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facility
VOLUME 2, NUMBER 3, 2008 SEPTEMBER–NOVEMBER integrating people – process – place

Toward a Carbon Economy

What price for sustainability?

FM TRAINING
OPPORTUNITIES
Your complete Guide

FOCUS ON SA
Going green for gold

GREEN RATING TOOLS

3 rating tools explained
fa• cil• i• ties [fe sil et ies] n. pl.
man• age •ment [man ij ment] n.
An establishment made up of people collectively charged
to run an organisation’s infrastructure and assets.

We know where Facilities Management starts,

we also understand it doesn’t finish there:

: HVAC, Security & Fire Controls Technicians : Electrical/Mechanical Engineer

: Engineering Manager : Compliance Manager
: Sustainability Engineer : Building Services Engineer
: Installation & Commissioning Engineer : Facilities Manager
: Project Manager : Building Automation Technician
: Contract Manager/Team Leader

: POWER

: PROPERTY

: ARCHITECTURE

: RESOURCES & MINING

: CONSTRUCTION & CIVIL

: FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

: CONSULTING ENGINEERING

: PROJECT MANAGEMENT & DEVELOPMENT

For specialist recruitment expertise contact :
BRISBANE : Andre Faiva on 0403 239 415
or email andre@dmrecruitment.com.au
SYDNEY : Marc Owen on 0434 989 810
or email marc@dmrecruitment.com.au

www.dmgroup.com.au

B R I S B A N E : S Y D N E Y : M E L B O U R N E : P E R T H
 IN THIS ISSUE

facility FRONT COVER

Industry sectors, political parties and lobby groups may bicker
over the details, but the time for putting a price on providing
integrating people – process – place
for our future has arrived.

COVER STORY 38 Toward a Carbon Economy

Is the facility management industry ready for the challenges and
opportunities posed by the Australian Government’s Carbon Pollution
Reduction Trading Scheme? This issue examines what emission trading
schemes are, and some of the initiatives currently underway in heading
toward a carbon economy.

REGULARS
3 Editor’s Comment 4 FMA Australia Chairman’s Message 5 FMA Australia CEO’s Address 6 Fast Facts & News

62 FM ACTION AGENDA – Toward a Sustainable Future

64 ESSENTIAL SAFETY MEASURES – Building Update

FEATURES
16 FOCUS ON SA 71 INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
Going Green for Gold Information Central
Fuelled by its own resources boom, South Australia has quietly made While many facility managers yearn to have a real-time digital and
spectacular progress in its plans toward becoming the leading convergent information resource at their fingertips, for many the
ecologically sustainable state of Australia. reality is less than cutting-edge.
20 MANAGING AN AUSTRALIAN ICON 77 FMA AUSTRALIA SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS
The Medina Grand Adelaide Treasury WiFM – at the forefront of the industry
Located in the heart of the Adelaide CBD, the Medina Grand Women in Facilities Management (WiFM) was established in 2001 as a
Adelaide Treasury is a hotel which also serves as a rich repository for support network for the benefit of those women working as the sole
the city’s history. facility manager within an organisation.
24 EDUCATION & TRAINING 81 SECURITY & RISK MANAGEMENT
Current tertiary education opportunities available for facility A Design on Crime
managers throughout Australia Mark Phillips outlines the benefits of cost-effective security planning
Bond University’s Dr Craig Langston outlines the research practices such as Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design
behind a model designed to maximise the value of our ageing (CPTED).
building stock. 89 ENERGY & THE ENVIRONMENT
36 FMA AUSTRALIA EXCELLENCE AWARDS Greening the Great Indoors
Creativity, passion and a can-do attitude earned Emma Dudley this Adjunct Professor Margaret Burchett provides a cost-benefit analysis
year’s FMA Australia and Tungsten Young Practitioner of the Year for the use of indoor plants in improving human wellbeing and
Award. workplace productivity.
38 SPECIAL FEATURE: Toward a Carbon Economy 92 BOOK REVIEW
Buildings and Emissions Trading: What’s it all about? Estimating and Tendering for Construction Work
Adjunct Professor Alan Pears, RMIT University, outlines the thinking by Martin Brook. Review by Melanie Drummond.
behind the emissions trading scheme and how it might impact on the
built environment.
Facilities Management in the Carbon Economy
Carbon Planet’s Dave Sag explores how the National Greenhouse and
Energy Reporting (NGER) Act is likely to impact on facility managers. DECEMBER ISSUE
Biomimetics and Buildings
3 Training at FMA Australia 3 FM Conference Events Report
Melanie Drummond spoke to Mick Pearce about nature’s influence on
the future blueprint of our built environment, and to ARBS presenter 3 Maintenance & HVAC Feature
Professor Derek Clements-Croome about the research in the field of
biomimetics.
Green Transport initiatives at the City of Melbourne
SPONSORED INDUSTRY PROFILES
Bianca Frost looks at some of the green transport initiatives the City of 2 Fire Australia
Melbourne has adopted to manage its workplace transport facility 12 Express Glass
requirements.
22 Techs4biz
Building a Model Future 30 UNE Partnerships
John Mitchell explains how Building Information Modelling (BIM) is set 40 Momentum Energy
to add a new dimension to the delivery of asset and facility 44 Culligan Water
management in the 21st century.
52 Impact Plumbing
Life Cycle Assessment – creating a business language for the 56 Clean Air Technologies
environment 59 IFM
The Centre for Design’s research consultant, Andrew Carre explains 67 Aircon Rentals
how life cycle assessment (LCA) can demonstrate the cost savings and
72 Shred-X
strategic benefits of ‘going green’.
75 Forbo
60 ENERGY & THE ENVIRONMENT 76 Floor Safety Services of Australasia
A Comparison of Green Rating Tools 82 SNP Security
FMA Australia’s Policy Advisor, Charlie Simson, details the features of 84 Lan Corp Security Systems
the three leading rating tools available to facility managers. 87 JLG Liftpod

f a c i l i t y perspectives • 1
 Australian Technology Park, Sydney
Mon 13 - Wed 15 October 2008

Set ting tom orro w’s goa ls tod ay

ensure a safer tomorrow.”
“Through the goals we set today, we can

Fire Australia 2008 Delegate Registration

The fire industry plays a vital role in the
protection of people, property and the
environment. As an industry we have a
responsibility to society to continually seek
improvement to ensure all practices and
equipment are as effective as possible.
As rapid changes in technology,
construction, security and our environment
take place, it is important that we step
up to the challenges they present and
plan for our future.
Fire Australia 2008 endeavours to set
goals for our industry today, in order
to ensure a safer tomorrow.
Download the registration brochure from
www.fireaustralia.com.au. It contains
the conference program, details of the
social functions and partners program,
registration forms for the conference and
accommodation and a map illustrating
the different venue locations.
Register by August 31 for the
early bird discount.

To book:
T: 1300 731 922
E: events@fpaa.com.au
Fire Australia 2008 is a Fire Protection Association Australia
& Institution of Fire Engineers Australia joint project www.fireaustralia.com.au

Fire Australia 2008 Conference and Exhibition CLIENT FEATURE

Setting Tomorrow’s Goals Today

The Fire Australia 2008 Conference and Exhibition
aims to encourage innovation in the safety-critical fire
protection industry, as leading experts and
professionals discuss the future and set goals for the
industry.
In the past century the fire protection industry has
been responsible for many developments that we
now deem essential for the safety of our lives and
property. Although today’s society benefits from
increased fire protection, recent advances in
technology and construction, along with changing
security and environmental concerns, have
necessitated change in the industry.
The upcoming Fire Australia 2008 Conference and
Exhibition aims to address these changes, with this
year’s event themed ‘Fire protection – setting Delegates in attendance at a past Fire Australia
tomorrow’s goals today’. The Conference will feature Conference and Exhibition.
many key industry professionals and experts
exhibitor and training based workshops will also be
speaking on the theme, including Jim Shannon,
President and CEO of the National Fire Protection held, providing delegates the chance to further
Association in the USA. Also of note is Paul enhance their knowledge of current technologies,
Richardson, International President of the Institute of practices, standards and services.
Fire Engineers, who will be presenting a UK Fire Australia 2008 will be held from 13-15
perspective to reducing risk. October at Australian Technology Park, Sydney.
Delegates at this years event have the opportunity to For more information, or to register, contact the
peruse the latest in fire protection technology and Fire Protection Association Australia on 1300 731
products at the concurrent exhibition. Interactive 922 or visit www.fireaustralia.com.au

2 • f a c i l i t y perspectives
 EDITORS COMMENTS

Level 6, 313 La Trobe Street, Melbourne VIC 3000

Tel: (03) 8641 6666 Fax: (03) 9640 0374
Email: info@fma.com.au Web: www.fma.com.au

Front Cover: Image courtesy Big Stock Photo at

http://www.bigstockphoto.com MAX WINTER

Published by:
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Editorial: WinterComms
Director & Editor: Max Winter
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W
elcome to the September issue of
Facility Perspectives. It is interesting
to see the change filtering down
from the newly elected federal government
and how it is starting to impact on society
generally, and the Built Environment
specifically.
Apart from the social agenda policies on
the table, the Climate Change Agenda in
particular, in my view, needs to be driven from
the top and the Rudd government certainly
appear to be delivering on this aspect with the
forthcoming Carbon Pollution Reduction
Trading Scheme.
The emissions trading scheme will no
doubt have a huge impact on all sectors of the
Built Environment with issues such as skills
shortages, and the increasing need for energy
efficiencies for an aging building stock very
much at the fore.
Sectors such as AEC – FM (Architectural,
Engineering, Construction and Facilities
Management) need to produce the tools and
training necessary to work cohesively and
collaboratively, using a common language
available, understood and utilised by all
sectors, to provide the efficiencies the industry
demands.
It seems rather fortuitous that the FM
Action Agenda, itself a collaborative team of
volunteers from government, property industry,
business, and educational sectors brought into
focus some of these issues and provided a
platform from which to move forward.
This issue and the next canvasses some of
these initiatives, beginning with an outline of
what a carbon emission trading scheme is in
relation to buildings, what it means for facility
managers, and then progresses to some of the
current thinking behind functional building
design, green transport, a comparison of the
rating tools available, the benefits of indoor
plants, and last but certainly not least, Building
Information Modelling (BIM).
Building Information Modelling was one of
the aspects of the FM Action Agenda FM
Exemplar Project: Sydney Opera House, a
collaborative partnership between FMA
Australia, Rider Levett Bucknall (formerly Rider
Hunt), Woods Bagot, Sydney Opera House,
Brisbane City, Queensland Department of
Public Works, CSIRO, University of Sydney,
Queensland University of Technology, and CRC
for Construction Innovation, who acted as
project managers.
CRC for Construction Innovation has, and
is, actively pursuing the further development of
all aspects of BIM, including the pursuit of
national standards for BIM with a series of
seminars in most capitals. See their website at
http://www.construction-
innovation.info/index.php?id=1147 for more
details on a recent report.
Max Winter
Editor

BSM ’08 Expo, Melbourne Exhibition Centre, 14-16 September

The editor, publisher, printer and their staff and agents are not
responsible for the accuracy or correctness of the text of
contributions contained in this publication or for the
consequences of any use made of the products, and the
information referred to in this publication. The editor, publisher,
printer and their staff and agents expressly disclaim all liability of
whatsoever nature for any consequences arising from any errors
or omissions contained in this publication whether caused to a
purchaser of this publication or otherwise. The views expressed in
the articles and other material published herein do not
necessarily reflect the views of the editor and publisher or their
staff or agents. The responsibility for the accuracy of information
is that of the individual contributors and neither the publisher or
editors can accept responsibility for the accuracy of information
which is supplied by others. It is impossible for the publisher and
editors to ensure that the advertisements and other material
herein comply with the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth). Readers
should make their own inquiries in making any decisions, and
where necessary, seek professional advice.
©2008 Executive Media Pty Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction
in whole or part, without written permission is strictly prohibited.
BSM ‘08 will be the largest total facility management expo ever staged in Australia, with
exhibitors from the facility management and building services sectors that will include
suppliers of ground maintenance services, hygiene products, pest control services, safety
products, storage systems, signage, security, waste management, energy management and
fire services.
Go to www.bsmexpo.com.au for details.
World Sustainable Building Conference 2008, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition
Centre, 21-25 September 2008
Do not miss this! The World Sustainable Building (SB) Conference series, which has been held
every three years, is the peak gathering of the world’s leading technical experts and
researchers on sustainable built environments. SB08 Melbourne will continue a traditional
focus on technical developments and case studies. CSIRO (Australia’s national research
organisation), leading universities and research groups in Australia and from around the world,
are all expected to release new research.
Go to www.sb08melbourne.com for details.

f a c i l i t y perspectives • 3
CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE
ANDREW MCEWAN
Chairman’s Message
Big changes are set to occur within the facility management industry in
the coming months following the release of the Garnaut Climate
Change Review.
T
he Review was commissioned by Australia’s Commonwealth, state
and territory governments to examine the impacts, challenges and
opportunities of climate change for Australia. The initial draft report
was released on 4 July 2008 and details the system used in the Review
to assess the following:
3 evaluation of the costs and benefits of climate change mitigation
3 application of the science of climate change to Australia
3 international context of Australian mitigation, and
3 Australian mitigation policy.
The final report is due by 30 September 2008.
The interim period between the release of the draft report and the
final report gives business and community the opportunity to discuss the
recommendations made by the report, particularly regarding the likely
introduction of an emissions trading scheme.
Following the release of the Garnaut Review and the government’s
Green Paper outlining its proposal for the scheme, it seems probable
that Australia will see the introduction of a carbon trading scheme by
2010.
What will this mean for the facility management industry? Increased
focus on energy efficiency, clean energy and the reduction of travel could
have significant impacts, as will additional requirements for measuring
and capturing data from buildings. Initially the impact will be small as the
25,000 tonne threshold will capture only the very largest emitters, but as
the reporting thresholds reduce, more and more facilities will be required
to mandatorily report their emissions.
The unprecedented focus on emissions will probably also be felt
further afield as organisations prepare for emissions trading and
reporting to affect them. As well as some considerable challenges, the
focus on facility performance presents some significant opportunities for
the facility management industry. Increased focus on performance raises
the industry’s profile and highlights the critical and complex role FMs play
in ensuring that buildings perform to the standards (or sometimes in
spite of the standards) of the design.
4 • f a c i l i t y perspectives
Given that FMs will play such an important part in helping to realise
the targets that will be set by the government, it follows that there needs
to be significant investment in increasing the skills base within the
industry to assist them in doing this. As highlighted in the report, “the
building sector in particular is already an area of skills shortage, and
responding to carbon constraints is likely to exacerbate this skills gap.” It
is anticipated that the introduction of an emissions trading scheme would
cause a surge in construction due to the requirements for re-fitting and
‘greening’ existing buildings.
There is concern, however, that the industry would struggle to cope
with the demand, hence the recommendation in the report for the
development of re-training courses, the provision of advisory services
and tools such as design guides and the introduction of accreditation
schemes to provide incentives to learn.
FMA Australia has already begun to address the issues and findings
discussed in the draft report of the Review, particularly in the area of
education and training. The facility management industry will be of
paramount importance in assisting organisations to achieve emissions
targets and it will therefore be necessary for many facility managers to
‘up-skill’ in order to help them to cope with the proposed changes. FMA
Australia has been in recent discussions with the government, with a view
to funds being allocated within the Green Building Fund to assist in the
expansion of this area.
With the final report of the Garnaut Review due at the end of the
month, we can certainly anticipate a momentous time ahead for the
industry.
FMA Australia will pay close attention to the findings of the report
and will continue to be in close contact with the government to secure
appropriate support and recognition of facility management as a driving
factor in emissions reduction.
Andrew McEwan
Chairman
FMA Australia

DAVID DUNCAN
CEO’s Address
It’s certainly been a busy few months at FMA Australia. We have seen many recent
announcements in government policy which will affect the facility management industry,
such as the publishing of the Garnaut review and the government’s Green Paper on
Australia’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.
I
n addition to this, guidelines for the National Greenhouse and Energy
Reporting System (NGERS) have been released and the first reporting
period for that system has begun which, if it hasn’t already, will have a
big impact on many of our members and is hence an issue that we have
become closely involved with. These issues, together with the
Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research’s (DIISR) Green
Building Fund consultation, have certainly kept us busy and given us
plenty to discuss and respond to since the last edition of Facility
Perspectives.
FMA Australia has been working closely with industry partners to
ensure that government understands the opportunities the built
environment offers for no-cost and low-cost carbon reduction, and
importantly, the crucial role that facility management plays in achieving
improved efficiency from our buildings.
With the introduction of an emissions trading scheme in Australia
looking very likely, the release of the NGERS guidelines has been a
crucial policy outcome in moving towards an emissions trading system.
The guidelines outline the reporting systems and methods that are to be
used to calculate emissions levels, as well as determining which parties
have responsibility for emissions reporting. FMA Australia has provided
formal feedback to the Department of Climate Change regarding the
assignment of reporting responsibility for emissions from facilities. We
will ensure that we keep you updated on developments in this area to
help you to meet the requirements of the reporting system.
The Climate Change Green Paper gives us some more detail around
the likely impact of an emissions trading scheme, with the biggest issue
for the built environment likely to revolve around the industry’s ability to
rapidly improve the efficiency of existing building stock. Estimates at this
stage indicate that this could mean a boom in the building industry with
accelerated levels of refurbishment, although there is still some question
as to how the industry may meet the demand for skilled labour.
Certainly it will be increasingly important for all levels of facility manager
to have a strong understanding of the measures they can take to
improve efficiency in their facilities, both through re-fitting and re-
commissioning and through tighter control of existing systems.
The Green Building Fund, an election commitment, will enable
organisations to apply for funding to assist them to retro-fit existing
FMA Australia would like to thank its Premium sponsor for 2008/09, ISS Facility Services
CEO’S ADDRESS
buildings for energy efficiency, and also assist professional organisations,
including FMA Australia, to develop training packages to up-skill
individuals to meet the impending challenges.
FMA Australia has provided DIISR with feedback on its proposed
guidelines for the program, in terms of how proposals should be
assessed for grants, the best use of the funds and how the different
aspects of a proposal should be weighted. We have also indicated where
the incentives and disincentives are currently within the industry so that
the Green Building Fund can be used to speed up the greening of
existing building stock.
The Green Building Fund will no doubt be in demand by owners,
facility managers and others as a method to fund re-commissioning and
tuning works within buildings, as well as plant upgrade. In addition, a
strong focus of the Fund will be on the commissioning and re-
commissioning of existing systems.
It’s an exciting time for FMA Australia and the FM industry as
sharpened focus on building performance highlights the pivotal
contribution facility managers make in an efficient built environment.
FMA Australia is ensuring the industry is well represented with
government and other stakeholders, while considering the education
and professional development initiatives that will be necessary to help
members and the industry meet the Climate Change challenge.
It’s also an important time of year for us as our branch committees
each hold their AGM and committee members for 2008/09 are selected.
I have already attended the first of these in WA and am pleased to
report that it’s shaping up to be a busy and highly successful year for the
new WA branch committee.
I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and thank all
members who commit their time and energy to serve in various
capacities such as branch and national committees to help increase
awareness of the facility management industry across the nation.
The FMA Australia national AGM will be held in November, at which
the board of directors will be announced. Members are invited to
nominate for the board and details will follow shortly via email.
David Duncan
Chief Executive Officer
FMA Australia
f a c i l i t y perspectives • 5
FAST FACTS + NEWS
Melbourne’s Convention Centre development
leads the way in facilities management
Set within a vibrant riverside precinct in central Melbourne, Australia’s
largest combined convention and exhibition facility – the Melbourne
Convention Centre Development (MCCD) will open for business in 2009
under the watchful eye of Brookfield Multiplex’s facility management team.
The project is being delivered as a public private partnership project by
Plenary Group under the Partnerships Victoria framework with Brookfield
Multiplex contracted as the builder and facility manager. The collaboration
enables Brookfield Multiplex to bring its capabilities in design and
construction and its expertise in facilities management to the fore.
The ambitious project is estimated to add over $197 million dollars
each year to Victoria’s coffers, will accommodate up to 5,000 delegates in
its landmark, reconfigurable plenary hall and has already achieved the
world’s first six star green star environmental rating utilising a AGBC
Convention Centre Pilot tool that will be used as the basis for Public
Buildings.
With people on the ground since the design process for the project
began, Brookfield Multiplex‘s intimate knowledge of the building will
make the transition from construction to operation a significantly smoother
process. With an increased understanding of the building, the Facility
Services team will also ensure the building is managed to achieve the
optimum performance it was designed for from day one. This approach
has meant the team has also been able to address facilities management
risks and opportunities in a collaborative and solutions oriented manner,
playing a major role in the procurement of fixtures, fittings and equipment
(FFE) such as kitchen equipment, the selection of plant (such as
Mechanical plant) and providing input on whole of life performance issues.
According to Brookfield Multiplex Services’ General Manager for Business
Growth Richard Gee, their greatest input has been “ensuring
maintainability and accessibility issues have been built into all aspects of
the project“. In practical terms this has had an impact on a number of
areas, – ranging from the electrical switchboard layout, chilled beam
positioning, the colour of the roof, choice of fabric for the Plenary Hall
seats and choice of fixtures and fittings in toilet areas.
Integral to the project has been continuity of staff, with a Facility
Operation Manager dedicated to the project since the start of the RFP
(request for proposal) phase in March 2005. Ongoing contact between the
Bid Team and the Transition and Delivery Team has also been maintained
throughout the entire design and construct process. “Brookfield
Multiplex’s integrated property model is about releasing the synergies that
exist across the facility lifecycle. In its simplest form, this means one
delivery team focused on releasing whole of life benefits for our clients by
developing, building, managing and owning facilities that are able to meet
our client’s requirements throughout the entire facility lifecycle,” said
Managing Director of Brookfield Multiplex Services, Jon McCormick.
“This approach fits well with PPP’s and Design Construct and Maintain
(DC&M) projects where there are long concession terms and a whole of
life net present cost focus. For this project we have had one Brookfield
Multiplex Team since the start, with a focus on value over the project term
– not just during the construction or operational phases in isolation, and
we’ve had a fully integrated design and construction process where
Facilities Management experts have provided practical advice and
solutions throughout,” he said.
6 • f a c i l i t y perspectives
Graham Oswin, Regional Managing Director Brookfield Multiplex
Construction agrees, noting “the Services team’s expertise and experience
in managing buildings has meant that we have made more fully informed
decisions on many aspects of the design and fitout of the building – from
services shafts to fitout materials, the Services team has added another
aspect to our approach to DC&M projects. In addition, there is a huge
advantage in ensuring the design of the projects takes into account safe
access for cleaning and maintaining the building.”
With 15 PPP/DC&M projects under their belt, the Brookfield Multiplex
team have experienced different challenges with the MCCD project,
including aligning the requirements for the existing Exhibition Centre with
those of the new Convention Centre and, as with all PPP projects, scope
management has also proved a challenge. Brookfield Multiplex’s General
Manager for Business Growth Richard Gee notes “there will always be
changes to the design and form and it is vital that the facility management
team understand and have input into this process. We have the processes
and relationships to address this important issue created through our
previous PPP experience”.
The next challenge for the group is managing a site that will be
Australia’s foremost sustainable structure.
“A wealth of sustainable initiatives have been implemented during
Design stage to ensure the facility achieves six star rating. However we
understand that whilst design is a key factor in the delivery of sustainable
projects, the way in which facilities are managed over the long term
ultimately determines the success of sustainable initiatives,” Gee
concludes.
Integration is key to Brookfield Multiplex’s business philosophy and
the Services team offer an integrated property services solution through
five distinct business streams, Corporate Real Estate, Facilities
Management, Property Services, Project Management and Residential
Management Services to accommodate their diverse range of clients’
property needs. The group has recently transformed from Multiplex
Facilities Management to Brookfield Multiplex Services to better reflect the
broad range of services they offer across the industry.
The delivery of the services will be undertaken through an operations
and risk sharing arrangement between Plenary Group and Brookfield
Multiplex whereby owner and Facility Operator have aligned incentives to
ensure the ongoing service delivery and whole of life performance
maintenance of the facilities.
The scope of services for the management of the new MCCD
includes:
3 General Services including Performance Monitoring and
Reporting, Health, Safety and Environmental Management and
Quality Assurance;
3 Help Desk services;
3 Building Management Services including operational maintenance
and lifecycle replacement over the 25 year contract term;
3 Utilities Management Services;
3 Cleaning Services;
3 Security Services;
3 Grounds and Garden Maintenance Services; and
3 Pest Control.
TALE OF TWO CITIES
FM roles in Dubai and Melbourne
Facilities Management Consultant, Dubai
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With 28 offices spread throughout the UK, Europe, Asia and the Middle East this
multi-disciplinary consultancy and construction business has over 2700 employees
servicing the commercial, aviation, residential, retail, rail and healthcare sectors.
Their rapidly expanding UAE operation has secured a number of high profile property
owners and they require an experienced Facilities Consultant to:
UÊ Provide technical, strategy, compliance, procurement and audit advice on very
large villa projects and commercial towers
UÊ Ensure optimum facilities management services are delivered across the portfolio
UÊ Manage and liaise with external service providers to ensure maintenance
measures and major works programs are carried out efficiently
The salary package is inclusive of accommodation, flights, car allowance, performance
bonuses, gratuity payments, insurance and medical costs.
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Established in the late 1800s and with head quarters in the city of London this multi
disciplined consultancy also has established offices in Australia, Europe, the Middle
East, Asia, the Americas and Africa. Their services include cost management, project
management, facilities management and building surveying.
Their Melbourne office has created a new role for a Senior Facilities Consultant to
manage and grow this crucial income stream. Reporting to the Director you will be the
focal point of this newly created business unit with responsibilities including:
UÊ Identifying opportunities with large institutional clients
UÊ Providing strategic, technical and compliance advice to property owners on asset
portfolios
UÊ Building a profitable and reputable service line including executive reporting to the
Board of Directors
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FAST FACTS + NEWS

Sydney Heritage Building awarded

first 6 Star Green Star rating
39 Hunter Street in the Sydney CBD has become the first heritage Jenine
building in Australia to achieve a 6 Star Green Star rating. This rating, Cranston, Director
recently announced by the Green Building Council of Australia, is a Office Services at
ground-breaking achievement for a heritage building. CB Richard Ellis,
The awarding of the accreditation is the culmination of an extensive said interest in the
collaboration between the building owner, Kador Group, project building had been
manager JCK Consulting, architects Jackson Teece, and engineers and widespread and the
ESD consultants Arup. CB Richard Ellis, who is the leasing agent, has Green Star rating
been involved in the project from its inception. was expected to
This consultative approach has achieved an outstanding outcome for fuel additional
the iconic 90 year old building which will make it relevant for decades to interest given the
come. heightened tenant
The extensive refurbishment project to the 7 level, 6,000m² building, focus on
which is the former home of Perpetual Trustees, is currently underway sustainability in
with completion expected early in 2009. recent times.
Ingenuity and a commitment to achieving the best possible “We are seeing
sustainable outcome were the keys to this achievement which is tenants shift from
expected to generate significant tenant interest. Initiatives include use of having a basic
fire sprinkler tanks for thermal storage, peak electrical load reduction, interest in bricks
displacement air-conditioning system, lighting controls, rainwater and mortar to a
collection and re-use, waste reduction, bicycle storage, and recycling and genuine support for
re-use of the existing fitout and furnishings environmentally
The Kador Group has previously achieved ground-breaking results inspired office
with the refurbishment of its 30 year-old building at 500 Collins Street in space for the health
Melbourne. In November, 2006 this building was the first CBD high-rise and productivity
refurbishment to achieve a 5 Green Star rating. benefits flowing
Kador Managing Director, Carolyn Parker, said the company was from these design
delighted that 39 Hunter Street has demonstrated that a high level of initiatives.” Ms
sustainability can be incorporated within the restoration and Cranston said.
refurbishment of heritage properties. She said “the building was at the 39 Hunter Street is still in the early stage of marketing, targeting
leading edge when constructed 90 years ago, and it is fitting that it is prospective tenants seeking an iconic headquarters serviced by state of
again restored to this position”. the art technology.

Leighton Contractors expands Health Sector

capabilities with Menette acquisition
Leighton Contractors has significantly expanded its capabilities in the
health care sector through the acquisition of specialist facilities
management company, Menette Pty Ltd.
Established 12 years ago, Menette is a Melbourne based company
that provides facilities management, design, and project management
services to health sector clients nationally.
Peter McMorrow, Managing Director of Leighton Contractors, said
that over the next ten years there would be significant investment in
social infrastructure, particularly in health care facilities.
“This acquisition is a key part of our strategy to establish ourselves as
the leading building contractor and the preferred partner to clients in the
health care, education and related sectors.
“Clients are increasingly looking for companies that can offer fully
integrated design, construction, financing and facilities management
solutions and, importantly, companies that are committed to a long-term
partnership that creates value over the life of a facility.
“Through its health care focus, Menette adds significant capability to
Leighton Contractors in facilities management. This expertise is highly
complementary to our existing services capabilities and our broader
construction and project financing activity,” said McMorrow.
Utilising specialist and proprietary systems, Menette provides
customised solutions that meet the specific accreditation, regulatory,
governance and compliance requirements of health care facilities. The
company also provides clients with on-going management and
operational expertise in both engineering and biomedical engineering
services to effectively manage maintenance costs.

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Aconex selected for Melbourne

homeless housing development
Aconex will provide its online information management
service, at no charge, to facilitate the construction of a
$50 million inner-city housing block for the homeless in
Melbourne.
The Aconex system will be used to manage all the
documentation and correspondence generated by
companies involved in the project. Through using
Aconex, project participants will be able to view, track
and share their files in real-time – reducing the need for
paper documents and streamlining communication
between companies.
Aconex was selected by the developer Grocon,
which is delivering the project in partnership with the
Victorian Government, Yarra Community Housing and
Homeground Services. Grocon is building the facility at
cost price and has requested that its suppliers provide
their services either pro bono or at cost.
Based on a New York initiative, which has helped
reduce homelessness by 25% since 2005, the 10-storey
building will house up to 120 people. The housing block
will be located on Elizabeth Street near the Queen
Victoria Market and will contain on-site mental health referrals, drug and board. The system will manage the thousands of drawings and
alcohol counselling, and employment services. The facility is expected to documents that will be created and speed up the flow of information,
open in 2010. helping us to open the doors of the facility as soon as possible.”
Leigh Jasper, Aconex Chief Executive, said: “Being a Melbourne- Aconex, is a leading provider of online collaboration solutions to the
based company, we are proud to be supporting this development. We construction and engineering industries, with $210 billion worth of
hope the success of this project will help encourage similar initiatives projects serviced across 60 countries. Clients include leading Australian
around Australia.” construction and property development companies such as Multiplex,
David Waldren, Grocon Design Manager, said: “Grocon has used Australand, Hansen Yuncken, St Hilliers and Probuild. Other clients
Aconex on more than 60 projects so we are delighted that they are on include Qantas, McDonald’s Restaurants and Sydney Opera House.

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Melbourne Open House:

Celebrating the Built Environment
Some of Melbourne’s most interesting buildings and
hidden architectural treasures were open to the public
on Sunday, July 20 as part of a new initiative,
Melbourne Open House, which was launched in
conjunction with the 2008 Melbourne International
Design Festival. This event afforded residents and
visitors a rare chance to experience first hand the
diverse heritage, architectural, engineering and design
gems of the city.
In its inaugural year, Melbourne Open House
focused on a selection of inspiring buildings within
walking distance of Federation Square and the central
event hub of the Melbourne International Design
Festival.
A total of eight buildings were selected to
showcase Melbourne’s rich and uniquely diverse
architectural history from the height of the Victorian
gold rush through to the present day. Collectively,
these buildings provided a fascinating insight into the
social, political and economic preoccupations of a city
and its people, reminding viewers that the built
environment is not simply an amalgamation of spaces
but a living historical document of human beliefs,
values and aspirations.
Despite the cold, grey skies and rain, over 30,000
people spent up to four hours queuing to access sites
on the Melbourne Open House program, a number
which, according to Simon Johnson, Melbourne Open
House spokesman, well and truly exceeded the
expectations of event organisers.
Next year, to offset the high public demand for
access to buildings, Melbourne Open House plans to
open up more spaces for viewing over the course of an
entire weekend. There are also plans to focus on a
wider range of buildings in various locations across
Melbourne that will include best practice examples of
medium density housing, environmentally sustainable
design and architectural award winners.
Open buildings on the 2008 program included CH2, the AGBR Six- Labyrinth at Federation Square were completely booked out prior to the
Star City of Melbourne office building; the Labyrinth at Federation event.
Square; the Plaza Ballroom at the Regent Theatre; Manchester Unity
building; Capitol Theatre; St. Paul’s Cathedral and St. Paul’s Chapter To find out more about Melbourne Open House and discover what’s in
House. store for the 2009 event, keep posted to
The most viewed building of the 2008 program was the Plaza http://www.melbourneopenhouse.org.au/cms-program-
Ballroom at the Regent Theatre with 9,844 visitors while tours of the 2009/buildings/buildings-2009.php

The Labyrinth at Federation Square

The Labyrinth is a maze of subterranean corrugated concrete
walls located beneath the iconic 2002 Federation Square
precinct. These winding tunnels form a unique passive
cooling system which is used to provide environmental air
control for the precinct’s Atrium and BMW Edge public
spaces.
At almost 40 x 40 metres and 1.2 km in length, the
Labyrinth utilises qualities specific to Melbourne’s climactic
variations to cool the concrete walls by pumping air into its
cells at night and through the cells by day. Air is then
redirected into the venue, dispersed by the use of a low-
velocity displacement system located at floor level.
In peak summer conditions, the Labyrinth is capable of
delivering air up to 12°C below the external ambient
temperature using one tenth of the energy consumption and
generating less than one-tenth of the CO2 emissions of
conventional air conditioning systems.
In winter the Labyrinth’s thermal mass maintains an
inherent warming potential that can be supplemented as
required.

f a c i l i t y perspectives • 13
FAST FACTS + NEWS

CAPITOL THEATRE
Designed by the influential Walter Burley and Marion Mahoney Griffin, the
Capitol Theatre was built 1921-24 on Swanston Street.
As one of Melbourne’s crowning architectural achievements following
federation, Capitol Theatre is notable for a number of pioneering design
and architectural concepts including its marvelous stained glass details and
magical geometric plaster ceilings.
When this cinema opened in 1924, the public flocked to hear the
Wurlitzer organ and see the movies and spectacular light show afforded by
the Griffins’ plaster ceiling design. To achieve the dramatic ceiling, massive
reinforced concrete portals allowed the interior structure to be hung
uninterrupted by any internal columns. Outside, the Capitol is also
distinctive. Two deep cornices cap two pylon motifs each of three vertical
piers extending over the entire height of the façade, making it appear as
historian Jeffrey Turnbull has suggested, like a giant gateway.
In the 1960s, the owners decided to insert a shopping arcade right
through the middle of the auditorium. A campaign to save the theatre was RMIT purchased the theatre in 1999 and has undertaken further
waged and a compromise was reached: the cave-like foyers were destroyed refurbishment work, including the repainting of the auditorium ceiling and
and a new floor was inserted. Many of the original lobby and vestibule the installation of new seating. The Capitol is used primarily as a lecture
spaces were either destroyed or boarded up, but the ceiling was saved. theatre and for special events. The theatre is open to the public for guided
In recent years, great efforts have been made to restore surviving tours on the third Friday of the month.
elements of the theatre. The dramatic cantilevering street canopy with its *Adapted from “A Guide to Melbourne architecture”, by Philip Goad, 1999, p. 105. The Watermark
light globes and skylights is the most significant recent restoration. Press, Sydney.

MANCHESTER UNITY
The 1932 Manchester Unity Building in Swanston Street represented a new
faith in commerce and progress in the context of inter-war Melbourne.
Built during the Depression using round-the-clock eight-hour shifts, the
termination of Manchester Unity’s corner tower in the style of commercial
modern gothic has its inspiration in Raymond Hood’s 1922 competition-
winning design for the Chicago Tribune Tower.
At the time, the pinnacles of the Manchester Unity made it the tallest
building in Melbourne and it was the first building in Victoria to have
escalators. These three high-speed lifts were driven by what was, at the
time, the largest diesel generator in Australia.
The building is faced in a gold-brown glazed faience and elaborated
by figures of benevolence and charity. It has been observed that the height
of the Manchester Unity building which substantially exceeded that of the
nearby Melbourne Town Hall and St Paul’s Cathedral, proclaimed a
challenge to the dominance of state and church by announcing commerce
as a new force of social influence.

CH2
The CH2 project is the first purpose built office building in Australia to
achieve a six Green Star certified rating for environmental design and
performance. This is a significant achievement is as the design for the
project commenced prior to the launch of the Green Star Rating System
and Green Star – Office Design which evaluates buildings against the
criteria of energy and water efficiency, quality of indoor environments and
resource conservation.
CH2 has sustainable technologies incorporated into every conceivable
part of its 10 storeys. A water-mining plant in the basement, phase-change
materials for cooling, automatic night-purge windows, wavy concrete
ceilings, a facade of louvres (powered by photovoltaic cells) that track the
sun – even the pot plant holders embody a whole new way of thinking
about sustainable office buildings.
Although most of the principles adopted in the building are not new –
such as using thermal mass for cooling and using plants to filter light –
never before in Australia have they been used in such a comprehensive,
interrelated fashion in an office building.

14 • f a c i l i t y perspectives
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FOCUS ON SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Going Green for Gold

BY BIANCA FROST

Earlier this year, Victorian Premier, John Brumby, caused a minor diplomatic rift with
neighbouring South Australia when he argued that Melbourne’s controversial Port Phillip
Bay dredging project was essential if Victoria was not to become a “backwater like
Adelaide”.
While Mr Brumby promptly apologised for his comments, the perception of South Australia
as the small and sleepy cousin to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth has been a
pervasive one. However, with a dramatic wave of mining exploration and a bustling
defence hub under construction, the state of wine, cheese and churches is about to
undergo an unprecedented era of boom-time development across the next decade.

W
hile the resource boom has left Western Australia chronically
short of building stock and critical infrastructure, South
Australia has quietly been implementing its plans for the future,
spearheaded by a prolific investment in sustainable building, energy and
water projects. Currently there are major projects worth over $45 billion
in various stages of construction and consideration, 80 per cent of which
are related to the massive urban development required by the mining
and defence boom. BHP’s Olympic Dam project 600km north-west from
Adelaide alone is expected to have an immense impact on the State’s
economy and will require the biggest expansion of facilities ever
undertaken in the global resources industry.
There is a certain amount of irony in the fact that while the rest of the
world devours the spoils of South Australia’s rich mineral deposits, the
State itself is abuzz with plans for creating one of the cleanest, greenest
cities in the world. Driven largely by the State Government, South
Australia’s initiatives have drawn praise from international environmental
leaders such as David Suzuki, Al Gore and Robert Kennedy.
In 2007 the South Australian government signed the Climate
Change and Greenhouse Emissions Reduction Act which made it the first
state in the country to voluntarily legislate reduction targets for
greenhouse gas emissions. These targets include reducing greenhouse
gas emissions in the State by at least 60 per cent of 1990 levels by the
end of 2050 and increasing the proportion of renewable electricity
generated and consumed to at least 20 per cent of the State’s supplies
by 2014.
The State has also created a blueprint for ongoing growth and well-
being with the introduction of a comprehensive strategic plan.
Premier Mike Rann says community engagement and participation
are important factors in the ongoing performance of the South Australian
Strategic Plan (SASP) which has been developed to reflect the aspirations
of the wider community.
“The Plan’s targets are unashamedly ambitious and none of them
would have been achieved without significant effort,” the Premier said.
“By working harder, working smarter and working together, we can
achieve even better results.”
There are 98 targets in South Australia’s 10 year Strategic Plan with
the latest independent report card showing 68 targets have either been
‘achieved’ or are ‘on track’ or ‘within reach’.
The report indicates that mineral exploration in the state is already at
three times the annual projected target of $100 million, while mineral

16 • f a c i l i t y perspectives
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production exceeded $2.5 billion in the 2007-08 financial year. Minerals
processing reached $1.15 billion in the same period, six years ahead of
the plan’s forecast.
The South Australian Government is aggressively pursuing
population and employments targets with the defence sector projected
to contribute 28000 new jobs in the state by 2013. The Olympic Dam
project is expected to create 25000 new direct and indirect jobs. The
provision of employment opportunities in both the defence and mining
sectors are expected to drive the State’s population growth towards its
target of two million South Australians by 2050, and is also likely to slow
interstate migration and ease pressure on the State’s labour market.
Other development areas identified in the Strategic Plan include
progress in land and marine biodiversity, greenhouse gas emission
reduction, public transport usage, the new River Murray salinity reduction
target and renewable energy production.
The Government has also introduced a range of incentives to
encourage increased energy efficiency in the State’s built environment.
On July 1, the Government introduced a solar feed-in scheme – the
first of its kind in the country. This scheme pays householders and small
commercial energy consumers who have installed solar panels a
guaranteed credit of 44 cents for every unit of electricity (or kilowatt hour)
they feed back into the national grid. This rate is twice the tariff charged
on regular electricity and could equate to a bonus of nearly $400
annually for the average household, according to Government estimates.
With less than 8 per cent of Australia’s population, South Australia
claims around 40 per cent of the nation’s total of grid-connected solar
panels. This is five times the number of household installations than in
Victoria which is the next highest solar-energy producing state in the
country. The take-up of solar energy in South Australia equates to 357
per 100,000 households compared to Victoria’s much lower 73 per
100,000 households.
Other solar projects in South Australia include an installation of one
thousand kilowatts of solar panels on the roof of the soon to be opened
Goyder Pavilion, the $42 million centrepiece of the recent Adelaide
Showground’s upgrade. At a cost of $8 million, the project is the largest
rooftop photovoltaic installation in Australia. It is five times larger than
the next largest solar installation at Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Markets.
Adelaide Airport’s rooftop solar plant is currently the third-largest in the
country.
Once installed, the Goyder Pavilion investment will allow around
10,000 square metres of solar panels to be installed, generating 1,400
mega-watt-hours (MWh) of solar electricity which is the equivalent of
powering over 200 South Australian homes per year. It will save around
1,400 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year and is likely to
generate enough power to meet all of the power requirements of the
new Goyder Pavilion and over one-third of the annual electricity needs of
Artist’s impression of the new Goyder Pavilion at the Adelaide Showgrounds. Image courtesy of the Royal Agricultural &
Horticultural Society of SA Inc.
18 • f a c i l i t y perspectives
the Showground’s as a whole.
“This will be more than a demonstration project,” said Premier Rann.
“For the first time, it will show that solar panels can supply electricity on a
large commercial scale.”
This installation comes on top of the roll-out of solar panels on major
public buildings, such as the South Australian Museum, State Library, Art
Gallery and Parliament House, as well as the Adelaide Airport and on
250 public schools across the State as part of the Solar Schools Program.
On top of the State’s solar capacity, South Australia also boasts 80
per cent of the nation’s investment in geothermal energy. South Australia
leads the nation in investment for geothermal energy exploration with 23
companies having already applied for 237 geothermal licenses in the
State. Together, they are expected to invest at least $686 million in the
period between 2002 and 2013.
The commercialisation of the State’s vast hot rock resources is
considered an important part of the State’s overall strategy for reducing
its dependence on greenhouse gas emitting sources and achieving its
emissions reduction targets. The South Australian Government recently
pledged to provide a further quarter of a million dollars to support the
development of hot rock technology in the State. It has so far provided
$1.6 million to support several other geothermal projects.
Minister for Mineral Resources Development Paul Holloway says the
latest grant which is part of an agreement between the Government and
the University of Adelaide, builds on past initiatives and will accelerate
progress in the development of geothermal energy in South Australia.
This is likely to secure the State’s position as the national forerunner of
geothermal exploration in Australia.
“This Government is providing an additional $250,000 to co-fund
collaborative research with industry to ensure South Australia accelerates
all facets of finding, demonstrating and developing enhanced
geothermal systems in Australia,” he said.
Aside from solar and hot rock alternative energy sources, South
Australia is also home to 53 per cent of the nation’s total installed wind
power capacity.
The June opening of AGL’s Hallet Stage 1 wind farm at Brown Hill in
the State’s mid-north region, valued at $250 million, significantly raised
the State’s total wind power capacity. The project includes 45 turbines
with a capacity of 95 MW.
In five years, the South Australian government has invested about $2
billion in wind power and now has seven operating farms with another
four either under construction or planned for construction. The success of
the State’s ability to attract national and international investment in wind
power projects is underpinned by its reputation as an international leader
when it comes to supporting and investing in renewable energy and
providing regulatory certainty to investors.
One of the great challenges to South Australia’s continuing
economic prosperity is the scarcity of
fresh drinking water.
The proposed $75 million Glenelg
to Adelaide Parklands project will extend
over 30 kilometres of piping to provide
over 5.5 billion litres of high-quality
recycled water to property users
including developers, industry, irrigation,
commercial and community groups. The
Property Council, early proponents of
the plan, have called for water from the
project to be plumbed through all
cooling towers in commercial buildings
in Adelaide’s CBD and then used to
irrigate the city’s major parklands.
Preliminary estimates by the
Property Council show that one billion
litres of water – or the equivelant of 4000
Olympic-sized swimming pools – a year
could be saved by directing it into the
city’s cooling towers alone.
The Acting Minister for Water
Security, Rory McEwen, said that the
project puts in place the long-term
backbone infrastructure for recycled
water use in the State.
“SA Water has already been working
with local governments and large water
 FOCUS ON SOUTH AUSTRALIA

users along the proposed pipeline route

to develop opportunities for using
recycled water,” he said.
“Now other businesses close to this
route can assess their water needs and
consider whether they would want to
access a high-quality recycled supply.”
While the Government is being
urged to pay for the pipeline extension,
building owners would be expected to
pay the costs of plumbing the recycled
water into their buildings. Some
businesses and local government bodies
have already signalled that they would
like to access recycled water from the
pipeline despite the costs of establishing
an initial connection.
Construction of the pipeline is due
to start early next year and the first
recycled water will be available for use in
mid-2010. It is expected that the project
will contribute to the Government’s 45
per cent target of reusable wastewater.
In 2007-08, the amount of recycled
water used in the State was 29 per cent,
which is already double the national SA Water’s VS1 building. Image courtesy of Hassell Architects
average.
“By increasing the use of recycled water we can significantly reduce
nutrient discharge to the gulf marine environment and also reduce stress
on existing irrigation water supplies, including potable River Murray and
Mt Lofty Ranges water, the River Torrens and local groundwater
systems,” said Mr. McEwen.
Approval has also been given for a new 50-gigalitre desalination
plant at Port Stanvac which was declared a Major Project under the
State’s Development Act earlier this year.
The $1.1 billion plant is one of the largest infrastructure projects that
the State Government has ever committed to. The project will be subject built environment must come from increasing the energy and water
to tough environmental scrutiny that will examine every aspect of the
project from the suitability of the location, to its size and likely impact on
the marine environment.
Minister for Water Security Karlene Maywald says Port Stanvac was
identified by the State’s Desalination Working Group as the preferred site easiest and cheapest method for delivering deep cuts to emissions is to
for the new desalination plant.
“The plant is part of a $2.5 billion investment in water infrastructure
to secure South Australia’s water supply, which includes doubling the
capacity of storage in the Mount Lofty Ranges and linking reservoirs in
the north and south of the ranges via a $300 million interconnector,” she
said.
“The plant will occupy about 20 hectares and its exact location at
Port Stanvac is subject to negotiations between the State Government
and Exxon-Mobil.”
Acting Planning Minister Michael Wright said the major project
declaration was important because of the scale and complexity of the
project and the high level of public interest and community expectation.
“The Government is committed to a transparent development
process for the plant that provides for extensive public scrutiny and
comment, which is best provided through the major project
development process,” he said.
In other developments, South Australia has recently been granted its
first Six-Star Green-Star rated building.
VS1, SA Water’s new headquarters in Victoria Square is the first and
largest commercially developed building of its kind in Australia and is
expected to deliver its occupants considerable savings in terms of energy buildings sector is the most progressive in Australia.”
and water conservation with its innovative design and construction
features.
The 10-storey building will use over 70 per cent less mains water
compared to a conventional office building saving around 11 million
litres of water a year. Over 90 per cent of construction and demolition
waste will be recycled, a considerable gain on the 60 per cent or less
typically achieved by comparable commercial developments.
Designed by South Australian company Hassell and built by Hansen
Yuncken, the VS1 building will consolidate all SA Water’s customer
services for the public and the plumbing industry, a state of the art water
science laboratory and head office functions. The building features an
on-site cogeneration plant to decrease peak electricity and energy
demand on hot summer days, a rainwater collection and sewerage
treatment system for reuse in the building’s toilets, irrigation and cooling
towers and facilities for up to 140 bicycle commuters.
According to the Property Council of Australia, Adelaide already
leads the nation in its stock of high performing buildings which includes
the national award-winning, Five-Star Green-Star building, City Central
Tower 1. However, with existing building stock accounting for 96 per cent
of all buildings, the biggest cuts to greenhouse gas emissions within the
efficiency of existing buildings.
Studies by the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council
(ASBEC), show that buildings and their occupants emit almost one
quarter of the nation’s greenhouse emissions. They also show that the
improve the environmental performance of buildings.
To achieve this goal, on June 4 the Premier announced the $2
million Building Tune Ups project to improve the energy efficiency of
existing commercial buildings in Adelaide’s CBD.
The four-year project, supporting the third sector agreement entered
into under the Climate Change and Greenhouse Emissions Reduction
Act 2007 between the State Government and the Property Council of
Australia, was announced at the Local Government Association’s Climate
Change Summit.
The project has been designed to enable the owners and operators
of commercial buildings to work together to improve the performance of
existing stock.
The Premier said that the project aims to improve the performance
of all eligible commercial office buildings in the Adelaide CBD and has
the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately
70,000 tonnes a year.
“We will work with building owners to apply sustainable designs
that will lift the performance of their buildings by at least one star rating,”
said Premier Rann.
“This project will stimulate innovation so that Adelaide’s commercial
The Director of the Property Council in South Australia, Mr. Nathan
Payne, said that the agreement and the Building Tunes Up program
would place the Adelaide commercial building sector at the forefront in
Australia for energy efficiency innovation.
“The Council is delighted that this mechanism is being provided for
government and industry to work together and the Council will be
looking to replicate it in other States,” Mr. Payne said.
The variety and scope of the innovative sustainability initiatives
aggressively pursued by the South Australian government will ensure
South Australia remains a leader in the provision of long term solutions
to the increasing challenges of climate change.

f a c i l i t y perspectives • 19
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20 • f a c i l i t y perspectives

Managing the Medina Grand
Adelaide Treasury
Setting the standard for service delivery
in South Australia
BY MELANIE DRUMMOND
Designed in 1836 by George Strickland
Kingston, Adelaide’s former Treasury
building is an established icon of the city
vista – blending a combination of world class
heritage restoration and modern design.
Once the hub for Adelaide’s politics and
finance, the building’s second reincarnation
as the Medina Grand Adelaide Treasury
Hotel has ensured the building remains an
active presence in the cityscape. At the helm
of continuing the Medina Grand’s reputation
as Adelaide’s most respected hotel is Gill
Ishwinder – an inspired and inspiring Hotel
Manager whose dedication to delivering
exemplary customer service is the key to his
team’s ongoing success.
FM IN ICONS
L
ocated on Victoria Square in the heart of the Adelaide CBD, the
Medina Grand Adelaide Treasury is a hotel which also serves as a
rich repository for the city’s history. Designed in 1836 by George
Kingston, the Treasury Buildings served as the focal point of South
Australian government and administration from the late 1830s through to
the 1960s. The building incurred its first major overhaul when the
infamous Gold Rush and ensuing population boom of the 1850s saw the
original building nearly entirely demolished to make way for new
Government Offices. In 1969 it was decided that no further alterations
would be made to the building’s exquisite Cabinet Room, to mark the
legacy of the 1876 - 1968 period, where it had served as meeting room
to the Members of the Premier’s Cabinet.
Gill Ishwinder, Hotel Manager of the building in its current
incarnation, says preserving the building’s vibrant and rich heritage has
always been a top priority for staff and management at the Medina
Grand Adelaide Treasury.
“Before we occupied the building 5 years ago, it was unoccupied for
6 or 7 years prior to that. When we came in, we kept the tunnels as
original and have kept the cabinet room as original – it still has the old
furniture and books, fireplace, hat stand and the lobby itself still has the
Kingston Wall intact. All of the artefacts that we uncovered while we were
digging are all displayed in cabinets around the hotel. While we were
renovating, we also found the old fountain buried underneath dirt and
f a c i l i t y perspectives • 21
FM IN ICONS
bushes, so we have restored that and it’s still there, working as we speak.
“We also still have all the old pictures around that have captured
what the building was like when it was operating as a cabinet facility. Our
guests love looking at all of the images, as every picture has got a story
to tell you.”
A challenging component of Gill’s role is ensuring the building’s strict
heritage requirements are met when any maintenance or repair work is
undertaken.
“Most of my time is spent working in with maintenance to see what
work is going on and if it is meeting the heritage requirements. We have
a lot of interest from the Council and the Heritage Trust about the
building. It’s very different to managing a normal hotel, where it would all
be about the shiny marble and mirrors; here it’s also to do with the
artefacts, the cabinet room, getting your polishes right for wood and
leathers and so forth.”
The 79 rooms at the Medina Grand Adelaide Treasury primarily
service a corporate clientele, but its unmatched reputation in the
Adelaide marketplace also makes it a drawcard for out-of-town visitors
and tourists. With a choice of studio, one-bedroom apartments or two-
bedroom apartments, the hotel also offers guests a restaurant, bar,
swimming pool, gymnasium, spa, sauna and 4 conference room facilities.
With only one full-time maintenance person on staff, Gill still relies
on outsourced contractors to keep all facets of the hotel operating
smoothly.
“Five years ago when we put this place together, we opted for
premium products but we still need to get contractors in to have regular
maintenance checks on all of the rooms and public spaces. Our
maintenance person has his own spreadsheets to update – and we have
log books that any out-sourced contractors fill in. I touch base with every
contractor who comes in and before they do anything they will need my
prior approval, we discuss cost and plan of attack. Sometimes I will get a
couple of quotations from a few different companies, to keep them
honest on price, and then we will make a decision. Everything we do in
cleaning and maintenance is documented as it’s for our own good that
we don’t double up on things.”
Despite the importance of maintaining in-depth documentation and
records pertaining to any Hotel works, Gill is still a firm believer that
communication is the key to staying on top of any operational issues that
may arise on a day-to-day basis.
“We have operation meetings in the mornings, where all the
managers sit down and discuss the day ahead. I spend time with the
people on the desk, the reservation’s manager, housekeeping, the
22 • f a c i l i t y perspectives
conference manager and our maintenance person. If my reservation
manager has a big group coming in then my housekeeping manager
needs to know – It’s a chain-reaction environment. I do regular visual
checks of the hotel to see what needs fixing and so forth.”
With ten years experience in all areas of the hotel industry, Gill was
thrilled to join a Hotel which set a new benchmark for delivering the best
in customer service.
“Our company motto is ’Home away from Home’, so that’s how we
pitch it in the marketplace. If the guest comes in and is not feeling at
home then that is where the problem starts. It can be anything from our
team not recognising a previous guest to a guest having problems with
housekeeping. You’ve got to deal with these problems as they come to
you and you’ve got to put yourself in the guest’s shoes. You have to ask
yourself, if you were coming to stay at one of the best hotels in Adelaide,
what sort of expectations would you have? If you’re not yet meeting
those expectations then you need to do whatever it takes to make the
sure the guest is walking out of the doors happy and content.”
From busy corporates to leisure-seeking tourists, the broad spectrum
of clientele at the Medina Grand Adelaide Treasury bring with them a
wide variety of needs that Gill’s team must address to ensure the
customers leave happy.
“Because we are the market leader in Adelaide, the most
challenging part of the job is to keep our services up to the benchmark
we have set for ourselves. We need to keep our standards high in the
public areas, room maintenance, housekeeping and customer service
and do whatever it takes to look after our guests. We have to make sure
our recreational areas like our pool, sauna, spa and gym are kept clean
and functional. It’s also essential to stay in tune with all of our contractors
and to know exactly what they’re doing, as everything they do in this
hotel affects my guests.”
In order to ensure the safety and comfort of his guests is protected
at all times; Gill indicates the critical importance of keeping on top of any
Occupational Health & Safety issues.
“We have regular fire maintenance people who come in and check
the fire panels and fire exit signs and we also have lift people, gas
people and pool patrol people who come in. My maintenance guy also
tests the pool every single day that he comes in, to check that it’s at the
right temperature and has the right chemical levels.
“For our staff we do regular training covering things like armed hold-
ups, fire evacuation trainings, bomb threats, chemical training, and
needles and sharps training. When it comes to our guests we make sure
that we’re aware of any guests who need help during training such as our
 FM IN ICONS

disabled guests or elderly guests. Those room

numbers are taken as a priority and staff would
automatically address those rooms first if there
was an emergency. Sometimes if there’s a false
alarm in the hotel, I encourage staff to take it
as a positive and a chance to practice – it just
makes it easier should, God forbid, something
unforseen happen.”
While it’s an unfortunate reality that many
people in the hospitality industry simply pay
lip service to the concept of genuine customer
service, Gill Ishwinder is proudly driven by a
true passion for his industry and a love of
making people happy.
“When I come on the desk in the morning
I love chatting with our regulars and the other
guests that are checking in and out. It is that
passion for customer service that you drive in
your team – taking back the positive
comments when a customer has thanked them
for something they have done. It gives you job
satisfaction to hear those things. I don’t
evaluate my work satisfaction with the dollars
that I make or the company makes, it’s the
guest satisfaction which is paramount.”
Gill takes a ‘lead from the front’
philosophy when driving his team to deliver exemplary customer service, “I tell all of my staff that we need to be proud of what we are doing
undoubtedly a key component to the ongoing success of the Medina first rather than pointing fingers at other people who may have some
Grand Adelaide Treasury in the marketplace. stigma attached to the hospitality industry. We need to look at how we
“If something needs to be done, I should be the first one to do it. I project ourselves to see if we stand proud in a social environment and
should not expect anything from staff that I would not be a) capable of say, yes, I work in hotels and it’s fantastic. It starts with the culture of the
doing and b) I would not like to do. I try to show the staff how it’s done, sector I think, the hospitality sector has got to step up and own the work
from being on the desk, working with porters and housekeepers to they do and be proud of what they deliver. It really is a career that is
working in with our maintenance guy – rolling up my sleeves and saying, driven by passion and we are no different to IT professionals or doctors.”
‘Mate, let’s do this’.

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f a c i l i t y perspectives • 23
TERTIARY EDUCATION
TRAINING GUIDE

Facility Management
Training Opportunities
From its largely trades-based beginnings, the facility management industry has grown
progressively toward a business management focus. Critical to the accommodation of this
growth has been the number and scope of educational opportunities available for those
looking to enter the industry as a career of choice. Since the range of responsibilities and
demands being placed on facility managers has also increased during this time, facility
managers already in the industry increasingly need opportunities available in the tertiary
sector to upskill and meet the evolving needs of the industry.
Facility Perspectives’ Melanie Drummond investigates the new tertiary education
opportunities on offer and explores what is available in 2009 for Facility Managers
throughout Australia.

24 • f a c i l i t y perspectives
 Thinking About Your Future?

MASTER OF
PROPERTY AND DEVELOPMENT
Each year, nations commit more than half their capital outlays to
land development, building and infrastructure. It opened various
Property development is a key sector of national economies and
a rapidly expanding industry. career paths within
The Master of Property and Development at UNSW will teach you
the skills you require to succeed within industry. The accredited
degree combines built environment and commerce perspectives
the industry to me
reflecting a global approach and inspiring creativity.
- Jacqui Smyth, Lend Lease
Specialisations available:
General Master of Property and Development
Development and Investment Major
Asset and Facilities Management Major
Flexible program delivery. Part-time option available.
Take your career to the next level, and enrol in a Master of Property and
Development at UNSW, apply online at https://apply.unsw.edu.au www.fbe.unsw.edu.au
TERTIARY EDUCATION
TRAINING GUIDE
HOLMESGLEN INSTITUTE, VICTORIA
Bachelor of Facilities Management
A recent newcomer to the facility
management tertiary sector is Holmesglen
Institute, the largest TAFE Institute in Victoria.
Offering a Bachelor of Facilities Management,
Holmesglen will ensure students leave with a
keen focus on improvement to enterprise
productivity by strategically managing and
optimising the value delivered by built facilities
and associate services.
Holmesglen has emerged as a new player
on the higher education scene with a fresh
vision for vocational-professional degree
programs in building and property that aim at
bridging the gap between vocational training
and higher education.
The Holmesglen philosophy is that FM
professionals should have the skills to locate,
evaluate, and apply information appropriately,
and to create knowledge in a changing
environment where jobs and job challenges of
the future do not yet exist.
Dynamic Program Structure
Programs are designed around a 2 tier
structure, the first tier being a 3-year (full-time
equivalent) ‘foundation’ degree, the Bachelor
of Applied Science (Built Environment), that
provides graduates with a range of skills and
knowledge to operate effectively across a
number of roles at pre-professional level.
Second tier programs include 1-year (full-
time equivalent) professional specialisations in:
3 building surveying (Bachelor of Built
Environment)
3 construction management and
economics (Bachelor of Construction
Management and Economics)
3 facilities management (Bachelor of
Facilities Management)
3 property valuation (Bachelor of
Property Valuation).
Bachelor Qualification
Facilities Management is an exciting field
which demands a diverse knowledge set
required in managing modern technology
driven facilities, as well as the people and
space used within them. Students enter this
fourth year specialisation following successful
completion of the Bachelor of Applied Science
(Built Environment), or those with significant
relevant industry experience and the equivalent
of a degree may be granted credit and be
accepted directly into the course.
The overriding principle of the course is on
improvement to enterprise productivity by
strategically managing and optimising the
value delivered by built facilities and associate
services.
0 www.holmesglen.vic.edu.au
CHARLES DARWIN UNIVERSITY,
NORTHERN TERRITORY
Charles Darwin University offer a Diploma
of Project Management which can be
completed at full-time study in half a year, or
undertaken in a part-time capacity over the
duration of one year.
0 www.cdu.edu.au
BOND UNIVERSITY, GOLD COAST, QLD
Bond University offer a Bachelor of
Property and Sustainable Development degree
with a major in Assets and Facilities
26 • f a c i l i t y perspectives
Management. The degree consists of 16
subjects which cover topics such as Building
Pathology, Sustainable Construction, Business
Law, and Cultural and Ethical skills. The degree
can be completed over 2 years of full-time
study or student can study at their own pace
part-time.
0 www.bond.edu.au
UNIVERSITY OF THE SUNSHINE COAST,
MAROOCHYDORE
The University of the Sunshine Coast in
Maroochydore offer a Bachelor of Business
(Property and Asset Management). Property
and Asset management underpins areas such
as residential and commercial developments,
construction, and tourism and facilities
management. The program includes the core
business courses such as marketing,
accounting, economics and human resource
management to ensure graduates understand
key business imperatives. This is supported by
specialist units which provide detailed
knowledge on key industry areas such as
property economics, property management,
investment decision making, property law,
valuation issues and asset and facilities
management. Students can also apply to
undertake first-year courses in this program at
the USC Noosa Centre.
0 www.usc.edu.au
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN
QUEENSLAND
The University of Southern Queensland
offer a Master of Project Management which
aims to produce graduates who have
appropriate skills and knowledge to be capable
of managing small, medium and large-sized
projects as a senior team leader, a project
manager or project director. The Masters can
be completed on campus, through distance
education or online. Duration is 2 terms full-
time or 4 years part-time.
0 www.usq.edu.au
CENTRAL QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY
Central Queensland University offer a
Master of Maintenance Management program.
The program is suited to those currently
employed in the areas of maintenance
engineering or maintenance management,
who would like to advance their careers
through professional upgrading of their
knowledge, skills and qualifications.
The aim of the Master of Maintenance
Management program is for the student to
apply the knowledge and skills gained from
experience and studies in maintenance
management towards creation of opportunities
to improve maintenance practices thereby
providing leadership in the industrial
maintenance organisation.
0 www.cqu.edu.au
QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF
TECHNOLOGY
While QUT do not offer specific facility
management courses, they do run the Bachelor
of Urban Development (Property Economics). A
number of graduates from this QUT program
do venture into the FM industry. QUT is also
the headquarters of the Centre for Integrated
Engineering Asset Management – a major
research initiative funded under the Federal
Government’s CRC scheme. The CRC for
Construction Innovation is also headquartered
at QUT and it has an emerging focus on the
FM Field
0 www.qut.edu.au
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA
The University of South Australia currently
offer a nested Graduate Certificate/Graduate
Diploma/Master in Facilities and Asset
Management program through their
Construction Management and Economics
(Building) discipline. Most (and likely all) of the
courses are being developed for an online
mode.
0 www.unisa.edu.au
UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE
The University of Adelaide offer a Masters
in Project Mangement, a Masters in Applied
Project Management and a Graduate
Certificate in Project Management.
0 www.adelaide.edu.au
CURTIN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY,
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Curtin University offer a 1-year graduate
certificate in Facilities Management. Also
covered in the course are project management
and procurement management.
0 curtin.edu.au
VICTORIA UNIVERSITY, MELBOURNE
Victoria University of Melbourne offers a
Graduate Certificate in Project Management, a
Graduate Diploma of Project Management and
a Master of Contacting and Project
Management.
0 www.vu.edu.au
UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE
Facilities Management is offered at 4th
year undergraduate level as part of the
University of Melbourne’s Bachelor of Property
and Construction program. It is also offered in
conjunction with Asset Management and
Corporate Real Estate as part of the Master of
Property and Construction program. FM
lecturer Chris Heywood says it is possible with
the Masters, and to some extent the
undergraduate program, to construct a FM
focused qualification by undertaking other
subjects such as services, sustainability and
building regulations.
0 www.unimelb.edu.au
ROYAL MELBOURNE INSTITUTE OF
TECHNOLOGY (RMIT)
RMIT offers a generic Master of Project
Management as well as specialisations in
Engineering, Facilities Management and
Information Technology. The duration of the
masters (one and a half years full time)
incorporates the Graduate Diploma (One year
full time or two years part-time) and the
Graduate Certificate (Six months full time or
one year part-time). The program also allows
students who are working as Project Managers
in a particular discipline to specialise in
engineering, information technology or
facilities management.
0 www.rmit.com.au
TERTIARY EDUCATION
TRAINING GUIDE

SWINBURNE UNIVERSITY OF
TECHNOLOGY, VICTORIA
Swinburne University of Techology in
Hawthorne Victoria offers a Diploma of Project
Management and a Graduate Certificate of
Business (Project Management). In the area of
Construction Management, also offered is a
Graduate Certificate of Technology
(Construction Management), Graduate
Diploma of Technology (Construction
Mangement) and a Master of Techhnology
Management (Construction Management).
0 courses.swinburne.edu.au
DEAKIN UNIVERSITY, GEELONG
At Deakin University, students can enrol in
the Bachelor of Construction
Management/Bachelor of Facilities
Management combined degree, which offers a
unique mix of construction and property
disciplines. Graduates are able to work across
traditional professional boundaries, from
property investment and development through
to space management and workplace logistics,
using key project-management skills to ensure
optimum value for money is attained at all
stages of the property life cycle. The course
allows the opportunity for students to
complete an honours stream for the
Construction Management component or for
the Facilities Management component. The
double degree is a five-year full-time program,
also accredited by RICS for construction,
facilities management and building surveying
career destinations. Students can exit early
from the program after three years with a
Bachelor of Facilities Management. Deakin also
offers and FM major as part of their Bachelor of
Management and Bachelor of Commerce
degrees. From February 2008, Deakin is
offering a distance learning pathway for FM
(both pass and honours degree), which will
enable students to participate from anywhere
in the world. Face-to-face study is conducted at
Deakin’s award-winning Waterfront
0 www.deakin.edu.au
UNIVERSITY OF BALLARAT
The University of Ballarat currently offers a
Diploma of Project Management. The course is
offered on a fee-for-service basis, and monthly
workshops are scheduled over one semester.
The program is available in Sydney, Ballarat,
Geelong and Bendigo.
0 www.ballarat.edu.au
UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY
The School of Architecture runs a Graduate
Certificate, Graduate Diploma, and Masters
Degree in Facilities Management. The Faculty
of Economics and Business in conjunction with
the School of Architecture also offers a doubles
degree – the Master of Commerce and Master
of Facilities Management. The program is
designed for those currently working as facility
managers and allows for interstate students to
participate. Candidates with industry
experience but without formal qualifications
may enter the Graduate Certificate course, and
subject to their performance can then upgrade
to Diploma or Masters.
0 www.usyd.edu.au
THE UNIVERSITY OF NEWCASTLE
The University of Newcastle offers a
Bachelor of Construction Management
(Building) which is accredited by the Australian
Institute of Building, the Australian Institute of
Quantity Surveying, The Chartered Institute of
Building, and the Singapore Institute of
Surveyors and Valuers. The program is offered
in mixed-mode, allowing students the flexibility
to either attend classes at our Callaghan
campus, or to learn in a virtual environment
wherever they are located. The program is also
offered off-shore in Singapore (TMC).
0 www.newcastle.edu.au
UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES
The Faculty of the Built Environment at the
University of New South Wales is the largest
faculty of its kind in Australia by range of
programs offered. On offer at the FBE is the
Bachelor of Construction Management and
Property which focuses on people and process
management within the specific contexts of
building construction, property development,
quantity surveying and facilities management.
The four-year full-time program of study offers
students management skills in the areas of
planning, risk assessment, occupational health
and safety, property management and
organisational behaviour. The FBE also offers a
Graduate Certificate in Construction Project
Management, Master of Construction Project
Management and a Master of Construction
Project Management (in Professional Practice).
Another postgraduate offering from FBE is the
Master of Property and Development which

Build your career at Sydney

Maximise your potential at The University of Sydney and choose from an array of
graduate and professional programs across all areas of the built environment including:
U Facilities Management (with Master of Commerce combined degree option)
U Sustainable Design UÊAudio and Acoustics U Building Services U Illumination
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Choose a course length to suit your needs:

U Individual units of study and CPD options
U 0.5 year full-time Graduate Certificates with no Bachelors
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U 1 year full-time Graduate Diplomas
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U Part time options and intensive block-mode delivery make
study easy for busy professionals

For information about our programs contact Jonathan Hulme on

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Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning

www.arch.usyd.edu.au

28 • f a c i l i t y perspectives
 www.abp.unimelb.edu.au/graduate-school
The Melbourne
School of Design

Architecture Property
Construction Management Urban Design
Landscape Architecture* Urban Planning*
Planning & Design Workplace Planning & Design
If the built environments is your passion, the University of Melbourne invites you to the new
Melbourne School of Design - the first graduate school in the Asia-Pacific region devoted to
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The Melbourne School of Design is a dynamic and interdisciplinary community of students,
academics and professionals addressing the environmental, social and aesthetic challenges in
producing sustainable centres of habitation, locally and around the world.
To find out more on the courses, research and activities of the Melbourne School of Design, visit
www.abp.unimelb.edu.au/graduate-school
*Program available to students of any undergraduate degree.
CLIENT FEATURE
Introducing change through
dynamic teams
The reality of modem management is that many decisions
and activities are carried out in a team environment at
every level. In fact more organisations are taking a team
approach to just about every aspect of their daily functions
and as such all employees, regardless of their level, are
expected to be committed to developing effective and
motivated teams.
Organisational management requires consideration of the
connectivity that exists between an individual, their team,
and the organisation as a whole. Understanding the
dynamic nature of each of these relationships and their
subsequent impact on each other in decision-making and
adaptation to change is vital.
Team building takes time. Methods, behaviours and
processes can become entrenched and take considerable
effort and time to either eradicate or replace. Furthermore,
the critical elements of team building don’t happen
overnight, particularly when changes to the values and
work practices within the organisation are involved.
People in power must support change
Commitment to any change must be supported all the way
up the hierarchical ladder for effective implementation. For
the team, it is important to understand the goals and
aspirations of the facilities management unit or the
organisation as a whole. Any changes to these objectives
should be communicated directly to the team and must be
supported by all levels within the organisation. Likewise,
management must receive feedback from the team
regarding impacts associated with the change. This two-
way communication is vital and has to be ongoing.
The team must be adaptable to change
A successful team is one where individuals are prepared to
change when and as circumstances dictate. Teamwork is all
about achieving results for the good of the team, not the
individual. If results are poor and objectives are not being
achieved then the team may be lacking in coordination or
the implementation of its problem-solving and
decision-making processes may be inadequate.
The team must be committed to making and supporting
decisions to change its own structure or its processes if it is
clear that this is hampering the achievement of its
objectives. Such hard decisions must be supported by a
review process that looks closely at team effectiveness (as
opposed to individual effectiveness) in order to better
understand where the strengths and weaknesses lie.
Simply moving one person may have no effect at all if the
inefficiencies are spread across the team.
Involvement at all levels is essential
Individuals have a far greater commitment to decisions
they have been involved with than decisions imposed on
them. A team leader who manipulates the team processes
to achieve their desired outcomes, without allowing honest
involvement of the team, risks failure. Some short term
objectives may be achieved but the cooperation needed
from the team to achieve longer term objectives will often
be withheld, or even sabotaged.
This also goes for people further up the hierarchical chain
of command who may have an indirect impact on a team.
If they aren’t prepared for, or don’t understand, impending
change, they can unintentionally (or even intentionally)
put major barriers in the way of progress. This can be
overcome by putting structures in place for communicating
the vision and plan for change, and getting involvement
and contribution right from the start.
Team development
The most successful managers and team leaders know that
their first attempt to build a team may not be effective, so
they allow room to alter team structures and even team
members in order to achieve the best results. One method
for creating a framework in which the team can develop
and become self-sustaining is by taking an ‘action
research’ approach to communication and decision-making.
Action research incorporates double loop learning, where
individuals are organised democratically, empowered to
participate, collaborate and learn through action, reflection
and interpretation and then to plan action around what has
been learned. This approach gives everyone the Conclusion
opportunity to contribute to team outcomes, and make
Successful organisations operate with a team of people
decisions based on the observable impact of decisions on
working together to achieve the aims of the facilities
workplace practices in a continuous improvement process.
management unit and the parent organisation.
The team can also reflect on how well it works together
and improve the interactions between individuals. These Because people are a central element of a successful
action research teams can be working at different levels of
facilities management unit, managers must be prepared to
the organisation or include members from all different
develop a plan for the use and leadership of everyone
levels. This structure facilitates communication throughout
involved in it. This means not only the creation of a HR
the organisation, and allows the change process to be
management plan but also a method for the way in which
monitored and adapted as needed.
they intend applying leadership skills to create an
This method can also be applied when changes in the team environment where team members willingly give their
dynamics occur, such as when a team member leaves.
best to support the overall plan. Therefore understanding
What worked for the team in the past may not work now,
how to effectively motivate and engage the team
so managers need to adopt a flexible approach to the way
constructively and collaboratively is essential to achieve
in which teams are developed and led. Agreements, for
the goals and objectives of the facilities management unit
example, on how and where tasks are achieved may
or organisation.
require renegotiating, as results of implementing changes
are explored and information is fed back up through the Edited course material from UNE Partnerships’ Diploma of
organisation. When this level of communication is
Facilities Management.
occurring, all levels of the organisation can move through
the change process in alignment. © UNE Partnerships, 2008
TERTIARY EDUCATION
TRAINING GUIDE
allows students to specialize in Investment and
Development or Asset and Facilities
Management. In the area of sustainable
development, FBE offer a Graduate Certificate
in Built Environment (Sustainable Development)
and a Master of Built Environment (Sustainable
Development).
0 www.unsw.edu.au
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY,
SYDNEY
UTS offer a Bachelor of Construction which
provides students with comprehensive building
education. The degree is concerned with all
aspects of the construction process, including
business management, construction
technology, project management, quantity
surveying, applied economics, contract
administration and property development.
There are also opportunities for further
study after completing the course through an
Honours program, the Master’s programs in
Project Management and Facility Management
or a Master of Business Administration (MBA).
0 www.uts.edu.au
UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN SYDNEY
The University of Western Sydney offers
students a Bachelor of Construction
Management. Students will develop
specialised skills in construction management
taught through theoretical, practical, and
hands-on experience. Among topics covered in
the program are project management, building
law, accounting and design science.
0 www.uwa.edu.au
www.rmit.edu.au/pcpm
RMIT562
32 • f a c i l i t y perspectives
UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND, NEW UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG
SOUTH WALES The University of Wollongong offers a
The University of New England offers a Master of Engineering Asset Management. The
Graduate Certificate in Project Management objective of the program is to ensure continuos
which can be completed over 1 trimester full improvement in the strategic and tactical
time or over 2 trimesters part-time. response of organisations and their managers,
0 www.une.edu.au to the management of infrastructure assets.
This is achieved through a balance program of
CHARLES STURT UNIVERSITY subjects in asset management science and
Charles Stuart University offers a Graduate engineering, business administration and
Certificate in Project Management which management. Other topics covered include:
includes accreditation as a Certified Associate Project Implementation and Outsourcing, Life-
Project Manager (CAPM) from the Project Cycle and Risk Management, Maintenance
Management Institute. Requirements Analysis and Managing People
0 www.csu.edu.au in Organisations.
0 www.uow.edu.au
THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN
AUSTRALIA Facilities Management and other
The University of Western Australia offers a practices related to the industry may also
Master of Business and Engineering Asset feature as a component of courses
Management. The emphasis of Engineering offered at the following tertiary providers:
Asset Management is on achieving sustainable University of Tasmania Flinders University, Adelaide
business outcomes and competitive advantage www.utas.edu.au www.flinders.edu.au
by applying systematic and risk-based Monash University Griffith University,
processes to decisions concerning the www.monash.edu.au Gold Coast
engineering assets of an organization. The www.griffith.edu.au
Murdoch University (Perth)
postgraduate degree includes units from the www.murdoch.edu.au James Cook University,
Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Townsville
Southern Cross University
www.jcu.edu.au
Mathematics and the Business School. (Coffs Harbour)
Students will engage in a balanced inter- www.scu.edu.au La Trobe University
www.latrobe.edu.au
disciplinary programme of asset management, University of Canberra
engineering and business units with a focus in www.canberra.edu.au Macquarie University
www.mq.edu.au
practical applications and the challenges faced Australian Catholic
by today’s organisations. University
0 www.uwa.edu.au inet.acu.edu.au
MAKE YOUR
NEXT PROJECT
YOURSELF
Master of Project Management (Facilities)
If you’re already working in property or construction,
this is the ideal way to keep moving up. RMIT’s program allows
you to specialise in engineering, information technology
or facilities management, with great opportunities to work
in collaborative teams and strengthen your professional
knowledge. RMIT is Victoria’s leading educator in property,
construction and project management, with great industry
connections and a strong research background.
Postgraduate information session
Thursday 23 October, 6.00 pm at the State Library
of Victoria (enter via LaTrobe St.).
Contact Ian McBean on 03 9925 2230 or
ian.mcbean@rmit.edu.au for more information.
 EDUCATION & TRAINING

The Strategic Assessment of

Building Adaptive Reuse
Opportunities
Bond University is leading an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Project into the
Strategic Assessment of Building Adaptive Reuse Opportunities. The industry partners are
Williams Boag Architects and the Uniting Church in Australia. The research comprises
$210,000 of funding from the ARC and about $90,000 of funding from the industry
partners (plus in-kind support) over three years, concluding in 2010. The chief investigator
of the project is Dr Craig Langston, Professor of Construction and Facilities Management in
the Mirvac School of Sustainable Development at Bond University.

T
he aim of the research is to develop
and test a model for the early
identification of properties that have a
high potential for adaptive reuse so that
timely decisions can be taken concerning
how best to maximise the remaining value
of our aging building stock. The research is
also expected to provide insight into how
buildings can be better designed for
adaptive reuse in the first instance and so
help to improve the sustainability
performance of our urban environment in
the long run. This research has particular
relevance to the current climate change
adaptation agenda, particularly given the
fact our built environment impacts
significantly on both resource demand and
waste generation.
Adaptive reuse essentially refers to a
change in building function or purpose from
that of its current usage. Buildings, like other
assets, can become obsolete over time.
Buildings in fact both deteriorate and
become obsolete as they age. A building’s
physical life, which may be interpreted as its
structural adequacy, is effectively reduced by
obsolescence, resulting in a useful life
somewhat less than its expected physical
life. While recycling, perhaps through
deconstruction, is one strategy for salvaging
value from obsolete buildings, keeping the
materials largely in-place and finding an
alternative use for the facility can provide
even more value-add. Not only can the
embodied energy and cost of new work be
minimised, but cultural and heritage values
can also be preserved for future
generations. Many of our older buildings are
often better suited to our climate than
newer designs and can provide very
pleasant spaces in which to work, live and
play.
Obsolescence is a phenomenon that is
widely discussed in literature, although rarely
in relation to buildings. Parallels are drawn in
this research between obsolescence,
depreciation and discounting in order to
develop a new method for predicting
building obsolescence based on measurable context factors. These obsolescence. Buildings with substantial embedded physical life after
factors have physical, economic, functional, technological, social, legal their useful life has been reached have good potential for adaptive reuse.
and political characteristics. Useful life is described as discounted physical This transformation to some extent resets their age, and the cycle of
life, where the rate of discount is determined from predicted future predicting further obsolescence continues.

f a c i l i t y perspectives • 33
EDUCATION & TRAINING

The conceptual framework

of an approach to identify and
rank adaptive reuse potential
(ARP) for existing buildings has
now been achieved, and
reported internationally. The
model requires an estimate of
the expected physical life of the
building and the current age of
the building, both reported in
years. It also requires an
assessment of physical,
economic, functional,
technological, social, legal and
political obsolescence.
Obsolescence is advanced as a
suitable method to reduce
expected physical life in order
to calculate objectively the
useful life of the building. An
algorithm converts this
information and produces an
index of reuse potential
expressed as a percentage.
Existing buildings in an
organisation’s portfolio, or
existing buildings across a city
or territory, can therefore be
ranked according to the
potential they offer for adaptive
reuse. Where the current
building age is close to and less
than the useful life, the model
identifies that planning should
commence. Obsolescence is shown to be measurable. Through the application
The research to date has also developed a ‘physical life calculator’. of surrogates that can suitably reflect the impact of physical, economic,
Similar in concept to the Living to 100 Life Expectancy Calculator for functional, technological, social, legal and political obsolescence, physical
humans, our calculator begins with an idealistic prediction of building life can be “discounted” to determine a building’s useful life. Such an
service life and modifies it positively and negatively for its lifestyle approach offers advantage in being able to better predict possible
context (akin to ‘healthy living’). In the case of buildings – environmental adaptive reuse potential, or indeed just to make informed decisions
context, occupational profile and structural integrity are the main areas of about the timing of building decommission. The individual hypotheses
focus. Each has ten measurable factors that are weighted and computed for measuring obsolescence need to be further tested in the field. This
into a prediction of physical life. It is from this starting point that useful work is underway. The results of this research will likely lead to fine-tuning
life is able to be forecast. of the model parameters so that forecasts of useful life can become more
reliable.
The research will shortly progress to the detailed analysis of a
number of case studies provided by the industry partners. Each will be
subjected to the evaluation of adaptive reuse designs in consultation
with community stakeholders. The best options will be identified by
application of a multiple-criteria evaluation tool that addresses aspects of
financial, social and environmental performance. The success of the initial
ARP model in ranking properties in order of merit can then be validated
in the hindsight of this detailed evaluation. The researchers are working
closely with other experts from around the world to ensure that their
findings are applicable to other countries and contexts.
Building adaptive reuse is an important global topic. In the context
of sustainable development and the effects of climate change caused by
previous disregard for our environment, adaptive reuse has significant
implications. This research will help to examine how the construction
industry can reposition itself to increase focus on the revitalisation of
existing buildings as an alternative to demolition and replacement, and
looks at the social advantage from making better use of what we already
have. In the future adaptive reuse will need to be planned at the outset,
and if this is done wisely and routinely, it will provide a means of realising
sustainability objectives without reducing investment levels or economic
viability for the industry. In fact, adaptive reuse is the future of the
construction industry.
Bond University is privileged to be leading this research. New
knowledge from this and other ARC projects is being integrated back
into the curriculum for undergraduate and postgraduate study. Through
this process it is hoped that Bond University graduates are able to take
their place in the construction, facilities management, property and urban
development industries to help achieve better and more sustainable
outcomes for our world.

34 • f a c i l i t y perspectives
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Your M aintenance – Our Exper tise

f a c i l i t y perspectives • 35
FMA AUSTRALIA
EXCELLENCE AWARDS
Out of the box and the world’s
your oyster
A new generation of FM:
Emma Dudley, winner,
FMA Australia and Tungsten
Young FM Practitioner Award 2008
C
reativity, passion and a can-do attitude were just some of the
attributes that earned Emma Dudley this years’ FMA Australia and
Tungsten Young Practitioner of the Year Award.
Nominated for her dynamic and results-driven approach to facilities
management, Emma is the second recipient of the annual award which
recognises the importance of encouraging and developing the skills and
professionalism of talented young FM practitioners in the facility
management industry.
As the winner of the award, Emma has demonstrated that she is an
exceptionally capable FM practitioner who has achieved a high level of
overall excellence in her work and made a significant contribution to her
organisation’s business outcomes.
Emma said that her win was very unexpected but a great honour.
“I only found out about my nomination a month before the awards
ceremony,” she said. “So actually winning this award was a huge but
wonderful surprise.”
Emma commenced with Knight Frank in mid 2005 as the Facilities
Coordinator for the Knight Frank FM Macquarie commercial building
portfolio. Emma’s primary responsibilities included the establishment of
systems and processes to support Knight Frank’s growing Macquarie
portfolio in Victoria and Canberra.
Emma was assigned a key project management role in the
transitioning and setting up of five landmark CBD properties for the
portfolio. She was responsible for ensuring compliance across all facets of
the properties’ management with a key focus on contractor management,
OH&S, financial control, and property reporting, and provided assistance
with the strategic asset management plans for future life cycle analysis.
Since that time, the Macquarie portfolio has grown from seven
managed buildings in 2005 to 13 buildings under management in 2008.
The growth of the Macquarie portfolio in Victoria has been partly
attributed to Emma’s contribution to her team’s overall performance.
Craig Morris, National Director of Facilities Management at Knight
Frank Australia said that Emma’s ability to effectively manage key tasks in a
timely manner had impressed both Knight Frank management and their
client’s leadership team.
“Emma both initiated and drove projects to develop and improve
Knight Frank’s services to Macquarie, which included adopting a primary
role in developing and implementing financial management and safety
compliance systems for the Macquarie portfolio – initiatives which have
since been applied to other client portfolios,” said Morris.
“While Emma often had to work autonomously, she also had the
ability to work alongside the site facilities managers with the same level of
effectiveness. These strengths lead to Emma being ear-marked as a
potential facilities manager for the future,” said Morris.
In recognition of her skills and potential, Emma was promoted to the
role of Facilities Manager on the Macquarie Portfolio in early 2007 and,
according to Knight Frank management, has continued to deliver excellent
results.
“Emma is a proactive facilities manager with a focus on presentation,
compliance, environmental sustainability, tenant and client satisfaction and
achievement of goals and targets. With excellent time management and
organisation skills, Emma consistently delivers outstanding results for Knight
36 • f a c i l i t y perspectives
Frank and our clients,” said Morris.
Among Emma’s many demonstrable achievements in this role was the
attainment of 100 per cent compliance in Macquarie’s annual audit of
safety, risk and statutory compliance in 2007. This was the highest ever
score received in any state for Knight Frank’s Macquarie portfolio at the
time.
“It was a good result,” said Emma, “and I was extremely happy to
have been a young female just coming into the role and to set a new
benchmark for the other FM’s working on the portfolio at the time.”
Emma didn’t grow up dreaming of being a facilities manager but she
did have an interest in real estate and began her career in property
management for a residential real estate agent.
“When the opportunity came up to work at Knight Frank, I initially saw
it as a step towards a career in commercial property management,” she
explained.
“Then once I started in the Facilities Coordinator role my eyes were
opened to facilities management as a professional career path.
“I didn’t know much about FM prior to working with Knight Frank but
once I saw what was available on the FM side it really began to interest me
in terms of the large scope of works it covers and the huge knowledge
base that it requires. It’s a really interesting profession and you’re forever
learning and growing. I guess that’s what I like most about FM. The
diversity of its daily challenges always keeps you on the go.”
Asked whether she felt that she had ever been disadvantaged by not
having a trade background to supplement her work in FM, Emma replied
that didn’t think she had.
“I’ve progressed well in the short time I’ve been working in FM. I
believe there is a new generation of FM on the rise and rather than coming
from a traditional trade, building or engineering background, we come in
as managers.
“I have very good skills in management and I believe that FM is
essentially about managing your contractors and providing a service to
your tenants and clients.”
Emma regards facilities management as the art of managing a
designed space in terms of the unique requirements of each facility, client
and tenancy, and has a great respect for the different and very specific
purpose that each built space is used for.
“I really strive to achieve a balance between both client and tenant
satisfaction. My non-trade background and experience has taught me to
focus on the quality of service that I can provide to occupants and owners
to ensure that both parties are happy,” said Emma.
“As a facility manager, you’ve got to be very adaptable to what each
facility, each tenant and each client require in order for their space to
operate exactly as they require.”
Not only does Emma have experience in commercial facilities
management, residential property management and even hospitality, all of
which have contributed to the skills she now deploys to deliver exemplary
service in facilities management, she has undertaken various formal training
and qualifications including a Certificate IV in Property (Real Estate Agency
Practice) at Victoria University, the Trane Air Conditioning Course and Noel
Arnold Risk Management Course. She is currently undertaking a Masters in
Facilities Management/Project Management at RMIT. Emma has also

recently been selected to participate in the Post Graduate Energy Efficiency
Training pilot program which FMA Australia is involved in developing.
Emma also acknowledges the support of Knight Frank’s facility
management team as a significant contributor to her success.
“I work with a team of 45 other facility managers, about ten of whom
are female, and we come from all kinds of backgrounds including
management, trades and engineering. Together we provide each other
with an excellent resource of diverse skill-sets and experiences which
enables us to achieve a better end result for our clients and their tenants. I
find it invaluable to draw on that network for support when I need to.
“I’ve also learned a lot from our State Director, Melinda Bool who has
guided me in the last couple of years that I’ve been at Knight Frank. Her
expertise and strong knowledge of the FM profession has really assisted
me in my work and continually inspires me to strive and achieve goals I
never would have thought of reaching.”
For her part, Bool says that Emma is a “dream” to work with and
praises her for her commitment, passion and “all-round ability across all
fields”.
“The difference between Emma and most FM’s that I’ve worked with
over the years,” says Bool, ” is that she is both very intelligent and practical
from an operational and organisational perspective, yet she is also
extremely creative.”
“It’s that combination of right and left brained thinking which sets
Emma apart. It’s not something that most people have the ability to do.
“To find an efficient, organised, analytical person who is also creative is
quite a rarity in FM. The fact that Emma has both is the reason why I think
that she has excelled as much as she has.
“She’s one out of the box.”
While female FM practitioners are still a minority in the male-
dominated commercial environments of the FM industry, Emma denies that
this has ever put her at a disadvantage.
“Initially when I started out in FM it was not common to find many
young women working in the industry,’ she said.
“The majority of contractors and sub-contractors are male, and they
will sometimes look on you as not being very knowledgeable, but ensuring
that you develop good relationship with your contractors by asking them
questions and really involving yourself with their work and the services that
they provide, helps build their respect for you.
“I believe that most of the contractors that I work with respect me and
my work. It is a respect I had to earn but now I have it, my contractors
appreciate the female qualities such as time-management and
organisational skills that I bring to the job.”
Asked why Emma might have won this years’ Young FM Practitioner
Award over all the other young FM talent in the industry, Emma’s manager,
Bool is quick to cite Emma’s exceptional initiative and proactive approach
to her work.
“Emma doesn’t just sit there and do the job,” says Bool.
“She’s always looking at ways to do things better but she doesn’t just
say, ‘I think we should do this better’. Emma will actually come to me and
say, ‘I think we could improve by doing this and this is how I think we could
do it and here are the tools we need to do it and I’ll go out there and help
everyone implement it’.
“‘Emma doesn’t just come up with an idea and leave it at that. She
actually follows things through to completion but does so in a creative and
engaging way that interests people and gets them on board.
Leading Boutique Operations and
Technical Management Company
catering for small portfolios through
to major publicly listed companies.
Head Office Level 1 Paddington Boulevarde 283 Given Terrace Paddington Qld 4064 Postal PO Box 783 Indooroopilly Qld 4068
P 07 3369 5559 F 07 3367 8982 E info@globalfm.com.au W www.globalfm.com.au
FMA AUSTRALIA
EXCELLENCE AWARDS
“Everyone in the team enjoys working with her. We’ve got 45 facility
managers in the Victorian team alone and they all enjoy working with
Emma.”
In June, Emma commenced work on Knight Frank’s Digital Harbour,
Docklands portfolio, an environmentally focused, technology enabled
“urban campus” community on the fringe of Melbourne’s CBD.
Originally master-planned by award winning architects, Ashton Raggatt
McDougall, the precinct’s unique benefits include leading edge,
commercially driven green buildings with water views and surrounding
amenity. She is now responsible for the full facility management function of
the portfolio which currently comprises of two fully occupied buildings with
a third set for completion shortly. When including the 1010 Latrobe and
Innovation Building, Emma’s portfolio comprises over 20,000 sqm of
government, commercial and retail tenancies operating under a regime
driven by green lease initiatives.
Emma says that over the next five years she hopes to grow as an FM
practitioner and is looking forward to the challenge of managing new kinds
of buildings.
“To date, I’ve only been involved with existing CBD commercial
buildings, so looking after the Digital Harbour development where they
have buildings incorporating the latest in environmentally sustainable
design, technology and systems is an exciting opportunity to learn about
an entirely different kind of building,” she said.
Emma receiving her Award at ideaction
To other young people considering a career in FM, Emma says that
raising awareness about the broad scope of activities that the profession
encompasses and the many career pathways that it provides are critical
factors in attracting new talent to the industry.
“FM is a profession that isn’t very well-known in this country and I
certainly didn’t know much about it before I started in the industry. There’s
so much opportunity and growth in the industry at the moment, so I think
making young people aware of the profession and the options and the
pathways that you could take after entering FM is really important,” she
says.
“FM is an exciting, diverse and demanding profession and, in my
experience, the world can really be your oyster once you enter the FM
industry.”
f a c i l i t y perspectives • 37
TOWARD A CARBON ECONOMY

Buildings and Emissions Trading:

What’s it all about?
ADAPTED FROM AN ABCB WHITE PAPER BY ADJUNCT PROFESSOR ALAN PEARS, RMIT UNIVERSITY, AND
FIRST PUBLISHED IN AUSTRALIAN BUILDING REGULATION BULLETIN WINTER 08.

With the very real prospect of Climate Change firmly on the Commonwealth Government’s
agenda, the momentum to cut Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions is building, with many
new policies being announced in recent times. Key to this is the Commonwealth
Government commitment for the introduction of a national greenhouse gas emissions
trading scheme from 2010.

H
ow is emissions trading likely to
work within the Australian context?
Essentially, large emitters of
greenhouse gases (probably over 25,000
tonnes CO2 per annum and typically with
annual energy bills over $1.5 million) will be
required to acquire and then surrender a
number of permits equivalent to their
emissions over each year. Since the number
of permits will be limited or capped by the
government, emitters will buy and sell
permits (similar to trading in the stock
market). Those who reduce their emissions
will need fewer permits, so they can sell
excess permits to others who need them.
The price of permits is uncertain, as it
depends on the balance between supply
and demand. If many participants act early
to reduce emissions, demand for the
limited number of permits will be low, so
prices will be low. If participants are slow to
cut emissions, and the targets become
tougher, permit prices will be driven up as
demand exceeds supply, until it is cheaper
for someone to cut their emissions rather
than pay the high price for permits.
Most owners of buildings will emit
much less than the proposed threshold,
and as a result they will not be directly
involved in emission trading unless they
choose to volunteer. They will experience
emission trading through their dealings with
large emitters such as energy producers
and high emission industries. These large
emitters will pass on their permit purchase
costs to the building industry, building
owners and occupants through higher
energy prices and higher prices of
materials, goods and services used to
construct and maintain buildings.
An emission price of $30 per tonne of
CO2, a mid-range estimate of the possible
price, would increase standard electricity
prices by around 3 cents/kilowatt-hour
($30/MWh) and gas by around
$2/Gigajoule. At this emission price, and
assuming there is no change in upstream
greenhouse gas emissions, building
construction costs might increase by 2-3%
overall, with greenhouse intensive materials
such as concrete and metals suffering larger
increases. Costs of low emission intensity
options such as renewable energy, high
extender content cements and recycled
metals will be less affected.

38 • f a c i l i t y perspectives
 TOWARD A CARBON ECONOMY

“
As large upstream emitters reduce the
greenhouse intensity of energy and An emission price of $30 per tonne of CO2, a mid-range estimate of the
materials they produce, the cost impacts possible price, would increase standard electricity prices by around 3
will decline down the supply chain for a cents/kilowatt-hour ($30/MWh) and gas by around $2/Gigajoule. At this
given CO2 price. For example, as more gas-
emission price, and assuming there is no change in upstream greenhouse
fired power generation replaces coal-fired
power generation, standard electricity gas emissions, building construction costs might increase by 2-3% .
supply will decline in greenhouse intensity.
Similarly, as brick manufacturers improve
energy efficiency and switch to
cogeneration, each brick will involve
generation of less greenhouse gas for its
production.
Many policy makers and advisers argue
that, once emissions trading sets the price,
other emission abatement (reduction)
policies such as energy standards will no
longer be needed. Professor Ross Garnaut,
who is conducting a review1 for
Commonwealth, State and Territory
Governments, and Senator the Hon Penny
Wong, Minister Climate Change and Water,
have noted that there are market failures
that reduce the effectiveness of emissions
trading in some sectors of the economy. In
these cases, complementary policy
measures will be necessary for the effective
and efficient capture of emission abatement
potential.
The types of market imperfections and
failures that can occur in the buildings
sector include, among other things:
3 transaction-related barriers such as
the ‘landlord-tenant’ problem,
where the person who makes decisions does not pay the so that buildings can contribute to a lower overall cost of meeting our
ongoing costs, and the actual cost and time involved in national emissions targets. At the same time, suppliers of building
transactions such as purchase or installation; materials and products will come under pressure to cut emissions, and in
3 inability for individual agents to capture the full benefits of turn, to minimise the flow-on effects on building costs, while builders will
research and development (R&D) – competitors can learn from face increasing pressure from buyers to minimise ongoing energy costs
the innovator’s experience; through design and construction.
3 information failures, including lack of information and 1 Professor Ross Garnaut. http://www.garnautreview.org.au/CA25734E0016A131/
asymmetry, for example where home buyers have much less pages/home. The Garnaut Climate Change Review has been commissioned by
knowledge than sellers, so that sellers can manipulate buyers by Australia’s Commonwealth, state and territory governments to examine the impacts,
exploiting their lack of detailed knowledge; challenges and opportunities of climate change for Australia. A Draft Report will be
3 the long-term nature of buildings, so that uncertainty about delivered to the Australian governments by 30 June 2008, and the Final Report by
future costs and discounting of future costs means they may not 30 September 2008.
be appropriately factored into purchase decisions; and 2 http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/ar4-syr.htm
3 positive externalities from improved building performance such
as improved health or comfort, which are not usually factored
into building-related decisions. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
These market failures mean the buildings sector is less likely to Alan Pears has been an Adjunct Professor at RMIT University since
respond to price signals from emissions trading, so other measures are 2000, and contributed to Environment and Planning’s teaching program
likely to be needed. Indeed, US studies suggest that even with a since 2001. Alan has worked in the sustainable energy and environment
doubling in energy prices, equivalent to a CO2 price of $150/tonne, fields since the late 1970s for community groups, government and the
household and commercial sector energy consumption would fall by only private sector. While working for the Victorian government in the 1980s,
15-20% below previous trends, much less than the savings needed to he helped develop and implement programs such as the Home Energy
meet expected emission targets, or the cost-effective potential that is Advisory Service, public information and education, appliance energy
believed to exist. labeling and mandatory building insulation regulations.
What’s more, economic modelling shows that capturing additional Since 1991, Alan has been co-director of Sustainable Solutions, an
low cost emission abatement from buildings, for example through environmental consultancy, and has been involved in building energy and
stronger energy efficiency measures, reduces emission permit prices for environmental rating and regulation, green building projects, educational
all emitters across the economy. So failure of this sector to ‘do its bit’ software, green appliance development, industrial and business energy
increases the overall cost to society and the economy of achieving a and environmental management, and policy analysis.
given emission target. His teaching and work responsibilities include:
The European Union, which has the world’s most advanced 3 Energy policy and management (including links to urban
emissions trading and climate change response policies, has a strong development, transport, buildings, demand management and
regulatory policy approach to buildings in parallel with emissions trading. renewable energy technologies, and energy market reform)
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change2, the UN’s expert 3 Climate change policy and mitigation measures
advisory group, recommends a comprehensive range of policy tools be 3 Technology and environment
applied in the buildings sector. Alan has assisted with books such as The Natural Advantage of
Overall, it is unlikely that the introduction of an emissions trading Nations: Business Opportunities, Innovation and Governance in the 21st
scheme in Australia will significantly reduce the need for regulation of Century, and appeared on ABC Catalyst: The Consumers Guide to
building energy performance. Indeed, there are some indications that Carbon Conscious Shopping.
pressure for higher stringency and a wider range of coverage will occur,

f a c i l i t y perspectives • 39
CLIENT FEATURE
Climate Change –
Toward Zero
Emissions
“The continued development of a full range of renewable
energy generation is at the forefront of the Victorian
Government’s climate change strategy, which is based on a
drive towards near zero emissions from our energy sector”
announced the Energy and Resources Minister, Peter
Batchelor, in February of this year, highlighting the need for
change in how energy in Australia is generated and used.
With demand on the National Electricity Market expected to
increase at an average rate of 1.9 per cent annually over the
next decade no down-turn in the consumption of finite
resources can be expected. Increasing awareness of declining
resources and rising greenhouse emissions coupled with the
Government’s recent ratification of the Kyoto Protocol are
driving consumer and business demand for energy Retailers
to offer renewable energy products.
Higher costs and uncertainty about the future of carbon
trading have deterred both domestic consumers and
business from investing in renewable or green energy offered
by Energy Retailers.
There is a lack of understanding in the market of how
renewable energy, which contributes to the Australian
Government’s Mandatory Renewable Energy Target (MRET),
differs from Accredited GreenPower. Under the
Commonwealth Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000,
liable parties, which include electricity retailers and wholesale
purchasers, are required to contribute to investment in
generation of energy from renewable sources. This
contribution is in the form of surrendered Renewable Energy
Certificates (RECs) in proportion to the volume of their
electricity acquisitions. Purchases of GreenPower contribute
to the investment in renewable energy beyond the
government regulations outlined in the MRET.
Developed in consultation with a number of environmental
groups and the energy industry, the New South Wales
Government established the GreenPower Accreditation
Program in 1997. The audited national program applies
stringent environmental and reporting standards to the
supply of renewable energy. Accredited renewable energy is
currently sourced from wind, solar, hydro and biomass
generation facilities, which the GreenPower initiative
stipulates must be built after 1997 to be eligible for program
inclusion.
Momentum Energy provides the option to customers to
offset anywhere between 1% and 100% of their energy
usage through the purchase of GreenPower. Essentially when
electricity retailers offer GreenPower they will charge the
customer an additional set cost per mega watt hour to
acquire renewable energy from an accredited source on the
customer’s behalf. Although this power is then fed into the
National Electricity Grid, it does mean the customer is
directly contributing to the generation of new renewable
energy.
By providing GreenPower, Momentum Energy is not only
responding to increasing demand from consumers and
business looking to offset their carbon footprint, but
encouraging others to become more sustainable in the
interest of Australia’s environmental future.
Increased take-up of GreenPower will undoubtedly increase
the demand for new research and the construction of
renewable energy generation, which will decrease our
dependence on coal-fired power stations.
Natalie Davies is the Marketing Manager of electricity
retailer Momentum Energy. She can be contacted on 03
8612 6440 or natalie.davies@momentumenergy.com.au
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TOWARD A CARBON ECONOMY

Facilities Management in the

Carbon Economy
BY DAVE SAG, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CARBON PLANET

Climate change, and fear of the inherent uncertainties surrounding this current policy
problem, is driving a raft of economic reforms and, in some cases, revolutionary changes in
the legislative landscape. This is having a direct impact on a plethora of industries, and
facilities managers are among those at the coal-face. Carbon Planet Founder and Executive
Director Dave Sag, explores how the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER)
Act , which went live on July 1 this year, is likely to impact on facility managers and the
future of a carbon emissions trading scheme.

T
he construction industry collectively
shoulders around 8% of the responsibility
for global warming, with concrete
production accounting for much of that. This has
not gone unnoticed by the Australian
Government and the recently released ‘Green
Paper’ in no way excludes property management
or construction from the industry sectors to be
covered by the forthcoming emissions trading
scheme.
In 2004 the federal Government introduced
mandatory energy disclosure laws1 for all
buildings at the time of their sale or lease as part
of the National Framework for Energy Efficiency
(NFEE). In December last year the Federal
Government, along with State and Territory
Energy Ministers, met in Perth and agreed to a
stage two of the NFEE adding measures for
enhancing the Minimum Energy Performance
Standards programme (MEPS), establishing an
HVAC high efficiency strategy, phasing out of
incandescent light-bulbs, developing a ‘green
leases’ programme and starting to develop a
national hot-water strategy. The NFFE Stage Two
extends the existing NFEE initiatives
encompassing the Energy Efficiencies
Opportunity programme, the Energy Efficiency
Exchange and the National House Energy Rating
Scheme.
These programmes have, by-and-large, been
well received by both the industry and the wider
community who recognise that we have little to
lose, and everything to gain by toughening the
energy efficiency requirements for commercial
and residential buildings alike.
The new kid on the block however is the
National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting
(NGER) Act 20072 which was introduced in
September 2007 and went live on July 1 this year.
It is designed to underpin the forthcoming
national emissions trading scheme by forcing
facilities that emit more than 25kt (of CO2
equivalent (CO2e), or which consume, or produce,
more than 100TJ of any kind of energy to report
their emissions to the Government.
To put this in some sort of perspective if your
facility spends $1 million on natural gas, or $1.6
million on electricity, $4.3 million on diesel oil, or
around $4.6 million on petrol then it will be
required to report under the NGER Act. Of course
most facilities will use some gas and some power
and run diesel or petrol backup generators so
these numbers need to be balanced against each

42 • f a c i l i t y perspectives
 TOWARD A CARBON ECONOMY

other to get a real view. The due date for registration if you believe you’ll
meet these thresholds is 1 August 2009 and you must report by 31
October on your emissions for the 2008/09 financial year.
Reporting under the Act requires you perform a comprehensive
innovation
greenhouse emissions audit. There are two accepted standards for this
sort of audit and most respectable emissions management firms will
provide a single audit document that harmonises both the ISO 14064-13
and WBCSD’s (World Business Council for Sustainable Development)
GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting4 standards. The
GHG Protocol defines three ‘scopes’ of emissions. Scope 1 emissions are
those directly emitted by the operation of your facility, i.e. fuel you burn,
boilers you run and so forth. Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions
resulting from energy you buy. In this case the emissions are caused by
the power-provider, but they are considered to be your responsibility as
you are paying for them. Scope 3 covers all of the other indirect
emissions generated by your supply chain.
As it stands the NGER Act only requires reporting on your scopes 1
and 2 emissions but, in our experience, most firms, having made the
commitment to measure their carbon emissions, like to get a complete
picture and then try to drive efficiencies down their own supply chains.
Of course many facilities on their own do not meet those thresholds,
but the NGER Act has thresholds for corporate entities as a whole as
well, and these thresholds reduce every year, starting at 125kt CO2e /
500TJ energy in 2008/09, and reducing to 87.5kt CO2e / 350 TJ in
2009/10, and then 50kt / 200TJ for 2010/11. Initially this will cover
roughly the top 1000 emitting companies in Australia but will expand its
scope to cover around 80% of Australian companies by 2012. So if your
facility or firm escapes the threshold this year it’s only a matter of time
before you too will need to report.
The penalties for failing to register or report are severe. Simply failing
to register attracts a $220,000 fine with a further $11,000 per day
overdue. Likewise failing to report attracts the same fines. Similar fines
are levied for failing to keep proper records, or failing to commission an
independent audit of your emissions if requested to do so.
Emissions trading opens many opportunities for the building industry
as, by and large, so many buildings in Australia are extremely inefficient.
It should be fairly easy for most buildings to be made much more
efficient in a very short time-frame, ideally leaving many building owners
with spare emissions trading permits they can then on-sell to firms that
are finding it harder to meet their emissions reduction targets, requiring DEXUS Sydney
them to buy permits or pay penalties. But building owners and facilities
managers that don’t make an immediate start on determining their
The workspace created by Gray Puksand for DEXUS was
facility’s baseline emissions will be left at a disadvantage when emissions
trading commences and they have not factored the ‘cost of carbon’ into selected as a finalist in this year’s Financial Review BOSS
their strategic planning. The Government is rolling out their plans with an Space 2008 Awards. The project was completed in historic
unprecedented amount of public consultation and industry briefing; Barrack House in George Street, Sydney and sustainability
failing to make the most of these opportunities may well result in a raft of was a key driver of the scope of work for the adaptive re-use
shareholder and other stake-holder actions as they, and their lawyers,
start demanding answers. of the property.
References:
1 See www.nfee.gov.au Initiatives included the creation of a central atrium to maximise
2 www.greenhouse.gov.au/reporting natural light in work areas, the integration of chilled beam
3 www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail?csnumber=38381
air-conditioning and a controlled lighting system.
4 www.ghgprotocol.org

Gray Puksand innovation, delivering new age solutions in

old world buildings.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND CARBON PLANET LIMITED

architecture
Dave Sag is the Founder and Executive Director of
Carbon Planet Limited. A serial entrepreneur, Dave’s interiors
career began in information technology and later led workspace
him to complement his experience with careers in retail
online retail, satellite-launch re-insurance trading and
graphics
work at the European Patent Office. In 2000, Dave
established Carbon Planet Limited – an Australian-based global carbon sydney scott moylan (02) 9247 9422
management and origination consultancy that helps businesses to melbourne robert puksand (03) 9221 0999
maximise their opportunities in a carbon-constrained world. By focusing brisbane - gray puksand mbs kevin miles (07) 3839 5600
on the provision of tailored, integrated solutions Carbon Planet Limited
or visit our web site w w w.graypuksand.com.au
enables businesses to manage and reduce their impact on climate change
and implement more sustainable business practices. Dave also recently associated offices adelaide darwin hobart perth hong kong
presented at FMA Australia ideaction 08 Conference. See
www.carbonplanet.com/NGER for more information.

f a c i l i t y perspectives • 43
CLIENT FEATURE
Culligan – A Name
You Can Trust
For over 70 years, Culligan has been a worldwide leader in drinking
water. In Australia, thousands of businesses, food service outlets and
homes enjoy the clean taste of Culligan Water.
FILTERED WATER FOR THE OFFICE
From under-bench water filters to freestanding, wall
mounted and underbench boilers and chilled water
dispensers, Culligan has a system to suit every office
situation and budget. A Culligan water filter provides
healthier, fresher tasting drinking water at a fraction of
the cost of bottled water. With Culigan, you can purchase
a system outright or choose from one of our flexible rental
options. All Culligan office systems are certified by NSF
International and Australian Quality Standards.
COST BENEFITS
Why buy expensive bottled water when you can have an
endless supply of high quality drinking water in your
office at only a few cents per litre? It costs far less to install
and operate a Culligan Water filter system than bottled
water. Culligan Water systems can provide a year’s supply
of crystal clear water before the filter needs changing.
BOILING WATER SERVICE
Over the past 5 years, Culligan Water has established
ourselves as the number one choice for boiling water
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increased our capabilities further.
If you are not happy with the slow response times you are
receiving with your existing supplier, give Culligan a call.
We service all makes and models including Zip, Billi,
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Water is critical in regulating all body organs and
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Phone Culligan on 1300 655 295
or visit www.culliganwater.com.au to find out more.
ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS
According to a mounting body of research, bottled water’s
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tons of oil-derived plastics, mostly polyethylene
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65% of which end up in landfill. It takes 1000 years to get
rid of a plastic bottle once it is buried. Installing a water
filter at home or in the office, then refilling your own
water bottle at the tap will not only reduce plastic bottle
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footprint that making and shipping these bottles creates.
FILTERED WATER FOR INDUSTRY
Only Culligan offers a full portfolio of products and
services to ensure any water problem is solved.
Whether you’re a consulting specifying engineer or a
facility manager, we can design a treatment program that
fits your needs. Treating your water means greater
efficiency. You’ll reduce labour costs, increase equipment
life span, and lower operating, maintenance, and repair
costs. With Culligan, you’ll always have the product and
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SERVICE AND QUALITY GUARANTEED
With tens of thousands of Culligan Water filtration
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Culligan Water offers flexible options for service, extended
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We also offer professional in-house and laboratory water
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 Trust the
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35 Tebbutt Street Leichhardt NSW 2040 T 02 9560 1900 F 02 9560 1944 E info@culliganwater.com.au
24 Hour National Service Line 1300 655 295
TOWARD A CARBON ECONOMY

Taking a leaf from nature’s

book of good design –
Biomimetics and Buildings
BY MELANIE DRUMMOND

In 1997, architect Mick Pearce captured imaginations around the

world by claiming termites were inspiration for the design of his
latest office building in Harare, Zimbabwe. A pioneering
architect, Pearce had convinced developers of the ‘Eastgate’ to
abandon standard air conditioning methods in favour of the
natural cooling and heating systems he’d observed in African
termite mounds.
Using only a tenth of the energy required for traditional air
conditioning systems, the termite concept was a risk that paid
off for Eastgate developers, saving $3.5 million in energy costs
over the first five years of operation. Pearce’s success in creating
the unique, financially advantageous building solution later
compelled developer Rob Adams to enlist his expertise when
designing CH2 – Melbourne’s first building to achieve a Six Star
Green Star rating.
Facility Perspectives’ Melanie Drummond spoke to Mick Pearce
further about nature’s influence on the future blueprint of our
built environment. She also discussed research in the field of
biomimetics with Professor Derek Clements-Croome, a speaker
at this year’s Air Conditioning-Refrigeration-Building Services
(ARBS) exhibition. Architect Mick Pearce standing inside the Eastage
building in Harare, Zimbabwe. Image: David Brazier.

T
he need to reduce our impact on the planet has forced design and Eastgate, and had decided to take his unique brand of ’perma-
research industries to search for building solutions which offer architecture’ to the next level. With the support of developers, Pearce
optimum operational efficiency. Widely coined biomimicry or was given free reign to materialise his idea of developing a cooling
biomimetics, the Eastgate principle of adapting the best of nature’s system which relied almost entirely on natural methods.
processes to meet design requirements is emerging as an inevitable “Talking to the engineers, we realised that we could use night air
move towards more effectively addressing climate change. that was sufficiently cold and blow that through the structure to cool it
Architect Mick Pearce’s concept of cooling and warming an entire down. As we were discussing these sorts of methods, my daughter sent
office building through passive methods was one of the earliest cases me a copy of the David Attenborough series – one of the them was of
where biomimetics had been practically incorporated into a building David walking around inside a termite’s nest in Northern Nigeria. Then I
design. For Pearce, the idea of design mimicking nature emerged into thought, my god, if termites can do it then we can, and I started talking
his consciousness largely by accident. to the engineers about termites. At this point I was already beginning to
“I met a fellow called Bill Mollison in Zimbabwe in 1986; he’s the copy living systems or eco systems that are always in balance, instead of
very famous Australian who invented permaculture. Bill came to requiring a power station. They work in entirely with the sun, wind,
Zimbabwe and gave a marvellous talk about how you could actually thermal mass and so on. We got very excited about this when we were
design a community of plants to work in the same way as an eco-system. talking about Eastgate and we used the termite mound principles right
It was a very inspiring talk and that set me going. By 1991 I had started through the design period.”
doing a number of things that had changed my architecture – I was
trying to do perma-architecture, copying the same principles. In other
words looking at natural processes and trying to get them to work inside
the city.”
It wasn’t just Pearce’s interest in sustainable design that propelled
him to pioneer a new direction for architecture – he also knew global
warming would soon demand action from those in a position to
influence the built environment’s output of carbon emissions.
“In 1991 I was asked to design a series of 4 office blocks. The first
one, an office tower in Harare, had gardens all the way up it on huge
balconies, and then I did another two with internal courtyards. The
internal courtyards worked extremely well, they were full of plants and
trees, right in the middle of the city. It worked like a courtyard in Arabia
where cold night air fills up the courtyard and if you’re lucky it stays there
for the rest of the day following, so it serves as something of a reservoir
of cold air which we would then take into our air conditioning systems.”
By 1992 Pearce came to design his fourth office building, the Giant red termite mounds cut a striking figure on the landscape in Western Australia.

46 • f a c i l i t y perspectives
TOWARD A CARBON ECONOMY
Working in with the engineers, Pearce designed a system which used
the building’s thermal mass as insulation and the daily temperature
swings outside the building to regulate temperatures inside. Fans were
used to draw fresh air from the atrium for circulation around the building,
and any excess hot air was then drawn out through the 48 round funnels
on top of the building, mimicking the African termite mound’s chimney
function. Cold night air was then used to cool down the building’s
structure which subsequently cooled incoming air the following day.
“During the night in termite nests they have a condition in which the
air inside is warmer than the outside air and so it shoots up the chimney,
and the more it shoots up the chimney the more oxygen they get
through fresh air entering system through lower openings in the mound.
A lot of social animals do that, bees do the same thing; bees get their
oxygen by fanning air with their wings into the nest. The more activity in
the nest the more oxygen they need and the more the bees have to fan.
In a termite’s nest it all happens at night when you get updraft. In a day
the air gets hotter so it doesn’t suck the air out, so they actually sleep
during the day and work at night.
“The chimneys at Eastgate pull the air out of the building during the
night, in the day the air goes out that way but it’s not as fast, so in that
sense the building operates exactly like a termitary. During the winter in
Harare you get hot afternoons because there are no clouds in the sky –
it’s very dry. So in the winter we blow the air at a fast rate to warm up the
building to carry it through to the next morning. You can adjust the fan
cycle to suit the time of the year, and essentially that is a building
responding to nature.”
While the Eastgate ventilation process is heavy on fan power – which
relies on electricity – the system uses only about a tenth of the energy
needed for full air conditioning.
“Later on we also developed a system where we used rock stores to
cool the building. It is essentially a pile of rocks in a cage and you blow
the air through the cage and the rocks cool the air down the next day.”
Following the accomplishment of his Eastgate project, Pearce was
invited by developer Rob Adams to work on the CH2 building in
Melbourne. CH2 is Melbourne’s first building to achieve a 6 star Green
Star rating, and served as the perfect opportunity for Pearce to elaborate
on the sustainable design features which he’d developed for the
Eastgate some 10 years earlier.
“We went much further here; we had a lot more help from
engineers. Also it’s a different environment – different economic
environment and different social environment and a different natural
environment. The building here looks quite different from Eastgate and it
has enormously improved energy performance even compared with
Eastgate, it delivers a much finer tuned environment.
“CH2 is more sophisticated, it’s much more complex. However the
building does work with Melbourne’s climate, Melbourne has three days
of heat and three days of cold almost right through the year – particularly
48 • f a c i l i t y perspectives
in the summer.
“During the three days of cool we do a lot of harvesting of cool
water by using evaporative systems, then we store that cool water in vats
in the basement which are full of phase-change balls (phase-change is
when you change solid material like ice into liquid). That is available to
drag the heat out of the offices when it gets hot. We do that by
circulating water through ceiling panels in the offices and dumping it in
these vats afterwards.”
Despite plenty of publicity surrounding the sexy, smart buildings
which are racking up green stars and press releases, Pearce believes
there’s still plenty to be done with our existing building stock.
“We can easily change the old buildings; the most difficult thing is to
get people to agree to spend money on them. The way buildings are
built and financed, people hate pouring money into an old building,
even though it can easily be done – they prefer the excitement of new
buildings. I’m very keen on retrofitting; retrofitting is the only way we can
get to the carbon emission reduction targets in time. It’s good fun, you
can do it, and you can make old buildings work.”
Pearce firmly believes that by continuing to look into biomimetics
and what nature can teach us, cities can improve the way their
inhabitants live, work and integrate.
“Thinking of the city as an eco system is the right way to think of a
city, I’m very keen on that and getting that message across. What we
know scientifically speaking, is that the only way to reduce C02 from the
atmosphere is with plants, you can’t pretend to sink it under the ground.
The way to go is to increase plant cover which of course would put a
huge pressure on land so it means that buildings need to start holding
plants themselves. Cities need to be green, that’s why rooftops are so
important – CH2 has as much greenery as its footprint. It’s another
reason why I am also very keen on floating cities and putting cities on
 TOWARD A CARBON ECONOMY

water, which you could do in the bay here in Melbourne. It would then
become more like Venice, and then you’re not covering up land which is
so important for growing food. We’re going to lose a lot of land with sea
rise, huge amounts. We need urban agriculture.
“We also love moving around a great deal and we should become
much less dependent on having to move every day to work, by starting
to work at home or work in smaller groups nearer home. Then it
changes, the city becomes a poly-centric city with lots of centres, all of
these things add up to networks. You find those in nature, networks of
energy distribution.”
Another keen advocate for taking lessons from nature is Derek
Clements-Croome, Professor of Construction Engineering at United
Kingdom’s Reading University. Clements-Croome gave audiences at the
Air Conditioning-Refrigeration-Building Services (ARBS) exhibition in
Urban Maintenance Systems is a
Melbourne earlier this year an insightful presentation on sustainable specialist provider of Facilities and
building solutions. His passion for biomimetics has spanned several Infrastructure Maintenance Services
decades and he continues today to look into the benefits of nature’s to Private and Government sectors
designs with research groups at Reading University.
“30 years ago, when research into biomimetics began, we were throughout Australia.
looking into things like the self-cleaning lotus leaf; there was also a
growing interest in spiders and the science behind the strength of their UMS Facilities Services specialises
webs. For example, even a structure created out of steel the same in the following:
thickness as a spider’s thread would be still be weaker than a spider’s • Essential service compliance management
web.”
• Programmed & reactive building maintenance
Clements-Croome believes biomimetics offers the building industry
passive design solutions which can significantly reduce our demand on • Building condition auditing & life cycle costing
fossil fuels. • Trade services – carpentry, plumbing, electrical,
“The passive solution is where you don’t use any extra power or painting, gutter cleaning, mechanical plant
energy in the system, where the thing is natural; something just unfolds maintenance
or uncurls according to the sun or the water. In terms of intelligent
• Capital improvement works planning & delivery
buildings, humans have been doing this for thousands of years – an
example of this is vernacular architecture. Vernacular Architecture is • 24 /7 emergency response contact centre
where man has adapted to their local environmental conditions and used • Modern/functional information management
local materials to build structures which suit that climate. system
“The igloo is an example of vernacular architecture and an effective
passive solution, it’s iceblocks put together in a certain way, shaped with Urban Maintenance Systems
nice curves – that’s it. There’s no heating system as such or ventilation 352 Ferntree Gully Road Notting Hill VIC 3168
system as such. It’s a naturally responsive building. An active building is Phone: (03) 9265 5811 Fax: (03) 9265 5899
when you then impose ventilation fans, pumps, heating and ventilation Email: info@ums.com.au Web: www.ums.com.au
systems. What you really need to do is to get the best you can out of the PROVIDING SERVICES NATIONALLY
passive part of the building which is the form, insulation, mass,
orientation and shape of the building. Doing this will mean your energy Enduring Partnerships Driven by Service Excellence
requirement will be lower and if you still need to put on some ventilation
or air conditioning, then it won’t be very much.”
Education in areas such as biomimetics, Clements-Croome insists, is
the only way to ensure people in the construction industry have the skill
sets necessary to meet the changing demands on the built environment.
“In Europe, in the construction and architecture industries, there are
new courses appearing in biomimetic architecture,” says Clements-
Croome.
“It all fits in quite nicely with the sustainability agenda, which is all
about minimising energy, materials and so on. The research councils in
Europe are paying much more attention and there’s also more money
being supplied to carry out research in places like Britain and Germany.
The awareness has definitely increased in the last few years. Our
education system needs to improve to get people involved in the
building industry that are interested in these ideas. Also, the reality of
everyday life in the building industry is that a client can be really
interested in creating something new and innovative, like with the CH2
building here in Melbourne, or you might have the kind of client who
wants a quick fix job at the lowest possible price in the minimum time.
You can’t really do this work based on a low, cheap price approach. It has
to be thought out carefully and designed properly for the long term.”
Despite the significant initial outlay for designing or retrofitting a
building to incorporate biomimetic principles, Clements-Croome is sure
the likelihood of a carbon economy will force industries to invest in
building solutions which reduce emissions.
“I think research does take time but the sustainability agenda is
urgent and challenging, and people are now much more aware of it.
Sustainability, in essence, is about nature. The fact is, at the moment we
need about 1.3 earths to be in balance, we have gone over what is really
possible on earth, we’ve therefore got to cut back, we’ve got to reduce,
we’ve got to look at doing things in other ways and biomimetics is one
of the avenues that will get us there.”

f a c i l i t y perspectives • 49
TOWARD A CARBON ECONOMY

Managing workplace
transport facilities
Green transport initiatives at the
City of Melbourne
BY FACILITY PERSPECTIVES’ BIANCA FROST
Facility managers are discovering that they can have an important role to play in the
question of how the workforce uses transport to get to work. Facility Perspectives’ Bianca
Frost looks at some of the green transport initiatives that the City of Melbourne has
adopted to manage its workplace transport facility requirements.

W
ith speculation that petrol
prices might hit $2 per litre
by September, and calls for
congestion taxes of up to $25 per
car per CBD commute to be
introduced to ease pressure on city-
bound arterials, organisations are
being rapidly forced to consider the
impacts of global economic,
environmental and population
changes on their business, and the
facilities they manage.
Whether the solutions include
increased bicycle storage and
change room facilities, more energy
efficient corporate transport fleets,
organised carpools or better public
transport arrangements, facility
managers are at the frontline in
instigating change for a brave new
world of workplace transport
management and planning.
Not content with resting its
green credentials on its new six star
green home – the visionary and
Bike Racks – City of Melbourne
ecologically sustainable Council
House 2 (CH2) – the City of Melbourne now joins a number of business visitors are key drivers for facility managers looking to optimise
progressive organisations leading the way in developing integrated the productive values of their building assets. In the large capital cities,
solutions to sustainable workplace transport practices. the cost of a single space in an A-Grade CBD office building can cost
The City of Melbourne actively encourages its staff to consider anywhere between $8000 and $10,000 per annum. The fact that ten
alternative forms of transport to commute to and from work. This bicycles can be parked in one car space makes a very attractive value
includes car pooling, car sharing, greener motor vehicle fleets and proposition for space-constrained organisations looking to grow their
various cultural change initiatives. The most popular form of transport business in the tight commercial rental market.
outside of public transport are bicycles. Other monetary incentives for organisations include reduced car
Rising fuel, service, registration and insurance costs combined with fleet, taxi and petrol card costs. For businesses located in Melbourne and
increasing building and population densities, has brought about Sydney, the conversion or reduction of one single car space equates to a
something of a renaissance for the humble bicycle with Australian sales saving of $800 in government congestion levies.
of the two-wheeled trusty steed outstripping that of motor vehicles by With transport consuming 25% of Australia’s total energy
32%. In fact the total number of bicycles sold in 2006 was 1,273,781 requirements, the promotion and facilitation of active transport such as
units – the fifth year in a row that the bicycle industry has sold more than riding to work can also be part of a green operating strategy and triple-
one million units, a figure yet to be reached by car manufacturers. bottom-line reporting regime. According to the Australian Greenhouse
Besides their energy and cost efficiencies, bicycles also deliver a Office, just cycling 10km each way to work instead of driving, saves 1.3
number of benefits to employers including increased staff productivity, tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year. Reports have stated that
reduced absenteeism, reduced pressure on car parking facilities, reduced air pollution causes more deaths among Australians than road accidents:
greenhouse gas emissions and lower contributions to noise and air each year, on average, 2400 deaths are linked to air quality and health
pollution. issues – compared with 1700 people killed in road accidents.
From a facility management point of view, there are significant To encourage more people to ride to work, the City of Melbourne
financial benefits attached to increasing the number of staff who ride to provides a range of facilities for its staff including bike storage, shower,
work rather than drive. Reduced car parking overheads, more economic change and locker facilities. There are specific bike parking facilities
use of land and area space and increased availability for customer and within Council House and Council House 2, while the corporate car parks

50 • f a c i l i t y perspectives

have bike parking provisions for 85 bikes. There are also additional bike
racks on the first level of the public car park off Little Collins Street. While
there are no designated bike parks at Town Hall, the garage is used, but
there is only a limited amount of space.
Shower and locker facilities are located in all three buildings.
Will Lester from Bicycle Victoria, the community, not-for-profit
organisation that designed, supplied and installed bike parking facilities
at CH2 notes that secure bicycle parking and appropriate end of trip
facilities are important ways to encourage employees to ride to work.
“If people are parking their bikes in the fire escape or the stair well
or attaching them to the plumbing, then that obviously becomes an
issue for the rest of the building’s users as well,” says Lester.
“When there are inappropriate facilities bikes, clothing and
equipment often end up in inappropriate spaces.”
There are a range of bicycle parking devices that are space efficient
and allow cyclists to lock bicycles at ground or wall level. Good planning
and design of bicycle facilities can also improve safety, maintain the
structural integrity of buildings and optimise dead space.
“We recently installed a bike parking facility in a CBD building and
by making good use of dead space which couldn’t be used for car
parking or any other purpose, we were able to get in 55 new bike
Bike Parking Facility at Origin Energy
parking spaces and only sacrificed one car parking space in the process,”
said Lester.
Lester suggests that facility managers planning to install new bicycle
facilities should talk to existing bike riders within their organisation to
gauge their needs.
“Find out what they want, where they want to park, what sort of
facilities they need, and you’ll also develop an idea of how many bike
parking and equipment storage facilities you will need to provide.
“The provision of good facilities tends to have a snow ball effect in
terms of attracting new riders, which is something you will need to take
into account in your planning stages,” he said.
Some of the key factors to consider when planning end of trip
bicycle facilities include:
3 Quantity of bicycle parks – ensure existing and future demand is
met
3 Safety and security – a separate bicycle cage is preferred
3 Convenient location for cyclists
3 Ease of access when the facility is full
3 Weather protection
3 Lighting
3 Attractiveness
While bicycles deliver multiple benefits in terms of managing
workplace transport issues, most workplaces will still require motor
vehicles and car parking for both at-work and to and from work
commutes.
TOWARD A CARBON ECONOMY
The City of Melbourne has attempted to address this issue by
providing a range of information on reducing employees’ daily travelling
costs by highlighting initiatives such as car pooling on its intranet.
Carpooling or ridesharing is well established and increasing in some
countries, particularly in the US, Canada and parts of Europe as a
response to peak hour traffic congestion, car parking shortages, and as a
way for people to reduce emissions and the costs of getting to and from
work.
In some parts of the US, such as California, there are specially
signposted points along highways where commuters can pick up people
willing to share a ride. With two or more people on board, motorists are
entitled to take advantage of specially allocated transit lanes cutting
transport times by as much 80% in peak hour conditions.
In Australia carpooling has not yet become a common practice,
however, large employee or service organisations are increasingly
investigating carpooling systems for a variety of reasons including:
3 Alleviating car parking congestion at the workplace;
3 As an employee benefit to assist employees reduce commuting
costs, and;
3 As a means of making a positive contribution to the environment
through the practice of corporate social responsibility.
Electric Cars in use by the City of Melbourne
Michael McCann, Director of MyCarpools says that once
organisations make a commitment to a carpooling system for their
employees, it can take a while for it to work its way into the culture, but
once established there are a number of intangible benefits that begin to
flow for and between employers and employees.
“For example,” says McCann, “beyond the obvious benefits to users
of a carpool system in terms of saving on transport costs, a carpool
system can significantly reduce the number of car parks that are taken up
at the facility or destination.”
Depending on the specifics of the organisation and its facilities, this
can translate into lower lease costs, increased tax savings, larger
quantities of operational floor space or simply more available car parking
space for customers, clients and business visitors.
“If all the car parks at your location are taken up by people who
work there everyday, it does make it harder for people to see you who
want to do business with you. Keeping car parks for visitors free at the
destination is a problem that facility managers are often struggling with,”
added McCann.
McCann says that most of facility managers that approach him about
carpooling are primarily looking at ways in which to reduce staff demand
for car parking. With escalating rental costs and diminishing commercial
vacancy rates across most of Australia’s capital cities, the need to
maximize usable floor space means that many organisations, instead of
moving premises, are compacting more workers into existing office
spaces.
f a c i l i t y perspectives • 51
 IMPACT PLUMBING CLIENT FEATURE

Impact Plumbing is a privately owned licensed company. Established in 1987, the company employs
approximately 30 staff and supports a management structure equipped to handle large projects
in the hydraulic contracting field.
Impact Plumbing is a full service, multi-skilled organisation with a commitment to two things. The
first is their Client Base and the second is Perfection.
During the past 21 years, they have developed a reputation for unsurpassed quality and service,
with immense client satisfaction.
Impact Plumbing prides itself on being one of the best in the business, and their success with
previous projects certainly speaks for itself. The company name was designed on the basis of
making an impression and an impact within the plumbing/ construction industry, of which
they’ve set out to achieve.
Impact Plumbing are professionals who are proud of our achievements and who know the
hydraulic contracting business like no other.
David Cracknell, Operations Manager for Mirvac says “Impact Plumbing’s adherence to quality
workmanship, pride in providing good service and cost effective contracting is an asset to Mirvac”
and Knight Frank’s Facilities Manager Ron Zachariah says “Impact Plumbing is my number one
choice due to the value for money AND time”
Tony Larkin, Managing Director of Impact Plumbing,
can be contacted at any time on (02) 9793 2699 or visit www.impactplumbing.com.au

52 • f a c i l i t y perspectives

The net result of this, says McCann, is that more people and more
cars are exerting further pressure on road, parking and traffic
infrastructure that, in many cases, is already overburdened.
“There’s a tendency for organisations to grow their workforces, filling
every available floor space with more desks, without considering the
impact on traffic management around the site,” McCann explains.
“The first thing that happens in this instance is that car parking
overflows into the surrounding area then the council starts to complain
and it’s the facilities manager who’s called upon to solve the problem – a
problem for which there are very few solutions available.
“The only real solution is to get more people into fewer cars and
having those fewer cars deliver the same amount of people to the site.
“Carpooling is one solution to this problem, particularly in locations
where it is simply not possible to expect people to rely on public
transport.”
The City of Melbourne also encourages car sharing as part of large
developments and in highly-congested residential/business strips such as
Carlton and Southbank.
Car sharing means subscribing to a ‘car club’ that looks after the
maintenance, insurance and registration of a fleet of communal cars.
Member residents and businesses pay for access to a variety of new,
often environmentally friendly, vehicles in their neighbourhood. Members
can save thousands of dollars every year if they replace their privately
owned car with a car-sharing service. Local communities also benefit,
with less parking congestion. To improve access and encourage take up
of car sharing services, the City of Melbourne provides specific car
parking spaces on its premises solely for car sharing services used by its
employees.
Corporate motor vehicle fleets are one of the most difficult areas for
organisations to downsize, particularly when a number of staff are
required to utilise vehicles as part of their essential job function. Salary
packaging that includes vehicle allowances is also another barrier to
some organisations in reducing their corporate fleet size.
The City of Melbourne is achieving its environmental strategy targets
for its corporate motor vehicle fleet by creating incentives for executives
TOWARD A CARBON ECONOMY
to downsize vehicle engines or to elect not to take a vehicle. Diversifying
transport options in line with salary incentives have been a key to this
success.
Since 2001, the City of Melbourne’s fleet numbers have been
reduced by 30 per cent (or 40 vehicles), while fuel consumption and CO2
emissions have reduced by nearly 50 per cent since 1996.
The introduction of electric cars to the Council’s fleet has also
assisted in reducing the carbon footprint of its corporate fleet.
Council has also invested in a Hyundai Electric Getz – the first
electric car for the corporate fleet. It will be used for short distance staff
business trips. The operating energy costs of the new electric car are $1
of electricity per 100kms travelled. The electric car conversion results
include zero fuel consumption and reduced maintenance and service
costs. Approval has been given to purchase a second electric car as part
of the Council’s 2008/09 fleet replacement program. This second vehicle
is expected to be delivered by December 2008.
The City of Melbourne has also implemented a fleet of eight electric
bikes that were introduced into operations in preparation for the
Commonwealth Games in March 2006. Electric bike numbers in the
corporate fleet are expected to grow with Council work centres across
the city, such as the Docklands Marina Office and ArtPlay staff, joining
the growing list of enthusiastic users along with including Park Rangers
and Child Care Centre workers, all of whom are embracing sustainable
transport alternatives to assist in the delivery of their services.
Some other incentives aimed at reducing employee’s reliance on car
transport to, from and during work can include a range of cultural change
activities that aim to encourage employee’s to take up alternative
transport solutions and become less reliant on petrol driven motor
vehicles.
At the City of Melbourne, programs such as “ride to work”, greener
motor vehicle campaigns and public transport promotions are some
examples of the Council’s cultural change initiatives. These programs can
be assisted by facility managers in various ways including the provision of
storage, change room and reserved parking facilities.
f a c i l i t y perspectives • 53
TOWARD A CARBON ECONOMY

Building a model future:

How Building Information Models are creating new
dimensions in building performance
BY BIANCA FROST

John Mitchell, Associate Professor

at the Faculty of the Built
Environment at the University of
New South Wales.

A
n architect by training, John Mitchell became interested in the
power of computers to revolutionise the design, construction and
management of the built environment back in the early 80s. He is
now a part-time Associate Professor at the Faculty of the Built Environment
at the University of New South Wales specialising in collaborative design
utilising Building Information Modelling (BIM) systems.
Mitchell was a member of the CRC for Construction Innovation
research team that undertook the FM Exemplar Project: Sydney Opera
House validating the BIM modelling and capability assessment of an
open data model to support the asset management services required by
Sydney Opera House. He is currently consulting on a 24 storey, five star
office building being developed by Investa in North Sydney, assisting the
design and construction team share model data to improve design
documentation, on-site construction activities and asset management
handover. Mitchell continues to participate in other Construction
Innovation research projects aimed at increasing uptake of BIM across
the supply chain.Facility Perspectives’ Bianca Frost spoke to Mitchell
about the future of BIM in the design, construction and building services
sectors to discover how computer modelling of the built environment is
set to add a new dimension to the delivery of asset and facility
management in the 21st century.
FP: What is a BIM?
JM: A BIM is essentially an intelligent database of a building where
objects are represented in a three dimensional, digital form. Instead of
the use of 2D drawings to describe a building we have a single
integrated 3D object model.
In a drawing, we recognise a door by the gap in the wall and a door
swing. This convention has been developed over many years and
technical experts understand the full implication of what is shown
schematically and what is not shown. In contrast, BIM represents these
concepts by explicit object types (wall, beam, window, slab etc) with
accurate geometry.
Objects also have properties: for example, the object type “door”
might have a door number, security code, or that it is a fire-rated door.
Another feature of a BIM is relationships. This allows users to search a
BIM and ask it to show us all doors on building storey Ground Floor, or

54 • f a c i l i t y perspectives

show us all doors connected to an object type “room” called Corridor, or
all doors that have a property fire rated is true.
Another characteristic of BIM is that because it is an intelligent 3D
model, within a particular room it can check specific distances between
objects and thereby measure and test whether certain elements comply
with building and safety codes.
FP: How is BIM different to CAD models?
JM: They are completely different. In fact the difference between
BIM and CAD is that of a generational paradigm shift.
2D CAD is a drawing tool for representing conventional plans,
sections and elevations. However, none of the elements in the drawing
are connected, so if we modify the location of a door in the plans it
doesn’t update in a section or elevation. In BIM drawings are generated
automatically from the model, so when you alter an object in the model,
then all the drawings that include that door will change as well.
Another difference between CAD and BIM is that when we model a
wall in BIM the system recognises it as a wall whereas in CAD, it is simply
a graphic representation of a wall. If we searched CAD for information
about walls we wouldn’t be able to find anything because there is no
wall, there’s just graphics. This is a very big difference between the two
systems.
Simply put, we draw in CAD whilst we model in BIM.
The project is unique for its adoption of BIM by the architect,
structural engineer and the four services sub-contractors in the
construction phase. Collaboration is being undertaken using the IFC
model sharing protocol, and the team is developing an IFC master
model to hand over to the owner at asset occupation.
FP: BIM is generally described as a 3D modelling system, although
they have also been described as a 5D representation. What are the
other two dimensions being referred to?
JM: So far we’ve described BIM as the architectural model, but
another advantage of BIM is that it allows you to add multi-disciplinary
information such as the building services and structural engineering
systems into the same model which creates a rich set of building data. By
linking the construction schedule to the BIM we create a 4D model which
is BIM plus time. When we add costing, the BIM becomes a 5D model
which is the BIM plus scheduling plus cost.
This capacity to integrate time and cost dimensions is a great benefit
for contractors involved in the construction phase of a given project.
Viewing the construction sequence as an animation brings deeper
TOWARD A CARBON ECONOMY
understanding of the construction process and enhances time, safety and
on-site management.
FP: How long has BIM been used?
JM: BIM has been around for much longer than most people realise.
BIM was started in the early 80s, but it wasn’t until the very late 90s that
the term BIM emerged in the global architectural, engineering and
construction press. The term BIM has become in the last two years the
most widely known description of what is otherwise known as virtual
building or model based design and construction.
FP: Who is currently using BIMs?
JM: Architects have been the first to use BIM largely because they
were looking for better ways to understand and present their building
designs. However, only a very small percentage of the architectural
profession regularly models their designs in BIM. In fact, most practices
today, while they talk a lot about BIMs, are still documenting their
designs using traditional 2D techniques.
FP: Who else is using BIMs?
JM: In the construction and building services sectors, the use of BIM
remains in its infancy. However, structural engineers have adopted BIM
type tools as part of their modelling practices for around 15 years or so.
In the structural steel industry, the use of 3D models for structures is very
well advanced and they exploit the automation of the design model to
calculate the design, detailing, cutting and fabrication of structural
elements. The Sydney Football Stadium and the Olympic Homebush
Stadium are all constructed from structural steel that has been modelled
in 3D software which is essentially BIM type software.
FP: Who establishes the initial BIM?
JM: In common practice it is the architect who is responsible for
authoring the model. The architect is the person who takes a brief of the
client’s requirements and proposes spatial designs, concepts and
solutions. BIM allows users to collaborate on the one model. The
architect can give the structural engineer his architectural concepts, and
the engineer can then respond and send back his structural model, and
likewise with all the building services. Each discipline still retains their
traditional roles as to authorship and editing responsibility but now work
in an integrated model environment.
BIM schematics of Mount St illustrating the
integrated modelling of the building’s services,
structure and architecture. This project is unique
for its adoption of BIM by the architect, structural
engineer and the four services sub-contractors in
the construction phase. Collaboration is being
undertaken using the IFC model sharing protocol,
and the team is developing an IFC master model
to hand over to the owner at asset occupation.
Client: Investa Property Group
Architect: Rice Daubney
Design and Construct Contractor: Thiess Pty
Limited.
f a c i l i t y perspectives • 55
 Clean Air Technologies Australia
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Clean Air Technologies Australia CLIENT FEATURE

Facilities Managers around the world are today being
called on to face a major challenge. Reduce the energy
consumption of the facility. Millions are spent on new
BAS and other systems to monitor energy consumption
however preventative maintenance is often not initially
considered. When you mention the need for cleaning of
HVAC Systems the first reaction is generally associated
with Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) issues. Yes IAQ is vitally
important as all building and facility managers know but
there is another equally good reason for maintaining
clean HVAC plant; Energy Savings.
It has generally been understood that a clean system is
a more efficient one and that is certainly a logical
assumption. It is true. A clean conditioning and air
conveyance system will cost less to run and will help you
maintain good IAQ.
The US EPA was perhaps one of the early drivers of this
with their energy star rating system and their unique
computer software programme called I-BEAM. I-BEAM
integrates preventative maintenance with both system
efficiency and occupant comfort (IAQ).
In it they state:
“Preventative Maintenance (PM) of HVAC Systems
Preventative maintenance will improve IAQ and reduce
energy use by removing contaminant sources (e.g. clean
coils/drain pans), and ensuring proper calibration and
efficient operation of mechanical components (e.g. fans,
motors, thermostats, and controls). Data from many
buildings throughout the United States show that a
properly commissioned building with controls and
equipment functioning properly can save 5%-15% in
total building energy cost.”
The build up of dirt and dust on the coils and fans has a
huge impact on the efficiency, heat transfer, air volume
and ultimately cost of running HVAC systems. These are
tangible differences with significant cost savings. Not to
mention the positive impact on the working environment
through improved IAQ.
In a study published by ASHRAE in November 2006 on a
test case building in New York City the effects of coil
cleaning and treatment were quite remarkable. The
results of this study showed benefits across all
parameters including reduced energy costs, increased
air flow, reduced pressure differential across the coil and
improved air quality. Preventative Maintenance and
HVAC Hygiene is a cost effective way to reduce energy
consumption and save money in today’s modern
commercial buildings.

56 • f a c i l i t y perspectives

FP: What advantages does this offer in terms of facility
management?
JM: BIM is a multi-disciplinary model that commences in the design
phase, but once it gets onto the construction site can be updated with
specific product information about warranties, maintenance data and as-
built information. In the hands of the users and owners, the result is
actually a very richly integrated model for asset and facility management
purposes. The advantage of this collaborative model building process is
that rather than simply handing over to an asset manager a schematic
drawing of a traditional axonometric of a drainage system, BIM delivers
an accurate model outlining the piping network, fittings and system
performance data. Coupled with the explicit client requirements of the
building, a user now has brief, design, and as-built data to check the
actual in-use performance and manage the facility more effectively.
FP: What do suppliers and contractors think of BIMs? How do they
interact with BIMs? Do they require additional training to interact
with?
JM: There is no doubt that BIM represents a big paradigm shift for
the industry. Moving from a 2D drafting environment to a 3D modelling
one necessitates new processes, education and training. However, there
are significant benefits in making that transition and there is rapidly
accelerating interest and change in parts of the industry. For example, if a
facility manager has a problem in one of the plant rooms in a building
and needs to have some services updated, instead of sending out a set
of drawings to the contractors, BIM would provide a partial model of the
affected area. This model will detail all the walls, floors, slabs, buildings
surfaces, networks and property data related to those objects. This
enables specialist subcontractors and suppliers to see all that information
in a single, integrated model which they can access using BIM tools.
FP: When do you expect the BIM model to become widely used in
the Australian construction and building services sector?
JM: While BIM is not yet being used extensively in these industries,
some large projects in Sydney and Brisbane for instance, are being
driven by major client groups who are requiring BIM on their projects.
Their goal is to receive all of the information possible about their
building at handover to assist them in achieving objectives such as
Greenstar ratings. This is creating a much greater focus and priority on
obtaining good information about the building that the asset managers
can then use to accurately measure, improve and substantiate the actual
building performance that they’re targeting for sustainability compliance.
FP: What are the greatest likely benefits to come from a
paradigmatic shift to BIM?
JM: The move from a 2D drafting or documentation process to a 3D
modelling one has the potential to deliver a number of significant
benefits. In the case of designers this is a move from a focus on
documentation to a focus on designing, and understanding and
optimising building performance, a timely and necessary change to
support the Government’s commitment to greenhouse gas reduction.
For contractors and suppliers BIM provides the basis for improved and
faster construction with less errors in documentation, reduced waste,
better use of resources and ultimately better quality of the constructed
product. For owners and managers, availability of integrated holistic
building information that will support a change to strategic versus
emergency maintenance, and the development of property knowledge
bases that deliver better operational environments for users over longer
time frames and optimise facility investment strategies.
FP: How can BIM improve building performance?
JM: When building a model, you are automatically assembling all of
the building elements and the documentation at the same time. This
means that instead of putting a lot of time into the documentation, there
is more time to redirect to design and simulation. This gives BIM the
huge advantage of putting more resources into understanding the
performance of buildings which is exactly what we have to achieve in
order to meet the future challenge of greenhouse gas emission targets.
BIM continues to impact in the construction stage, by providing ways of
TOWARD A CARBON ECONOMY
manufacturing and assembling the final product in faster and more
efficient ways.
FP: Could you give an example of this?
JM: BIM can assist us to better understand the material performance
of the external shell as the principal modifier of the external environment.
Today thermal analysis is largely left to a specific point late in the
architect’s design development. However, what we need is thermal
performance advice at all phases of the process, so before we commit to
a specific design when the costs of change are increasingly prohibitive,
we can make strategic decisions. By entering key information into BIM
and exporting that design model to the specialist engineering
consultants, we can simulate patterns of daylight, solar load, shading and
then measure the thermal performance scientifically. We can then ask;
what would happen if we changed this window to a higher performance
energy transmission glass, or what impact would it have on the total
operating cost in terms of energy consumption?
With BIM aided design we’re moving into an era where we will have
much better understanding about the impact of multiple, often
conflicting design measures which will lead to much more holistic
building design. BIM is a key facilitator of that process not only because
it reduces clashes and errors in the documentation process, it also
enhances our ability to collaborate with specialists in the thermal analysis,
sustainability and lifecycle costing aspects of a building as well.
FP: BIM is clearly viable for new building projects but what
challenges are involved in setting up BIM for existing buildings?
JM: If you had a good 2D drawing, you can build the BIM easily
because you’re working off an accurate “tracing”. There are also several
emerging techniques that allow you to measure complicated existing
buildings. On the FM Exemplar: Sydney Opera House project, for
instance, the shell of the Opera Hall is a very complex shape. In order to
produce an accurate 3D model of that shell the consultants used a
technique which fires rays that form a point cloud of dots with
geometrical coordinates. When you connect those points together you
generate a surface which gives you an accurate representation of that
surface.
With the additional application of photogrammetry, these techniques
are becoming more and more sophisticated. The City of Sydney is
currently undertaking a comprehensive aerial survey of the whole city to
build a digital 3D model of its built environment. If you merge these
techniques with BIM then you have access to several different ways of
creating otherwise very complicated information about existing buildings
and structures.
FP: Speaking of Sydney Opera House, can you give a very brief
overview of the FM Exemplar project that you worked on?
JM: Sydney Opera House is a very unique building and has
demanding operational requirements. The FM Exemplar Project: Sydney
Opera House considered two key issues. The first looked at whether
having a BIM as a master database for the building would be a practical
and viable option as opposed to multiple disconnected applications that
looked after work orders, security, finance, budgeting, event
management, maintenance and all the traditional roles that facility
management concerns itself with. The second looked at what key
performance indicators could be developed to support better
management and improved utilisation of the facility.
FP: What was your role on the project?
JM: My role was to assess whether a BIM using the open model
sharing standard IFC (International Foundation Classes) could actually
support the data information requirements of Sydney Opera House from
a building management perspective.
FP: Can you describe some of the specific challenges that you
encountered in developing an operational BIM for Sydney Opera
House?
JM: The greatest challenge faced in the FM Exemplar Project:
Sydney Opera House was the lack of accurate, well-coordinated digital
f a c i l i t y perspectives • 57
TOWARD A CARBON ECONOMY
data. Sydney Opera House was opened by the Queen in 1982 which,
coincidentally, also marked the emergence of 2D CAD tools, so almost
all the original documentation of Sydney Opera House was still in the
form of ink drawings on tracing paper rather than in the new digital CAD
form.
At the completion of Sydney Opera House’s construction, the NSW
Public Works Department created some CAD drawings but they were
examples of the very first generation of 2D CAD drawings in Australia.
The technology was new and difficult to operate and the skill level of
operators at the time was still low which meant that these original digital
documents haven’t really stood the test of time.
To generate a fully operational BIM system for Sydney Opera House,
we required a full and accurate digital record of the entire building and
currently this simply does not exist. However, as a pragmatic procedure,
whenever they have a new building project or upgrade, Sydney Opera
House is now planning an incremental BIM which over time will build up
the database that a fully operational BIM model requires. The FM
Exemplar Project: Sydney Opera House was an exploration of the
working potential of an operational BIM, so it will be up to future
initiatives to build a full working BIM model.
FP: What were the key learning’s to arise from that project?
JM: Sydney Opera House is an extraordinarily complicated building
in terms of its spatial organisation and engineering services. The building
structure has very complicated shells which are a challenge for any BIM
tool to represent accurately. JPW and Arup, the architects and engineers
for the building, had already completed an extensive model of the
proposed new developments for the Opera Hall. The FM Exemplar
Project: Sydney Opera House then took parts of that model and tested
whether we could exchange it with other applications and incorporate
additional property data to create a fully integrated BIM system. One of
the key tests that we did was on a Presentation Index that Sydney Opera
House had developed for the very high level of facility presentation
required in their public spaces. This lead to a BIM assisted measurement
tool to monitor cleanliness, visual appearance and traditional
maintenance which would ensure that those aspects supported what
patrons of Sydney Opera House would expect of Australia’s foremost
cultural centre.
FP: Interoperability is a key feature of BIM. What is required to
achieve the kind of interoperability required by BIM?
JM: One of the largest criticisms of drawing based practice today is
the low quality of documentation and the large number of errors
involved with multi-disciplinary documentation when produced in
disparate forms by multiple parties.
One of the great advantages of BIM is that it is a single model where
you can store information about every aspect of a building from concept
to operation. However, to achieve this kind of synthesis of information,
BIM requires that a building service engineer can export a model that
can be shared with the architect and all the other engineers, builders and
facility managers. In essence, interoperability is about developing and
sharing a common language for understanding and describing buildings.
FP: Does this common language currently exist?
JM: buildingSMART, a not-for-profit international alliance dedicated
to improving the facility and infrastructure lifecycle, has developed a
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58 • f a c i l i t y perspectives
standard for model sharing called IFC. It’s a non-proprietary, open
standard that can be used by anyone and everyone in the industry. This
is a fundamental difference between BIM and the 2D CAD world where
there are no open standards for drawing sharing. Proprietary standards
lock information into information silos, discourage innovation, and tie
users to cartels. buildingSMART delivers an open standard that everyone
can access to improve interoperability and full lifecycle implementation of
building information models.
FP: What impediments are there to adopting an open standard for
BIMs?
JM: It’s remarkable that the construction sector is the last business
sector to make the paradigm shift into the digital environment. All other
business sectors have developed their global definitions of information
management in their domain of activity more than 10 years ago and
some many more. The key issue with this is that without an open
standard for sharing information about buildings or the built
environment, a large number of participants face barriers, extra costs and
continued unreliability of data. The cost of interoperability has been
documented around the world and is estimatedi to contribute 10-15% to
the cost of construction in Australia which represents $2 billion in
Queensland each year alone.
For the construction sector to deliver better quality outcomes for the
built environment, we have to share information more easily and reliably;
we have to move from a product-centric process that is locked to
proprietary software environments, to an information-centric industry
based on open data sharing. This will deliver innovative value based
processes supported by best of breed tools chosen on the quality of
product functionality.
To help overcome impediments, the CRC for Construction
Innovation is working with industry to develop a dynamic set of National
Guidelines to promote consistency in the implementation of digital
models for building and infrastructure projects. The National Guidelines
intend to promote uniform guidelines for open, interoperable BIM usage
and business processes for building and infrastructure projects over
facility life cycle to avoid overlap and duplication as experienced with 2D
CAD. Lessons learned from case studies where integrated, digital models
have been developed and used will inform development of future
guidelines.
FP: Finally, what is the cost of setting up a BIM? What cost-benefit
analysis needs to be undertaken?
JM: There’s a widely held opinion across the industry that to invest in
BIM technology is a very expensive exercise but I think this is completely
mistaken. Certainly the cost is not an impediment in new buildings since
the experience of BIM users is that you can build a model of a building
much faster that you can produce a set of drawings of a building. You are
also left with a much more valuable resource because BIM provides a
fully integrated information model of the building for the downstream
participants.
Clients and governments have a role in understanding and
promoting the benefits of BIM and open standards to the whole industry.
It is not a case of architects alone having to change to BIM and bear the
brunt of the transition cost; it’s a national and even global change for the
whole of construction sector to support the creation of a more
sustainable built environment.
i Getting It Right First Time, IEAUST, etc
CLIENT FEATURE

IFM is an Australian company

with offices in Sydney and Perth
IFM is a specialist provider of facilities management
and spatial solutions and services. With our highly
experienced team and 25 staff based in NSW and
WA we are able to supply and support software
solutions matched to specific customers needs. In
particular, we specialise in the supply,
implementation and development of fully integrated
systems in building asset and facility management,
linked to core business systems. Through the use
of graphical plans, intelligent databases and
specialist software systems, corporate data can be
maintained and distributed throughout the
corporate to those who need it.

Our client base from Corporate, Local and State

Government sectors include: BHP Billiton, RAC,
Perth Zoo, Aged Care Providers, Private and Public
Hospitals, Schools and Universities.

IFM is the Prime distributor for GIS vendor

Computer Aided Development Corporation
(Cadcorp) in Australia and New Zealand and a
Reseller for ARCHIBUS and Autodesk products.

• We have been involved in FM, GIS and CAD

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• Australian company with International
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WHY WE ARE DIFFERENT
At IFM, we offer more than the best service and
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Whether you need enterprise corporate systems

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your investment in systems and data, adding
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systems.

f a c i l i t y perspectives • 59
TOWARD A CARBON ECONOMY

Life Cycle Assessment –

creating a business language
for the environment
BY MELANIE DRUMMOND

With increasing pressure on facility managers to take up

the reins of steering a facility’s energy efficiency
program, it’s becoming more important for FMs to
present a clear business case for implementing green
initiatives. For many, putting parameters on
‘sustainability’ can mean churning through masses
of generic environmental information
in search of tangible frameworks
to put forward.
According to the Centre for
Design’s research consultant,
Andrew Carre, life cycle
assessment (LCA) has given voice
to the environment by providing
businesses with a means to quantify
their impacts and therefore
demonstrate the cost savings and strategic
benefits of ‘going green’. Facility Perspectives’
Melanie Drummond spoke to Andrew about the
likelihood of LCA becoming commonplace for
companies committed to transparency of
environmental practices.

A
lso referred to as cradle-to-grave analysis, Life Cycle Assessment
is the investigation and evaluation of the environmental impacts
of a product, process or service throughout its life. The LCA
process itself involves assessing the impacts of the extraction and
processing of raw materials, transportation and distribution, use, reuse,
maintenance and final disposal.
Working at RMIT’s Centre for Design in the field of Life Cycle
Assessment, Andrew Carre spends most of his time helping
manufacturers, businesses, government departments and multinational
corporations minimise the impacts of their products and processes on
the environment.
“LCA is a way of trying to calculate the potential environmental
impact of a product or a process by looking at all the different ways a
product or process touches the environment or interacts with it over its
lifetime. You look at a product and work out what drives the main impact
and you then see if you can make some changes to reduce that total
impact – it’s very much a directional assessment technique.”
When a LCA is undertaken, results are usually expressed in terms of
environmental indicators. One example of an LCA indicator is global
warming, assessed by measuring the carbon dioxide and greenhouse
gas emissions that occur throughout the life of a product or process.
Other LCA indicators include the impacts of a product or process on
water use, fossil fuels depletion, pollution and even the effects on human
health. On the whole, Andrew finds most companies tend to focus on
one or two measures that fall in line with priorities or business objectives.
“The really good thing about LCA is its quantification of
environmental impacts. Some impact indicators are probably more useful
and understandable than others such as kilograms of carbon dioxide
when you’re talking about global warming. Another impact indicator is
fossil fuels depletion, and although it has a very difficult unit of measure,
it allows us to gauge how exposed to fossil fuels a product or process is
across its life cycle. Business people can then interpret these results in
terms of the commercial risk they’re running by manufacturing a
particular product or continuing to operate in the same way. Both of
those measures are objective and things you can really stack up against a
financial implication.”
As a concept, Life Cycle Assessment first emerged in the 60s and
70s but Andrew believes the increasing focus on LCA in today’s market
can be ascribed to the uncertainty surrounding the potential future costs
of carbon.
“People want to understand what aspects of their product or process
are driving global warming impacts and they want to know how they can
reduce those impacts. Until you have a carbon trading or carbon tax
system in place it’s really difficult for a business to know what costs it will
incur. They’re aware that there’s likely to be a cost associated with carbon
and they’d like to understand where in their supply chain that cost might
occur. The uncertainty is leading a lot of people to develop an
understanding of LCA so they’re prepared when changes happen.”
The innumerable environmental terms, slogans, jargon and
buzzwords that have flooded the industry have undoubtedly made it
harder for companies to decide where to spend money on reducing
environmental impacts. With so many choices, Andrew suggests
companies take a close look at what will be the most effective decision in
terms of reducing their environmental load and saving money.

60 • f a c i l i t y perspectives
 TOWARD A CARBON ECONOMY

“I think where LCA becomes very powerful is that it allows you to “LCA is a fairly complex methodology and it’s fairly easy to
quantify environmental impacts, and in a business setting that can be manipulate. I think people using LCA, or having consultants prepare Life
very useful. As a language for communicating sustainability in business, Cycle Assessments for them, need to make sure they can understand
it’s very, very effective. I think when you raise environmental concepts in very clearly how those results were calculated and they need to exercise
business without quantification; they’re very difficult to get traction on.” a degree of due diligence when reviewing information. It has become a
“You need to be able to say how many kilograms of carbon dioxide field that has a growing number of consultants, and I think people need
will be reduced by changing the way things are done. I think it goes a to be careful about choosing consultants that provide high quality work.
little bit beyond that too, by quantifying impacts you start talking a It’s a time consuming and costly exercise to do LCA properly. I think with
language that’s very analogous to financial language; it suits a financial Life Cycle Assessment it’s very easy to get an answer but a really good
audience better than when you talk about the environment in fluffy study will tell the whole story between what’s happening across the
terms. Executives like to make decisions when they can say exactly what business life cycle and the resulting environmental impacts. If you can’t
they’ve achieved, but if you’re talking in very generic environmental see the link it won’t be a quality study.”
terms how can an executive decide how much money to invest in a So how can a company ensure they find the right consultant for the
project?” job?
When clients request a LCA of their business processes, Andrew “It’s a challenging question. There isn’t an accreditation system so
takes into account the daily activities which might be contributing to the LCA consultants aren’t accredited at the moment. There is however a
most significant areas of environmental impact. It’s also important, before standard for undertaking Life Cycle Assessments – ISO 14040 - and
undertaking LCA, that the consultant and client agrees on a system ensuring that a consultant is going to produce a report that is consistent
boundary - outlining what will and won’t be included in the assessment. with that standard is probably the best thing they can do to ensure it
“What LCA does, that a lot of other studies don’t, is look beyond the covers the most useful aspects of LCA. I also think when choosing a
gates of the operation to assess the broader environmental impacts. If consultant it’s really important to look at what work that they’ve done in
you’re a bureaucracy and you’re consuming paper then you need to the past to see if it’s going to be useful to you.”
understand what the impacts of manufacturing that paper are in the first “LCA is most useful when a business or an operation has made a
place before you think about reducing its use. A lot of people also decision strategically around sustainability and wants to see that decision
overlook the tail end of a process which is often the waste that exits a actually translate into actions. LCA, to me, is far more about what you say
facility. We find in many facilities that not much effort goes into in the annual report or sustainability report as opposed to proving some
segregating waste and that the impacts of something ending up in sort of short term marketing point. By this I mean that LCA can be an
landfill which could otherwise have been recycled can be very, very excellent guide to help business achieve tangible environmental results
significant. Employee transport to and from work can also be a really and to demonstrate that achievement. You’ve got to be serious about it
good one to include if you think you can influence it – but there’s not as a business, not just see it as short term green marketing mechanism to
much point if you don’t think you can change it.” differentiate yourself until the next thing comes along. I think customers
While the benefits of conducting a LCA of your business operations are getting wise to ‘green wash’ and the role of legislation in the future
are evident, one of the principal obstacles to overcome - particularly for will soon force companies to substantiate environmental claims more
small to medium-sized businesses – is cost. Due to the time required to rigorously. In such an environment, only those companies that can
research and provide a credible and accurate LCA, committing fairly demonstrate a sustained and deep commitment to environmental
significant capital to an assessment is likely to be a factor that won’t outcomes will be able to successfully differentiate themselves in the long
change anytime soon. Andrew does believe however that investing in term.”
Life Cycle Assessment can provide valuable savings for companies
further down the track.
“You might not necessarily know where your impacts are until you’ve
done a LCA. You might have decided that you need a new ‘green’
building to reduce energy use when in reality a large part of your
business’s impact surrounds the materials you’re consuming in that
building - which won’t change by just moving premises. For example, it
might end up making more sense to upgrade your computers to make
them more energy effective. What you might find is that if you do spend
$15 – 20,000 on a Life Cycle Assessment, it might be more efficient to
put effort into some of the small things and not so cost effective to
consider the much larger investments.”
Facility Managers play a crucial part in the LCA process - often
Andrew’s first port of call when looking into a company’s environmental
impact on areas such as water and energy.
“I think a priority for Facility Managers using LCA, should be
ensuring they can understand how the consultant has translated the
impacts of their business into environmental indicators like global
warming. They need to be able to see the links between the things they
can control, such as energy and lighting use, and what that means in
terms of environmental indicators such as global warming. I don’t think
it’s beyond any competent facility manager to understand those linkages
and they should be very wary when those linkages are not clear or the
consultant is unwilling to explain them.”
Andrew agrees that having a good understanding of a company’s
LCA outcomes also places Facility Managers in a better position when
articulating plans of action at the boardroom level. Affordable, Customised Solutions in
“My experience with facilities is that it has often been an
undervalued area for investment in a business, especially an older one. I Emergency Procedures & Training
think what LCA can give an FM is some quantification of the benefits that
will come from a proposed project, whether it be energy efficiency Minimise Your Risks.
initiatives across the site, a water treatment facility on site, or a waste
segregation system.”
As companies and facility managers alike, struggle to differentiate phone: (02) 9787 5177
between who really has their best ‘green’ interests at heart, Andrew email: admin@adairfire.com.au
warns of the potential for LCA to be overused and misrepresented by
people claiming to be industry consultants. website: www.adairfire.com.au

f a c i l i t y perspectives • 61
FM Action Agenda:
Towards a sustainable future
BY STEPHEN BALLESTY OF RIDER LEVETT BUCKNALL AND FMA AUSTRALIA IMMEDIATE PAST
CHAIRMAN, FM ACTION AGENDA DEPUTY CHAIRMAN AND IFMA FOUNDATION TRUSTEE AND
DAVID DUNCAN, CEO, FMA AUSTRALIA

The Facilities Management (FM) Action Agenda resulted from FMA Australia’s advocacy
efforts in late 2003. We demonstrated to the Australian Government that FM was a key
integrator across a range of professions and services throughout the lifecycle of crucial
infrastructure. During 2004 our strategic plan entitled ‘Managing the Built Environment’
(2005) was developed. This set out a 20 point action plan to improve the recognition of
FM as the foremost contributor to a productive and sustainable Built Environment
through improved innovation, education, sustainability and regulatory reform.

I
n concluding the third and final year of the FM Action Agenda’s
implementation phase, our thoughts are focussed on the future and
the potential of the FM industry to make a difference. Over the past
three (3) years significant progress has been made on a range of
initiatives across the innovation, education, regulatory reform and
sustainability platforms. The FM Action Agenda has not only enhanced
FM’s recognition locally in Australia with some 40 presentations to date,
but has reached out globally via downloads, articles and conferences in
Asia, Europe and North America.
The 2008 Transition Plan for the FM Action Agenda has now been
approved and provides for tangible outcomes for industry and
government, positioning FMA Australia as the peak industry body and
custodian equipped to develop the initiatives and implement
recommendations for continuing the FM Action Agenda legacy.
2006-08 Implementation Phase Highlights
1. fostering of an Innovation culture and forum for FM with the
website www.fmactionagenda.org and research projects on
Services Procurement and Workplace Productivity leading to
future guidelines
2. greater Education & Training focus fostering FM as a
professional career path within Vocational, Technical and Higher
Education, with Australia’s first undergraduate FM degree
program in 2007, and others in 2008 and a pilot scheme for a
‘Workplace Training on Sustainability’ program to commence in
July 2008
3. advocacy for Regulatory Reform, namely increased national
harmonization and regulatory requirements mapping along with
a pilot on-line ‘Legislation Guide’ to improve compliance
efficiency

Commitment – The mobilisation of an average of 65 volunteers per
annum for the three (3) year Implementation Phase. Notably some 28 of
those individuals acknowledged in the Year 3 Report have been involved
for the entire 36 month duration, and for some the journey has been
even longer.
This level of commitment combined with the outstanding support the
FM Action Agenda has enjoyed from the private and public sector
stakeholders and industry bodies locally and abroad is testament to the
importance of the issues and the quality of FM people.
The quality of government and industry support for the FM Action
Agenda as a unique collaborative initiative over and extended period has
been consistently excellent, with too many supporters to name in this
short update.
Achievements – If the FM Action Agenda’s goals could be summarised
into one word it would be “Recognition”. However, the measurement of
our success has be expressed in terms of the achievements across the
Recognition Working Group platforms, some highlights included;
4. support of Sustainability with broad industry liaisons and the
development of “a Practical Guide to Sustainability for
Operational Facility Managers” soon to be released by FMA
Australia
5. FM Exemplar Project: Sydney Opera House research,
publications and showcase presentations series, demonstrating
‘FM as a business enabler’. The award winning FM Exemplar
Project supported the FM Action Agenda in promoting the
benefits of improved and integrated information systems,
service delivery and performance benchmarking for the benefit
of FM industry stakeholders and ultimately the community.
Communications – The FM Action Agenda’s combination of issues and
progress against an action plan was created by focused industry wide
dialogue and implemented by FM focus area working groups. This,
combined with timing, captured the imaginations and spoke to industry
stakeholders, not just locally as intended but globally.

“the FM Action Agenda has been remarkably

successful, achieving on multiple initiatives,
contributing significantly to the body of FM industry
knowledge and demonstrating Australia’s leadership
in the FM profession globally”
John McCarthy
Chairman, FM Action Agenda Implementation Board
and Chairman, AEH Group

62 • f a c i l i t y perspectives
 Recent examples have included presenting at FMA Australia’s
ideaction 2008 on the Gold Coast in support of the theme of ‘enabling
sustainable communities’. Also in May but on the other side of the
Pacific, the FM Action Agenda was the keynote at IFMA’s California
Sustainability Mayday in Sacramento www.californiamayday.com and
sharing ideas with California Government representatives including
Rosario Marin, Secretary of the State and Consumer Resources Agency
for the California Government as the leader of Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger’s Green Action Team responsible for implementing a
policy aimed at ‘greening’ the state.
In June while presenting at the European Facility Management
Conference (EFMC ’08) in Manchester www.euroforum.com/efmc2008
there was the opportunity to join an international panel, which included
the current Chairmen of EuroFM, IFMA, BIFM, Global FM and the RICS-
FM Faculty, to examine FM trends and hot issues worldwide. Not
surprisingly the FM Action Agenda was dealt with first, and recognised
for its leadership.
Then closer to home, on 30 June, participating in the Property
Council of Australia’s Existing Building Solutions Summit 2008 in Sydney,
and sharing the lessons learnt through the FM Exemplar Project. The
sustainability challenge of relifing, maintaining and managing the Built
Environment was the foremost issue.
The FM Action Agenda’s achievements and conclusions are planned
to be presented to industry, to date invitations have been accepted for
16 October in Dallas, 21 October in Beijing and 13 November in Sydney.

Focusing on your sites’ people, Praxeo monitors:

Moving Forward

The FM Action Agenda’s implementation phase officially concluded at

the end of June 2008. However, it should be noted that it was always
anticipated that many of the FM Action Agenda’s initiatives would not
have defined completion dates. This concept of continuing
improvement and expanding opportunities has been incorporated within
the 2008 Transition Plan. Hence, our Recognition Working Groups
completion targets by Action and the resulting deliverables have not all
been set at “100%” for handover.
In line with the Implementation Board’s wish to ensure that the ideas
progress and that the intellectual property is preserved, the Transition
Plan generally anticipates that FMA Australia will be the principal future
custodian to continue the FM Action Agenda legacy.
The FM Action Agenda: 2008 Transition Plan sets out
Implementation Phase achievements, deliverables and recommendations
intended to influence the future of the FM industry.

Full details are available in the FM Action Agenda: Year 3

Implementation Report to be released soon. Should you wish to
receive a copy of the concluding FM Action Agenda: Implementation
Year 3 Report you can contact:

Belinda Ralph
Tel: +61 3 8641 6605
Email: br@fma.com.au

Stephen Ballesty
Tel: +61 2 9922 2277
Email: stephen.ballesty@au.rlb.com

f a c i l i t y perspectives • 63
ESSENTIAL SAFETY MEASURES
Building Update
About the Hendry Group
Derek Hendry is the Managing Director of the Hendry Group of consultancy companies,
including Essential Property Services. Derek pioneered the ‘private certification’ system of
building approvals in Australia , and his nationally based consultancy offices assist clients
in all facets of building control and essential safety measure audits. The Hendry Group
publish an e-newsletter entitled ‘essential matters’, available online at www.emau.com.au,
and their new service, BCA Illustrated (at www.bcai.com.au), offers 3000 illustrations
explaining and interpreting the BCA as it applies to your building.
VIC: Annual Essential Safety Measures Report
A reminder that from 13 June 2008 building owners of all buildings
(old and new) will be required to sign an ‘annual essential safety
measures report’ (AESMR) for the previous 12 months, 13 June 2009.
Essential safety measures (ESM) are nominated in the Building
Regulations for the building owner to identify, inspect, test and maintain.
An ESM can either be passive (fire rated wall) or active (an exit sign). All
buildings contain a number of ESM with an emphasis on egress.
Inspections are an integral part of the compliance system. Building
owners need to ensure that they are professionally carried out and
reported correctly. Mandatory inspections have varying frequencies
depending on the building type.
Building owners can now consolidate previously issued Occupancy
Permits and Certificates of Final Inspection into one document known as
the Maintenance Schedule through a building surveyor. The benefit to
the building owner is that only one anniversary date will exist for the
entire building when signing the AESMR, not multiple AESMR’s
throughout the year.
It is important that the building owner keeps all records of tests,
maintenance and inspections for verification when called upon by an
authority to validate the signing of the AESMR.
QLD: Certificate of Maintenance – No Longer
Facility managers must take note of the changes to the Building Fire
Safety Regulation 1991 which took affect on the 1July 2008 requiring
additional reporting to the Queensland Fire & Rescue Service (QFRS) on
maintenance of fire safety installations.
These changes to the Building Fire Safety Regulation 1991 come
into affect under the Building Act 1975, Fire and Rescue Service Act
1990, Queensland Building Services Authority Act 1991 and State
Penalties Enforcement Act 1999. The new regulation as made will be
called the “Building Fire Safety Regulation 2008”.
Under the provisions of the new regulation the previously mandatory
“Certificate of Maintenance” has been repealed. A revised version of
the “Record of Maintenance” is now required to be submitted to the
QFRS on an annual basis and must now include specific information of
not only maintenance and testing of “Special Fire Services” but all
“Prescribed Fire Safety Installations”.
The new Record of Maintenance must include the following details
and supportive documentation;
3 Details of maintenance and contractors undertaking
maintenance works on a fire safety installation in a prescribed
format.
3 Relevant dates
3 Maintenance standards complied with and relevant to the fire
safety installation.
3 Reasons for non compliance with installed fire safety installations
3 Details of repairs to fire safety installations
3 Condition reporting from maintenance contractors
Supplementary documentation requirements;
1. Statement signed by various contractors verifying the testing
and maintenance standards achieved.
64 • f a c i l i t y perspectives
2. Details of Critical Defect Notices issued by maintenance
contractors
AUST: Essential Safety Measure Schedules
There have been a number of cases where property owners and
facility managers have been nominated on a statutory document
requiring the owner (and tenant in some states) to ensure the essential
safety measures are inspected, tested and maintained to a nominated
level, especially where tenants have altered a building. With Queensland
and Victoria recently introducing significant changes to their essential
safety measures regulations, it is wise for all facility managers to take
notice.
Facility managers should also be careful to ensure that the
authorities (building surveyor) essential safety measures schedule is
accurate and correct. You may wish to check:
3 the correct Australian Standard being nominated.
3 the required frequency of inspections.
3 minor tenancy works that affect the whole building, thus causing
a rise in maintenance costs for the whole building.
3 to see if an agreed performance basis can be reached for certain
essential safety measures, thus reducing costs.
3 have all the essential safety measures being listed accurately.
If the builder has a 12 month warrantee period make sure an
independent inspection/ audit of the essential safety measures is made
prior to making the last payment. Significant items can be overlooked in
the first 12 months requiring rectification works after the builder has been
paid out, especially when the builder has commissioned maintenance
and inspection contractors within this period.
AUST: BCA 2009 Amendments for Comment
The draft changes for the 2009 edition of the Building Code of
Australia have been placed on the ABCB website for public comment
and to give BCA users advance notice of proposals that may take effect
from 1 May 2009. Go to www.abcb.gov.au to view the changes.
QLD: Critical Elements for Emergencies
Facility managers need reminding that it’s now mandatory to inspect
the critical elements of your emergency and evacuation system. AS1851-
2005 (Maintenance of Fire Protection Systems and Equipment) makes it
mandatory to undertake monthly inspections of the Critical Elements and
Records of Emergency Evacuation Procedures in all commercial buildings
in Queensland (AS1851 is a compulsory compliance document in
Queensland).
The Standard introduced in 2005 sets out requirements for the
inspection and testing of the critical emergency evacuation system
elements and records used in the controlled evacuation of buildings,
structures and workplaces during emergencies.
There are 3 levels of inspections and testing is required monthly, 6
monthly and annually.
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66 • f a c i l i t y perspectives
CLIENT FEATURE

Your Facility is our Priority

M
aintaining a competitive
edge in business means
continually monitoring and
evaluating each aspect of
organisational operation. As a result,
outsourcing is becoming an
increasingly popular option for all
sized organizations, contributing to
the shift in responsibility to people
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outlay and invest in the total
benefits of user-ship that is
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requirements.

Most Facility Managers turn to

Aircon Rentals for cost effective
emergency air-conditioning. Aircon
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temporary air conditioning,
providing reliable high performance
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As a continually innovating
company, Aircon Rentals also offer
solutions for remote or unoccupied
sites. If your site is un-manned, you
don’t have to worry about your
Aircon Rental’s temporary air
conditioning system. As optional
accessories we can offer wireless
alarm monitoring, and automatic
condensate removal, giving you a
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have been utilised in many applications including temporary Air-conditioning requirements.
customer service areas, staff facilities, server rooms,
warehouses for OH&S safety, hospital wards, meeting We also look after the environment with over 80% of our
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Aircon Rentals harnesses the skills and technical know-
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working environment. As Facility Managers know,
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such as hospitals where climate control can be critical.
Aircon Rentals operates Australia wide, 24 hours a day,
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f a c i l i t y perspectives • 67
ENERGY & THE ENVIRONMENT

A Comparison of
Green Rating Tools
BY CHARLIE SIMSON, POLICY ADVISOR, FMA AUSTRALIA.

With all the rating tools available, one could be forgiven if there
was some level of confusion over which rating tool should be
utilised in assessing your facility’s performance. Charlie Simson,
Policy Advisor from FMA Australia outlines the features of the three
leading rating tools, provides a comparison between them, and
outlines a case study to illustrate their benefits.

F
acility Managers anxious to ensure they are acting responsibly
regarding their role in reducing carbon emissions in the built
environment have no shortage of assessment tools to choose from.
Government organisations at Federal and State levels and a plethora of
industry organisations in the private sector have rallied to provide
assessment solutions to the vexing question of what constitutes
environmentally sound management practice.
While the result of all this activity has led to a multitude of
measurement tools and practices, it would be fair to say that the ‘new’
industry sector has matured rather quickly, with concerted and
collaborative efforts made at all levels of government, industry
associations and private sector organisations to arrive at some sort of
consensus on the way forward.
The result of these collaborations have produced and refined a finite
number of methodologies and tools that have proven to be robust,
practical in their assessment approaches and reasonably user-friendly,
given the volume of information required to be able to assess your
facility’s performance effectively.
Chief amongst these are the following:
Green Star
Developed through industry consultation by the Green Building
Council of Australia, Green Star measures building design potential
across a range of environmental factors, and produces a scoring range of
a maximum of six stars, down to a present minimum of four stars.
The Green Star system is essentially a branding system that allows
organisations to brand their buildings as Green Star certified if they reach
certain green design thresholds. The accreditation system allows an

68 • f a c i l i t y perspectives

organisation to verify and receive recognition for their efforts at creating
a green building.
Green star measures design efforts across the following categories:
3 Management
3 Energy
3 Indoor Environment Quality
3 Water
3 Transport
3 Materials
3 Land Use & Ecology
3 Emissions
3 Innovation
The categories are divided into credits, with a maximum number of
credits available for each category. Credits are awarded for initiatives
that improve or have the potential to improve environmental
performance. Once all claimed credits in each category are assessed, a
percentage score is calculated and Green Star environmental weighting
factors are then applied. Green Star environmental weighting factors vary
across states and territories to reflect diverse environmental concerns
across Australia.
Once an application for a Green Star rating has been assessed, the
building is awarded a number of stars reflecting the extent to which the
building is green. Green Star certifications have a minimum requirement
of a four star achievement to be awarded a Green Star rating, although
the tools can still be used to assess a building and identify opportunities
for improvement if the building does not reach the four star threshold.
Green Star ratings are
3 Four Star Green Star Certified Rating – “Best Practice”
3 Five Star Green Star Certified Rating – “Australian Excellence”
3 Six Star Green Star Certified Rating – “World Leader”
Green Star Rating Tools Green Star PILOT Rating Tools
Green Star – Office Existing Building
Green Star - Office Design v3
EXTENDED PILOT
Green Star - Office As Built v3 Green Star – Education PILOT
Green Star - Office Design v2 Green Star – Healthcare PILOT
Green Star – Shopping Centre Design
Green Star - Office As Built v2
PILOT
Green Star – Multi Unit Residential
Green Star - Office Interiors v1.1
PILOT
Green Star – Mixed Use PILOT
NB: Green Star Office Existing Building is rated on a one to six Star scale.
Australian Building Greenhouse Rating (ABGR)
Administered by the NSW Department of Environment and Climate
Change (DECC), the ABGR measures energy efficiency performance
based on twelve months of data, and has a performance scoring range
of a minimum of one star, to a present maximum of five stars.
The ABGR system allows organisations to assess their energy
consumption based on actual energy data for the preceding twelve
months and benchmarks their performance against other organisations.
ABGR may be used to assess performance of a whole building, base
building or tenancy. A rating is valid for twelve months, after which
organisations are required to reassess their consumption if they wish to
continue using the ABGR branding.
The ABGR scheme rates buildings from one to five stars with five
stars representing exceptional greenhouse performance. Current market
best practice in Australia is three stars.
The ABGR rating scheme has recently been expanded to cater for
new buildings. Due to the lack of actual consumption data from new
buildings, ABGR allows developers and/or building owners to sign on to
a Commitment Agreement that states their commitment to design, build
and commission the premises to a four, four and a half or five star level.
Once twelve months of consumption data is available the building can
then be assessed to give it an accredited rating.
The ABGR energy calculator is available free online for anyone to
use. The calculator allows an organisation to assess its energy
consumption, compare it to other buildings or organisations and identify
ENERGY & THE ENVIRONMENT
areas of possible saving. If the organisation then wishes to be able to
use the ABGR branding, an accredited rating can be obtained.
Accredited Assessors charge customers for each rating, which
includes a certificate, according to the time that is involved to collect and
analyse the relevant data. There is no set fee or recommended retail
price. As a rough guide, ratings usually cost between $1000 and $4000,
depending on the type of rating, the size of the rated area and the
availability of the required data. Once a certificate is issued it is valid for
12 months.
National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS)
Administered by the NSW Department of Environment and Climate
Change (DECC), NABERS Office measures energy efficiency and water
use based on twelve months of data, and uses a rated scoring system of
a minimum of one star, to a present maximum of five stars
NABERS Office incorporates the ABGR scheme for energy and
greenhouse efficiency, and the NABERS Office Water rating. Both
measures are assessed on actual consumption data for the previous
twelve months and are tailored for use by building owners, facility
managers, and tenants. The ratings are available for whole building, base
building or tenancy.
The NABERS scheme rates buildings from one to five stars with five
stars representing exceptional greenhouse performance. Current market
best practice in Australia is three stars.
NABERS is currently developing additional tools to enable buildings
to be rated on a full range of measured operational impacts - including
energy use, refrigerants (greenhouse and ozone depletion potential),
water use, stormwater runoff and pollution, sewage, landscape diversity,
transport, indoor air quality, occupant satisfaction, waste and presence of
toxic materials.
Like ABGR, the NABERS rating tools can be used free online to
assess your own likely rating and identify areas of potential savings. If an
organisation wishes to be able to use the NABERS branding, then an
official assessment can be completed by a NABERS assessor. The
Assessor will issue the organisation with a certificate verifying their rating
which is valid for 12 months, the organisation is then entitled to advertise
their rating using the NABERS branding.
Accredited Assessors charge customers for each rating, which
includes the certificate, according to the time that is involved to collect
and analyse the relevant data. There is no set fee or recommended retail
price. Again, as a rough guide, rating usually costs between $1000 and
$4000, depending on the type of rating, the size of the rated area and
the availability of the required data.
Relationships between rating tools
ABGR Vs. NABERS
The NABERS rating tool incorporates the ABGR tool for rating
energy efficiency and its own tool for rating water use and consumption.
The tools are built upon a similar platform; using twelve months actual
consumption data to assess a building’s actual performance. The main
difference lies in the scope of the tools, with ABGR only measuring
energy use and NABERS incorporating water as well.
Both tools provide a rating based on a building’s performance
compared to other like buildings. At this stage, ABGR and NABERS
tools are only available to rate office buildings in the commercial sector
and private homes in the residential sector.
ABGR/NABERS Vs. Green Star
The core difference between Green Star and the ABGR/NABERS
tools is that Green Star rates a building’s potential based on its design
specifications, whereas ABGR/NABERS both rate the performance of a
building based on consumption data.
Because of the difference in rating systems, it is possible for a
building to be rated using both systems. The building design can be
rated using Green Star, and then building performance can be rated using
NABERS or ABGR once twelve months of consumption data is available.
Green Star rating tools consider sustainability factors across nine
different categories to try and ensure a balance is struck between
occupant amenity and comfort, and minimising environmental impact.
NABERS assesses two factors (water use and energy use) whereas ABGR
is only concerned with energy consumption. Green Star tools are also
able to rate a wider variety of buildings than NABERS/ABGR can
accommodate.
f a c i l i t y perspectives • 69
ENERGY & THE ENVIRONMENT

A CASE STUDY

The GPT Group – Building

Sustainable Solutions with
NABERS
The GPT Group has a managed office portfolio comprising
interests in 19 buildings with a value of over $5 billion. In owning
and managing assets GPT seeks to improve the social and
ecological capital of the communities in which it operates. This
objective is followed up with action. Together with their property
management partners, particularly Jones Lang LaSalle Asset
Management Services, they are strong advocates of business
vigorously pursuing greater sustainability through reduced
environmental impact. NABERS has been critical in meeting these
changes. Bruce Precious, GPT’s Sustainability Manager for GPT’s
office and industrial/business park portfolios said that GPT had
been using the NABERS Energy (previously ABGR) benchmark
since well before 2004, highlighting the value that GPT recognise
in the NABERS suite of tools.
“Benchmarking amongst our own buildings as well as against
our peers has served a range of purposes: it informs our on-site
building management teams, it confirms what’s working well and
what’s not, and it has allowed us to set meaningful, widely
understood targets to improve environmental performance. We
have even used NABERS to help clarify the design process for our
newest buildings, so that these additions to our portfolio have a
low environmental impact from day one.”
“Having a standard protocol for measuring performance has
solved a lot of questions for us, such as how to deal with varying
occupant hours, how to deal with non office space, even how to
include factors like car park energy. The NABERS protocols have
provided sound guidance every time.” explained Bruce. Mike
George, National Director – Asset Management Services, Jones
Lang LaSalle, said “NABERS has enabled us to develop with GPT
exciting targets to create significant savings in energy and water
consumption; the strategies that we are putting in place today
should see water consumption drop by 36% and greenhouse
emissions by 45% against a 2006 baseline. These are
considerable savings created even after new assets are added to
the portfolio.”
“Another of the immediate strategies we’ve rolled out quickly
has seen sub-metering through our buildings providing Building
Management Teams with detailed information on how energy
and water are used and how these resources can be saved.”
Mike confirms “The JLL site teams now use the sub-metering In concluding Bruce said: “NABERS has been a critical factor in
information routinely to identify each system that can be further developing GPT’s energy and water savings strategies to deliver
improved in energy and water efficiency. The sub-meter data supports measurable results. Last year water consumption from our buildings was
any business case for the integration of new energy and water saving cut by 200,000 kL, and this year we plan an additional 100,000 kL saving.
equipment, for instance variable speed drives or new high efficiency Greenhouse emissions have been cut by 34,000 tonnes with a further
chillers. Without this data we would have just been guessing as to the 10,000 tonnes per annum saving planned this year, real, measurable and
improvement we could make with our mid term projects.” significant results demonstrating GPT’s leadership in sustainability.”

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70 • f a c i l i t y perspectives

Information Central
BY MAX WINTER
While many facility managers yearn to have a real-time digital and convergent information
resource at their fingertips, for many the reality is less than cutting-edge – but things are
about to change. Max Winter investigates some of the developments surrounding
electronic information filing, storage, and retrieval.
F
acility managers need to deal with a multitude of documents
including tenancy layouts, health and safety information, as-built
drawings, lease agreements, structural drawings, asset registers,
operations and maintenance manuals, compliance auditing records,
essential safety measure log books, procurement contracts, service level
agreements, KPI reports, contractor performance reports, emails, faxes
and written correspondence.
And while a sizable proportion of facility managers’ responsibilities
might encompass routine obligations such as maintenance management,
occupational health and safety monitoring and risk assessment, the
facility managers’ diverse role also involves project based tasks involving
the collaborative efforts of teams assembled to accomplished specific
objectives such as a refurbishment, a plant upgrade, the introduction of
new energy efficient technology, or facilitating an organisations’ change
management process.
On the one hand most of the information requirements of the
statutory bodies that facility managers must deal with as part of their
responsibilities involve the creation and filing and storage of hard-copy
records, while on the other, collaborative project-based teamwork
requires electronic filing, storage and retrieval capability to enable the
information-sharing needed to meet project time and cost deadlines.
FIM, FILING & STORAGE
An FM information management survey organised by FMA Australia
and Aconex last year found that:
3 In 70% of cases, five or more people were responsible for
information management at a facility; in 29% of cases, 20 or
more people were responsible
3 77% of respondents needed access to information for more than
one facility at a time.
3 55% of all information a facility manager uses is from the design
and construction phases.
In terms of compliance requirements, the information required by
facility managers is usually held by authorities such as Councils, Fire
Brigades and the various planning departments who are required to
keep hard-copy records for legislated reasons of security and “proper”
record keeping for legal challenge if needed. This format is not one that
easily lends itself to the real-time sharing and tracked updating of
information in a team environment. Whether the information is made
available through NAS (network available storage) or intranet at site level
or web-based centralised information sharing and storage at organisation
level, facility managers need this information at their finger-tips in real-
time.
The survey also found that 40% of information was stored
f a c i l i t y perspectives • 71
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electronically but that the industry believed that in 2 years this would
double to 80%. One of the developments that might assist in changing
this percentage, is the advent of the electronic Development
Assessment, or eDA.
In 2004 the Development Assessment Forum (DAF), a group that
incudes the three spheres of government - the Commonwealth,
State/Territory and Local Government; the development industry; and
related professional associations, identified the need for a national
electronic data exchange standard for data transactions associated with
the DA process - for all Australian jurisdictions.
The eDA project examined ways to establish an interchange
standard that will encourage the on-line lodgement of building and land
development applications, and having received submissions from
development industry including buildingSmart*, a National
Communication Protocol to facilitate the electronic processing of
development applications has been completed.
The National Communication Protocol was developed using the
eXtensible Markup Language (XML), supported by agreed non-
proprietary formats (file types) for exchanging development assessment
information. The XML schema is compliant with the “Interoperability
Technical Framework for the Australian Government” published by the
Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO).
The project does not aim to create electronic DA systems, but will
focus on enabling existing systems and processes to communicate.
The Regulation Reduction Incentive Fund (RRIF) funded a National
eDA (NeDA) Project that has engaged 92 Councils, with Cairns City
Council as the lead Council, and engaged 12 software vendors that
provide solutions to Councils to implement the eDA Schema (software
solutions).
As of 1 July 2007, Version 1.3.1 of the Schema was to be nationally
adopted as the current standard for electronic development assessment
as outlined by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG):
d) all jurisdictions agree that all new tender specifications for
electronic development assessment software purchased by
Commonwealth, State, Territory and Local Government will incorporate a
FIM, FILING & STORAGE
National Communication Protocol for transferring development
application information electronically from 1 July 2007.
Version 1.4.0 extended the protocol to include building applications.
The protocol is well underway to being adopted by local councils and to
date in New South Wales Strathfield and Shellharbour councils have the
system in place.
On the 23 Feb 2007, the IAI’s Chairman, John Mitchell, gave a
presentation to the Development Assessment Forum (DAF) meeting in
Adelaide.
With a demonstration of a pilot eDA system planned at the end of
February 2007, it was an appropriate time for the IAI to describe its
activity: the specification of a non-proprietary protocol – IFC – for the
sharing of building and related land & utilities data. Whereas DAF has
been implementing a national system for digital processing of DAs, the
IAI has been creating a rich model based protocol for the smart
documents attached in a DA submission.
The complementary fit of the two, so far independent activities,
could not have been more striking. Some of the technology possibilities:
3 An IFC document comprising a model which incorporates all the
data and building description needed for either a DA or a BA,
such as the systems already in use in Norway, Byggsøk for
development assessment, and the Singapore ePlanCheck code
checker. Using their equivalent eDA protocols these web-based
portals operate 24x7 and radically improve accessability, speed
and consistency of compliance processes. Work is also being
undertaken by the US ICCC, under the banner SmartCODES
3 “Smart documents” such as the PDF format & Adobe’s Acrobat
3D application which can contain in a single document
structured text, a navigable building model, linked model views
(traditional drawings such as plans and sections) Interoperability
has been embraced as part of the protocol..
More information:
http://mlaa.com.au/buildingSMART/Presentations/Catherine_Anderson.pdf
* buildingSMART Presentation to DAF Meeting, Adelaide
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CLIENT FEATURE

Smaragd: The ‘Everywhere’ Floor

Forbo has released a new collection of Smaragd, one of the best-known and internationally
highly regarded vinyl floor coverings for non-domestic applications.

B
oasting an R10 slip rating, a place in the highest wear resistance
class possible (Group T), and now also antistatic, Forbo Smaragd is
the flooring choice for most demanding environments.
This latest Smaragd also has the PUR Pearl™ superior polyurethane
reinforced cross-linked coating which provides extremely high resistance
to stains, scratching and scuffing while still remaining flexible and
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Ideal for offices, retail stores, schools and hospital flooring, as well as
where a heavy duty bench top finish is required, Forbo Smaragd requires
less cleaning and maintenance making it perfect for heavy traffic areas.
Three distinct patterns are offered - Smaragd Original, Smaragd
Classic and Smaragd Marble. Each has a wide choice of colours and
patterns offering fresh looks for modern project applications.
Smaragd Original has been conceived with architects in mind. The
high performance vinyl collection offers a selection of 8 colours in a salt
and pepper design. The non- directional pattern has an organic
appearance that has a modern three dimensional effect, effortlessly
blending into a variety of environments.
Smaragd Marble is an impressive and versatile collection with 10
natural colours adding style to any room without dominating it. Staying
true to its name the range has a marble appearance and comes in fashionable colours in a modern fleck design giving a refreshing feel to
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Smaragd Marble has been designed to complement Forbo
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durable Flooring = Forbo Marmoleum
For a flooring that achieves a 100% Green Star rating,
provides high performance without any polishing, requires
minimal low-cost cleaning and provides extreme durability,
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guarantees the unrivalled performance in Forbo’s linoleum
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Carpet
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Vinyl PUR
Topshield™is a technically advanced finish that ensures the
Rubber
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appearance retention – without polishing.
180
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subsequent resealing requirements, which are both eco-
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120 Whole Life Costs include: floorcovering, installation, cleaning and maintenance, strip-out and disposal.
Cash flows have been discounted according to HM Treasury guidelins.
Forbo in conjunction with BRE (Building Research
* Building Research Establishment
Establishment) has produced a comprehensive costing
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years
highlighting that Marmoleum with Topshield has the lowest
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Enquiries:
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f a c i l i t y perspectives • 75
CLIENT FEATURE

Floor Safety Services Australasia

COMPANY PROFILE Product List

Our mission statement is: Making your business/home SAFE is our ASF128: Anti Slip treatment
business. suitable for most types of Tile,
Granite, Terrazzo and brick floors,
F.S.S. was established in 1986 after extensive travelling through the (patented formula, guaranteed 5-7
U.S. and Europe inspecting the treatment of unsafe floors/stairs by years in commercial areas)
chemical means or replacement to meet Health & Occupational Safety
requirements. With the upsurge of new buildings in Australia at that ASD138: Emulsifying degreaser
time, it was obvious Safety treatments, products and the Law were detergent – pure, nil caustic,
insufficient to maintain international Health & Occupational Safety suitable for cleaning all surfaces
standards. Stain Resist Subseal: The easy
clean subseal finish for porous
The company’s Floor Safety product range has increased markedly as surfaces
the requirement and Law changed, including product developed by the
202: Premium “wet look” solvent
company to meet specific requirements.
based clear surface sealer, suitable
for Tiles, Masonry, Concrete,
Pressed Pavers and reconstituted
stone
Tactile Tiles/Tactile Studs: An aid
for visually impaired people
Internal/External Staircaps:
Keep stairs safe
Recycled Rubber: for gym floors,
playgrounds etc
Safety Vinyl: For commercial/
domestic application
Cork/Rubber: Safety flooring with
various finishes for commercial/
domestic and marine use
Granulated Epoxy: for
Commercial Kitchens etc
Safety Matting: Anti fatigue,
Non slip for all
commercial/domestic areas
Indoor/Outdoor Carpet: Heavy
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areas
Glow in the Dark Safety
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376 Bell Street, Preston

Tel: (03) 9484 7099

Fax: (03) 9484 7088
 FMA AUSTRALIA
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS

WiFM – at the forefront of

the industry
Women in Facilities Management (WiFM) was set up in Australia in 2001 to provide support
for women in the Facilities Management industry. Established as a network for the sharing
of information on jobs, industry knowledge, issues and collective knowledge, the group
was first created to benefit those women working as the sole facility manager within an
organisation.

I
nitially commencing in Sydney with a membership numbering only FP: Do you think Facility Managers need to have a fast grip on
eight, the group has expanded rapidly to encompass groups in both sustainability in order to be able to move up the career ladder?
Melbourne and Brisbane. Mirroring the industry as a whole, WiFM LR: I’ve not had a Facility Manager say they have to learn about
groups include a wide cross-section of the industry: facility managers, sustainability to make a career move but I know from a recruitment point
consultants, architects, designers, students, property lawyers, project of view, employers are looking for Facility Managers with sustainability
managers, suppliers and quantity surveyors. knowledge.
The events have quickly become well-attended with membership I think these days it is the big corporations that are pushing
numbers booming in both Melbourne and Sydney, in part due to the sustainability so Facility Managers are really working in with the values of
topical and practical WiFM sessions that canvass the day’s hot industry the organisations as much as anything – which means keeping on top of
topics. Facility Perspectives’ Melanie Drummond caught up with the latest developments. I suppose in terms of what makes a marketable
Melbourne WiFM Chair Louise Rowe (Judd Farris) and Sydney WiFM Facility Manager, it does involve keeping abreast of the latest
Chair Kirsten Smith (Change Angels) about membership and what topics sustainability initiatives but I don’t think that is driven solely from a career
are at the forefront of the industry for 2008. move motivation. I think Facility Managers are embracing it in terms of
seeing whether it can create cost savings or greater efficiencies while
LOUISE ROWE, CHAIR OF FMA keeping in line with a corporation’s values.
AUSTRALIA MELBOURNE WIFM FP: Do you think WiFM members are now looking for practical ways
FP: HOW was last year from a to incorporate sustainability into their work environment?
Melbourne WiFM perspective? LR: I think Facility Managers are normally adapting to the best of
LR: Last year’s WiFM was our most their capabilities while keeping in line with what they might be able to
successful year to date. We have a loyal play with. Obviously some buildings themselves are pretty old and to get
gathering of members as well as many up to a green star rating such as the now iconic CH2 (Council House 2)
new attendees at each event. Our hosts building in Melbourne would cost an exorbitant amount. I think it also
have been varied, from tours around the depends on whether the Facility Manager is leasing the asset or whether
RACV and Fosters Brewery to they actually own the asset. It’s not necessarily feasible for all of the new
informative presentations around Green sustainable innovations in the marketplace to be adopted by all
furniture conducted by Schiavello, companies.
through to
our annual Xmas drink networks. The events
are an excellent tool to keep abreast of the
latest developments as well as to network
with fellow Facility Managers.
FP: What do you have coming up this year?
LR: This year’s calendar of events is nearly
full. We have already had a follow up tour
around the Department of Infrastructure’s new
offices as well as a topic on workplace
management which took us around the NAB
Docklands. In April we had a site tour
conducted by the architects Bligh Voller Nield
around Lincolne Scott’s sustainable offices.
Other events will include City of Whittlesea
and the Department of Primary Industries
held later on in the year and I am working on
finalising a couple of other events as we
speak.
FP: What do you think are the Key issues
for WiFM members?
LR: Sustainability is certainly the industry
buzz word at the moment. From a furniture
point of view – when Schiavello spoke about
their manufacturing process from a green
perspective, through building services, to
anything to do with issues such as recycling.
Everybody is focusing at the moment along
the sustainability line of things. Melbourne WIFM members enjoying a get together

f a c i l i t y perspectives • 77
FMA AUSTRALIA
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS

FP: Does Melbourne WiFM offer its members practical information
on implementing and operating sustainability initiatives?
LR: FMA Australia has certainly been offering courses and
information at lunches on sustainability. I think if a Facility Manager is
switched on then there is certainly enough information out there and
enough networks that they can utilise to get what they need. In some
respects I also think what is now being called ‘sustainability’ is actually
just common sense and some facility managers have already been
implementing ‘sustainable’ practises for a number of years.
At WiFM meetings we try to cover a number of different topics, the
NAB tool that we did on workplace management was really quite warmly
received and that was probably because we hadn’t done anything on
that for quite a while. Project management is always quite a good topic
and people like to keep abreast of that. It’s those day to day issues we
need to remember as well – the core principles of running a facility.
FP: Do you think there are other Facilities Management issues aside
from sustainability that aren’t being talked about?
LR: I think sustainability is still the buzz. Two years ago the buzz was
compliance and risk and now Facility Managers have adopted good
compliance and risk initiatives. Sustainability is the new big wave and I
think once that is over it will be on to something else. I do think the
sustainability topic can be done a bit to death and I think some Facility
Managers are finding the topic is at a point of overkill. I suppose the next
wave will come when there is a change in legislation and another
initiative comes along.
FP: What feedback do you receive from people about the benefits of
being a WiFM member?
LR: WiFM in Melbourne has been going from strength to strength,
and we’ve even had quite a lot of men enquire about coming along
because of the calibre of the topics we have on offer!
The WiFM events appeal to many corporate Facility Managers. From
my understanding it appeals to Facility Managers as it is an excellent
opportunity to see a facility fully operational and to discuss the pros and
cons of the practicalities of running a facility - whether it be from a
building services, sustainability, project management or workplace
management perspective. Often attendees are the sole FM on site and
therefore, the opportunity to share ideas and pick up new concepts is
invaluable, as well as providing a relaxed networking opportunity
afterwards!
Joining WIFM is a great way of meeting new Facility Managers, the
events are interesting and you always pick up at least one new idea at
each one. It also enables you to get out of the office and to stand back
and re-evaluate the services, how you are managing your facility and
whether there is room for improvement. Additionally, there’s the social
aspect afterwards and as we normally go for a few drinks it is always a bit
of fun too!
If anyone is interested in being a speaker at a Melbourne WIFM event
or has topics for suggestion, please contact Louise Rowe at
Louise.Rowe@juddfarris.com.au

KIRSTEN SMITH, FMA AUSTRALIA practical program. It also enables FM’s to benchmark themselves against
SYDNEY WIFM other tenants in their area. Companies who engage in cutting carbon
FP: Could you give us a recap on emissions with the help of the 3 CBDs program are finding that the
Sydney WiFM’s activities last year? payback they receive for any changes is three to four years which is a
KS: Last year was quite busy in pretty good outcome. It means that financially companies are
Sydney. Sustainability was the subject comfortable and prepared to fund the environmental upgrades as they
and at the end of the year the group are getting significant cost savings as well as significant energy savings.
confirmed that it would still be their FP: What else will be covered in 2008?
subject of choice for 2008. KS: In April we had the Sustainability Manager of Stockland, Davina
From our WiFM members’ Rooney presenting her view on the practical applications of sustainability
perspective, sustainability is the still the for Facility Managers. Davina was heavily involved with refurbishing their
biggest gap they have in terms of own tenancy in an existing building to create a sustainable fit-out.
learning, particularly because they see it They’ve been through the process themselves and they’re obviously
as an opportunity to engage with management at the CEO level. For selling that opportunity to their tenants. By encouraging their tenants to
members, it is knowing about measuring carbon footprints and knowing become ‘greener’, Stockland will be to meet their target of increasing
what sorts of programs are available to support them if they’re in a CBD their ABGR ratings on all of their property portfolio.
location or if they’re a national firm. WiFM
sessions have also helped members learn
about the Green Building Council of
Australia, ABGR schemes, Green Leases
and so forth – people in the past have felt
a little bit vulnerable about their lack of
knowledge in those areas.
FP: Are WiFM members keen to learn
about practical implementations for
sustainability objectives?
KS: Absolutely, and this year we’re very
much focusing on the practical applications
of what’s going on with sustainability. The
first session for 2008 was provided by
Desiree Sheehan from the Sydney 3CBDs
Greenhouse Initiative. 3 CBDs basically
concentrates on tenants in Parramatta,
North Sydney and Sydney CBD.
Signatories to 3CBDs receive help on
bettering energy usage and gaining their
ABGR ratings. They also broker deals
between the building owner and the
tenant in terms of getting the building to a
‘more environmentally friendly’ level, which
encourages tenants to stay in a building
long term.
The program, which is also going
national in the middle of the year, is a really

78 • f a c i l i t y perspectives
 FMA AUSTRALIA
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS

The majority of buildings in Sydney are old building stock. The issue
we have in NSW is that the State Government will only occupy four and
half star ABGR rated buildings, and only 4 percent of the stock in Sydney
has that rating. What we’re finding out in the market place is that facility
managers are the ones who are pushing for ‘green’ premises and will not
lease space in a building unless the building owner can give tenants that
kind of rating. Rather than the building owner saying, “this is what you’re
going to get”, tenants are now pushing them to make the changes to
secure the lease and as we know, they won’t spend money on the
building unless they know they’re going to get more rent.
FP: Prior to last year’s sessions on sustainability, were WiFM members
feeling overwhelmed by the terms and jargon that go hand in hand
with ‘sustainability’ and the green issue?
KS: Yes definitely. There is a lot of confusion about which rating tool
to use – there’s the more practical measurement in terms of the
ABGR/NABERS energy side of things. The other requirement is around
reporting to the CEO and whether the report should be on the carbon
footprint or on the reduction of greenhouse gases (which shows how
many cars are off the road for example). Actually, Jan Biggs from Morgan
Stanley is presenting on her method of greenhouse gas measurement
resulting from a lighting upgrade project which got her some great
recognition at the global senior management meeting in May. Most
organisations don’t know enough about this so they’re relying on the
facilities manager to tell them. People just want to know which tool works
for their situation.
FP: Within an organisation, are Facility Managers increasingly
becoming the ones people turn to for information on the green
issue?
KS: I think within their organisation Facility Managers are seen as
being leaders in this area. I still think there’s not enough done in terms of
benchmarking on the sustainability issue. There’s been a lot of work done
in building services for example but they don’t all benchmark against
each other and people do want to know how they rate within their
industry, and how their industry rates in comparison to others. The
industry in terms of sustainability measurement is very young and until
we’re actually required to report on it from a legislative perspective, then
there’s going to continue to be confusion.
FP: Do WiFM members find employers support their initiatives to
learn more about sustainability?
KS: Absolutely. A lot of our WiFM members are actually being sent
to GreenStar Accredited Professional courses for example.
FP: Are there any other key industry issues that are cropping up for
WiFM members?
KS: Sustainability is probably the biggest one for most people at the
moment. Outsourcing continues to be a major issue in terms of how
organisations need to restructure and resource themselves internally into
more of a management position when they start outsourcing the more
operational aspects of property and facilities management.
FP: What has been the feedback from members on the benefits of
being a WiFM member?
KS: People like that we’re giving them the connections to the
specialists and initiatives that can help them get themselves proactively in
front of the CEO and senior management.
FP: Is membership growing in Sydney?
KS: Membership is growing all the time. On average we would get
10 to 15 per cent of people at each of our WiFM events that are not
members of FMA Australia and have only recently come into the FM
industry. Our membership is at around 450 nationally at the moment and
most of our members continue to come through word of mouth. Keep
up the good work, girls.
For information on joining Sydney WIFM contact Kirsten Smith at
changeangels@hotmail.com
Keep your eye out in future editions of Facility Perspectives for updates
on the FMA Australia Brisbane WIFM.

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f a c i l i t y perspectives • 79
OUR BUSINESS IS
PROTECTING YOURS

When you have something to protect, deterrence is your best option.

We provide integrated security solutions that will help deter Our services include:
security threats and protect your people and assets – ensuring • Security manpower
your company continues to perform. Our security solutions are • Mobile patrols
supported by innovative technology and the very highest level • Alarm monitoring and response
of customer service. • Sophisticated access control and security technology
Operating nationally, we utilise more than 3000 Security Officers, • Risk assessment and mitigation planning
a large fleet of patrol vehicles and a 24/7 monitoring centre. Ph: 1300 WILSON or visit: www.wilsonsecurity.com.au
 SECURITY & RISK MANAGEMENT

A design
on crime In today’s business world, proactive and
integrated security practices are crucial
to any company’s success. However,
realising that there are risks is a very
different issue to accurately identifying
them and developing the most efficient
responses. Although there is no ‘magic
bullet’ fix, there may in many
circumstances be an over-reliance on
expensive surveillance and access
control technology, often to the
exclusion of cost-effective security
planning practices such as Crime
Prevention Through Environmental
Design. Mark Phillips reports.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 82

f a c i l i t y perspectives • 81
SECURITY & RISK MANAGEMENT

I
n the wake of 9/11 the issues of building security, safety and
emergency response in commercial facilities became subject to
unprecedented scrutiny – not just in the US, but around the world.
Perhaps predictably, the initial reaction among facility professionals was
to invest in technology. Access control systems incorporating fingerprint
scans, hand geometry, retina or iris scans, facial, voice, handwriting or
signature recognition became more commonplace, while intrusion
detection was bolstered by the addition of closed circuit television
(CCTV) and, in some facilities, motion detectors, magnetic door contacts,
duress alarms, and vibration and sonic detection.
Seven years on, demand for better protective technology continues.
Indeed, the market for cutting-edge IP/networked video surveillance
cameras grew by nearly 50 percent in 2007 to approach US$500 million
worldwide. The growth is nearly four times the growth rate of the
broader video surveillance equipment market.

Overkill
But are we over-reacting to exaggerated threats, installing buildings
with hugely expensive, under-utilised or even unused security systems?
Obviously certain high-profile buildings warrant aggressive measures, but
in the majority there is a need to balance the high price of much of
today’s technology with the probability of a threat.
Given that the security risks for any building are dependent on
tenant mix, location and many other factors, identifying potential risks
and developing appropriate responses is the key to an effective security
plan. Few buildings are likely to be the target of a chemical, biological or
nuclear attack, but a great many are at risk of theft, vandalism, fraud or
workplace violence. Notably, such more common threats can have very
serious impacts on staff retention, organisational credibility and
reputation and consequently a significant financial impact, whether it is in
legal and recruitment costs, increasing security operational costs or even
loss of revenue. Also, it is not just multi-tenanted office towers that are
ripe targets for criminal activity: shopping centres, mixed use facilities,
hospitals, business parks and hotels are at risk too.
And like it or not, facility managers are increasingly being asked to
take on some type of responsibility for their organisation’s security. Even

CLIENT FEATURE

Setting a new benchmark in Australian Security

SNP Security has completed
construction of new state-of-the-art
premises in West Ryde, establishing it as
a benchmark in the provision of a
‘world’s best’ standard of security.
An investment in excess of $10 million,
SNP’s new headquarters house the
latest Grade A1 monitoring system and
automated technologies, with national
capabilities, and are rated to the highest
possible Australian standards.
SNP’s new software solution,
Automated Response Tracking System
(ARTS), links mobile patrol officers back
to the new Monitoring Centre, to
provide an improved safety to SNP
officers and increased service reliability
for clients.
“Businesses are offered greater security
with the new software solution and the
guarantee of business continuity through a more One of the key functionalities of the MAS software is to
enhanced incident and follow-up process,” said Tom provide clients with absolute transparency of the
Roche, SNP Managing Director. operations via MASWEB. MASWEB provides clients with
direct access to all movements at all their monitored sites
Integrated into ARTS is the new Mastermind (MAS) from their own offices.
monitoring software, which improves customer reporting
capabilities and allows clients to access monitoring “It is exciting to bring such a high level of quality
reports directly at any time. monitoring to the Australian public, with seamless
integration for a complete security solution” said Tom.

82 • f a c i l i t y perspectives
 SECURITY & RISK MANAGEMENT

for those facilities with a chief security officer (CSO) and proprietary
security personnel in place, fms may be called upon to assist CSOs and
their staff during a crisis situation. So, whether a facility professional is
tasked with larger security responsibilities or just needs to play a
supporting role, knowledge is still paramount.

Vulnerability assessment
Experts agree that as a starting point, facility managers need to
determine whether technology should be a supplement to a plan or if it
should be a foundation for a plan. In this respect, an assessment process
is vital, and it must be done in close consultation with all key
stakeholders and before the application of new technology is even
considered. After all, conducting an audit is not going to break the bank,
but hitting the panic button and going straight to design just might.
Undertaking a security review and audit will provide an immediate
snapshot and health check on current security practices and determine
security requirements and gaps. Typically, it will incorporate an
assessment of items such as security system performance, obsolescence,
appropriateness of measures in place to manage risks, the effectiveness
and efficiency of incumbent maintenance regimes and associated
staffing level needs.
The results of the review and audit should also incorporate an
assessment of both capital and whole-of-life costs. By understanding the
cost in managing risk, organisations can then confidently plan for future
security costs and assess the return on investment of existing or
proposed measures.

Security and design

Significantly, good security planning also contributes to good facility
design by integrating with a building’s form in elements such as lighting,
landscaping and pedestrian and vehicular traffic movement. In contrast, a
realisation of risks ‘too late’ is likely to result in costly quick fixes that
negatively impact on the aesthetics and finished form of a building.
The idea that the proper design and effective use of the physical
environment can lead to a reduction in the incidence and fear of crime is
at the heart of a concept known as CPTED (Crime Prevention Through

GUARDS

MONITORING

ELECTRONIC SECURITY

MOBILE PATROLS

AVIATION SECURITY

f a c i l i t y perspectives • 83
SECURITY & RISK MANAGEMENT

Environmental Design). Although not a new concept, CPTED has made a

strong comeback in the facilities security arena in recent years. Indeed,
there are some who maintain that building or renovating any facility
without utilising CPTED concepts borders on negligence if safety is a
significant concern. With regard to the bottom line, there is no question
that by enhancing a building’s functionality, the integration of security can
significantly reduce the overall capital cost of purchasing technology or
overt physical barriers. Operating costs can also be minimised by
reducing staffing levels. And should the security risk for a facility or its
occupants change significantly during its life, robust planning will provide
better scope for savings in applying retrospective treatment.
Basically, CPTED assumes that there are two types of users of space
in the built environment – ‘normal’ or those users who have legitimate
purpose and intent, and ‘abnormal’ users who do not act according to
laws, policies and social norms. CPTED, founded on tenets such as
lighting design, clear sightlines, landscaping for visibility and natural
access control, helps to make the normal user feel at ease and welcome,
while making the abnormal user apprehensive about engaging in
inappropriate behaviour.

Cost-effective ‘smarts’
Once the audit process is complete and the most likely threats to a
facility identified, the traditional approach is to contract with CPTED
specialists to work with the design team to offer suggestions to the
architects and planning team. However, there are some basic CPTED
principles facility managers can put in place without necessarily
consulting security specialists.
The key is to remember that criminals usually commit crimes in
‘comfortable’ environments and that their comfort is heightened by
isolation and concealment, where few witnesses exist and the chance of
being identified is minimal. Sometimes, very simple changes to an area
can create an environment that is uninviting for perpetrators.
For example, surveillance can be improved by creating clear and
unobstructed sight lines in activity areas, reducing hiding places and
creating the perception of witnesses. Access control can be increased by
emphasising primary entry points and minimising secondary outlets.

CLIENT FEATURE

LAN Corp: Celebrating 21 years in business

After 21 years in the business, LAN Corp Security
Systems knows that every business faces its own
unique security challenge. That’s why the Australian
owned and run company are the experts in designing
special security solutions to meet your individual
requirements and budgets.
LAN Corp offers a complete service and guides
companies through the myriad of security options
available to find their optimal solution. Providing
security control room systems, CCTV, access control
and intruder detection, digital IP recording systems,
physical barriers and more, the opportunities for
securing your business are endless.
And why just take our word for it? The calibre of
LAN Corp’s clients speaks for themselves. As well as
designing and installing security solutions for the
integrated CCTV and PACOM systems access control
system at the Multiplex World Square Sydney. Today
LAN Corp maintains these systems and manages
emergency response to the site.
While at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition
Centre Darling Harbour LAN Corp has managed
security systems from design through to maintenance
stages and is also responsible for the centre’s state
of the art fibre optic communication backbone,
The LAN Corp team believes their success in the
industry comes from their quality workmanship and
the value they put into customer service. With
technical staff trained locally and internationally, and
over 30 years experience in sales, installation and

Hills M2 and Westlink M7 motorways, LAN Corp was servicing systems, for complete security solutions,
responsible for the design and installation of why would you head anywhere else but LAN Corp?

84 • f a c i l i t y perspectives
 SECURITY & RISK MANAGEMENT

Clearly mark transition zones that indicate movement from public, to

semi-private, to private space. Put unsafe activities in safe spots, where
surveillance is high and access is limited. Similarly, put safe activities in
unsafe areas. This will increase the perception of safety in these areas
and help to establish territorial behaviour.
There will always be situations where technology is necessarily the
first option, but there are also many cases when a smorgasbord of
CPTED strategies can be integrated into the design of a facility to create
a natural security environment, either eliminating the need for cameras
around the perimeter of a building or, at the least, reducing their number.
Ensuring that parking areas and walkways have ample lighting if they are
used at night is one obvious precaution, as is low shrubbery so as to
diminish the risk of surprise encounters. Ornamental yet hostile
vegetation underneath accessible windows is another low-cost but
effective defence strategy, the plants being aesthetically pleasing but the
three-inch spines on them reason to make potential intruders seriously
reconsider breaking and entering.

Selling the solution

Regardless of whether a facility is in a low-crime suburban
neighbourhood or high density inner-city locale, facility managers need
to understand what it is they are trying protect and why. Whether it
consists of basic CPTED initiatives or high-outlay technology-driven
surveillance and access control, or a combination of both, any security
solution needs to be aligned with the company’s mission, goals and
objectives. Only by taking a proactive role in developing suitably tailored
site-wide security solutions will fms be able to make the business case to
the CFO or CEO and secure the funding they need.
In other words, in an increasingly dangerous world, fms must be able
to say ‘this is what makes sense for us to do, and this is why it makes
sense for us to do it’.

Mark Phillips is the editor of Australasian Risk Management and has a

long-standing involvement in covering FM-related issues. He can be
reached on 0407 437289 or writestuffink@bigpond.com

INTEGRATED SECURITY SYSTEMS

CONTACT US ON 1300 300 442
info@lancorp.com.au - www.lancorp.com.au

CCTV SYSTEMS ACCESS CONTROL SYSTEMS SECURITY INTEGRATION CUSTOMER SUPPORT SERVICES

LANCORP Security Systems

PO Box 987
Penrith NSW 2751
Fax: 1300 551 091
Master Security Lic: 407 418 046
A.B.N: 28 003 646 937

f a c i l i t y perspectives • 85
 SECURITY SOLUTIONS

Helping Make Australia Safer

ADT Security is addressing today’s risks.
Here in Australia and across the globe, ADT Security is applying advanced technologies to help secure key
critical infrastructure.
ADT Security ’s team will help address your organisation’s threats and vulnerabilities and provide a uniquely
designed solution to meet your specific needs. Complying with global and local industry standards, ADT Security
will plan, install, integrate and maintain your security system to help protect your key assets.
With over 130 years experience globally, ADT is the world’s largest provider of electronic security solutions.
In an age of uncertainty, ADT Security is Always There.

For more information or enquiries, please contact 131 ADT or visit our website
at www.adtsecurity.com.au

NSW Master License Number 405187443 WA Agent License Number 22121 ACT License No. 17501009 VIC/TAS License No. 652-014-00S
 + NLY
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CLIENT FEATURE

JLG Liftpod
The LIFTPOD by JLG is the world’s first truly portable and affordable personnel lift - a practical low cost alternative to a
stepladder.
The Liftpod has been developed to provide a secure, practical and comfortable way to work at height, and at the same
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Ladder accidents are a frequent problem resulting in more than 1 million injuries per year globally.
The ladder concept is older than the wheel and is a common cause of accidents – yet ladders remain the most common
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Despite the low cost, the LIFTPOD provides many features present on much more expensive elevating work platforms
such as scissor lift e.g. enclosed work platform, ability to carry up tools and light materials, and to work with two hands.
JLG is the world leader in mobile personnel access, with a long history in Australia and around the world. JLG is known for
its innovation and commitment to safety.
Visit our website for details www.liftpod.com or contact us at 61-2-8394 4444.
It’s time to let go of the Ladder!

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 ENERGY & THE ENVIRONMENT

Greening
the Great Indoors
ADAPTED FROM ADJUNCT PROFESSOR MARGARET BURCHETT’S PRESENTATION AT FMA
AUSTRALIA IDEACTION ‘08 CONFERENCE

Despite relying on plants for almost all our needs – from food and shelter, to our supply of
oxygen and removal of carbon dioxide, there still remains a glaring omission of plant life in
our commercial workspaces. At FMA Australia’s ideaction ’08 Conference on the Gold Coast
in May of this year, one of the standout presentations came from Margaret Burchett, who
inspired audiences to enable sustainable urban communities of the future by first ‘greening
the great indoors’.
As Adjunct Professor for the Department of Environmental Services at the University of
Technology, Sydney (UTS), Burchett also presented conference delegates with a cost-
benefit analysis for the use of indoor plants, which clearly indicates how indoor plants can
offer a cost effective solution for improving human wellbeing and workplace productivity.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 91

f a c i l i t y perspectives • 89
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90 • f a c i l i t y perspectives

T
he increase in human migration to cities over the past few
centuries has been accompanied by great benefits - better
education, less strenuous manual labour, more employment
opportunities, more available health services, fewer deadly infectious
disease epidemics and longer life expectancy. However, urban lifestyles,
at least in the western world, offer mixed blessings. Diseases of
sedentary living such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular problems,
are rising, and urban mental health is an international concern. Add to
that the current and future impacts of climate change, and it’s clear we
have to act now to ensure we have a planet safe to inhabit in years to
come.
A UN Report released in 1987 – Our Common Future, was one of
the first times the concept of developing an ‘ecologically sustainable’
future was discussed at length. The Report defined ‘sustainable
development’ as that which ‘meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’.
The terms ‘built environment’ and ‘urban ecology’ have also gained
general currency over the last couple of decades, and the term ‘facility
ecology’ is newer still.
All these terms point to the international concern over global urban
and industrial development and the ability of the planet to sustain our
activities. In Australia, North America and much of Europe, 80% of
people have come to live in urban areas, a frightening statistic when you
consider that urban air pollution in the Sydney metropolitan area alone is
estimated to cause some 1,400 deaths per year. Considering that we
spend 90% of our time indoors, the quest for a healthy human ecology
has now become the quest for a healthy built environment, and
especially a healthy ‘indoor facility ecology’.
Contrary to popular belief, CO2 levels are generally recorded as
higher inside buildings, but the main class of indoor-derived air pollutants
however is volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which emerge from
‘plastic’ or ‘synthetic’ materials.
VOCs are a common cause of ‘Sick-building syndrome’ or ‘Building-
related illness’ Even at imperceptible levels, the cocktail can cause
symptoms including loss of concentration, headache, dry eyes, nose,
throat, ‘woozy-head’, and nausea. Elevated CO2 levels can also produce
feelings of stuffiness, loss of concentration and drowsiness.
Studies at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), have
demonstrated that indoor potted-plants improve IEQ by eliminating high
or low doses of airborne VOCs within about 24 hours, once they have
been stimulated by a ‘taste’ of the substances.
To further explore the capacity of indoor plants to improve IEQ by
eliminating high or low doses of airborne VOCs, UTS laboratory-tested
VOC removal capacity in eleven common indoor plant species. Removal
rates started slowly but, over four to five days, they rose to more than 10
times the initial rate; showing that removal rates were stimulated
(‘induced’) by exposure to the initial dose. Low residual concentration
rates were also removed, effectively to zero, and all 11 species of plants
showed a common pattern of VOC removal response.
As well as reducing the levels of toxicity in our air quality, research
has shown that spending time in gardens or parks reduces anxiety and
anger, and gives feelings of calmness and pleasure. Tree plantings along
roads reduce driver stress, as indicated by lowered blood pressure, heart
rate and nervous system measures.
There is also an increasing body of literature on the benefits of
planted views to building occupant health and wellbeing. Moore2 (1981)
found that prisoners in cells with views of plants and birds, were less
disruptive and requested fewer medications than others. Ulrich3 (1984)
found that patients recovering from surgery, with views of a garden, got
home nearly two days earlier than those who looked onto a wall.
While it’s not feasible that every inhabitant of a building can be near
a window, evidence shows the inclusion of indoor plants in workspaces
will add significant benefit to workplace productivity. Studies by Tove
Fjeld4 found that, when plants were introduced in an underground
hospital radiology department, sick-leave absences declined by over
60%. This represents a substantial increase in wellbeing and productivity
and other studies have also shown decreases in sick-leave where indoor
plants were installed.
Cost-Benefits Of Greening Your Workspace
In the year 2000, The World Health Organisation predicted that, by
2010, responsibility for healthy indoor air quality will almost certainly rest
with facility managers. Already, forward thinking facility managers can see
the benefits of creating a green oasis within buildings – treating plant life
ENERGY & THE ENVIRONMENT
as a portable, flexible, attractive and effective low-cost standard
installation which is as imperative as any other commonplace fitting or
fixture.
It is clear that indoor plants improve IEQ in a variety of ways, with
direct benefits to human health and wellbeing. Studies have also been
made of client and customer perceptions of indoor plants in the office
and the improved perceptions which will affect business prospects as
well. An American study with 170 respondents5, explored effects of
indoor plants on a business’s image to visitors and potential customers or
clients. There was full agreement on a number of issues, including, that
indoor plants led to the perception that the business was:
3 Warm and welcoming
3 Stable and balanced
3 Well-run
3 Comfortable to work with
3 Patient and caring
3 Concerned for staff welfare
3 Prepared to spend money on added beauty
3 Providing a healthier, cleaner atmosphere
The costs of introducing indoor plants to a workplace and enjoying
the resulting improvement of IEQ and workplace productivity are entirely
affordable for almost any sized business.
Whether bought and maintained in-house or hired, the cost of
maintaining one basic indoor floor plant, is about $200 p.a. The salary of
a hypothetical staff member might be about $50,000 p.a., and it could
cost up to almost twice that to actually employ him/her. From evidence
presented here it seems likely that the plant would more than pay for its
presence. A couple of scenarios in which the investment might prove
cost effective are outlined here as examples.
Performance Increases
Studies6 have shown found that participants in planted offices
showed 12% higher productivity on computer tasks, and less stress, than
those working in an environment without plants. Twelve percent of
$50,000 is $6000, so the hypothetical staff member would now be worth
$56,000, for a further outlay of $200 for the plant (and $6000 could
provide 30 plants). Improved productivity with plant presence resulting
from reduced sick-leave absences, as discussed earlier, would similarly
result in significant savings to the company.
Increased Retention Rates
With plants in the work environment, evidence has also shown that
intentions of an employee to leave the position were significantly
lowered. If our hypothetical staff member was employed through a
recruitment agency, their fees are likely to be 10% of the salary, that is
$5000. In addition, there are costs involved in training a new employee.
If the presence of plants prevents one staff member from leaving, the
saving would thus be at least $5000 (which could provide 25 plants).
In essence, the findings of this article clearly show the fundamental
need for continued linkages between city-dwellers and plants. One way
to meet that need is to establish in-door potted-plant microcosms (PPM)
which will significantly improve many aspects of IEQ, provide cleaner air
and result in occupants having lower stress levels, lighter spirits, and
improved concentration, performance and productivity.
Thus the PPM represents an adaptive, self-regulating, portable,
flexible, relatively low-cost, sustainable and attractive biofiltration and
bioremediation system for the rehabilitation and advancement of healthy
facility ecology. This simple, effective horticultural technology can
complement any engineering measures to improve IEQ, in any building.
To ensure our business objectives of enabling sustainable
communities, and satisfying the triple bottom line’ of environmental,
social and economic considerations, it can be expected that indoor
plants will become standard installations of the future built environment.
1 Kaplan S, The restorative benefits of nature: towards an integrative framework, J.
Environmental Psychology !5: 169-182.
2 Moore EO, 1981, A prison environment’s effect on health care service demands, J
Environmental systems, 11, 17-34
3 Ulrich R, 1984, View through a window may influence recovery from surgery, Science,
224, 420-421
4 Fjeld T, 2002, The effects of plants and artificial daylight on the well-being and health of
office workers, school children and health-care personnel, Proceedings of International
Plants for People Symposium, Floriade, Amsterdam, NL.
5 Aitken JR and Palmer RD, 1989, The use of plants to promote warmth and caring in a
business
6 Lohr VI, Pearson-Mims CH and Goodwin GK, 1996, Interior plants may improve worker
productivity
f a c i l i t y perspectives • 91
BOOK REVIEW

Estimating and Tendering for

Construction Work
A BOOK REVIEW BY MELANIE DRUMMOND

Book for Review: Estimating and Tendering for Construction Work

Written by: Martin Brook
Published: Elsevier Books 2008 (Fourth Edition)

M
artin Brook tackles fairly complex subject matter in Estimating
and Tendering for Construction Work. Seemingly undaunted by
the complexity and variables of the work involved with
estimating and tendering, Brook wades through the steps involves with
methodical commitment to ensuring he provides a comprehensive
overview of the area under discussion.
From cost studies to budget developments for successful tenders,
the fourth edition of this in-depth handbook also brings to light recent
developments in the construction industry - including new procurement
and tendering methods and the greater emphasis being placed on
partnering and collaborative work.
With over 32 years experience as a contractor’s estimator and
lecturer teaching pre-contract studies, Brook is well positioned to
illuminate all areas of an estimator’s workload. Early on, it’s clear an
estimator needs to fully understand the consequences of entering into a
contract – often defined by a complex combination of conditions and
supporting documents.
Essentially requiring an extensive understanding of almost all areas
of construction, estimators must appreciate the technical requirements of
project from “tolerances in floor levels to the design of concrete mixes,
and from temporary electrical installations to piling techniques”.
In just 20 chapters Brook covers everything from procurement paths
and tender documentation through to pricing estimates and action with
the successful tender. He supports his findings with pages of examples -
offering various flowcharts for estimating with cost planning, pricing contracts and geographical location
preliminary guides, various pricing methods and examples of final tender 3 To develop a reputation for safety, quality and speed of
reviews. construction within economic limits
Based on procedures and standards in the United Kingdom, 3 To secure stated targets for turnover
Australian readers may find few areas of relevance in the earlier chapters, 3 To evaluate the company’s performance, and compare with that
but will likely find that Brook does address more universal areas of of its competitor
estimating and tendering work later on in the book. 3 To compare the financial performance of a project with the costs
One particular area of interest in Estimating and Tendering for predicted at tender stage
Construction is Brook’s discussion on the benefits of smarter Brook believes contractors can improve their tendering efficiency
procurement through integrated supply chains, and its effects on with better marketing strategies and only by accepting invitations to
estimators and the construction industry at large. tender which meet clear guidelines.
There are efficiencies in working with suppliers and sub-contractors It is worth considering a different approach; that is, to ignore the
who become part of a close working relationship. Through strong supply tender levels set by your competitors. Produce pricing levels which are
chain management, vendor lists are kept small, problems can be shared right for your company and avoid playing the market. If prices fall below
and organisations begin to work better together. Term contracts can be what you consider to be an economic level, look for other markets
set up with material and plant suppliers whereby prices are fixed for any where margins can be preserved.
site in any location for a fixed period of time. While Estimating and Tendering for Construction Work can at times
Brook also addresses Public-Private Partnerships (coined Private be a difficult, acronym-laden read, it’s fairly clear that you’re in safe hands
Finance Initiative or PFIs in the United Kingdom), and the complexities throughout. Brook’s knowledge and understanding of the intricacies
that need to be understood by an estimator entering into that particular which are crucial to successful estimating work is evident from start to
procurement route. While a PPP is seen to be appropriate where it finish, with his only real shortcomings emerging during his chapter on
provides affordability, value for money, best procurement practice and computer-aided estimating – which unfortunately appears more as a
quality, Brook clarifies there is a considerable amount of work for bidders hurried afterthought than researched information.
entering into a PPP tender – with bid processes sometimes spanning Despite covering some general areas of interest for anyone working
periods in excess of two years. in the construction industry, this methodical overview of estimating and
Some of Brook’s most valuable advice however is directed at tendering is most likely suited as a handbook for students undertaking
contractors during his chapters pertaining to the bidding strategy stage construction-related courses.
of tendering. He stresses that while in business the stated objectives can
sometimes be achieved by deceiving the opposition, principally the real Estimating and Tendering for Construction Work is available direct from
objective is to be successful in winning contracts at prices that enable the Elsevier Australia Customer Service, Tel: 1800 263 951, Fax: (02) 9422
organisation to carry out work profitably. He suggests that a tendering 8501 or by e-mail: customerserviceau@elsevier.com. Visit
strategy can be approached as a statement of aims: www.elsevier.com.au for information regarding other science and
3 To identify a suitable market in terms of type of work, size of technology books on offer.

92 • f a c i l i t y perspectives
 Specialist Recruitment
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