Tabla de contenidos para September - October 2020 en Facility Management

171 Collins Street in Melbourne has recently achieved a six star NABERS Waste rating, making it the nation’s most waste-efficient building. Daily on-site measuring of all building waste, separation of bins by tenancy and floor to track waste on a micro level, biannual waste audits and specialist recycling activities involving paper hand towels, e-waste, coffee cups, batteries and printer cartridges make up some of the reduction initiatives. NABERS Waste ratings measure the percentage of building waste recycled, and implementing sophisticated recycling methods and achieving a high rating is dependent on factors including collaboration and community, environment, education, tenant engagement and collecting and analysing building data. Charter Hall Group and Cbus property were awarded the six star rating for the second consecutive year and attribute the impressive feat to partnerships with…

While the shift to masses working from home is (hopefully!) temporary, COVID-19 has undeniably awoken many to the benefits and possibilities of remote work. It seems clear now that many businesses will seek smaller office spaces and embrace flexible arrangements that allow workers to mix their hours between the home and the office when required. Landscape architect Matt Coggan, director of Turf Design Studio, has seen a surge of interest in his company’s services as the population adjusts to being limited to the household for weeks at a time. The ordeal has, he says, increased our appreciation and desire for outdoor spaces that are both safe and invigorating, and our living spaces must provide this for our mental well-being as well as our work. Plans and furnishings must allow living…

Not every workplace in Australia is the same. So, when deciding on a fire sprinkler system to install, you’ll need one that’s appropriate for the type of business or operation in which you’re involved. Sprinkler systems are designed for a variety of environments, so you’ll want to make the right choice so that your premises have adequate protection should a fire break out. THE ROLE OF A FIRE SPRINKLER SYSTEM Let’s first take a look at the main role played by a fire sprinkler system. Sprinkler systems are a vital component when it comes to fire suppression measures and fire safety solutions. They work on either an open or closed interconnected pipework. The sprinkler heads have temperature sensors installed in them, therefore rendering the sprinkler system heat-activated. Connected to the…

The Concept Evolution range of facilities, workplace and workforce management solutions from FSI employs a ‘contactless first’ approach, ensuring the safety and well-being of employees, facilities staff and contractors. Contractors can use their own mobile devices for checking in on arrival at site, rather than using the common on-site touch screen kiosk. Geo-fencing technology confirms their proof of attendance and, once approved, relevant induction processes, health check surveys and the tasks to be carried out are released to their device for completion. With the digital permit to work system fully integrated into the process, you are assured that only qualified and validated personnel can carry out the work. The importance of adherence to correct PPE (personal protective equipment) and hazard awareness is also highlighted. Maximising the effectiveness of the contractor…

How did you come to work at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA)? I’m a fitter and a turner by trade. I started in the FM game about 20 years ago up at Centrepoint (now Sydney) Tower in Sydney, and sort of stuck with it ever since then, through thick and thin. I’ve worked for a number of tourist attractions in Sydney, like Sydney Aquarium, hotels, the Queen Victoria Building and a few other buildings. Previous to working with the MCA I was working for AMP Capital, looking after a few buildings out west for it. This job was advertised and I thought, ‘Well, you know, it sounds like a good fit for me.’ And it has been; I’ve been here five years now and it’s always keeping me on…

As biometric authentication gains popularity for access control and identification, so too do attempts to impersonate others, using images to assume their identity for the purpose of tricking facial recognition checks. Currently, telltale signs of forgery are spotted with near-infrared cameras – that measure the distance between the subject and the camera – or the user is required to move their head or face from side to side to eliminate the chances of forgery duplication with photos. These solutions are costly or lead to a drawn-out interaction with the user, slowing down the process. Fujitsu’s new system aims to make it possible to prevent impersonation, enhancing security without sacrificing the convenience of face authentication. Reflections on the screen of a smartphone and distortion of the shape of the face are…

“I feel a responsibility to my staff and am searching for ways to endure.”– Tamika Davey MATTHEW CURRIE NATIONAL MAINTENANCE MANAGER AT ARA GROUP Currie has worked in the facility services space for more than 20 years. For the first 15, he owned a business with his brother, and he now works within the ARA Group. Over the journey he’s worn many different hats but, for the last few years, his role at ARA has seen him work with many clients across all states on their project, preventive and reactive maintenance requests. What has COVID-19 meant for you? Initially, like most businesses, we didn’t know which way things would fall. For our cleaning teams, it meant that business would boom in the COVID-19 cleaning space, while our reactive type maintenance…

Electromechanical key systems are now very widely accepted in the security landscape and used in a vast array of applications through our region. They provide a hybrid solution that combines many of the benefits of access control with the functionality of a mechanical master key system. The upfront price for an electromechanical cylinder is about 4 times the cost of a mechanical cylinder and access control is about 3 times the price of an electromechanical cylinder. All three solutions have their place in securing organisations, but this article is to do a back of the envelope lifetime value comparison between a mechanical and an electromechanical system. To do the comparison I first need to set the benchmark pricing. • Table 1: Benchmark Pricing • EM: Electromechanical • M: Mechanical Then I…

As automobiles made their way into the world’s cities in the first half of the 20th century, so too did the need to put them somewhere. City streets were not yet geared for parking and, with their open tops and leather upholstery, yesterday’s cars were much more vulnerable to the elements than today’s. So early motorists needed somewhere undercover to store them. Many early cars spent their idle hours in the horse stables still in common use in cities at the time, or in garages and clubs. In London in 1901, the City and Suburban Electric Carriage Company opened the first multistorey car park in the UK and arguably the world. It had seven floors and space for 100 cars. According to the British Parking Association, vehicles were housed, serviced,…

Researchers from RMIT University have developed an eco-friendly zero-cement concrete, which they say all but eliminates corrosion. Concrete corrosion and ‘fatbergs’ – the large globs of congealed grease, fat, oil and non-biodegradable junk – plague sewage systems around the world and lead to costly and disruptive maintenance. The Water Services Association of Australia estimates maintaining sewage networks costs us $15 million each year. Furthermore, replacing underground concrete pipes is a tedious task, ripping up the ground is expensive and often has a ripple effect of prolonged traffic delays and neighbourhood nuisances. RMIT engineers, led by Dr Rajeev Roychand, have developed a concrete that can withstand the corrosive acidic environment found in sewage pipes, while reducing residual lime that leaches out and contributes to fatbergs. Some fatbergs have grown up to…

Brightgreen HR200 UVC Escalator Handrail Light One of the germicidal UV-C light manufacturer’s latest products is a safe handrail light for escalator applications. The LED UV-C light is mounted approximately 15mm above the escalator handrail on the underside of the escalator, so that it is not visible or accessible to users. As the escalator operates, the handrail automatically gets sterilised as it slowly passes the light. The high efficiency of the LEDs paired with their close proximity to the handrail surface enable a full sterilisation each rotation. Aqueous hot water systems Designed to provide commercial, hospitality, industrial and domestic users with near-instant hot water, the Aqueous MK2 water heaters from Aus J save water energy and time. Features include a durable outer case with service and inspection points, SPCC (high…

COVID-19 saw once-heaving main drags turned into desolate ghost towns. Among many other examinations, the pandemic has prompted discussion about how the world’s most densely populated pockets will look and live when it’s all over. From the get-go, urban centres became hotspots in Wuhan, Milan, New York and, more recently and closer to home, Melbourne. Add to this the mass shift of labour forces to working from home, made possible through online connectivity, and both the safety and necessity of centralised commercial hubs have been questioned. Digging deeper, many have been quick to point the finger at cities and their dense populations as the cause of COVID-19’s spread. Pundits argue viruses are anti-urban, others calling population density the biggest enemy in the fight to control virus outbreaks. No matter where…

Jonathan McFarlane is co-founder and CEO of PlaceOS. He and his team have been chipping away at the smart building industry for about 10 years. He works with clients to identify the challenges faced in their buildings and scope out user experiences to solve them. Globally, PlaceOS works with a number of partners like Cisco, but McFarlane feels most people don’t know about his company because it spends much of its time “behind the scenes, enabling everything”. A big part of his job is using what his business has learned from customers to educate the industry because, he says, “We’re accidental experts in a whole range of things that are beneficial.” Today, this is more true than ever, with COVID-19 presenting new dilemmas to managers of buildings and personnel. Here,…

Just the word itself, ‘redundant’, is harsh when you look at the definition: “no longer needed or useful; superfluous”. The loss of confidence that comes with the notion of being made redundant can be debilitating, especially if it was a role in which you spent years working. Regardless of whether you loved it or not you were invested and now you don’t have a choice. In an age of endless restructuring and instant communication, employers need to learn the advantages of a more transparent approach to redundancies. Organisations risk creating enormous ill will and harm to their business if they don’t handle the process properly. Redundancy is an emotive topic and many people have stories to tell of their own experience. Redundancy tends to have an emotional toll because it…

Before we’d even seen the words coronavirus and Australia in the same sentence, Australia had been experiencing – albeit quietly – a virtual zero GDP growth per capita for the last two years. Slowing from a 2.2 percent expansion in the previous period, and also matching market expectations, it was the weakest growth rate since the third quarter of 2009 – more than a decade ago. What was the driving force behind this? The (oft-forgotten) bushfires and drought we experienced during the second half of 2019 were already beginning to have an effect. Then we saw the irony in flash flooding when nature decided to unleash a complete U-turn on us. As a result, living standards were principally flat going into this pandemic. The writing was already on the wall…

TASMANIAN ENERGY DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE Virtual event WHEN: 5-6 November 2020 informa.com.au/event/conference/tasmanian-energy-development-conference HYDROGEN CONFERENCE 2020 Virtual event WHEN: 16-18 November 2020 h2council.com.au/about/hydrogen-conference-2020 PRISONS 2020 Digital event WHEN: 17 November informa.com.au/event/conference/prison-planning-design-construction-maintenance WA CLEAN ENERGY FORUM WHERE: Perth, WA WHEN: 19 November cleanenergycouncil.org.au/events/wa-clean-energy-forum-2020 AUSTRALIAN PROTECTION SYMPOSIUM WHERE: Sydney, NSW WHEN: 19-20 November protectionsymposium.com.au/the-symposium-2020 AUSTRALASIAN WASTE AND RECYCLING EXPO Online event WHEN: 25-26 November 2020 awre.com.au AUSTRALIAN ENERGY WEEK 2021 WHERE: Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, VIC WHEN: 15-18 February 2021 energyweek.com.au…