistthem in their professions just by meeting other people who also work inFM. Secondly, and most importantly, the main aim of the conference isknowledge exchange, about bringing people together so they can bothgain and exchange knowledge.

FP: What direction or general trends is the FM industry followingin the UK?

IF: The direction of FM is expanding – in particular, the core areas ofFM are changing as clients demand more and more from the scope of FM.

One of the key trends here in FM is how our scope seems to betravelling into the business areas of the industry.

For example, a lot of FM people, whether engaged in-house or assuppliers, are now being contracted out by client organizations to managetheir finance or HR requirements.

The reason for this is that client organizations are increasingly findingthat the FM community are the best people to manage contractedactivities. So while FM traditionally provided the hard and soft services thatwere very close to the built environment, areas such as travel, invoice dataand other business areas like payroll, are coming under the scope offacilities management.

The other thing we are seeing more and more, is the convergence ofreal estate and FM.

Where FM once ran parallel to real estate, we are now seeing aconvergence between the two responsibilities with many more seniorfacilities managers in the UK now managing the real estate responsibilitiesof their facilities as well.

FP: What are the main issues or challenges facing the FM industryin the UK?

IF: Environmental and sustainability issues are really dominating theFM landscape in the UK at the moment. Related to that are complianceissues. In fact, compliance is a huge issue due to ongoing changes inEuropean legislation.

More and more emphasis is now being placed on employers – and inturn, the FM industry - to demonstrate that they are complying tolegislation, whereas ten years ago, there was more emphasis ongovernment officials coming in to check that organizations were complyingto that legislation.

In other words, facility managers don’t just have to comply withlegislation, they have to actively demonstrate that compliance and if theyfail to do so, they could very easily find either themselves or theiremployers in court for non-compliance.

This is a really big issue here because every facility manager is strivingto comply with legislation and good practice, yet sometimes they arefinding it very difficult to understand what that good practice is.

The other big issue in UK FM are training and education. Tertiary training for FM in the UK only really starts at the post-graduate

level but there is also a need for potential facility managers to determinetheir career at entry point. So, the need to assist young people at a lower,on-the-job training level in FM is a big issue here and is another topic thatwill be discussed at the 2008 conference.

FP: What kind of government regulations are in place with regardsto facility management in the UK?

IF: There are a number of initiatives active in the UK - both mandatoryand advisory.

There is a big emphasis on renewable’s, and new buildings mustcomply and demonstrate that they have included new renewable energyin their design.

Building restrictions are very strict in the UK but there is a lot helpavailable from the government in managing carbon emissions and makingenergy savings as well.

FP: What impacts will recent European Union resolutions oncarbon emissions have on FM practice in the UK?

IF: It is difficult to tell what effect on the ground the recent EU carbonemissions targets will have on the FM industry.

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WORLD NEWS AND IN BRIEF

Recent UE resolutions are more expressive of an intent than of anyparticular action. What is having more impact in the UK is the effect ofcorporate social responsibility models which mean that large organisationsare keen to demonstrate that they are good corporate citizens bypublishing their environmental initiatives in their annual reviews andreports.

I would suggest that rather than looking at the European initiatives,employers and organizations are more keen to demonstrate that they arebuying their energy efficiently, that they are using their energy efficiently,reducing their carbon footprint, introducing positive recycling schemes andmoving their personal greenhouse gas emission targets up form 50% to ahigher percentage of energy recycling and looking at renewable energysourcing rather than just relying on straight energy use.

There are a lot of things happening in organisational energymanagement because people see it not just as an aspect of goodpractice, but also because their shareholders are demanding it.

FP: Can you sum up or describe the mood of the FM industry inthe UK?

IF: Very, very positive. FM’s are always good at beating themselves up, but if you actually

take a step back and look at what’s happening around the world – theaction agenda in FM is very inspiring – the government in the UK hasrecognized FM as an industry, we have 25 separate skills councils that arelooking at training and education. Only this week a letter has gone out tothe Prime Minister about energy savings signed by the chairmen ofinstitutes and associations including BIFM, and it’s the first time we’vestarted to see terms like the built environment and facilities managementused in those letters when traditionally we would’ve seen construction andengineering being used as a focus.

FM’s are becoming more and more recognised and although there isstill some way to go, we are seeing national occupational standardsproduced by the government for FM – which are going to be publishedearly in 2008 – and that will see the introduction of increased on-the-jobtraining programs.

Effectively this means that people coming into FM - perhaps fromcatering, security and cleaning, for example - will be able to completeentry level qualifications that will start to contribute towards specific FMqualifications.

So, to sum up, the mood is very positive. There are still a few mergersand acquisitions going on within the industry, but from a commercial view,FM is really a very exciting industry to be involved with.

FP: What can you tell us about the location for the BIFMconference?

IF: Keble College is about 35 miles from London and has direct routesby rail and road. We only move our conference venue once every three orfour years, so this is our third year at Oxford. We have previously heldconferences in Cambridge. We quite like the academic feel that the oldred brick universities lend to a conference of this nature. Keble College is avery Victorian college which we believe reinforces the academic feel of theconference.

FP: Can BIFM assist delegates travelling from Australia withaccommodation and transportation requirements?

IF: Obviously there are a range of accommodation options in Oxford –it’s a splendid place to stay and the communication links are excellent.

Because the conference is being held at one of Oxford’s studentcolleges, the cheapest option is to take out accommodation at the collegeitself. The rooms are quite basic but each has its own ensuite and areperfectly comfortable.

Our event organisers would be happy to assist anyone requiringaccommodation or transportation information and assistance.

FP: What would you say to any Australian FM professionalsconsidering whether to attend the conference or not?

IF: You’ll gain a fantastic insight into the UK view of facilitiesmanagement. Although there are a lot of commonalities, it is still quitedifferent from the Australian view.

You’ll also have the opportunity to wander among the spires of Oxford- which is an experience that just can’t be gained anywhere else - andmeet with very high level people within the industry at senior manager anddirector level, and experience the latest thinking in FM best practice froma UK perspective while enjoying the hospitality of BIFM.

For booking, accommodation and other queries related to BIFM’s 2008annual conference, please contact Rebecca Montwill by email [email protected] or visit www.bifmconference.com

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HOSPITALS & HEALTHCARE

For those Facility Managers who spend their working days behind the scenes at our publicand private hospitals, maintenance can become a life or death situation. To ensure patientand visitor safety, is it critical that all equipment is running reliably and at optimumperformance, 24 hours a day. Facility Perspectives’ Melanie Drummond talked to JamesSmith, Facility Manager at Mount Private Hospital in Perth, about the issues facing FacilityManagers in the HealthCare system and discusses why it is vital that hospital maintenancemakes the move from a reactive to a more proactive environment.

Critical Maintenance –Facility Management intoday’s Hospitals

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Mount Private Hospital is a leader in the provision of privatehospital services in Western Australia. Located at the base ofKings Park on Mounts Bay Road, Perth, the hospital provides

access to the State’s leading surgeons and hospital equipment.Mount offers the only Level 3 private Intensive Care Unit in WA and

a range of other specialised services that make it the first choice formany seeking private health care in our Western State:3 220 beds3 2 x state of the art Cardiac and Vascular Catheter Labs 3 A Coronary Care Unit 3 9 specialised theatres 3 Day and Endoscopy Unit 3 Onsite Medical Centres for Specialists 3 Onsite pharmacy, pathology, radiology and physiotherapy 3 The Mount Cancer and Research Service Centre 3 Specialised acute medical ward 3 Oncology clinic

Facility Perspectives spoke to Facility ManagerJames Smith, about what goes on behind the scenes atone of Perth’s leading private hospitals.

FP: What is your background in facilitiesmanagement?

JS: My background is in Reliability Engineering andRCA.

FP: How big is the facilities department at Mount Hospital?JS: The facilities department is made up of: 3 people in

maintenance, 5 people in the carpark and 1 person responsible forgardening.

FP: What facility management needs are unique to running ahospital?

JS: There’s much more variety of equipment and the criticality ofequipment failing is much greater, it’s an acute environment. Equipmentsuch as the air compressors, vacuum systems and fire panels are muchmore critical in this environment. If the air conditioning developsproblems in the theatres then they may have to stop operating. We’vealso got emergency generators which we run up once a month to makesure they’re all working and everything is functioning correctly in case wehave a power outage. Even though we’re in the CBD we’ve experiencedpower surges and phase dropouts causing us to use our generator sets.Surgeons can’t operate if we are using generators because of a powerinterruption.

FP: To what extent are contractors employed by the hospital?JS: We employ a variety of contractors who take care of fire safety,

air conditioning, vacuum systems, medical air compressors, boilers,sterilisers etc. Most are specialty contractors and highly competent intheir core business.

FP: How many contractors come through the hospital in a week?JS: It varies from day to day. But we try to spread the load over the

week because our supervisory capacity is limited. There is one or two perday at least. We also have a redevelopment going on at the momentand we’re looking at more inductions, permit etc than normal whilst theperipheral work going on.

FP: How do you manage them all effectively?JS: They’re usually regulars so when they arrive they know where

they’re going and they sign their keys in and out. We don’t have a needto directly supervise them. If we have a contractor that’s not inducted orwe haven’t seen before, we make sure they have a full understanding ofwhat the job is about and we put them through the induction process.Including writing JSA’S and the permit system.

FP: As far as the contractors meeting health and safetyrequirements, how do you monitor the work they’ve been doing?

JS: Generally whenever a contractor comes on site, they meet withus and discuss what the job is going to be, there haven’t been any majorissues and I would attribute this to our rigid job start packages. Weensure that we discuss the job and any safety concerns before the jobbegins and inspect the works after the job is completed. Commissioningand handing the equipment or rooms back to operational staff is alsocrucial.

FP: How much of a back up do you need for power?JS: There’s about 45 to 50 hours of back up power available from

the emergency generators. We also have a UPS system for back-upemergency lighting in the theatres etc should the generators fail.

FP: How important are health and safety issues?JS: Health and Safety is placed very high on the agenda. We have a

full time OSH manager and have regular infection control meetings thatcover the health and safety of the workers, patients and everybody onsite to look at what we can do to reduce risk of injury and infection.

FP: What do you do to reduce risk of injury and infection?JS: We have an infection control officer; it’s her job to make sure we

reduce infection by keeping up with the latest standards from the healthdepartment. In my area it is about our equipment, making sure we don’thave any dead legs in our plumbing to prevent legionella developing.We need to make sure our dosing and heating of our hot water is doneand checked every week. We do regular testing and audit the testingregime to make sure our water towers are cleaned regularly and there’sno legionella evident. We make sure that our guys that come on boardknow the task they need to perform, that they have their JSA’s filled outand know what the risks involved are for everyone in the workplace.

FP: Clearly the fallout from not keeping on top of maintenance isserious, how do you cope with that responsibility?

JS: I guess you mature into these jobs and develop the knowledgeof what you need to in the short term to fix the problem and to preventit reoccurring. Hospitals are very reactive so you’re constantly changinggears. We have a preventative maintenance system that is a work inprogress, improving the system will increase our reliability which willreduce the reactive nature of what we do. Every day is challenging, andrequires re-prioritising what needs to be done and what may affectpatient safety and comfort.

FP: Are there are other forms of emergency management inplace to address other situations that might occur in the hospital?

JS: Apart from clinical, there are fire evacuation plans, bomb threatprocedures, and security and access systems in place.

FP: What are the KPIs the Facilities Management departmentwork towards?

JS: We have KPIs for labor hours, another is our responsiveness. Wealso have a monthly budget to meet.

FP: How is your responsiveness measured?JS: At the moment we’re gauging that. Everybody’s idea of when

things need to be done is different, most people want things doneyesterday! Obviously we’re trying to be responsive and we look at everyjob. What I’m finding is that when we’re talking through the jobs, we’rerealising that it’s not always maintenance that needs to attend to the job.We’re putting some of the responsibility back on people who are makingthat supposed ‘critical’ call. It’s often things that people might do athome, like change a reading light bulb. but when they come to theworkplace they don’t think it’s their job to have to do it. It’s putting itback on people and saying that, ‘Yes you can do that’. We’re not askinganybody to do anything they don’t feel comfortable with doing.

FP: How much involvement do you have with the public andresponding to their feedback on the hospital?

JS: Generally we don’t have any direct contact with the public unlesswe’re fixing something in a room. As far as feedback goes, weoccasionally have negative feedback regarding things that haven’t beenfixed in a room, but in those situations we use this opportunity toimprove.

FP: Obviously sustainability is a big topic in FM these days, howhas the issue affected your role at the hospital?

JS: If I had more time I would work more on the pet projects I getexcited about, one of them is saving water. I would also like to do morework on a life cycle management plan.

FP: Have you managed to implement any water savingmeasures?

JS: What I’m currently doing is measuring how much water we areusing and trying to identify where the largest usage is by way of a drivertree. Installing an RO unit has saved about 16 cubes per day.

FP: What is the biggest user of water there?JS: Without a doubt it’s patient showers and the cooling towers at

the peak of summer. Other large consumers of water are our equipment;we went through a cycle last year where we were manually dumping 20tonnes a day of treated water down the drain. This was from our boilersto maintain quality steam to our sterilisers. What we were trying to dowas to lower our total dissolve solids (TDS) to our sterilisers. Wepurchased a Reverse Osmosis system to reduce the TDS and hencewe’re not wasting all that water. Unfortunately as a trade off we do haveto dump 30 percent of the RO system water down the drain because ofthe high TDS it produces. But this is reduced to only 2 tonnes per day.The intention for future water savings will be to put all of our waste waterfrom the cooling towers through our RO system. And to use the high

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HOSPITALS & HEALTHCARE

TDS water from the RO unit forthe toilet cisterns.

FP: Do you havesomebody from facilities onsite 24 hours a day?

JS: What we do have issomebody on call 24 hours aday, presently there are just twoof us that do that andunfortunately it can be verydraining. At the moment we’rereally focusing on trying to drilldown and finding out what theproblem is when you get a calland working out if we don’tactually need to come in for thejob. We have sometimes had 2or 3 calls a night and then stillhad to come back to thehospital in the morning. It canbe tiring, thus we are employinga third person. Were alsofollowing through on the needfor the call out to reduce the reoccurrences

FP: So part of the processis about re-educating staff atthe hospital to take a moreresponsibility for the smallerjobs?

JS: Part of the process is identifying whether the job really is amaintenance job in the first instance. Then it’s prioritising when the jobcould be completed.

FP: What are the most difficult challenges you face at thehospital?

JS: The most difficult aspect of the job I’ve faced so far was learningabout the sterilisers and getting the sterilisers to pass a stringent qualitytest. Last year a new challenge device was initiated into the sterilisingprocess which indicated that the steam circuit needed to be upgraded.The hospital had commissioned several surveys on the steam system inthe past but none of the recommendations were actioned, partlybecause they were too busy. When the new test device was installed werealised that we were no longer able to sterilise so we had to come upwith a solution, and quickly, otherwise our business in healthcare can’tcontinue.

FP: What solution did you use to address the problem?JS: I visited other hospitals that were using the same test devices in

their sterilisers. The story doing the rounds was that the steam problemswas due to “high TDS” but on visiting the other hospitals I realised thathigh TDS didn’t seem to be the problem. From visiting other healthcareproviders it became evident that it was more likely to be the ‘Feedwater’tank temperatures. Other hospitals were using de-aerators, we didn’thave a de-aerator but we could increase our tank temperature to thetemperature level of a de-aerator which was what we did. Effectively itwas a quick, cheap fix until we could obtain some of the infrastructurethat most other hospitals had in place. We determined that theequipment we needed to purchase was a Reverse Osmosis (desalination)Unit. We installed the RO unit and it has improved the steam circuitquality and operation greatly. This has been a great success for thehospital.

FP: What issues you think the hospital might be dealing with inthe next 5 years?

JS: Ageing equipment, ageing assets coming to the end of theirlifecycle, the hospital adding new theatres and putting more demand onthat old equipment. In particular I’m talking about elevators, medical aircompressors and some of our air conditioning units. What the hospital isalso doing, as part of health regulations, is refurbishing all the rooms –that’s the mediducts and bathrooms to bring them up to the latest healthregulations. In the near future the Mount is going to build anothersterilisation department because the existing one is too small and furtheron from that they’re going to add two more theatres.

FP: Will that add to your workload?JS: The redevelopment side has added to our workload, I’m also

trying to put some of the controls on to some of the contractors rather

than on to engineering or maintenance.FP: What changes do you think need to occur in facilities

management of hospitals?JS: I don’t think that hospitals have ever really grasped a planned

regime for maintenance and I think it’s just coming around now. Thechallenge is to be more pro active than re active.

What’s happened is that the hospitals can change ownership,perhaps pay too much so they (the owners) have to do a slash and burnin different areas and usually the easy targets are always in numbers, nowwhether that’s in maintenance and or other areas it usually happens. Inprivate hospitals they’re operating on minimum manning (manning to theplan), that’s fine if you have a plan but it doesn’t work if the maintenanceis very reactive.

What needs to happen to get out of that cycle is to build a moreplanned approach; hospitals need to be building a maintenance strategyfor all of their equipment. From having been around a number ofhospitals recently, both public and private, all I have heard is the samestory. The problem stems from the people working in the hospitals thatdon’t have the background in planned maintenance and are so used toreacting – they haven’t seen how a planned maintenance strategy canwork, Those FM’s can get stuck in a vicious cycle of not having enoughstaff and having to call in contractors all the time – essentially they neverget to deal with the root cause of the problems.

FP: With maintenance being so crucial to health and safety, whydo you think hospitals are under-staffing their maintenancedepartments?

JS: The decisions about staffing are made by corporate whobenchmark across 45 hospitals and not by the guy running themaintenance team. Corporate will often point to other hospitals statingthat is how they do it. The problem is that it’s all relative to that hospital.

FP: What do you think needs to happen to change the situation?JS: At the moment what I’m doing is training one of my facilities

techs to be a maintenance planner rather than just a reactive worker, soI’m getting him to take on the planned maintenance and making sure itgets done. In the background I’m working on a strategy and looking atthe root causes of problems and building a proper planned maintenancesystem. I see that as being the way hospitals need to head into thefuture, we need to get people trained up in asset strategy planning.

Jim Smith’s strategy for a more proactive and strategic approach tomaintenance should ultimately lead to a better understanding of plantand equipment life-cycle issues, and provide the basis for the forwardmaintenance and budgetary planning needed to ensure facilitiesmanagement receives it’s fair share of the operational and capitalexpenditure cake. We wish him and his team all success.

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SUSTAINABILITY FORUM

There is a lot of discussion in the corporate world at present aboutcarbon neutrality in the built environment. Unfortunately, there isvery little understanding of the issue and this applies across most

sectors of business. Such a state of affairs needs to change rapidly, givenwhat we now know about how human activity is driving climate change.

So what does being carbon neutral mean? Unfortunately, manypeople share the muddied view that ‘carbon neutral’ equates to ‘carbonoffsets’. This is a fallacy. Carbon offsets are just one strategy to helpnegate the impact of greenhouse gas emissions. Being carbon neutralrequires a structured program where a number of strategies help deliverthe broader goal of being truly carbon neutral. A carbon neutral building,for example, can be defined as one that produces no net contribution tocarbon emissions. Such a goal, even if it is achievable, is difficult andrequires significant long-term planning and, in the short term, it mayinvolve significant expenditure.

Accepting the sustainability challengeThe immediate temptation may be to put this challenge into the ‘too

hard’ basket but, other than the moral and even life-preservingarguments for working towards carbon neutrality, there is a very strongmarketing imperative. You should be taking this seriously because anever-growing proportion of your competitors are, or soon will be,adopting a vision and a program to operate in a carbon-restrainedfuture.

To effectively manage and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, andtherefore move toward a sustainable future, one should approach thechallenge in stages. The fundamental step is to do all you reasonably canto reduce carbon pollution of the atmosphere as a result of the dailyoperation of your business, through easily accessible measures. If you arenot prepared to do this, than the entire issue of offsets and carbonneutrality is to some extent irrelevant.

This initial activity might involve relatively straightforward initiativessuch as more efficient power usage by turning off lights more oftenand/or replacing traditional light bulbs with the new energy efficientvariety, and perhaps also travelling less, teleconferencing more andencouraging staff to use public transport. It might include relativelysimple engineering actions such as changing the temperature set pointson the air-conditioning a degree or two higher in summer and a degreeor two lower in winter. Once you have begun the process in this way, it is

then time to consider choices for approaching carbon neutrality. Here are three such choices:

3 Assuming you have reduced your direct and indirect energy use to aminimum, carbon neutrality can appear to have been reached, atleast in terms of electricity usage, by purchasing 100% accreditedGreenpower (renewable energy sourced from sun, wind, water andwaste).

3 In addition to pursuing carbon neutrality in your operations, you canalso influence the decisions of stakeholders, including employees,clients, tenants and suppliers. This is a more difficult target, requiringclose engagement with these stakeholders to understand theirpower consumption patterns and to assist them in reducing thatconsumption. In the case of a commercial building owner, forexample, there would then be a need to help the tenants to reduceconsumption and even to generate or purchase carbon credits ontheir behalf.

3 An aspirational goal is to be carbon negative. This would involve thecapture/offset of more carbon than is produced in businessoperations by a particular date.Of course, the higher you aspire, the higher the immediate cost, but

the whole issue of sustainability is now developing so quickly thatjudgements are more likely to be made according to non-monetaryvalues. At the very minimum, the danger for those who don’t invest is aloss of market share.

Options in a carbon neutral strategyThe concrete steps in this journey toward greater sustainability and

the achievement of carbon neutrality are now quite well-documented butany individual program will by necessity, in the short term at least, mostlikely involve participants adopting a selection of initiatives and taking astaged approach. It is critical to carefully consider the options availablefor a particular business location and implement them within adetermined strategy. Here are some options to consider.Green power

There are various ‘green power’ schemes on offer and this option is agovernment accredited clean, renewable form of energy from solar,wind, hydro or waste. It is important to check that the green power issupplied from a certified 100% renewable source.Cogeneration/Trigeneration:

Becoming carbon neutral –the future is nowBY STEPHEN HENNESSY, DIRECTOR OF SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGISTS FOR THE BUILTENVIRONMENT, STEENSEN VARMING.

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SUSTAINABILITY FORUM

Co-generation is an attractive option if the opportunity to generateelectricity on-site is available as it can be very efficient in reducinggreenhouse gas emissions. It involves using the recovered heat from in-house electricity generation to provide heat for the building.Trigeneration takes this process one step further and converts the wasteheat to help cool the building interior via an absorption chiller. Thesesystems are particularly useful in areas where the power infrastructure isheavily loaded, and they can negate the need to install diesel back-upgenerators.Renewable power generation

Wind and solar energy can be used to reduce the demand onelectricity from the grid but of course they are dependent on the windand solar radiation available at a particular site. The wind source ofenergy may be some years off for many sites and even centralised windfarms still are relatively uncommon. It is interesting to note, however, thatthe new Bahrain Trade Centre has been built with three integrated 29-metre wind turbine generators that supply up to 15% of the building’spower needs. Solar power is a more likely option at this stage in Australiaand it has the additional benefit of making a highly visible statement ofthe involvement in renewable energy harvesting. In addition, solar yieldpeaks at the same time as the maximum energy demand. Biosequestration

This option involves CO2 harvesting through the use of vegetation,typically where trees are grown to help offset the carbon emissions of abusiness operation, and are themselves a renewable resource. This is oneof the lowest cost options but there are some doubts as to its sustainablecredentials. Research in New Zealand indicates most of the trees take 25years to mature and that the subsequent generation, following harvest,can take 75 years to mature. In addition, the process of capturing thecarbon is also removing nutrients from the ground during the harvest.Green-lease development

Whenever existing commercial leases are up for renewal, or newcontracts are being drawn up, general sustainability and energy efficiencyinitiatives can be included in the rental agreements as part of the tenant’sresponsibility in maintaining the premises. Other than the long term

benefits offered by sustainable practices, such leases also providefinancial benefit in the short term due to reduced maintenance andrunning costs. Waste minimisation

Although waste recycling is a measure that helps reduce thequantum being sent into landfills, any sort of recycling is an energyintensive affair, and more often than not water intensive as well. Thus,minimising of waste produced at source is more effective at reducing theimpacts of waste on the environment. If any hazardous wastes areproduced on site, ensuring proper disposal and closed loop recyclingensures that any toxins involved are contained and not released into thesurrounds. Site ecology renewal project

In appropriate locations, various measures such as bio andphytoremediation, in the creation of wetlands and drainage swales, allowwastewater to be treated naturally by organisms in the soil and re-used.Wherever sufficient land is available, this often can tie in with capture andre-use of water. Indoor air quality/productivity improvement

Research has shown that the use of hybrid air treatment systems canimprove occupant health and productivity, and often boosts the energyefficiency ratings, thereby reducing carbon. Hybrid systems includemixed-mode ventilation, which is the combination of both natural andmechanical ventilation. Appropriate indoor air quality can be achieved bynatural ventilation or cross ventilation with the strategic positioning ofopen-able windows. These measures ensure an oxygen rich air supply foroccupants with a reduction in the demand on traditional HVAC systems,which reduces emissions. Cradle to cradle building regeneration

Throughout the industrialised age, most products have beendesigned for the short term and modelled on a linear cradle-to-graveapproach; that is, creation, use and disposal. Along with recycling andwaste reduction, most new products being selected can be chosen withtheir future behaviour in mind; namely a cradle to cradle approach, sothat when it has served its useful life, the product can either be re-used

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SUSTAINABILITY FORUM

for other purposes or sent back into the material flow to re-enter theloop for a fresh cycle of use.Water capture and reuse

While not directly a carbon issue, water conservation is a keyelement in achieving an effective level of sustainability. Harvesting ofwater is achievable in properties with large roofs or indirectly through theuse of green roofs featuring vegetation. The water can be used for toiletflushing, car washing and other low quality (or grey) water usage. Otheroptions include recycling treated grey and black water and these systemscan be incorporated into the existing on-site wastewater management, inconjunction with the rainwater collection.Education programs

Raising the awareness and understanding of the issue of carbonemissions is arguably one the most significant steps that can be taken.Businesses that are serious about sustainability should be pullingemployees, clients, suppliers and contractors into the carbon neutral‘loop’. Building occupant behaviour, for example, has a significantinfluence on energy efficiency regardless of any advanced technologiesimplemented in the building.

As an example, at Steensen Varming’s offices in Sydney, which isalready occupied by highly energy conscious engineers, a new energyreduction program has recently delivered a measured additional savingof more than 20 per cent, without any new technology being installed.Planning for the rapidly approaching future

As noted earlier, the application of any of these options must beframed within a pre-determined strategy that seeks to achieve solid butrealisable goals.

The first step is to determine where your organisation currentlystands in terms of its carbon footprint and then to establish what youwant to achieve.

In planning this strategy, you will: 3 examine carefully the organisation’s culture and most likely have to

change it; 3 educate your staff based on the best information available; 3 realise the predominance of lifecycle issues over first cost;

3 ensure you have a strictly administered budget to realise thechanges you have selected;

3 communicate your new focus to all service providers and make itclear that they must satisfy your new sustainability requirements;

3 test the new regime for improvement and benchmark yourperformance against Best Practice, which may be an energy ratingscheme for buildings such as the Australian Building GreenhouseRating scheme (ABGR) or the new National Australian BuiltEnvironment Ratings System (NABERS), when it is fully developed.But remember, you need to take the first step. Realistically, you

might move forward with some easy but ideally highly visible ‘wins’ inemissions reduction. This is often the key to achieving buy-in from allparties.

Finally, and of signal importance, you need a driver to push thisnewfound agenda – perhaps a Sustainability Champion, and that personmust be committed, have sufficient time and resources, and thedelegated authority to act.

The time has arrived for strong leadership not only at thegovernment level but also at individual industry level, to drive policychange, realign values and take responsibility for action that willsafeguard future generations.

About the AuthorStephen Hennessy is a Director of sustainability

strategists for the built environment, SteensenVarming.

Steensen Varming are building services engineerswith a reputation for high quality and innovation (thefirst chilled ceiling installation in Australia wasdesigned by Steensen Varming in 1974). They came to

Australia in 1953 to undertake the mechanical services design for theSydney Opera House, and have since gone on to provide engineeringdesign and management services in many of Australia’s significantcultural and iconic buildings.

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ESSENTIAL SAFETY MEASURES

Aust Wide: Fire Lines DiscontinuedTelstra has advised that a number of its fixed line customers will be

disconnected by 31 December 2009. These Dedicated Lines areextensively used by various organisations for monitored fire alarm systemsin all states, wherever fire alarm systems are connected and monitoreddirectly by the fire brigade (NSW regional, VIC, QLD, NT, SA and WA).Check to see if you are affected (source FPAA: www.fpa.com.au).

NSW: Know Your Accredited CertifierIt is important for Facility Managers to know the Accredited Certifier

they are using for fitouts / alterations and understand the regulatoryframework for private certification in NSW, within which the AccreditedCertifier must work.

The Building Professionals Act 2005 was proclaimed on the 25January 2007 and allowed the newly formed NSW Building ProfessionalsBoard (BPB) to commence accrediting applicants as accredited certifiers,hear complaints against accredited certifiers, and carry out investigationsinto the work and activities of certifying authorities from the 1 March 2007onwards.

Accredited certifiers, dependant upon the accreditation type and levelheld, act as certifying authorities, in addition to local council’s which arealso certifying authorities, to issue complying development certificates,construction certificates, subdivision/ strata certificates and finaloccupation certificates. Many engineers are also accredited to issuecompliance certificates for works within their field of expertise. In recentyears, private certifying authorities were responsible for up to 30% of allconstruction and occupation certificates and almost 50% of all complyingdevelopment certificates.

In their first year, the BPB has converted 450 existing accreditedcertifiers into one accreditation scheme, determined 47 complaints againstaccredited certifiers, including issuing fines, published a disciplinaryregister on their website and referred 15 additional matters to theAdministrative Decisions Tribunal.

As a Facility Manager, it is important for you to know the AccreditedCertifier. Seek recommendations, check references, and contact the BPB toconfirm their type, level, accreditation status and history, and anylimitations that may exist on their accreditation.

QLD: Fire Safety Maintenance RequirementsQueensland adopted AS1851-2005 in September 2005 as the

minimum maintenance standard for most fire safety installations. An oftenoverlooked requirement by facility managers in the standard is undertakingannual integrated systems testing. An example of types of fire safetyinstallations normally interfaced and subject to a combined test are:3 Detection Systems/Stair Pressurisation/Door Release/Plant

Shutdown/Smoke Spill Mode/ EWIS; and /or all3 Sprinkler System/ HVAC Shutdown/ Fire Pump/ Damper Closure/

Elevator Override/Roof VentsConsiderable planning by the facility manager is required to achieve

accurate test results and system compliance. Larger buildings with multiplesystems would normally require a number of specialist maintenancecontractors and consultants to test simultaneously.

AUST: Final CallFor many buildings office tenancy fitouts occur on a regular basis

without formal sign off at the end of the construction. This leaves theproperty owner’s, tenants and facility manager’s exposed to non compliantworks, unsafe buildings and future compliance/upgrade costs to be borneby the owner and/or tenant.

Where statutory permits or approvals are issued in relation to buildingwork with an existing building, generally a form of completion certificateor permit is to be issued for evidence that the works have been carried

providing a safe and liveable building. Moving into a recently built or partly built building before sign off is

issued is an offence in many states. Occupants need to ensure they havethe necessary approval to occupy the building. It is in the best interests ofthe owner, builder and facility manager that building work has beensatisfactorily completed and that final sign off has been issued. A sign off isimperative because:3 Where the building work is found to not comply with approval and

legislation the contractor can rectify while still on site and noadditional interruptions later will be experienced.

3 Generally where a statutory approval is required for the building, it isan offence for a person to occupy the building unless the formal signoff has been issued.

3 When an owner wishes to sell a property, prospective purchasers maywant to know that any building permit issued in relation to theproperty has been formally finalised.

3 Some liability periods are triggered by the date of issue of the finalsign off. This period maybe extended beyond the time necessarythrough delaying the obtaining of the final sign off.

3 Owners of commercial buildings have a legal responsibility to ensurethat maintenance of essential safety measures is carried out and insome states that an annual essential safety measures report iscompleted.

For more information call the Hendry Group on (03) 8417 6500.

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About the Hendry GroupDerek Hendry is the Managing Director of the Hendry Group of consultancy companies,including Essential Property Services. Derek pioneered the ‘private certification’ system ofbuilding approvals in Australia , and his nationally based consultancy offices assist clients inall facets of building control and essential safety measure audits. The Hendry Group publishan e-newsletter entitled ‘essential matters’, available online at www.emau.com.au, and theirnew service, BCA Illustrated (at www.bcai.com.au), offers 3000 illustrations explaining andinterpreting the BCA as it applies to your building.

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To ensure you receive the maximum benefit from ourknowledge and experience, we use equipment thatenables practical fire extinguisher training, even in CBDbuildings. SOS provides handouts for all training, andissues certificates to participants who attend. Reportsare provided for all Evacuation Exercises and minutes arecompleted for all meetings.

An online database is available to maintain contactinformation for the Emergency Control Organisation foryour site. Reports and attendance records are provided ina secure, password protected environment. This willenable you to access reports at the click of a button.

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SUSTAINABILITY FORUM

Sustainability inthe workplace:How green is green?BY MARK PHILLIPS, FREELANCE JOURNALIST

The widely held belief is that the commercial and public sectors are at the vanguard of thecharge to address climate change. But are they really doing as much as they say? Manyorganisations are, but is sustainability still a largely ‘aspirational’ goal for others and aresome merely ‘greenwashing’? Mark Phillips reports.

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SUSTAINABILITY FORUM

Being ‘green’ is now a socially acceptable norm, with guilt aboutharming the environment the main driver for consumers adopting amore environmentally friendly lifestyle.

This is the finding of a residential survey titled 2007 Attitudes andBehaviour Toward the Environment, carried out by the British Market ResearchBureau, in which half the respondents said they never leave lights on and 72percent said they have invested in energy-saving light bulbs over the last fiveyears.

Upon its release in November 2007, UK Environment Minister JoanRuddock enthused: “The most encouraging finding in this survey is themajority of people believing that it is up to individuals to accept responsibilityby making lifestyle changes.”

This, of course, is all very well, but what about the commercial sector?After all, the majority of commercial properties cannot meet the minimumrating system developed by the Green Building Council of Australia. Is there asimilarly tectonic shift in the attitudes of business leaders toward theenvironment – something reflected in the introduction of real and measurablesustainability programs in facilities? And if not, why not?

Based on the findings of two new international studies, the answer seemsto depend on the credence you place on corporate rhetoric as opposed to itsday-to-day execution.

Building and maintaining a green office tower may require extra time andeffort, but corporate respondents to one survey say they are prepared toovercome the obstacles and embrace sustainable practices with open arms.Unfortunately, another reveals a significant gulf between aspirations andactions.

CoreNet Global, an international association of workplace and corporatereal estate executives, together with real estate provider Jones Lang LaSalle,queried more than 2300 attendees of CoreNet Global Summits on fourcontinents in recent months. They found that a large majority of companiesaround the world say they view sustainability as critical to their business andare willing to pay a premium to help their companies become moresustainable. Indeed, for an overwhelming 79 percent of respondents,sustainability is claimed to be a near-term business issue that is importanttoday, or will be in the next one to two years.

According to the survey, most companies are willing to pay forsustainable real estate solutions, even though many do not realise that thecost has come down.

Although studies indicate that designing sustainable buildings is aboutone to five percent more expensive than conventional construction, 52percent of respondents expected premiums to be five percent or more, while22 percent believed green buildings would cost 10 percent more thanconventional structures. They also named obstacles to sustainability that havehindered widespread adoption:3 Only 17 percent said there is good, or widely available, sustainable real

estate solutions in markets where their companies need to locate offices;3 Forty-two percent reported patchiness and said the supply chain is good

in some markets but not others; and3 Forty-one percent view overall availability as limited or minimal.

While sustainable building appears to be recognised as becoming morecritical the world over, its intensity varies from continent to continent.According to the results:3 Sixty-one percent of respondents in Europe feel sustainability is a critical

business issue right now; while3 Fifty-three percent feel that way in Australia.

Given the above, there seems little reason to question the widely heldbelief that the commercial and public sectors are at the vanguard of thecharge to address climate change. But are they really doing as much as theysay? Certainly many organisations are, but is sustainability still a largely‘aspirational’ goal for others and are some merely ‘greenwashing’?

A major new international study from BT Global Services, completed inpartnership with the Economist Intelligence Unit, which surveyed over 1000senior executives across the world, including 48 in Australia, makes soberingreading. On a local note, key findings from the research, titled Actions orAspirations? Sustainability in the workplace, include the following:3 Just one in three (34 percent) of executives based in Australia have been

given specific sustainability goals to achieve3 Fifty-two percent of Australians surveyed said the most prominent

sustainability activity in their organisation was environmental guidelines,but only 15 percent of organisations produce a sustainability report

3 Eighty-one percent of Australians said a company’s reputation forsustainability was important when considering new roles, however not asimportant as scope of the role, pay, locations and working atmosphere

3 In 53 percent of instances the CEO is responsible for managing

sustainability within an organisation, while 17 percent of firms have noone responsible for the function.According to the study, the bottom line is that organisations are failing to

realise business benefits from sustainability programs. While sustainability maybe firmly on the boardroom agenda as companies compete for a‘responsible’ reputation, it seems executives have yet to find a way to harnessit as a commercial force. Indeed, one third (33 percent) of global respondentsconceded that their company only makes sustainability efforts in marketswhere it is perceived to have an impact on customers’ perceptions of the firm,and a similar proportion (31 percent) actually admitted that their company’ssustainability efforts mostly centre on communication, rather than actualchange.

James Watson, senior editor at the Economist Intelligence Unit, says thatalthough many companies are moving away from mere rhetoric towards realbusiness initiatives, a gap remains between what they claim they are achievingin terms of managing their social and environmental impacts and the extentto which their executives feel involved in these activities.

“Companies need to devise strategies that do more to engage staff insustainability through their day-to-day activities,” he maintains.

The research goes on to identify that sustainability programs are missingout on board level leadership. Even where there is a person responsible forsuch matters, in two out of five organisations (40 percent) that person doesnot report directly to the board.

Comments BT Global Services CEO, Francois Barrault: “The link betweensustainability and commercial success is, without doubt, becoming clearer allthe time. The key to helping sustainability programs benefit society, theenvironment and the bottom line is leadership. All organisations, BT included,are at the start of this journey, but now is the time for CEOs, CFOs and themanagers of facilities to lead from the front.”

On a positive note, it seems that people are bringing measures theypractice at home into the workplace, with nearly one quarter of respondents(24 percent) agreeing that their organisation’s sustainability efforts are primarilydriven by staff at the grassroots rather than senior management. Other globalfindings include:3 ‘Commitment to sustainable practices’ is rated the least important

consideration when deciding to partner or collaborate with a third partycompany

3 Sustainability practices are most firmly embedded in companies’investor/public relations activity (32 percent) and HR functions (29percent)

3 More than one third (34 percent) say their company’s commitment tosustainable practices is not embedded in downstream suppliers and theirsupply chains.There is absolutely no question that the debate over climate change has

contributed to environmental law in Australia becoming one of the fastestgrowing areas of law both in terms of scope and complexity. NSW, the mostprolific regulator, has passed no less than 68 Acts relating to the environmentsince 1986, almost equal to the other states combined (84 Acts) andsurpassing new commonwealth legislation (19 Acts).

And yet according to the latest available figures from the FederalGovernment’s National Greenhouse Office, as of 2005 Australia’s CO2emissions were 102 percent above 1990 levels. Significantly, Australia’s builtenvironment contributes eight percent of this and if upstream emissions fromheat and electricity are included in the equation, emissions from buildingstotal 20 percent of global greenhouse gases.

Commenting recently on what has been dubbed the exponential growthof ‘green tape’, NSW Business Chamber CEO, Kevin MacDonald, said: “Wehave seen in the area of climate change all areas of government rushing tointroduce changes, often under the guise of being seen to ‘do something’,with those decisions impacting on everything from the establishment of newcoal mines to the types of light bulbs used in family homes.

‘The danger is that this uncoordinated and ill considered approach acrossall levels of regulation will create major costs for Australian businesses andconsumers with little real idea of the benefits provided by such regulation.”

As Francois Barrault emphasised, what better time than now for thecommercial sector to truly lead by example?

About the AuthorMark Phillips is a freelance journalist who has written for and edited

business publications such as Company Director, Australasian RiskManagement, Franchising and Marketing. He also has a long-standinginvolvement in covering FM-related issues. He can be reached on 0407437289 or [email protected].

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FM AROUND THE GLOBE

To research this feature, I had to fight against my Ludditetendencies and sign up to some social networking sites to seewhat all the fuss is about. The results were disappointing. After

hours of searching one site, I could only find a handfulof people I knew – and all of whom I’d gladly losttouch with years ago. After two weeks on thesecond site, only three people had askedme to be their friend. The first personlooked like Satan; the second like thepink hippo from Rainbow and thethird appeared to have a bottomwhere their head should havebeen. Evidently I have someway to go but it seems thatthe more techno-savvy (andless intolerant) have not onlymastered the social nicetiesof e-networking but arebeginning to bring it intotheir business lives as well.

The recentdevelopment of moreinteractive websites,known as Web.2, hasmeant that the popularityof on-line socialnetworking has gonestratospheric. Accordingto Wikipedia, there are nowmore than 100 social andspecial-interest sites aroundthe world covering everythingfrom clubbing, dating,Christianity and genealogy.There’s even an invitation-onlysite for the European jet-set. Inthe US, sites specifically designedto cater for the businesscommunity have been appearingover the past five years and word hasgradually been spreading to Europeand the Far East. One of the mostpopular, LinkedIn, now claims to have 16million users covering 150 industries and 400economic regions. Other sites like XING andZiggs are not far behind. With a total of ninedifferent business networking sites now on offer,the global business community is waking up to thepotential of e-networking for recruitment,recommendations and technical knowledge-sharing.

Last summer’s flurry of news stories about companiesbarring employee access to social networking sites appears tohave heightened UK interest considerably. The FM sector has been

no exception. In response to the media coverage, the marketing team atDrivers Jonas (a commercial property consulting and advisory firm) made

a point of setting up a ‘group’ presence for employees on Facebook.“One of the company’s core values is openness and

sharing and we wanted to show that we’re aforward-looking, progressive company,” says

PR and communications associate SueGibson. Drivers Jonas’ group site is an

open forum for existing and pastemployees but it also acts as a

showcase for the company itself.“We thought it would be

particularly attractive topotential graduateemployees,” Gibsoncontinues. “The companyorganises a lot of teamactivities and Facebook is agood way of showing thatthere’s a lighter side toworking for the company.”

Drivers Jonas it notalone. These days, you’rejust as likely to comeacross an FM firm onFacebook as a friend orbusiness contact. Whilesites like MySpace may still

attract a mainly teenage,music-orientated community,Facebook’s thirty-somethinguser-base has become an idealplatform for companies to showthey’ve got their finger is on theelectronic pulse. Some groups

are more active than others butyou’ll find everyone from Johnson

Controls with 243 members andRentokil Initial with 124 members to

Dalkia with 95 members andCarillion (a leading infrastructure,

building and business servicescompany) with just 3. The Young

Managers’ Forum has also established apresence on Facebook to broaden its reach

and attracted 10 new members in the first fewmonths. “We’re aiming at young FMs in the

industry who want to get involved and we wantedto come across as accessible and not stuffy,” says

the Forum’s Facebook group manager, MaryannaCamillieri.

Initially a marketing tool, Camillieri believes the YMFgroup’s presence on sites like Facebook could also provide a

useful platform for job-hunters. “Forum members already circulate

Facebooking up to the futureBY CAMILLA BERENS, FREELANCE BUSINESS JOURNALIST

Article first published in FM World, the fortnightly magazine for the British Institute of Facilities Management.

The recent development of more interactive websites, known as Web.2, has meant that thepopularity of on-line social networking has gone stratospheric. The global businesscommunity is also waking up to the potential of e-networking for recruitment,recommendations and technical knowledge-sharing, and the FM sector has been noexception.

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FM AROUND THE GLOBE

CVs to each other so our Facebook group could be an extension ofthis,” she says. The YMF is now planning to go one step further and setup a presence on LinkedIn and Plaxo (more of a self-updating addressbook than a networking site). Camillieri also points out that individualscould use on-line FM networks for recommendations and knowledgesharing. “Although you’d have to bear in mind that this might attractnegative comments as well,” she adds. This is a good point. Companiesusing networking sites for PR purposes need to be prepared to take therough with the smooth. One disgruntled customer has already set up aFacebook group called, “We Hate Carillion”. In this particular case, e-democracy seems to have presented a pretty balanced response. Thesite has only attracted comments from two people, one who offered ascornful (and rather racist) comment about Carillion employees and theother, from a bid administrator, who said he ‘couldn’t have asked to meeta nicer bunch of people’.

It’s not only the younger FMs who are getting connected either. Evenfifty-somethings like FM consultant Martin Pickard (Fellow and formerCouncil Member of the BIFM) are e-networking. Pickard recently made abid to raise the profile of the FM sector with a Facebook group called‘I’m a Facilities Manager and I’m proud.’ Pickard points out that there arean estimated 177,000 FMs in the UK and most don’t belong to any typeof FM organisation. “The role of the FM can be a lonely one,” heexplains. “Often, if they’re working for a medium-sized company, they’llbe the only FM manager in the business,” he continues. “For them tomeet and network with other FMs is really important for everything fromswapping phone numbers, to finding out who’s a good cleaningcontractor or just to have a grumble about the fact that your financedirector doesn’t understand you.” Within three weeks, the group had 58members. But Pickard speaks volumes when he says that although thegroup has attracted interest from as far away as Australia and Trinidad,nobody’s quite sure what to do with it.

This seems to be the current state of play. Most business-basednetworking groups are simply being used as a PR tool for companies orfor employees of large firms to keep in touch with colleagues in otheroffices or regions. Even in these groups, the conversation rarely extendsbeyond general social banter or an opportunity to share photos.Constructive knowledge-sharing is still thin on the ground. Howeverthere seems to be more business-focussed activity by individuals workingin the FM sector. According to Simon Ball, a business developmentmanager with Interserve (a business support organisation offeringfacilities, industrial, project and equipment services plus public financeinitiative (PFI or PPP) investments) , interest in the business networkingsite LinkedIn has snowballed in recent months. “I first joined LinkedIn in2004 but only found a few people and didn’t use it again,” he explains.“I started to get more individual contacts recently and it’s really startingto pick up.”

LinkedIn in now an essential part of Ball’s communications kit. “Salesand marketing is especially important in the FM sector and LinkedIn is auseful tool for me,” he explains. “People move jobs quite a lot so it’s auseful way of keeping track of my contacts.” LinkedIn’s format essentiallyallows users to create their own on-line CV. This makes it a great terrainfor headhunters. “I’m already being headhunted once or twice a weekbecause there’s such a small pool of talent,” Ball continues. “It’s hard totell what will happen next in terms of business networking sites butthere’s a lot of potential for recruitment, sales and consultants. They

could claim it and shape it. It’s the users who create the content.” It may still be early days but e-networkers are already facing several

dilemmas. The merging of social activity with business life on-line hasthrown up the problem of how to avoid professionally embarrassingsituations. FM consultant Lucy Jeynes checks her Facebook page everymorning to make sure her friends haven’t posted anything that might bedeemed ‘unprofessional’. “LinkedIn is a great site because it has a clearmarket position,” she says. “But there’s nothing to stop a client checkingme out on Facebook as well. There’s now a big question over where youdraw the line between your personal and professional identity,” shecontinues. “I think sites will evolve to differentiate personal andprofessional information in the same way as in the work environmentwhere there are only a certain number of people you’d want to bringback to your house.”

The amount of detailed personal information being shared on socialnetworking sites also makes them a possible target for ID theft. Somesites ask users to display key personal data such as home address,contact numbers and date of birth (often used to confirm a person’sidentity). Last August, IT consultancy Sophos published research showingthat 41% of Facebookers divulged personal information to a completestranger – in this case a small plastic frog called Freddie Staur. MartinPickard points out that a lot of personal details can already be found oncompany websites, particularly if you’re a consultant. “There’s no point inbeing paranoid but it’s a public place, so you have to think of it in thatway,” he adds. However in general Pickard is optimistic about the futureof e-networking. “It’s at the chaotic phase while it works out where it’s allgoing,” he says. “Just look at the internet. It was started by a few geeksand freaks and now everyone does their shopping on it.” If Pickard isright, the Luddites amongst us won’t be able to sit on the fence muchlonger: everyone will have to join the e-networking revolution if theywant to keep up with the competition.

FM quick facts3 UK adults spend more time on social networking sites than their

European neighbours with 4 in ten UK adults saying they e-networkregularly.

3 In 2007, the Capital became the biggest city on Facebook withalmost 2 million Londoners using the site.

TOP 10 BUSINESS NETWORKING SITES3 LinkedIn – Becoming popular with FM e-networkers3 Ecademy – Running since 1998 and claims to have 170,000

members worldwide3 Viadeo – European business network claiming to have almost

2million members3 XING – Claims to have 4 million users in 190 countries3 Ziggs – Provides personal internet branding3 Ryze – Mainly for business entrepreneurs3 Yahoo! Kickstart – Matches US college students with employers3 Salesconx – Exclusively for sales professionals and small business

owners3 Visible Path – Creates bespoke networking sites using algorithms3 Doostang – Invitation-only career communityThe first in a series of reciprocal articles courtesy FM World, this article was edited with

explanatory additions for Australian readers.

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ESD & THE ENVIRONMENT

Renewable energy atthe edge of the worldPhotography: Doug McVeigh

Hidden beneath the ice in Antarctica is one of the world’s most valuable repositories forinformation on past climate and atmospheric change. Every year, scientists and supportstaff brave its harsh climatic conditions in the pursuit for information on the future impactsof global warming. While the critical nature of the research being conducted in Antarctica isundisputed, its isolated location makes the staffing and operation of scientific programsboth problematic and costly. The exorbitant cost of transporting fuel to the remote locationhas incurred a rigorous overhaul of energy usage across its four key stations and thenecessary implementation of new renewable energy sources. Melanie Drummondinterviewed Australian Antarctic Division Engineers Jeremy Bonnice and Peter Magill abouttheir involvement with Antarctica’s energy projects and the processes required to deliverrenewable energy systems to the edge of the world.

“The continent has become a symbol of our time. The test of man’s willingness to pull back from thedestruction of the Antarctic wilderness is the test also of his willingness to avert destruction globally.If he cannot succeed in the Antarctica he has little chance of success elsewhere.” Edwin Mickleburgh0

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ESD & THE ENVIRONMENT

At the southern end of the Earth’s axis sits the coldest,windiest, most desolate continent on earth.1 At 14.4 millionsquare kilometres, Antarctica is also the fifth largest continent

in the world – 1.4 times bigger than the United States of America2.With no permanent human residents, only cold-adapted plants

and animals endure what is undoubtedly one of the planet’s harshestclimates. Receiving only a little more rainfall than the Sahara desert3,Antarctica is technically the Earth’s largest desert despite accountingfor the lowest ever recorded temperature of minus 82.2 degrees in1983.

As the world attempts to understand the future implications ofglobal warming, Antarctica’s unique ecology offers scientists theopportunity to observe vital information on past climate andatmospheric changes stored in the ice. Since the 1950s Australia hasjoined scientists from around the globe in conducting research at theworld’s southernmost continent4. Today, Australian’s research teamtakes a strong focus on high-latitude climate studies and SouthernOcean sustainability, providing valuable insight into the effects of iceformation on ocean circulation around the globe and the significanceof sea-ice extent and duration to the support of marine food webs.

Support staff play a critical role in ensuring research in Antarctica

continues. Some 29 nations operate 47 research stations across thecontinent, with a total numbers of scientists and support staffoperating in Antarctica and on nearby islands ranging from anwherebetween 1,000 in Winter to 4,000 in Summer. A plethora of skilledpractitioners are required to ensure scientists continue makingbreakthroughs: plumbers, carpenters, electricians, mechanics,technicians, chefs, clerical staff and doctors are among the many.

At the four Australian Antarctic Stations : Casey, Davis, Mawsonand Macquarie Island, the population of scientists and support staffcan range from anywhere between 60 over winter to 250 in summer,with an average of 12 support staff per 4 scientists during the WinterSeason. Over the summer period more trade and construction staffare also employed to undertake maintenance of buildings andfacilities and to assist in the construction of any necessarydevelopments.

By its very nature and isolated location, providing livable andworkable conditions for scientists and support staff across Australia’sfour stations is a costly and complicated process. The extremeconditions dictate stations are heavily reliant on fuel to operate life-saving essentials such as heating, lighting and water treatmentsystems, using almost 2 million litres of fuel a year for operation.

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ESD & THE ENVIRONMENT

Shipping fuel to the remote location also brings with it markedlyhigh levels of carbon emissions. In 2001 carbon emission figuresrepresented as tonnes per capita for each Australian station were asfollows: Casey: 63.84, Davis: 49.50, Mawson: 42.50, Macquarie Island:21.85. The largest amount came from the re-supply ship Aurora Australiawhich is responsible for 310.49 tonnes of CO2 per capita.

Compared to the rest of the world, the figures are significantly high. In2001 the United States tonnes of CO2 per capita figured at 5.51,Australia: 5.08, Western Europe: 2.12, Japan: 2.48, China: 0.65 andEthiopia: 0.01.

Reducing Antarctica’s carbon emission levels and cutting back onfuel costs by reducing energy requirements has been an ongoing projectfor the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD), the Government organisationwhich leads Australia’s Antarctic program and plays a vital role in thesuccessful operation of the four stations.

For Jeremy Bonnice, Infrastructure Engineer for the AAD, his first tripto Antarctica marked the beginning of the new millenium and a passionfor working towards a more sustainable Antarctica.

“I was working in Kakadu at Ranger mine in the Northern Territory,and at the same time as there was a downturn in Uranium price, a jobwas advertised in Antarctica for an instrument and control engineer torun a project that would automate the Antarctic Stations. There was anexisting control system that wasn’t Y2K compliant and the AAD werereplacing it with a new system. I thought it sounded like a fantastic job,so I applied for it and within three weeks I’d gone from Kakadu down toAntarctica.”

Following his first 6 week trip to Antarctica, Jeremy returned toconduct an energy audit at Davis Station.

“Once we collected all the data from Davis Station we realised thatour largest user of energy was the summer accommodation block,second to that was our workshop building and third was our powerhouse. Another high user was our heating of pipes; we found that mostof our thermostats needed calibration.

“We looked at what all of the loads were in the workshop buildingand one of those main loads was lighting. The building was 20 years oldat that stage and as there had been lighting advances in that time wewere able to achieve a significant reduction. Firstly we put in place acontrols system which enabled the lights to be turned off at night and italso allowed users to choose the right amount of light for what they weredoing. If they were just progressing through the building we putmovement sensors in so the lights would turn on and off again.”

Adjustments were also made to heating – installing a controls systemmeant the building no longer had to operate 24 hours a day.

“We didn’t just turn it off a specific time, the heat was controlleddepending on whether people were using the space or not – it was alldone through the lighting system.”

Assessing speed drives on equipment at the four stations was

another important aspect of the energy audit.“Using variable speed drives on fans and motors throughout the

stations also assisted in the control of energy usage. Some systems wecan’t turn off, but on a lot of our systems we can throttle the speed rightback and therefore use a lot less energy. For some people it’s a wellknown fact that if pumps are running flat out, then they’re not at theirmost efficient – they’re more efficient at about 80 per cent. So what wedid was actually oversize our pumps and just run them at 80 percent oftheir full load and then you get the most efficiency out of them.”

The audit and subsequent changes were a success, resulting in a 56per cent saving in energy which was largely attributed to the change inlighting control systems. Over the next three years Jeremy continuedwork on the remaining stations, automating the heating, lighting andventilation systems.

“Certainly cost was a factor in improving the energy operations atthe stations, it’s very expensive for us to ship fuel to Antarctica and so weknew we’d get a return from implementing energy efficiencies.Sustainability was also a key reason for reducing our reliance on fossilfuels.”

Due to the extreme physical and social conditions experienced whileworking and living in Antarctica, scientists and support staff must returnhome after 15 months for reintegration into society.

“There’s a big difference between living in Antarctica in summer andwinter. In summer there’s a lot more people and a lot more going on, thesun’s up and it’s a lot more motivating as you get out and do a lot morethings. In winter you’re stuck with 16-18 people and during the height ofwinter the sun goes down and you don’t see it for a few weeks – you’lljust have a twilight which doesn’t come above the horizon. Small issuescan become big issues because they’re the only issues you have. It isbeen quite interesting with shows like Big Brother and seeing the issuesbetween people that are experienced in those isolating situations;they’re quite similar to things that can happen in Antarctica.”

Tolerance and good communication skills are essential tomaintaining healthy social interactions while at work and play inAntarctica.

“The AAD put people through a selection process that lasts a coupleof days, where we assess their personal qualities and whether they’d fitinto the environment. The sort of things we look for is tolerance in otherpeople’s ideas and views. Putting into the community is a big thing aswell, you can’t be too much of a recluse because that would affect theothers you stay with who may want to try and get you involved. It’s ascenario-based selection centre.”

Asked whether he found it hard adjusting to the isolation of livingand working in Antarctica, Jeremy shared his passion for a place that fewpeople on Earth have been lucky enough to experience.

“We describe working in Antarctica as one of the most selfish thingsyou will ever do. For people who have families, you leave your lovedones behind in a life without you and all the while you’re having the most

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ESD & THE ENVIRONMENT

fantastic time you’ve ever had, having all these great experiences.Antarctica is such a beautiful and magic place. The work you get to do isexcellent as well and you’re in a community that is different to anythingyou would have experienced in Australia. You bond well with people andmake friendships that you’ll keep for years to come.”

As well as improving energy efficiency at each of the stations, theAAD’s long-term strategy included the development of medium-scalerenewable energy solutions. In 2001, approval was given to deliver awind turbine project at Mawson Station – one of the windiest places onearth.

Melanie Drummond spoke to AAD’s Innovation and DevelopmentEngineer Peter Magill about the challenges, planning and processesinvolved with successfully installing the 300KW Enercon turbines atMawson Station.

FP: What does your role as Innovation and DevelopmentEngineer for the AAD involve?

PM: My role involves looking to the future to see what systems wemay need in order to operate under varying circumstances, i.e. high fuelcosts and the subsequent development of renewable energy projectsthat have both fuel savings and environmental benefits. It involveslooking across a broad spectrum of new technologies which might beanything like insulation, glazing, wind turbines, or solar panels. I’ve beenin this particular role full-time for about 7 years, but part-time while doingother jobs for about 15 years.

FP: Did the role become full-time when the issues of climatechange came to the fore of public attention?

PM: No, it was more about saving energy which was being driven bycutting costs. The unspoken driver is always environmental reasons butit’s not the actual operational reasoning behind a project. Even when weinstalled the wind turbines at Mawson‘s in 2003, the only way we couldjustify it was by working out how much money it would save us byreducing fuel usage.

FP: What forms of renewable energy have previously beenoperated in Antarctica?

PM: Solar power does work fine in Antarctica over summer. At DavisStation we have a standard, off-the-shelf solar hot water system whichsupplies all the hot water for the showers, ablutions and laundry for thesummer accommodation (which operates for about a 4 month period.)

We have also used small scale solar panels and wind generatorswhich operated remote radio repeaters on mountain tops. In the mid1990s we also went up a step,installing larger wind turbines of 10kilowatts or so, basically to get a handle on what the issues would be ininstalling large scale commercial turbines. From what we learnt, we wereable to crank up the Mawson’s project using 300kw Enercon windturbines on 34m towers.

FP: Have you looked into tidal power solutions?PM: We have looked into tidal power because there’s a couple of

sites near Davis where there is a very strong tidal flow and it looked to bea possible solution. What we did find however was that during springwhen the ice breaks up and melts there is a large flow of ice-floesbackwards and forwards in the fjord, so any generation system could bewiped out by the ice movement. The only way it could work is if youspent millions of dollars on really strong mechanical structures to keepaway the ice and it just wouldn’t be worth the trouble.

FP: Can you tell us about the planning involved in the Mawson’swind turbine project?

PM: The big issue is that the re-supply ship visits only once per yearin January, so if you want to build something over the summer you haveto ship everything in the previous summer. As you can imagine thatinvolves a lot of planning because if you forget something you can’t justget it on a plane, you have to wait 12 months for the next ship visit.

From the time we submitted the project business case to when thefirst wind turbine was commissioned would have taken about three years.The first foundations were constructed in 2002 and then the turbineswere installed in 2003.

FP: What challenges does shipping equipment and crew to thesite bring?

PM: One of the major issues is a high risk of the ship being trappedin ice on the way to Antarctica. In fact, this did occur with the windturbine project. The construction crew traveling to Mawson to start workon the turbine foundations in the 2002 summer were stuck in the ice forabout six weeks. It meant they had less time to construct thefoundations, which involved pouring around 80 cubic metres of concreteper foundation and containing several tones of steel. For 3 turbine

foundations construction would normally need 2 or 3 months toundertake but in Antarctica there is only about 6 weeks in summer whenthe temperature can be above zero and concrete can be poured – so it’sa very narrow window. The loss of construction time meant that we wereable to install only two of the three turbines we had intended to.

FP: Was the size of the project limited by what plant equipmentyou can ship down there?

PM: The biggest crane we could ship to Mawson was a 100 tonnemachine. We had to buy the machine outright because you can’t reallylease or rent cranes due to the high risk of it being stuck in Antarctica – itwould end up costing you more to rent than the value of the crane. The100 tonne crane then limited the maximum size of the wind turbine thatwe could install – 300 KW turbines on 34 metre towers.

But because the winds are high and consistent at Mawson, theshorter towers was not an issue. The average wind speed is 12m asecond at a height of 10 metres and there is almost nowhere else on theplanet that has such a high annual average wind speed. The turbines areon 34 metre towers and the blade diameter is 30 metres – normallythese turbines would be on a 45 to 50 metre tower.

FP: Does the remote location of Antarctica significantly affect thetotal cost of a project?

PM: We tend to buy all of our plant equipment which means theoverall cost of the project is also significantly more than it would be inAustralia. The cost of labour also is much higher.

The total cost of the wind turbine project can be broken down tothe following: 3 Turbines – 25%3 Foundations and Infrastructure – 20%3 Plant & Equipment – 20%3 Transport – 10%3 Project Management – 9%3 Powerhouse Control – 8%3 Installation and Commissioning – 5%3 Spares – 3%

FP: What unique issues do you face when implementing arenewable energy project such as the wind turbines installed atMawson’s?

PM: I guess it’s mostly the cold temperatures and high winds thatneed to be considered. You’ve got to use different materials, differentsteels (low temperature steels), which are not commonly available inAustralia. You’ve also got to have more insulation in the wind turbinesand make sure the electronics will work in cold temperatures and that thegrease and lubrication in the bearings and the electronics are capable ofenduring low temperatures.

We’ve been operating in Antarctica for a long while so we have afairly reasonable collection of knowledge about operating in such anenvironment. We’re probably the experts on cold climate in Australia.

FP: Is equipment damaged by the harsh external operatingconditions?

PM: We generally have to store large items of plant equipment andspares outside because there are no indoor spaces available. The rubbertires on the vehicles and the rubber in the oils seals become very hardand tend to crack in the cold . After a couple of years oil leaks tend toappear on plant and equipment which, while not damaging to themachinery, does increase maintenance loads and of course the risk ofenvironmental damage. The damage to the oil seals and the tires is reallyone of the big issues – it means for instance if the hydraulics leak thenthe crane won’t work. At the beginning of each summer we have to takethe crane into the workshop, thaw it out for a week and then check allthe seals before it can be used. This is the same with all the plant andequipment and this adds to the work load, even before any project workcan commence

And of course the vehicles can fill up with snow if care is not takenand this causes further work delays – but at least you can just blow ormelt the snow out.

FP: What do the wind turbines require in respect ofmaintenance?

PM: Regular greasing of the bearings is done every 6 months butaside from that, the maintenance checks are minimal. The turbines havesophisticated monitoring systems built in which alert the staff if there areany problems – so it’s all fairly straight forward. The anemometer which ison the top of the turbine nacelle feeds the computer which decides if thewind is too strong and the turbines need to be shut down. Once thewind reaches about 25 metres per second the output is ramped down

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and by the time it reaches 33 metres a second, it is zero – the turbinesare then turned out of the wind so there are no forces on the blades thatcould cause problems.

FP: What energy savings have resulted from installing theturbines?

PM: The turbines produce about a third of the station’s energyneeds.

FP: What have been the financial benefits?PM: That’s really hard to determine because it depends what you

think the actual cost of fuel is. If it is based on the cost of the fuel at thepump here in Hobart then it’s totally different to what we think the realcost is, landed at Mawson. Shipping, handling and storage should beadded to the real cost.

The bottom line is that we save about 200,000 litres of fuel a year.And so the payback period depends on what we use as a cost basis

for the fuel. Based on what we think the real cost of fuel is, it is probablyaround 4 or 5 years. But based on what we pay for the fuel at the pumpin Hobart (51 cents per litre in 2002), it will take about 12 years to payback, if the fuel prices don’t go up!.

FP: Are you likely to install more wind turbines at other stations?PM: The fuel savings we could achieve at the other stations would

not be as great because of the lower wind regime at those stations andso we would require more turbines – maybe 4 or 5. Overall the costwould be greater and so the savings wouldn’t be as great as what theyare at Mawson. However despite the lower savings it is still a worthwhileundertaking and hopefully we can soon get started on wind turbineprojects at both Davis and Casey. This will be of even greaterimportance, given the rising fuel prices and the threat of global climatechange.

FP: Do you have to follow environmental policies when installingnew energy efficiency projects?

PM: There were minimal environmental policies when the renewableenergy and energy efficiency projects were being planned – cost savingswere the driving factor. However now, we have a whole range of targetsthat we have to report on every year in respect to fuel savings andcarbon dioxide emissions etc. Now, apart from the cost saving aspects,our on-going aim is to reduce our carbon emissions and reduce theoccurrences of oil spills.

It is difficult to accurately assess our emission reduction levelsbecause they are very dependent on the intensity of ship voyages toAntarctica – ship usage of fuel dominates the overall fuel usage of theAustralian Antarctic Division. For instance, if there’s a big marine scienceprogram in a particular year then the overall fuel usage and henceemissions may increase. And the new air transport system will only addto the emission levels.

FP: In some respects has Antarctica, due its reliance on fossilfuels, been ahead of the rest of the world in energy conservation?

PM: I think we have been by a long shot. In the early to mid 90swhen we first stared running courses on simple energy management (liketurning off unnecessry lights and computers etc) for people heading toAntarctica, few understood why were so concerned about it. Whereas inthe last three or four years, we have all but phased out these coursesbecause now, people are very aware of these issues and they do careabout energy usage.

FP: Is water conversation an issue in Antarctica?PM: We keep a very tight check on water usage because even

though we’re on the edge of the world’s largest supply of fresh water, ittakes a lot of energy to get it out of that ice and use it. We have verytight controls on water – in the past it was so precious that we wouldallow expeditioners only two showers a week although now, one showera day is normal. For some years we have been using the normal showerrestrictors used in most Australians homes. But in general we have beenusing waste heat from the powerhouses (or wind turbines at Mawson)more efficiently to melt the ice and provide a more generous watersupply.

At Davis Station we have a reverse osmosis plant which we are aboutto replace with a newer, bigger unit. At the other stations we use thewaste heat to create a large underground cavern of melted ice which wepump into tanks for usage. To a large extent water production is nowautomated and a relatively straight forward process.

FP: What recycling systems are in place at the four stations?PM: There’s a lot of recycling, each station has a waste treatment

plant where we treat the black and grey water to stage two levels beforeit’s pumped into the sea. We also have on-site incinerators for burning

the kitchen and medical waste. On top of that we recycle and bring backto Australia all plastics, glass and steel for commercial recycling.

FP: What energy efficiency developments are in store for thestations at Antarctica?

PM: Well we hope to get approval to go ahead with the windturbines at Casey and Davis and to upgrade the powerhouses at allstations to fit fly-wheels into the system. Fly-wheels are an energystorage system that enables you to store excess energy from the wind soif the wind drops suddenly, they carry the station load for 30 seconds orso, giving time to start a diesel generator. They’re an effective methodfor short-term energy storage which allows a higher wind penetration ofthe station energy load leading to higher fuel savings and fewer black-outs.

Three years ago we received funding from the Greenhouse Office todemonstrate how the excess wind generated from Mawson’s windturbines could be used to generate hydrogen which in turn could run asmall fuel-cell. Although this is on a small scale at the moment, we hopeto demonstrate that it’s possible to use large-scale fuel cells in the futureto power the Antarctic stations on little or no fossil fuels.

FP: How does the hydrogen process work?PM: Basically you use power to electrolise water into oxygen and

hydrogen and you compress the hydrogen and store it at high pressurefor use later in whatever appliance or vehicle you need to. Hydrogen iseither used like LPG in a stove, in a fuel-cell vehicle or for an internalcombustion engine. You can run hydrogen similar to running LPG in a carand it requires a fairly minimal conversion of the engine.

The hydrogen production process is set up so it only produceshydrogen when we have excess wind power available; we aren’t usingfossil fuels to generate the hydrogen – it’s totally renewable. We plan topresent a paper on our hydrogen project at the World HydrogenConference in Brisbane this year.

To keep informed of the AAD’s latest scientific developments andadvancements in energy efficiency visit their website: www.aad.gov.au.The website also provides a careers section for positions available ininfrastructure and mechanical trades.

Facility Perspectives thank the staff at The Australian Antarctic Division for their help in

putting this article together.

0 http://www.70south.com/art/plonearticle.2005-12-28.0634789998

1 http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761565002/Antarctica.htmlBy

2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctica

3 http://www.extremescience.com/coldestplace.htm

4 http://www.aad.gov.au

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FMA Australia Accreditation– leading the industry forward

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Facility Management Association of Australia’s Facility Management Accreditation System(FM AS) has been designed to provide facility professionals with industry recognition oftheir skills, experience and knowledge.Candidates work under the guidance of a mentor (assigned by FMA Australia) to compile aportfolio of evidence against the FMAS competency standards. The portfolio is thensubmitted for independent assessment and the successful candidates join a growing groupof Australia’s leading facility professionals who have achieved Accredited Facility Manager(AFM) status. To cater for the depth of skill in the facility management industry, the FMAS recognisesthree levels of Accredited Facility Manager (AFM). These levels are: AFM1 (Practice), AFM2(Manage) and AFM3 (Lead).Benefits to those accredited under the FMAS include: 3 increased status and industry recognition 3 increased self-confidence from analysis of past career accomplishment 3 a better understanding of which skill areas require further professional development 3 improved employment opportunitiesFacility Perspectives’ Melanie Drummond spoke to AFM1 accredited Edward Japutra andhis mentor Michael Rowlands about the process of accreditation and mentoring.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 63

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ACCREDITATIONEdward Japutra

Edward Japutra, Facilities Systems Officer at Chisholm Institute ofTAFE, achieved his AFM1 accreditation in September 2007. It is not aneasy award to come by; the accreditation system is rigorous and setsvery high standards of achievement. Candidates need to demonstratethey have the required competencies for an accreditation level and havesix months to prepare an evidence portfolio based on their workexperience, all under the guidance of a trained mentor appointed byFMA Australia. Edward’s portfolio was of such a high standard that it isnow being used as the basis for an exemplar for new candidates

FP: Tell us about your current role?EJ: I have worked at Chisholm Institute of TAFE for more than three

years and am responsible for the implementation and ongoingimprovement of the Department’s Assets Management System. The rolealso extends to the implementation and maintenance of buildingmanagement systems in the areas of building access, security and

environmental controls within the Built Environment ServicesDepartment. I also provide analytical reports on the Built EnvironmentServices Department including space utilisation, works planning onbacklog maintenance, cyclic maintenance, responsive maintenance, andso forth.

FP: What led to you undertaking the AFM1 accreditationprocess?

EJ: As part of my professional development I wanted some form ofrecognition in the industry.

FP: What has been your background in facilities management?EJ: I haven’t specifically come from a background in facilities

management but I have the experience in managing and integratingcomplex data from various systems, so I’m now applying those skills intothe Asset Management System at Chisholm Institute. In my previousexperience, I worked as a Client Services Officer in a university. In thatposition, I had been involved in managing all data of the university’sinternational student records including student’s academic reports,academic payments, visa, overseas health cover and so forth.

FP: What did you find the most difficult about the accreditationprocess?

EJ: I found the most challenging part of the process was compilingall the evidence to demonstrate my competencies in specific areas. Asthe scope of Facilities Management is very broad and the assessors maycome from a number of different industries within my field, I had to makesure the list reference to competences and evidences could easily befollowed by the any assessor.

FP: Can you provide an example of a competency and theevidence you put forward in your portfolio to show you’d achievedthat level of proficiency?

EJ: An example of a competency that I put forward in my portfoliowas an Asset Management Systems project that I have managed since Icommenced employment at Chisholm. This Asset Management Systemincludes Aperture and WSM – Work Schedule Module as theDepartment’s Asset Management system, and FMIST – FacilitiesManagement Information Systems for TAFE as OTTE’s Asset

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 61

FMA Australia AFM1Accredited Edward Japutra,Facility Systems Officer atChisholm Institute of TAFE.

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Management Systems web based software to monitor the Institutes’performance.

I initiated collecting various data in the Facilities Departmentincluding an electronic floor plan from AutoCAD, group assets fromHardcat (institute’s asset database), lighting, floor covering, etc andupload all the information to the Asset Management Systems. Then Ideveloped various reports that were generated from the recorded data.Arranging, implementing and on-going enhancement in Aperture andWSM as a new facilities Asset Management System in the Departmenthas demonstrated my competency to manage a project and deliver theoutcome as required at the agreed time.

FP: How did your mentor, Michael Rowlands, assist you throughthe accreditation process?

EJ: He gave me the governance required to be successful in theaccreditation process. He covered all of the competencies with me that Iwould need to show in my portfolio with the units and elements. Hereally helped me to create a portfolio that could be easily followed by anassessor. We probably met four times throughout the process and hewould check in with me on the progress of my portfolio. I would showhim and ask his advice, during the consultation he would give me hisfeedback which enabled me to readjust anything that needed to bechanged to more accurately reflect how my skills and experience were inline with competencies.

MENTORING Michael Rowlands

A Mechanical Engineer by profession, Mike Rowlands has beenworking in the FM industry since 1988. Currently employed withMelbourne’s Monash University in the position of Manager –Maintenance and Minor Works, Mike oversees Facilities Managementoperations at the Caulfield and Parkville Campuses and the Universityoccupied hospital sites of The Alfred, Box Hill and Monash Bentleigh. Inthe year 2000, Mike made the esteemed achievement of attaining AFM3through the FMA Australia accreditation process. He now serves as amentor for facility managers going through the FMA Australiaaccreditation process.

FP: Why did you get involved as a mentor in the accreditationprocess?

MR: It was to give something back to the FM Industry and to helppeople gain accreditation and be recognised for their achievements andcompetencies.

FP: Having achieved AFM3 through the accreditation process,how did you find the accreditation process yourself?

MR: I found it very daunting. I was one of the first participants, andwhen I received the information pack I really found that the most difficultaspect was figuring out how to start. Back then we had the name of amentor but they were really there only if you got into trouble. Now youare appointed a mentor by FMA Australia and must have face to facecontact with the candidate as part of the process.

FP: As Edward’s background has not been in traditional FM, hesaid it was challenging to provide evidence from his role to suit thecompetencies, how did you help him through that?

MR: When you really look at what a Facility Manager is, you can seethey come from a number of different backgrounds – not just buildingtrades, but interior design, architecture, engineering etc. Essentiallythough, we’re all in FM. For example, one aspect of an FM’s role is doing

space management which is a function of Edward’s role. We needed tostand back and look at what Edward was doing and then extract andidentify those FM components and supply the required evidence.

FP: What did you find to be the most challenging part of thementoring process?

MR: I find it interesting to see what other people are doing and howthey’re doing it, so it’s a process I enjoy. Often when I first meet with aperson going through accreditation, I remind them that the peopleassessing their portfolios will be volunteers who don’t have that muchtime available to search out information.

Most candidates think that the people who are assessing their workknow the industry they work in, but they don’t. What you think is prettygrass roots information might be totally alien to somebody else. So it’sreally important to get through to people to gather all their evidence,write a little forward about how it ties together and what the process isthey are trying to give the evidence for, then go through and divide it upinto different sections of evidence. Then you need to make sure youdetail on each page what that piece of evidence relates to, everythingneeds to be cross-referenced.

FP: Can you tell us a bit more about an accreditation portfolio?MR: They are a lot of work, it always takes longer than you’d expect.

Throughout the process everyone I’ve mentored has realised howinadequate their filing system has been maintained, it’s all filedsomewhere but you’ve got to find it all to photocopy and submit it asevidence. After the process, your record keeping does improve and it’s agood exercise to go back on things and to review. During the process alot of people are also frightened to acknowledge they have actuallymanaged something – there’s a degree of humility in all of us but in thisinstance you really have to beat your own drum and use the words I, me,managed the process/ project etc.

FP: Do you think the current accreditation competenciesaccurately reflect the work of today’s Facilities Managers?

MR: I am currently a member of the Victorian FMA Committee andalso on a subcommittee for the Education and Training Group and we’recurrently reviewing the accreditation competencies. I think the currentcompetencies that were set up back in 1999 are still fairly accurate interms of what people do. There’s a bit of a cross over now into things likeProperty Management with a lot more organisations leasing buildings.The role of the Facilities Manager is continuing to become broader andthe expectations of management are also becoming greater and greater.The edges were once defined and now they’re becoming blurred and asa result your skill level and training has really got to go up. You can’t justsay you look after maintenance anymore.

FP: Any advice to anybody thinking about undertakingaccreditation?

MR: Do it! Rely on your mentor. I think obtaining FMA Australiaaccreditation can help you get a job as it shows you are keeping yourcompetencies and your knowledge base up to date. I feel it also boostsyour self confidence and your standing amongst your peers. Gettingaccredited is something you’ve achieved yourself; it’s something you canshow your peers that you have done, and it demonstrates yourcompetency in the industry.

FMA Australia AFM3 andmentor, Mike Rowlands

FMA Australia VICBranch Chair Kristiana Greenwood presenting EdwardJaputra with his AFM1 Accreditation Certificate.

Page 67: Facility Perspectives v2#1 March 2008

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Page 68: Facility Perspectives v2#1 March 2008

Now officially in the third and concluding year of itsimplementation phase the FM Action Agenda has madesignificant progress across a wide range of initiatives. The FM

Action Agenda charts the course for a continuing journey towards bestpractice which FMA Australia with others is committed too. This articleprovides an insight into the activities of the Recognition Working Groupfor Sustainability under the leadership of Jon McCormick (2005-08) andMichael Silman (2005-07).

The Sustainability Challenge The Sustainability Working Group is responsible for implementation

of Actions 14 – 17 namely;Action 14 – Promote the role of facilities management in responding

to increased demand for corporate accountability associated withsustainability performance.

Action 15 – Promote the role of the facilities management industryin key industry and government forums addressing sustainability.

Action 16 – Use the data web portal proposed in Action 4 todisseminate sustainability information.

Action 17 – Develop a ‘business case’ model that highlights thecosts and benefits of embracing ‘sustainable’ practices in the use andmanagement of materials, energy, water waste, and indoorenvironmental quality with a particular focus on workplace productivity.

Sustainability is now a mainstream issue. This is being acknowledgedby individuals realising that their actions have consequences,governments in their policy platforms and organisations recognising theenvironmental, social and financial benefits of creating and maintainingGreen Buildings.

The FM Action Agenda team’s Sustainability effort has focused onthe improved utilisation of existing knowledge and the development oftools and opportunities to improve the environmental performance offacilities. This has involved us in consultation regarding FM’s contributionto resolving a range of environmental challenges has been pursued witha range of industry groups such as the Australian Sustainable BuiltEnvironment Council (ASBEC), the Green Building Council of Australia(GBCA), the Department of Energy, Utilities and Sustainability (DEUS),Tertiary Education Facilities Management Association (TEFMA) and theProperty Council of Australia (PCA).

Specifically input has been provided to the Warren Centre’s LowEnergy High Rise project, the CRC for Construction Innovation’s ‘YourBuilding’ project and the Department of the Environment and ClimateChange’s ‘ESD Operations Guide for Commercial and Public Buildings’.

These actions will promote industry wide understanding andcollaboration enhancing the quality and quantity of FM resources in the

future. This recognition and rigor will add focus to issues impacting onthe ‘Managing the Built Environment’ for the benefit of industrystakeholders, the national economy and ultimately the community.

Sustainable Operations Guidelines for Facilities ManagersA key deliverable of the FM Action Agenda in 2008 will be the

“Sustainable Operations Guidelines for Facilities Managers”. The Guidewill not only demonstrate the inextricable link between the FM and asustainable Built Environment, but will focus on mitigating the estimatedenvironmental impacts. It is estimated that worldwide, buildingsconsume 32% of the world’s resources, including 12% of water,contributing 40% of the world’s landfill and 40% of global air emissions(OECD 2003). There is huge potential to make improvements to theenvironmental performance through the enhanced management ofexisting facilities. Facility Managers will play a crucial role in achieving theefficiencies required to make a positive difference.

A sustainable Built Environment will be necessary to meet ‘... theneeds of future generations without compromising the ability of futuregenerations to meet their own needs’ (Brundtland Report 1987). In orderto be sustainable we must consider the ‘triple bottom line’interdependence of economic, environmental and social elements. TheGuide will make practical recommendations to reduce this environmentalburden presented by the Built Environment.

The practical framework of the Guide will start many FacilityManagers on the path to sustainability, and ‘Greener Pastures’ for all. TheGuide will be to bridge the perceived knowledge gap that exists in howto operate facilities in the most environmentally efficient way, to performbeyond compliance. The focus will be on simple management solutionsrather than technological or construction based solutions requiring majorcapital expenditure commitment. The Guide is also intended to be aliving document, updated periodically to respond to changing demandsand opportunities to address sustainability.

Currently the major drivers for Facility Managers to implementchanged practices and sustainability initiatives come from requirementsin:3 Regulatory compliance;3 Corporate social responsibility standards; 3 Environmental performance metrics, benchmarking and tools; and3 Whole of life planning and management principles.

The Guide will address issues of:3 Sustainable materials selection3 Energy efficiency3 Water efficiency3 Waste management

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FM ACTION AGENDA

FM Action Agenda:greener pasturesSTEPHEN BALLESTYFMA AUSTRALIA’S IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIRMAN; FM ACTION AGENDA’S DEPUTY CHAIRMAN;AND MANAGING DIRECTOR | ADVISORY, RIDER LEVETT BUCKNALL

JON MCCORMICKFM ACTION AGENDA BOARD MEMBER CHAIRING THE RECOGNITION WORKING GROUP FORSUSTAINABILITY AND MANAGING DIRECTOR, MULTIPLEX FACILITIES MANAGEMENT.

The Facilities Management (FM) Action Agenda was established by the Department ofIndustry, Tourism & Resources and produced its strategic plan entitled ‘Managing the BuiltEnvironment’ in 2005. The plan set out a 20 point Action plan to improve the recognitionof FM as a contributor to a more productive and sustainable Built Environment throughimproved innovation, education and regulatory reform. This is being championed acrossfour Recognition Working Groups covering Innovation, Education & Training, RegulatoryReform and Sustainability.

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FM ACTION AGENDA

3 Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)However, Facility Managers face a number of barriers to

implementing sustainable management practices, including:3 Disconnect between design, construction and operational phases of

the facilities life cycle;3 Knowledge and skills gaps in the delivery of sustainability outcomes;3 Lack of support from senior and executive management;3 Lack of understanding, and agreed industry standards and metrics;3 Lack of adequate metering and monitoring of performance over

time; 3 Short term criteria rather than long term objectives;3 Poor historic and habitual management practices;3 Tenant behaviour, particularly in terms waste streams and energy

consumption; and3 Absence of effective incentives / penalties to facilitate behavioural

change. A “Sustainable Operations Guidelines for Facilities Managers” will

empower those responsible for the management of the BuiltEnvironment to realise the true extent of FM’s contribution. It will combatthe perception that sustainability represents a cost rather than anopportunity.

Getting the Message OutThere have been important changes within the property –

construction – facilities industry in terms of initiatives, regulations andtechnologies as we move towards the role the Built Environment mustplay in any sustainable future. Promotion and education regarding FM’scontribution is a vital activity. On 11 February in Sydney Jon McCormickpresented “Post Occupancy: the Green Building FM Challenge” at theGreen Building Council of Australia and the Property Council ofAustralia’s Green Cities 08: What’s Possible Now?

Other opportunities to promote this important message have beenidentified for 2008 as the CRC for Construction Innovation’s ClientsDriving Innovation conference (March 12-13) on the Gold Coast, BIFM’sAnnual Conference (March 18-19 Keble College) in Oxford, FMAAustralia’s ideaction 2008 Conference (May 7-9) on the Gold Coast,EFMC’08 (European Facility Management Conference, June 10-11) inManchester, the World Sustainable Building (SB08) tri-annual Conference(September 21-25) in Melbourne and IFMA’s World WorkplaceConference (October 15-17) in Dallas.

On 14 May in Sacramento Stephen Ballesty will be presenting thekeynote address on the Australian FM Action Agenda at IFMA’sCalifornian Sustainability Mayday Conference. This event will benefit theIFMA Foundation and will be another example of industry andgovernment working together to achieve a more ‘productive andsustainable Built Environment’ for the community.

Moving Forward

Should you wish to become involved in the FM ActionAgenda www.fmactionagenda.org or directly support itsinitiatives please do not hesitate to contact StephenBallesty on +612 9922 2277 or [email protected]

Jon McCormickFM Action Agenda board member chairing theRecognition Working Group for Sustainability andManaging Director, Multiplex Facilities Management.

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ESD & THE ENVIRONMENT

Workplace 6 – Sydney’sGreen Star SuccessWorkplace 6 is the new luminary on Sydney’s foreshore, achieving the city’s first ever 6 StarGreen Star Rating for a commercial office building. A joint development by the GPT Groupand Citta Property Group, construction of Workplace 6 is already well underway at itsprime Waterfront Site, with completion date anticipated for late 2008. Among theinnovative design features which contributed to the building’s success are: black water(sewer) recycling, tri-generation energy systems, titanium plate heat exchangers andharbour water heat rejection, advanced lighting controls including daylight compensationand dimming, solar hot water and other energy and water efficiency measures. FacilityPerspectives spoke to engineering consultants Waterman AHW about the decisive impactthe building’s leading edge engineering systems had on the building reducing its carbonemissions and achieving the coveted Green Star Rating.

A projected image of the South West Entrance to Workplace 6.

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ESD & THE ENVIRONMENT

By employing world best practice in its design and construction,Workplace 6 has created a new benchmark in officedevelopment. The building’s innovative approach to water

management is anticipated to save approximately 20 million litres ayear, alongside energy efficiency measures expected to reduceelectricity usage by a staggering 80 per cent.

As well as enjoying the knowledge their building has a greenhousegas reduction of 50 percent over a standard building, future tenants ofWorkplace 6 will also benefit from natural light penetration acrossinternal work spaces via an atrium, exceptional harbour views,operable windows for natural ventilation and improved air quality,premium amenities such as showers and change rooms with lockersplus the availability of 135 secure car spaces and 120 bicycle racks.

The development will provide approximately 18,000 square metresof office space over six storeys and will offer potential tenants some ofthe largest commercial floor plates on offer in Sydney. Expected to bedeveloped at a total cost of $130 million, Workplace 6 looks to delivera yield of over 7% when fully leased.

Facility Perspectives’ Melanie Drummondspoke to Scott Brown, Associate Director anddivision manager of mechanical services andsustainability of Waterman AHW – a multi-discipline consulting company, about thegroundbreaking engineering that played a vital inthe success of the Workplace 6 design.

FP: How did Waterman AHW come to be involved in theWorkplace 6 project?

SB: We were approached by Buildcorp (the builder) back inSeptember 2006 at the bid stage and we went in with theirconsortium:3 Client: GPT 3 Developer: Citta Property Group 3 Builder: Buildcorp 3 Architect: Nettleton Tribe3 MEP Engineers: Waterman AHW3 ABGR and Services Green Star Initiatives: Waterman AHW

FP: Why did Waterman AHW want to be involved with theproject?

SB: A couple of reasons, one was that we hadn’t worked forBuildcorp before. Another was that it was a building striving for a veryhigh green rating which was something we always like to be involvedin.

FP: What’s particularly unique about Workplace 6?SB: From Sydney’s perspective it’s quite unique in that it’s NSW’s

first 6 star Green Star Building.FP: Can you tell us about the leading edge engineering

features of Workplace 6?SB: One thing that is unique is the combination of systems that it

has, for example it has chilled beams (which is becoming morecommon in Australia) and it will also have a tri-generation power plantin place which is a step up from co-generation.

FP: What is the difference between co-generation and tri-generation systems?

SB: Co-generation is generating power and using the waste heatfrom the generator for another purpose (hence the ‘co’ in co-generation meaning the two purposes of electricity and heat). In thecase of Workplace 6, the ‘tri’ in tri-generation relates to three purposes- using a gas generator on site to meet part of the buildings powerwhilst recovering waste heat using heat exchangers for use in twodistinct purposes. One is to provide cooling using what’s calledabsorption chillers that use heat going into the chiller to run therefrigeration process – negating the need to run refrigerationcompressors which use virtually all the power that a chiller uses. Thatmeans you’re basically able to run a chiller using hot water – you stillhave a bit of power in there but the main use of power has been takenout of the equation. The other use we’re applying the waste heat to ishot water heating in winter.

FP: Is this the first time a tri-generation system has been used?SB: I do know there is some co-generation systems in Australia but

there’s not many in commercial buildings, there may be some other tri-generation systems but I don’t believe there’d be any in commercialbuildings – there are likely be some tri-generation systems in large

factories. As far as this side of the industry goes, I don’t believe there’sany. The other thing that’s unique about it is in most other commercialbuildings where co-generation has been used, it is only used on asmall scale for a small percentage of the building’s electrical demand.What we’re using at Workplace 6 is over 25% of the base buildingpeak load.

FP: Why do you think it’s only been used on a smaller scaleprior to you taking it on?

SB: Those buildings had other systems they were using to get theirgreen points; they were using different technologies as well. Afterconsideration of the options available, we decided that we wouldprefer to have a larger tri-generation system to get our Green Star andour ABGR rating.

FP: What led to it being the best solution?SB: We’d done some research and visited a few buildings and

sites; one in Melbourne, a few in Sydney and from that we made ourown decisions on what would be the best way to go.

FP: In Workplace 6 a titanium plate cooling system has beenused, can you tell us more about that?

SB: In a standard building you use cooling towers to reject heatfrom your air conditioning system, because air conditioning is basicallya matter of grabbing heat that’s inside a building and pushing it out.Instead of using cooling towers we’re using a harbour water heatexchange. In Sydney it’s not particularly unique as there are at least halfa dozen buildings that do it.

FP: How does the harbour water heat exchange process work?SB: We draw in water from the harbour via some filtration to

minimise marine life and anything else that may get through, then thewater is pumped through titanium heat exchangers. One downside isthat Titanium is a very expensive metal that is unfortunately in a world-wide shortage. We had about a 12 month wait time on the heatexchangers because of the material. After the heat exchangers haveoperated, the water gets put back into the harbour at about twodegrees warmer and that’s where we reject the heat from inside thebuilding. On the other side of the heat exchangers there’s aconventional condenser water system, which is used by the chillers andtenant condenser water. We’re using ABS plastic piping on the harbourwater side so that we don’t get corrosion.

FP: As it’s such an expensive metal, what made titanium theonly choice for the project?

SB: As one of the few people in Sydney that has worked onseveral harbour water heat exchange projects, I’m well aware of theproblems that have come about if you don’t use the right material.

You can, for example, use very high-grade stainless steel but it willstill corrode, probably within 12 months and you’d have to replace it.

There are also a couple of non-ferrous metals such as Hastelloy,but even they may only last up to 5-10 years with no guarantees.Titanium basically doesn’t corrode with seawater so in theory it couldlast 20-30 years. Apart from corrosion, the biggest issue with harbourwater is marine growth, essentially you get mussels growing insideyour heat exchangers and blocking them, so you have to pull themapart clean them – that needs to be done once a year and in betweenthere is also some chemical dose systems to keep the marine growthto a minimum.

The chemical dosing is usually made up of a chlorine basedsolution, which although it sounds nasty it’s actually not too bad for theenvironment, once it enters the harbour, it breaks down quickly.

FP: Why is the harbour water heat exchange so effective ingreen buildings?

SB: There are a couple of environmental reasons why usingharbour water for air conditioning heat rejection is a good choice. Thisis reflected in the Green Star rating system, where the use of coolingtowers penalises you quite a lot for a number of reasons. One is thepossible risk of Legionella which is an emissions point in the ratingsystem. Basically it means that if you don’t have cooling towers thenyou have no risk of putting Legionella into the air, as opposed tocontrolling it with chemicals which is how it is usually done.

When a cooling tower system is designed correctly andmonitoring, chemical control and cleaning are done properly you won’tget Legionella outbreaks. But invariably, for one reason or another,some cooling tower systems are not designed or maintained properly,and with the hundreds of buildings in our capital cities, once or twice ayear an outbreak of Legionella does happen.

Not having cooling towers also helps you with the water side of

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your Green Star rating, in Workplace 6 by not having cooling towerswe’re saving 8 million litres of water a year in the building, which is alsoa cost saving as well. Cooling towers work by evaporation so you’reconstantly evaporating water and you constantly have to put morewater in. The main reasons we’re using the titanium heat exchange isfor the emissions and saving water.

FP: What about the energy required to operate the titaniumpipe system?

SB: The energy in theory is less than operating cooling towersalthough we have not done a direct energy comparison yet. In theorythere’s a couple of reasons as to why it’s less, one is that water is aboutthree times more effective at moving heat around so per kilowatt ofenergy you put in you’re able to move about three times as mucharound.

The other thing is that by using harbour water you’re always ableto get a lower water temperature whereas with cooling towers whenthe outdoor temperature gets quite high they’re not as efficient.

Another reason for going with the heat exchange was thearchitectural impact. We don’t have big cooling towers sitting on theroof which certainly allowed us to have a lot more lettable area on thetop floor. We did have a restricted building envelope and we couldn’tjust stick towers on the roof – it wasn’t going to be allowed by theSydney Harbour Foreshore Authority.

FP: Is the heat exchange system all underground?SB: We’ve just got a plant room in the basement which contain

the pumps and titanium heat exchangers, and when you look at that itis smaller than the size of plant required for cooling towers, so it’s a netsaving in building area.

FP: What is involved with the maintenance and monitoring ofthe system?

SB: Generally we’ve specified automatic cleaning filters so theyautomatically clean the system and we’ve got plastic pipework which isnot that easy for the marine growth to latch on to. Marine growth willlatch on over time but it does mean you’ve got a reasonable period inbetween before you have to do any cleaning.

Generally the main cleanout is just annual and that includes one ata time pulling apart heat exchangers and cleaning those and waterblasting pipe work and that sort of thing. Other than that there’s justthe chemical dosing and once you set that up it’s all automated. Beingthat it’s a salt water system as well, once you’ve set it up you do haveto check things aren’t rusting.

As long as you keep your eye on the system and look after it, it’snot a huge imposition because what you’re comparing it against iscooling towers which have also got a very high maintenance regime. Incooling towers you have to guard against Legionella – that requirescleaning and testing/lab testing on a regular basis which is quite costly.We haven’t done a direct comparison, but anecdotally our opinion isthat system maintenance required for the heat exchange after hourswould be relatively similar to cooling towers, provided you keep upyour general maintenance throughout the rest of the year as well.

FP: What operating system does the heat exchange use?SB: Basically we’re just using our building’s BMS (Building

Management System), our control system and we’ve got variablespeed pumps so we’re ramping those up and down with the loadrequirements, so we’re only using as much power as we need to.

It’s no different to an ordinary system. Once it’s set up andoperating it’s similar to how you would work with a cooling towersystem. There are always some teething issues in getting everythingworking properly and controlling properly. Really the controls are just

simple, they’re really temperature based or pressure based - justslightly different methods than what you’d use with cooling towers. It’sall fairly standard stuff.

FP: So it’s not substantially more difficult to operate a heatexchange system than cooling towers?

SB: Once you’ve set it up it runs on its own. There will also bealarms to indicate when temperatures or pressures get too high incertain areas. It doesn’t necessitate a full-time facilities manager onsite.

FP: How long have heat exchange systems been operating inSydney?

SB: The earlier ones weren’t using titanium and they’d last about10 or 15 years and then they’d replace the heat exchange equipment.They were based on systems that had been used in ships for years.Examples are the old AMP building in Sydney which was built in the50s which I think was the first one to have it, the Opera House also hasit and another old one is the PowerHouse Museum in Sydney. Otherthan that, in the past 10 years a few have sprung up with the titaniumheat exchangers. A lot along King Street Wharf in Sydney have themas well.

FP: Is the initial cost of implementing heat exchangerssignificantly greater than incorporating cooling towers?

SB: It is a capital cost increase so you’re up for a significantincrease. Generically speaking you’re probably looking at 3-4 times theprice. Putting that in perspective however, cooling towers usually aren’tthat expensive. It does become a major cost component of the airconditioning cost.

FP: How long is the payback period?SB: Well with the current water prices it doesn’t offer much saving

in that sense, it’s not huge water saving and we do believe there isenergy saving but I haven’t actually run the numbers yet. The mainbenefits are really the environmental benefits.

FP: Will it offer benefits regarding the calibre of tenantslooking to occupy a building that has such a system in place?

SB: It is one key part of an overall green building design thatcombine to make the building very attractive to tenants. The tenantsthey are looking at getting in for Workplace 6 are very well known.

FP: What lighting systems will be used in Workplace 6?SB: We included energy efficient lamps that are dimmable and

around the perimeter we’ve got daylight sensors so when enoughdaylight is coming in we can dim the perimeter lights to save power. Ifyou’re sitting at your desk window and there’s enough daylight comingin, the lights above you will actually dim, therefore using a lot lesspower.

FP: Can you tell us about the black water recycling that will bein place in Workplace 6?

SB: Part of our requirement by the Sydney Harbour ForeshoreAuthority was to recycle water and to provide water to some adjacentparks. We went through different methods first to establish if there wasenough rain water and then realised the parks were a reasonable sizeso there was nowhere near enough rain water.

We ended up designing a blackwater treatment plant using thebuilding’s sewer but we soon realised there wasn’t enough sewercoming from our building so we actually had to tap into the sewermain in the street, doing what is called ‘sewer mining’. It involvestaking in sewerage from the mains through our black water treatmentplant and producing what is drinkable quality water, although theregulations are not in place to allow us to use if for that purpose.

FP: How does the black water recycling plant operate?

Drawings of the Heat Exchangers operating in Workplace 6, a key component of its 6 Star Green Star Rating.

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ESD & THE ENVIRONMENT

SB: In general terms, the black water recycling plant comprises:3 All building soil stacks gravitate back to the black water plant raw

sewage tanks.3 There is a connection from the large sewer main in the street

where sewer gravitates to the black water plant raw sewage tanks.3 The blackwater treatment plant uses several stages comprising a

system known as a membrane bioreactor (MBR). Included are UV,ozone and chlorine treatment stages. The system is being suppliedby General Electric (GE).

3 After the plant there is a clean water holding tank, from whichwater is pumped to the various uses including to adjacent parksfor irrigation, on-site irrigation and toilet flushing.

3 The plant has various overflows, water supplies and cleaningpoints.

3 The concentrated sewer remaining, known as waste activatedsludge, gravitates back to the sewer main in the street (pendingSydney Water approval). The fall-back solution is to temporarilystore this waste and truck it out at time intervals as required.FP: What are some of the other engineering features that

Waterman has designed for Workplace 6?SB: By far the most significant other ESD feature designed for

Workplace 6 is the use of cogeneration. This includes a gas firedgenerator which provides approximately 30% of the peak basebuilding power requirements. The waste heat from the generatorengine cooling plus some from the exhaust flue is recovered, usingwater to water and air to water heat exchangers respectively, providinghot water for use by the mechanical services systems.

The mechanical services primarily use this hot water to run anabsorption chiller, providing “free cooling” to the building. Theabsorption chiller refrigeration process uses hot water instead of alarge electric compressor to provide chilled water for air conditioningpurposes. It only has a relatively small water pump – hence electricpower consumed is only a fraction of an electric chiller.

If during winter the absorption chiller does not require all of thehot water then it can be used for space heating. There is also a gas

fired boiler system as a back up to the heat from the gas generator toensure that the chiller and space heating can occur if the generator isout of service.

Other systems included in the engineering design include chilledbeams for cooling and swirl type air diffusers for fresh air. Both passivechilled beam and active chilled beam technologies are utilised, servingcentre zone and perimeter zone areas respectively. Heating is providedvia the perimeter zone active chilled beams.

With this combination of building “smarts”, Workplace 6 sets thebenchmark in World’s Best Practice Green Building technology, andwhile there is no doubt that there will still be challenges ahead in thecommissioning and fine tuning of these systems, the knowledge andexperience gained from these leading edge projects will form the basisof Green technology design and maintenance practice for theforeseeable future.

About Waterman AHWWaterman AHW are a multi-discipline consulting company,

offering expertise in mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, fire protection,and lifts, structural, civil, ESD and facilities management. WatermanAHW have three offices in Australia including Sydney, Melbourne andBrisbane. Waterman AHW’s engineering staff have expertise in offeringinnovative, integrated, sustainable and cost effective client focusedsolutions in all building sectors (commercial, institutional, health,education, residential, hotels, retail, industrial and more). As a part ofthe Waterman Group, a public listed company on the London Stockexchange with a total of 1800+ consulting engineers, scientists andtechnical staff in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific,Waterman AHW has a vast resource of high calibre staff with variedexperience to draw upon. The Australian offices are considered to bethe “international design centre of excellence” for Waterman Group.Projects designed in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane has includedboth local work and international projects such as recent major (multibillion dollar) projects in Europe and the Middle East.

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SOFTWARE CASE STUDY

Faced with escalatingcomplexities involved in theroutine inspection and

maintenance of Essential SafetyMeasures in accordance with BuildingRegulations, Australian EssentialServices Maintenance (AESM) decidedto embrace the efficiencies andaccuracy that leading-edge technologyand the Pervidi suite of dedicatedsoftware had to offer.

AESM assists building owners,managers and tenants in meeting theirongoing compliance obligations forthe upkeep of buildings’ essentialsafety measures, to ensure the safetyof the occupants and the buildings.

Proudly committed to maintainingthe solid reputation they have builtover many years of providing quality-driven, friendly and professionalservice within the building servicesindustry, AESM would receive callsfrom facility managers for inspectionand work order requests.

These requests would berecorded through a paper based workorder system, and depending on theurgency of the request, AESMadministration staff would notify thedesignated inspector via phone, andthat inspector would fill out their ownwork order and run sheet while awayfrom the office. With scheduledessential service maintenance, runsheets would be created formaintenance technicians on a weeklybasis.

The need to measure and managework performance, and therebyincrease efficiencies however, exposedthe problems that existed with the useof paper-based systems, including the following:3 Inaccurate recording of inspection results and data.3 Inability to accurately analyse technician Key Performance Indicators

(KPIs) such as Hours spent on site and actual attendance on site.3 Double Data entry – Inspectors would record results and findings on

job sheets and hand them back to AESM administration staff to re-enter into another basic template sheet.

3 Quoting and invoicing times were inhibited by paper-based delays,costing potential new customers and delaying payment from existingcustomers.

3 Follow-up procedures and corrective actions for failed inspectionswere also delayed since AESM administration staff needed to mergemultiple forms to create the follow-up Work Order.

3 Customer and Site management was also disadvantaged throughthe lack of readily available real-time information.

3 Since reporting methods were very basic, only basic work order andinspection reports could be created from the system.

3 Lack of connectivity with technicians out on the road.

AESM manager and owner Mario Apela stated: “We needed asystem which would improve our operational efficiency and effectivenessand allow us to grow to maintain our competitive edge in the BuildingMaintenance industry. Since AESM highly value customer service andsatisfaction, we wanted to provide our customers with the best service –service provided through real-time accurate information. We knew thatour significant growth could not have been achieved had we persistedwith our previous paper based system and therefore a fully automatedand integrated system was needed for our field force.

“We invested a significant amount of time and resources into findingthe right solution for our needs. We needed a system that would notonly incorporate electronic and field force automation but also beflexible enough to allow us to customise and match our businessprocesses and practices. We came across Pervidi CMMS (ComputerMaintenance Management System) developed by Techs4biz and knewstraight away that it would cater for our current needs while allowing usto grow and expand”, Mario said.

The implementation of the Techs4biz Pervidi CMMS system enabled

The business challengein managing essentialsafety measures

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SOFTWARE CASE STUDY

AESM to provide their inspectors with a PDA (personal digital assistant),which held all their previously and current paper-based work orderselectronically. The PDA’s removed the need to print copious numbers ofjob sheets, provided more information about the job to the technician,greatly assisted in securing the data captured, and allowed more depthin their accuracy of data input, such as the ability to set a maximum andminimum score and if a result was not in range to alert the technician.The PDA also allowed technicians to create work orders whilst on site,add new locations, assets and/or equipment into the database, moveassets/equipment that currently exist in the database and access in depthsite information, safety notes and comments.

From an administration perspective, Pervidi has enabled AESMadministrative staff to log incoming calls and to create new work ordersand job requests utilising the Customer Call centre of Pervidi Desktop.Pervidi Desktop allows the user to view all customer sites in an easy-to-read user interface, which serves as a handy quick-reference tool for usewith customers who call to request a work history of a particular site, oran individual asset. AESM’s paper-based reports were fairly limited andsimplistic, whereas Pervidi provides over 150 dynamic and adjustablereports. Pervidi allows AESM to create a variety of work order, staff,facilities, assets and client information reports, including customisedreports that match their business processes.

AESM customers are also able to submit job requests through thePervidi WebPortal which is accessible via AESM’s website. Customerssimply log in and add their particular request without having totelephone. The web portal allows customers to view the status of theirrequests, while offering AESM administrative and technical staff thecontrols to manage the information that is available and accessible totheir customers.

The Pervidi CMMS suite has enabled AESM to improve theiroperational effectiveness, minimise paper work, eliminate unnecessary orredundant administrative tasks, and maximise customer satisfaction.

These productivity benchmarks have been achieved throughprovision of the following benefits: 3 Increased amount of information available to technicians while

reducing the cumbersome amounts of paperwork taken to each site. 3 Increased data input accuracy and minimisation of human error. 3 The ability to better manage their technician’s time and resources

and create efficiency gains. 3 Pervidi’s ability to invoice completed jobs, allowing administrative

staff to email invoicing reports directly to the desired recipient. 3 The ability to deal with work orders with failed items promptly,

utilising the Follow-Up Notice and Corrective actions features inPervidi.Automatic rollover of Repetitive tasks (for example: A monthly

Inspection of a particular piece of equipment) ensures that AESM staff donot need to remember to reschedule these jobs manually.

Queries received from customers regarding their buildings can beefficiently dealt with on the spot with various site reports, Work OrderReports and Asset Reports available on demand.

The ability for technicians to add new work orders on their PDA,saving time and effort, and removing the need to return to their office orfill out paper work orders on site. If a particular piece of equipment haschanged locations, the technician can make the correction on the PDA,

and the central Database will be automatically updated when the data issent back.

AESM’s continued embracement of new technology such as PervidiDesktop, Pervidi PDA and Pervidi Web Portal has enabled them to gaina greater market share through the competitive advantage gained overtheir rivals, who are still utilising basic and inefficient paper basedsystems. “We are continually looking for efficiency gains and currently weare bar-coding all of our equipment and areas, enabling our techniciansto scan the barcode and automatically bring up the work that needs tobe done for it. We are also looking at expanding into the Pervidi wirelessmodel, which will enable real-time interaction with our technicians andallow us to move into other states and potential new markets” saidMario.

At the same time, Techs4biz is committed to enhancing the PervidiCMMS solution, and incorporating newer and better features that resultin a software suite that is unrivalled by others.

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PROPERTY FOCUS

Proactive management of the corporate real estate assets demandsclear strategic direction from senior management and clearmeasurable deliverables from FM. Therefore it is critical that FM &

CRE teams are involved in the strategic planning within the clientorganisation.

Corporate Real Estate Needs ModelThis shift in mindset on the fundamental role of CRE is being driven

by organisational culture, technological change and globalcompetitiveness.

How many companies actually know what they have invested in theirCRE assets? How many companies in reality actually buy into the‘partnering’ process with a free flow of ideas, planning and strategiesbetween the respective FM and CRE teams?

Many FMs in Australia have no say or no choice on their CREpartners, due to global agreements and alliances sewn up in offices inNew York or London and therefore view the local relationship with somecynicism.

Below is a summary of the main drivers for change, and their impacton real estate provision and facilities support services management.

Trends in Corporate Real Estate Management3 Growing awareness of the need to manage physical resources – the

“mix & fit “ evaluation3 Concerns with rising occupancy costs3 Longer term asset ownership and liabilities3 The need to align CRE resource to strategic direction 3 Environmental concerns such as site and internal configuration, and

employee productivityImpact on Corporate Real Estate Provision

3 CRE portfolio profile (level of ownership and/or lease liabilities)3 Optimising location advantages (rationalisation and disposal)3 Space utilisation (innovations)3 Layout configurations (functional / process)

Trends in Facilities Management 3 Becoming generalist e.g. master of all trades (Commercial, Industrial,

retail, engineering etc)3 In search of economy3 Trend towards outsourcing3 Partnering and Alliances3 Service orientation

Impact on Facilities Management Flexibility in:

3 Accommodating changes in technology, such as in IT,telecommunication and, electronic mail

3 Alternative procurement strategies3 Contract and Service management

The desired outcome from an organisation’s CRE assets in a physicalform is an appropriate portfolio structure that is aligned with theorganisation’s business operational requirements. Buildings and land, asphysical assets, are static products.

Effective matching of demand and supply of accommodation andassociated support services to meet the operational requirements of adynamic and competitive business environment demands themanagement of the real estate assets as a dynamic integrated process.

Achieving an integrated approach requires formal planning sessionsinvolving the corporation’s management executives, CRE and FM teams,who provide the collective input of the cultural, procedural and existingknowledge base of the organisation concerned.

For the CRE/FM relationship to provide optimal returns, facilitymanagers need to fully utilise the range and scope of services offered byan outsourced provider, including the following: 3 Industry experts with detailed property and market knowledge both

nationally and internationally 3 The latest industry research on specific market sectors to support

decisions and strategies3 Occupancy cost reductions through the development of short,

medium and long term strategies aligned with corporate objectives3 Delivery of property services through a single service provider,

including, advisory, lease management, project management,valuations, leasing and sales.CRE dedicated client managers who share a detailed knowledge of

the business of the corporate and an understanding of the impact ofproperty decisions.

Supporting businessobjectives througheffective CREBY KERRY LODGE AND ROB MORRIS, CORPORATE REAL ESTATE SERVICES, SAVILLS

Most Facility Managers (FM) understand the role of an outsourced Corporate Real Estate(CRE) team and the benefits that their decisions can bring. These include supportingcorporate strategy by leveraging locations, layouts, and leases to reduce costs, increaseflexibility and improve productivity. But an organisation’s corporate real estate decisionswill only be effective if such outcomes support the overall business objectives andcontinually focus on minimising costs while maximising flexibility.Savills Corporate Real Estate Services’ Kerry Lodge and Bob Morris examine the mindsetshift of CRE and FM professionals from a reactive to a proactive approach to partnering.

Corporate Real Estate Needs Model

Corpor

rate Real Estate Needs Mod

del

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PROPERTY FOCUS

When fully utilised, the facility manager can make strategic decisionsrelated to the property portfolio and leverage these services to improvebottom line costs and accommodation efficiencies and add maximumvalue to the whole FM process.

The corporation will need to anticipate industry factors that mayimpact on its performance objectives and the role of the FM/CRErelationship is to demonstrate agility and planning to adapt to thesechanges.

Typical factors may be:3 Changing corporate direction and priorities3 Growing and expanding operations3 Downsizing or consolidating operations3 Responding to pressure to reduce operating expenses3 Managing the impact of job migration and demographic shifts on

current locations3 Changes in demographic profiles e.g. Victorian Governments “Flex

in the City” program** A Victorian Government initiative involving the staggering of the

times at which people in the CBD start work, to avoid travel and trafficcongestion.

In terms of their impact on a corporation’s bottom line, much of whatthe facility manager does in terms of the running of properties and themanagement of day to day costs is largely incremental when comparedto the substantial savings that can be made in occupancy costs. Thesesavings can be made either through the implementation of improvedoffice efficiencies or through the development and implementation ofstrategic negotiations which can be measured, and therefore placing areal value on the FM/CRE relationship over a period of time can bereadily demonstrated and quantifiable.

There are numerous case studies that express the value of this modeland there would be little argument from any FM that there is a clearbenefit in utilising an outsourced CRE provider.

There is a constant need for businesses to gain a competitiveadvantage within their market whilst demonstrating success, innovationand value to their shareholders. The facility manager is at the heart of the

delivery of the property strategy to support this, and only by recognisingand developing a close alliance with a CRE provider can this competitiveedge be maintained.

In summary, there is an emerging new realism in the practice ofCorporate Real Estate within organisations that is characterised by anacknowledgment of the following features:

CRE and associated facilities services are a supporting resource tothe achievement of corporate objectives. Maintaining alignment to thecorporate business plans is a strategic objective in the ongoingmanagement of the corporate real estate resource.

Managing the availability of affordable facilities is the key driver inthe role of facilities provision.

Managing customers’ expectations and affordability are the keydrivers for the delivery of facilities support services within the corporatereal estate portfolio.

In managing CRE assets, value and service considerations are centralin the development of performance measures.

Management and measurement procedures must shift from a focuson tasks and transactions, to a thorough understanding of processes thatadd value to the core businesses of the business units. This is onlyattainable by having a clear understanding of the nature of the corebusiness drivers and how these are translated in facilities dimensions ormeasures that affect the overall performance of the core business results.

The quality of interface between FM and CRE is clearly a vitalelement in the shift from a reactive to a proactive real estatemanagement approach.

About Savills Savills is a global, publicly listed property solutions company with

over 180 offices and associates worldwide, with 10 offices servicing theAustralian market. Their national team of corporate real estate specialistsbring together a broad range of property expertise with extensive globaland local knowledge and experience. They provide a balance betweentactical opportunities and strategic corporate objectives and provideservices to a diverse range of clients.

Service Works Global, Suite 8, 333 Canterbury Road, Canterbury, VIC 3126 T +61 3 9836 7880 E [email protected] W www.serviceworksglobal.com.au

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FM EVENTS

The power of threeBY MARK PHILLIPS, FREELANCE JOURNALIST

At a recent forum three top-flight researchers unveiled the findings of a comprehensivestudy that for the first time ever reveals the views of Australian building users on ‘green’buildings. Although the report card was generally positive, the findings are likely to raisethe bar on what is required to make future developments truly user-friendly. Mark Phillipsattended the launch and files this report.

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There may not be many of them, but the number of so-called‘green’ buildings is growing, and as more of the workforcedecamps from conventional structures to what may be the future of

the built environment, some key questions have emerged. From theoccupants’ point of view, are green buildings really any better thanconventional buildings, and what do they like and dislike about them?

This was the theme of the last AIRAH Forum for 2007, held inNovember at Melbourne’s Treasury Theatre. The speakers were UK-based Adrian Leaman, who specialises in the management andapplication of feedback from building occupants about their needs andrequirements, Leena Thomas, senior lecturer architecture at the Universityof Technology in Sydney, and Monica Vandenberg, principal ofEncompass Sustainability. The three had gathered to overview thefindings of their ground-breaking new study, ‘Green’ Buildings; WhatAustralian Building Users Are Saying.

“The built environment sector has a huge opportunity to reducegreenhouse emissions and narrow our environmental footprint,”Vandenberg began. “So where to from here and how are we going totrack how we’re getting there?”

It is of course no secret that many buildings are completed indouble-quick time, with the ongoing focus of developers always the nextproject. The result, Vandenberg said, is that too rarely there isopportunity to reflect, evaluate and determine whether or not the workbeing done is appreciated by building occupants. Enter post occupancyevaluation (POE).

“POE enables us to track how we are performing in the workplace. Itenables us to highlight key issues of concern and, importantly, feed thisinformation into the design process.”

Notably, Vandenberg, Thomas and Leaman are not going aroundmeasuring things like temperature or indoor air quality. Their focus isfrom the occupancy’s perspective, and the tool they use to do this is theBuilding Use Studies survey method (BUS), which has the capacity toprovide feedback for over 60 variables covering aspects of overallcomfort, temperature, air movement and quality, lighting, noise, health,design, image, workplace needs and productivity.

According to Vandenberg, buildings influence up to 20 percent ofworkplace performance.

“If we are managing complexity in this environment in theknowledge economy we really need to be looking at this 20 percentalongside the other 80 percent as well,” she said. “Understandably, weneed to focus on the building but we also need to look at it in context,as there is no one solution to each of the issues.”

Regardless, the BUS methodology and questionnaire has providedan insight into the areas that, from a building perspective, affectworkplace performance. Across the buildings studied, the researchersidentified significant associations between perceived productivity andoverall comfort (lighting, ventilation, thermal comfort, and noise) andbetween perceived productivity and thermal comfort in particular. Onaverage, perceived productivity scores for the green buildings in theAustralian dataset are marginally lower than conventional buildings.

So which organisations are undertaking POE?“CH2, and in the last couple of years CH1. There has been 121

Exhibition Street, Bendigo Bank Docklands, 40 Albert Road, 60 L,Queenscliffe Marine Centre and many others across Victoria, SouthAustralia, Queensland and New South Wales,” Vandenberg revealed. “Atthis point there are up to 50 in the Australian database that have beenbenchmarked.”

Taking the podium as well as taking up the same point, LeenaThomas noted: “When POE is done for individual buildings we obviouslyhave a rich source of information on what works and what doesn’t.However, in a majority of instances the findings are not available in thepublic domain, and so earlier this year we thought it would be useful tolook across the range of buildings that have been studied in Australia tosee if we could find out how green buildings were performing andwhether they were working from a building user’s perspective.”

The findings derive from 22 ‘green’ buildings and 23 ‘conventional’buildings, with ‘green’ defined as those created with an explicit intent toinclude environmentally sustainable design (ESD). The term‘conventional’ refers to those buildings in the dataset where attention toESD was not part of the design intent.

Setting out to capture some of the headline findings, Thomasrevealed that on average green buildings are performing better forperceived health, image, design, overall lighting and for meetingworkplace needs. She emphasised, however, that despite intent to

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incorporate green features and principles, not all achieved positiveoutcomes in terms of energy and water use and other measurables.

“The good performance of green buildings in what some engineersmight call the ‘soft’ variables is not surprising,” she stated. “Firstly, greenbuildings include aspects that occupants like in terms of access to views,more daylighting, often natural ventilation, and shallower floor plates.There is also greater attention being paid to satisfy user needs in thedesign process – that is, more careful briefing and targeting andinvolvement of users in the decision-making process, or at the least auser responsive manner in which decision were made, and an increasedmonitoring and feedback process.

“A small number of green buildings performed brilliantly on all thevariables and, again, another important factor in this was that theyrequire and get higher levels of onsite management and after-care fine-tuning. They are also usually occupied by organisations that have avested interest in making them work properly.

“However, in our dataset we also had some green buildings thatreturned very disappointing performance – perhaps what could be called‘heroic failures’ – with respect to temperature, particularly in summer, andissues to do with glare, noise and overall comfort.”

As Thomas noted, implicit in this is the fact that green buildings canbe risky.

“Yes, the top end outperform conventional buildings, but it isimportant to understand that there is much greater variation in greenbuildings,” she said. “When looking at why certain buildings were notperforming properly, often the reason was that they were not onlytechnologically complex, but also under resourced in terms of ongoingmanagement and in some instances there was too much emphasisplaced on iconic design gestures but very little attention to the basics ofgood design, resulting in poor usability.

“Our experience with green buildings that rated poorly on thermalcomfort, for example, was that despite the best design intentions theyhad inherent problems with poorly configured controls, partialunderstanding of how users might interact with the controls and,importantly, an inability to rectify problems quickly. In some situations,the design concepts simply did not work in reality.”

Although green buildings performed well on issues such as overalllighting and daylighting, Thomas said that significant problems in somein terms of ratings for glare suggested there is still some way to go inrespect of the control of daylighting.

“Similarly, green buildings on average were noisier, but some of thiswas to be expected as because of the highly reflective surfaces there wasa tendency to exacerbate internal noise.”

Despite this, Thomas said that regardless of their shade of green,users who rated a building as being good in terms of overall comfortgenerally also rated it as good in terms of perceived productivity.

“This reinforces to me the view that buildings that work well for usersare of very high strategic importance and that it is important to recognisethe human side of how buildings are used,” she concluded.

Rounding out proceedings, Building Use Studies principal, AdrianLeaman, addressed POE in what he described as the “so what?”context.

“I call it ‘so what’ because when you do this research, designers say‘so what?’ They want to know what the consequences are, and in plainEnglish we can tell them. Environmental research is about consequencesand we are at the scary end of it. We get the data off these studies and itscares the life out of us. I get scared because despite all the effort thathas gone into these buildings, some have just not worked. They may beinnovative, but they haven’t worked for a whole series of reasons, and it’sscary,” he said.

“Getting the comfort level right might be boring, but boring is coolas far as we’re concerned. Forget the sexy stuff. If buildings arecomfortable and have enough space, the occupancy will be apple-cheeked.

“Buildings that are very comfortable we call ‘virtuous buildings’,because once people like them they tend to rank everything as good.They will tolerate things that are not particularly fantastic because theylike the building. But some buildings go vicious, as once a building has areputation it is incredibly hard to turn that around.”

Leaman too acknowledged that green buildings are riskier.“It is much, much harder to deliver good ones, and green buildings

also tend to be smaller,” he said. “It is a very big ask indeed to deliver aCBD building like CH2 with big floor plates, and there has been nothinglike this as far as we know anywhere in the world. It takes a lot ofcommissioning, a lot of management and a lot of effort to get them towork.

“The reason developers tend to go for conventional buildings, is thatthey are less risky, and although there are developers that are not riskaverse, most are. It is the public sector that has been taking the risk withgreen buildings, which it shouldn’t because the theory is that the privateoperators take all the risks – but not with green buildings they don’t.”

Significantly, the public sector is also far less reticent aboutpublishing the results from its green building projects, essentiallymeaning that when it comes to ‘greening’ the built environment, theprivate sector can, as Leaman put it, “ride on the back of the public”.

About the AuthorMark Phillips is a freelance journalist who has written for and edited

business publications such as Company Director, Australasian RiskManagement, Franchising and Marketing. He also has a long-standinginvolvement in covering FM-related issues. He can be reached on 0407437289 or [email protected].

CURRIE & BROWNPROVIDING CONSTRUCTIVE SOLUTIONS�Property & Facilities Management consulting services�Development of Infrastructure & FM Teams�FM Procurement Implementation�Technical Advisory Services on PPP projects

Operating in all states of Australiawww.curriebrown.comTel: 02 9415 1600Email: [email protected]

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A comprehensive seminar series will run alongside the exhibition, providing facility managers with aunique opportunity to hear from leading Australian and international speakers, and see the latestproducts, services and technologies for the air conditioning, refrigeration and building services industryfrom 230 exhibitors, all under the one roof.

Dr Mark Luther, Director of Deakin University’s Built Environment Research Group, will outline theMABEL concept — the Mobile Architecture and Built Environment Laboratory. It is an energy-comfort-behaviour framework that assesses whether and to what extent a building is meeting its goals in terms ofresource consumption and occupant satisfaction.

In his ARBS presentation, Luther will explain how this versatile and comprehensive in-situ testingfacility is an essential element in determining green building metrics.

“MABEL is a diagnostic toolkit that provides multi-dimensional testing of the key performancecriteria of power, light, sound, thermal comfort and indoor air quality,” he said.

Luther has found that testing often reveals a range of issues, from recycled return air rather than freshair being circulated throughout a building, to poor acoustic performance.

Facility managers who register to attend ARBS 2008 can attend this – and a number of additionalseminars – when they visit the exhibition. For further information on ARBS 2008 and the accompanyingseminar program, visit www.arbs.com.au.

Real Buildings, Real ResultsBuilding Performance Evaluation a Highlight atARBS 2008

Ensuring a building and its services continue to operate as they were designed to is anongoing issue for facility managers. Ongoing testing, diagnostics and evaluation is aperennial challenge – and one that will be addressed at ARBS 2008 when it is staged at theMelbourne Exhibition Centre from 21-23 April.

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BSM Ausclean Expo - national cleaning andmaintenance exhibition

FMA Australia officially announces its support of the BSM AuscleanExpo, 14-16 September 2008 at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre.

BSM Ausclean started as the national cleaning and maintenanceexhibition, now in its fourteenth biennial year. The scope of the tradeexhibition was expanded into FM and building services in 2006 tomeet the needs of the many thousands of high profile visitors. Keydecision makers from major organisations attended, who actuallyorganised quotes/appointments or purchased on-site from more than120 exhibitors.

We encourage suppliers with FM or building services andmaintenance solutions to exhibit, and FM practitioners orbuilding/property managers to attend (free trade entry). FMA Australiawill have an exhibition stand and participate in the supporting freeseminar programs.

Carolyn Journeaux fromFMA Australia said “We arepleased to support BSMpromoting the work of theFM industry and we hopemany of our members takeup the BSM offer and will beexhibiting with us on theday.”

For more information visit www.bsmexpo.com.au, phone Mark Walshon 03 8420 5411 or email [email protected]

2008 Australian Water SummitsNo drought of ideas…

No one has been immune to Australia’s nationwide droughtconditions over the last few years.

Extended drought periods have not only devastated ruralAustralians, reduced rainfall, extended heat waves and increasedunpredictable weather patterns are now effecting Australia’smetropolitan populations.

With most of the country on level 3 or higher water restrictions,business, government and the water industry have been investigatingsolutions to address the chronic water shortages now facing many partsof the worlds’ driest continent.

Building and developing an effective water strategy to meet thechallenges of supplying the water needs of a growing nation and itsexpanding economy is the focus of two national events happening inMarch.

The first is the 6th Annual Australian Water Summit being in held inMelbourne from the 5th to the 7th of March at the RACV Club in thecity centre.

Featuring key note addressesfrom the CEO’s and MD’s ofAustralia’s peak water bodies, andprivate corporations, the Summit alsopromises to deliver internationalviewpoints on water management viaworkshops and presentations.

Topics to be covered at theSummit include National and Statepolicies for continued water reform;comprehensive updates from seniorexecutives of urban and rural watercompanies; the latest on waterinfrastructure project developmentsincluding dams, desalination, pipingand recycling schemes; a discussionof water pricing, trade initiatives, andthe role of governance in watermanagement; the effect of restrictionson water demand management,planning and project delivery andother technological advances in thewater market.

The second event – by the samename, but not to be confused as thesame event - is the 4th AustralianWater Summit 2008, to be held inSydney on April 29, 30 and May 1, at

the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre. With over 40 speakersand more than 250 senior executives expected to attend, organizersclaim that it is a flagship forum for Australia’s $90 billion water industry.

Speakers have been sourced from Australia, New Zealand, South-East Asia, Europe and North America to present topics includinginvestment for water infrastructure projects, the management of urbanand regional water use, planning for drought and climate change andthe cost-efficiency of reuse and recycling programs.

Over 20 case studies will be presented at the Summit, and therewill be opportunities to attend workshops, a technology showcase, sitevisits and various networking opportunities.

To find out more about the Melbourne Summit, visitwww.australianwatersummit.com.au, and for Sydney,www.acevents.com.au/water2008.

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