Educated decisions The A.G. Coombs Group has built a strong reputation for its work in Australia’s tertiary education sector, where effective lifecycle asset maintenance allows universities to make informed decisions on capital expenditure in line with sustainability commitments.
Victoria University has offered accessible education to students in Melbourne’s west and beyond for over 100 years, with established campuses in the Melbourne CBD, Footscray, St Albans, Sunshine and Werribee catering for some of Melbourne’s fastest growing areas. As is typical of the tertiary education sector, these campuses are ever-evolving, resulting in a mix of buildings – from newly-constructed facilities to others that are decades old, all featuring mechanical services assets of varying age and condition.
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This whole-of-life asset management and validation model has supported Victoria University in making informed decisions on upgrades, identify energy efficiency opportunities and indoor comfort improvements, and informed capital expenditure planning in association with their sustainability and net-zero carbon goals.
A dedicated team of mechanical services and electrical services technicians have delivered significant improvements in asset maintenance and lifecycle management, indoor environment quality (IEQ) and essential safety measures (ESM) integration, system performance and compliance.
A.G. Coombs is also undertaking an asset upgrade program resulting in aging, inefficient mechanical services plant and equipment being identified and replaced with new and more energy efficient systems.
Many of the achievements to date have relied on the introduction of a sophisticated digital asset management
Building Efficiency
Structured to conform to Australian Standard AS ISO 55001:2014 Asset Management, and Tertiary Education Facility Management Association (TEFMA) standards, the A.G. Coombs AMS is readily accessible for the University’s facility management team and provides valuable insights into the location, age, history and condition of individual mechanical services assets that fall under the contract.
Since being awarded the mechanical services maintenance contract in 2018, A.G. Coombs Service has worked collaboratively with Victoria University to improve the standard and consistency of HVAC and mechanical services maintenance across these campuses.
“Site knowledge is critical, and our team collaborates closely with the Victoria University facility management team on a daily basis to achieve our shared objectives,” says Gavin Mitchell, Senior Account Manager for A.G. Coombs Service.
Image: Gollings Studio & Jackson Architecture
system (AMS), developed following a detailed asset audit undertaken by A.G. Coombs.
This has included the removal of DX (direct expansion) cooling systems and the degasification of heating hot water systems with the installation of electric heat pump technology together with mechanical services switchboard and submains upgrades. The Group’s technical ability also proved valuable as the University emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic.
2023-2024
A.G. Coombs Advisory worked closely with the University’s facility management team and key stakeholders to assure staff and students of their safe return to campus in 2022, via improvements to indoor air and environment quality. This was achieved through increased air change rates, enhanced building management control system (BMCS) strategies, and improvements to air filtration. Regular open dialogue between all relevant parties was critical in addressing perceived concerns with air quality. Representative of the relationship that has developed between A.G. Coombs and Victoria University since 2018, the mechanical services maintenance contract has been recently renewed to also include water treatment. Walker Fire Protection, a member of the A.G. Coombs Group, has also been awarded the contract to deliver fire services maintenance and Essential Safety Measures testing. “Having a trusted provider like the A.G. Coombs Group, who is consistent, outcome driven with a willingness to work closely with us, gives the University great confidence moving forward,” says Ian Crawford, Director Operational Planning & Asset Management at Victoria University. “A.G. Coombs has demonstrated a proactive attitude, and their work on HVAC essential safety measures performance testing and compliance, has been invaluable in ensuring the University demonstrates industry best practice.”
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