Table of contents for October - December 2019 in Facility Management

Sustainability is a nebulous and often misunderstood topic. Closely associated with waste management, its scope is actually far broader, covering everything from supply chain selection to predictive maintenance. In a sustainable environment, waste management is actually the last resort; one considered only when all the potential uses for the material has been exhausted. Though we are still a distance away from the circular economy heralded by experts as the solution to our sustainability challenges, this issue highlights the many ways FMs can move one step closer to making it possible. We look at the overarching impact of Australia’s recycling crisis and ask whether there’s a potential silver lining for facility managers, explore the innovative ways Vicinity Centres and Regis Aged Care have established themselves as leaders in sustainable practice and…

In the first quarter of 2020, Tennant will release the T7AMR autonomous floor scrubber in Australia. While the machine certainly appears to look like those already in use in facilities across the nation, it’s what can be found inside that counts. Powered by advanced vision-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) system BrainOS, the T7AMR can be turned on and left to do its job in a real world environment without further input from staff. HOW DOES IT SEE? Perhaps the most common question facility managers and users alike want answered is 'how does the T7AMR see?'. The machine uses three types of cameras that combine to identify the environment it has been deployed in, localise its position within that environment and detect and avoid obstacles. Two Light Detection and Ranging sensors known…

Technology is constantly redefining the way we both live and work. In many ways it has brought the two closer together. We use messaging apps to remain connected with friends and colleagues alike at all hours of the day. We can travel to all corners of the world knowing that a temporary office is only a hot-desk away. Another trend that has come to redefine the relationship between life and work is mobile work. According to extensive research conducted over the last few years, a mobile workforce is very much the workforce of the future. A predicted 1.87 billion workers – 42.5 percent of the global workforce – are expected to go mobile by 2022. Most of these will be office workers – people whose jobs more or less exist…

Sustainability issues are becoming increasingly material and significant to companies’ long-term business strategies, as well as both their internal and external stakeholders. From increasing demand for resources to social inequalities and climate risk, businesses are facing more complex risks and trade-offs across their value chains. Aged care organisations are no different, as Regis Aged Care knows well. Founded in 1994, Regis is one of Australia’s largest aged care providers, running 63 aged care facilities, seven retirement living villages, five day therapy centres, six home care services and three day respite centres for more than 8000 people across Australia. Enhancing the quality of life of its residents is a responsibility that forms a crucial pillar of the organisation’s mission; a responsibility Regis recognises extends beyond what happens between the walls of…

Australia’s 160,000 commercial buildings are predicted to contribute over 40 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during 2019.1 In Sydney, commercial and industrial buildings consume 24 percent of the municipal water supply or nearly 150 million litres per day.2 Between 2016 and 2017, 67 million tonnes of waste (gross) was produced in Australia, of which about a quarter was construction and demolition waste in addition to a good chunk of operational waste from commercial buildings.3 In short, commercial buildings have a significant environmental footprint, but there are many things facility managers can do to lead sustainability efforts within their facility. After the ribbon’s been cut and the tenants has moved in, it’s the facility manager’s (FM) job to operate and maintain a building that they have…

Asia Pacific has a waste problem. A 2017 study by Ocean Conservancy and the McKinsey Centre for Business and Environment found that eight million tonnes of plastic waste is discarded into the world’s oceans every day, with more than half believed to come from Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and China. Though efforts have been made to reduce waste production, such as China’s ban on imported plastic in 2018, Asia Pacific is still a key contributor of global waste. As environmental concerns grow and pressure increases, manufacturers must make simple changes to factory processes to help reduce the amount of waste that is produced from the facility. While the region has been ahead of technological developments for a number of years, there are still particular forms of technology that can…

Vicinity Centres reveals plans for major video gaming and esports venue at Emporium Melbourne Video game arcades may mostly be a remnant of a bygone era, but that doesn’t mean there’s no longer potential for facilities to cater for the gaming audience. In early September, property management group Vicinity Centres and Fortress Esports revealed a new video gaming and esports entertainment venue set to open at Emporium Melbourne in early 2020. Designed for everyone from gamers to families and tourists to Melbourne, Fortress Melbourne will feature a 200-seat purpose-built esports arena, more than 160 gaming PCs, console gaming suites, dedicated streamer pods, RPG and tabletop game play area, function rooms, a full-service restaurant and two bars. Spanning 2700 square metres across two levels, the facility will be one of the…

FM: Let’s start with a brief overview of your background. Sam Wishart: I lead the fantastic facilities, assets and services team within the infrastructure and operations division at La Trobe University and have for about seven and a half years. Prior to this, I was part of the operations group at Deakin University where I worked for more than a decade after starting out in its graduate program. What led you into facility management? Great question. I grew up in the small country town of Finley, NSW and I knew from a young age that I wanted to attend university. That led to me pursuing and achieving a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering. The course taught me a first principles approach to engineering. Having always been more interested in what I…

Product stewardship and waste reduction have reached a new level in Australia. Recent announcements by the Federal Government place these issues firmly on the national agenda. Prime Minister Morrison has not only appointed an Assistant Minister for Waste Reduction and Environmental Management - the Honorable Trevor Evans MP – he has also earmarked $20 million for a product stewardship investment fund. The government has also pledged to fund a circular economy hub. These actions and commitments hold great potential if carefully advanced and executed. As Australia’s focus on waste and recycling issues continues, it becomes apparent that some sectors and industries are tackling the issue with urgency and innovation while others continue to drag their feet. Communities and many local councils are also pushing forward with their desire to cut…

Sustainable practice has become an increasingly hot topic across all aspects of Australian life. Where once we turned off the light when leaving a room for the sake of our electricity bill, now our responsibility can be measured on a global scale. For those of us operating commercial facilities, that responsibility is greatly amplified. In Australia, non-residential buildings are responsible for 10 percent of greenhouse gas emissions1, 7.7 percent of final energy consumption2, 10 percent of water consumption3 and 49 percent of waste4. The need to ensure our facilities are efficient and sustainable is growing, as is scrutiny of our efforts. It’s critical, therefore, for facility managers to have a common framework through which they can determine the extent of their efforts and a guide by which they can improve…

In the same way that households are installing mini power stations on their roofs to reduce strain on the electric grid, many organisations today are looking to lead on the sustainability fundamentals in the workplace by introducing responsible sourcing, community and social impact initiatives. These initiatives couldn’t come at a more pressing time. The average Australian produces 1.5 tonnes of waste in a year, but how many can say they are doing their part to reduce the impact that this waste causes on not just their environment, but the world? Change needs to happen, and what better place for it to start than in the workplace. THE WASTE MANAGEMENT HIERARCHY The Environment and Communications References Committee produced a report in 2018 entitled Never waste a crisis – the waste and…

Data has never been as readily available as it is today. However, while it provides tremendous opportunities, most people struggle to transform data into useful information and retain any of this information as knowledge. That’s why I understand that when facility managers hear me mention the ‘s’ word their usual reaction is a feeling of being completely overwhelmed. I can empathise. The prospect of adding sustainability to their workload can be daunting. Nevertheless, pretending that social, environmental or economic issue don’t exist won’t make them go away. They need to be addressed. Fortunately, there is a tried and true way to reduce the individual load and achieve great results: collaboration. WHEN TO COLLABORATE Most strategic review processes begin with an audit or research. Internal information is then analysed to develop…

The American businessman and prolific inventor Thomas Edison encouraged innovation through his quote, “There’s a better way to do it – find it!”. The quote became particularly relevant to 196 countries at the end of 2015. The United Nations Climate Change Conference had come to an end with the negotiation of the ‘Paris Agreement’ – an agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit a global temperature increase to below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by the year 2100. The Paris Agreement initiated strategies in various countries to set targets and develop plans to achieve them. SECTOR COUPLING For many of the EU members of the UN, the targets established were nothing short of ambitious. Germany set a strong example early, proposing to reduce heat consumption by 20 percent…

IOT IMPACT 2019 CONFERENCE WHERE: Sydney, NSW WHEN: 15 to 16 October 2019 www.iotimpact.com.au WASTE EXPO AUSTRALIA WHERE: Melbourne, VIC WHEN: 23 to 24 October 2019 www.wasteexpoaustralia.com.au ALL-ENERGY AUSTRALIA WHERE: Melbourne, VIC WHEN: 23 to 24 October 2019 www.all-energy.com.au ISSA CLEANING AND HYGIENE EXPO WHERE: Melbourne, VIC WHEN: 23 to 24 October 2019 www.issacleaninghygieneexpo.com LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR BUILDING MAINTENANCE AND FACILITY MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE WHERE: Melbourne, VIC WHEN: 28 to 29 October 2019 www.eiseverywhere.com/ehome/facilitymanagement2019/842086 CEBIT AUSTRALIA 2019 WHERE: Sydney, NSW WHEN: 29 to 31 October 2019 www.energyinnovation.net.au/event/cebit-australia-2019 AUSTRALASIAN WASTE AND RECYCLING EXPO 2019 WHERE: Sydney, NSW WHEN: 30 to 31 October 2019 https://awre.com.au SMART CITIES WEEK WHERE: Sydney, NSW WHEN: 31 October to 1 November 2019 www.australia2019.smartcitiesweek.com FACILITIES MANAGEMENT SUMMIT WHERE: Melbourne, VIC WHEN: 12 February 2020 www.forefrontevents.com.au/event/workspace-facilities-management-summit-2019/…