AE Smith COOL BREEZE 2013 issue 19

C o o l

B r e e z e

A E S m i t h ’ s m ag az in e f o r s t a f f a n d f r i e n d s b r i s b a n e melbourne

c a i r n s g o l d c o a s t perth sydney tasmania

m a c k a y townsville

2013 issue 19                 

air

Power to the Kids at the Queensland Children’s Hospital AE Smith Appoints Mark Jacobson as National BIM Operations Manager Monster Lift in Perth with 550 tonne Mobile Crane Prefabrication Saves Time & Increases Return on Investment Earthquake Resilient PC3 Lab Wins Major NZ Engineering Award High Stakes Changeover at Perth’s Largest Telephone Exchange Real-Time NABERS Rating Now Showing on a Desktop Near You Expertise & Understanding Lead the Way for Maintaining Australian Red Cross Blood Service Quality School Buildings Deliver Quality Learning Outcomes says GBCA Collaboration is the Winning Approach for 2013 Qld Young Professional Engineer of the Year Mackay Office a Winning Build Bernie the Baptcare Bear Turns One Safety Accreditation Audit Comes up Trumps Bringing National Expertise in Aged Care Facilities to Regional Queensland 45 Years On and Still Loving the Challenge Growing Strong Brisbane Team Gets Cooking for a Cause

conditioning

building

services

energy

efficiency

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Power to the Kids at the Queensland Children’s Hospital

“ The trigeneration plant in this format is the largest of its type in Australia, and will prove to be world leading ”

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AE Smith turnkey trigeneration solution at the $1.5 billon Queensland Children's Hospital stars as the cover story in Ecolibrium magazine The new Queensland Children’s Hospital (QCH) in South Brisbane represents the largest capital investment in children’s health to have ever been made in the Sunshine State. And as the Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air conditioning & Heating (AIRAH) reported in the October 2013 issue of Ecolibrium, it will all be powered by a world-class central energy plant.

The new QCH project will bring together the staff and services of Brisbane’s Royal Children’s and Mater Children’s hospitals to provide specialist paediatric care for children from birth to 16 years of age.

This will make it the single biggest specialist children’s hospital in the state, with a total floor area of about 80,000 sq m across 12 clinical levels, as well as a four-level basement carpark and dedicated helipad.

The project also includes the associated QCH Academic and Research Facility (ARF) that will unite children’s health research with the hospital.

World-Class Central Energy Powering this new health infrastructure will be a world-class central energy plant, housed in its own, five-level purpose designed structure.

Featuring some 4,500 sq m of total floor space, the central energy plant will satisfy the entire power, heating, cooling and steam requirements of the new hospital and research facility, as well as a future building.

AE Smith was appointed by managing contractor Abigroup (now Lend Lease) to provide mechanical and energy services on the central energy plant. It has also been engaged to provide the same services to the QCH and ARF projects, as well as commissioning.

The plant and structure was designed by Floth Sustainable Building Consultants, which was engaged to provide full design and documentation, including construction phase services.

Trigeneration

This abridged article first appeared as the cover story in the Oct 2013 issue Ecolibrium (pic above).

Ecolibrium is the official journal of the Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating (AIRAH).

For more information visit www.airah.org.au

Ashley Robinson is project director on the Queensland Children’s Hospital project for AE Smith’s Brisbane Construction division.

“Hospitals historically are large energy users, and typically HVAC solutions form the majority of this usage,” Robinson says. “For this reason lowering energy consumption was the main driver for this energy plant design.”

As a result, energy efficiency became a key driver behind the design of the QCH central energy plant – as did the environmental impact on the surrounding community. The decision was made to install a trigeneration plant.

“The trigeneration plant in this format is the largest of its type in Australia,” Robinson says, “and will prove to be world leading.”

Front cover: 3D workshop drawing layout of trigeneration plant which was used extensively for coordination and also to enable the installing team to view the complete installation before starting works on site.

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It features two gas-powered 2,400kWe generators combined with hot water heat exchangers providing 5,400kW of heating hot water, and two single-stage lithium bromide absorption chillers of 1,100kWr each.

Two selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems are also provided, featuring 15,000L of urea storage providing nitrous oxide (NOx) emission control for each generator.

This will supply most of the QCH’s power, and reduce its demand on the electricity supply by 60 per cent during peak consumption periods (daylight hours).

To provide full power security, the central energy facility also includes a standby power plant consisting of four diesel powered continuous-rated generators of 3.0MVA (2,400kWe) each.

Cooling, Heating and Steam Along with housing the large trigeneration and standby power sets, the QCH central energy plant also supplies the hospital and research facility with its chilled water and heating hot-water requirements.

Although chilled water for air conditioning is supplied by absorption chillers, this is supplemented by a chilled water plant.

The central-heating hot-water plant consists of seven 1,110kW gaspowered hot-water heating boilers that have been sized to meet the total heating load. These are configured in an redundancy arrangement, and serve air conditioning, heating and dehumidification, as well as domestic hot water.

Other Plant Along with the trigeneration, chilled water and heating hot-water plant, the QCH central energy plant also provides the entire hospital site with its steam requirements, typically used for cleaning, disinfection and sterilisation. This is achieved by two natural-gas-fired steam boilers of 1,300kW each, configured in a duty/stand-by arrangement.

Furthering the environment credentials of the entire QCH project, the central energy plant facility also accommodates the site’s stormwater treatment and reuse plant.

Plant replacement and maintenance access has also been specifically designed into the central energy plant facility.

Pic right (L to R): Bernie McKinley, QCHEP Plumbing Site Manager; Steve Toby, QCHEP Site Construction Manager; Josh Daley, QCHEP Project Manager; Ashley Robinson, QCH & QCHEP Project Director; Simon Brown, QCH & QCHEP Site Construction Manager

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The facility features a six-tonne goods lift that serves all five levels, and lifting beams above all major equipment items. Maintenance access corridors, hatches and platforms have also been provided to allow for complete generator, chiller and boiler removal.

All access requirements for the plant have been detailed on drawings to ensure these clearances are maintained for future maintenance access.

Collaboration Critical Both AE Smith and Floth point to the close collaboration between the two as critical in ensuring the knowledge obtained during the preconstruction phase was transferred through to construction and installation.

It was through this collaboration that AE Smith was also able to assist in optimising the energy plant design in order to facilitate ease of future maintenance and commissioning of the plant.

Although onsite commissioning of the QCH central energy plant has yet to commence, offsite commissioning has seen a wide variety of factory acceptance testing (FATs) conducted. This has included all major equipment items such as chillers and engines, as well as the software-based generator control systems (GCS) and BMS.

“ The central energy plant will satisfy the entire power, heating, cooling and steam requirements of the new hospital and research facility, as well as a future building ”

To enable plant commissioning without hospital loads being available, the chilled water, heating-hot-water and steam-load cells have been designed to allow initial performance and operational verification of the major plant.

The AE Smith commissioning team has been involved with the firm’s engineering and drafting teams to obtain an in-depth understanding of the systems and access required for commissioning.

Once operational, energy performance of the plant will be closely tracked.

“Combining smart equipment selection with an intense tuning strategy will generate long-term energy reductions for this plant in comparison to others,” Robinson says.

“This will enable us to track energy performance of the energy plant by initially using predictive modelling and then historic data to fault-find and/or improve energy-consumption targets.”

The hospital is slated for completion early next year. AES www.aesmith.com.au

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AE Smith Appoints Mark Jacobson as National BIM Operations Manager AE Smith are long-term facilitators of Building Information Modelling (BIM) within the Australian construction industry The use of BIM is still in its infancy in Australia, with the numerous time, money and productivity advantages only recently becoming more broadly recognised within the construction industry. Across the globe European and American markets tell a different story, where the adoption of BIM has allowed practitioners to survive in tightening economic conditions.

“ BIM helps eliminates waste.

Waste of time, waste of materials and waste of man power �

In a bid to define BIM industry best practice AE Smith have appointed experienced commissioning and engineering manager Mark Jacobson to the role of National BIM Operations Manager. Mark was previously the Head of AE Smith’s Commissioning Department for 10 years. His track record in significantly improving productivity and implementing effective field technologies has made him the perfect person for the job.

BIM will improve productivity in the construction industry BIM is much more than just a 3D model. It provides the integral junction between technology, process and knowledge, enabling cohesive and integrated design, construction and management of a building project across all contractors. AE Smith has been a long-term facilitator of BIM on significant construction projects.

Mark points out that to improve productivity, you first have to look at process. The software interface that enables BIM is therefore only part of the solution. To this end, he will be reviewing the processes between internal departments, builders, contractors and facility managers to

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understand where the greatest opportunities lie to accelerate the acceptance and standardisation of BIM within the industry.

BIM as a construction strategy, not just a technology One of the key challenges Mark will be tackling will be educating project contributors on BIM as a construction strategy. “BIM definitely relies on technology to store and share project information across the stages of design, construction and management of building services. But where it really starts to pay dividends is when we use that information to inform the builders critical path and provide our engineers offsite and onsite with current and accessible information allowing them respond to changes quickly.”

“A great example of where AE Smith recently used BIM successfully was the Queensland University Engineering Building. All information was coordinated within the 3D model. We produced and installed prefabricated modules using parallel manufacturing principles and the commissioning team accessed all data digitally, with no paper in sight. All the information the commissioning engineers generated was entered straight back into our data management system. The Facility Manager now has an ‘as built’ digital record of the building services and we’ll continue to use the model to inform all servicing requirements. BIM was integral to delivering the project on time and under budget.”

A history of experience to define the future Mark, who has been with AE Smith for over 15 years, has enough dirt on his boots to understand the complexities and challenges of implementing BIM within the construction industry. “This has to be a collaborative process. It can’t be executed on a blackboard. I’ll be getting everyone involved that touches a project. BIM will change the way a lot of people at AE Smith, and other companies, do their jobs. It’s important everyone contributes to what that looks like.”

No stranger to change, Mark’s first career choice was as a toolmaker.

Working in the automotive industry gave him first hand experience of the cost efficiencies gained as car manufacturers began to digitally model tools replacing expensive prototype production. Mark points out the similarities to the changes the construction industry is now going through.

“Cars are only affordable to the masses because every player in the automotive industry improved their processes. Just like car buyers, our customers want a good deal. BIM can help the construction industry deliver that.”

Best practice for the country as well as AE Smith

Mark Jacobson, AE Smith National BIM Operations Manager and member of the National BIM-MEPAUS Advisory Board.

BIM-MEPAUS is the industry body that has the responsibility to standardise industry BIM practices, models, workflow and software for the Australian construction industry.

Main pic: BIM model by AE Smith of Queensland Children’s Hospital (QCH) trigeneration Energy Plant.

Recently appointed to the National BIM-MEPAUS Advisory Board, Mark will be a key stakeholder and influencer defining the future of BIM in Australia.

Whilst the definition of BIM best practice in Australia is still being defined, there’s no doubt the future of the Australian construction industry has already begun. Mark summarises the undeniable facts well.

“BIM helps eliminates waste. Waste of time, waste of materials and waste of man power.” AES www.aesmith.com.au

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“ It was a monster job… which included procuring a 550 tonne crane with over 185 tonnes of counter weight and a 98 metre fly jib.

This was supported by an 80 tonne and a 45 tonne crane that had over 17 semi trailers of jib and counter weights, which all took over seven hours to set up ”

Monster Lift in Perth with 550 tonne Mobile Cran Perth team delivers tricky new installation by calling in the big guns Shoppers arriving at The Midland Gate Shopping Centre on a Sunday in September had little idea of the major logistical operation completed earlier that morning involving civil aviation authorities, 17 semi trailers, traffic control and the largest mobile crane lift Perth had seen.

The AE Smith team planned and executed the removal of two old main central chillers and replaced them with new high efficiency Hitachi chillers at the large shopping complex, a typical project for the Perth team.

However, this project provided a particular challenge – the chillers were located 98 metres into the centre of the complex’s roof top, requiring the efforts of a 550 tonne crane to complete the job of removing the old inefficient units and installing new high efficiency Hitachi chillers.

“It was a monster job,” says Brian Webber, Perth Projects Manager for AE Smith.

Brian helped coordinate the team which included procuring a 550 tonne crane with over 185 tonnes of counter weight and a 98 metre fly jib.

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ne This was supported by an 80 tonne and a 45 tonne crane that had over 17 semi trailers of jib and counter weights, which all took over seven hours to set up.

“It’s definitely one of the largest crane lifts Perth has seen, and it all had to be done without disrupting shoppers and tenants at the large retail complex,” adds Brian.

The base crane was assembled on site and then left overnight, ready for the crane lift to take place in a short window on Sunday morning before the shopping centre trade resumed at 11.00am.

Beyond the time pressures and safety implications of such a large scale installation project, there were also other complications adds Brian: “With the size and stature of the crane, we also had to involve civil aviation as the shopping centre is close to Perth Airport.”

“But we’re always up for a challenge and our team including the expert contractors we involved ensured it all went smoothly – everyone was pretty happy,” says Brian.

This major shopping centre project is part of AE Smith’s new work with Colonial First State. AES www.aesmith.com.au

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Prefabrication Saves Time & Increases Return on Investment Did you know AE Smith has been implementing prefabricated solutions on a project-by-project basis since 1996? But it’s only in recent years that the financial benefits of offsite manufacturing have become more widely regarded by the Australian construction industry.

“ Imagine buying a new car from Toyota and then having four engineers turn up at your house to assemble it piece-bypiece in your garage!

It sounds ridiculous.

But in many ways, that’s exactly how a lot of the Australian construction industry thinks right now ”

AE Smith has a long history of prefabrication experience. In 1996 on the Woodford Correctional Centre project, AE Smith foreshadowed a new and unique installation method where the services trades undertook the installation of their works inside roof trusses while these trusses were still on the ground! (See pics right.) As one of the Australian construction industry’s first parlays into prefabrication, the benefits of rapid installation under increased safety conditions was clear.

Consistent with AE Smith’s ethos to help customers deliver better ROI and ensure high safety and quality standards, AE Smith has continued to grow its prefabrication expertise. More recently, AE Smith installed prefabricated skids on the King George Central project reducing installation time from weeks to days. On the Queensland Children’s Hospital project, significant sections of the plant room was prefabricated and pre-commissioned. This approach resulted in significant time savings compared to traditional onsite commissioning processes.

Harnessing knowledge and embedding processes AE Smith have consolidated their experience in offsite manufacturing with the addition of a Prefabrication & Modularisation Coordinator, Colin Jones. Colin has 10 years of experience in the established “DfMA” (Design for Manufacture & Assembly) of prefabricated MEP

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(Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing) modules gained by working in the UK construction industry.

“I was impressed with AE Smith’s reputation for executing prefabricated solutions far before the broader Australian market realised the benefits,” said Colin.

Steve Jackson, National General Manager Construction said, “We already have the experience and capability to deliver a range of prefabrication in response to specific customer objectives and site requirements. Colin’s appointment helps ensure AE Smith’s extensive knowledge is consistently shared across the business, and with customers. Our prefabrication and BIM processes will ensure continual improvement moving the industry forward and keeping AE Smith in front.”

The multidisciplinary teams inside AE Smith continues to integrate prefabrication processes across the business; some stages of which include estimation, BIM, drafting, procurement, manufacture, commissioning and installation of services.

Learnings from the auto industry improve construction efficiency Colin reflects on his experience in the UK where he worked for market leaders Laing O’Rourke and Crown House. Lessons learned from assembly operations at automotive companies including “lean manufacturing” and “lean construction” completely changed the way these companies delivered projects.

“Imagine buying a new car from Toyota and then having four engineers turn up at your house to assemble it piece-by-piece in your garage! It sounds ridiculous. But in many ways, that’s exactly how a lot of the Australian construction industry thinks right now. Yes, every building is unique. But each building also has many common parts that can be built using the same production line techniques used in automotive manufacture. Our goal is to find AE Smith customers even greater efficiencies – to save time and ultimately increase their return on investment,” said Colin.

Involvement early in the building strategy delivers the greatest benefits “The earlier AE Smith is involved in the project, the more value offsite manufacturing can deliver to our clients. Benefits include accelerated construction times, improved productivity, significant abatement of reworks, and reduction in onsite health and safety risks,” said Steve.

Main pic: One of several giant three tonne prefabricated fan modules manoeuvred into place by crane at the Queensland Children’s Hospital (QCH) in Brisbane this September.

Pics above: In 1996 AE Smith instigated prefabrication to deliver mechanical services during the construction of the Woodford Correctional Centre 100km north of Brisbane.

“AE Smith have invested and continue to invest heavily in prefabrication techniques and technologies that help our customers compress the critical path of their project.”

“The evidence is clear. The traditional construction approach takes much, much longer. Financial return can be a powerful motivator to customer and contractor alike. Using prefab, customers can be more confident they’ll get a return on their investment over a shorter period of time. For some, the time AE Smith helps save in the critical path could be the difference between a building being delivered on time or the client benefiting from early occupancy,” concluded Steve. AES www.aesmith.com.au

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Earthquake Resilient PC3 Lab Wins Major NZ Engineering Award Taking a collaborative approach to a Trans-Tasman construction project was a rewarding undertaking for Australia’s largest privately owned mechanical services contractor AE Smith, with the University of Auckland PC3 Laboratory winning Gold for lead engineers Beca at the Association of Consulting Engineers New Zealand (ACENZ) 2013 Innovate Awards

“ The Auckland PC3 lab was the first of its kind to be built and certified in New Zealand ”

This article first appeared in the Oct 2013 issue of Australian National Construction Review.

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AE Smith’s Project Manager Tim Flanagan identified several other major positives, including the strong links formed between the AE Smith team and the NZ personnel, and the knowledge gained from resolving site-specific challenges.

A PC3 (Physical Containment Level 3) lab is a complex undertaking due to the requirement of maintaining an environment free of external airborne contaminants, which also delivers physical containment of the pathogens within the facility. To achieve this, state-of-the-art Australian-made HEPA filter systems were integrated into the ductwork for both intake and exhaust.

Because the Auckland PC3 lab was the first of its kind to be built and certified in New Zealand, AE Smith were invited to work on the project due to their substantial track record in both Physical Containment labs and Quarantine Control labs in Australia, including KBRB for CSIRO, the Walter & Eliza Hall Institute for Medical Research and the Australian Red Cross Blood Service in Melbourne.

AE Smith managed the project from their Brisbane office, with Tim Flanagan flying across to New Zealand regularly, a fulltime AE Smith Site Manager deployed in Auckland for the six month duration of the construction process, and commissioning technicians commuting across as required.

“All the stakeholders and construction team worked very well together,” commented Tim. “Beca were heavily involved with design, and AE Smith added technical and practical expertise. A local subcontractor, BTL designed and constructed the control side of the system with our guidance, and they were exceptional, they really brought it all together.

“Working in different countries is a great experience, because you see different ways of doing things. Even though we were taken over there as the ‘experts’, we realised we could not only help but also learn from our New Zealand colleagues and subcontractors.

“Because of New Zealand’s earthquake rating, there were quite a few specific details to consider on this project. For one thing, the beams of the buildings have to be deeper and thicker, which gave us less room to work with, and we also had to allow for things like ductwork to move without the movement breaking the seal of the room.

“There were specific measures employed to ensure the room wouldn’t sustain major damage. We used flexible connections, though we also had to ensure those were not exposed to damage from the strong cleaning chemicals which are used in the lab.

“ AE Smith was invited to work on the project due to their substantial track record in both Physical Containment labs and Quarantine Control labs in Australia ”

“Congratulations to Beca on winning the prestigious ACENZ Innovate Awards. At AE Smith, we believe in helping people in everything we do. We’re delighted our PC lab experience and technical expertise has helped Beca and the University of Auckland win.” AES

www.aesmith.com.au

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“ Not only was the site cramped and tight, requiring a team of 12 specialist tradespeople to manoeuvre the removal and installation of equipment, the site had to maintain a stable temperature throughout the changeover as well ”

High Stakes Changeover at Perth’s Largest Telep A routine assignment of a retrograde HVAC installation became a whole lot more for the Perth AE Smith team in September with a critical changeover at the city’s largest telephone exchange Not only was the site cramped and tight, requiring a team of 12 specialist tradespeople to manoeuvre the removal and installation of equipment, the site had to maintain a stable temperature throughout the changeover as well.

And the consequences of any missteps would not go unnoticed - phone communication for the entire Perth metropolitan area would be lost!

“Working on the Telstra Priority Exchange site in Pier Street was without doubt one of the most pressure filled projects in the 15 years I’ve been at AE Smith,” says Brian Webber, Perth Projects Manager for AE Smith.

Project Managed by Transfield Services, the upgrade to the Telstra Priority Exchange at Pier Street is part of the National Broadband project.

Beyond the pressure of losing phone communication for the city should anything go wrong, the AE Smith team were also posed with several logistical issues adds Brian.

“The old equipment needed to be removed and we had 6 tonnes of new equipment to load in and commission – all within a tiny undercroft of a basement space.”

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phone Exchange “This main critical exchange needed to have three main chillers replaced under life cycle replacement. The old Luke chillers were very inefficient in terms of power usage so the brief for high tech, high spec oil free PowerPax Chillers was used. As part of the energy savings these each had Harmonic Filters supplying the power to each new PowerPax Chiller,” explained Brian.

“ The consequences of any missteps would not go unnoticed - phone communications for the entire Perth metropolitan area would be lost! ”

A team of 12 were involved in the delicate operation, including builders, plumbers, controls technicians and electricians.

“There was a lot of very gentle teasing, coaxing and nursing the equipment into and out of place and all the while focusing on maintaining the stable temperature for the exchange,” Brian says. “To keep the exchange cool during the project we even hired and set up 1000 kW of temporary cooling.”

It seems the more pressure involved with a project, the more the Perth AE Smith project team and their preferred specialist contractors thrive.

There were also strict Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) checks required by Telstra the AE Smith team needed to adhere to, as well as reporting and involving offsite Telstra personnel.

“This sure was a challenging critical project to be involved with and for it to all go so smoothly with no one ever knowing what was happening below ground made it very rewarding for everyone.” AES www.aesmith.com.au

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“ NABERS ratings are retrospective, and are conducted annually, so once you have a star rating, you’re stuck with it for 12 months ”

Real-Time NABERS Rating Now Showing on a De Monitoring your building’s NABERS rating can now be as simple as sitting in front of your PC New software developed by AE Smith Building Technologies is now making it even easier to stay on top of your NABERS rating by providing a simple up to date count of a building’s NABERS star rating in real- time.

Loaded as a Windows gadget, the Real-Time NABERS App by AE Smith quietly runs in the background of a Windows PC. With just a quick glance, proactive building managers can now see their calculated NABERS rating - right at that very moment.

Depending on what’s important to that facility, other key data can also be presented such as how far away they are from a higher NABERS rating level, or how much more energy needs to be saved to improve their rating.

AE Smith Building Technology’s Brad Disher says the Windows based software is not only user friendly but ensures managers can stay on top of issues before it has a negative impact on their annual NABERS review.

“NABERS ratings are retrospective, and are conducted annually, so once you have a star rating, you’re stuck with it for 12 months,” explains Brad.

AE Smith NABERS and CBD Accredited Assessors list at www.aesmith.com.au

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“But if you’ve had a problem during that year with inefficient HVAC usage for instance, keeping an eye on your ratings in real time means you can be on top of issues when they happen and do what it takes to get back on course straight away - not 12 months after the fact.”

sktop Near You The simplicity of the software means property managers can quickly and easily monitor how a NABERS rating might be affected day-to day, weekto-week and month-to-month.

“This technology also means you don’t need codes, passwords or the ability to analyse complex data or CO2 outputs. It just simply tells you where you’re at and when you need to worry about it with a quick glance at your PC desktop,” adds Brad.

This unique technology is enabling facility and portfolio managers to be more proactive in managing their NABERS ratings – a critical benchmark for capital value, leasing procurement and rental abatement.

“ Loaded as a Windows widget, the Real-Time NABERS App by AE Smith quietly runs in the background of a Windows PC. With just a quick glance, proactive building managers can now see their calculated NABERS rating - right at that very moment ”

“The new software is developed as a cloud based solution, meaning that the information can be deployed to any “connected” medium.

Smartphones, tablets, dashboards, we can send the information to where it is needed, discreetly, and in a user friendly manner.

“The last thing you want to be doing is only worrying about your NABERS rating every 12 months when it’s officially reviewed.

“Significantly, this technology puts you in charge in real-time, rather than retrospectively once a year,” emphasised Brad.

For more information about the Real-Time NABERS App, smartphone integration and dash boarding of key building metrics please contact Brad Disher. AES www.aesmith.com.au

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Expertise & Understanding Lead the Way for Maintaining Australian Red Cross Blood Service AE Smith’s understanding of the strict compliance, systems and training involved in maintaining a critical facility has seen the Melbourne team win a complex mixed services maintenance agreement with the Australian Red Cross Blood Service

“ This is most definitely not a standard commercial office building.

This is service and maintenance of the most critical kind that helps keeps a critical facility operating as well as meeting strict compliance codes ”

The largest blood processing facility in the southern hemisphere, the Australian Red Cross Blood Service’s Melbourne Processing Centre processes 30% of Australia’s blood donation collected from Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia. It also conducts life saving blood screening for organ transplants.

As a primary contractor involved in the building’s recent redevelopment, AE Smith had critical insights into the complex custom-built heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC) and refrigeration systems required to meet the strict compliance guidelines involved with supporting a health facility – as well as the critical nature of the building.

AE Smith’s Ash Carmichael, Business Development Manager explains: “AE Smith maintain not only the HVAC systems, but the refrigeration systems (standard and medical grade), plumbing and sewerage, vacuum systems, reverse osmosis (which facilitates laboratory testing) and the BMS (Building Management System) that supports and controls the facility.”

“If anything goes wrong with any of these systems, the implications are huge – with people’s lives potentially put at risk,” adds Ash.

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Additionally, the Melbourne Processing Centre facility runs on N+1 redundancy (meaning there is two of every piece of equipment), and the whole site is designed to operate in “island mode” for up to four days in the event of a disaster.

“This is most definitely not a standard commercial office building. This is service and maintenance of the most critical kind that helps keeps a critical facility operating as well as meeting strict compliance codes,” adds Ash. Along with temperature regulations and emergency back up support for the building’s cooling, refrigeration and BMS requirements, the maintenance program and documentation contributes towards the Blood Service maintaining compliance with applicable Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) requirements.

“There’s extremely strict controls and guidelines surrounding blood storage, testing and supply that are audited regularly and can be affected by any issues with the systems we maintain,” explains Ash. It was AE Smith’s understanding of these combined issues, matched with their work on some of Melbourne’s other critical sites, facilities and buildings that saw them win this significant contract.

“Our understanding of the complex systems involved in developing and running a critical site like this as well as our work with the Victorian Archives, Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and Crown Casino who have similar pressures meant we could really demonstrate our expertise in this field,” adds Ash.

“ The largest blood processing facility in the southern hemisphere, the Australian Red Cross Blood Service’s Melbourne Processing Centre processes 30% of Australia’s blood donation collected from Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia ”

The size and experience of the AE Smith Service team who are fully trained, accredited and orientated with the highly unique site was also an advantage.

“Our ability to train and manage a group of diversely qualified and experienced technicians to work on the site was also really important – you can’t have only one person assigned to a critical facility like this,” he adds. AES www.aesmith.com.au

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“ Too many students in Australia learn in school buildings that are too cold in winter, too hot in summer, badly lit and poorly ventilated. This affects student health and learning, teacher morale and school operational costs – as well as the environment…

Good lighting and ventilation can deliver a 41.5% improvement in health of students and teachers and a 25% improvement on test scores ”

Quality School Buildings Deliver Quality Learning The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Reform Council's report into the performance of our education system is a reminder that ‘where’ students learn is just as important as ‘what’ they learn and ‘who’ teaches them The report, Education in Australia 2012: Five years of performance, finds that, while Australian primary school students have improved in some areas, secondary school attendance has fallen and there has been little improvement in reading and numeracy.

Reducing the educational disadvantage experienced by Indigenous young people, young people from the lowest socio-economic backgrounds and from rural or remote places remains a challenge.

“Just as investing in quality teaching and quality resources is essential, so too is investing in quality learning environments,” says Romilly Madew, Chief Executive of the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA).

“Too many students in Australia learn in school buildings that are too cold in winter, too hot in summer, badly lit and poorly ventilated. This affects student health and learning, teacher morale and school operational costs – as well as the environment,” Ms Madew explains.

The GBCA recently released a report that outlines up-to-date international research and case studies which can help schools invest in better buildings and better learning outcomes.

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g Outcomes says GBCA Some of the findings in “The future of Australian education: Sustainable places for learning” report by the GBCA include:   

Good lighting and ventilation can deliver a 41.5% improvement in health of students and teachers and a 25% improvement on test scores Students with access to good daylight in their classrooms progress 20% faster in maths and 26% faster in reading The classroom environment can affect a child’s academic progress by as much as 25%.

“Australia has more than 9,500 schools around Australia, and our goal is for students and teachers in each and every school to have access to sustainable places for learning, and for all students and teachers to reap the benefits of healthy, productive, efficient education facilities,” Ms Madew says.

“The future of Australian education - Sustainable places for learning” report was produced by the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA).

The report is designed to provide students, teachers and administrators from primary to tertiary levels, as well as government, industry and the broader community, with information about why we need greener schools, how we can make our schools better, and what people can do to help.

Source: www.gbca.org.au

“This report for COAG confirms that not all our students are gaining the quality education they deserve. One of the solutions is to invest in quality buildings that save taxpayer dollars. We call on governments, the education sector, industry and the broader community to commit to working together to achieve this. The result will be better outcomes for our students, our teachers, our nation and our planet,” Ms Madew concludes. AES

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Collaboration is the Winning Approach for 2013 Qld Young Professional Engineer of the Year AE Smith’s National Engineering Manager has proven the winning edge to be his passion for customer collaboration and his commitment to the professional development of those around him

“ [The] judging panel were impressed with Leigh’s commitment to an excellent level of service and to the professional development of those around him, giving him the edge over a strong group of candidates ”

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In July, Engineers Australia honoured Leigh Graham (pictured above) by awarding him Queensland Young Professional Engineer of the Year. On announcement of the award Stuart Lister, Chair of the Queensland Division Excellence Awards judging panel said; ”This year’s judging panel were impressed with Leigh’s commitment to an excellent level of service and to the professional development of those around him, giving him the edge over a strong group of candidates."

Winning against a pool of experienced engineers Upon learning he had won the award, Leigh said, “It’s such a great recognition. Over the last couple of years the infrastructure boom in Queensland has meant there’s more engineers here than ever before with lots of experience. So to be awarded from amongst all that talent in the market is very humbling.”

Steve Jackson, National General Manager of Construction said of the award, "We're extremely proud of Leigh. His commitment to his team, the company and his customers is outstanding. This award is a deserved recognition of Leigh’s professionalism and his unwavering willingness to work with and help customers, suppliers, consultants and the various departments within AE Smith to ensure we deliver the very best result."

Awarded for work he loves – helping solve customer problems Being AE Smith National Engineering Manager has allowed Leigh to do what he does best, drawing on AE Smith’s vast and diverse professional experience to collaborate efforts between branches, projects, sites and states to deliver effective outcomes for customers.

Leigh says that despite "engineers liking their numbers”, at the heart of AE Smith are its people and their commitment to customers. “I get a real kick out of the people I work with. Every day I get to work with a great team and we help solve customer’s problems. Within AE Smith, everyone helps each other out, you get used to that being the best way to do things.

Naturally that flows on to how you work with customers and other consultants too.”

Collaboration is the way forward for the construction industry For Leigh, his willingness to share knowledge is more than just a personal trait. He comments, “In our industry, collaboration with customers, other suppliers and consultants has become a necessity. Customers want to see return on investment (ROI). To deliver that, we all need to work together to get the best result.”

Keeping knowledge in the business and developing talent “The other important reason for playing an active role in the development of others is because we are facing a skills shortage in engineering. There is an older generation of very experienced engineers, but they’ll retire in the next 10-15 years. It’s important that we hand their knowledge down and cultivate the talent coming through. It’s essential to the business and to the industry, because that’s what we deliver to customers – expertise”, Leigh says.

Leigh first joined AE Smith for a work experience placement whilst studying Mechanical Engineering at James Cook University. Believing strongly in giving others the same opportunity afforded to him, in 2008 Leigh supervised two undergraduates through the successful completion of their final year thesis. Jonathon Ramajoo, one of the students supervised, subsequently joined Leigh’s team and has now been with AE Smith for five years. On the award night itself, it was Jonathon (pictured right) that accepted the award on Leigh’s behalf, who was on holidays in Europe at the time.

Pic above (L to R): Sam Constas, Technical Support Manager, Arrow Energy; Jonathan Ramajoo, Senior Engineer at AE Smith accepting the Queensland Young Professional Engineer of the Year Award on Leigh Graham's behalf; and Simon Orton FIEAust CPEng EngExec RPEQ NPER, President Engineers Australia.

Achieving in every part of life In his life outside of the office Leigh is a keen cyclist and athlete, competing in a half ironman this September and will attempt a full Ironman in May 2014. Leigh is also the proud father of two year old Harry.

Even at home Leigh is big on development, having recently enrolled his son in BMX riding classes, taking an active role and great pleasure in coaching his son.

With no end in sight for Leigh’s list of achievements, this November, Leigh’s Young Professional Engineer Award will provide him the opportunity to represent Queensland in the National Young Professional Engineer category at the Australian Engineering Excellence Awards in November. AES www.aesmith.com.au

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“ AE Smith was involved in the purpose built ABC Regional Radio Studio which won the 2013 Mackay & Whitsunday 'Project of the Year' Masters Builders Award ”

Mackay Office a Winning Build AE Smith team involved in two winning projects, including the Major Winner at the Mackay & Whitsundays Master Builders Housing & Construction Awards AE Smith’s new Mackay office and warehouse has been recognised as an award winning construction.

The recently completed build was amongst winning projects in this year’s Mackay & Whitsundays Master Builders Housing & Construction Awards.

Mackay and Whitsunday’s best builders were honoured at a special awards night on August 17 - and AE Smith was involved with two of the winning builds including the Major Winner.

AE Smith’s construction partner, Woolham Constructions took out the accolade for “Industrial Building up to $5 million” section for building the “AE Smith Office and Warehouse Facility” in Mackay, where AE Smith naturally designed and installed the air conditioning.

Further, AE Smith was involved in the purpose built ABC Regional Radio Studio which won the 2013 Mackay and Whitsunday “Project of the Year” and “Commercial Building up to $5 million”.

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Developed by John Foster Projects, innovative construction methods saw the new radio studio (pictured above) constructed to the highest cyclone requirements and beyond, which will enable the region to have communication under any circumstances.

AE Smith designed and installed the air conditioning systems for the new build, helping achieve strict energy and sustainability requirements, ensuring the building would be cost effective for many years.

“A big congratulations to the teams at Woolham Constructions and John Foster Projects – we’re proud to have played our part in helping you win the Master Builders awards in our region,” says Mike Mulherin, General Manager, AE Smith Mackay & Central Queensland.

“And needless to say, we take great delight in knowing that AE Smith's very own office and warehouse is now an award winner,” adds Mike. AES

Pic above: AE Smith office and warehouse facility in Mackay won best “Industrial Building up to $5 million” for Woolham Constructions in the 2013 Mackay and Whitsundays Master Builders Housing & Construction Awards.

Main pics: AE Smith customer John Foster Projects won the 2013 Mackay and Whitsundays “Project of the Year” and “Commercial Building up to $5 million” for the purpose built ABC Regional Radio Studio.

The ABC Regional Radio Studio went on to take out the state wide 2013 Master Builders Housing & Construction Awards for John Foster Projects in the Commercial Building (office accommodation) up to $5 million category announced in October.

www.aesmith.com.au

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Bernie the Baptcare Bear Turns One Bernie (picture right) has lived an adventurous, generous and extraordinary life so far, travelling right across the globe, including the UK, India, Turkey, Vietnam, New Zealand, Spain, Northern Territory, Tasmania, Queensland, and the Melbourne show.

Most importantly, he has delivered in spades, bringing a smile and loving comfort to numerous children in foster and kinship care, and undoubtedly raising the profile of the need for more foster carers across Melbourne’s North West.

For more information visit www.baptcare.org.au

Thanks to the sponsorship AE Smith, theConstruction Baptcare Bear has Peter Kinsella, EngineeringofManager ofBernie AE Smith Victoria, celebrate his 1st birthday has been appointed Vice President of the world wide peak body - the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) Launched to much fanfare with the help of AE Smith in 2012, “Bernie the Baptcare Bear” was professional a new initiative forfor Baptcare, creating a unique and As the international body the building services profession, new way promote the need17,000 for more carers to the sector, CIBSE hastoahelp membership of over in foster 87 countries. whilst at the same time bringing joy and light to hundreds of children in Baptcare’sappointment Out of Homeas Care foster and kinship care.

Kinsella’s theprograms, one of twoincluding Vice Presidents complements his role of Regional Chairman for Australian & New Zealand for the same Bernie the Baptcare Bear has certainly lived up to expectations; he has organisation.

His appointment comes at a time when there’s increasing provided on children in Foster andand Kinship Care programs with Baptcare a spotlight the role Australia New Zealand are playing in the cuddle bear that and will be theirs to own and set keep forever. building industry how we are helping the international agenda.

Oftenbuilding childrenservices who come into foster careaor who change are placed with kinship “The industry is facing major of focus from carers price arrivetendered with the clothes their back little else.

During this lowest work toon projects that and consider efficiency and unsettling time need someone toat hold reassure thatour sustainability – children it’s an exciting time to be theand coalface andthem bringing they are perspective safe and willtobethe okay. regional world table,” comments Kinsella.

“Baptcare is an important aged leading care customer for AE Smith - not only is With over 10 years at AE Smith the Engineering team, Kinsella because we value theirStar business, but because like usa they believe in as also a qualified Green Accredited Professional, director of ARBS helping people,”ansays Melbourne Service GM, Peter McCarthy. well as holding Honours Degree in Building Services Engineering from the United Kingdom.

“As parents, we all know what a teddy can mean to a child,” Peter said.

“It’sSmith greatcongratulates to extend our Peter relationship with customer beyond a typical AE Kinsella onahis prestigious appointment. business arrangement and help contribute to the amazing work they do in our more community.”

For information about CIBSE visit www.cibse.org.au AE Smith wishes Bernie the Baptcare Bear a very Happy Birthday! AES

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Safety Accreditation Audit Comes up Trumps AE Smith keeps improving on their national safety accreditation, with a recent audit revealing nil non-conformances for the first time National Safety Manager, Nick Daley is impressed with the result, ensuring the strict regulations and safety benchmarks of AS/NZS 4801 and OHSAS 18001 accreditations are being met and exceeded.

“ We often think safety is only about the big things, but the little things - like ensuring you’re wearing protective gloves - is just as important ”

“To have no non-conformance in a very thorough audit is a pleasing outcome and shows how we’re all delivering excellent safety standards across the board,” says Nick.

The recent six monthly surveillance audit encompassed AE Smith branches in Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Melbourne (Construction & Service) and Hobart.

But Nick warns that compliance alone does not deliver nil injuries.

Prevention is key to maintaining these high standards and safety records.

“While this is a great result, we need to keep focused and ensure we’re also committed to prevention of incidents,” he adds.

Nick’s observing the need to maintain vigilance when it comes to PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), manual handling and trips and slips.

“We often think safety is only about the big things, but the little things like ensuring you’re wearing PPE such as protective gloves - is just as important.” AES

www.aesmith.com.au

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Bringing National Expertise in Aged Care Facilities to Regional Queensland Pic: Aerial view of Townsville.

Some 15 hours north of Brisbane by car, Townsville is adjacent to the central section of the Great Barrier Reef.

Now providing air conditioning servicing and maintenance to Townsville’s leading provider of aged care, Masonic Care Queensland, the AE Smith team in Townsville is drawing on the company’s national experience helping other aged care providers around the country to ensure special requirements are met

Masonic Care Queensland, Townsville boasts the most contemporary aged care and retirement living facilities in the region and is located in the popular suburb of Kirwan. Close to transport, shops and clubs, the site provides a continuum of care for retirees, with Corinthian Court Retirement Village and two residential aged care facilities (Karinga and Acacia) co-located on the same site. This means that as resident’s care needs change, they can be catered for within the same community.

Mark Lovelady, AE Smith Townsville’s General Manager believes the quality of service the company can bring along with insights into aged care facilities sets them apart.

Source: www.masoniccareqld.org.au

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“It was clear our understanding of the strict compliances with the Aged Care Act, ensuring accreditation standards are met as well as recognising the financial and logistical service delivery issues relevant to the sector could be brought to the table,” says Mark.

With high maintenance standards for all equipment at Aged Care facilities reviewed by accreditation assessors, being on top of systems and providing proactive service and maintenance plans has been an important part of how we help Masonic Care Queensland.

But Mark believes it’s the values AE Smith and Masonic Care Queensland share that is equally as important.

“At AE Smith, we believe in helping people in everything we do; and helping an organisation like Masonic Care Queensland provide for their residents is a perfect way for us to do what we say we are going to do.” AES

45 Years On and Still Loving the Challenge When Milton Ford started work as an apprentice plumber over four decades ago, he probably didn’t expect to end up working on some of Queensland’s major hospitals and large government buildings Celebrating 45 years of service with AE Smith, Milton is now a Site Manager for Health, Safety, Procurement & Tooling – bringing his vast experience to the Queensland Children’s Hospital (QCH) project.

“I like to think I have a positive influence on our apprentices,” says Milton, who has helped mentor dozens of new recruits at AE Smith during his tenure with the company.

Working his way from apprentice to leading hand, site supervisor then site manager, Milton knows what it takes to develop within the company and relishes the opportunities each project brings.

“One of the most enjoyable things about working with AE Smith is the diverse type of work, the challenges you’re presented and the various locations we get to work on,” said Milton.

Milton sights his roles on some of AE Smith’s Queensland’s most significant projects as his most rewarding – from country and metropolitan hospitals to key government buildings such as office towers, chemical labs and water cooling plants.

And while Milton has seen many changes to the industry, one thing stays constant - the commitment to doing a great job: “I hope my colleagues have been happy with the way I have conducted myself as a representative of AE Smith,” said Milton.

“It’s great to be part of a team that all take pride in seeing a finished job that’s been done well.”

“AE Smith are also a great family orientated business and I’ve made many great friendships over the years with fellow workers,” Milton adds. AES www.aesmith.com.au

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Growing Strong Since 2005, AE Smith has planted more than 21,500 native trees in Australia with Greenfleet to offset over 5,500 tonnes CO2-e generated by hundreds of AE Smith vehicles and 1 million kilometres of staff air travel.

For more information please visit www.greenfleet.com.au

Returning to check after more than an decade since first planted, Greenfleet found the Queensland site in excellent condition with trees well exceeding 9 metres in height Part of the Brisbane River catchment area, the O'Sheas Crossing planting site is upstream of Wivenhoe Dam in south east Queensland. The 32 ha site had been grazed heavily in the past, compacting soils and altering natural runoff and water filtration processes.

The Greenfleet forest established between 2004 and 2007 has helped the soil structure to recover, reducing the amount of sediment and nutrients flowing directly into south east Queensland's biggest water supply storage.

Prior to being cleared for grazing, the site was originally open forest - with Black Tea-Tree and Forest Red Gum the dominant species. Greenfleet have returned these species to the area, along with a selection of minor species such as Weeping Bottlebrush, River Sheoak and Weeping Lilly Pilly to reflect the original species mix.

Cool Breeze is a magazine published by AE Smith & Son Pty Ltd ABN 54 004 274 793 for its staff and customers. Subscription is free and available directly from AE Smith. Š 2013 AE Smith & Son Pty Ltd. Important Notice: The information contained in this magazine is given in good faith. To the maximum extent permitted by law, neither AE Smith, its employees or contractors accept any liability for loss or damage arising as a result of any person acting on information contained in this magazine. This magazine should not be used or relied on as a substitute for detailed professional consultation with AE Smith.

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The trees have been planted to mimic the original planting patterns, with the Lilly Pilly species appearing only on the fringes of the site, while the Black Tea-Tree and Forest Red Gums were planted in much larger quantities right across the planting area.

Greenfleet is a not-for-profit environmental charity that offsets greenhouse gas emissions by planting forests that soak up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they grow. AES

Brisbane Team Gets Cooking for a Cause AE Smith’s Brisbane team cooked up a storm recently to help families at the Ronald McDonald House As part of AE Smith’s community support of Ronald McDonald House (RMH) around Australia, the Brisbane AE Smith team decided to arrange a ‘Cook Night’ at RMH House Mater recently.

Office Administrator, Carolene Jacinto, rallied eight of AE Smith Brisbane’s best cooking enthusiasts to plan, prepare and then cook a feast for 35 guests of the RMH House.

Ronald McDonald House provides a home away from home for seriously ill children and their families.

Houses supported by AE Smith no longer receives bills for air conditioning service and maintenance, saving each house thousands of dollars every year

“We all really enjoyed just helping people forget the stresses of what they are going through by giving the families a lovely meal,” says Carolene.

“It’s pretty humbling and to be able to help in a small way is something we were all keen to do,” she adds. AE Smith Service General Manager in Brisbane, Matthew Steele also ensures support of the local Ronald McDonald House by providing pro bono air conditioning maintenance and service – a commitment matched by other AE Smith teams around the country to RMH Monash, Parkville in Melbourne, RMH Perth, RMH Townsville and RMH Westmead in Sydney.

“RMH Mater is such a special place. I am constantly impressed by the wonderful work they do and providing free labour for air conditioning is just one way we can help,” says Matthew.

“Our Brisbane team have really enjoyed being able to help out in other ways too because we know how much they appreciate it and how our support can contribute.” AES

Pic: (L to R) Standing Matthew Steele, Steve Collins, Jordan Potts, Brett Reif, Neville Reddy.

(L to R) seated Nathan Murphy, Carolene Jacinto, Pat Williamson.

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