Healthcare Facilities Summer 2017 Vol. 40 No. 4

PP 100010900

VOLUME 40 I NUMBER 4 I DECEMBER 2017

HEALTHCARE INSTITUTE of HEALTHCARE ENGINEERING AUSTRALIA

FACILITIES Iceberg Events Team – Bella, Krysty and Kara

Prof David Hood AM – delivered a compelling keynote address on Climate Change impacts on Healthcare Engineering

IHEA CEO, Karen Taylor and IHEA Member Services Manager, Wendy Clayton (FMA)

Welcome to Country by Elder Ian (Warrend-Badj) Hunter

Dr Lousie Mahler delivering a powerful keynote address on the power of communication

Warren Crowley (ANZEX Delegate) delivering his presentation

IHEA 2017 NATIONAL CONFERENCE

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CONTENTS REGULARS

FEATURE ARTICLES

5

Editor’s message

ANZEX Report 2017 28

6

National President’s message

NZIHE ANZEX Report 2017 33

9

CEO’s message

36 How can this happen to me?

81 News BRANCH REPORTS

as your healthcare facility 44 H prepared for the healthcare cleaning change?

10 WA

Beyond compliance 46

14 VIC/TAS

Common approach for asset 54 management and statutory obligations

16 QLD 16 NSW/ACT

Radiofrequency radiation and 63 its risks for high access window cleaners

18 SA CONFERENCE

66 Asbestos in the air ducts

IHEA 2017 National 20 Conference Perspectives on the 2017 IHEA 25 National Conference

20

33

Utilisation of cloud 71 technologies to augment facilities & asset management

Visit the Institute of Healthcare Engineering online by visiting www.ihea.org.au or scanning here ➞

IHEA NATIONAL OFFICE Direct: 1300 929 508 Email: info@ihea.org.au Address: PO Box 6203, Conder ACT 2900 Website: www.ihea.org.au Conference: http://IFHE2018.com IHEA NATIONAL BOARD National President Peter Easson National Immediate Past President Brett Petherbridge National Vice President Jon Gowdy National Treasurer Mal Allen Communications Darryl Pitcher Membership Registrar Peter Footner

Standards Coordinator Brett Nickels Directors Michael McCambridge, Rod Woodford, Greg Truscott, Mark Hooper

44 ADBOURNE PUBLISHING 18/69 Acacia Road Ferntree Gully, VIC 3156 PO Box 735, Belgrave, VIC 3160 www.adbourne.com ADVERTISING

IHEA ADMINISTRATION Secretariat/Website Administrator Heidi Moon Finance Jeff Little Membership Wendy Clayton (FMA), members@ihea.org.au Editorial Committee Darryl Pitcher, Mark Hooper IHEA MISSION STATEMENT To support members and industry stakeholders to achieve best practice health engineering in sustainable public and private healthcare sectors.

Melbourne: Neil Muir T: (03) 9758 1433 F: (03) 9758 1432 E: neil@adbourne.com Adelaide: Robert Spowart T: 0488 390 039 E: robert@adbourne.com PRODUCTION Emily Wallis T: (03) 9758 1436 E: production@adbourne.com ADMINISTRATION Tarnia Hiosan T: (03) 9758 1436 E: admin@adbourne.com

The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Institute of Healthcare Engineering Australia or the publisher. The publisher shall not be under any liability whatsoever in respect to the contents of contributed articles. The Editor reserves the right to edit or otherwise alter articles for publication. Adbourne Publishing cannot ensure that the advertisers appearing in The Hospital Engineer comply absolutely with the Trades Practices Act and other consumer legislation. The responsibility is therefore on the person, company or advertising agency submitting the advertisement(s) for publication. Adbourne Publishing reserves the right to refuse any advertisement without stating the reason. No responsibility is accepted for incorrect information contained in advertisements or editorial.

The editor reserves the right to edit, abridge or otherwise alter articles for publication. All original material produced in this magazine remains the property of the publisher and cannot be reproduced without authority. The views of the contributors and all submitted editorial are the author’s views and are not necessarily those of the publisher.

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BRANCH REPORTS

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REGULARS

EDITOR’S MESSAGE

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his edition of “Healthcare Facilities” celebrates the success of the IHEA National Conference in October. We congratulate the Vic/Tas Branch and organising committee, Iceberg Events and all of our sponsors who contributed so much to make the Conference such an excellent event. All who attended the conference at the Pullman Albert Park in beautiful Melbourne, are sure to have experienced one of the many benefits of membership of the Institute; that is the sharing of experiences with those in this sector from around Australia, and New Zealand. From the excellent and engaging keynote speakers, to members and sponsors sharing their local experiences and projects there was much to learn. It was a pleasure to have Warren Crawley in attendance as the 2017 Australian New Zealand Exchange (ANZEX) delegate. The ANZEX program has been in place between the Australian and New Zealand Institutes (NZIHE) for many years promoting the sharing of experiences and knowledge. This sharing is one of the greatest benefits of membership and involvement of the IHEA. Being able to share with our neighbours across the Tasman in a reciprocal arrangement is something the Board of both Institutes agrees is important and will continue to support.

Sharing of wisdom and experience is also one of the primary benefits of membership of the International Federation of Hospital Engineering. The IHEA is an “A member” of the International Federation and as you are probably aware; the IHEA will be hosting the

IFHE Congress in October 2018 in Brisbane. Importantly this event will be combined with the Australian Hospital and Healthcare Association (AHHA) who are hosting the International Hospital Federation (IHF) at the same location in the same week. This opportunity will create a unique experience for global leaders in healthcare management to come together to share their experiences and to hear from international colleagues.

The IHEA and AHHA are cross promoting each other’s international events and are planning on sharing relevant activities where possible. This event will be our annual national conference with a special international flavour and all members are encouraged to save the date (October 8th-11th) and plan to come together to collaborate with like-minded professionals from around the world. The call for abstracts is now open and local contributors are encouraged to submit an abstract.

There has already been significant interest from international delegates, and on a number of occasions I have been able to promote the IHEA, and there is considerable interest in the international arena to come “Down Under” in 2018.

As we approach a New Year I would like to thank everybody who has contributed to “Healthcare Facilities” throughout 2017. This year we introduced a new format with the support of our publisher, Adbourne, and we also launched the E-circulation initiative. This electronic circulation reaches in excess of 8,500 recipients across Australia and around the world and represents a significant improvement in the exposure of the IHEA to potential members, supporters and contributors. If you are part of a broader network who you think would value the content of this publication, please feel free to forward the electronic journal when you receive it, or get in touch with myself so we can talk about sharing this more effectively.

Thank you for your interest in Healthcare Facilities, and I look forward to sharing more with you in 2018. Wishing you and yours all the best for the holiday season, and a safe and prosperous New Year.

Regards Darryl Pitcher

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REGULARS

NATIONAL PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

As I compose my first journal report as National President, I have a great sense of expectation and excitement as to what the next two years hold, not just for myself, but for the organisation as a whole.

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ollowing the conclusion of a successful National Conference in Melbourne, all efforts are now focused on ensuring that the International Federation of Hospital Engineering (IFHE) congress, with the theme “Healthcare Engineering – Building on Sustainable Foundations” is a resounding success.

Organising and running an international event of this magnitude is no easy matter and, whilst we engage Professional Conference Organisers, the demands placed on the organising committee and those supporting the event should not be underestimated.

On a personal level, I would like to acknowledge the tremendous amount of work, effort and commitment the Board and State Committee of Management members put into the organisation, volunteering their own time and service to ensure that the IHEA continues to grow, increase our membership, and deliver professional development opportunities.

As every year there is a change in the membership of the Board Brett Petherbridge moves into the role of Immediate Past President with Rod Woodford and Darren Green stepping off the Board. Darren, with his vision and direction, has provided support to the Board for a number of years and will be sorely missed, although

6

he will remain involved in supporting Brett and the rest of the IFHE congress organising committee.

We welcome Mark Hooper from Vic/Tas and Jon Gowdy from NSW onto the Board with past National President, Michael McCambridge representing Vic/ Tas, returning for another stint.

The full Board for 2017/18 is: • Peter Easson – National president • Brett Petherbridge – Immediate Past President • Jon Gowdy – Vice-President • Mal Allen – Treasurer • Darryl Pitcher – Communications and Journal • Peter Footner • Brett Nickels • Greg Truscott • Michael McCambridge • Mark Hooper The Board continues to be supported by our Chief Executive Officer Karen Taylor. Karen ensures, amongst many other things, that all our mandatory requirements are met and maintained, liaises with our partners and contacts, and undertakes the Secretary role.

REGULARS

As we progress with our strategic objectives to provide support to members and the industry to achieve best practices in healthcare engineering, it is important that we do not lose sight of the fundamentals of the IHEA as an organisation. While there are many ways to support members, by way of this journal, networking, professional development sessions and social events, one of the most important outlets for knowledge sharing in today’s environment, is by the use of digital platforms such as websites and social media. By the end of this year, we will be launching our newly revamped website which will be regularly updated to ensure members have access to up-todate and pertinent information to support the delivery of healthcare engineering. Longer term we will be exploring the use of video technology to record professional development presentations, and make these available to those members who are unable to attend sessions.

In my first official role as National President, in November I attended the New Zealand Institute of Healthcare Engineering (NZIHE) board meeting and National Conference in Dunedin. It was certainly useful to meet up with our counterparts in New Zealand, put face to a name and exchange knowledge whilst continuing to build on the ongoing relationships between our organisations. The NZIHE have similar issue to ourselves in respect of membership numbers, membership demographics and the ongoing demands on individuals to dedicate time and effort to their institute while still holding a day job.

The NZIHE conference was well attended by both Facilities and Biomedical delegates from across NZ. Running over two days, the presentations covered a wide range of topics including Predicting Technologies, Electrical Compliance, Radiation Facility Design and Equipment & Facilities now and into the future. Jon Gowdy the IHEA ANZEX exchange speaker presented on “Embedding a Compliance Culture”.

John Clynes gave a very moving presentation on Mercy Ships New Zealand, part of an international community of individuals dedicated to bringing hope and healing to the world’s poorest people. John’s presentation included many confronting images and videos which brought home the plight of people of all ages who find themselves in desperate circumstances with no chance of receiving any medical help without the volunteers who provide their skills, time and support.

During the conference, Brett Petherbridge and I took the opportunity to promote the 2018 IFHE congress.

Many of the conference delegates and sponsors expressed a real desire to attend.

In closing, I would like to offer a special thanks to the outgoing President, Brett Petherbridge. Brett’s passion and dedication to the position over the last two years has been exemplary.

As we head towards the end of 2017, I wish you and your families best wishes for the festive season and a happy and prosperous 2018. I look forward to working with you all next year, building on the solid foundations laid, and growing the organisation into 2018 and beyond.

Peter Easson IHEA National President

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REGULARS

CEO’S MESSAGE successfully taken over management of new and current member administration with feedback from members being overwhelmingly positive.

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s another year draws to a close the Board and I reflect over 2017 and all that has been achieved.

In February, as a result of a review of our Strategic Plan, our then National President reported that our key areas of focus for 2017 were: • Results of the IHEA Members survey reviewed and implemented • Professional Development – standardised Professional Development program for each state for consistency.

Development of remote member engagement strategies for Professional Development.

• Website redevelopment – Marketing and Communication Strategy developed & Website to be reviewed and updated.

• Social Media plan • Building on membership numbers – review membership grades and increase membership benefits • Increase IHEA Journal circulation – Digital distribution • Streamlined monthly E-Bulletins to members I am pleased to report significant outcomes in all areas. The members survey has influenced many decisions made throughout 2017 with the latest results on the agenda again for our next strategic planning day in Adelaide in February. Work has begun on a standard suite of PD opportunities and will continue to develop and grow across 2018 including face to face and electronic modes of meeting needs for remote members. The website has been redeveloped and is due for launch before Christmas with our social media platforms already having been launched at the National Conference in October in Melbourne.

We have undertaken and implemented a complete review of membership grades and will continue to build our offerings within each grade in 2018. FMA have

This publication has had significant work with a complete rebadging, increased circulation and digital distribution now standard every edition. “Healthcare Facilities” continues to be highly regarded around the world and valued by members and non-members alike.

Copies were recently shared at the IFHE meeting in Rio De Janeiro and where greatly appreciated. Finally, your monthly e-Bulletin will be relaunched once our new website is available making it easier to read and increasingly relevant to member’s needs.

Significant work has also occurred on raising the profile of the work our members do and the advocacy role both they and IHEA can play in shaping the future of healthcare facilities management. IHEA’s increased involvement in committees such as those for technical standards and our successful meeting with the national health Ministers Chief of Staff are just two of the ways this work is being undertaken.

The year culminated with a hugely successful 2017 national Conference at The Pullman Hotel in Melbourne in October. With over 190 attendees, a range of excellent speakers and a terrific night at the annual dinner I think you will agree it was an event worth attending!

Looking forward to 2018 we still have much work to do to continue our quest to ensure members get the most they can out of their membership. Excitement is building in the lead up to the IFHE 2018 Congress, hosted by IHEA, in Brisbane in October. I encourage you all to keep an eye on the latest developments on the IFHE 2018 website and register at your earliest opportunity for what will be a world class international event.

Before signing off I would like to acknowledge and thank our outgoing president Brett Petherbridge. Brett has worked tirelessly over the last two years and has contributed extensively to the growth and development of IHEA. Thanks Brett and best wishes!

I wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and a restful holiday season and look forward to working with and for you in 2018.

Karen Taylor CEO

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BRANCH REPORTS

WA BRANCH REPORT Branch Meeting Sept 2017, QEII Medical Centre

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ir Charles Gairdner Hospital was the venue for the September branch meeting and host Russel Dsilva welcomed all attending 35 members to the campus, including special guests Karen Taylor (IHEA CEO) and the outgoing National President Brett Petherbridge.

New National IHEA President Peter Easson proudly receiving the ‘Presidential Gavel’ from Brett Petherbridge.

The evening’s Professional Development session featured Michael Patterson from Turner & Townsend Thinc, who was invited to present a topical and interesting talk on ‘Developing a Water Quality Risk Management Plan’, highlighting the assessment, implementation and management strategies for health care facilities.

• 506 metres of main services tunnel; • Waste Management, Workshop and Dangerous Goods buildings; • 11kV site power upgrade; • 11kV – 450V transforming and switching equipment; • 5 x 9MW chillers and associated cooling towers, pumps and pipe work; • 5 x 2.5MW diesel generators providing site emergency power; • 1 x 2.5MW Tri-Generation system, including gas generator and absorption chiller; • 3 x 1800 kPa High Temperature Hot Water boilers; • 2 x 900 kPa Steam boilers; and • Reverse Osmosis plant and pumping equipment.

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Michael Patterson presenting Water Quality Management

Guests were then given a guided tour of the newly commissioned $226M Central Energy Plant (CEP), constructed to replace the existing aging CEP building and serving two major hospitals, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and the new Perth Children’s Hospital.

Host Russel pointed out the project’s similarities to a heart transplant operation. Located at the eastern end of the QEIIMC precinct, the former CEP building was the “old heart” and was kept alive during construction in readiness for the transplant of the new CEP building at the western end of the precinct – the more robust, well-built “new heart”. During transition and integration, the entire QEIIMC precinct was kept alive without missing a beat, to continue to perform its many vital functions.

The CEP project included the construction of :

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CEP Services Tunnel feeding the QEII Campus

BRANCH REPORTS

Branch Meeting Nov 2017, Fiona Stanley Hospital Serco’s John Pereira welcomed the 30 members to Fiona Stanley Hospital and introduced his colleague Andrew Waugh, who presented an engaging talk on servicing high voltage switchgear equipment and the challenges he and his team experienced during the scheduled maintenance.

The initial five-yearly maintenance of the high voltage (HV) equipment at Fiona Stanley Hospital was completed this year, with objectives including:

Works were performed to contractual specifications, Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) instructions, and the relevant Australian Standards – particularly AS 2467-2008 Maintenance of electrical switchgear.

The risks and potential consequences of a high voltage electrical incident are significantly higher than low voltage due to the extreme quantities of energy involved.

Andrew Waugh presenting at FSH.

• Compliance with contractual requirements to perform maintenance; • Ensuring the condition of the equipment is fit-forpurpose; • Identifying and rectifying issues to reduce the risk of HV equipment failure into the future that may impact patient health or disrupt critical hospital services.

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BRANCH REPORTS

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by WorkSafe and were adopted to ensure full compliance. The guidelines describe stringent safety design and operating procedures to prevent injury to persons and major damage to electrical installations and buildings.

Strong engagement and high levels of communication with affected clinical areas and

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hospital executives has been essential to ensure the works are completed with minimal disruption and risk.

Maintenance has now been completed in the Main Hospital, Rehabilitation, Education and Pathology buildings, with the remaining Central Energy Plant scheduled for December 2017.

Results to date confirmed the Fiona Stanley Hospital HV equipment is in excellent condition, and shall continue to serve the needs of patient and staff for many years to come.

Following Andrew’s presentation, members were given a tour of the specialised Hyperbaric Medical Unit within the basement of the facility. Hyperbaric medicine is best known for treating decompression illness (‘the bends’), but it is also useful for a far wider range of conditions, including: • arterial gas embolism (AGE) – e.g. as a result of diving or certain surgical procedures • selected problem wounds – e.g. diabetic wounds, non-healing ulcers • radiation damage to bone and soft tissue

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• gas poisoning – e.g. carbon monoxide • compromised skin grafts and flaps • crush injury, compartment syndrome and other acute ischaemias • clostridial gas gangrene • necrotising soft tissue infections • refractory osteomyelitis, and • sudden hearing loss.

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Greg Truscott WA Branch President

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BRANCH REPORTS

VIC/TAS BRANCH REPORT Activities

Post a successful National Conference in October – ‘Compliance in Motion’ the Victoria/Tasmania branch has the final professional development day Friday 24th December (see below) The Committee of Management have commenced the development of the branch calendar of events for 2018; we are looking for branch members to assist with setting the agenda for our professional development days, please contact any of the committee via email addresses below. Our first meeting of 2018 will be the country meeting planned for late February early March.

Vic/Tas PD4 Emissions Reduction Plan Workshop Title: DHHS Workshop with IHEA to discuss greenhouse gas emissions reductions opportunities across DHHS hospitals Date: 24 November 2017 Time: 1.00-4.30 pm Location: Department of Health & Human Services, 50 Lonsdale St, Melbourne Annual Dinner and Awards Night (Engineer of the year)

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M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

Title: The Annual Dinner and Awards night will be held on: Date: Friday, 24 November 2017 Time: 6:00-10.00pm Location: The Rising Sun Hotel, 2 Raglan Street South Melbourne

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Committee of Management At this year’s special meeting the committee of management was ratified as per below.

Branch President

Michael McCambridge

michael.mccambridge@mh.org.au

Branch Secretary

Peter Crammond

peter.crammond@whcg.org.au

Branch Treasurer

Steve Ball

steve.ball@epworth.org.au

CoM

Howard Bulmer

howardjbulmer@gmail.com

CoM

Sujee Panagoda

sujee.panagoda@monashhealth.org

CoM

Simon Roberts

wavenhoe@labyrinth.net.au

CoM

Mark Hooper

mhooper@erh.org.au

CoM

Roderick Woodford

rwoodford@castlemainehealth.org.au

National Board Reps

Michael McCambridge Mark Hooper

michael.mccambridge@mh.org.au mhooper@erh.org.au

Michael McCambridge VIC/TAS Branch President

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BRANCH REPORTS

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BRANCH REPORTS

QLD BRANCH REPORT

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would like to thank the Queensland Branch IHEA members for their active support with Professional Development Seminars over the past year.

The organised seminars are important to ensure our members are aware of changes in our industry and have the relevant information to implement best practices in healthcare engineering.

One of the biggest challenges for the Branch remains the geographic spread, and the focus for 2018 will be to support country members to provide them with access to more services. This includes PD seminars, networking opportunities and social connections.

We intend to become proficient in the use of webinar service to fully engage country members by having them involved with future activities.

NSW/ACT REPORT Activities

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statewide legionella industry meeting has taken place in September, the agenda was based on proposed new regulations for managing warm water systems.

The IHEA has representation on this via the branch president being a member of the committee and a full report on outcomes anticipated before the New Year.

The decision to defer the NSW/ACT branch annual event to Mach 2018 although not considered lightly has been taken to ensure that a more comprehensive program can be delivered to branch members and sponsors.

On other news the NSW/ACT branch president has had the privilege of being selected as the ANZEX Delegate to attend the NZ Institute of Hospital Engineering (NZIHE) conference and a full report is available in this edition of the journal. Noteworthy the opportunity to network with our colleagues from New Zealand was a great experience and participation in the program is something that will be promoted widely throughout the NSW/ACT Branch, I would encourage all IHEA members to consider applying for this valuable learning opportunity.

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We held an afternoon seminar in September to the theme “Alternative Power Supplies, Analytics and Demand in Healthcare”. The technical presentations were provided by Ecosave and Velocity.

The program for the professional development seminar included discussion on the following topics; • Integration of alternative energy sources with standby generation • Energy Analytics with alternative energy sources • How energy data can be used effectively There was also active discussion on this subject focussing on how data analytics can be effectively used in hospitals to optimise and fine tune building performance, improve energy efficiency and assist hospital engineers to achieve better outcomes with operational maintenance issues.

It was also pleasing to see a large NSW/ACT Branch contingent at the National Conference, members and gusts alike were exposed to a great venue, trades display, technical papers and tours. There was also a small contingent who managed to do a site visit of the new Olympus training room and scope repair workshop which was a great experience to see firsthand the latest in digital theatre and training facilities.

management practitioners is increasing and the incoming Committee of management (CoM) will be discussing strategies on how to ensure that this pattern of growth continues. It was also good to see the strategic direction of the National Board and CEO using member’s feedback to align and develop focus areas and targets for future membership services.

Membership

Planning for the 2018 Annual Conference, Trade Display and Annual Awards Presentation is

Membership interest from both industry groups and health facility

Actions

Committee of Management (names and email) Name

Position

Phone

Email

Jon Gowdy

President

0411 040 834

Jon.Gowdy@sswahs.nsw.gov.au

Robin Arian

Vice President

0423 170 114

Rob.arian@sswahs.nsw.gov.au

Mal Allen

Treasurer

0467 761 867

mal.allen@hnehealth.nsw.gov.au

Darren Green

Secretary

0418 238 062

darren.green@health.nsw.gov.au

John Miles

CoM

0408 403 025

John.miles@health.nsw.gov.au

Robin Arian

CoM

0408 869 953

peter.allen@hnehealth.nsw.gov.au

Jason Swingler

CoM

0423 299 221

Jason.swingler@sswahs.nsw.gov.au

Marcus Stalker

CoM

0409 157 870

Marcus.stalker@sswahs.nsw.gov.au

Brett Petherbridge

CoM

0418 683 559

brett.petherbridge@act.gov.au

Peter Lloyd

CoM

0428 699 112

peter.lloyd@health.nsw.gov.au

Greg Allen

CoM

0467 711 715

Greg.allen@swsahs.nsw.gov.au

Ashwin Singh

CoM

0459 896 171

Ashwin.singh@swsahs.nsw.gov.au

Chris Tarbuck

CoM

02 6244 3186

Chris.tarbuck@act.gov.au

BRANCH REPORTS

The other prominent speaker was from Velocity which included consideration on integrating alternate energy sources with standby generation to the national grid and the requirements of AEMO (Australian Energy Market Operator.)

The event was well supported with 22 QLD Branch members attending and who also benefited from the networking opportunity provided by this get together.

The technical papers and presentations were provided to our members, with special thanks to both Ecosave and Velocity.

Our 2017 Christmas dinner function and PD seminar will be held on 14th December at the Pineapple Hotel. The key-note presentation will be from Vertiv International and will be addressing enterprise solutions for UPS and backup power in a healthcare environment.

now well underway with a date and location now confirmed.

The Branch Special Meeting will be held in Wollongong on the 23rd and 24th March 2018. Strong sponsor interest is already being shown and the COM will be working hard to leverage on this to ensure that an exciting and interesting event is provided for our members and other attendees. The Conference theme ‘Healthy Assets and Innovation’ was selected to ensure the conference delivered depth of information and learnings

The Branch Committee of Management warmly welcomes all members to attend our Christmas function and PD seminar which will be followed by an exciting networking opportunity to reflect on events over the past year. We are also planning for the usual Toowoomba country event meeting, PD and social event for 2018 – we are also happy to consider alternatives for our country meeting with a particular interest on the Sunshine Coast for our members in that region. All members are encourage to attend this event, and to keep an eye out for further details as they are released.

On behalf of the Queensland Branch Committee I wish you all a happy Christmas and a safe New Year.

Scott Wells President, QLD Branch

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Jon Gowdy Director Engineering Services SLHD MIHEA NSW State President

IHEA Members doing Movember Below some of the Murrumbidgee Local Health District Asset Management team doing what they can for partyicpating in Movember supporting Men’s health.

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BRANCH REPORTS

SA BRANCH REPORT State Special Meeting:

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t the State Special Meeting on 12th July 2016, the new Branch Committee of Management (CoM) was elected, with the following appointments made:

State President: Peter Footner Vice President: John Jenner Secretary: John Jenner Treasurer: Peter Footner National Board Nominee: Peter Footner National Board Proxy: John Jenner Committee Members: Darryl Pitcher Tony Edmunds Vince Russo The commitment of the CoM members to IHEA and the Branch is especially commendable given the heavy workloads and commitments that most committee members have carried in their normal working and domestic lives.

Branch Networking Function: As part of our continuing focus on membership retention and growth, the Branch held a members and guests networking evening at Enzo’s Ristorante on 13th July. This was designed as an informal affair to welcome recent new members and to encourage members to share their experiences and benefits of membership with a number of potential new members who were in attendance. The evening was very successful and a number of the potential new members attending expressed enthusiasm for joining the IHEA. Membership Incentive Prize: Through the generosity of one of our State Corporate members, OandMs, the CoM of Management was able to offer a prize of an Adelaide Oval Roof Climb voucher to one of our new/renewing members who were financial as at 4 August 2017. I am pleased to advise that the prize went to Mike Frajer, Assets & Security Manager at Royal Adelaide Hospital.

Hopefully, this promotion contributed to a more comprehensive and prompter completion of the membership renewal process.

Professional Development Planning: As previously reported, the SA Branch has engaged with like-minded professional/membership organisations in SA to share and jointly plan professional development opportunities. Through these relationships, we are able to provide a greater

18

diversity of professional development opportunities to members in SA. Coordinated by CIBSE, representatives of these various groups continue to meet on a monthly basis and IHEA has participated in these planning meetings.

The SA Branch’s major contribution will be to arrange at least two seminars/presentations during the coming year – the first of these took place in September with another event, being planned for March next year.

Where appropriate, events arranged by these other organisations have been advised and made available to IHEA members, with a group taking up the opportunities. We look forward to more of these interactions in 2018.

Professional Development Seminar: In conjunction with CIBSE & other affiliated organisations, the Branch held a PD seminar on Indoor Air Quality/Healthy Environments on Thursday 14th September. The venue was at the function room in the British Hotel, North Adelaide. The evening session was attended by more than 20 interested stakeholders ranging from engineers, project managers, architects and Infection Prevention and Control staff.

Nick Stokoe from Cundalls led off with his talk on ‘Building Wellness’. He spoke about the WELL Building Standard which looks at seven core criteria – Air, Water, Nourishment, Light, Fitness, Comfort & Mind. The WELL Building Standard is a site assessed performance based accreditation which looks at these core criteria and the subsets that make up those criteria. These criteria relate back to a person’s physical and emotional well being. The WELL Building Standard, while sharing similarities with sustainable design, is not the same as it does not consider efficacy in performance and rather focuses on the well being of the occupant. By considering the WELL Building Standard early in the design process, good sustainable design can be married with the WELL goals to realise a building outcome that can achieve positive outcomes for wellness and sustainability.

Joe Scholz from QED followed on with a discussion around air handling systems harmonising with infection control objectives. He raised interesting points regarding the risks associated with poor preventative maintenance and the potential for patient fungal infection which increases patient morbidity and can mean ongoing anti-fungal treatments at $700-$2100 for months. Joe stepped the audience through the AS 3666 risk assessment and showed how it could be used to assess and focus on maintenance of airhandling plant. This provides the healthcare facility

BRANCH REPORTS

manager with an opportunity to target their treatments at areas of greatest risk.

After the presentations, the group enjoyed a relaxed opportunity to mix and talk amongst themselves while enjoying refreshments together.

Overall, the seminar was well received

and provided a great opportunity for healthcare facility managers to connect with others in the industry outside health, and we hope that we can attract more members to enjoy this benefit of their membership.

(Report provided with thanks to John Jenner).

Membership: Membership of the SA Branch has continued to increase steadily and this quarter we welcomed two new members and one returning member (with a new employer).

I am also pleased to report that DPTI Facilities Services have recently re-joined the Institute. It is pleasing to get what is a major component of the FM service provision across the public health system back into the fold and involved in IHEA activities and we look forward to more private operators seeing the benefiting and getting involved in the future.

Peter Footner President, SA Branch

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2017 IHEA NATIONAL CONFERENCE

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CONFERENCES

PERSPECTIVES ON THE 2017 IHEA NATIONAL CONFERENCE With several SA members attending the National Conference at the Pullman Melbourne at Albert Park, we thought it may be useful to provide a couple of perspectives on the Conference – one from a new member attending his first conference and another from a longer-standing member who has attended many conferences over the last 10 years and more.

M

ichael Scerri joined the Institute of Healthcare Engineering Australia and the SA Branch in March this year. He was a contractor engaged on the project to contract/project manage healthcare design issues on the new Royal Adelaide Hospital and now has a continuing role on the site.

Peter Footner has been a member since March 2006 and has a number of roles with Institute of Healthcare Engineering Australia (Board Director, Membership Registrar, SA President, SA Treasurer).

Mahler encouraged all of us, regardless of position or gender, to become more self-aware and to understand our potential influence and the tools at our disposal. Professor David Hood AO reminded us that small changes lead to bigger changes and that each one of us was capable of igniting that change in our personal lives and in our workplaces – to become agents for positive change. Both keynotes endowed us with new perspectives and new tools to apply.

Michael writes:

The Technical Tour was a highlight for me – the opportunity to go behind the scenes at the new state of the art Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre was outstanding and our group appreciated the candid and generous exposition of our guides. Other highlights include the dramatic traditional welcome to country, the excellent quality of food, the trade night and the Conference dinner. Conferences are important events for growing networks and reconnecting with colleagues, and the time deliberately allocated in the programme for social events or even program breaks was well-considered.

“As a first year member, the 2017 IHEA Healthcare Facilities Management Conference was my first opportunity to engage with the national community of healthcare engineers and facility managers. My first impression? Entering the room that first day bestowed upon me an immediate realisation of the broad and deep experience across the membership.

Personally, I appreciated the variety of themes presented at the Conference. From managing climate change impacts to installing safety systems by design, and from considering how clean it really needs to be to ensuring that products used to seal your firewall penetrations are truly compliant, the 2017 IHEA Conference presented informative and thought-provoking presentations that will influence my professional decision-making.

I was impressed that the Conference conveners had considered the merits of hosting a presentation on the ‘softer’ (or should we say deeper and more gestured) verbal and non-verbal skills. Unfortunately, engineers are sometimes criticised for being unable to effectively articulate their positions and Dr Louise

Thanks to the Conference conveners, sponsoring committee, corporate exhibitors and all the presenters. If you are like me, our busy professional and personal lives provide little in the way of unaccounted time. Committing to attend and participate in Conference events like this are not only an investment in our professional development, but also in best practice adoption at our workplaces, and ultimately in the health of our respective communities.

It might sound somewhat clichéd, but, on behalf of those new to the Institute, thank you for striving to be the best.”

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CONFERENCES

Peter writes: “As a retired member of some years, I initially wondered what benefit my attendance at the conference could bring.

After some encouragement from other members, I decided to attend the 2017 Conference and I am so glad I did.

In reviewing the various aspects of the conference, I concluded that there were many benefits to accrue from attendance – for me personally, for the SA Branch and the wider IHEA organisation: • Being able to stay abreast of the current trends, issues and developments within the healthcare Armstrong Flooringh IHEA 2016 Ad-B+_X 13/09/2016 3:50 pm Page 1 facilities management/engineering field will, I think, allow me to better engage with SA members and

to provide a more informed contribution to the organisation as a Board Director.

• I was extremely pleased to attend the “big picture” presentations from Dr Louise Mahler on how to use voice and gesture to improve the effectiveness of your communications and Professor David Hood on sustainability in healthcare. Their topics have broad application across many areas of life but remain particular beneficial to FM practitioners. In particular, I was pleased to see someone of David’s standing contributing at our conference – he established the Australian Green Infrastructure Council and is one of the top 100 sustainability leaders in the world. I valued the prominence given in David’s presentation to the need for further efforts to pursue sustainability in engineering practice, noting the healthcare industry’s heavy contribution to carbon emissions and how well placed it is to make a difference to sustainable practices.

• It always amazes me that, while outsiders might see our field of healthcare engineering/facilities management as largely static, each conference

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CONFERENCES

seems to offer new dynamic perspectives on the field. Conference topics this year show new threats & challenges, new priorities for FM practitioners, changing standards, compliance & governance requirements, new approaches/services/technologies – our working lives are never boring! It seems as complexity in healthcare provision grows, pressure on healthcare budgets increases, and resources become ever more constrained, these environmental factors immediately impact on our field – and the conference content shows us ways to better respond.

Australia supporters who generally care about the industry, want to make a valued contribution to healthcare and, to top it all off, are generally a nice bunch of people.

• And who wouldn’t like a fantastic conference dinner at a great venue (Etihad Stadium), with good food and wine, a great band and yet another opportunity to mingle with conference participants.

• Whilst I acknowledge that exhibitors were there to promote their products and services, through my own conversations with exhibitors, I was impressed with their willingness to participate in the plenary sessions, to engage with delegates with a desire to further best practice in the industry and to assist delegates with any issue of significance.

As Membership Registrar, I took some pleasure (and time out from some of the plenary sessions) from contributing to the recognition accorded to a significant number of long-serving members and it was particularly pleasing to acknowledge the service of two 40 year “veterans” – Roy Aitken of WA and Roland Border from Queensland. As SA President, it was also great to see one of our stalwarts in SA, Peter Cooper, accept a 30 year certificate.

• The networking amongst members, presenters, sponsors and exhibitors has intrinsic value in itself – it allowed me to realise that we generally have a wide group of Institute of Healthcare Engineering

These awards – and the conferences themselves – make you realise the value that membership of Institute of Healthcare Engineering Australia can bring to the individuals and the healthcare industry.

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FEATURE ARTICLES

ANZEX REPORT 2017

PULLMAN MELBOURNE, ALBERT PARK

By Warren Crawley, ANZEX Representative 2017

I left Palmerston North for Melbourne as rain was threatening to fall, escaping the week of wet weather to follow. After a quick transfer to the International flight in Auckland I found myself heading toward Melbourne at 36,000 feet landing just before 11 am local time having caught up on some essential viewing of a favourite show during the flight. I spent the remainder of the weekend catching up with friends and preparing for my first day of visits starting with several Monash Heath Facilities. I meet with Sujee Panagoda at the Monash Medical Centre in Clayton to commence my visits for the day. We discussed the various facets of health delivery in the Monash Health region before I was introduced to Brendon Maloney the Facilities Manager for the 660 bed Monash Medical Centre and the adjacent 220 bed Monash Children’s Hospital. Despite being a Monday, which we all know is a bad day for visitors, Brendon freely gave his time to escort me around these two facilities on the campus.

T

he Monash Medical Centre was very reminiscent of my home facility, an older hospital struggling to meet the demands of modern patient care. Walking down corridors used for storage in cramped clinical spaces and staff committed to provide the best care possible.

I was struck by how well maintained the facilities were despite the age and the number of ongoing improvements being undertaken by Brendon and his colleagues to improve infrastructure resilience and service delivery. There were surprising similarities in the work being undertaken by the Monash engineering team and those as Palmerston North Hospital. Upgrades of electrical infrastructure and generation systems being an example of the similarities we share as well as concerns about flooding and de-risking basement areas, another feature of both facilities.

I was particularly interested in seeing the Cardiac Catheterisation Laboratories (Cathlab) where I met Anne Mennen the Director of Development for Monash Heart. She took me on a tour of their suites and explained some of the key features to

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be considered when designing and building a new facility, something in which she has recent experience, as the cardiology services plan to build a separate Cardiac Hospital. In May last year the State Government committed to the construction of the new Victorian Heart Hospital to be built at Monash University Campus. This Hospital will be the centre piece of the Victorian Cardiac Services plan.

We moved on to the newly built Children’s Hospital which is being handed over for occupation incrementally since June this year. The expansive plant spaces would be a joy to any engineer with plenty of space to carry out maintenance efficiently and effectively. I was also impressed with the “safety by design” principle being applied throughout the facility. Clinical spaces were light and airy with plenty of circulating space around patients to allow clinical staff to easily provide care no matter what the patient required. As we are investigating retrofitting new positive and negative pressure rooms into a clinical space I took the opportunity to look over the new facilities. It was clear to see the challenges in creating such rooms – particularly the negative pressure rooms.

FEATURE ARTICLES

Brendon explained the use of new technologies throughout the hospital such as the communications technology, something of particular interest me, in the old facility staff are readily able to interact in the old cramped spaces whist the new facility with its large spaces and private rooms means staff are, by comparison, isolated from each other.

A quick trip up to the roof and to the helipad together with an inspection of its fire-fighting systems finished the tour before heading down to the ground floor and looking at the children’s play areas, radio station and public areas.

Following lunch a tour of the remainder of the site and to the Translations Precinct on the Monash Clayton Campus. This building is a newer facility and contains a number of research facilities and space leased by Monash Health. An excellent panorama of the site is available from the roof of the precinct building.

The following day I visited Atherton where I was met

by Jean Danre who conducted a detailed guided

tour of the design and construction facilities at the Alphington plant. I was very appreciative of the friendly staff from the design team through to the staff on the factory floor. They all freely answered all my questions and gave me an excellent insight into production, from Research and Development through to dispatch of the finished product. In this day of globalisation it was a pleasant change to see a “local” grown business still prospering. I was impressed with the degree of technical support and spares for even some of the oldest products.

Wednesday was my first introduction to the IHEA when I attended the Board meeting in the morning.

It was a privilege to spend time with our Australian counterparts, sampling the friendly banter and collegial discussions around the table – thank you to Brett Petherbridge and your team for the invitation to attend your meeting.

The conference started with a technical tour. There were three options to choose from. I choose the trip to the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) which houses the Peter MacCallum Cancer

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Centre. The centre was built as a Public-Private Partnership which opened in July 2016 at the cost of A$1 billion. It is affiliated with the University of Melbourne, has 13 floors, 160 overnight inpatient beds; 42-bed intensive care unit; 110 day stay beds and eight linear accelerator bunkers. It is Australia’s first fully comprehensive cancer centre combining research, education, treatment and care.

The building has 25,000 square metres of floor space and an air-bridge connecting it to the Royal Melbourne Hospital. There is a roof garden on the 7th level which overlooks Royal Melbourne Hospital and the surrounding city – a very pleasant environment for relaxation and contemplating. The plant rooms and central control centre were equally impressive as the buildings themselves, utilising the latest in integrated technology.

The evening saw the welcoming reception and trade night in the exhibition area of the conference venue, the Pullman Melbourne Albert Park.

There were a number suppliers we would see in New Zealand at our own conference.

Thursday was the official conference opening, the theme of which was “Compliance in Motion”.

Indigenous Elder Ian (Warrend-Badj) Hunter provided a traditional welcome followed by the Presidents welcome given by Brett Petherbridge.

Like many conferences, there was so much content that I could not describe and to justice to the quality and relevance to all in Healthcare Engineering. In my own ANZEX presentation I wanted to give an insight into something in health engineering that was unique to the New Zealand context so I decided to speak about the engineering and operational implications of seismic activity on health facilities.

The Conference dinner was at the Etihad Stadium and presented a great opportunity to meet the diverse range of attendees from around the four corners of Australia. The address by the new President, Peter Easson was well received and I personally look forward to meeting Peter again soon, if not in New Zealand, at the Brisbane IHFE Congress in 2018. The entertainment band is worthy of special mention, they were exceptionally good and tailored their music to suit the group – many of whom got into the spirit of the evening on the dance floor. A great night was had by all.

The final conference wrap up was on Friday afternoon with the presentation of prizes by Rod Woodford the conference convenor. I would like to thank both the NZIHE for sponsoring my trip to Australia and the IHEA for hosting me and making the trip a very enjoyable and informative trip.

There are so many people who have made my trip a success but I would like to make special mention of Brett Petherbridge, Peter Easson and Sujee Panagoda for making me welcome and organising the various events for me.

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The Thursday and Friday keynote were of particular note. Dr Louise Mahler gave a vibrant and humorous presentation in the Thursday address. Her message portrayed the importance of body language in getting the “message across” fully engaged and laughing for the entire hour.

The Friday keynote address was by Professor David Hood, who gave a compelling portrayal of the science and impacts off climate change on healthcare engineering. His message resonated completely with me and verified my own climate change considerations when forward planning for capital projects and other health engineering activities.

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FEATURE ARTICLES

ANZEX REPORT

THE 2017 NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF NZIHE WAS HELD IN THE SOUTHERN CROSS SCENIC HOTEL IN DUNEDIN ON THE 9TH-10TH NOVEMBER Representing IHEA were Peter Easson – National President, Brett Petherbridge – Immediate Past President and Jon Gowdy ANZEX delegate.

P

eter was invited to attend the NZIHE board meeting to build on the current knowledge and information sharing relationship that exists between our organisations and Brett attended to promote the 2018 IFHE Congress scheduled for October 2018 in Brisbane.

The theme of the conference was “Predicting Technology” which included a comprehensive program of presentations and discussions covering a broad spectrum of subject matter.

Thursday’s agenda covered a range of interesting topics centred on building and clinical technology with a specific focus on where this is taking our industry into the future. ANZEX delegate Jon Gowdy also gave a presentation that detailed some of the challenges a large healthcare organisation faces when managing compliance. IHEA delegates Peter Easson and Brett Petherbridge gave an entertaining promotion of the

upcoming Brisbane IFHE congress which was well received.

Dunedin has some beautiful well preserved architecture and this was put to good use by the NZIHE for events held outside of the conference venue, with the trade show being held in the historic Town Hall building in the city centre which has as its centre piece a magnificent pipe organ. The trade show was well supported by a broad range of industry sponsors displaying innovative products and services.

The IHEA delegates were impressed by the warm welcomes, high level of professionalism and willingness to engage by all participants The Friday agenda had separate streams for Biomedical Engineering and Healthcare Facility Management centred issues with the IHEA delegates attending the FM stream, with the presentation around seismic design of buildings generating interest

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FEATURE ARTICLES

given the uniqueness of these events in Australia.

A noteworthy presentation was also delivered by IHEA member Greg Ellis from Northeast Health Victoria on patient control integration and nurse-call systems.

Some of the highlights of the conference were the presentation given by Mercy Hospital Dunedin CEO Richard Whitney who gave an overview of the recent capital project at the hospital and some valuable insight as to how healthcare is delivered in regional New Zealand. Richard also discussed his thoughts on how new and emerging technology will impact on healthcare engineering and facility management from a CEO’s perspective.

Also a very thought provoking presentation was given by John Clynes from Mercy Ships New Zealand regarding the ground breaking work done by this organisation in changing the lives of people with severe disfigurements in developing countries around the world.

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The finale of the conference was the official dinner event which took place at the stunning Larnach Castle located in the hills overlooking Dunedin. A nice touch was the transport to the venue being provided by a vintage Leyland bus. Larnach is the only castle in New Zealand and has been incredibly well preserved in its original glory. The warmth of the fireplace was matched by the level of camaraderie and friendship between the official IHEA attendees, IHEA Honorary Fellow Kim Bruton and all from NZIHE. It was definitely a special night.

All IHEA representatives attending the conference would like to express their appreciation for the warm welcome and hospitality extended to us all from the NZIHE and conference attendees.

On a personal level I would like to thank the NZIHE and IHEA National board for giving me the opportunity to attend this event and am looking forward to see you all again during November next year in Napier.

FEATURE ARTICLES

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FEATURE ARTICLES

HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN TO ME? A LESSON IN FIRE COMPARTMENTATION

By Mark Hooper, Winner of the 2017 Best Paper Award’ IHEA National Conference

Fire and smoke compartmentation are required essential elements when meeting the safety needs of building users. These elements become critical when the building users have restricted mobility due to illness such as in hospitals and aged care facilities. It is a large focus of any healthcare engineer responsible for facility management to ensure the essential services maintenance conditions of a building occupancy permit are complied with on an ongoing basis.

I

t is astounding that the supplier of the occupancy permit is not required to inspect the very elements that are so critical for compliance, and will become the standard for maintenance for the duration of the building life.

makes it impossible to access the fire damper for inspections. This photograph is from a building recently handed over with an occupancy permit in place.

COMPLIANCE FRAMEWORK

This paper will explore the building act in Victoria and the building process from construction to handover to a facility manager post defects liability.

It is intended to shine the spotlight on the current practices of novating responsibility and cost to the facility manager of poorly managed construction, a weak act and no formal professional development requirements for building practitioners.

All photographs in this paper are from facilities that have been issued with occupancy permits. Some are serious breaches of life safety and some are the effect of poor supervision. Most are not compliant.

Figure 1 shows an inspection hatch that has been built into the fire wall. This renders the fire wall non compliant and

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Figure 2: Victorian Compliance Framework

In Victoria the building regulatory framework and plumbing regulatory framework are administered by the Victorian Building Authority. The building act 1993 references the building regulations, National Construction Code, BCA series and the building referenced Australian standards.

The Building Act states: Figure 1

FEATURE ARTICLES

Part 1 Section 3 Clause 1 “The Main Purposes of this Act are-

P9 D1 128 Immunity for building surveyor relying on certificate

(b) to provide for the accreditation of building products,... (c) to provide an efficient and effective system for issuing building and occupancy permits...”

A... building surveyor... is not liable for anything done or omitted to be done... in reliance on a certificate given by a registered building practitioner under section 238.c

Part 1 S4 (1) The Objectives of this Act are –

P8 D2 106 Building Notices

(a) to protect the safety and health of people who use buildings and places of public entertainment;...

A... building surveyor may cause a building notice to be served on an owner of a building... if the following circumstances exists –

Let us investigate these elements in some detail.

(ba) safety or emergency services installations or equipment have not been maintained in accordance with the occupancy permit and the regulations;

BUILDING SURVEYORS AND BUILDING PRACTITIONERS In Victoria the role of building surveyors and building practitioners is clearly defined in the regulations.

The Victorian Building Authority manages issuing of licences. Over the last decade the nature of the building industry and project consulting has steadily increased the load on builders to take on more and more responsibility. The term “design and construct” is used often. Consultants will insert clauses in contracts that put all the compliance aspects back on the builder. Independent inspections of critical compartmentation aspects of a building are often not been carried out as they are not allowed for in fees due to the competitive nature of the market.

Some important definitions in the act are defined below.

P1 S3 (1) building practitioner means (h) a person responsible for a building project... who belongs to a class or category of people prescribed to be building practitioners – P3 Building Permits (4) A building practitioner or an architect who is engaged to carry out building work must ensure that – (b) the work is carried out in accordance with this Act, the building regulations and the building permit issued in relation to that work...

P13 D3 238 (1) A... building surveyor... may rely on a certificate by a registered building practitioner.

(2) A registered building practitioner must not give a certificate... unless the certificate states that the registered building practitioner has inspected that building work.

Key Points: • A building practitioner is registered by the Victorian Building Authority.

• A building practitioner is responsible for a building project, and must ensure the work is carried out in accordance with the Act, regulations and permit conditions.

• A building practitioner must not give a certificate (in the context of this paper relating to fire compartment compliance) unless they have inspected the work themselves.

• A building surveyor may rely on the certificate given by the builder that the work is completed and compliant and does not have to inspect the work.

• A building surveyor is not liable when relying on the certificate given by the building practitioner.

• A building surveyor can issue a notice on a building owner after occupation for not complying with the maintenance requirements set out in the occupancy permit, even if the work was never compliant and has never been inspected independently.

Figure 3: Hose Reel Plumbing run through Air Conditioning Duct

THE (IN)EFFECTIVE SYSTEM FOR ISSUING OF OCCUPANCY PERMITS Most readers will be familiar with the term occupancy permit or its variant in different states of Australia. In

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simple terms it is a requirement of the Victorian building regulations for an Occupancy Permit to be issued by a registered building surveyor before a building is allowed to be occupied. In Victoria it is important as a facility manager that you understand what this means to you.

Figure 4: Baseline data. Penetration Identification prior to rectification

P4 D3 Certificates of final inspection.

38 Certificate of final inspection (1) The relevant building surveyor must issue a certificate of final inspection on completion of the inspection…..

(2) A certificate of final inspection is not evidence that the building or building work concerned complies with this Act or the building regulations.

P5 D1 Occupancy Permits (building work) 46 Effect of occupancy permit (1) An occupancy permit under this Division is evidence that the building or part of a building to which it applies is suitable for occupation.

(2) An occupancy permit under this Division is not evidence that the building or part of a building to which it applies complies with this Act or the building regulations.

Facility managers in Victoria should be aware that upon receipt of the occupancy permit for a new building there is no guarantee that it complies with the Act or the regulations.

In addition a building surveyor can issue a notice on a building owner for not complying with the maintenance requirements set out in the occupancy permit, even if the work was never compliant and has never been inspected independently. There is a clear novation of responsibility from the builder to the owner.

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All occupancy permits will refer to a standard for maintenance.

At the time of writing the majority of new permits will refer to AS1851-2012 Routine service of fire protection systems and equipment. This standard requires baseline data to be collected and referenced throughout the life of the building. The intention is to maintain performance of passive and active fire protection systems throughout the building life. As such it is a requirement for this standard to be complied with during defects liability period.

Most contracts will require the builder to be responsible for maintaining the building to the standards referenced in the occupancy permit during the defects liability period. This is the time where facility managers can request the baseline data and photographic proof of the condition of all penetrations and compartmentation. If the builder is unable to provide this, an independent company should be engaged to provide this service. Any defects found can be reported through the defects process and as a last resort retention of monies can be used if the builder is unwilling to rectify.

It is a requirement of the building act (and therefore a licence condition) that the builder has

undertaken inspection of fire and smoke compartmentation compliance prior to issuing a certificate of compliance to the building surveyor. There is no other independent check or balance anywhere in the system and unless the building owner requests the baseline data they could be left to pay for the rectification costs once the responsibility novates across at the end of DLP.

ACCREDITATION OF BUILDING PRODUCTS Passive Fire Protection is used to contain or slow the spread of fire through the use of fire rated elements and approved tested systems to achieve compliance with building codes.

The Victorian Building Act requires building products used in sealing and stopping up of penetrations in fire and smoke compartments to comply with Australian standards.

P2 S14 Accreditation of building products requires compliance with AS1530.4 Methods for fire tests on building materials, components and structures Fire-resistance test of elements of construction.

The National Construction Code also references this standard.

For a system installation to be compliant, the install must have no modifications, assumptions or leniency from the manufacturer’s product tests. If the install isn’t a direct replica of the tested prototype, the “Fire Certificate” at the end of the job isn’t worth the paper it is printed on.

Figure 5 shows a typical test rig for products that are certified to be compliant to AS1530.4.

It is important to know that this standard differs from other standards in other countries and equivalent tests are not

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Figure 5

Figure 7: AS1530.4 Compliant Test Detail

evidence of compliance to the Australian Standard.

Most facilities managers will know the type of products that can be used for stopping up fire walls, however it is more of a rarity that the certification document is asked for. Figure 6 shows a typical fire rated mastic. One of the product test sheets is shown in Figure 7.

This test sheet shows that this product is suitable for use where a 100mm hole is drilled in 2 hour fire rated walls. It has been tested for an air conditioning pair coil.

In order to meet the compliance requirements a foam backing rod must be installed and the mastic must be 25mm deep on both sides of the wall.

One of the most common mistakes is the use of expanding foam for the sealing of penetrations. Figure 8 shows a very tidy job however when we explore the data sheet of the product used we find that this product is not compliant.

Foam Fill (PU Foam). It is often incorrectly assumed that it can be used to fill large voids or

service penetrations to provide a compliant seal. In all cases, it can only be used in narrow voids or gaps. The test data in figure 10 shows that this product has only been tested to fill holes without any services. The maximum hole this product can fill is a 45mm gap and must have rockwool friction fit between each seal.

It cannot be used for the installation in figure 8.

Figure 8: Non-Compliant penetration seal

Figure 6: Typical Fire rated mastic

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Figure 9: Typical PU-Foam

OTHER SYSTEMS ELEMENTS Mechanical dampers in air conditioning systems should always be connected to duct work with ‘break away joints’ as per AS1682.2 allowing the duct to collapse and not get dislodged in the damper within a fire. It is not uncommon to find metal screws attached to the dampers within the vicinity of fire walls. In the event of a fire the ductwork will not dislodge and puts pressure on the fire damper which could become separated from the fire wall.

Figure 10: PU-Foam test certificate

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Figure 11: Break Away joints required on ductwork

Fire Collars should never be fixed with nylon anchors. Although it seems obvious that nylon will melt and the collar will dislodge during a fire event I have seen many collars installed with nylon anchors. Intumescent seals on fire collars are designed to expand when impacted by fire. It is another common mistake for the installer to coat the intumescent seal with a fire caulk when sealing the service penetration. The intumescent element will not react at the correct temperature if it is protected by a fire caulk. The irony here is a fire resistant caulk can actually aid the spread of a fire if installed on a fire collar.

Figure 12: Incorrect installation of a fire collar

Cable trays are required to meet the fire insulation requirements when passing through a -/120/120 wall. To meet this standard the cable tray must be treated for insulation to resist transmission of radiant heat through the wall. This can be achieved by wrapping an AS1530 tested insulation system Figure 13 around the cable tray, or discontinuing the tray either side of the wall. Figure 13 shows an example of a compliant system. It should be remembered that this clause came into effect in 2008 NCC. Facilities managers should check which version of the NCC/ BCA their building was constructed against when determining compliance.

CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT The Victorian Building Authority website has a section for frequently asked questions. VBA website > Building Practitioners FAQs.

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FAQ8. Does the VBA have a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program?

(b) to provide for the accreditation of building products...

A: No.

(c) to provide an efficient and effective system for issuing building and occupancy permits...�

The voluntary Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program previously administered by the Building Commission is not provided by the Victorian Building Authority (VBA).

The VBA encourages building and plumbing practitioners to undertake continuing professional development to maintain the currency of their skills and knowledge, however, the VBA will not be recording their attendance or results.

Practitioners may determine what training opportunities are suitable for them to participate in.

Industry associations may also provide assistance with professional development programs and activities.

SUMMARY The Main Purposes of the Victorian Building Act are –

The Objectives of this Act are(a) to protect the safety and health of people who use buildings and places of public entertainment;...

There is enough evidence to question if the self regulating nature of the act is working. Clearly there are deficiencies in the professional development of building practitioners and the dissemination and knowledge of the trades involved in the installation process. The strength of contracts in requiring the professional consultancy bodies engaged to design and manage construction projects needs to be addressed to ensure there are independent third party inspections of essential passive building elements. Failure to include this in your contract documents will lead to a novation of any issues to you the facility manager.

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HAS YOUR HEALTHCARE FACILITY PREPARED FOR THE HEALTHCARE CLEANING CHANGE?

By Director of Duplex Healthcare, Murray McDonald

Healthcare funding legislation and auditing standards have changed over the past few months. Just like many other industries, technologies are progressing, innovations are being sought after and new processes are being introduced.

T

he healthcare industry is no different. In particular, changes in healthcare cleaning and infection control prevention methods have changed. A key reason for this can be seen in the rise of hospitalacquired infections and superbugs.

This alternative approach is a system known as fluorescent marking. The Standards recommend this approach be used in addition to, or in the place of, visual inspections for auditing environmental cleanliness.

As seen in recent news media, influenza, norovirus and C.difficile are some of the superbugs that have wreaked havoc on some of Australia’s aged care and hospital facilities in the past year.

Fluorescent marking systems are now seen as a best practice approach when it comes to healthcare cleaning auditing, and it can be seen that it will only be a matter of time for other states that haven’t adopted this approach to also follow suit.

Here is an overview of some of the key changes and how your facility can implement a best practice approach.

CLEANING AUDITING STANDARDS When it comes to evaluating the environmental cleanliness of a hospital, the simpler and more streamlined the process can be the better for a hospital’s accreditation purposes. The clearer the auditing process, the more It helps hospitals accurately identify a “pass or fail” as to whether a surface has been cleaned.

The Victorian Cleaning Standards aims to improve the quality of healthcare provision by ensuring that all risks involving cleaning are identified and managed in an appropriate manner.

As of 1 July 2017, environmental cleanliness of Victorian health facilities and its evaluation has changed. According to the Victorian Cleaning Standards, the change includes moving away from visual inspections, which is commonly used in healthcare across Australia, to an alternative approach.

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Fluorescent marking as an auditing approach was pioneered by Dr Carling, a microbiologist who worked for the Centre for Disease Control (CDC). In 2005, Carling developed a new method using an invisible fluorescent marker to target standardised high-touch surfaces in hospitals rooms.

Evaluation of 1404 surface objects in 157 rooms and in 3 rooms revealed that only 47 per cent of key surfaces had been cleaned. Fluorescent marking was then made the standardised practice, which resulted in a 2-fold improvement to the cleanliness of environmental surfaces.

This new auditing process involves using a fluorescent marking pen and a fluorescent torch.

The process involves the following: 1. An auditor enters a hospital room, and uses a fluorescent marker to make clear markings, such as dates or names, on all key touch surfaces. These markings are invisible to the naked eye.

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2. After cleaning has been carried out, the auditor then re-enters the room. By using the fluorescent torch to illuminate the markings, the auditor can identify whether the mark has been cleaned/removed.

If marks are present, the surface has been missed during the cleaning process.

HOSPITAL FUNDING AND INFECTIONS Nurses, orderlies and cleaners manually wipe down surfaces and clinical devices during the cleaning process. This leaves a lot of room for human cleaning error to occur, and this is a large contributor to hospital acquired infection rates.

In June of this year, Australian governments signed an Addendum to the National Health Reform Agreement which sets out public hospital financing arrangements until 1 July 2020. This involves the implementation of pricing and funding approaches for hospital acquired complications, with healthcare associated infections cited as one of these complications.

Chapter 12 of the Consultation Paper on the Pricing Framework for Australian Public Hospital Services 201819 states;

“Funding is reduced for any episode of admitted acute care where a HAC occurs. The reduction in funding reflects the incremental cost of the HAC

– in other words the additional costs of providing hospital care which are attributable to the occurrence of the HAC”.

In summary, this update sees reduced funding for public hospitals with hospital acquired infection occurrences. This new framework for safety and quality was developed as part of an approach to reduce avoidable readmissions, which is one of the biggest changes to happen to hospital funding in recent years.

With advancement in medical technologies and science, healthcare cleaning approaches are also evolving, both at a user level and at a legislation level. Preventing infection transmissions during patient stays should now be one of the top priorities for Australian hospitals.

Murray McDonald is Director of Duplex Healthcare and has over 25 years’ experience in providing infection control cleaning equipment for healthcare facilities. Murray is also author of 5-Steps to Chemical-Free Cleaning in Healthcare, which acts as a step-by-step guide for healthcare facilities to implement a consistent chemical-free cleaning workflow. Visit www.duplexhealthcare.com.au

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BEYOND COMPLIANCE:

MEETING THE INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL NEEDS OF THE OCCUPANTS IN HOSPITAL BUILDINGS

By Prachi Garnawat, RMIT University; Mark Hooper, Echuca Regional Health

Human health is known to be influenced by the quality of the surrounding environment.

With people spending most of their time indoors, the environment inside of the buildings could be a great source of exposure to the pollutants[1]. Considering the confined nature of the built environment, the concentration levels of indoor pollutants could build up higher than the outdoor levels[2]. Building elements such as materials and finishes, thermal conditions, air quality, lighting and acoustics constitute the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) of a building. These constituents are known to effect physical, mental and social wellbeing of the occupants[3]. The impact of the IEQ factors can vary depending on the building type and operations. For example, healthcare facilities have sensitive indoor environments due to the presence of pathogens in closed building environment. The health impacts associated with poor IEQ could be much dire and immediate in the occupants of hospital buildings[4]. Conversely, the hospitals that include enhanced IEQ features can improve patients’ safety, reduce risk of healthcare infections, reduce medical errors, reduce stress and improve staff productivity[5, 6].

T

he most common risk related to healthcare environment is the healthcare associated infections (HCAI). HCAI is known to affect people visiting hospitals and other healthcare facilities.

The cost of HCAI in Australia was estimated to be around $1 billion per year[7] affecting around 175,000 patients. Due to the heavy cost and the serious medical implications, HCAI demands special attention in regard to the indoor environments of healthcare facilities[8]. However, as the IEQ of hospital buildings is also known to influence comfort and satisfaction of the patients and productivity of the staff[5], there is a need to expand the IEQ management strategies beyond infection control.

IEQ parameters such as indoor air quality (IAQ), thermal comfort, lighting, acoustics and office layout, are known to influence health, satisfaction and productivity of healthcare facilities occupants.

Healthy IAQ is of utmost importance in healthcare facilities in order to control spread of infection and

46

prevent HCAI[5].Likewise, thermal comfort is known to improve patient output by improving sleep and mood. Similar to an office building thermal comfort can improve work performance and productivity of the staff[9]. Also, natural daylight is known to have soothing and healing impact on patients[5]. Thus, the presence of windows is highly recommended in healthcare facilities. Artificial lighting is equally important for the day to day activities. It is a critical factor for the staff to reduce medical errors and increase patients’ safety[5]. Similarly, noise can affect patients’ sleep pattern, their mood, cause annoyance and stress. It is to be noted that noise is the most frequently reported of the IEQ parameters by the patients[9]. Noise can also cause distraction and stress in staff which can reduce their productivity and can lead to medical errors[9]. Noise is also considered to be a cause of dissatisfaction with job and increased intentions of turnover among nurses[10]. Finally, spatial quality of a hospital building

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can influence patients’ safety and feeling of security.

Single-bed patient rooms are highly recommended to avoid chances of infection, reduce noise and stress and; improve communication and satisfaction.

Similar to an office building, office ergonomics and relaxation places are important to staff satisfaction[5].

The provision and management of these IEQ parameters are important to ensure wellbeing of all the occupants of healthcare facilities.

With the help of a regional Victorian hospital, the paper endeavours to determine the IEQ parameters identified in the literature and considered by the hospital occupants to provide productive indoor environment. Also, occupant satisfaction (hospital staff) with respect to the hospital IEQ parameters was recorded to observe the efficacy of the current IEQ provisions in Australian healthcare facilities. An online survey was conducted to obtain staff feedback on the IEQ parameters identified from literature. The study can be utilised to analyse and manage the gap between the occupants’ preference and the building performance in terms of IEQ.

MANAGEMENT OF IEQ IN HEALTHCARE FACILITIES The healthcare facilities possess complex built environments. A typical hospital building, for example, has zones as specialised and sensitive as the critical care units and as simple as an administrator’s office. Further, healthcare facilities accommodate diverse group of occupants including patients, staff and visitors who have diverse needs under the uniform indoor conditions. Primary to any healthcare facility are patients who are sensitive to the physical environment and often need particular care and environment. The care team or the healthcare staff, on the other hand, are more active and stay for longer time on a regular basis in the hospital building. Another type of occupant in hospital buildings is the visitors who are temporary occupants of the place. This inflicts a bigger onus on the managers who need to have knowledge of maintaining high quality IEQ for a diverse group of people. Therefore, assessment and management of IEQ in hospital buildings can be regarded as a challenging task.

Healthcare facilities managers can refer to building codes and regulatory guides for management of IEQ. In Australia, National Construction Code-Building Code of Australia (BCA)[11] <ABCB, 2012 #6;ABCB, 2016 #17> provides regulatory guidelines for the design and construction of healthcare buildings

under Class 9a. BCA guidelines encompass provisions for IEQ factors such as lighting levels, ventilation standards, building acoustics based on minimum compliance provided by Standards Australia and American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and AirConditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). Also, guidelines for infection control such as hygiene maintenance and transmission control can be used for improvement of IEQ parameters such as air quality. Accentuating the role of IAQ in infection control, research papers such as by Leung and Chang[12] provide elaborate IAQ control and management standards for various hospital areas. Further, engineering resources, for example, guidelines from the Australasian Health Facility Guidelines[13] can be utilised for electrical and mechanical support in IEQ management. Regulations and guidelines pertinent to IEQ come from diverse laws and are a part of other healthcare regulations that have to be followed by the managers; thus making it one of the many challenges faced by the healthcare managers[14]. Also, as IEQ is a perception based issue, compliance with the minimum standards does not always ensure occupant satisfaction with the building environment[15].

IEQ parameters are sensed physically and psychologically by the occupants and therefore their experience may vary from person to person.

In this case, feedback from the building occupants can be a useful resource in IEQ management[16].

The feedback from the building end users can lead to continuous improvement in provision of satisfactory indoor environments. Occupants’ satisfaction feedback can account for end users’ response to complex indoor environment which might not be possible with physical measurements[17].

A widely used method to obtain building users’ feedback is deployment of occupant survey.

Examples of building occupant survey being used in Australia include Building Use Studies (BUS) by Adrian Leaman, Occupant Survey by Center for the Built Environment (CBE) and Building Occupants Survey System Australia (BOSSA). However, most of these surveys are developed to obtain feedback from the office building users and may not be applicable on healthcare occupants[18]. Therefore, a hospital occupant survey was prepared for healthcare facilities based on an extensive review of literature which includes scientific papers, regulatory, design and management guides for IEQ in healthcare facilities. The survey was designed to obtain feedback on the hospital’s IEQ and aid the IEQ managers in provision of satisfactory environment to the building occupants. This can help the IEQ managers to look beyond compliance

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COMFORT CONTROL

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to the standards to include the end users’ needs of satisfactory and productive indoor environment.

CASE STUDY An occupant satisfaction survey was conducted in a regional Victorian hospital with the aim to reach out to the end user of the healthcare buildings. The case study hospital is public in management and provides services from emergency, medical, surgical to aged care and rehabilitation. The full-time equivalent staff of the hospital was invited to participate in the research by completing an online survey. The occupants were asked to rate their satisfaction with the current hospital building as well as the importance level of the parameters in influencing their productivity. The two types of scales were used as the results based only on satisfaction rating may not be able to reflect on the immediate need of the occupants. For example, a person might be satisfied with the acoustic level of their work place but it might not be very important to them as some people are able to work in noisy places. As the main objective of this research is to aid the IEQ managers, the use of two scales of importance and satisfaction will help in bridging the gap between occupant needs and the IEQ performance.

This study achieved a response rate of 28 %. The average age of the respondents was 42 with an average experience of 15 years in healthcare facilities ranging from 1 year to 36 years. While the average working experience in the case study hospital was 10 years ranging from 1 to 30 years. The vast experience in healthcare sector aided in the research as it aims to get insight on productive work environment requirements.

The staff was requested to rank the IEQ parameters in the survey as per their satisfaction with the current hospital building as well as the importance of the parameters in influencing their productivity. For the assessment of IAQ different parameters were taken such as presence of operable windows and natural ventilation, air quality (dustiness), air freshness (stuffiness), olfactory (odour) comfort (smelliness), and the staff’s ability to control the air quality through air flow, air vent or exhaust. Similarly, air temperature during winters and summers, relative humidity, air temperature consistency in a day (any fluctuations) and the staff’s ability to control air temperature (thermostat setting) were used to assess the importance and satisfaction with thermal comfort. Visual comfort was assessed by asking about satisfaction with factors such as level of light or luminance flickering of light, ability to control

artificial lighting level (dimmer switch), availability of natural/daylight (from window, skylight, clerestory), access to outside views (through windows, skylight), and availability of shading devices on window to control sunlight and glare (e.g. blinds, curtains, louvers, window films/tint, external awning). For assessment of acoustic comfort, the staff was asked to rate importance and satisfaction with noise levels, ability to avoid disturbance due to noise from coworkers (e.g. chattering), and staff’s ability to avoid disturbance due to noise from hospital and office equipment. Similarly, spatial quality was assessed on the basis of space available for the staff’s individual work, cleanliness, availability of places of respite (e.g. gardens, lawns), privacy, availability of prayer and quiet rooms, availability of children activity room and the ease of way finding (e.g. recognisable signage).

Finally, the staff was asked about availability of feedback/comment system, conduction of regular survey for feedback and the process of action taken on the reports to assess how the IEQ feedback loop is closed in the building and how important it is to the occupants.

The hospital staff gave a high ranking that is 5 and 4 to almost all of the surveyed parameters on the Likert scale (1 being least important or least satisfactory and 5 being most important or least satisfactory) as summarised in Figure 1. The lowest importance was given to the conduction of regular IEQ survey by majority of the respondents. However, it should be noted that 35 % of the respondents remain neutral about these parameters and only 11% said it was not very important. Most of the parameters met the satisfactory requirement of the occupants of the building.

Figure 1: Quadrant analysis of importance and satisfaction with IEQ parameters

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Figure 1 shows a gap analysis between the importance level and the satisfaction level of the IEQ parameters. Quadrant analysis is a widely utilised tool in management and market research.

The analysis helps to determine the priorities based on the level of importance by sorting the studied parameters into four quadrants. The first quadrant with high rankings for both high importance and high performance suggests that the attributes belonging to this quadrant are important and satisfactory. The second quadrant indicates high importance but low satisfaction level which indicates a scope of improvement in the attributes of the quadrant. The third quadrant indicates low importance and low satisfaction with the attributes. The fourth quadrant comprises of attributes with low importance but high satisfaction. The highest priority should be given to the attributed of the second quadrant.

In this case, 29 IEQ parameters identified from the literature were ranked by the hospital staff based on: (a) the parameters’ relative importance in influencing the staff productivity and (b) the level of satisfaction with respect to the IEQ parameters as perceived by the staff. The satisfaction levels obtained from the survey were plotted on the X-axis and the importance level on the Y-axis. The axes markings represent the 5-point Likert scale used in the survey, 1 being least important or least satisfactory and 5 being most important or least satisfactory. All the attributes fall into the first and the second quadrant which indicates that the hospital staff assigns high importance to all the attributes.

Lighting and acoustic comfort were given the highest importance followed by thermal comfort and air quality. This is different than the studies conducted in office buildings where thermal comfort and IAQ receive the higher rankings[19-21]. While most of the parameters are into the first quadrant and indicates satisfactory performance, there are certain attributes in the second quadrant that require attention. This includes conduction of a regular IEQ feedback system. The hospital organisation do not conduct a regular survey to obtain occupant feedback which can be important to ensure occupant satisfaction[4].

The managers rely on issues to be reported by the staff to act on; thereby is more retroactive than proactive. A regular occupant survey can prevent future complaints and improve staff satisfaction[22].

The other attributes that fall in the second quadrant are the staff’s ability to control the temperature and ventilation settings. The lack of individual control has previously been acknowledged and critiqued by many researchers[23-25]. The management of optimum

50

air temperature remains a pet peeve among the occupants. Also, the study highlights the importance of spatial quality in satisfaction of healthcare facilities staff. Spatial quality factors received less satisfaction rating, especially having a children play area in hospital building which is recommended by the hospital design guidelines[26]. Spatial quality was found to be unsatisfactory by staff in previous studies done on hospital buildings[27, 28]. The initial findings indicate that the hospital occupants’ work environment preferences are different from other building type such as office buildings which should be accounted by the personnel responsible for IEQ management.

DISCUSSION The sensitive indoor environments due to the presence of pathogens in closed buildings and diverse nature of end users set healthcare facilities apart from other buildings. The staff survey affirms the importance of the IEQ parameters used for the study. Lighting and acoustic comfort were given the highest importance followed by thermal comfort and air quality. This is different than the many studies conducted in office buildings where thermal comfort and IAQ receive the higher ranking[19-21]. The least satisfactory parameter to the staff was regular survey of IEQ followed by their ability to control temperature and ventilation settings. The initial findings indicated that the occupant preference can be improved by providing individual control of the physical environment to the staff and including IEQ feedback regularly in the management. However, the results are from a pilot study and further research needs to be conducted to come to a robust conclusion.

There seems to be a need to establish an integrated IEQ assessment and management framework for healthcare facilities. This case study represents an initiative towards inclusion of occupants’ feedback in IEQ management of the hospital buildings. Further research is needed to develop management practice guidelines or framework that meets the indoor environmental needs of the occupants in hospital buildings.

REFERENCES 1.​Haghlesan, M., How does Indoor Environmental Quality affect Public Health in Sustainable Urban? Research Journal of Chemical and Environmental Sciences, 2013. 1(1): p. 37- 41.

2.​Jones, A.P., Indoor air quality and health. Atmospheric Environment, 1999. 33: p. 4535-4564.

3.​Fisk, W.J., Health and Productivity Gains From Better Indoor Environments and Their Relationship With Building Energy

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Efficiency. Annual Review of Energy and the Environment 2000.

25: p. 537–66.

4.​Nimlyat, P.S. and M.Z. Kandar, Appraisal of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in healthcare facilities: A literature review. Sustainable Cities and Society, 2015. 17: p. 61-68.

5.​Ulrich, R., et al., The Role of the Physical Environment in the Hospital of the 21st Century: A Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity.

2004, The Center for Health Design: USA. 6.​Salonen, H., et al., Physical characteristics of the indoor environment that affect health and wellbeing in healthcare facilities: a review. Intelligent Buildings International, 2013. 5(1): p. 3-25.

Smart Flow™ Intelligent Water Management

7.​Graves, N., et al., Economic rationale for infection control in Australian hospitals. Healthcare Infection, 2009. 14(3): p. 81-88.

8.​Ramaswamy, M., F. Al-Jahwari, and S.M.M. Al-Rajhi. IAQ in Hospitals – Better Health through Indoor Air Quality Awareness. in Tenth International Conference Enhanced Building Operations. 2010. Kuwait.

9.​Ampt, A., P. Harris, and M. Maxwell, The Health Impacts of the Design of Hospital Facilities on Patient Recovery and Wellbeing, and Staff Wellbeing: A Review of the Literature. 2008, Research Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity; University of New South Wales: New South Wales, Australia 10.​Applebaum, D., et al., The Impact of Environmental Factors on Nursing Stress, Job Satisfaction, and Turnover Intention.

JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 2010. 40(7/8): p.

323-328.

11.​ABCB, National Construction Code, Building Code of Australia Volume 1 – Class 2 to 9 Buildings. 2016, Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB): Canberra.

12.​Leung, M. and A.H.S. Chang, Control and management of hospital indoor air quality. Medical Science Monitor, 2006. 12(3): p. 17-23.

13.​AHIA, Australasian Health Facility Guidelines: Part E Building Services and Environmental Design. 2015, Australasian Health Infrastructure Alliance: New South Wales.

14.​Moy, F., Facility “wellness”: health facilities management.

Facilities, 1995. 13(9/10): p. 45-48.

15.​Frontczak, M. and P. Wargocki, Literature survey on how different factors influence human comfort in indoor environments. Building and Environment, 2011. 46(4): p. 922937.

16.​Zagreus, L., et al., Listening to the occupants: a web-based indoor environmental quality survey. 2004.

17.​Peretti, C. and S. Schiavon, Indoor environmental quality surveys. A brief literature review. 2011.

18.​Fornara, F., M. Bonaiuto, and M. Bonnes, Perceived hospital environment quality indicators: A study of orthopaedic units.

Journal of Environmental Psychology, 2006. 26(4): p. 321-334.

19.​Lai, J.H.K. and F.W.H. Yik, Perception of importance and performance of the indoor environmental quality of high-

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FEATURE ARTICLES

rise residential buildings. Building and Environment, 2009. 44(2): p. 352-360.

20.​Ncube, M. and S. Riffat, Developing an indoor environment quality tool for assessment of mechanically ventilated office buildings in the UK – A preliminary study. Building and Environment, 2012.

53: p. 26-33.

21.​Chou, P.C., et al. Criteria for design of indoor environment in sustainable buildings. in Healthy Buildings. 2003.

22.​Nimlyat, P.S. and M.Z. Kandar, Subjective Assessment of Occupants’ Perception of Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) Performance in Hospital Building. International Proceedings of Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering, 2015. 84(13).

23.​Elmualim, A.A., Special issue on “modelling, assessment, and control of indoor air quality for FM professionals”.

Facilities, 2006. 24(11/12): p. null.

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24.​Chappells, H. and E. Shove, Debating the future of comfort: environmental sustainability, energy consumption and the indoor environment. Building Research & Information, 2005. 33(1): p.

32-40.

25.​Asmar, M.E., A. Chokor, and I. Srour, Are Building Occupants Satisfied with Indoor Environmental Quality of Higher Education Facilities?

Energy Procedia, 2014. 50: p. 751760.

26.​Wang, Y., X. Ding, and A. Li, Hospital design, ed. Y.d. Wang, X.e.

Ding, and A.e. Li. 2004, Hong Kong, China: Artpower International Publishing Co., Ltd. 27.​Cristiana, C., et al., Survey Evaluation of the Indoor Environment Quality in a Large Romanian Hospital. Incas Bulletin, 2013. 5(3): p. 45-52.

28.​De Giuli, V., et al., Measured and perceived indoor environmental quality: Padua Hospital case study. Building and Environment, 2013. 59: p. 211-226.

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FEATURE ARTICLES

COMMON APPROACH FOR ASSET MANAGEMENT AND STATUTORY OBLIGATIONS

By Seyed Safi and Michael Leversha, Covaris Pty Ltd

1. INTRODUCTION One of the primary functions in Facilities Management is duty of care and the management of risk and liability. Clause 2.2 of ISO 55000, Asset management – Overview, principles and terminology, states that the benefits of asset management can include, but are not limited to: “demonstrated compliance: transparently conforming with legal, statutory and regulatory requirements, as well as adhering to asset management standards, polices and processes, can enable demonstration of compliance; managed risk: reducing financial losses, improving health and safety, good will and reputation, minimising environmental and social impact, can result in reduced liabilities such as insurance premiums, fines and penalties” [1] Between 2015 to 2017, we performed statutory compliance assessments for maintenance programmes across all Australian States and Territories.

These assessments covered over 150 facilities across 500 plus buildings, and over 300 unique asset types. It identified compliance gaps from 10% to 35% based on asset type and maintenance frequency.

of commitment to technical change management processes either in cases of establishment of new equipment, or modification and decommissioning of existing equipment as well as not keeping up to date with changes in legislation, regulations and standards over a long period of time. In a highly contracted environment like facilities management, it was found that change management is challenging to enforce due to lack of ownership, lack of stringent project handover and operational readiness processes as well as gaps in contracted maintenance services agreements to drive change management.

It was also found that compliance is more challenging for teams that operate nationally across multiple States and Territories due to increased complexities of keeping up to date across multiple legislative and regulatory frameworks.

All organisations must comply with legislation applicable to their assets including preventive maintenance activities. As per The Institute of Asset Management, “Organisations must have processes to identify the relevant technical standards and legislation and incorporate the requirements into their policies and processes. In order to demonstrate compliance with the requirements, it is good practice for this to be audited by individuals that are independent of the associated processes, and results reported to an independent compliance committee within the organisation [2].”

This paper describes the processes that enable demonstration of asset management compliance with statutory requirements regarding maintenance delivery.

Figure 1 Case Study

The main reasons for statutory compliance gaps in the maintenance regimes of these facilities were the level

54

2. METHODOLOGY The processes developed for the efficient upgrade of the asset management system in existing facilities from

FEATURE ARTICLES

the initial asset validation to the final upload of the master data in the asset management system are: • asset validation and data collection; • asset condition assessment; • asset criticality analysis; and • development of preventive maintenance strategies for maintainable assets.

As well as operational reliability of the assets, the maintenance strategies must assure compliance with statutory obligations.

The approach commences by resetting the plant configuration by excising retired assets, adding assets which had not been registered and resetting all assets into an appropriate sense of hierarchy. This is followed by a systematic procedure for asset condition assessment and asset criticality ranking.

The existing preventive maintenance procedures were reviewed and additional procedures developed to ensure an optimised maintenance strategy for all maintainable assets. This strategy was formally designed to be compliant with statutory obligations.

The techniques outlined here have been implemented across a portfolio of public hospitals.

3. ASSET VALIDATION AND DATA COLLECTION Asset validation is required for facilities when there is low confidence in the accuracy of the current asset register. Asset validation is fundamental to the development of maintenance strategies and identifying assets subject to statutory/legislative requirements that have not previously been captured.

Establishing an accurate asset hierarchy will clearly identify what needs to be maintained. It is required to ensure the asset information is of sufficient depth, quantity and quality to demonstrate compliance.

The information required for the asset hierarchy validation are [3]: • The current Computerised Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) asset hierarchy • Assets lists not included in the CMMS (List of Electrical Switchboards,...)

• A set of Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams (P&ID’s) and a set of Single Line Diagrams (SLD) • A set of latest inspection reports provided by the site maintenance contractors.

o Maintenance reports for Thermostatic Mixing Valves, Backflow Prevention Devices • Additionally, asset data may reside in financial systems, service provider systems, and various CAD systems.

The recommended level of asset detail is to a ‘Maintainable Assets’ level. A Maintainable Asset is defined as that which would be expected to have a preventative maintenance tactic applied to it. Components of maintainable assets would not normally be considered candidates for asset validation unless the assessor considers sub-assets is of sufficient significance to warrant capture and validation.

The asset validation methods for an established facility are “desk-top” review of the current assets or asset validation based on walk down of the site or a combination of both.

It is recommended that an initial “desk-top” validation occurs, where assets which are known to be decommissioned are removed from the data to be used during the site-work portion of the asset validation process. The existing data is then formatted to match the data capture template, and the physical process of validating the existence of the assets can begin.

Asset validation for an established facility is based on walk down of the site utilising the legacy asset listing as a starting point. Asset validation is a visual practice.

If the assets are not accessible for visual validation, such as assets installed in the ceiling space or a sump pump, the assets can be validated by referring to the applicable distribution board or by confirming with the site personnel.

3.1 Asset Condition Assessment Asset condition assessment is generally performed during asset validation and data collection, but may be conducted separately.

The purpose is to provide a standard statement of the condition of assets owned and maintained at the facility. Accurate and standardised asset condition information is required by the asset managers to ensure the best use of their maintenance funds.

Condition assessment is achieved using visual inspection of asset condition. The condition assessment is useful for asset management processes such as:

o Fire protection equipment essential services testing reports

55

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1. Life-cycle cost modelling to ensure the model uses actual data rather than nominal life predictions.

standard.” A sample set of risk categories (risk criteria) as used by New South Wales Health are[4]:

2. Development of risk based Asset Management Plans.

1. Clinical Care & Patient Safety

The following parameters are collected for asset condition assessment:

3. Workforce

1. Current condition: Using a rating system, e.g. 1 to 5 rating system, to identify the rating which is the best estimate of the asset condition by the assessor based on a visual inspection.

5. Facilities & Assets Management

2. Health of the Population

2. Current usage: Using a rating system, e.g. 1 to 3 rating system, to identify the rating which is the best estimate of the asset usage by the assessor. Usage ratings are for the usage compared to the entire fleet of assets at the facility.

3. Operating environment: Using a rating system, e.g. 1 to 3 rating system, to identify the rating which is the best estimate of the asset’s environment by the assessor based on knowledge of the site.

The normal environment is that where the asset would be expected to operate to achieve its usual service life.

4. Age of the assets: The information can be collected during asset validation process or, as a desk-top process based on the age of the facility (for original assets).

3.2 Asset Criticality Analysis Asset criticality analysis may be performed at any stage in the life cycle of the assets but should be preceded by an asset validation program when there is low confidence in the asset register.

Asset criticality analysis is defined as a systematic procedure for the analysis of a system of assets to identify the consequence and likelihood of failure of an asset to perform its function.

The consequence of failure of an asset defines “how crucial the asset is to the delivery of health care services and how that service delivery is affected should the asset not be performing to its required

4. Communication & Information 6. Emergency & Disaster Response 7. Finance & Legal 8. Safety & Security 9. Leadership & Management 10. Community Expectations/Reputation Failure of an asset usually represents risks in multiple categories with similar or various consequences.

For criticality assessment, the relevant risk category is the one which represents the highest severity consequence.

Applicable risk matrix identifies the categories for the consequence and the Likelihood of occurrence of failure of an asset to perform its function. Risk rating is identified based on the asset failure likelihood and consequence. A sample risk matrix is shown in Table 1.

Based on this risk matrix asset critically is ranked as: 1. Low, ​​Green 2. Medium​, ​Yellow 3. High​​, Orange 4. Extreme, ​​Red

4. STATUTORY COMPLIANCE FRAMEWORK The process ensures the statutory compliance by providing the line of sight from statute to regulation to asset class and to maintenance job plans. It provides the asset manager the visibility of the requirements of maintenance for each asset type and ensures the compliance on the maintenance requirement of the asset portfolio.

Table 1 Level of Risk; NSW Health Risk Matrix [4]

CONSEQUENCE RATINGS LIKELIHOOD

Catastrophic (S1)

Major (S2)

Moderate (S3)

Minor (S4)

Minimal (S5)

Almost certain (L1)

A

D

J

P

S

Likely (L2)

B

E

K

Q

T

Possible (L3)

C

H

M

R

W

Unlikely (L4)

F

I

N

U

X

Rare (L5)

G

L

O

V

Y

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FEATURE ARTICLES

The process follows the following steps:

4.2 Regulations

1. Ensure we have a current asset register with the required attributes including asset types.

Regulations are statutory rules made in accordance with an Act, which set out more prescriptive rules to establish compliance with the requirements of an Act.

2. Identify the applicable Acts, Regulations or Codes of Practice for the asset types which exist in the facility.

3. Identify the applicable Australian Standards, technical standards, such as industry or sector regulations, with regards to the maintenance of the asset types have been identified.

4. Establish a clear tracking of work to statutory obligations for each asset type by a. Listing of known statutes b. Alignment with asset classes based on their need to be compliant with the regulations referred c. Alignment with maintenance job plans 5. Establish a clear tracking of statutory maintenance obligations for individual assets.

Figure 2 details the process for identifying statutory maintenance requirements and developing the statutory maintenance procedures for each equipment type.

Figure 2 Statutory Maintenance Procedure Development Process

4.1 Legislation

It is most often the regulations, rather than the Acts, which set the specific requirements for the maintenance of equipment.

Regulations issued by the Commonwealth Government or the State Government may be consulted to determine the requirements for maintenance of the equipment types. Compliance with the requirements of regulations is mandatory.

4.3 Regulatory Requirements Applicable regulations typically require maintenance to occur either by: (a) Specific maintenance or testing requirements set out in the regulations; (b) Specifying compliance with an appropriate Standard; or (c) Having a general requirement that maintenance occurs in accordance with manufacturer recommendations, or the recommendations of a competent person.

Where the regulations set out specific requirements for testing or maintenance, these requirements should be directly included in the statutory maintenance procedures.

In other cases, the applicable regulations specify that compliance with an appropriate Standard is required.

In these cases, the maintenance requirements of the Standards should be included in the statutory maintenance procedures.

4.4 Referenced Information Where there is a general requirement in the regulations for equipment to be maintained, but there is no specified maintenance, testing requirements, or a specific requirement for compliance with a Standard, manufacturerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recommendations or the recommendations of a competent person are to be consulted in conjunction with other applicable Standards.

Legislation issued by the Commonwealth or State Governments is consulted to determine the requirements for maintenance of the equipment types. Compliance with the requirements of Acts is mandatory.

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Compliance with the requirements or recommendations of these Standards, and the recommendations set out by equipment manufacturer ensures compliance with the general maintenance requirements of the regulations.

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4.5 Statutory Maintenance Procedures The statutory maintenance procedures are the mandatory maintenance procedures which must be performed in order to comply with the requirements of the various Acts and Regulations. These procedures should be prepared in accordance with all the requirements identified through the process which is highlighted in this section.

4.6 Example – Fire Hose Reels

Document

Document Type

Issuing Body

Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979

Act

NSW Government

Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000

Regulation

NSW Government

Table 2 Fire Hose Reels – List of Applicable Acts, Regulations or Codes of Practice

4.6.1 Applicable Acts, Regulations or Codes of Practice Table 2 opposite lists the applicable acts, regulations or other control documents for the maintenance of Fire Hose Reels.

4.6.1.1 Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 No. 203 The Environmental Planning and Assessment Act[5] gives approved investigators the power to determine whether there has been compliance or contravention with the Act, and to determine whether or not adequate provision for fire safety has been made in or in connection with a building.

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Part 8, Section 157 of the Act is the general regulation making power, which specifies the government may make regulations with respect to the obligations on persons regarding fire safety.

4.6.1.2 Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000 The Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation[6] lists statutory safety measures which must be assessed for the annual fire safety statement.

This regulation is made under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 in accordance with Section 157, the general regulation making power.

Part 9, Division 5, Section 175 of the Regulations requires an annual fire safety statement, in which, all essential fire safety measures have been assessed by a properly qualified person to be capable of performing to a standard no less than that specified in the schedule, or to a standard no less than that which the measure was originally designed and implemented.

Part 9, Division 6, Section 182 of the regulations requires that all essential fire safety measures are to be maintained to a standard no less than that specified in the schedule, or to a standard no less than that which the measure was originally designed and implemented.

4.6.2 Applicable Standards Table 3 below lists the applicable standards for the maintenance of Fire Hose Reels.

Standard Number

Standard Title

Standard Mandated

by Legislation

AS 2441:2005

Installation of Fire Hose Reels

Yes

AS 1851:2012

Routine Service of Fire Protection Systems and Equipment

Yes

Table 3 Fire Hose Reels – List of Applicable Standards

4.6.2.1 AS 2441:2005 Installation of Fire Hose Reels This Standard[7] sets out the requirements for the distribution, location and installation of fire hose reels.

NOTE: Requirements for the maintenance of fire hose reels are set out in AS 1851

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4.6.2.2 AS 1851-2012 Routine Service of Fire Protection Systems and Equipment This Standard[8] sets out the requirements for the routine servicing (inspection, testing, preventive maintenance and survey) of fire protection systems and equipment.

Section 9 of AS 1851-2012 sets out the requirements for the routine servicing (inspections, testing, preventive maintenance and survey) of fire hose reels manufactured to comply with AS/NZS 1221 and installed in accordance with AS 2441 or the relevant statutory requirements.

Table 4 below lists the maintenance requirements of AS 1851-2012.

Section

Requirement

9.3

Fire hose reels shall be serviced – a) Six monthly; and b) Yearly.

9.4.1

Six-monthly routine service of fire hose reels shall be completed in accordance with Table 9.4.1

9.4.2

Yearly routine service of fire hose reels shall be completed in accordance with Table 9.4.2

Table 4 Fire Hose Reels – List of Requirements of AS 1851-2012

4.6.3 Maintenance Strategy for Fire Hose Reels The Table below details the individual procedures which contain the maintenance tasks required to satisfy the maintenance requirements of the above listed Standards.

Procedure Code

Procedure Description

Statutory Requirements Satisfied

BE-FIREFHR-R-C6M

Fire Hose Reel, 6 Months, Running, Contractor

Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000, Part 9, Division 5, Section 175; Part 9, Division 6, Section 182 AS 1851-2012, Section 9.2.1, Section 9.3, Section 9.4.1

BE-FIREFHR-R-C12M

Fire Hose Reel, 12 Months, Running, Contractor

Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000, Part 9, Division 5, Section 175; Part 9, Division 6, Section 182 AS 1851-2012, Section 9.2.1, Section 9.3, Section 9.4.2

Table 5 Fire Hose Reels – List of Procedures Matching Requirements of Standards

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4.6.4 Applicable Documents for Maintenance of Fire Hose Reels The example opposite, listed the applicable documents for statutory maintenance of fire hose reals in New South Wales. Table 6 lists the Acts of Parliament, Regulations, Codes of Practice, Standards mandated by legislation and other relevant documents applicable to maintenance practices of fire hose reels across Australia.

Document

Issuing Body

Acts of Parliament

5. CONCLUSION This paper presented a methodology which enables demonstration of asset management compliance with statutory requirements regarding maintenance delivery. A comprehensive process from the initial asset validation to statutory maintenance compliance covering all asset types across the facility was presented.

The outcome of the process presented here is that the organisation has assurance that they are statutory compliant in their maintenance programme.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979

NSW Government

Building Act 1993

Victorian Government

Development Act 1993

South Australian Government

Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984

Western Australian Government

Building Act 2016

Tasmanian Government

REFERENCES

Fire and Emergency Act

Northern Territory Government

[1] ISO 55000, Asset management – Overview, principles and terminology

Building Act 1975

Queensland Government

Regulations Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000

NSW Government

Building Regulations 2006

State Government of Victoria

Development Regulations 2008

Government of South Australia

Occupational Safety and Health Regulations 1996

Government of Western Australia

Building Regulations 2016

Tasmanian Government

General Fire Regulations 2010

Tasmanian Government

Fire and Emergency Regulations

Northern Territory Government

Building Regulation 2006

Queensland Government

This work has been funded by New South Wales Health and various Australian organisations. The authors acknowledge contributors from multiple organisations as well as their colleagues in Covaris.

[2] Asset Management – an anatomy Version 3 Dec 2015, The Institute of Asset management [3] S. Safi “Upgrading Maintenance Strategies for Established Plant” AMPEAK 2015 [4] New South Wales Health Risk Matrix [5] Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 No. 203.

[6] Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000 [7] AS 2441:2005 Installation of Fire Hose Reels [8] AS 1851-2012 Routine Service of Fire Protection Systems and Equipment IHEA Healthcare Facilities Management Conference 2017

Codes of Practice National Construction Code

Australian Building Codes Board

Queensland Development Code MP 6.1

Queensland Government

Minister’s Specification SA 76 – Maintenance of Essential Safety Provisions

Government of South Australia

Standards Mandated by Legislation AS 2441:2005 – Installation of Fire Hose Reels

Standards Australia

AS 1851:2012 – Routine Service of Fire Protection Systems and Equipment

Standards Australia

Table 6 List of Documents Applicable to Maintenance of Fire Hose Reels.

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RADIOFREQUENCY RADIATION AND ITS RISKS FOR HIGH ACCESS WINDOW CLEANERS

By Dr Denis Boulais,. BSc(Med)(Hons)(UTS), MBA(UNE), MAppSc, PhD (UNSW).

National Risk Manager (Broadlex Services Pty Ltd)

INTRODUCTION

M

odern work health and safety legislation is harmonising across Australia having first commenced in 2011. Industry and commerce have been dealing with the obligations and duties of this legislation and its associated Codes of Practice in an attempt to comply with its provisions.

Mobile telecommunications is a relatively new area which is forever growing as networks evolve and expand presenting modern risks. Window cleaning at height around rooftops is a more traditional process which has been occurring long before mobile installations began being installed on rooftops and external building areas.

After 11 years working in property services and working with window cleaning contractors I decided to gain some high risk construction experience within the telecommunications industry. Quite often the rooftops of buildings then become my workplace where I would be managing risk associated with installation of mobile phone based equipment such as telecommunications equipment shelters and various types of antennaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s.

One day I was observing a panel antenna from a rooftop which was highly situated off the side of a large city building. This panel antenna was transmitting radiofrequency radiation (RF) which is of course hazardous, silent and invisible. I was shocked to see window cleaners edging their way up the building and directly toward the panel antennaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s near field. I signalled to the window cleaners to stop their ascent and on explaining my reasoning it was as though they had no idea of the silent and invisible hazard they were about to encounter. It was then that it occurred to me that this may be a common occurrence in the high access window cleaning industry.

After 3 years in telecommunications construction I found myself back in the property services industry and remembered that experience when observing high access window cleaners in action. It was a duty of care for high access window cleaning contractors that inspired this study and a combined knowledge of property services and high risk construction that enabled me to identify this hazard within this highly specialised sector of the cleaning industry.

HEALTH RISKS We are all exposed to radiation from a number of sources either natural or artificial. There are two basic types of radiation in the electromagnetic spectrum, ionising and non-ionising radiation. The difference between these two types of radiation is the level of energy that may be produced by each type.

With rooftop telecommunications and associated installations the main RF radiation exposure risk is from non-ionising radiofrequency radiation.

On average the human body is composed of approximately 70% water where the brain has a water content of 80%. When RF radiation passes through water molecules they rapidly move back and forth at a rate determined by the frequency of the radiofrequency signal. The rapid movement of the molecules causes friction to build up between them generating heat. The heat is then transferred to surrounding body tissue which may cause thermal tissue damage if hot enough.

It is important to understand that RF awareness is important to safe work practice when working around antennas. RF radiation exposure may result in headache and cataracts (Boulais, 2015). Some believe that it may also affect gender offspring ratios due to its effect on sperm motility (Boulais, 2014).

Furthermore RF radiation may also have an effect on metallic implants and body implants such as

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FEATURE ARTICLES

pacemakers and pumps where an insulin pump is a good example (Boulais, 2014).

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS A total of 30 high access window cleaning companies were approached in confidence and a senior operational level manager was interviewed to determine their company’s awareness and risk control knowledge of this hazard. Of those 30 companies only 15 (50%) demonstrated an awareness of the risk. Of those 15 companies that demonstrated awareness, they all could describe relevant risk control measures.

This demonstrates sound risk management practice where the hazard is identified.

Whilst it is recommended that window cleaning companies always seek independent specialist safety advice, the following suggested control measures may assist in the development of risk assessments and safe work method statements (SWMS).

• Consider having workers externally trained in radiofrequency radiation awareness noting such training may be completed online.

• Consider an investment in radiofrequency radiation monitors which can alert workers to radiofrequency risks at various exposure levels.

Within the high access window cleaning industry buildings with radiofrequency installations are not likely to be an everyday occurrence as not all buildings are located in favourable locations for telecommunications reception. This in itself may present a risk where workers need to remain aware of the risk and its control measures and act according when the hazard presents itself.

• Complying with any warning signage in relation to RF radiation hazards that identifies or marks areas as hazardous zones.

Broadlex has developed a very positive, proactive and preventative safety system with a strong focus upon innovative approaches to potential safety issues.

Broadlex duty of care for its high access window cleaning contractors has inspired this study. It is clearly evident from this study that high access window cleaning companies need to become fully aware of this invisible silent hazard and implement measures to best control it.

• Ensuring the entry door to the rooftop is kept locked at all times especially when leaving the site.

REFERENCES

• Signing into the site via site management or security before entering a rooftop area. Ensure access points to restricted areas are locked as required when leaving the area.

• Always remaining fully aware that RF radiation hazards exist in rooftop areas and such may not be within marked RF radiation zones.

1. Boulais. D, 2014. Radiofrequency Radiation and its Effects on Sex Determination. Journal of Health, Safety and Environment.

Volume 30(2) 325-329.

• Never walk or work in front of an antenna noting that RF radiation sources are often outwardly directed and away from building perimeters.

Always aim to walk behind panel antennas and microwave dishes.

2. Boulais. D, 2014. Radiofrequency Radiation – A Headache for Telecommunications Riggers. Journal of Health, Safety and Environment. Volume 30(3) 423-429.

• Do not enter RF radiation marked zones unless you have been properly trained and certified in RF radiation awareness.

• Always report problems within marked RF radiation hazard areas where such may include damaged installations or signage.

• Always maintain a high level of housekeeping on a rooftop as items may blow down onto the areas below.

• Remain aware of live antennas that may be mounted off the side of buildings and never work or pass in front of them (unless it can be confirmed by the respective telecommunication carrier that the sector/antenna has been isolated).

64

• Consider contacting telecommunications carriers prior to works (where required) to have relevant sectors isolated.

3. Boulais. D, 2015. RF Radiation and Near Field Awareness.

Journal of Health, Safety and Environment. Volume 31(1) 511520.

The technological rooftop environment a high access window cleaning contractor may have to manage.

A simple example of panel antennas around city building windows.

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ASBESTOS IN THE AIR DUCTS

By Jeremy Stamkos ciec, Brian Murphy COH, ciec

Many hidden hazards can be found in Heating Ventilation, Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems which air-conditioning contractors, building managers and business managers should be aware of.

E

xposure to unwary contractors and building occupants does happen and many who have been exposed to toxic, carcinogenic and other pollutants are most likely unaware that they were exposed.

Most HVAC contractors know about the risks of working with gases and refrigerants, but few are aware of the many other hidden hazardous contaminants that may be hidden in a building’s HVAC systems.

Common HVAC contaminants may include high levels of dust particulate, microbial growth and synthetic mineral fibres (SMF). Less common HVAC contamination includes bird droppings and asbestos.

Unfortunately, it is not just the contractor’s health that may be at risk from hidden hazards but also any person who occupies the areas serviced by a contaminated HVAC system.

Australian Standards such as AS/NZS 3666.2:2011 Airhandling and water systems of buildings – Microbial Control Operation and Maintenance specifies periodic inspections of HVAC systems components to identify microbial contamination or situations that may allow microbial contamination.

The AIRAH HVAC Hygiene Best Practice Guidelines provide for cleanliness evaluations to determine other contamination types including any foreign matter.

Regardless of the risk, when it comes to hazardous HVAC contamination, it can be assumed that most building occupants would expect their airconditioning systems to not have asbestos in them. No matter what type, amount or condition of asbestos in HVAC systems, it is an exposure risk that most building occupants would be unaccepting of.

66

Whether identified asbestos in HVAC systems needs to be removed generally depends on the requirements of the state Asbestos Regulations (whether the asbestos materials are friable or non-friable and condition and a risk of exposure exists) and a business’s own risk assessment or policy.

HISTORY OF ASBESTOS IN HVAC SYSTEMS Asbestos may be present in HVAC systems in various forms with some intentionally placed in the systems (lagging) and some accidental (cross-contamination).

Common deliberate uses of asbestos containing materials in HVAC systems are insulation surrounding induct electric heating elements, sealants and mastics. Less common is the introduction of asbestos containing fire retardant products (Limpet or similar) accidentally sprayed into open HVAC components during application.

Following an Australia-wide ban on the manufacture and use of all types of asbestos and asbestoscontaining materials (ACM) which took effect on 31 December 2003, the use of asbestos in building materials was restricted and generally only buildings pre-this date are at risk. Asbestos is categorised into two main groups being friable or non-friable. A friable asbestos containing material is defined as ‘any material that contains asbestos that can be crumbled, pulverised or reduced to powder by hand pressure when dry. Friable asbestos in an operating HVAC system can become airborne and can therefore generate respirable asbestos fibres.

When asbestos is well bonded into a material that is not easily pulverised, it is referred to as non-friable.

Generally, due to the exposure risk they pose if in poor condition or likely to be disturbed, friable asbestos-containing materials should be removed under controlled conditions by an A-Class licensed

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asbestos removalist. Most other asbestos-containing materials (whether friable or non-friable) in reasonable condition and unlikely to be disturbed are simply added to the buildings Hazardous Materials Register (HMR) and managed through this process. In regards to risk management, many building owners and facility managers consider friable asbestos-containing materials high risk regardless of condition or likelihood of disturbance and therefore should be removed.

HAZARDOUS MATERIAL REGISTERS Due to inexperience of hazardous materials auditors and limited access, much of the asbestos containing materials in building HVAC systems can remain undetected and therefore not listed on the Hazardous Materials Register. When this occurs, contractors (mostly HVAC) can unknowingly disturb asbestoscontaining materials causing them to become airborne and an exposure risk to building occupants.

The exposure risk of this type situation is difficult to quantify due to most assessments being reactive and para-occupational hygiene air monitoring for asbestos being conducted well after the fact (in most cases several hours or next day).

The amount of asbestos that can become airborne depends any many factors including but not limited to the following; • Type of asbestos containing material • Amount of asbestos containing material • Condition of the material • Location of material in the HVAC system • Level of disturbance • If the HVAC system was running or did run after the material was disturbed.

Of greatest concern for occupant exposure would be if friable asbestos containing material was unknowingly disturbed in an operational supply air duct in an occupied building. This could result in respirable asbestos fibres being delivered into the occupied space.

and not deteriorated. Even when disturbed, the risk of fibres becoming airborne and a respirable is low.

This type of material is generally left in situ unless the affected components are being upgraded during refurbishment.

MEDIUM RISK – ELECTRIC HEATING ELEMENTS (INLINE DUCT HEATERS) The insulation surrounding inline electric heating elements in supply air ducts of buildings pre-1990s should be suspected as containing asbestos and not disturbed until sampled and analysed by a NATA laboratory.

The asbestos in these insulation sheets is generally well bonded and if undisturbed, presents low risk of exposure, however, if this insulation is disturbed or deteriorating, asbestos fibres can be released and present an exposure risk.

Unfortunately, many inline electric duct heating elements installed pre-1990 by now have required some level of maintenance including cleaning, repairs or replacement. Any of these maintenance works are likely to disturb the insulation materials especially the removal of the elements from the duct.

Damage to the insulation materials may have occurred during the original insulation due to screws and induct thermostats being installed through the insulation causing some sections to become damaged and friable.

Even fluctuations in temperature, humidity as well as general age cause the insulation material to deteriorate and become friable.

Where identified, if insulation surrounding duct heaters is confirmed to contain asbestos, it should be removed by licensed asbestos contractors under controlled conditions and replaced with an alternative insulation product regardless of its condition.

Figure 1 – Asbestos containing insulation surrounding inline electric heating elements.

To better evaluate the risk that asbestos containing materials in HVAC systems may present, it is important to know what materials may have asbestos in them which are friable materials and/or how they become damaged.

LOWEST RISK – GASKETS AND SEALANTS The asbestos that is found in gaskets and sealants is in general considered ‘non-friable’ and is well bonded within the glue or mastic product if in good condition

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HIGH RISK – LAGGING (LIMPET OR SIMILAR) Friable asbestos-containing lagging can be found throughout HVAC systems ducts and other components which has generally been sprayed into the HVAC system components unintentionally.

The most common form of friable asbestos found to infiltrate HVAC systems is from sprayed asbestos insulation which has been applied to steel and concrete in ceiling spaces for sound and fire retardation. The sprayed asbestos insulation can be unintendedly sprayed into the ducts of the building’s HVAC system ducts and other components during construction. This material deteriorates over time, becomes dislodged and contaminates downstream components of the HVAC system and the occupied areas of the building.

Contractors working on HVAC systems may not know that there are traces of friable asbestos within the ducts so in any building pre-1990, consideration should be given to the likelihood of this type of contamination being within the system.

The other common way that asbestos fibres can contaminate a buildings HVAC system is through ceiling void return air systems. When the sprayed asbestos insulation in the ceiling space begins to deteriorate and fibres become airborne, they are drawn into the return air system. Nearly all building’s that have had sprayed asbestos insulation within a return air ceiling void will have some trace of asbestos throughout the entire air conditioning system including the air handling units and supply air ducts.

As it is not possible to visually identify such traces of asbestos contamination with the naked eye, any ventilation system within a pre-1990 constructed building that uses a ceiling void return air where there has been asbestos sprayed insulation should be inspected and tested by a competent person.

Note: Many buildings that have had sprayed asbestos insulation removed from ceiling voids have generally had an alternative product installed. This does not mean that contaminated HVAC systems have been remediated to remove traces of asbestos. It is often the case that if the sprayed asbestos insulation has been removed, there is an increase in the amount of asbestos contamination within the HVAC systems.

HOW ASBESTOS IS IDENTIFIED Only personnel deemed competent under the regulations should perform a hazardous materials

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assessment of a building structure and its systems.

As part of this, the assessor can use many processes and methodologies including visual inspection, bulk sampling and surface samples. Samples should only be analysed by NATA accredited laboratories.

Only certain laboratories are capable of providing analytical testing of suspected asbestos materials.

Generally, an Assessor who has performed the sampling will prepare the sample and submit it to a NATA accredited laboratory.

HOW DOES EXPOSURE OCCUR? For the most part, occupational exposures to these contaminates occur when unwary contractors disturb the contamination within the HVAC system with little knowledge of the potential resultant consequences.

There are many ways in which contamination within a HVAC system may be disturbed including but limited to the following activities: • Installing inspection/service access panels • Cleaning heating and cooling coils • Changing air filters • Inspecting, testing or servicing fire and smoke dampers • Servicing heating elements • Modifying or installing new ducts to existing ductwork • Duct cleaning

WARNING DO NOT rely on a building’s “Hazardous Materials/ Asbestos Register” as a definite guide to a HVAC system not containing asbestos. Most asbestos audits do not include inspecting and sampling of all components of the HVAC system due to restricted access.

Air duct cleaning contractors especially need to be aware of asbestos in HVAC systems as many of them used agitation methods to clean duct which may place their own safety as well as that of other building occupants at risk.

If a HVAC system is suspected of containing traces of asbestos, a competent hazardous materials assessor should be engaged to assess the situation and perform required analytical testing and assessment. If a HVAC system is confirmed to be contaminated with asbestos particles, according to the NADCA’s ACR 2006, the system should be cleaned.

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Figure 2 left – Asbestos sprayed insulation unintentionally sprayed into a supply air duct during construction.

Figure 3 right – Particles of sprayed asbestos insulation that has travelled down a supply air duct

Registers, Clearance Certificates etc.). If unsure, do not commence works until the required information is provided. In many instances this may require a detailed assessment and analytical testing of the system and its materials by a competent assessor.

Planning ahead and anticipating, recognising, evaluating and controlling the hazard is key to protecting worker and building occupant health.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS Jeremy Stamkos ciec

SUMMARY – WHAT TO DO In summary, the best approach that can be adopted by a HVAC contractor before performing invasive works on a HVAC system is to profile the system (is it pre-1990s) and likely to contain asbestos-containing materials, request any information that may already exist for the building or system (Hazardous Materials

Jeremy Stamkos is Principal Consultant at Eronmor – Indoor Environmental Consulting and a Council-certified Indoor Environmental Consultant (CIEC) by the American Council for Accredited Certification (ACAC).

Brian Murphy COH, ciec Brian has a Master’s of Science – Occupational Health & Safety and a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Chemistry and is the Managing Director of EHS Assess

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UTILISATION OF CLOUD TECHNOLOGIES TO AUGMENT FACILITIES & ASSET MANAGEMENT

By Carl Agar, Senior Consultant – Assets & Facilities

CLOUD HISTORY

C

loud computing is not new, it is the recent advances in connectivity speed coupled with the pervasive use of hand held devices and the significant computing power in hand held devices that has combined to drive information access and transmission in the mobile environment.

It is worth reflecting on the history of cloud computing to help understand where it is taking us.

There has always been a belief that the access to central computing power and knowledge repositories would be the defining architecture to provide individuals access to the computing power they require.

John MacCarthy was an American computer scientist and cognitive scientist and one of the first proponents of the idea of centralised computing facilities. In 1961, he was perhaps the first to suggest publicly the idea of utility computing, in a speech given to celebrate MIT’s centennial: that computer time-sharing technology might result in a future in which computing power and even specific applications could be sold through the utility business model.

The idea of an “intergalactic computer network” was introduced in the sixties by J.C.R. Licklider, who was responsible for enabling the development of ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) in 1969.

His vision was for everyone on the globe to be interconnected and accessing programs and data at any site, from anywhere.

A remarkable foresight that remains contemporary. ARPANET was an early packet switching network and the first network to implement the protocol suite TCP/IP. Both technologies are the technical foundation of the Internet.

The ARPANET, initially served as a backbone for interconnection of regional academic and military networks. In the 1980s a new backbone, National Science Foundation Network, was funded

that led to worldwide participation in the development of new networking technologies. The linking of commercial networks and enterprises by the early 1990s marks the beginning of the transition to the modern Internet.

Public commercial use of the Internet began in mid-1989 with the connection of MCI Mail and Compuserve’s email capabilities to the 500,000 users of the Internet.

On January 1, 1990, PSInet launched an alternate Internet backbone for commercial use and in 1991 the Commercial Internet eXchange was founded, allowing PSInet to communicate with the other commercial networks CERFnet and Alternet. This is taken as the landmark that represents the establishment of the World Wide Web, the interconnection of multiple separate networks joined into a network of networks.

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The concept of cloud computing has its origins in the success of server virtualisation and the ability to run software applications more efficiently through server consolidation. This was then taken to the next level by implementing storage and network virtualisation techniques that could be applied systematically across all the machines in a single data centre.

The first cloud based Software as a Service (SaaS) launched was the Salesforce customer relationship management (CRM) service. As of early 2016, it is one of the most highly valued American cloud computing companies with a market capitalisation above $55 billion.

In 2006 Amazon launched Elastic Compute cloud (EC2) and Simple Storage Service (s3). They formed a central part of Amazon. com’s cloud-computing platform allowing users to rent virtual computers on which to run their own computer applications.

Today many SaaS offerings utilise Amazon virtual servers as the delivery platform.

Another big milestone came in 2009, with Web 2.0. The second stage of development of the Internet, characterised especially by the change from static web pages to dynamic or usergenerated content and the growth of social media. Google and others started to offer browserbased enterprise applications.

Around this timing was the introduction of disruptive enabling technologies such as the iPhone (2007) and iPad (2010), these allowed users to move away from the desktop and provided a platform for practical mobile computing.

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The most important contribution to cloud computing has been the emergence of “killer apps” from leading technology giants such as Microsoft and Google. Office 360 and Google Docs are examples of the provision of what was considered a desktop tool in a mobile environment.

CLOUD COMPUTING FORECASTS Some current predictions: • Microsoft cloud products will be 30% of revenue by 2018.

• Amazon Web Services generated $7.8B revenue in 2015, up 69% on 2014 • Worldwide spending on public cloud services will grow at 19.4% compound annual value from $70B in 2015 to $171B in 2019.

• Worldwide Public IT Cloud Service Revenue in 2018 is predicted to be $127B.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN? The Cloud is an enabling environment: • it’s changing our access to information & services • it’s changing our ability to collect and store information • it provides the platform for Software as a Service (SaaS) applications It has led to a new generation of products and services and the rise of new industry leaders and IT vendors. Concurrently business are changing their focus from internally hosted IT applications and more self-service applications are being utilised by business, and there is more tolerance for innovation and experimentation from businesses as they seek to take advantage of data access via mobile platforms.

The business advantage falls to the nimble adopters and fast-followers and with all businesses having access to state of the art systems, it levels the playing field.

The advantages to smaller businesses are: • Lower cost • Lower space • Lower overhead.

SaaS is a method of software delivery that allows data to be accessed from any device with an Internet connection and web browser. In this web-based model, software vendors host and maintain the servers, databases and code that constitute an application. This is a significant departure from the on premise software delivery model. SaaS offerings has expanded from the original Salesforce offering.

COMMON CONCERNS WHO OWNS MY DATA? There is a general fear that SaaS vendors “own” the data. This is something to be aware of when negotiating an agreement with a SaaS vendor. The agreement should set system reliability standards and parameters for issues, such as data ownership, security requirements and maintenance schedules.

In terms of data ownership, you should ensure there is a clause that states unequivocally that you own the data. Most SaaS contracts have built in and prepaid contingencies that will provide access to your data if the vendors goes out of business and guarantees that you own that data. Furthermore, most SaaS vendors let you export your data and back it up locally any time.

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IS MY DATA SAFE? This is one of the biggest sticking points for companies that are considering SaaS. Security is an important consideration when allowing someone else to maintain your business-critical data. Online banking and online payroll systems are the norm today. Few things are more important than our bank accounts, yet most of us are comfortable with putting this information in the cloud, but balk at hosting facilities management information in the cloud.

Data security is independent of whether the server is sitting right next to you or in a different city.

SaaS vendors are able to invest much more in security, backups and maintenance than any small to medium enterprise. A webbased system typically has more security measures in place than an on premise system.

WHAT IF MY VENDOR GOES OUT OF BUSINESS? A legitimate concern in a constantly changing software world. Vendors come and go – whether through industry consolidation or business failure.

The data, however, is typically yours to keep. Most SaaS vendors prepay their data centre hosting company to “keep the lights on.” This prepaid fee is meant to safeguard companies to ensure their data is accessible in the event something should happen with the vendor.

It’s important to ensure your agreement explicitly states that you can export your data, which most agreements contain as standard practice. It’s common for agreements to also stipulate that the vendor will help migrate your data, for an appropriate fee.

THE INTERNET OF THINGS The “Internet of things” (IoT) is a growing topic of conversation and a concept that not only has the potential to impact how we live but also how we work.

Broadband Internet is more widely available, the cost of connecting is decreasing, more devices are being created with Wi-Fi capabilities and sensors built into them, technology costs are going down, and mobile handset penetration is sky-rocketing.

The “Internet of things” is a concept that the Internet will expand to attach devices to the web. This includes everything from cellphones, coffee makers, washing machines, headphones, lamps, wearable devices and almost anything else you can think of.

The analyst firm Gartner says that by 2020 there will be over 26 billion connected devices Expanding internet connectivity is projected to include 57% of global population by 2019

Key elements are: built-in sensors, pattern recognition technology and Near Field Communications (NFC). Smart phones and other smart devices do not just use the cellular network, they communicate via NFC, Bluetooth, LTE and Wi-Fi with a wide range of devices and peripherals.

The Internet of Things will see increased machine-to-machine communication; it’s built on cloud computing and networks of data-gathering sensors; it’s mobile, virtual, and instantaneous connection.

The Internet of Things comes together with the connection of sensors and machines. That is to say, the real value that the Internet of Things creates is the provision of gathered data for analysis, and the cloud based platforms provide the platform for the transmission and storage of data, and the computing power to analyse it in real time. The cloud is what enables the apps to go to work for you anytime, anywhere.

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HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO HVAC & FACILITIES MANAGEMENT? Application integration is the key. The Cloud is an enabling environment. It provides access to a range of Software as Service applications, some are complete systems such as Facilities Management packages, and many are niche applications providing specific functionality.

A feature of the current SaaS environment is the ability to interface to other applications. Generally the vendors accept that they cannot provide a one stop shop, nor do they wish to. Rather they focus on their core capability such as:

The key to the approach is to be flexible. Cloud applications are continually evolving as their functionality matures.

EXAMPLE – LINKING APPS TO CREATE A COMMISSIONING RECORD SOLUTION The example provided here is the utilisation of several Cloud applications to provide a mobile HVAC commissioning solution. The requirement was to make commissioning information available to technical staff on site, allow them to fill in the data and have the data returned to the office.

Project: Laboratory fitout

• Service desk

Team: Building Owner, Client, Builder, Services subcontractors

• CRM

First part of the exercise is to define the outcomes:

• Accounting

• FM

• Create a project plan, RFI & Defects lists

• Project Management

• Share the project plan & lists with the project team & client

• Analytics There is also an acceptance that many businesses have their favourite “app” provider and want to integrate rather than change. A simple example is Box vs DropBox, both offer file storage in the cloud, both are mature products with established clients.

• Monitor progress on site

Consider the example of ZenDesk, a Customer Service application that has 443 integrations with other web services over 18 categories:

• Enable the mobile workforce to complete records in real time

• Provide related information to the mobile workforce & clients • Permit selected team members to add/update the plan & lists

• Allow the client to export the data to their PM package

• Agent Productivity

• Just For Fun

• Analytics & Reporting

• Knowledge & Content

• Built By ZenDesk

• Project Management

• Channel Integrations

• Single Sign-on

A number of application packages were identified to be integrated to provide the required functionality:

• Chat

• Social Media

• File sharing – Box – www.box.com

• CRM

• Surveys & Feedback

• Project management – www.shartsheet.com

• E-commerce

• Telephony & SMS

• Data entry – Excel – www.microsoft.com

• Email Marketing

• Time Tracking

• Issue Tracking

• ZenDesk Labs

• Interface: Browser, iPad, iPhone, Android.

FILE STORAGE IN THE CLOUD Options are:

There are several approaches taken when configuring systems to utilise cloud services:

• Box

• Adopt an out of the box SaaS

• Google Drive

• Integrate several applications to create a customised solution to suit the requirement.

• Integrate specialised applications with an out of the box SaaS.

• Dropbox • iCloud • OneDrive • Spideroak They all:

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• Control access • Share files and directories

or login. Good for casual sharing, e.g. providing someone a copy of a specification or drawing.

• Integrate with applications.

v) Availability of handheld clients (iPad, iPhone, Android, etc.)

In this example (below) Box has been selected (www.box.com). The requirement is to have a virtual filing structure that permits:

vi) Integration with other applications, in this case Excel for the iPad and Smartsheet.

Key aspects of the Box application that are relevant to this example are:

vii) When utilised in conjunction with Excel on the iPad, Excel effectively edits the Box stored version directly. This eliminates the requirement for the user to save information, data entered into cells is dynamically written to the Box version, which in turn in synchronised to all users. This effectively results in real time data collection from site back to the project office.

i) Browser interface

PROJECT PLANS/TASKS

ii) In built preview capabilities

There are a number of SaaS project management systems available. Options available include:

• immediate availability of files to all users • Is easy to use. In this case a user drops and drags a file into a directory on their PC and it is synchronised to all users.

iii) Ability to synchronise files between the cloud and a number of PCs. This permits the creation of a shared file storage structure. iv) Ability to share individual files or directories with other users with them requiring a Box account

• Smartsheet • Wrike • Mavenlink • Intervals

Box Account Example

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FM:Interact Software

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Advanced Spatial technologies Pty Ltd

Manage Your Facilities & Real Estate More Effectively FM:Interact is an Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS) suite of computer software tools for facilities and real estate professionals. These easy to use, user-friendly tools can help you save time, increase productivity, reduce occupancy costs and increase employee satisfaction all from a desktop or mobile device.

In this case the requirements are: • Create a project plan • Attach files to individual tasks, files must be links to the files in the Box storage • Access via browser or app • Share with entire project team • Control over access – Read or edit.

• Import/Export to Excel, MS Project • Be able to publish a read only version • Users to be able to access the application without requiring application accounts • Excellent collaboration tools.

Key aspects of the Smartsheet application are: i) It can be used to create either a project plan, or a list of tasks ii) Attachments can be linked directly to a Box file or directory iii) Attachments can be a URL, this permits linking to on-line base documents, such as standard methodology statements iv) A read-only HTML version of the project plan can be published and sent to users as a link. Users don’t require a SmartSheet account to access this document

Space Management

Move Management

Maintenance Management

Space Reservation

Strategic Planning

Project Management

Workplace Survey

Sustainabilty Management

FM:Mobile

Industries Corporate Health Care Education

v) The project plan can be imported/exported from Excel or MS Project

Asset Management

Real Estate Management

AutoCAD & Revit Integration

vii) Requests for an update can be sent via a forms interface, which provides a very simple interface for novice users. It also provides an ability to update key information without having to provide the user access to the full project plan.

DATA COLLECTION ON SITE

Government Technology Energy

Call for a Demo today Ph: +61 8 9367 2888 Email: don@advancedspatial.com.au Website: www.fmsystem.com.au

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vi) Dashboards can be created that summaries key project activities and status

Excel was the selected package for the creation of commissioning test results sheets. The data entry on site was to be via either laptop computer, Chromebook, iPad/Android/Windows hand held device.

The important aspect was that Excel links directly to the Box account files: • On a PC this is accomplished by creating synchronised directory on the PC. • Excel for handheld devices allows linking directly to the Box account as a filing location from within Excel

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Smartsheet Example showing documents attached to a task

Smartsheet showing types of documents that can be attached to a task

Excel on the IPad

STANDARD METHODOLOGY DISTRIBUTION There are a number of processes and procedures that are generic including: • Testing methodology statements.

• Testing guidelines • Etc. Rather than distribute multiple copies of these documents the approach is to put them on-line in a Wiki.

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An important requirement to protect IP is to be able to restrict access to both the on-line facility, but also access within the on-line facility. When considering issues such as availability of business IP via cloud based applications, you also need to weigh by the benefits of providing your mobile staff with a single point of truth reference vs the traditional distribution via paper based or PDF documents.

On this project a Confluence Wiki as selected.

The advantages of Confluence are:

ADVANTAGES OF THE SYSTEM • Real time collection of data. As files are updated in the field they are synchronised back to the project office.

• Availability of updated commissioning test sheets.

Updates or additional test sheets can be deployed to the field by administration staff, by adding them to a synchronised directory on their PC.

• Each page is a unique URL link

• Deployment of commissioning related data.

Specifications, drawings, test plans and test sheets can be deployed in real time to the site staff, and related directly to the task by attaching documents to specific tasks.

• Spaces can be created which permits silos of information to be created.

KEY MESSAGES

• Hosted in the Cloud

• Access can be restricted to specified users down to the page level.

Key reasons why:

LINKING THE APPS

• Flexibility in supporting evolving business needs

Having selected the suite of apps to provide the cloud based application they are then linked to create a virtual application and solution.

• Lower cost of operations

• Ease of deployment and management

• Easier way to scale and ensure availability and performance • Overall ease of use

Confluence Wiki – Commissioning Space, Air Flow Measurement Methodology

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Interfaced Cloud Applications

Key messages: • Ease of access to data will change business reporting & analysis availability expectations • Mobile cloud computing will continue to provide innovations • The cloud’s fast pace of change can be hard to keep up with • Cloud adoption will continue to accelerate • The Cloud is a tool, not a solution

• The advantage is to change adopters • Can level the playing field by making state of the art applications to all tiers of business • You’re not already there, then don’t wait because this is happening very fast now.

AUTHOR DETAILS & SHORT BIO: Carl Agar, Senior Consultant – Assets & Facilities A.G. Coombs Advisory Pty Ltd +61 3 9248 2700 cagar@agcoombs.com.au

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Carl is a senior consultant with A.G. Coombs Advisory with over 35 years industry experience and responsible for the provision of advice to clients on a range of facilities management related issues including asset management, commissioning, building tuning and service management and the adoption of leading edge technologies to optimise buildings operation and maintenance.

His experience also encompasses the asset management field with over 10 years’ experience in the IT industry implementing service and asset management systems for a diverse range of clients including QANTAS, Telstra and Macquarie Bank.

Since 2008 Carl has been a leading advocate of Building Information Modelling in Australia being instrumental on the early application of BIM on landmark projects and a founding member of BIM initiatives by AIRAH, AIA and NATSPEC.

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For exhaust air applications such as isolation rooms or cytotoxic areas, a photometer is used to scan the entire HEPA filter surface for pinhole leaks that could allow the transmission of contaminant particles that would be unacceptable in a critical application.

Access panel, typically with clear plastic taped over opening

Lin

eo

EXHAUST

f si

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Sealed ceiling access panel

The most-common onsite HEPA integrity test method is the Cold DOP test, as described in AS1807.6 and 1807.7.

HEPA

100 % Port Concentration and pressure Ceiling

Negative (-ve) SPARGE PIPE Aerosol introduction

Photometer

Raised access Ladder platform or similar

Important considerations: • Access is required to the air off side of the HEPA filter (within the exhaust duct), so that a NATA technician is able to view and scan the HEPA filter surface at 25mm from the installation for traces of the test aerosol.

Aerosol Generator (Laskin nozzles)

EXHAUST

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eo

HEPA

te

f si

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Lin

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Negative (-ve) Aerosol introduction

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Rear access point, from adjacent space

Floor Level

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Please call 1300 744 729 or email info@spiraxsarco.com. au for more information.

REGULARS

Port Douglas

CAIRNS MACKAY

BRISBANE Armidale

South Pacific Laundry specialises in the provision of quality linen and supplies for the customer service, hospitality and healthcare industries

Coffs Harbour

PERTH

PORT MACQUARIE Newcastle

ADELAIDE

SYDNEY

ALBURY Colac

Sale

Warrnambool

South Pacific Laundry (SPL) has been a provider of commercial laundry and linen services to the hospitality and healthcare industries in Melbourne for the last 20 years.

Geelong

MELBOURNE

Currently, the South Pacific Group is establishing a strong network of modern laundry across Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia with plans for several more facilities up the East Coast of Australia in 2017.

The relocation of our Sydney operations to a new larger facility in Bankstown together with the relocation of our Brunswick plant to Broadmeadows will establish South Pacific Laundry as the single largest privately owned laundry in Australia and in the Southern Hemisphere.

Contact Robert Teoh National PR & Marketing P: (03) 9388 5300 M: 0421 716 888 Coverage Australia wide

Pricing Information Contact supplier direct Delivery Free daily delivery within 25km city metropolitan areas Minimum Order Contact supplier direct

SPL provides: • A 365 day service to all its clientele with a 24 hour turnaround.

• A leading edge technology in RFID to assist housekeeping and managerial staff in time reduction and efficiency.

• Dedicated account managers and experienced support staff who are available 7 days a week.

• A dedicated software design package and centralised billing system enables seamless transactions, paperless and customised reports.

• Delivery rationalisation systems, providing and streamlining efficient delivery routes which will reduce the company’s carbon footprint.

• Building of partnerships and sharing benefits with the customers from savings made through its constant laundry process innovations and group purchasing power of linen products.

• Dry cleaning, Uniform cleaning services, Housekeeping services, Dust mat hire and Cleaning services.

• Provision and supplying of Corporate uniforms/work wears and customised hotel room Amenities.

Full Contact Information South Pacific Laundry 9-23 King William St Broadmeadows VIC 3047 P: (03) 9388 5300 F: (03) 9387 2399

*Melbourne, Albury only

E: customerservice@southpacificlaundry.com.au robert.teoh@southpacificlaundry.com.au

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Australian Healthcare Clean Steam Generator.

The Spirax Sarco AH-CSG is the perfect solution for hospital steam sterilisation: •

Clean Steam to AS/NZS 4187:2014

•

Efficient Compact design - Up to 300kg/hr output with minimal footprint 1350x800x2050h

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Clean Steam operational pressure of 3 to 5 barg, featuring onboard water degassing and heating

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Control via local process controllers

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Minimal Installation and commissioning from a preassembled unit

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Designed and built in Australia

Spirax Sarco provides tailored maintenance and service agreements for your business.

Installation and turnkey solutions available for clean steam generation including clean steam distribution systems, plant steam modifications and steam quality testing to Australian Standard.

Contact Spirax Sarco for more information on the AH-CSG  1300 SPIRAX (774729)  info@spiraxsarco.com.au  spriaxsarco.com/global/au