In search of the missing piece of the Coronavirus puzzle
With mysterious outbreaks of coronavirus infections in hotels and aged care homes perhaps it’s the case that the virus is more airborne that we imagined.
Facilities management
Smart water metering saves $180K for Lendlease retirement villages
Since 2017 the Lendlease Retirement Living portfolio has saved over 17 Olympic-sized pools of water and reduced residents’ outgoings by more than $180,000.
Why we need to assess the performance of the great outdoors
How do we know if the thing built meets expectations? There are ways to measure this so you can check out the “performance gaps” – the difference between the way a building, or any kind of space, was expected to operate, and how it operates in reality.
Ventilation might help slow COVID-19 spread but let’s not forget energy use
While the evidence so far indicates that increasing outside air circulation may help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in buildings, some common sense goes a long way for facility managers looking to keep occupants safe without wasting energy on overzealous air circulation.
The race to crack the safety challenges of UV-C technology with Covid
We need to get back to work. Soon. But how will we feel safe from infections? Two companies are banking on ultraviolet light to kill the coronavirus but there are major safety threats. Here’s how they’re handling the challenges and creating solutions. Before we can get back into offices, schools, or board planes, buses or […]
Keeping an eye on the energy efficiency ball is crucial
What happens to energy efficiency when people desert the CBDs because of the COVID-19 pandemic to work from home, and then send energy consumption through the roof with their domestic consumption?
HVAC and COVID-19 explained
There is considerable interest in the role that HVAC may play in the transmission of COVID-19.
Bushfire smoke no problem for top-notch green buildings
It was a busy summer for Adam Garnys, principal consultant at CETEC, a technical risk management consultancy with expertise in indoor air quality.
If you like data, then take a look at how much energy it uses
If it makes sense to you that data centres – consumers of 3 per cent of the world’s energy – should have to disclose how much energy they are using, then you’re not alone.
Albert Park Preschool achieves carbon neutral dream
Melbourne’s Albert Park Preschool has become the first early childhood service to achieve carbon neutral certification from the Federal Department of the Environment and Energy.
Building management system with big energy savings for old HVAC systems
This digital building management system is entirely virtual and led to a 47 per cent reduction in energy expenditure.
Ageing male workforces and what to do about it
Market pulse: It’s typically hard to attract young people and women into engineering, operational and asset management roles.
Facilities management is changing fast and new entrants will accelerate the sector
Market Pulse: These days facilities management is about a lot more than keeping the lights on.
2020 hindsight – the University of Melbourne’s emissions reduction journey since 2007
“The Spot”, constructed for the University of Melbourne’s Business and Economics faculty, was reported to be the first 5 Star Green Star university building in Australia. Constructed in Pelham Street, Carlton, it is, effectively, a test-bed for multiple sustainability approaches and technologies.
Emotional tech and a rise in measuring indoor office space on the menu at Total Facilities 20-21
“Emotional tech” to track moods and a rise in measurement of indoor air quality are just some of the trends that will be under the microscope at Total Facilities wellness session this year
The comfort factor, myths and myth busters
FROM THE TREASURE CHEST (2013) Comfort is a complex issue and very personal. I see that every day. Very highly paid workers surround me and you can be rest assured that, being a thermostat, I am blamed every day by a select few for not looking after their comfort needs.
Behaviour rises up the ranks of efficiency trends
Human nature and behaviour patterns are increasingly coming to the fore in managing energy efficiency for commercial buildings in particular. Now Johnson Controls has released a report showing it’s a rising trend.
The trends changing the face of facilities management
Smart cities, changing workplace design, new international standards, sustainability and improved waste management are changing the face of the facilities management sector, and how facility managers do their job.
Green strata, learning from the big guns
Sustainability lessons from some of Australia’s leading commercial property investment trusts are being applied to the strata sector in order to drive environmental, social and financial outcomes.
The changing face of facilities management and the 3 game-changing trends
Sustainability, procurement and thermal comfort are three of the major trends changing the shape of the facilities management industry, according to Martin A Leitch, principal consultant at FM Scope, who has been involved in shaping Total Facilities expo in Sydney at the end of this month.
New FM business to challenge existing models
According to a former chair of the Facility Management Association of Australia and his partners in a new business there is plenty of steam left in the outsourcing business and still some big challenges to crack – technology for instance New opportunities for energy savings exist through incorporating capital expenditure into maintenance contracts, says the […]
Why even our premium grade buildings are failing on efficiency
There’s a story going around that a building lauded by many as one of Sydney’s most sustainable just doesn’t work. Energy use is nowhere near as low as expected, and no one’s really sure why.
This salt-based product does away with toxic cleaning chemicals
Celebrity chef Neil Perry has it in all his restaurants. The Melbourne Cricket Ground has it installed, and now the new Sydney Convention Centre has signed up.
AMP Capital extends sustainability agenda to human rights
Investment management company AMP Capital has said that it is working to incorporate social equality and human rights into its sustainability agenda.
JLL and PSGH form Indigenous facilities management company
Real estate services firm JLL and Indigenous-owned Pacific Services Group Holdings have established a new Indigenous facilities management company, evolve Facilities Management.
AIRAH on designing for resilience and upgrading preloved buildings
Climate change resilience and improving B and C grade building energy efficiency are high on the agenda for the Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Airconditioning and Heating, the institute’s chief executive Phil Wilkinson says.
Construction projects urged to bring FM experts to the table early
The new Framework for Project Team Integration and Building Information Modelling has launched today (Tuesday) in Canberra, making a strong case for the integration of facilities management professionals in the early design stages in order to improve the sustainability, efficiency and lifecycle costings of assets and facilities.
ARBS: how the new HVAC rating tool works
By Sandra Edmunds
22 May 2014 – A world-first design and performance rating method for HVAC systems is a step closer with the imminent release of an online tool for industry comment.
Melbourne 1200 Building Programs on HVAC 101
By Tina Perinotto
14 May 2014 — According to Bryon Price, strategic development director with A.G. Coombs, heating and cooling systems are generally quite well built and surprisingly resilient.
News from the front desk: Issue No 190
On lock-ups, taxes, Panzers and the Paris thing 8 May 2014 — In the view of one person in the lock up for the Victorian budget, the greenies weren’t happy. His call was that, “Oh well, they’ve had it good for 10 years; now it’s infrastructure’s turn.” That about sums up the sectarian wedge that […]