Hotel Engineer Volume 21 Number 1

THE

HOTEL ENGINEER OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF HOTEL ENGINEERING

PP 319986/101

Volume 21 Number 1 April 2016

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The Hotel Engineer The Official Publication of the Australian Institute of Hotel Engineering

PUBLISHER’S

MESSAGE

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elcome to the Hotel Engineer.

As we’re once again distracted by the impending footy season for all codes, we’re here to try to bring focus back to the main issues on the minds of hotel engineers.

And seeing as we’re heading into the cooler months, now is the perfect time to relook at your hotel’s pool as fewer guests head out for a splash. We’ve got a big feature on pool technology and the latest trends. We’d like to thank all our writers who’ve let us in on this.

We’re also putting the spotlight on corrosion – what it is, how it happens, and how you can avoid it. We’ve covered this issue extensively for the past two years, but in this issue we have Julie Pike on behalf of the Australian Corrosion Association talk about the latest corrosion coating methods. It’s an insight into how hotels can save time and money by taking on some of the latest techniques.

As the weather gets cooler and indoor heaters turn up, you’ll want to make sure air quality inside the hotel is up to scratch.

Shannon Roger from Airepure has an excellent article on how to keep the air fresh. Another excellent article by Normand Brais looks at cooling coil cleaning using the latest in UV technology.

for dinner with his family each night. He says a few tricks in staying organised and making sure your priorities are right helps to keep a healthy work-life balance. Lee also talks about the important changes he’s made to the hotel during his tenure.

We turn overseas to some of the latest technologies being used in the new Jannah Creek Dubai Hotel, due to open in the next couple of years. We all know how much development is going into the ultra-competitive hotel industry over there, so it’s an interesting read!

Our leading article is a case study on the Downtowner Hotel in Carlton, courtesy of Francis Roberson from Nabers. I’d also like to thank Paul Angus of Erbas Engineers for his contribution – he will become a regular writer for us.

Finally, don’t forget the AIHE national conference is being held on the 4th and 5th August at the QT Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast. It’s always a terrific event and numbers are filling quickly – so make sure you get in soon. Flick to the middle of this issue for all the details.

We’re covering a lot in this issue! Always working to give you an entertaining read and to keep you up to date.

We sit down with Lee Binsted – Hotel Engineering Manager at Crown Perth. At the helm of one of Perth’s busiest and most esteemed hotels, it’s amazing the father-of-two makes it home

Regards, Neil Muir Publisher

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

PRODUCTION Emily Wallis T: (03) 9758 1436 E: production@adbourne.com

SUBSCRIPTIONS Enquiries: (03) 9758 1431 Fax: (03) 9758 1432 Email: admin@adbourne.com

ADVERTISING 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

ADMINISTRATION Tarnia Hiosan T: (03) 9758 1431 E: admin@adbourne.com

AIHE STATE PRESIDENTS Paul Truman, QLD (Interim) E: pault@watermarkhotelgc.com.au Anura Yapa, NSW E: Anura.Yapa@shangri-la.com David Zammit,VIC E: david.zammit@hyatt.com Tony Fioraso, WA E: tony.fioraso@burswood.com.au

Adbourne Publishing cannot ensure that the advertisers appearing in The Hotel 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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CONTENTS 24

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AIHE State news

11 Green team transforms the Downtowner 15 Achieving good Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) 21 Top 7 hidden costs of emergency lighting 24 Crown's engineering hotshot 26 Protecting against corrosion 33 Cooling coil cleaning using germicidal UV technology 38 Regulation update April 2016 41 Update conference exhibitor prospectus 47 Living and working in clean air as nature intended 48 Jannah Hotels and Resorts to break ground 52 Slippery when wet 55 Organisational security standards 59 Swimming pools should be built to last Automation of chemical dosing and water 60 chemistry testing 63 Oaks Hotels & Resorts, Adelaide 66 Improving water quality 68 Swimming pools and spas 71 Liability or Asset? The challenge of the hotel pool

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76 Cryptosporidium‌. Crypto who 81 Back of house 82 News

THE

HOTEL ENGINEER

60

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF HOTEL ENGINEERING

Front cover shows: Crown Metropol Perth PP 319986/101

Volume 21 Number 1 April 2016

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AIHE STATE

NEWS VICTORIA Dear members, as we all settle into a new year with our busy schedules and lives, I do hope it has been a good start for you all. As we farewell our beautiful summer days and nights, we head into the cooler months, with the footy season now upon us.

Our chapter year is off to a nice start, as we commence planning for the year ahead. Our first meeting was hosted in February, as traditionally we do not meet in January. Thank you to the support of Paul Jeffries, Chief Engineer of the Westin

Melbourne, we were able to host our first meeting at this iconic Melbourne hotel. A first for the year and a first for Westin. Our corporate presenters that evening were NCE. General manager Mario Pace and his team presented the many facades of NCE. Not only is this dynamic company a leading wholesale supplier of major electrical appliances across Australia, they also offer a wider variety of framing, funky artworks and mirrors. Their website is worth checking out, whether you are looking for a project lot or just a few items of FFE, be sure to take a look.

Our March meeting was held at the Novotel on Collins, thanks again to Victor Herrera, for being a great support and hosting a meeting without fail each year. You are always there when we call on you to assist our chapter. So from one great support to another, EP&T Global, an active corporate member of our chapter, presented at this meeting. Thank you to Kirk Lawrence and Senior Engineer Harry Lepedjian for their presentation on power factor correction. This subject matter is timely for us in Victoria, as we move from July 1st to a KVA based tariff, versus a KW tariff Harry took the time to explain the importance of understanding power factor and the ongoing importance of correction, along with the financial impact it will have on our future utility bills. EP&T presented the options they have available to assist us in managing this correction, to ensure we minimise our KVA demand costs into the future. Thank you Harry, most educational and a great benefit for all of us who attended.

All our chapters are busy in arranging our bi annual AIHE conference being held on the Gold Coast on August 4th and 5th this year. Under the guidance of Bev, over in Queensland, we are seeking corporate sponsorship of booths and encouraging as many hotel engineers to attend. I urge that our hotel engineers get behind this great opportunity to attend the conference, in support of our industry, and the many corporates and presenters that will collaborate with us, in making the conference a great success.

Details of the conference are in this edition, but please feel free to contact me for specifics around how our chapter can assist hotel engineers in securing their attendance.

Regards David Zammit President AIHE Victoria Chapter

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QUEENSLAND Greetings from Queensland.

We certainly have had a busy first quarter of the year up here.

Committee fully into bringing together the AIHE Conference with the assistance of all the other Chapters. More following on the Conference.

Quality energy offer 3 basic steps – 1 – Analyse monthly kVA and PF data pre installation – 2 – Compare this data to the monthly post installation KVA and PF data – 3 – at 12 months post installation, they will provide a detailed report on the performance of the PFC system.

Depending on current PF and power costs, ROI, quoting Quality Energy, is usually under 12 months in Queensland.

We have had two meeting presentation evenings to date, the first being;

Thank you to Grant and Luke for the presentation and to Ian for the venue.

February – At the Watermark Hotel. This was a dual event with Australian Essential Services Compliance (Fire and Safety).

Queensland State Manager Kirsty Keech of AESC did the presentation and all found it very informative and reflective.

Kristy essentially covered the Queensland Fire and Rescue Act and current Regulations. Encompassing all State Legislation and Regulations to ensure we are all aware of our responsibilities and the contractors requirements.

A special thanks also, to our Meeting Coordinator, Alan Gyoury for arranging and organising all of the above.

Interesting that AESC as per their Essential Safety Measures (ESM), do provide compliance management solutions designed as a closed loop process, with built-in risk management check provisions, would consequently allow us (Hotel Engineers, Building Managers and the like) to know we are mitigating risk.

Briefly, ESM, incorporates asset maintenance documentation, quarterly egress and exit/fire door checks, evaluation of building fire integrity, provision of annual compliance certificate, meet statutory obligations, mitigating as mentioned risk.

The nights second presentation was from Life Style Panels (LSP), state of the art, innovative technology that entertains and informs our travelling Guests. The technology leads our Guests through their selection of services offered, to easily choose their in-room entertainment, and to explore and communicate from the comfort and privacy of their room.

Access to Wi-Fi, the Internet, Television, Box Office Movies on demand and foremost, Hotel/Resort Information and services on offer, providing details on Hotel/Resort information, services, promotions and entertainment. Thanks to Paul and Arvin for the live display.

The Second being; March – At the Intercontinental Sanctuary Cove.

The evenings presentation was from Quality Energy and discussed the benefits and reasoning behind installing Power Factor (PF) Correction.

Briefly, as most are probably aware, and more so brought to our attention the need to adjust the PF and kerb network costs.

PF is the ratio between the KVA, or total power load, and the KW, or actual power working for the building. Power Factor is measured on a scale between zero and one – one representing optimal energy efficiency. Depending where your building sits on the scale of current PF, will determine the amount of saving. ROI is very persuasive.

Also, in March (the 4th) we had the quarterly Presidents meeting mainly to focus on the organising of the conference along with sundry items of discussion. Attendees were David Zammit from Victoria, Anura Yapa from NSW, Paul Truman from Queensland and Bev Allen, Queenslands Secretary who is co-ordinating and ultimately organising the Conference.

Unfortunately Tony Fioraso from WA was unable to attend due to a very heavy work load, but we were able to schedule in a conference call with Tony to discuss the pending conference and other agenda items.

Conference news/update Now in full flight to complete and put in place all items. I do urge all prospective booth display companies/individuals, to contact Bev Allen as soon as possible (admin@aihe.com.au), for I do hasten to add, with a large number of Hotel Engineers and Hoteliers showing interest and commitment to attending the Conference, exposure is assured.

The set out for booth operators at the Conference venue, QT Hotel Surfers Paradise is ideal and free flowing. Key note speakers have been confirmed and the topics are varied (Industry based) and will, I am sure hold everyone's interest.

All social events and the Gala dinner are locked in and to say the least, are adding to the excitement.

The Conference and the AIHE brings together a group that offers diverse and exceptional experience gathered over a number of years, offering an extensive knowledge and net working pool. What we do know, adding to the above, is there will be in attendance key decision makers across our Industry.

Any Hotel Personal, Individual and Company who are interested in membership to the Institute, we would welcome hearing from you and discussing what we have to offer.

To the current Committee, and especially Bev and Geoff (who both are heavily involved in organising the Conference), thanks for your ongoing support and commitment.

All the best for now Paul Truman Queensland Chapter President

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NEW SOUTH WALES Warm greetings from the NSW Chapter.

The NSW chapter first committee meeting for the year was held at the Pullman Quay Grand on the 27th January. The committees mainly discussed the plans for 2016, increasing the memberships, preparation of the event calendar for the year and the upcoming conference on the Gold Coast in August 2016. A thank you goes out to Troy Croft for organising the meeting.

In February we had our first chapter meeting on Wednesday the 17th March at Pullman Hyde Park. It was a very successful meeting with considerable number of engineers gathered for a round table discussion. The topic was ‘Preventative Maintenance Programs in Hotels’. The members were eager to share their opinions, the issues they encounter on a daily basis including financial constraints, Hotel Financial controllers understanding and awareness of engineering matters and the General Managers support for the Engineers etc. The participation of the attendees were well received. We can look forward to more round table discussions similar to this in the future which will touch upon modern day challenges faced by engineers.

Chapter President’s meeting was held on the 04th March at Watermark Hotel & SPA, Surface Paradise, Gold Coast. The main focus of the discussion revolved around the conference arrangements and special thanks to Qld chapter secretary Bev Allen for her contribution. Paul Truman was kind enough to arrange the venue, accommodation etc., and the site tour

As a result of the discussions had with TAA (Tourism Accommodation Australia) Ms. Carol Giuseppi the National CEO of TAA was kind enough to organise a briefing with industry experts on:

Organising - 2016 update conference at chapter president’s meeting

• Waste management in the hospitality sector • Energy management practice and technology • Accessing grants, funding and support opportunities for the hospitality sector • Presentation on the Barangaroo Sustainability Precinct AIHE chapter members were invited for the session “Office of Environment & Heritage Briefing” followed by the chapter monthly meeting held on Thursday the 24th March.

Eric Emes an active member of the chapter has resigned due to returning to his home country. We wish him success and all the very best for his endeavours back in Toronto.

In closing, I would like to welcome all new members who joined the chapter recently and thank all Engineers and Corporate members for their support for the Industry.

Hotel Engineers at the “Office of Environment & Heritage Briefing” at TAA

Best Wishes.

Anura Yapa JP President – AIHE NSW chapter

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

• Briefing on Integrated Water Supply Scheme situation

Greetings and Happy New Year from all of us from the WA Chapter of the Australian Institute of Hotel Engineering.

Many thanks to Elise Matthews and the Water Corporation team for an informative tour.

January was a quite month for the WA Chapter as most of our members were away resting up and on holidays before getting ready for the busy year ahead.

I would like to welcome a new member: Chris Apperley – Chief Engineer-Novotel Perth

In February we visited the Water Corporations operations centre in Leederville. The site visit was well attended with over 25 members. The Water Corporation is responsible for all operations and water supplies to the whole of Western Australia.

This tour of the State-wide Operations Centre, demonstrated how the complex Integrated Water Supply Scheme is managed and provided an opportunity to share information about water quality and demand management.

The tour agenda went as follows: • Operations Centre/Metro water quality system operation •O verview of online water efficiency training and Water wise water auditors

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of the different types of newly refurbished guest rooms.

Our April meeting will be held at the Hyatt Regency Perth.

And welcome Carl Giblin to Perth, Carl has taken up the role of Chief Engineer at the Pan Pacific Hotel.

Due to everyone’s busy calendars we deferred our March meeting in preparation for our annual golf day at the Vines Resort which is being held on Friday 6th May. In closing I would like to urge all Engineers, contractors and Hotel Managers to attend this year’s conference on the Gold Coast 4th/5th August 2016. We expect to have at least 50 Hotel Engineers in attendance this year due to each of the states sponsoring Hotel Engineers through our Chapters.

All delegate information will be sent out shortly.

Tony Fioraso President – AIHE Western Australia

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CASE STUDY

GREEN TEAM TRANSFORMS

THE DOWNTOWNER

IRIS WARNKE

In 2012 Peter Nesbit, the Chief Engineer at the Downtowner, heard an inspirational talk at the Hotel Engineers conference in Queensland. The inspiration he brought back with him was infectious. It helped to mobilise a ‘green team’, with staff from all areas, who have transformed the hotel.

THE BUILDING

T

he landmark Downtowner on Lygon was constructed in 1967 in the heart of Carlton, Melbourne’s fashion and food district. The premier 4 star hotel comprises of 3 large function rooms, a restaurant and bar. It enjoys

close proximity to all the Lygon street restaurants and cultural precinct.

Major refurbishment of the property was completed in 1994 during ownership by the Government of Nauru. The work included installation of a new air cooled chiller and a hot water system with new makeup air heating boilers.

The same year the building won its first award for a new external design, which blended in with the Lygon street heritage architecture.

The 3 storey high, 98 room hotel has a floor space of about 3600 m2. The northwestern facing façade is partially shaded

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CASE STUDY

• fitting water saving shower heads, tap aerators and low flush toilet systems • installing double glazed windows • fitting doors with draft seals to stop heat loss • replacing the passenger lift.

Recycling has become a major strategy for reducing landfill: 40 kilos of soap have been recycled last year, organic waste now goes to compost, goods delivered in returnable crates eliminates cardboard waste. Significant water savings have also been achieved by training food & beverage staff on scraping plates instead of using spray rinse guns, and filling the dishwashers fully before use.

on the tree lined corner of Queensberry & Lygon Street.

The key challenge for all upgrades was to retain the charm and character of the colonial building. This meant designing a retrofit solution that accommodated its picturesque settings. Also all works needed to be integrated with little or no disturbance or impact on guest’s wellbeing and daily routines.

From the outset, measurement and engagement have been central to the sustainability strategy. Peter started the project with gathering ideas on how to do things differently, and how to record what resources are being used and consumed. NABERS was chosen as the benchmark because it is it performance based, and so would capture all of their achievements and communicate them to guests.

The action plan included:

Measures taken included:

• reducing all energy and water consumption, and waste

• installing an energy monitoring system

THE CHALLENGE

• investing in innovative environmental initiatives • lowering greenhouse gas emissions • greening the supply chain.

We started with looking at sustainability as a as a way to offset costs, and using a rated system that people can recognise and trust.

- Kevin Birchall, General Manager

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THE PROJECT

• installing LED lights, including time switches • re-insulating the hot water pipes

After years of driving environmental practices and implementing change we are amazed that we are still achieving the amounts of reductions that we do.

- Peter Nesbit, Chief Engineer

CASE STUDY

THE NEXT STEPS Alterations and additions are still ongoing but the main focus is on reducing emissions and becoming a carbon neutral hotel.

The Downtowner is about to be fully refurbished once again, with plans being drawn up for an estimated start of December 2016.

Looking further ahead, the wish list contains: • a 6 star NABERS Energy rating • GreenPower™ energy • rain water tanks • thermal reflective roof paint • on site bikes • & e-vehicles.

GUEST RESPONSE Publicising the changes and improvements has been a focal point. Kevin Birchall, the General Manager of the Downtowner

says that it’s been great for business, with many guests choosing them specifically because of their sustainability credentials.

We can’t manage what we can’t measure. If you make changes, don’t expect them all to go the right way. So you have to have good monitoring in place first.

- Peter Nesbit, Chief Engineer

Guests have also taken the time to post their delight on Trip Advisor, showing how impressed they were with the environmental changes at the Downtowner. It was this feedback that presented the Downtowner with the Trip Advisor Gold Green Leader award, an accolade only two other hotels in Australia have received so far.

FAST FACTS • Building: The Downtowner on Lygon Hotel

• NABERS Water Rating: 4 stars (valid until 19 March 2017) • NABERS Energy Rating: 5 stars without GreenPower (valid until 19 March 2017) • Estimated project costs: Overall $40,000 • Estimated annual savings: $23,500 • Estimated annual GhG emissions savings: 76,794 kgCO2

• Building Owner & Operator: Zagame Corporation, since 2007 • Rooms: 98 • Hotel STAR Rating: 4 Stars

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ACHIEVING GOOD INDOOR AIR QUALITY (IAQ) FOR HOTELS AND RESORTS

SHANNON ROGER (B.ED), ROGER CROOK & DR ALLAN HECKENBERG (PHD) I AIREPURE AUSTRALIA 2016

The mere mention of “Legionella Pneumophila” (Legionnaires disease) is a cause of panic for most people involved in buildings, where large numbers of people are housed. This is for good reason, as while these outbreaks are (thankfully) rare, the possibly deadly consequences of this bacterium are all well known.

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transmitted agents were diluted by fresh, outdoor air and relatively quickly exhausted from indoor spaces.

This article explores several of the key aspects of maintaining good IAQ for Hotels and Resorts, highlighting some of the steps one can take to achieve acceptable comfort and health for staff and guests.

This is particularly true in humid or highdensity CBD areas – where many Resorts or Hotels are found. Environmental forces such as humidity and poor external air quality place special pressures onto buildings and potentially massive loads onto their IAQ systems.

hat is not as well known, are the relatively simple steps involved in the prevention of these and similar IAQ issues. It is possible to render a building immune to IAQ issues by following a few good design rules, diligently attending to the maintenance of systems, providing regular change out of disposable items and general cleaning.

BUILDING DESIGN "In tight buildings with closed ventilation systems, airborne-transmitted pathogens are not only recirculated and concentrated, but also efficiently dispersed through indoor living spaces"1 A 1988 study of approx. 400,000 army trainees found that trainees housed in energy efficient and well-sealed “modern” army barracks were 50% more likely to develop a respiratory infection than trainees housed in older “more leaky” buildings where potential airborne-

This is not an indictment of modern building design – but highlights that we need to adapt our practices to keep up with the specific demands of these buildings in order to maintain IAQ.

We tend to ignore control systems for HVAC and other building operation systems as a possible area of improvement. However, virtually every year brings significant advances in these types of “sense, command and control” systems. Finer and more intelligent control of building operation systems will certainly save energy, improve client satisfaction and maximise a buildings potential for maintaining IAQ.

Most readers will have to deal with a building “as they find it”; therefore, we will explore the most significant steps that can be taken to improve an IAQ situation within an existing building.

If a building is more than 5 years old, it is almost certain that a review of these operation control systems is worth considering, with a view to upgrades or changes. Changing from simple “time based” systems to ones that compensate for weather, temperature and sun aspect changes can more than pay for themselves over time – with significant client satisfaction gains.

CONTROLS

MAINTENANCE

It has been well documented by the Australian Government, that Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems are generally responsible for approximately 40% of total building energy consumption within nonresidential buildings.2

It is unfortunately true that maintenance is the single most significant area of short-fall within buildings that suffer poor IAQ. Building owners need to be attentive to maintenance expenses as a whole – with

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consideration to energy consumption, consumable lifetime and efficiency. It is in their best interest to consciously select maintenance programs with a low “total cost” to the building, rather than just accepting the cheapest maintenance contract. If maintenance is skimped on, the downstream impact on both IAQ and precious plant equipment can be massive – far higher than what was saved on a “cheap” maintenance program.

Aspects of maintenance that impact IAQ are explored below: Leaks Mould and fungi thrive on dampness driven by standing water. Leaks, condensation, and high humidity areas (such as bathrooms, spa areas) all require rigorous cleaning and maintenance procedures to reduce issues. In tropical areas these issues are compounded by high ambient humidity and aggressive weather events.

The monitoring of cooling towers, water quality and leaks within condensate drains is also a critical step in safe operation.

Modern dosing chemicals for cooling towers have significant advantages over older, “more aggressive” chemicals which may contribute to system corrosion and inadvertent leaks.

Humidity In high humidity areas, regular cooling coil steam cleaning to remove deposits and bacteria will yield energy and IAQ benefits. In some conditions, consideration of advanced UV-C systems is worthy of consideration. Well-designed systems of this type can significantly reduce bacterial and fungal risk, keep coils cleaner and yield real, cost effective benefits. These UV-C systems must be well designed and implemented by reputable vendors with a proven record of success; as the cheapest option is not necessarily the best in these more advanced control techniques. These systems can modestly increase air filter life as well, as they decrease the downstream load of material to be trapped by filters.

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Air Intakes Ideally, the location of air intakes that are as far as possible from the cooling tower is favourable.

Failing this, controlling air-flow to avoid air sourced from the cooling tower is best.

Clearly in all cases the minimum distances indicated in AS/NZS 1668.23 should be followed. Additionally, location of intakes to capture the cleanest possible air in the first place will reduce load and costs through the entire HVAC system.

Pressure Control of overall airflow direction – through building pressurisation can lead to significant improvements in “fugitive” ingress of outside air. While buildings are designed to ensure a given pressure profile, and probably achieve that at “hand-over” when furniture, clients, staff, decorations and plants are added – significant variations from the design intent can occur. Similarly, weather events such as real world prevailing winds and traffic effects can mock the designer’s initial intentions. If notable contamination or thermal issues are noted in lobbies and other high traffic areas, review of overall airflow patterns and pressurisation is probably worth-while.

The overall “air changes” for given functional rooms and areas is set out in legislated Australian Standards, (eg AS/ NZS 1668.23). Initial building designs should have been compliant with these minimum standards, however, over time, lack of maintenance and changed conditions in the building may lead to areas dropping below the “design intent”. Stuffy rooms, eye irritation, complaints from asthma suffers etc. are possible indications of areas falling below the intended IAQ levels, and a strong indication that an airflow review is required.

Filtration One of the most important components of IAQ in the air delivery systems is the humble air filter. As these disposable

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devices are generally hidden in plant rooms, ducts and air handlers, there is a tendency for them to be forgotten.

Along with the maintenance of the mechanical aspects of airflow, there is no maintenance element in the system that is more critical to IAQ. Relatively inexpensive, very effective when properly sourced and energy saving when changed at optimal times; disposable air filters can be effective controls on dusts, pollens, moulds, odours and chemical hazards.

Generally, common filter systems for Hotels may consist of two stages, whereby each stage removes sequentially smaller particles. The first stage filter is typically a G4 rated disposable pleated filter, designed to capture air particles sized between of 5.0-10.0 micron (dust, pollens). Despite their low cost and apparent simplicity – these are remarkably sophisticated devices. Each filter, typically 600x600x100mm will have more than 2.8sqm surface area of an advanced pleated media material that is both stable and reliable. The “cardboard” housing of better quality filters is made from coated board stock that is tolerant of humidity and physical stress. These are important factors in “by-pass” – as an air filter ceases to operate at its rated efficiencies if contaminated air finds its way around the filter edges.

These G4 filters are changed out at regular intervals, when the load of dust that has collected starts to increase the resistance to airflow significantly (~175Pa and above). Operation significantly above these values will inevitably strain fans, increase energy bills, reduce total airflow and ultimately allow particles to flow through the filter – contaminating all downstream areas and filters.

G4 disposable cardboard pleated filter

The second stage filter is typically a F7 rated disposable multi-pocket bag filter or similar. These filters remove particles in the 0.5-1.0 micron range (auto emissions, mould spores). These are really the workhorse filters of the systems. Protected from large particles by the inexpensive G4 filters, these filters remove fine particles and have capacity for months of operation at higher efficiency levels. As with the G4 filters, regular change outs should be driven by monitoring resistance levels to achieve the best IAQ and cost effectiveness.

Bag filters come in an enormous range of configurations and sizes, but independent of size, quality of construction, proof of efficiency test levels and availability at short notice are key elements of the supply equation. In common with the themes expressed above, lowest price seldom corresponds with the most cost effective “total solution”, as quality media and manufacturing has its costs.

F7 disposable multi-pocket bag filter

An example is HEPA filtration – for freedom from very fine particles in premium rooms or areas where “hospital operating room” air quality is desirable. These filters are remarkable complex devices, with lifetimes measured in years (if used correctly), with capture efficiency of more than 99% of even 0.3 micron particles. These filters are so fine that they are even capable of removing smoke particles.

Gasket seal HEPA filter

Part of the cost equation that is neglected when particulate filters fail to do their job, is the overall IAQ, client satisfaction, and building HVAC and surface contamination that result in countless dollars being spent unnecessarily on various forms of cleaning and repair.

Specialty Filtration In some cases – a third layer of filtration is used in challenging or specialty applications.

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Another class of specialty filter that has gained popularity within Hotel applications is the “chemical filter”.

Generally based on activated carbon or more modern synthetic materials, these filters are able to capture many odours or harmful airborne chemicals.

Unpleasant loading dock odours, sewer smells, garbage smells, harmful engine pollution emissions (VOCs etc) can be captured by these very effective devices. The more load and airflow these filters encounter – the shorter the life. Comparatively expensive, they form a very valuable tool in the protection of guests from unwanted odours or hazards.

1670.17 ), and be responsibly installed and maintained. Most of these systems are surprisingly large and maintenance intensive compared to the HVAC systems. However, given the elevated temperatures, humidity’s, high airflows and very high particulate and grease load, these systems provide a remarkably effective operation when designed and serviced properly.

Multi staged, combination filtration system for kitchen exhaust

CONCLUSIONS Indoor air quality is a critical parameter in guest and staff outcomes for Hotels and Resorts. This article has highlighted a number of the factors that contribute to IAQ, and some control aspects and decisions that can lead to better outcomes. An exemplary level of IAQ for leisure facilities is an achievable goal – it just takes quality design and implementation, and rigorous attention to detail in the operation and maintenance of the facility.

Airepure Australia offers a range of products, services and consulting expertise that can assist you with your compliance to AS/NZS 1668.1 and 1668.2. Airepure is a leading national air filtration company providing unique, powerful and integrated air filtration solutions, ranging from basic HVAC filtration and odour control right through to high end HEPA/ULPA filtration and airborne containment technologies. Airepure recommends ELTA and Fantech Fans. For more information, visit www.airepure.com.au or call 1300 886 353.

Gas phase chemical filtration media

REFERENCES Large scale self-washing ESP system

Chemicals that may not be treated in any economic way include Carbon Dioxide and Carbon Monoxide.

Adherence to minimum air change legislation and Australian Standards are critical for the safety of your staff and guests.

Hotel and Resort Restaurants are coming under increasing pressure from councils to be reasonably odour and smoke free to nearby neighbours.

Several restaurant types, most notably steak house and modern Asian cuisine can suffer from relatively extreme odour and smoke issues, especially if the exhaust systems are “side exit” rather than ducted to the roof for stack emission. A number of successful strategies exist for these issues – either through replaceable, multi-staged combination filter systems or selfwashing Electrostatic Precipitator units (ESPs). These systems must be rigorously designed to exceed the intent of the standards (AS/NZS 1668.23, 1668.14 , AS 1682.15 and .26 ,

18

1. B rundage, J.F. “Buildings Associated Risk of Febrile Acute Respiratory Diseases and Army Trainees”.

JAMA, 259:14 (1988) 2. http://industry.gov.au/Energy/EnergyEfficiency/ Non-residentialBuildings/HVAC/FactSheets/ Documents/HVACFSEnergyBreakdown.pdf

OTHER SOURCES OF CONTAMINATION Particulate, odour and chemical contamination are produced by sources as diverse as carpets, furniture, cleaning products, swimming pools, restaurant kitchens and standalone vacuum systems. Most of these sources can be controlled by consideration of the items mentioned above. Good maintenance programs, control of air flow directions and effective, high quality replacement filters, all play a part in the solutions for these unique sources of contamination.

3. AS/NZS 1668.2 “The use of air conditioning and ventilation in buildings- Part 2: Mechanical ventilation in buildings”. Standards Australia (2012) 4. AS/NZS 1668.1 “The use of air conditioning and ventilation in buildings- Part 1: Fire and smoke control in multi-compartment buildings”.

Standards Australia (1998) 5. AS 1682.1 “Fire dampers - Specification”.

Standards Australia (1990) 6. AS 1682.2 “Fire, smoke and air dampers Installation”. Standards Australia (2015) 7. AS 1670.1 “Fire detection, warning, control and intercom systems - System design, installation and commissioning - Fire”. Standards Australia (2015)

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20

TOP 7 HIDDEN COSTS OF EMERGENCY LIGHTING

It’s not just the up front luminaire cost but the ongoing cost of maintenance and testing that should also be considered. We asked Steve Cahill, CEO of enLighten what are some of the main hidden costs of emergency lighting.

F

rom our experience of supplying & installing over 1,000 lighting upgrade projects across Australia, here’s our summary of the key emergency lighting operating cost areas that are sometimes overlooked.

1. WHOLE FITTING REPLACEMENT AT POINT OF BATTERY FAILURE Industry practice has traditionally been to replace the whole emergency batten fittings when the light fails the 6 monthly test. It is believed that this is a cheaper alternative than undertaking further investigations that would result in having to isolate the circuit to replace the faulty component, which is typically the battery.

This often results in emergency light fittings being replaced every 3 to 4 years.

Solution: Choosing an emergency light that has features such as easy removal for repair and upgrade and/or an accessible battery drawer so that battery replacement can be simply undertaken without isolating the mains power.

2. CO-ORDINATION OF EMERGENCY LIGHT TESTING To prepare for the 6 monthly emergency test, building managers and owners need to advise all building occupants of disruption to normal activities in areas where emergency lighting systems are being tested, which typically involves isolating mains power to that lighting circuit.

A range of stakeholders need to be coordinated including external contractors

who typically conduct the test after hours, as well as security staff to supervise testing contractors who have access to tenanted areas in the building after hours.

Solution: Monitored emergency lighting systems conduct the mandated 6 monthly battery discharge tests without disrupting power but this comes at a system cost premium of 30-40%. Similar self-test functionality is now available in stand alone luminaires , which conduct battery discharge whilst maintaining normal light operation. The test status is visible via an LED indicator. This testing takes place without disrupting the normal operation of the light, which avoids the cost of notifying occupants and coordinating contractors and other service providers.

3. FIXING FAULTS IN EMERGENCY LIGHTING ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS – A STAB IN THE DARK! In cases of emergency lighting electrical circuit trip or failure due to thermal overload, short circuit or moisture ingress, fault finding by a qualified electrician can be complicated, time consuming and costly. Often it involves the removal of light fittings and examination of electrical wiring up & down the line to isolate the fault.

Solution: Emergency lights with a smart connect base that allows for simple removal of the light fitting. This enables lighting to be simply replaced with timeconsuming fault finding done off-line.

4. PRESSURE TO CERTIFY BUILDINGS CAN RESULT IN HIGHER THAN NORMAL LUMINAIRE REPLACEMENT COSTS Building managers and owners are required to submit emergency lighting certification to local authorities in a timely manner. This results in time constraints for 6 monthly test reports to be provided and subsequent repairs to be undertaken for failed lights. Often these time constraints result in a premium being paid.

Solution: If the luminaire design allows for simple battery changeover, you can stock spare emergency battery packs and provide them to the testing contractor, reducing the pressure during this critical period.

5. CLEANING LIGHTS Cleaning is vital to lighting efficiency.

Light levels can decrease over time because of dirt on luminaries and a build up of insects inside the light. These factors can reduce total illumination by 30% or more, potentially falling below minimum required lighting levels.

Australian Standard AS 2293.3 requires that all emergency lights have their lighting emitting surfaces cleaned annually.

Solution: Beyond a simple wipe down, a light fitting that is easy to remove for further cleaning if required reduces ongoing cleaning & maintenance time & costs. In addition to a simple clean, many light fixtures require holes to be drilled for cable entry points and these are often

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an entry point for insects. Lights that connect to a separate base do not have this problem and therefore will not need to be opened and cleaned.

6. DROP IN LIGHT OUTPUT QUALITY (LUMEN DEPRECIATION) OVER TIME For maintained emergency lighting systems where light output in non emergency mode is part of the area lighting, this light output will need to meet relevant area lighting level compliance requirements.

Many emergency light fixtures have either older technology fluorescent lamps which need constant replacements or poor quality LEDs that cause light output to depreciate quickly.

Often light upgrades result in “energy efficient’ lights selected that are underpowered, resulting in lower wattage luminaire replacements with light output not sufficient to meet local building code requirements.

Impacts include a reduced amenity for the occupants and creation of a liability for the building owner. This can result in tenants leaving and insurance companies not covering claims in non-compliant areas following an accident, both of which are very expensive.

Solution: Know the light level requirements for your building or ask someone who knows – your electrical contractor or lighting suppliers. You will need to demonstrate compliance to claim government rebates. Look for a luminaire with a broad range of light outputs to give you the flexibility to suit the light to match the area.

Check the quality of the LEDs. Luminaire datasheets will list LED chip sources where there is a reputable brand used. Look for emergency luminaires that are “approved for use” by state government energy efficiency scheme administrators as they will need to have supplied LM80 test reports to support LED performance.

7. KEEPING MONITORED EMERGENCY LIGHTING SYSTEMS UP TO DATE Commissioning of monitored emergency lighting systems is complex & requires specialist contractors to wire and program all light connection points into the system. When any system changes are needed, there is no simple addition or subtraction of lights. The high call out rates for any programming or wiring changes from the contractors that work with the proprietary systems are the source of complaints from building managers.

Additions or changes to emergency lights in tenanted areas of commercial office buildings, are often not incorporated into the base building’s monitored emergency lighting system. This reduces the accuracy for emergency light testing status & cannot provide the building manager with 100% trust in the system reports.

Solution: Keep it simple. Given that a visual inspection of each emergency light is required under Australian Standard 2293:3, non monitored stand alone emergency luminaires can now provide the functionality to display the test status via a multi coloured LED indicator. This results in the visual inspection being undertaken at the same time to determine the compliance status, eliminating the need for an expensive monitored system.

23

PROFILE

CROWN'S

ENGINEERING HOTSHOT

F

amily is front and centre in the lives of many men. Ambition and drive sends men to work for most hours of the day, but it’s their loved ones at home who matter the most. For Lee Binsted, Hotels Engineering Manager at Crown Metropol Perth and Crown Promenade Perth, making time for his wife and two teenage daughters is paramount.

“I’m always home for tea,” Lee said. “I leave at five in the morning and always make sure I’m back in time. We certainly make the most of our weekends, too.”

Lee laughs when I suggest he’s leaving so early so he can be back in time. “There’s always a lot to do. Things start rolling in at 6am when I arrive!”

Lee is reaching the top of his game at the helm of Crown’s two Perth hotels. Lee oversees all the hotels’ maintenance and engineering, which includes two VVIP Mansions (complete with private pools and gym), four spacious Infinity Suites, and nearly 700 guest rooms. Lee manages 12 staff members as well as 50 external contractors.

“I love the variety,” Lee said. “Being able to interact with a whole lot of different people, plus working in hotels which are nice places to be - even when you’re not on holidays”.

Lee started his career in the maintenance industry in 1993. He worked at the Novotel Perth and Ascot Quays Hotel before switching to Crown in 2012. He has a roll call of silverware from his career – 2014 AHA Engineering and Maintenance Award, 2010 AHA Hotel Engineering Award, and a finalist in Accor’s Build Smiles Program. Lee has held positions in the AIHE and has long

24

been a respected leader in the industry.

“I like to help people,” Lee said. “That’s been the same all the way through my career.”

Lee has been involved in a range of major upgrades and works on the hotels and played a big role in making sure there was minimal waste by recycling materials wherever possible. Lee was responsible for upgrading the pool at Crown

Promenade. He managed the redesign of the paving and changed the pool area from concrete to mosaic. Lee has managed the change over all down-lights to LED lamps at the hotels. He’s also managed the installation of auto controls to external lighting, the upgrade of the controls to steam boilers and gas heating boilers to minimise carbon emissions, and the introduction of water saving restrictors and shower-heads. He was

PROFILE

also a major contributor to the upgrade on air conditioning units and is currently working on a lift upgrade program.

“At the moment I’m helping out with Crown Towers Perth getting things ready for the launch later this year,” Lee says.

Overseeing these projects means Lee needs to be on top of his game every day.

He says one of the most important parts of his job is communication, as he needs staff to work efficiently to make sure each job is done quickly, professionally and with minimal disruption to guests.

“Communication is so important.

Without it, the left hand can’t help the right hand. You need your staff’s trust to run a hotel, and being able to talk with them makes it happen.”

Part of Lee’s management style is to reward staff for good work. “Crown

Perth has an award recognition program which recognises employees who have excelled in their roles, continually demonstrate the company’s values and work to agreed service guidelines. A Crown ‘star’ can be anyone who works at Crown, whether they are from your department or from another department.

It’s important to recognise people when they do the right thing.”

Lee pays close attention to detail. He regularly schedules maintenance work to make sure everything is in order and is always on call for guests staying in Crown’s most exclusive rooms. Robert De Niro and Lady Gaga have previously stayed at Crown Perth.

Lee also points out the need to be decisive in his role. Being on call for high profile guests means he needs to frequently make quick decisions, and has

a lot of responsibility for steering the hotels in the right direction.

Some of these decisions have delivered long-term gains for Crown. “You’re always making decisions, big or small,” Lee says.

His advice for young hotel engineers is all about respect. “Keep professional, treat others how you’d like to be treated, and there’s nothing like good old fashioned hard work!”

Lee’s ambitions for the future are to keep the existing hotels running smoothly. No matter how stressful Lee’s role becomes, he holds everyone in high regard and ensures his respect for others is never compromised. And he always makes sure he’s home for dinner!

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PROTECTING AGAINST CORROSION FROM THE INSIDE

WEZLEY FAWAZ I EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF THE AUSTRALASIAN CORROSION ASSOCIATION

The economic impact of corrosion represents a cost of billions of dollars to the economy every year.

Planning for corrosion control and mitigation helps to minimise the cost implications of ignoring the effects by reducing the maintenance time and increasing an asset's utilisation.

O

ne way to protect an asset from corrosion is to physically isolate a structure from the environment by applying a surface coating.

However, it is not only the outside that needs protection. The walls and floors of hospitals, industrial facilities, commercial offices and other built structures require protection. Additionally, internal services – pipes, equipment, motors, boilers, etc. – need to be protected.

Protective coatings are not just paints.

They are engineered products that undergo rigorous product development and testing to provide specific properties that will protect a structure from its service environment or posses particular characteristics – static dissipating, abrasion resistance, thermally insulating etc. – that make it a functional coating.

During the past 20 years, Graham Carlisle, Principal Corrosion and Coating Engineer at IAS Group in Western Australia, has worked with many contractors and suppliers on projects working to prevent or remediate corrosion. “When working with existing facilities such as a hotel or hospital, a major constraint is getting access,” he said. “It is very difficult to shut down a

26

busy 24 hour a day public health facility, so we have to carefully plan how and when works are carried out.”

The rapid cure times of modern sprayapplied polyurea, methyl methacrylate, epoxy and polyurethane coatings make them ideal for use in facilities that cannot easily be shut down. Minimising disruption to the operation of hospitals, hotels and production plants is a key consideration.

Before a coatings project is underway, there are several aspects that need to be carefully managed. “It is important to understand the competence of the applicator and ensure that the main contractor understands all the steps needed to undertake the coating process, the success requirements and does not accept lower quality materials that do not meet specifications,” said Peter Dove, Principal Materials Consultant at GHD – one of the largest consultancy engineering groups in Australia. GHD has a Materials Technology Group involved in solving a range of durability and corrosion issues and projects.

The Australasian Corrosion Association (ACA) works with companies such as IAS Group and GHD as well as academic

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institutions to research all aspects of corrosion in order to provide an extensive knowledge base that supports best practice in corrosion management, ensuring the environment is protected, public safety enhanced and economies improved.

In addition to providing a physical barrier, surface coatings can also be used as thermal insulation depending on their composition. Coatings are available that have high titanium dioxide content which reflects heat when used on the external walls of buildings.

One emerging market for coatings technology is in protecting HVAC ductwork inside buildings and commercial facilities. “By using coatings with the

environment where it is used and what it will be exposed to,” Dove said

Epoxy mortar screed after five years in service

appropriate thermal characteristics asset owners can achieve performance gains with less expense,” said Carlisle. “There is no need for old style fibrous lagging that degrades over time, collects dust and has to be replaced periodically and can lead to hidden corrosion issues under the insulation.”

The performance characteristics are determined by the different chemistry of the various coatings. “The curing temperature of a coating impacts the choice of material,” Dove said.

“At anything less than 10ºC, it is unlikely that epoxies would be used.”

Alternative coatings are required for use in situations such as commercial freezers.

Slight changes in a coating’s formulation changes its balance of properties and thus the way it performs under different environmental conditions.

Surface tolerant, heat activated, single component epoxy coating for use over hot pipes (70-150ºC) to prevent CUI

Spray-applied thermally insulating coatings (TIC) can be used when insulating a building's ductwork, pipes and machinery – often involving complex geometries around valves and levers.

Applying such coatings is much easier and can achieve the same performance results of traditional lagging more quickly and with less labour. TICs directly adhere to the substrate, thus minimising or eliminating the space between the substrate and conventional insulation that can hold moisture. Replacing traditional fibrous insulation with an insulating coating reduces energy usage and protects the system from the problem of corrosion under insulation (CUI). It also has the additional benefit of mould and moisture resistance, which in turn improves overall air quality inside buildings.

TICs can also be used on the roof and walls of a building. When properly installed and maintained, a coating can help an asset owner achieve energy savings as well as extend the service life of a building. The latest coatings can withstand extended exposure to water, humidity, temperature extremes, ultraviolet rays, oxygen, and atmospheric pollutants.

Coatings used in the hospital and hotel sector are mostly epoxy-based systems.

“The choice as to what coating is used must be based on an assessment of the

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If a coating is to be exposed to different chemicals, the material used must be of the appropriate type. Carlisle said that caustic substances require a different material from those used for acids.

“In a brewery, the internal coatings of floors and walls are mostly exposed to the caustic wash used to clean the tanks and pipework. In a hospital or research laboratory, there may also be many acidic substances used.”

Similarly, different operating processes require alternative coatings, If there is an extraction flue associated with a process, the internal coating must be able to tolerate both the temperature of the hot gasses passing over it as well as the corrosivity of them. According to Graham Carlisle every increase of 10ºC may approximately double the corrosivity of a gas or liquid.

According to Dove, there are a range of factors that need to be considered.

“While coatings are an effective treatment, sometimes it might be more effective to change the material – for example, stainless steel – used to make the underlying structure. The risks associated with a surface must also be assessed, especially if liquids are being handled. A tiled surface or plastic membranes may be the most appropriate in certain situations in a hotel or hospital.

The safest way to ensure a positive coating outcome is select a coating from a reputable coating manufacturer with proven case histories that can be verified and engage an applicator trained and endorsed by the manufacturer.

For remediation work, while sprayapplying is usually the most effective application method, on inside surfaces, brush, roller or trowel application is often used. To remediate concrete structures, it is important to use a material that tolerates alkali. If there is a high moisture level in the concrete mix, an alternative coating material may be required. A project came to Dove from a casino in the Middle East where the high residual moisture content of the concrete used had caused the floors in some areas of the building to completely delaminate.

It is important that a protective coating project is carefully planned. One thing to avoid is under-estimating the technical complexity of a project, especially if the coating is to be applied to an existing structure.

Protective coatings projects are usually unsuccessful for relatively few reasons.

Planners often do not fully comprehend the complexity of many coatings projects and, as a consequence, fail to invest the time and resources to manage it effectively which results in substantial cost implications when things go wrong.

It is important to have the knowledge to ask the appropriate questions and understand what the limits are when faced with the many options available.

The lack of detailed design information for a structure sometimes means that there can be poor selection of structural materials. For example, if dissimilar metals are used, this results in restricting the coating options available – a coating for one metal is often inappropriate for another.

The cost of applying a surface coating varies depending on whether it is applied in a workshop or on-site. Applying a coating can vary between $80 per square metre in a workshop to $300 per square metre or higher on-site. Carlisle and Dove advocate not scrimping on a coatings specification, or the quality verification, as these could be some of the best dollars spent on a project.

There are also many standards relating to the application of protective surface coatings but sometimes compromises may need to be made. When planning protective coatings it is important to take into account a number of factors, including the operating environment, access to the structure and climate – all of which impact the cost of the project.

A good coatings specification will reference relevant Australian and international standards, such as AS/ NZ 2312 and categorise the service environment according to its corrosivity and then nominate an appropriate system based on the desired design life of the coating.

The health and safety analysis of a project must look at how to effectively protect a

From top: A hospital chiller heat exchanger before and after using a VOCfree coating system to repair, reclaim and protect the unit

29

structure and address any environmental considerations. It must also consider how to properly apply the coating to minimise its effects on the surrounding areas as well as protect the technician who might be working in a harness, tethered metres above the ground.

Many old style coatings were effective but not very safe according to today's understanding of the health effects of 'protective' substances such as red lead and asbestos. A recent project of Dove's involved the restoration of one of the historic buildings used by the a major educational institution in Melbourne. “It was a rare situation where we were able to see the works being done from start to finish,” Dove added.

“Constructed in the 1870s, there were many layers of different paints and other coatings used over the years.” Special paint strippers were required to remove several different coloured coating layers from the building because analysis indicated some had up to 30 per cent lead in them and the underlying render could not be damaged by more aggressive forms of coating removal. Before the application of a breathable mineral silicate coating, the render needed extensive repairs by heritage stone masons to restore the durability of the façade.

Effects of battery acid on a concrete coated with poorly specified protective material

Another vital aspect of coatings projects is to have certification that the job complies with all the appropriate legislation, regulations standards and project specifications through engaging NACE or ACA qualified coatings inspectors for steel or concrete coating applications.

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The ACA is a not-for-profit, industry association, established in 1955 to service the needs of Australian and New Zealand companies, organisations and individuals involved in the fight against corrosion. The vision of the organisation is to reduce the impact of corrosion.

Throughout the year, the ACA also conducts educational activities such as seminars and training courses across Australia and New Zealand to inform and guide organisations and practitioners about corrosion mitigation. Corrosion specialists certified by the ACA, and other organisations, have the experience and understanding of corrosion causes and solutions that allow them to recommend mechanisms and procedures to consultants and asset owners.

Wesley Fawaz is the Executive Officer of the Australasian Corrosion Association. He is responsible for the implementation of the strategic direction and management of daily operations of the organisation.Wes holds a Bachelor of Business majoring in management, marketing and HR.

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Controlled

Environments Accreditation No. 15597

COOLING COIL CLEANING USING GERMICIDAL UV TECHNOLOGY: ENERGY SAVINGS AND RETURN ON INVESTMENT

NORMAND BRAIS P.ENG., M.A.SC., PH.D. I VICE-PRESIDENT, SANUVOX TECHNOLOGIES INC.

ABSTRACT

N

early every HVAC engineer has had the experience of opening a unit to find the drain pan and coil covered with a slimy residue of mold biofilm. Not only these conditions can be unhealthy and occasionally deliver unpleasant smell for building occupants, but it also ruins the heat transfer capacity of the system and consequently increases the energy operating cost.

Various coil-cleaning methods have been used to try to control this problem.

Many of those techniques involve the use of detergents or even solvents, which can pose safety issues – health and flammability, for example – and high pressure washing that diminishes the life of the coil, because sometimes acids are involved. Often coil cleaning isn’t done with regularity and even when it is done on schedule, the mold growth can return in a very short time, usually less than a month.

The use of germicidal ultraviolet light (UV-C) technology in air-handling systems now allows for a proactive method of keeping the coil clean and operating in “as new” performance all the time. UV-C lights can be added to air handlers and other pieces of equipment through a relatively simple and low cost retrofit kit. Energy based payback ranges from 2 years to as low as 6 month depending upon the cost of electricity and the operating conditions.

Interestingly, while UV-C light has been promoted for its positive impact on indoor air quality (IAQ), the “bottom line” impact – its contribution to system energy efficiency and lower maintenance costs – might ultimately be considered to be its greatest asset.

5. Moisture, which is in more than adequate supply on cooling coils and drain pans of all air conditioning units.

WHAT CAUSES THE MOLD BIOFILM BUILD-UP?

EFFECTS OF BIOFILM GROWTH ON A COOLING COIL

Five conditions will result in mold and fungus growth causing a biofilm that inhibits fin heat transfer: 1. A source of mold spores. Sufficient mold spores are found in nearly every environment and brought into the building through door openings and outdoor air supplies.

2. Even when HEPA filtration is used, the filter replacement causes a momentary breach of the sterility barrier that allows airborne mold spores to contaminate and colonise the coils.

3. Organic material on which the mold can grow. Dust and particles of organic material are also readily available in every system, even with the best filtration systems.

4. The right temperature range.

Temperatures from 10° C to more than 38°C provide the right incubation range.

Even when filtration is provided, a large part of the build-up on the cooling coil is the result of biological growth.

The presence of a biofilm on the fins of a coil has two direct effect: 1. M ajor Heat transfer loss to the fins due to the much lower thermal conductivity of the organic biofilm covering the aluminum fins.

2. Slight Pressure drop increase due to the restriction of the flow area and consequently a reduction of the air flow delivery capacity.

As we will see in the following example, a biofilm growth can have significant impact on coil performance, putting it considerably off design specification.

If we consider the case of a cooling coil of 2 m high by 4m wide that has consequently 8 square meter of face area and 58,500 m3/hr our gross face velocity is about 2 m/sec. But this is not the actual velocity inside the coil between the fins.

The fin and tube material do block a significant portion of the face coil area.

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Let’s consider a typical coil of 12 fin/inch i.e. 4.72 fins/cm of 0.145 mm thickness with copper tubes of 13 mm on a vertical Row Tube Spacing of 38 mm and horizontal Face Tube Spacing of 33 mm.

As the air flowing at 2 m/sec enters the fins, it has to accelerate up to 2.18 m/ sec to maintain the rate due the blockage of the free cross section area. If we also consider that there are 61 face rows of tubes, the available free area is further squeezed down and the resultant inner coil velocity goes up to 3.76 m/sec.

How does a bio-film build-up affect the performance? If the bio-film thickness is 0.38 mm (i.e. half the thickness of a common paper sheet) on the fin and tube surfaces, this will reduce the free area down some more and increase the velocity up to 4.03 m/sec. What will this increase of 0.27 m/sec (4.03-3.76) mean to pressure drop ? Well, surprisingly, not much. Calculation shows that the pressure drop of his fouled coil will increase by only 18 Pascal or 1.8 mm of water column which is hardly noticeable and quite difficult to measure.

This means that when a high pressure drop due to fouling is observed, a coil is then extremely fouled.

If we now consider the effects of biofilm fouling on the heat transfer coefficient, we will see that this is where the performance loss is significant. Although the apparent face area of the coil described above is only 8 m2 , its total fin surface is a stunning 1,972 m2 which represents the area of 7 ½ tennis courts or half an acre!

A cooling coil is a liquid to air heat exchanger and as such its heat duty Q is the product of a heat transfer coefficient U, a heat transfer surface A, and the temperature difference between the hot air and the cooling fluid often called “delta T”and written ∆T. Hence the well-known basic heat transfer formula: Q= U A ∆T When a tiny biofilm builds up on a coil, it adds an insulating layer on the heat transfer surfaces. This additional layer

reduces the heat transfer coefficient U. Because the physical heat transfer surface cannot be changed, in order to maintain the heat exchange duty Q, only the temperature differential ∆T can be increased to compensate.

The only way to do this consists in decreasing the cooling fluid temperature and consequently make the whole HVAC system (compressors, chillers, auxiliary equipment, etc.) work harder to produce a cooler fluid. Otherwise, the cooling heat duty of the coil is lost in the same proportion as the heat transfer coefficient reduction.

Now let’s look at how much drop in heat duty a 0.4 mm biofilm can cause.

Such as biofilm is hardly visible as it is about half the thickness of a paper sheet.

Straightforward fluid flow calculations show that this thin biofilm will have a negligible impact on the coil pressure drop and therefore goes on unnoticed unless the coil fouling is extremely severe. Nevertheless, this tiny biofilm coating will significantly interfere the heat transfer efficiency.

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The flow in the small gap between fins has a low enough Reynolds number to be laminar and as such a constant Nusselt number can be used to calculate the convective heat transfer coefficient.

The overall heat transfer coefficient U is calculated by adding the thermal resistance of the biofilm to the air boundary layer convective resistance.

U= 1 1+t h k Where h = convective heat transfer coefficient of the air stream on the clean fins k = thermal conductivity of the biofilm material t = biofilm thickness Using well-known heat transfer data from available literature, the clean U value of the coil described above is found to be around 42 W/m2/ºC. The presence of our 0.4 mm biofilm that has a thermal conductivity of 0.005 W/m/K brings this number down to 33 W/m2/ºC, hence a huge loss of 21% of the heat transfer coefficient U! To maintain the heat duty performance of the coil, the temperature differential must be increased by the same ratio. This will be done by lowering the cooling fluid temperature which will negatively impact the coefficient of performance (COP) of the chiller. In order to be conservative in estimating the consequential reduction of the COP value, we will consider that the system trend is proportional to the best possible case i.e. the ideal Carnot cycle, which can be written as follows: COP

᷈

Th Th-Tc

Where: Th = Temperature of the Hot environment where heat is rejected Tc = Temperature of the chiller Cooling fluid Hence the new COP will be calculated according to the following relation: COPnew = Th-Tc COP

Th-Tc_new Based on the above, the COP will decrease from 3.0 down to 2.81.

This drop in COP will cause the energy consumption of the cooling system to increase by 6.9 % to compensate for the fouling of the coil.

Based on the 20 years of field experience and the above described fundamental physical principles of heat transfer and fluid flow applied to HVAC coils, Sanuvox Technologies has programmed a detailed engineering calculation to estimate the energy savings by keeping coils free of biofilms and the consequential return on investment.

INPUT PARAMETERS OF THE HEAT TRANSFER CALCULATION Here is an overview of all the parameters involved in the calculation and a brief description of their importance and impact on the final result.

RETURN ON INVESTMENT Applying the heat duty based calculation program on the cooling coil described above provides a payback of a 13 MONTHS. The payback will be faster for systems with: • larger heat transfer surface (width, height, thickness, number of fins per inch) • higher electricity cost • higher % operating load • higher % operating time • higher relative humidity/dehumidifying process • lower cooling system COP value

COMMENTS ABOUT THE CALCULATION INPUT PARAMETERS 1) C oil height, width and thickness are essential values along with the number of fins per inch to calculate the heat transfer surface A of the coil. An error on any of these 3 parameters will significantly and proportionally affect the final operating cost. Great care must be taken for these values.

2) Air temperatures in and out as well as cooling fluid temperatures in and out are used in the calculation of the temperature differential ∆T and since they are the second multiplier in the heat duty equation, they will affect directly the final operating cost.

Also very important to have reasonably accurate values.

OUTPUT OF THE HEAT TRANSFER CALCULATION

3) Cost of electricity is very important, needless to say. The higher it is the better the return on investment by keeping the coil performance to its optimum.

4) % Operating Time: the real cooling requirements (not free cooling) typically occurs during the hottest season. A season theoretically lasts 25% of the year, but the real cooling season can be as small as 15% of the year (i.e. about 50 days) in northern climates such as Canada and be as high as 80% of the year as we get near the equator.

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We suggest to pick 25% as a default guess value. Here again, it will directly affect the final operating cost and should be revised accordingly if the cost seems too high or too low.

Here’s a suggested list of values based on reported monthly Cooling Degree-Days (CCD)1 from the literature: Canada and North USA:

15%

Mid USA:

25%

Southern USA:

50%

Australia: 50% 5) % Operating Load: given that HVAC engineers design the systems based on average local climate conditions, there is a significant safety margin taken in the design. Therefore, in extremely rare hot conditions, the operating load can occasionally reach 90% of installed capacity, but in general, the average operating load throughout the cooling season is expected to be somewhere around 60% + or – 10%. Here again, it will directly affect the final operating cost and should be revised accordingly if the cost seems too high or too low.

6) C OP: Coefficient of Performance of the chiller unit that supplies the cold fluid for the coil. This value is the ratio of the amount of free energy that a heat pump can grab in the ambient outside air to the energy consumption required to drive the cycle. It varies considerably from as low as 1.5 for small single stage heat pumps used in light commercial/ residential units up to 5 for large industrial ultra-efficient cooling cycles. A conservative default value of 3 is used in the calculation. Its value will significantly affect the final operating cost.

7) B iofilm thickness is a default value that should not be played with too much. It has been set conservatively at a default value of 0.38 mm which is less than half a standard paper sheet. Its value can have evidently a huge effect on performance and final results.

8) All the other parameters do not have as much impact on the final results and unless there are very clear and specific information provided by the clients, they shall remain untouched at their default values.

USING UV LIGHT TO MAINTAIN COIL EFFICIENCY UV coil cleaning can bring performance back to the original operating conditions.

Typical coil cleaning methods include chemical treatments and/ or steam cleaning. However, recent evidence suggests that both

36

methods can be ineffective. Chemical cleaning may only remove surface growth while leaving material still embedded in the centre of the fin pack. Some reports indicate that high pressure steam cleaning can actually force the surface growth deeper in the fin pack compressing the growth material so tightly that the only solution may be a new coil. Both methods can also be detrimental to most of today's heat transfer enhanced fins surfaces.

Coil cleaning is certainly necessary, but cannot be done economically with the frequency and level that will keep the coil operating at design conditions on a daily basis. In essence, with UV-C lights, coil cleaning becomes a continuous, automatic and labour-free alternative. The UV-C light works by attacking the DNA of the mold and rendering it sterile so that it cannot reproduce.

UV-C technology is not new, as it has proven itself for years as a way to provide sterilisation in medical and food processing applications.

The effectiveness of the UV-C light is a function of the light intensity and exposure time. Aluminum coil fins are a good reflective surface and, as a result, the UV-C energy is capable of penetrating three- and four-row coils with excellent results.

Given continuous exposure, UV-C lights can clean up a coil already contaminated by mold growth and keep the coil cleaner far better than any other methods. Comparing physical cleaning methods to the use UV-C light is analogous to the difference between treating the symptoms rather than curing the disease.

REFERENCES 1. Definition of 'Cooling Degree Day - CDD' The number of degrees that a day's average temperature is above 18o C and people start to use air conditioning to cool their buildings.To calculate the CDD, take the average temperature of a day and subtract 18. For example, if the day's average temperature is 30ºC, its CDD is 12. If every day in a 30 day month had an average temperature of 30ºC, the month's CDD value would be 360 (12 x 30).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Normand Brais holds a mechanical engineering degree, a Master of Applied Sciences, and a PhD in Nuclear Engineering from Polytechnique of Montreal.

He was appointed Professor at the Energy Engineering Institute after he graduated. He has founded several technological companies in various fields such as atmospheric pollution due to stationary combustion equipment, biomass combustion, water treatment, photonics, and air/surface UV disinfection. In 1995 he founded Sanuvox Technologies, which is now a worldwide technological leader in UV disinfection of air and surfaces for hospitals and office buildings.

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REGULATION UPDATE APRIL 2016

DEREK HENDRY I THE HENDRY GROUP

AUST – CALCULATING TOOL – HVAC RATING TOOL

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free Calculating Cool conceived by AIRAH is now online as a benchmarking tool that provides hotel engineers with a simple yet effective way to find out how efficient their building’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are, and identify areas for improvements.

This Calculating Cool uses a combination of quantitative and qualitative data inputs to measure HVAC energy efficiency and the potential for improvements in areas including maintenance, documentation, user satisfaction, commissioning and tuning.

It can help building owners or managers and other users discover how to make significant improvements to HVAC energy efficiency in a commercial office building of any size or grade. Also, it has been designed to be used alongside national programs such as Green Star and NABERS and can be used to identify areas to improve ratings.

AUST – TENANTS AND BUILDING PERMITS

AUST – PREMISES STANDARDS AND THE PRINCIPAL PEDESTRIAN ENTRANCE

Tenants Cause Fire Safety Upgrades

Hotel engineers should note that there is no definition in the Building Regulations, Standards or the Building Code of Australia for the ‘Principal Pedestrian Entrance’ for a hotel; we need to refer to the Premises Standards Guide.

The Guideline on the Application of the Premises Standards however states ‘The principal pedestrian entrance is required to be accessible in all cases because it would be the most commonly used entrance by all building users”. In a building however, where the rear entrance from a carpark is normally used by a majority of persons attending the building by car, the front entrance would still be considered the principal pedestrian entrance since not all persons will travel by car and the use of the rear entrance would discriminate against those persons who do not use this mode of transport For the construction of a new building, the Building Code of Australia requires under Clause D3.2 for access for people with a disability to be provided to the building from the allotment boundary, from another building on the allotment and from an accessible car parking space on the allotment. Alterations however to an existing building that requires an “affected

38

part” upgrade under the Premises Standards, only applies to the principal pedestrian entrance and therefore does not apply to the existing access ways to the entrance from the allotment boundary, another building on the allotment or from an accessible car parking space on the allotment. The principal pedestrian entrance only includes the doorway, external steps and ramps which are associated with the entrance and which forms part of the building.

Tenants in a hotel typically want to change their tenancies by either altering the building or their partitioning layout, at times without obtaining a building permit under the building regulations. Depending on lease requirements pertinent to building regulations and planning control, occupiers must obtain the owner’s/manager’s approval before applying for building approvals, commencing work or affecting an essential safety measure under the building regulations.

This is where the a hotels troubles can commence. A lot of building owners/hotel managers and their representatives cause a fire safety upgrade from an authority to occur because they do not pay sufficient attention to the house rules, even when they exist. This basically means the tenant has a free hand to communicate with consultants, controlling authorities and contractors as they see fit, and sometimes ignoring the building regulations in trying to obtain the necessary building permit.

A tenant has the potential to cause significant financial grief for the hotel manager by not appreciating the building regulation requirements applicable to a building when initiating an application for a building permit, or they commence building works without a permit or change the use of a portion of the building. Sometimes a tenant gains an advantage by ignoring the building regulation requirements.

Extent of Alteration Reflect Full Compliance An area of concern for hotel managers/engineers under the building regulations is when proposed alterations exceed more than 50 percent by volume or where the building has fire safety deficiencies, such issues can trigger a requirement for the whole building to comply with all the current building regulations before a building permit can be issued (the whole of the

Building Code of Australia). The Victorian building regulations stipulate alterations in volume to be aggregated together in a three year period, other states have no time limits applicable.

Some building surveyors include simple partition changes in the volume calculations, while other building surveyors only calculate the volume associated with a refurbishment which includes significant modifications to services when assessing an application for a building permit.

If an tenant is allowed to approach a building surveyor or building certifier for a building permit under the building regulations and the “combined” alterations (yours and other tenants alterations are aggregated) exceed 50 percent by volume, then the building surveyor may require the whole building to comply with today’s building regulations. Hotel managers/engineers should obtain advice prior to allowing a tenant to proceed with a building permit application.

Forced Building Upgrades Due to Alterations

restraints and other tenants are involved. The proposed works may even have to be abandoned.

This generally leads to two significant problems for the hotel manager/engineer. Firstly the tenant is obviously very unhappy (maybe a new occupier trying to renovate or move in) and secondly the municipal building surveyor is made aware of the hotels situation if the application for a building permit is withdrawn.

If the original building permit application was made directly to the council then the municipal building surveyor will already be aware that the building lacks significant fire life safety measures, and the building subject to a building notice. If the application is made to a private building surveyor (certifier) then legislation requires the certifiers to refer “dangerous buildings” to the council for their adjudication or at least require the building surveyor to determine the adequacy of the building’s fire safety measures in assessing the building permit application.

If a hotel building contains inadequate existing fire life safety measures then under a building permit application it may be required to undergo a building upgrade for all fire life safety measures. This can be very costly, especially when lease

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42

ROOM DEAL

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Upon submission of your Exhibitor Contract, details and promotion link will be issued.

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TERMS AND CONDITIONS

QT Hotel Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast, Queensland

4-5 AUGUST 2016

UPDATE CONFERENCE

ADVERTORIAL

ENDUROSHIELD

MAKING ACCOMMODATION CLEANING EASIER EnduroShield™ a permanent protective coating for Glass, Tiles & Grout and Stainless Steel is the secret in helping accommodation providers have pristine clean accommodation for their guests.

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he once only permanent application will help reduce staff CLEANING TIME BY UP TO 90%, one of the tasks staff hate most is cleaning the Shower Screen and Shower Tiles & Grout.

There is now a solution to make cleaning a breeze. An Australian made product EnduroShield™ is a revolutionary nonstick invisible coating for Shower Screens and Tiles & Grout. Similar to a non-stick fry pan, cleaning is made easier using only a mild detergent and water, eliminating the need for those hard cleaners that are harmful to the environment. Shower soap scum and hard water etching onto the glass are now a thing of the past thanks to EnduroShield™.

EnduroShield™ for Glass not only cuts down cleaning time, but also protects the glass from staining and etching caused by the buildup of soap scum and mineral deposits. The superior protection also helps prevent mould and harmful bacteria from forming, promoting a germ free environment.

EnduroShield™ Tiles & Grout is a revolutionary non-stick, invisible coating for Ceramic, Porcelain and Vitrified tiles.

The ‘once only application’ not only seals

the tiles and grout but makes the surface easier to clean by up to 90%.

When applied professionally the EnduroShield™ application is provided with a manufactures warranty of 10 years on glass and 5 years for tiled surfaces.

EnduroShield Queensland will work with your staff to demonstrate the appropriate cleaning techniques to enable the surface to be cleaned correctly and quickly.

EnduroShield Queensland also provide a glass restoration service, so if your shower screens are unsightly or can’t be cleaned our restoration service will make

the glass new again at a fraction of the replacement price. Along with minimal disruptions to room bookings it makes sense to restore and have EnduroShield™ applied to the Shower Screens.

So if you have shower cleaning problems, unsightly glass surfaces and need expertise help from the industry leaders then you need EnduroShield Queensland to provide the correct solution for you.

For further information you can contact EnduroShield Queensland on 1300 720 106, (07) 3287 1885 or email qld@enduroshield.com or visit www.enduroshield.com

FOR A FREE TRIAL AND SITE CONSULTATION FOR YOUR GLASS, TILES & GROUT AND STAINLESS STEEL PLEASE CALL 1300 720 106

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LIVING AND WORKING IN CLEAN AIR AS NATURE INTENDED

Nature has its own method of cleaning air of odours, bacteria and virus besides simple dispersion.

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hey are known as Hydroxyls or Hydroxyl Clusters and are found mostly at average mountain top heights especially on sunny days.

Ozone is also nature’s odour and pathogen killer, but is also poisonous to all forms of life at the concentrations required to be effective, whilst Hydroxyls are not.

Nature has seen it fit to make our bodies immune to hydroxyls whilst leaving them extremely effective in killing single celled organisms such as bacteria, virus, mould and fungus spores.

Hydroxyls can be easily reproduced by today’s technology from compact devices and is employed already in Hospitals, Food Manufacturing, Nursing Homes, Office blocks and a wide range of other applications to improve air quality and rid the air of airborne pathogens such as respiratory diseases and other bacteria that may contaminate and spread in food products or by surface contact with humans etc.

Hydroxyls are also effective against a range of odours. They will eliminate ammonia based odours in roughly half the time it takes by natural dispersion.

Hydroxyls are effective against Ethylene gas as well which is the gas given off by fruit and vegetables to promote ripening – bananas can be retarded from browning up to an extra four days by being stored in an area being controlled by a hydroxyl generator.

Waste and decomposition gases can also be reduced by the presence of hydroxyls, and testing is currently underway for controlling obnoxious odours for

Veterinarians and Pet accommodations – particularly Catteries.

Hydroxyls have proven results in deodorising smoking smells.

Hydroxyls have been known about and researched for some 100 years since Louis Pasteur first discovered them whilst researching why people living at high altitudes in sunny conditions were generally healthier than people living at sea level.

Since then such organisations as the British Army have researched Hydroxyls as a method of combating germ warfare in the late 60’s and all papers and studies have confirmed the benefits of using Hydroxyls, but not been able to reproduce them by compact means.

It’s only in the last decade that technology has caught up with science and it’s been made possible to produce hydroxyls from a compact generator.

What is a hydroxyl? It’s a water molecule (H²O) missing one of its Hydrogen atoms and because it’s in an unbalanced state, it seeks to replace its missing Hydrogen atom.

These hydroxyl (OH-) molecules are attracted to single celled organisms in the air and on surfaces, attach to them and forcibly rip a Hydrogen atom from the cell wall.

They are now H²O again – harmless water molecules.

In the meantime, the cell wall of the organism has been ruptured and like a popped balloon, it dies.

This is a very simple mechanical action.

Bacteria & virus cannot become immune to it. Further, the Hydroxyl is indiscriminate on what Bacteria & Virus it chooses and thus they work on every and all strains.

Several companies have hydroxyl generators on the market using different methods – all but one requiring consumables or servicing or both.

By far the most successful method passes air through a small cold plasma field to produce hydroxyls which then are distributed throughout the space by a strong fan. They do not require any maintenance or consumables other than electricity, and so they can be mounted high on a wall or from a ceiling to get maximum coverage across the space concerned.

They use the natural water molecules in the air all around us and do not require topping up or chemicals or any other medium to perform their function in generating Hydroxyls.

REFERENCES: “Science Summit. Ozone Olefins and environmental contamination” by Prof DC Ellwood B.Sc., Ph.D “The impact of air quality on productivity and health in the workplace” by Jukes Jenkins and Laws (workplace environmental science and research association 1998) “Air Ions and Human Performance” LH Hawkins and T Barker (Ergonomics 1978 Vol 21 Xo 273-278) Hydroxyl and Air Purification, by Howard D. Lash The Journal of Microbiology, June 2006

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INTERNATIONAL HOTEL FEATURE

JANNAH HOTELS AND RESORTS TO BREAK GROUND ON NEW FIVE-STAR HOTEL WITH NO CHECK-IN QUEUE GUARANTEED

Jannah Hotels and Resorts is to start construction on a new five-star hotel that will make the reception check-in queue a thing of the past.

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he UAE-based hotel developer and operator will break ground on its seventh hotel, Jannah Creek Dubai, a 152-room establishment that is scheduled to open in 2018 in the premium Creek area.

Jannah Creek Dubai will offer a multitude of innovative features, including a unique check-in experience with no sign of the usual timeconsuming queues and document signing at a reception desk.

Instead, weary travellers arriving at the luxury hotel will be greeted by one of Jannah's renowned Karim â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the guest's very own personal genie â&#x20AC;&#x201C; who will carry out the check-in on a tablet device as he shows them to their room.

After enjoying their welcome drink, guests will be invited to use an ingenious QR code that, once scanned, will take them to a video that will introduce the features and amenities of the room and the hotel.

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INTERNATIONAL HOTEL FEATURE

Nehme Imad Darwiche, Chief Executive Officer of Jannah Hotels and Resorts, said: “As well as delivering a truly five-star product, Jannah Hotels and Resorts believes in embracing technology to provide an ultra-modern service that offers our guests more time to sit back, relax and enjoy their stay.

“We wanted our guests’ experience to be as smooth and hassle-free as possible, right from the moment they arrive. What better way to eliminate the wait to check-in at reception than removing reception altogether?

The Karim service, a unique feature of the Jannah brand, is available 24 hours a day to provide personalised attention to each guest without intrusion.

The Karim service includes general assistance, such as wake-up calls followed by tea or coffee, arranging for medical pillows, and helping newcomers with anything from car purchases to finding a suitable school for their children.

The philosophy of modern Bedouin hospitality has given Jannah many of its most unique characteristics. Service in his hotels, CEO Nehme Imad Darwiche explains, is run by a series of ‘Karim butlers’. ‘There are no name tags, everyone is called ‘Karim’, which means ‘generous’ in Arabic.’

The system, he explains, runs on internal software called ‘Just Ask’. Guests can make all requests to ‘Karim’ via WhatsApp. The details are then processed by an internal call centre, which can see where staff are located (like pins on a map, which Darwiche equates to the Uber system).

The guest’s request can then be forwarded on to the nearest member of staff.

Hence the need for Jannah staff to multi-task.

Guests care about how long it takes to check in after a long flight, how long porters take to bring the bags to the room, and how much time porters take explaining how TVs and lighting work in the room.

To answer this, Jannah has developed iPad check-in for guests. “I walked into an Apple Store, and there was no cashier. I thought, we could check people in on an iPad, we don’t need a desk.” Jannah staff, he adds, are told not to spend time taking guests through every amenity in the room on arrival. “If the guest really wants to know, there is a video tutorial on the TV they can watch.”

Jannah’s new smart hotel will follow the example of its 18-storey Jannah Burj Al Sarab in Abu Dhabi, which offers features such as the fastest Wi-Fi available at any hotel in the world. Its 1.2 Gigabit per second (Gbps) speed, putting it ahead of every other hotel to have tested its speed on the website www.hotelwifitest.com, which tests and rates Internet speeds available at hotels around the globe.

Some of the more sustainable features are:

1. ROOM MANAGEMENT SYSTEM • This eco-friendly system offers one touch comfort for the guests, where they can control lighting & cooling at the touch of the button • Key card – power ON & power OFF for non-essentials Window Contact System: Part of the guest room management system, once windows open the fan coiling unit goes to sleeping mode, and fans shut off (energy and power saving)

Make My Room: Connected to the panel at the front of house, this option can interface with most of the property management system Graphics Panel Available in the control room with various reports, graphs and

back of the house info to analyse and improve performance Thermostat There is an icon on touch panel to use ECO mode. On this mode, the consumption is economically reduced to insure that the mode is not on AUTO

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INTERNATIONAL HOTEL FEATURE

3. WINDOWS PANELS The hotel uses heat reduction films and screens

4. SOLAR PANELS The region has long summer and longer day light; so to maximise efficiency the hotel uses solar powered water heater uses thermal energy with back up of electrical source.

Solar collectors absorb and retain solar thermal energy for central heating of the property.

The boilers have back-up for alternative of electrical source of solar energy. Electrical will act as a backup usually electrical calorifier have very high energy consumption.

5. LED • LED TV: Philips TVs are designed to minimise power consumption. This will not only reduce environmental impact but also lower operating costs.

• LED sign boards

6. STAIRCASE LIGHT • Push lights on for particular time delay then lights go off except during fire except emergency then it will override on

7. DIGITAL SIGNAGE SYSTEM • Available to use for ads to be broadcasted in property

8. BUILDING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (SIEMENS) • To control HVAC with pre-set control philosophy (it can run unmanned) • Ability to schedule operation of coding equipment • Can interface with fire alarm, generators, upstate power and lift

2. LIGHTING CONTROL SYSTEM The lighting in the basement, ground floor, lobby, mezzanine, gym and roof is driven on the motion detector operator which can always be controlled from work station and control room. It also has a remote control on/off option.

LED lights Consumption is ¼ of the standard. While the purchase cost is higher, but the additional cost can be overcome in one year in energy savings. The overall result:

9. EASY LINE LAUNDRY AND GARBAGE CHUTES • Using the chutes to avoid traffic on elevators • Just toss your laundry into the nearest laundry chute door and it will make its way directly to the laundry basket next to the washing machine. The Easyline Laundry Chute System is a well thought out, pluggable pipe system that is easy to install and maintenance free.

10. CO DETECTORS • Installed in basement to monitor carbon monoxide emission

• Less heat dissipation • more lumens • minimal energy consumption

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SLIPPERY WHEN WET

PAUL ANGUS I HYDRAULIC AND FIRE DISCIPLINE LEADER AT ERBAS & ASSOCIATES IN SYDNEY

Facility managers always have a significant amount of priorities requiring their daily attention, unfortunately grease management can often be overlooked.

Paul Angus, Hydraulic and Fire Discipline Leader at Erbas & Associates in Sydney, discusses how a non-compliant grease arrestor can potentially cause a facility to be forced with unnecessary shut-downs, face numerous fines, as well as potential loss of revenue causing damages to the corporate brand and reputation.

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ou’ll always remember your first time. The stench, it’s unmistakable. It’s truly unforgettable. It’s an experience that certainly stays with you forever! No matter how many times you are exposed, it’s like no other. If you’ve never had the opportunity to experience the results from an accumulation of fats, oils and grease (FOG), the main contents of a grease arrestor, especially one that has been incorrectly installed or maintained, then thank your lucky stars.

For me, my first encounter with a grease arrestor was as a young 18 year old apprentice plumber. As the novice, I was tasked with resolving the issue much to my journeyman’s amusement. I’ll save you the graphic details of the extremely smelly and the unbelievably sticky greasy waste I had encountered, all whilst confined to a small courtyard at the rear of an upmarket restaurant. No matter how many times you wash your hands, shower, and change of clothes the smell lingers with you for weeks after. Fast forward nearly 20 years, I was recently undertaking a due diligence survey in a large shopping mall, where a grease arrestor had been obviously neglected and poorly maintained for a significant length of time. Being located in a small room within a basement, where the mechanical ventilation system was not operational, resulted in the stench being horrendous, the floor was so sticky it felt as though I was walking on strips of Velcro, having to physically lift each foot, literally shedding a layer off the sole of my boots with each step. As with all hydraulic systems that are hidden from view, this particular grease arrestor room was clearly out of sight and out of mind, being so unhygienic that even the cockroaches had given up all hope of survival strewn in a large pile behind the door.

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What’s the worst that could possibly happen? For many of us, designing, commissioning and maintaining a trade waste installation within any type of facility in a safe and compliant manner requires careful consideration, which cannot be overlooked, without major repercussions. By not fully appreciating the maintenance regimes for that far room in the basement of your facility that nearly everyone mentions has that strange lingering odour, that zone where nobody dares ventures, where there is always a few spare car park spaces, could well have dire consequences.

Nearly all commercial facilities require some kind of trade waste drainage installation. In most circumstances, existing facilities containing trade waste installations undergo multiple refurbishments throughout the buildings design life. The challenge facing the facility manager is to ensure each new food outlet tenant achieves and maintains compliance with the most appropriate pre-treatment, prior to conveying to the local authority sewer drainage system Being unaware of the level of design compliance required, as well as often trusting sub-contractors undertaking tenant fit outs can distract the building owner or facility manager from optimising the client experience and, at worst, can become catastrophic complex issues. When adapting and converting lettable spaces from retail units to new food outlets will have a direct impact to the volume of the existing grease arrestor installed. Not only does this impact capital, lifecycle and maintenance cost, it also has an effect on the available spatial requirements that can impact available carpark spaces that could have been otherwise rented out. The facility manager can often been caught in the middle of corporate budgets, advice given from engineering design teams, sub-contractors, the client, as well as existing tenants.

The plumbing system doesn’t always get considered and can be perilously overlooked, that is until a problem occurs and when a problem occurs that involves a tenant with a large restaurant can lead to a very big headache for the facility manager. When designing a new building, the hydraulic consultant will be on hand to advise on the trade waste requirements, however when retrofitting, the tenant fit out team can often be focused on the latest or costliest piece of equipment within the kitchen, instead of focussing on dealing with and treating the grease that can inadvertently result in clogging the drainage system.

Some of the most common issues begin before the Facility Manager can have any influence at all, occurring early on at the design stage, often due to the wrong information being requested or provided. However, with any refurbishment within an existing building, the Facility Manager is a key influencer in determining the correct type of grease management system is installed, based upon their knowledge and experience of the facility. The most common issues that relentlessly occur in existing buildings involve locating food outlets distances too far from the existing grease arrestor.

This can be troublesome, due to the time taken for the grease waste to convey from the Commercial Kitchen area to the arrestor, in doing so the grease contained within the wastewater starts cooling down and solidifying. Over a short period of time, this causes blockages within the network, resulting in disruption of the facility and the tenant not being able to operate, foul odours entering the building, trade waste violations, all of which ultimately resulting in loss of revenue damages to the corporate brand and reputation. The location of the grease arrestor is paramount to ensure future servicing and maintenance for both emptying and cleaning periodically with little or minor disruption to the occupants.

Retrofitting within an existing facility can always be troublesome, however every problem has a solution. Means of overcoming this issue is simply installing a new grease arrestor in close proximity to the source, alternative methods involve heat tracing / insulating pipework, each case is always different. It’s important to consider the equipment and fixture selection, as well as the location. For hygiene reasons, the wastewater discharge can be a significant temperature discharging down the drainage pipework, often in excess of 70-75°C, making the pipework material selection of critical importance. The pipework is installed in straight lengths, but if the material has been incorrectly specified will result in pipework that will sag, due to being warped, not only causes future blockages, it can also be a hazard to the unbeknown occupants on the level below, who are at risk of scalding, should the pipework give way and burst.

Another issue of high temperature discharge located in close proximity to the grease arrestor can cause the grease effluent being flushed straight through the trap. This is an example of poor design and one of which we remedied

recently as an independent survey on a prolific building in Bondi, Sydney with multiple restaurants and takeaway food outlets that was overcome by reconfiguring the pipework arrangement. Grease bypassing the trap will cause further issues down the line, in particular with the local water authority. An example of this recently occurred in the City of London, UK which is plagued with incorrect trade waste installations. Congealed fat, oils, wet wipes and domestic waste that enters the drainage system often result in large deposits or “fatbergs’ floating within the sewer system. In 2015, it was reported, in The Guardian Newspaper that a 10 tonne fatberg had been removed from the ageing sewer system, taking over 2 months to remove and costing the Thames Water Authority in excess of $800,000, resulting in the clamping down of food outlets and fines being imposed as a direct result. Various Local water authorities in Australia have begun marketing campaigns to raise awareness of disposing of FOG’s within the sewer system.

So how can we avoid taking shortcuts? The majority of contractors and shop fitters are reliable and professional, however a good design doesn’t always result in the best installation, or vice versa. The cheapest option is not always the right option to gain compliance. Always look to conduct a long term workable solution, which will benefit the client and tenant alike, as well as keep servicing and maintenance contracts to a minimum. No matter how large or small any fit out is, it’s always recommended to engage an independent consultant to advise upon issues of compliance with standards and codes, providing piece of mind for both the new tenant and building Facility Manager.

As with all systems the key to a successful design in to consider the whole lifecycle of the system installed, its usage and preparing a regular and routine maintenance regime.

In any trade waste installation, the key to avoiding blocked pipework is training of staff. Instigating control measures to avoid large particles entering the trade waste system is crucial. Avoiding the discharge of cooking oil entering the system requires designated areas for storing and preventing spillage. Generally, grease arrestors require cleaning every 3 months, although each case varies and fully dependent upon the storage available and usage. In the majority of cases, the local water authority will require a trade waste agreement and be subject to spot checks. However, it is the Facility Managements responsibility to ensure regular preventative maintenance is undertaken, to avoid costly reactive repairs afterwards.

Paul Angus is the Hydraulic and Fire Discipline Leader at Erbas & Associates.

Paul has strong commercial and technical capability in developing and delivering hydraulic design strategies and solutions. He specialises in providing a sustainable approach to system design, including water conservation, recycling and generating innovative engineering solutions.

For more information contact: www.erbas.com.au

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ORGANISATIONAL SECURITY STANDARDS

SIMON HENSWORTH I BSC (SECURITY SCIENCE) ICCP (ADVANCED)

M

ost large organisations today were grown over a significant period of time. As an organisation grows so too do the arrangements the organisation employs to maintain its security and business continuity. If security is managed reactively, to address specific security issues as and when they arise, over time this can grow inefficiencies and difficulties in management of the security system as a whole.

Issues can include: • Treatment of low level security issues but failure to identify potentially larger more critical risks that have not yet been realised.

• Employing a range of different security technologies and devices of various makes and models such as physical security, cameras, card readers, PIRs, reed switches or locks, which can complicate records, maintenance and storage of spares.

• Organisations with multiple sites may employ different security headend systems at each site, such as Access Control or CCTV management and recording systems.This can also lead to more difficult issues such as not being able to remotely monitor multiple sites due to incompatible CCTV systems, or staff needing to carry multiple access cards to access more than one site.

• Reactive “quick-fixes” to security issues may be undertaken without suitable records of changes. A lack of accurate documentation that records exactly what technologies exist can lead to over reliance on service provider knowledge and a loss of in-house control and management of security.

To assist in overcoming these issues an organisation should consider developing in-house security standards to formalise how security is planned, managed, rolled out and documented to maintain uniformity and compatibility across all security systems.

Organisational security standards should include consideration of the following issues.

• Responsibilities for security. oA standard should map out the roles and reporting structure of those individuals who have a direct responsibility for security planning, management and enforcement.

o Standards may also detail the actions or programs used to maintain organisational security awareness and reinforce organisation-wide that security ultimately is the responsibility of all employees.

• Risk Criteria. oP ublicly available risk management guidance material provides examples of risk criteria which is often directly adopted by organisations without careful consideration about what the likelihood and consequence scales really reflect about their organisation. For example, the seriousness of certain events, the realistic consequences of certain events, and whether there is consistency in the escalation of consequences when calculated against likelihood. o Organisational Security Standards should formalise the likelihood and consequence scales the organisation uses as risk criteria to accurately reflect how the organisation realistically views security risk.

• Risk Assessment. o How security risks are identified and weighed so that security can be proactive and minimise loss rather than reactive and incur the original loss from an incident plus the cost of the reactionary expenditure on security.

When security is more reactionary than proactive, it can result in an organisation putting off the implementation of security strategies until after an incident has occurred.

In this situation the organisation incurs the cost of implementing the security strategies plus the cost of the loss due to the incident. When security is proactive, accurately assessed and security risks are identified and strategies implemented to prevent an incident occurring the organisation saves the cost (loss) of the incident.

• Incident Records. o Security incidents are often not reported or recorded. o Standards can formalise how security incidents should be identified and recorded so they are useful in determining required investment in security to minimise loss. o Incident records can be distributed to key personnel to assist in building intelligence about organisational vulnerabilities, levels of loss and reinforce the importance

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and performance of the organisations security arrangements.

camfil solutions for guaranteed performance

• Standard security technologies. o Certain specific security technologies may better suit the organisation’s operating environment, or may have performed particularly well in the past. These technologies may suit being made the standard selected for use organisation wide. o Organisations that have grown over time and employ a range of different security technology types may have the advantage of knowing which particular technology types have performed best over time. A newer organisation may elect to test particular devices before making a significant investment and selecting a standard.

• Documentation. o Standard processes for ensuring that security documentation is produced, reviewed and updated regularly can assist in tracking and managing the organisation-wide security system. It can also assist in review of potential vulnerabilities and planning future security additions.

• Compliance. o How the organisation will ensure compliance with relevant industry and local legislation. All organisations will require an assessment of the local legislation to ensure that security arrangements are suitably compliant, such as security licensing, surveillance laws, safety and liability issues. Particular industries may also have specific compliance issues that impact on how security arrangements need to be managed.

While “quick fixes” may be the cheapest and easiest option to solve a current security issue, over reliance on this methodology can lead to major inefficiencies and poor organisational security performance over time. Organisational security standards can assist an organisation in more accurately identifying and assessing security issues, more cost-effectively managing these issues, and with standardised documented measures that can be more easily rolled out and maintained.

NOTE: The issues discussed in this publication are of a general nature for the purposes of increasing Security Awareness throughout industry and the wider community. It is recommended that organisations undertake their own security risk assessments in order to determine the most appropriate action and arrangements to minimise loss and maximise their security performance.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

CLEAN AIR SOLUTIONS

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Simon is a Senior Engineer and Security Consultant with Engineering Technology Consultants – ETC. Simon has over 12 years’ experience in providing security advice, design and consultancy services for a range of clients with major assets in Western Australia. He is a registered Security Professional on the Australasian Security Professionals Registry and one of 10 CPTED practitioners certified by the International Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Association (ICA), worldwide. Simon is involved in all aspects of Security Management, security design and documentation, CPTED and promoting Security Awareness.

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POOL FEATURE

SWIMMING POOLS SHOULD BE BUILT TO LAST

FRED GRAY I TECHNICAL SERVICE MANAGER, LATICRETE

L

ike great food and dining experiences, swimming pools are a major part of the overall pitch by hotels to help fill the rooms with satisfied guests. Although generally behind closed doors the kitchen is an important part of ensuring the gastronomic delights are deliver. The swimming pools however are front and centre are and directly used by the guests. Both are extremely important in terms of health and amenity for the hotel management so it is important that they are built to last and that they maintain a high level of safe serviceability.

Swimming pools are required to be constantly monitored to maintain safe level of water for the guests but also for the longevity of the interior finish and structure itself. Out of balanced water can be quite devastating on pool interiors and over the years I have come across some very surprising results of chemically overdosed or incorrectly balanced pool water. So having structures and linings that can withstand or resist these abnormal water conditions is very important for the serviceable life of a pool.

One way of achieving this is by constructing the pool lining or finish from inert materials like ceramic or glass tiles in combination with an epoxy grout. Unlike renders or other masonry bound interiors, they remain more unaffected and serviceable by changing water chemistry, resulting in more enduring lining when compared to most others. In fact it is often said that a tiled interior with epoxy grout is the most cost effective pool lining over the life of the pool. I certainly believe that. It should be expected that tiled and epoxy grouted

interiors are there for decades and that they will maintain their great looks over this time with low maintenance requirements when compared to a lot of other interiors.

In the attached photograph, we have a case where a pool was tiled with glass mosaics tiles however initially grouted with a cement based grout. Water chemistry over a short period of time was sufficiently out of balance to slowly chemically damage and erode the cement grout. You can see in the photograph where the grout has completely vanished and where I could actually see the adhesive layer between the joints.

So not only was the grout damaged but eventually the tile adhesive was sufficiently exposed to the imbalanced water which could have resulted in the many loose tiles or sections of tiling that had to be replaced. Needless to say this resulted in a very inconvenient down time where the pool was out of use the hotel guests for some weeks.

important that clients and facility managers recognised there are purpose built shock resistant systems that are guaranteed not to break down or fail in these environments and they are different to other normal tiling systems.

In my view the resulting damage should have required the entire pool to be stripped of its tiles and then replaced with epoxy grout however the damage was fixed by replacing tiles and regrouting in the cement based grout as before. The problem has been put off for another day!

In other projects I have been involved, this temporary approach has resulted in more costs and delays down the track.

Tiling systems are extremely functional and offer sustainable solutions for critical facilities like swimming pools and kitchens facilities. Ensuring that they meet your needs, are well designed and built from the onset is the key to longevity and uninterrupted service. It is critically

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POOL FEATURE

AUTOMATION OF CHEMICAL DOSING AND WATER CHEMISTRY TESTING

ALEX BURKE I POOLWERX

How often do you walk past your pools and spas in your complex and think to yourself: “Wow they look great, but they’re a headache to maintain and time consuming.”

W

e’re all more than aware of our duty of care to our patrons and obligations of our needs to be compliant to our respective legislation/ACTs, standards, guidelines etc. It’s a busy and highly detailed part of managing a facility.

I mean, its tiring just thinking about it……

• You need to ensure that your barrier fencing and gates are up to specification, • Then you need to ensure your dangerous goods based chemicals kept onsite are stored safely and unlikely to create a chemical bomb

• Notwithstanding you need to check that pool related signage meets standards.

• (Take a breath.)

• Plus your plant and equipment must be reliable and up to spec and be free from the possibility of creating entrapment related conditions for guests, • And finally your pool and spa water needs to be healthy and free from diseases and illness.

And that’s just for one pool. You may be reading this and have 5 plus pools and spas on site. Wow what a task.

Of all the above mandatory pool compliance elements, there’s not one that’s more or less important than the other. You as the management team are required to offer a duty of care to your patrons. So one of the most visually obvious compliance areas, at least to your guests, is how the water looks and feels.

Usually your first complaint about a pool or spa will come from a guest who has sore eyes, or fell ill, or noticed that the pool was cloudy or even starting to turn green.

REDUCING WORK LOAD POOL SIDE Pool controllers, or also known as chemical controllers make pool and spa water maintenance a breeze, and in today’s age with cellular and android software based technology this part of pool maintenance just got a whole lot easier.

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A pool controller will keep your commercial pool looking sparkling clean, healthy for your guests, and most importantly compliant with your respective state based Commercial swimming pool laws and regulations.

There are now many excellent pool controllers on the market with state of the art technology. Functioning like your smart phone some of the new pool and spa controllers will manage/ control your pools and spas just like your smart phone now controls your TV and other part of your life.

The most obvious visual change and advantage is the ease of use with a built in 7 inch touch screen and intuitive menu system/interface.

Other key benefits include the ability to customise the pool controller to suit specific pool requirements via a wide range of sensors to both monitor and control parameters within the pool.

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Pool water so Pure, it’s like taking a swim in a natural sPring.

• Live data from the pool controller located in a Cloud server allows you to keep up to date with the important pool parameters including FAC (Free Available Chlorine), ORP, TDS, pH and water temperature • Not only do you have instant access to live data, but it will also retain historical data from your pool in the case of a health and safety incident.

• Pumps and heaters can also be remotely adjusted or controlled • You can also be alerted with an email or text message if one or more of the parameters are out of range, allowing prompt action.

a chlorine free swimming pool that’s free of odours and taste, soft and gentle on the skin – what’s more, no shower required after swimming. Just like a refreshing swim in a natural spring. great news for swimmers, people with allergies and asthma, the environment and the pool itself.

• It will also provide management of the facility visibility and control to assist in ease of compliance if necessary.

• All from your smart phone/tablet or from a PC Oh but there’s more, you can give remote access to your pool contractor/partner and they'll remotely monitor all the parameters and manage the pool/s on your behalf. This gives you more time to run your department strategically as opposed to being in your department pool side. Such remote access provides them with the tools to react proactively to reduce unwanted down time and keep your guests safe and happy whilst swimming in your pool.

THE DISCLAIMER www.hydroxypure.com only available for QlD, sa and nZ commercial pools

If you require any further information or want to discuss any other water management challenge, please don’t hesitate to contact the author alex.burke@poolwerx.com.au

www.waterco.com For more information, please contact your nearest Waterco branch for more details and availability.

NSW 02 9898 8686 SA 08 8244 6000

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Qld 07 3299 9900 WA 08 9273 1900

Now, let me make it clear this unit has functionality we would have only dreamed of 10 years ago. It will make your life a lot easier, and reduce opportunities of litigation and other compliance factors. The bad news is it won’t make you a coffee and won’t manage your staff. Sorry.

vic 03 9764 1211 NZ 09 525 7570

POOL FEATURE

OAKS HOTELS & RESORTS, ADELAIDE CREATING A SAFER SWIMMING ENVIRONMENT FOR GUESTS

“Many guests have commented on the clarity of the water… no chlorine smell or skin irritation associated with chlorinated pools.”

Waterco spokesperson David Hutton  RESPONDING TO NEGATIVE POOL REVIEWS WITH A CHLORINE-FREE SANITATION SOLUTION  OXIDISATION POTENTIAL OF HYDROXYPURE HIGHER THAN ANY OTHER SANITISER AGENT  DRAWING ON THE POWER OF NATURE TO PRODUCE OXYGENENRICHED WATER

CHALLENGES

I

n this era of user-generated content on travel websites like TripAdvisor, Adelaide’s Oaks Embassy recognises the power this can have on how consumers choose their accommodation. Part of the Oaks Hotels & Resorts hospitality group, Oaks Embassy in South Australia’s capital city was experiencing negative comments

from guests about its fully enclosed, 34,000-litre swimming pool – specifically the strong smell of chloramines – so to ensure these comments didn’t make their way on to social media, the operators decided to upgrade to a more advanced, chlorine-free pool sanitisation solution.

In addition, the hotel management wanted the ability to have the system

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POOL FEATURE

remotely monitored by a specialist, in order to ensure that the installation of the new technology was not going to lead to a stressful situation for the maintenance team on-site at the apartment hotel. It also needed to comply with the relevant South Australian Health Department guidelines and continue to meet performance standards to remain compliant.

SOLUTION

The Hydroxypure system continually sanitises your swimming pool by testing the water and automatically maintaining optimum levels of residual sanitiser.

In December 2014, Waterco’s Hydroxypure was retrofitted to the existing plant room along with two new Waterco Micron S602 ECO filters with Glass Pearl filter media. Endorsed by the National Asthma Council of Australia and approved by its Sensitive Choice ® program, Hydroxypure was the only alternative system capable of maintaining compliance with existing standards.

“Alternative products were considered but they were not a 100% chlorinefree alternative that could be remotely monitored,” said Waterco spokesperson David Hutton. “In addition, having the endorsement from the Sensitive Choice program was definitely an advantage.

Sensitive Choice® blue butterfly recognises products and services that support asthma and allergy care.

For Oaks Embassy residents and guests, the difference to the pool water is tangible. “Many have commented on the clarity of the water and their skin having no chlorine smell or dryness associated with chlorinated pools,” said David.

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BENEFITS Waterco’s naturally formulated Hydroxypure system uses a combination of Perox sanitiser (H202) and hybrid ozone (O3) in its Peroxone Treatment Process (PTP).

“This is considered the most significant innovation in pool treatment in 20 years,” said Waterco group marketing director Bryan Goh. “It’s known as the new treatment process of the 21st century because of the reaction’s ability to remove all bacterial threats. It’s far superior to other oxidation processes currently available to the swimming pool market.”

“Waterco is a recognised, global brand with an extremely good reputation for quality products – and that was also crucial in the decision process.

Hydroxypure’s Advance Oxidation Process has the superior ability to remove bacterial threats more effectively than any other oxidisation process currently available on the market.

Waterco’s multi award winning, MultiCyclone technology is incorporated into the Hydroxypure system. It maximises the strength of sanitisation by cleverly performing the dual role of mixing the ozone into the pool water and then providing adequate contact time with the water to be fully effective.

than three microns, providing superior quality water. The spherical shape of beads means less friction levels inside the filter, requiring only 20% of the water you would use to backwash a sand filter. They’re also chemically inert, safe, smooth and pure.

The Micron ECO features an internal hydraulically-efficient system, which is designed to facilitate energy and water savings. Its unique ‘fish tail’ laterals ensure better water flow distribution through the filter’s media bed, enhancing its filtration and backwashing efficiency.

Using Waterco’s Micron S602 ECO filter and Glass Pearl filter media was a perfect combination with the Hydroxypure system. The ECO filters represent the latest in fibreglass winding technology; they consist of an inner shell of fibreglass reinforced with multiple layers of continuous strands of fibreglass filaments.

Waterco’s Glass Pearls are made from pure glass, and filter out anything larger

2

Waterco’s Glass Pearls are manufactured from 100% pure glass and provide an extremely narrow particle size range, enabling the creation of a dense homogeneous filter media bed.

POOL FEATURE

Perox (H202) is a specially formulated blend of hydrogen peroxide – which is simply water with an extra oxygen molecule – that has been developed to work in unison with the Hydroxypure system to ensure perfectly sanitised water at all times

The use of ozone and Perox in harmony increases active oxygen levels in the water. This synergy ensures the safety of water environments without creating harmful chemical by-products.

Hydroxypure uses a combination of ozone and Perox sanitiser to create one of the most powerful oxidisers in nature.

“The oxidisation potential of Perox and ozone is much higher than any other sanitiser agent used in swimming pools,” Bryan explained. “The by-product of chlorine reacting with ammonia in the water is the formation of chloramines, which can result in stinging eyes and also affect asthma sufferers.”

Hydroxypure inventor, Nick Briscoe said detrimental comments about the swimming pool were now a thing of the past. “The Hydroxypure system has definitely satisfied all of the Oaks Hotel’s requirements,” he said.

incorporating a portfolio of 43 Australian properties across five states, Oaks Hotels & Resorts offers a unique blend of stylish city hotels in central, soughtafter locations and relaxed, resort style properties in some of Australia's most picturesque tourist destinations.

ABOUT OAKS HOTELS & RESORTS

Oaks Horizons is a spacious and stylish apartmentstyle hotel conveniently located on North Terrace in the heart of Adelaide’s CBD, opposite the Adelaide Convention Centre and Sky City Casino.

Oaks Hotels & Resorts is one of Australia's largest apartment accommodation providers. Currently

LEADERS IN IMPROVING WATER QUALITY IN COMMERCIAL POOLS RESORT & HOTEL POOL SOLUTION HYDROGUARD 302

TESTIMONIAL “We were constantly getting negative feedback about the chlorine smell in our indoor pool. Ozone 1 installed 2 pieces of equipment which alleviated this problem straight away; they installed a HG 302 Smart Controller and an Ozone Swim Pool Purification system. Since the installation of this equipment we have not had 1 single complaint”.

• Accurate online colourmetric monitoring • Automatic pH & chlorine control PARAMETERS • Free chlorine • Total chlorine • pH • ORP

• Turbidity • Temperature • Flow • TDS

JOHN BANKS – CHIEF ENGINEER, PALAZZO VERSACE

OZONE SWIM PURIFICATION SYSTEM

BENEFITS • No red eyes or itchy skin • Reduce chlorine & chloramine exposure • Healthy, crystal clear, odour free water • Reduce time & money on maintenance • Safe for allergy, asthma or eczema sufferers

TESTIMONIAL “After 3 months of operation we can already see advantages of the HG 302 Smart Controller when comparing it to our other two pools. With the HG 302 maintaining the pH and chlorine at optimum levels 24/7, our chemical usage and maintenance labour costs have decreased significantly”.

PETER FRAWLEY – MANAGER, Q1 RESORT & SPA

Ph: 1300 696 631 • Web: brauerindustries.com • Email: info@brauerindustries.com

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POOL FEATURE

IMPROVING

WATER QUALITY

JENNA MCLACHLAN I BRAUER INDUSTRIES

We all share similar memories of enjoying the water on a family holiday, especially here in Australia where surf, sea and sand make up a huge part of our lifestyle. Besides swimming for pleasure we also use public pools for rehabilitation and exercise and trust each facility to provide a clean, healthy swimming environment for us to enjoy.

U

nfortunately our swimming experience can sometimes be dampened by skin and eye irritation and the repelling odour of chlorine and its by-products. Sadly, not all hotel/resort pools comply with regulated water standards and in a lot of cases just don’t have the adequate equipment to maintain those standards, especially those that have a high volume of bathers.

In an online world where information is at our fingertips, negative feedback or complaints concerning water quality can certainly impact patron numbers as travellers are not only browsing for the best deal, they are looking for a quality venue where they can relax and unwind.

Give them the water they deserve!

BRAUER INDUSTRIES PTY LTD Brauer Industries is one of Australia’s leading manufacturers and distributors of Ozone technology for water sanitation and has a large range of innovative products that are on the cutting edge of water treatment technology.

These products include:

OZONE SWIM POOL PURIFICATION SYSTEMS As seen on Channel 7 News, Ozone Swim Pool Purification Systems use patented technology to rapidly destroy organics, impurities, bacteria and

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virus as well as chlorine by-products (chloramines) that are the known cause of skin, eye and respiratory irritations.

Ozone Swim systems are also remarkable due to the fact that they destroy chlorine resistant organisms such as Cryptosporidium.

In addition to being a natural flocculent, Ozone will not leave a chemical residual within your pool as once it has oxidised any unwanted pollutants (3500 times faster than chlorine), it breaks down into simple oxygen leaving your water noticeably softer. As Ozone purifies, chlorine levels can also be dramatically reduced therefore extending equipment life and reducing the amount of

balancing chemicals required.

The perfect environmentally friendly, low maintenance solution safe for allergy, Asthma an Eczema sufferers.

BLUE I – HYDROGUARD CHEMICAL CONTROLLERS If your facility has been looking for a pool sanitation system that accurately measures pool chlorine levels, sanitises water safely and effectively and also stores pool water chemistry data, the solution is a Blue I Hydroguard Controller. These chemical controllers operate by frequently testing water quality and chemically dosing to maintain water balance. This system is entirely

POOL FEATURE

ADVANCED OXIDATION PROCESS (AOP) Brauer Industries has developed a revolutionary line of Secondary AOP Disinfection Systems suitable for resort/ hotel pools. These AOP systems combine the powers of both Ozone and UV-C technology to produce one of the most reactive oxidising agents known to chemistry.

How it Works

automatic and very accurate; therefore ensuring your pool water quality is managed in compliance with regulations.

Relying on traditional ORP or Free Chlorine sensors to achieve water balance can at times be unreliable and labour-intensive. Hydroguard Blue I controllers use Colorimetric DPD technology to automatically and accurately determine both Free Chlorine & Total Chlorine measurements. A DPD1 and DPD3 test is conducted every ten minutes resulting in extremely consistent sanitation. This frequency of testing and water balance dosing negates the requirement of bulk dosing which can put pool users at risk.

Online monitoring If you opt for online monitoring, water quality data is uploaded into cloud based storage at every test and is retained for 2 years. This will help you maintain effective water quality records which may provide evidence for you in the case of a complaint. Email and SMS alerts can also be sent to appropriate personnel when set standards are not met to alleviate the problem long before bathers have the opportunity to notice any difference in the water quality.

Ozone is produced when oxygen passes through our patented stainless steel Corona Discharge cells. The Ozone gas is then introduced into the water via our unique Ozone Injection Manifold.

We then use our proprietary calculation method to determine the best possible mixing of the Ozone water and send it through our stainless steel static mixing modules. To ensure the most efficient use of the Ozone we size the contact vessels and connecting pipe network accordingly.

Ozone enriched water is then passed through our Ti02 UV reactor chamber where the Ozone enriched water undergoes photolysis, releasing Hydroxyl Free Radicals which react strongly against micro-pollutants. Hydroxyl Free Radicals effectively destroy bacteria, viruses, cysts, chlorine by-products (chloramines) and chlorine resistant parasites such as Cryptosporidium.

• Depletion of Trihalomethanes (THMs); • Breaks down dissolved impurities such as oils and organic wastes; • Improves filtration of suspended solids such as human dander; • Environmentally friendly with no chemical residue; • Economical with minimal maintenance requirements; • Reduces skin, eye and respiratory irritations; and • Improves bather comfort and water clarity.

Applications

AOP systems have low running and maintenance costs and can be pre-built and skid mounted on 316 stainless steel frames to enable fast and easy install.

• Learn to Swim Pools;

AOP Advantages

• Resort & Hotel Pools.

• Dramatically reduces free available chlorine levels (FAC);

For more information contact Brauer Industries today – 1300 696 631 or visit brauerindustries.com

• Aquatic Centres; • Water Parks; • Hydrotherapy Pools; and

• Dramatically reduces combined chlorine levels (Chloramines);

Testing parameters • Free Chlorine; • Total Chlorine; • pH; • ORP; • Turbidity; • Temperature; • Flow; and • TDS.

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NEW features make the very good now AWESOME: Mobile WaterLink Spin®

SWIMMING POOLS AND SPAS

PAUL WERE I DONTEK

Mobile pool service technicians can now work even better with the NEW features of Mobile WaterLink Spin®. l Apple connectivity l Cloud-based platform l Job Scheduling

Not only do you get your poolside water testing done quickly and accurately, you now get your test results into a cloud-based platform. This means that the test results not only get into a central database, but you are also now able to get your work orders from the pool shop.

And, now with Apple connectivity, you can easily work on a smartphone or tablet of your choice— Android or Apple iOS. Remember, you get to test eight different parameters of pool water quality in just 60 seconds.

All done, without the hassle of crushing tables, washing test tubes, or other boring chores. A small pool sample is all you need. The laboratory-grade photometer does the rest.

The upgraded DataMate Web is the new cloud-based system that does all the work. A common platform means that the shop gets all your info and keeps a history of each swimming pool you service.

Vendart Pty Ltd p 02 9450 0466 l f 02 9450 0755 www.vendart.com.au

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Inviting Swimming Pools and Spas are one way for Hotels and Motels to entice new patrons or to keep their existing ones. Whilst looking inviting is great, the water temperature must also be set to a level where the experience meets the expectation.

A

s there are many options available for heating a swimming pool or spa, it is advisable to contact a pool heating specialist and have a heat load evaluation to find the most economical and environmentally friendly system.

GAS

Gas Heater

Gas has traditionally been the most common form of pool heating as it is easy to install, has a low capital outlay and can provide rapid heat up times.

Pool water is pumped through a Heat Exchanger which is located close to the gas fired burner; the heat is transferred to the water and returns to the pool. Some systems rely on pool water being pumped through a separate Heat Exchanger which is supplied heat from a gas heater (boiler) in a closed loop. This hot water loop may also heat water for showers, kitchens and other areas where heat is required. Newer style gas heaters utilise fan assistance that aids in the combustion and heat transfer process, which increases efficiencies and reduces operating costs. A gas heater is also a great back up for Solar or Heat Pump systems.

High Efficiency Solar

Solar Heating

HEAT PUMP

SOLAR Solar is an economical way of heating and has a relatively low capital cost. Water is pumped from the pool through a heat collector fitted to the roof, which absorbs radiant energy from the sun, and returns it to the pool. This heat collector can be made in many different styles; some are made from extruded polymer strip, moulded poly propylene panels, glazed poly panels and more. When year round heating is required, a backup system such as Gas or Heat Pump is normally added.

HIGH EFFICIENCY SOLAR High Efficiency Solar uses Glass Evacuated Tubes to collect the heat. Since evacuated glass tube technology was invented, solar energy can be used to heat all year round. Solar exposure can be turned into heat energy regardless of the ambient temperature of the collectors. This heat is absorbed by the tubes and is transferred to special liquid filled heat pipes located inside each tube. The liquid turns to gas and rises up to the tips of the pipes which are inserted into a heat transfer manifold. Water is pumped through the manifold which absorbs the available heat and is then circulated through a Heat Exchanger which transfers heat to the pumped pool water. Excess heat may also be stored in pre-heating tanks for potable water.

A backup system is normally required to guarantee a suitably heated pool.

Heat Pumps have become a great choice for heating pools as capital costs have been reduced, efficiencies increased and have reasonable running costs. Heat Pumps or normally fine as a stand-alone heating system as long as heat load calculations have been performed properly. Heat Pumps are least efficient during the coldest months and it is common practice to have a gas heater as back up for prolonged cold spells.

Heat Pumps work like a reversed air conditioner. Instead of taking air from a room, removing the heat and returning it, a Heat Pump takes large quantities of air from the atmosphere, removes the heat contained in the air and transfers it to the pool water passing through the unit.

A well designed Heat Pump will output heat at a rate of around 5:1, relative to its energy input under summer conditions. This greatly reduces total energy consumption. This factor is called the Heat Pump's co-efficient of performance or COP. The capture of solar energy from air means that the Heat Pump's output and efficiency will vary with air temperature. Higher efficiency is gained in more temperate locations but Heat Pumps are capable of maintaining pool temperatures year-round in nearly all areas of Australia and Heat Pump New Zealand.

The latest Heat Pumps incorporate DC inverter technology that will vary or modulate the speed of the compressor â&#x20AC;&#x201C; much like most air conditioners.

This provides electrical savings and quieter operation.

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POOL FEATURE

SMART ELECTRONICS MEANS MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY As we know, the most economical heating systems for pools and spas can require a backup system and this is where a digital control system is required. The controller must monitor the most economical way of heating and switch between heat sources as required.

When a gas system is utilised, electronics can be used to accurately control run times, set temperatures and heater cool down times. This ensures energy is not wasted from slow switching mechanical thermostats or thermostats that are fitted within the heaters high temperature cabinets. Peak swimming times should also be allowed for.

On Solar Systems, the controller will monitor the pool temperature and when heating is required, it will turn the solar system on if there is solar gain. When auxiliary heating is fitted (Gas or Heat Pump) in conjunction with solar, the controller will determine which heat source is the best to use. If heating is required the controller will check solar conditions and if not available will switch on the auxiliary heater and run till limit, or until there is some solar gain. When there is some solar gain but not enough for the pool to achieve limit both heat sources should run in conjunction. When there is good solar gain to achieve limit the auxiliary heating should be turned off and the more economical solar heat source should only be utilised.

On smaller pools where the filtration is not run 24/7, extended heating run times may be required through the cooler months.

If Salt Chlorinators are fitted it is important that they are switched off or monitored to prevent over chlorination in extended heating times.

HOW TO SAVE ON RUNNING COSTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT When multiple heat sources are utilised it is imperative to set the most economical heat source to a higher set temperature than the auxiliary set temperature. By doing this the cheaper heat source will push the temperature past the auxiliary limit and the heat energy will be stored in the pools mass of water.

This will minimise the auxiliary heater run time. The greater the difference the larger the savings will be. What needs to be considered is the minimum temperature that can be tolerated without customer discomfort and the maximum temperature taking into account customer satisfaction. The minimum set temperature will be the Auxiliary heater with the highest energy consumption that can be set at about 26°C and the maximum temperature will be the least expensive to run to a temperature of about 29°C. This will differ from State to State as pool temperature needs to be set relevant to ambient air temperature to achieve a comfort level.

Take control of all your pool & spa heating requirements • Dontek offer the most diverse range of Heat Pump, Solar and Gas Heater Controllers available in Australia.

• Dontek manufactures smart control systems to reduce heating costs for all types of applications and specialise in multiple heat sources.

• Designed and manufactured in Australia.

d reductions Energy Saving an issions are in Greenhouse Em day’s Hotel a key focus for to agers.

Owners and Man 19 Melrich Road Bayswater Victoria 3153 Australia

Tel: 03 9762 8800 sales@dontek.com.au

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www.dontek.com.au

POOL FEATURE

LIABILITY OR ASSET?

THE CHALLENGE OF THE HOTEL POOL ALAN LEWIS I AQUAZURE POOL CONSULTANT

The Hotel Engineer often finds him/herself in a dilemma when facing the question of how to convince the owner that the pool is long overdue for an upgrade. Undoubtedly it needs to be brought into the new millennium if built more than 25 years ago.

T

he negative sides of maintaining a good facility in this day and age are many. The challenge is: Can these improvements be justified? Will they bring more clientele to the pool and to the Hotel? Will the guests use it? If not, why not?

DOES THE POOL SMELL? A smelly indoor pool is ‘off putting’. The smell usually pervades the whole building and of course is not inviting.

‘Eau de Chlorine’ can actually destroy a holiday. So it should

be the engineer’s top priority. He must eliminate it as quickly as possible.

Understanding how and why this occurs is the first step in prevention, and for this a bit of chemistry is essential.

Chlorine on its own is relatively benign and does not smell when the residuals in the pool are low.

Its primary purpose is to ensure that one bather will not infect the next and that most of the pathogens are neutralised or at

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POOL FEATURE

the very least, rendered inactive. It is the bather’s skin that carries with it a certain amount of Urea.

Urea reacts with Chlorine to form monochloramine. At the same time it reduces the Hypochlorous acid (HOCl) thereby demanding more chlorine to keep the pool safe. After this process is repeated for several hours, with more bathers and more chlorine (usually the liquid form of Sodium Hypochlorite) the mono-chloramines develop further to di-chloramine. Finally with more bathers and more chlorine the dichloramines evolve into tri-chloramines (NCl3).

This is the volatile smelly by-product which transforms from a liquid to a gas at the surface of the pool. As a result, if the pool hall is not ventilated satisfactorily, the gas accumulates on the surface of the pool and is carried from the pool hall to the lift-well and then to other floors and even to the hotel lobby.

HOW CAN THIS BE AVOIDED? ARE THE SHOWERS HANDY? If every bather showers before bathing, then much of the urea on his/her skin is not carried into the pool water. Many of the guests arrive at the pool after doing some vigorous exercise which serves to increase the Urea that is brought into the water.

A deck shower which drains away from the waters edge, provided at a convenient spot a few metres from the entry to the pool, will facilitate compulsory showering.

This will considerably reduce or prevent the chloramines developing in the pool.

If the hotel ensures that all patrons who visit the pool are aware of this requirement – it will go a long way to minimising the smell.

ARE THERE TOO MANY BATHERS? IS THE POOL ACTUALLY BEING USED? IS IT BEING SUPERVISED?

BY WHOM? The pool guidelines in most jurisdictions regulate and limit the number of people using the pool at one time. If there are more than the specified number of

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bathers at any one time, the likelihood of tri-chloramines developing in noticeable quantities is very high indeed.

Most hotels find this very difficult to control and are reluctant to enforce this rule. The consequences can be most counter-productive. In many cases the lack of adherence to the designed bather load limit, does indeed bring about a marked increase in unwanted disinfected by-products. This of course will happen at the peak of the summer when occupancy is at its highest level.

hand it is too popular, the hotel engineer has to budget for the cost of running the asset and at the same time, the influx of bathers makes the pool uninviting and subsequently detracts from its popularity.

HOW DOES THE pH OF THE POOL AFFECT THE RUNNING COSTS? Disinfection is pH dependent. The lower the pH (6.6 – 7.2), the less chlorine is needed to disinfect effectively and safely.

At times like these, the hotel must take steps to keep the number of bathers to the prescribed limit or alternatively close the pool altogether.

It is well known that the more bathers jump in to a pool the more the pH rises.

This makes the disinfection less effective, requiring more chlorine to ensure safe disinfection.

IS THE POOL WELL DESIGNED? IS IT TOO BIG? IS IT TOO SMALL? WHAT IS THE OPTIMAL SIZE?

Simply adding more chlorine is not going to improve things because the more chlorine is added the more chloramines are formed. So maintenance of a low pH is essential at all times.

The design of the pool, as well as the right pool size is critical in relation to the number of rooms available in the hotel. At times the pool may appear to be unused but there is clearly a ‘catch twenty-two’ situation here. If the pool is not being used, one has to ask if it is attractive and inviting. If on the other

WHEN IS THERE TOO LITTLE CHLORINE BEING INJECTED INTO THE POOL AND WHEN IS THERE TOO MUCH? No one is interested in bathing in a pool where the level of the chloramines

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WATER WISDOM OPTIMAL INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS IN VERY DIFFICULT CONDITIONS

is too high. Neither is the owner keen for the cost of pool maintenance to become a burden on the overall running of the hotel. Nor does it make sense to cut the staff if the pool constantly needs attention. Best practice is: stick to the guide lines on bather loads.

HOW MUCH DOES IT ACTUALLY COST TO RUN A POOL WELL?

Alan Lewis POOL CONSULTANT Pool Water Treatment Specialist Award Winning Plant Room Designer

aquazure34@gmail.com

Much of the running cost is integral to the design of the plant room, and the attention to achieving great swimming water at low cost. The important factors in keeping water, energy, chemical and labour costs down, are inherent in the choice of equipment: a) H eating energy costs – use of solar and other fuel costs.

Solar powered provoltaic panels, are now a viable investment in Australia which can cut the electricity bill significantly. b) Ventilation of air circulation and disinfection costs.

Recycling Expertise zero water wastage

Latest Treatment Technologies keeping in pace with the rest of the world

Automated Remote Chemical Controls Continuous in-line photometric testing and recording your centre’s liability safeguard

Plant and Pool Refurbishments Corrosion attenuation

Safe sophisticated pH control system Unique advanced oxidation processes

It is important that the air contaminated by NCl3 be removed from the surface of the pool as effectively as possible without causing discomfort of bathers. Deck hands, swim teachers and competitive swimmers are the ones most likely to get sick often as the Nitrogen Trichloride attacks the linings of their throats and lungs. c) Water filtration and circulation including maintenance of pumps and automation of backwash.

The selection of filters available with effective automated backwash is not as prevalent as one might expect. The most sophisticated is the Swedish drum filter. It is specially designed for swimming pools and filters out particles down to 5 micron; requiring almost no attention. Filtering and backwashing as soon as needed and is totally automatic! This saves lots of maintenance – no DE to replace and no valves to open and close. This is the dream of every pool maintenance person.

Keeping the water safe and compliant

d) D isinfection and pH control chemicals; and chloramine removal chemicals.

How to get a maximum result, with a minimum outlay

By far the simplest, least expensive and most effective disinfection chemical is Sodium Hypochlorite (liquid chlorine).

Importantly CO2 is proven as the best chemical for pH reduction, creating the Carbonic acid that we all know from drinking Coca Cola and similar carbonated drinks.

This saves the need to continuously add buffering agents to the pool as mineral acids simply reduce the Total Alkalinity as often as they are applied.

Cost saving Equipment, Chemicals and Maintenance for your swimming pool

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The pH and the alkalinity remain fairly constant throughout when CO2 is used. Costs can be minimised by ensuring that the CO2 gas is dissolved entirely in the plant room as it is injected.

The cost of the gas often gets wasted because the system does not ensure that the gas is fully dissolved before the water is sent back to the pool.

e) Automation of controls of all of the above.

It is important to save time and money doing manual testing when there are a few controllers today which automatically test with an in line photometer. These record automatically the ORP, the pH , the Free Chlorine, the Temperature and the Total chlorine residual which automatically calculates the Chloramine residual in the water. These might cost a little more to install and run but more than compensate with huge savings in time, testing and recording the residuals. f) Water savings from supply or recirculation costs.

Rainwater harvesting, recycling of the backwash water are two important ways of cutting back on the excessive use of supply water. The drum filter also saves water because unlike sand filters and DE filters the drum filter uses only a small fraction of the water needed to clean the filter media. Of course savings on backwash water also means savings on the chemicals that are lost when backwashing as well.

A HOTEL POOL THAT IS NOT USED IS A WASTED ASSET While the Hotel Pool is built primarily for the patrons, many hotels have found that together with the hotel gym they can often lease out their pools to clubs or swim schools at convenient hours. Apart from that the hotel can expect to combine activities like aquarobics, hydrotherapy sessions, swim lessons, pool parties, weight loss programs, or aqua fitness. And now there is a new modality of Hydrotherapy called AquaStetch.

AquaStretch is available in hotels in Las Vegas where they have built several small pools in the one room, so that they can provide individual treatments for which people come specially for pain relief and relaxation. AquaStretch is particularly helpful for sufferers of Fibromyalgia.

The therapists that treat these patients have trained in AquaStretch because it clearly provides 60% of those patients with immense relief from pain. These therapists earn something like $80 US for each half hour treatment. Those that come to Las Vegas hotels also enjoy the other entertainment provided by the various hotels as well as spending time in the casinos.

A/S is gradually spreading around the world and as it does, more and more research studies show that its is a superior modality. and provides enduring relief where other methods would give relief for only a few hours after a treatment.

Since the vast majority of people enjoy bathing and swimming, we have to ensure that every aquatic facility, provides the safest and most pleasant environment possible. Let us hope that hotel pools will strive to provide affordable, safe, and healthy bathing water for all patrons. Consultants need to ensure that they are recommending the best and most cost effective technology for each and every particular facility.

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POOL FEATURE

CRYPTOSPORIDIUM….

CRYPTO WHO?

ALEX BURKE I POOLWERX

Let’s take a light hearted look at Cryptosporidium (Crypto) before we delve into the serious side of Crypto and why Crypto is one of the worst outcomes/situations that any Hotel or Motel could encounter through the course of their business.

WE’VE GOT A FLOATER…

W

ho remembers the 1980 movie Caddy Shack? In particular the pool scene where a patron at the Caddy Shack resort notices a floating brown object that clearly resembles a poo.The hysteria and panic quickly sets in on all the swimmers within the pool and there’s a very swift evacuation of all swimmers from the pool water.You probably also remember the next scene where the resort has been required to empty the pool and acid wash it. And most memorable of all is where the actor Bill Murray dressed in his full body protection suit, bends over to pick up the object in question and realises that it was just a chocolate bar and proceeds to eat it.

25+ years ago and pending your personal sense of humour, this was a hilarious scene in a somewhat funny movie. However in today’s age such a scene is far from funny and will cost a commercial pool dearly, in both revenue, reputation and customer loyalty.

NOW THE SEROUS STUFF...

Cryptosporidium causes cryptosporidiosis, an infection that may present as a diarrhoeal in immunocompetent hosts.

Cryptosporidiosis is typically an acute, short-term infection, can be recurrent through reinfection in immunocompetent hosts, and become severe or life-threatening in immunocompromised individuals. In humans, it remains in the lower intestine and may remain for up to five weeks.

The Cryptosporidium parasite may be transmitted person-to-person.

Infection is also spread: - By drinking or swimming in contaminated water - When hands, objects and surfaces are contaminated with faeces of infected people or animals (cows and other domestic animals).

The parasite must be taken in by the mouth to cause infection. The main symptom is watery diarrhoea which occurs with stomach cramps.

Fever, vomiting and loss of appetite occur less commonly. Symptoms

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in people with normal immune systems usually last for about 1 to 2 weeks. People with severe immune suppression, particularly those with advanced HIV infection, may have severe, prolonged diarrhoea. (extract from SA Health)

THE FIX! (SHOULD YOU HAVE AN OUTBREAK) Now that we’ve identified the critical nature of having your pool exposed to Crypto…. The question is how do you fix it?

Well… Cryptosporidium and other water related bacteria continues to be a critical talking point for all commercial swimming pool operators over recent years. There have been a number of treatment methods put forth to minimise risk to swimmers and particular operational methods put in play to remove bacteria when it occurs. Until now, all of these methods have been highly inefficient, costing facilities an enormous amount of time and money.”

Historically the method used in Caddy Shack wasn’t too far from reality. Some operators went to extreme lengths of draining their pools and scrubbing the walls with chemical treatments as well as treating their pipework whilst the pool was empty, then refilled the pool and chemically balance the water again. Of recent years the accepted solution to combating Cryptosporidium has been to treat the pool water with extremely high doses of chlorine.

This creates challenges for any commercial swimming pool or spa causing substantial inconvenience and economic losses as the pools have to be closed during this period as can be illustrated by the closure of a council pool as recently as February 2016 in Adelaide.

LovibondÂŽ Water Testing The old method creates:

TintometerÂŽ Group

- Extended duration of down time (closure) of up to a week o Substantial loss of income and impact on brand reputation - Microbiological testing (multiple tests) will be required by independent laboratories which are outside the standard pool side tests available - The higher than regulated standard levels of chlorine are required to dissipate down to normal levels for swimming o And or costly application of chlorine reducing chemicals to reduce the high chlorine levels, and possibly additional balancing chemicals to re-balance the chemical parameters

Pool Water Analysis made easy LovibondÂŽ â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Original

- Operational costs could be extensive, pending water volume and other factors.

Poolwerx can now offer you a product which is revolutionising the treatment and prevention of Cryptosporidium. A simple to use chemical dosing application is now all you need to protect swimmers against bacteria and kill fast when it strikes. This revolutionary product was introduced to the market about a year ago at a time when the NSW Health Department issued commentary about the surge in the number of cryptosporidiosis cases, which prompted health officials around Australia to warn people who have had diarrhoea to stay away from swimming pools, which have harboured infections triggering previous outbreaks.

High Precision Optics with top-quality interference filters!

This new treatment method now recommended by most Australian Health departments and many authorities around the world is to treat the water with Chlorine Dioxide. As an example the NSW Health Department recommends using Chlorine Dioxide at a CT Value of 70 which means achieving a Chlorine Dioxide (CLO2) level of just 1ppm and holding this for 70 minutes.

There are various methods of creating Chlorine Dioxide in pool water but one of the simplest and safest method is by administering this chemical dose directly into the effected pool water and activates instantly in the water and is extremely safe as no mixing of chemicals is required. Alternatively you could call on a certified Poolwerx pool professional to administer the treatment and manage the outbreak for you.

â&#x2013; Highest Accuracy

â&#x2013; User Calibration Capability

The benefits for the swimming pool and its operators are extensive, including:

â&#x2013; Meets Health Dept. testing requirements for public pools

â&#x2013; Storage for 16 data sets

â&#x20AC;˘ 70 minute reaction time only, reducing pool closure times saving huge amounts in loss of revenue â&#x20AC;˘ Removes any WHS (OH&S) concerns being a safe handling product with no mixing of chemicals required

MD 100 & MD 200

â&#x2013; One Time Zero (OTZ) â&#x2013; Backlit Display â&#x2013; Infra-red Interface

â&#x20AC;˘ Ensures healthy water free of bacteria providing piece of mind to all operators

â&#x2013; Waterproof â&#x2013; Real-Time-Clock and Date â&#x2013; Requires no maintenance â&#x2013; Delivered in carrying case with accessories and reagents - ready to use

water-lilly@bigpond.com waterlillyaustralia.com Tel.: +61 (2) 9798 9975

â&#x20AC;˘ Shock dosing at 1ppm, removing any need for neutralisation saving you time and costs â&#x20AC;˘ Recognised by Australian Health Departments If you require any further information or want to discuss any other water management challenge, please donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hesitate to contact the author alex.burke@poolwerx.com.au

LovibondÂŽ Product Specialists

77 md100_md200_hoch_waterlilly_105x297_de.indd 1

24.10.13 13:04

ADVERTORIAL

KEYWATCHER

DAVID ISHAK I AST PTY LTD

EXPANDED ELECTRONIC KEY CONTROL WITH CUSTOM MANAGEMENT REPORTS

your KeyWatcher system with your access control system, your access control system will know which users have keys and which do not. A user who has taken a specific key from KeyWatcher can be denied egress from the facility until the key is returned – and selected management can be alerted via email if a key has not been returned on time.

K

eyWatcher Illuminated is a modular, scalable integrated key control and management solution that’s designed for interoperability with access control and other systems.

With a built-in keypad and up to 2,000 assignable user codes with PINs (Personal Identification Numbers), KeyWatcher provides unmatched flexibility. The system allows administrators the discretion to appoint one of five different levels of access for each employee.

SMARTKEYS Key Control Data from Smart Keys Keys are secured to a Smartkeys which features an identification microchip and 1/8” stainless steel locking ring for additional security and functionality. Available in several different colours (black, brown, white, grey, red, yellow, blue, and green).

This allows for keys to be organised by colour, which can be useful when utilising several KeyWatchers in a facility, or designating one group of keys from another within the system.

THE INTEGRATED ACCESS CONTROL SOLUTION KeyWatcher is designed for complete interactivity with your other business systems. For example, by integrating

KeyWatcher

®

Key Control and Management Solutions

MORSE AUSTRALIA

> Are you tired of lost time looking for keys? > Do you need to restrict access? > Do you want to control high risk areas? > Do you need to know if a key isn’t returned on time?

If the answer is YES then Morse Watchmans KeyWatcher Touch is the solution.

Contact Australian Security Technology on

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1300 539 928 for further information



MEMBERSHIP FORM PLEASE CHOOSE THE STATE: NSW 

QLD 

VIC 

WA 

I WISH TO APPLY FOR: Renewal of my Membership 

Membership Number (if known):

I WISH TO BECOME A NEW MEMBER VIA: (a) Fellow – a member of at least 10 years standing who has made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of hotel engineering (as determined by the management committee) or this association may be advanced by the management committee to the grade of Fellow.

This membership class is a life membership of the institute. (b) Honorary Fellow – any person who has rendered conspicuous service to the hotel industry (as determined by the management committee), or any person prominently connected with but not necessarily in the hotel industry who may be approved by the management committee, shall be eligible as an Honorary Fellow.

This membership class is a life membership of the institute. (c) M ember – a person shall be eligible as a Member if the applicant holds a certificate, degree or diploma or such other qualification in engineering approved by the management committee, and has at least 5 years experience in a head of engineering position and shall be directly engaged in hotel engineering. (d) A ssociate Member – a person shall be eligible as an Associate Member if the applicant holds a qualification in engineering approved by the management committee and is directly engaged in hotel engineering and his/her qualifications and/or experience do not in the opinion of the management committee entitle him/her to admission as a Member. (e) Student Member – a person who is attending an appropriate course of instruction at an Institution approved by the management committee shall be eligible as a Student Member (f) Affiliate Member – shall be a person of 21 or more of age who is associated with the Hotel Industry and whose, qualification or experience do not in the opinion of Council entitle them to admission as a Member or Associate member. (f) Corporate Member – entitles applicants endorsed by the Council to be eligible for Corporate Membership, which will carry those rights and entitlements of an Affiliate Members, with a maximum of (5) members of the corporation being eligible to attend monthly meetings. In addition, this membership will entitle the Corporation to receive all specialised material sourced and published by the Institute for overall benefit of the Hotel Industry.

All applicants’ membership classification shall be determined by Council in accordance with the above guidelines.

Membership  Corporate Membership  Associate Membership  Student Membership  Affiliate Membership  Honorary Fellow Membership (no fee)  Fellow Membership (no fee)  SURNAME: GIVEN NAME(S): COMPANY NAME: POSITION: POSTAL WORK ADDRESS: WORK TELEPHONE: WORK FAX: WORK EMAIL: WORK MOBILE: HOME POSTAL ADDRESS: HOME TELEPHONE: HOME FAX: HOME EMAIL: PERSONAL MOBILE: Please send all my correspondence to my:

Work Email 

Please send me an Invoice (if required) for payment by:

Email  Mail (a receipt will be sent by mail) 

Please send me newsletter by:

Email  Mail 

Please send ‘Hotel Engineer’ to my:

Work address 



QUALIFICATIONS/EMPLOYMENT HISTORY:

Home Email 

Home address 

FEES: Membership/Associate Membership:

New Member AUD$130

Yearly Renewal AUD$100

Student Membership:

New Member AUD$90

Yearly Renewal AUD$60

Corporate Fees: New Member AUD$550

Yearly Renewal AUD$550

PAYMENT CAN BE MADE BY: NSW Chapter: Cheque payable to:

Australian Institute of Hotel Engineering (NSW) Chapter

EFT Transfer/Direct Deposit to:

BSB: 062 014 Account Number: 0090 2426 Commonwealth Bank of Australia

(Please use surname/company name as reference)

QLD Chapter: Cheque payable to:

Australian Institute of Hotel Engineering (QLD) Chapter

EFT Transfer/Direct Deposit to:

BSB: 084 462 Account Number: 205126424 National Australia Bank

(Please use surname/company name as reference)

VIC Chapter: Cheque payable to:

Australian Institute of Hotel Engineering (VIC) Chapter

EFT Transfer/Direct Deposit to:

BSB: 013 403 Account Number: 4988 69693 ANZ Ringwood Nth

(Please use surname/company name as reference)

WA Chapter: Cheque payable to:

Australian Institute of Hotel Engineering (WA) Chapter

EFT Transfer/Direct Deposit to:

BSB: 086 006 Account Number: 518 190 216 National Australia Bank

(Please use surname/company name as reference)

MAIL COMPLETED FORMS TO: NSW Chapter: The Secretary, AIHE NSW Chapter, PO Box H263, Australia Square NSW 1215 QLD Chapter: The Secretary, AIHE QLD Chapter, PO Box 5118, Gold Coast Mail Centre 9726 VIC Chapter: The Secretary, AIHE VIC Chapter, PO Box 2136, Caulfield Junction VIC 3161 WA Chapter: The Secretary, AIHE WA Chapter, PO Box 6191, East Perth WA 6892 Your membership application will be processed, which includes the following:: o Certificate of membership

o Membership number

o Member name badge

o Official AIHE receipt

* Note: Allow up to four weeks for processing.

I have read, understood and agreed to conform to the Institute’s Code of Ethics as set out, conditional upon acceptance of my application for membership.

Note: your membership includes receiving ‘Hotel Engineer’ quarterly. As the AIHE is a non-profit organisation, GST is not applicable.

Signed: Date:

FOR INSTITUTE USE ONLY Date received: Fee received: Grading: Cheque #: Entered:

BACK OF HOUSE APRIL 2016

Desaru. Malay Straits. 1989…………..

OH MAVIS, WOULDN’T IT HAVE BEEN WONDERFUL ?

D

oomed to fail from birth, but we in the back room never dreamed it could or would be doomed. We were full of ourselves as being part of this magnificent dream. Surrounded by the best of the best; having the power of command, and being lauded by all, for they wanted all that we had, with all that was presumed coming…..

Imagine if you can, the opportunity to design major chunks of a 6 by 500 room resort. Each hotel an individual international entity. Each with an individual theme. Each with staff versed in that theme and nationality. A truly international project. Imagine if you can hiring the best people on the planet to head up the individual themes: Equestrian, Ice and Snow, Submersibles, Hunting, Deep-Sea Fishing, and so on.

Guests were to be met at Singapore’s Changi Air Terminal and transferred into Hovercraft for a direct arrival at their Resort. From that moment they wore the garb of that Resort, be it Malay, Russian, US, British, or Chinese or whichever.

The logistics were from the beginning, stupefying. I had come to this challenge from Montego Bay Jamaica, where opening up a single 500 room hotel was seen as an achievement. But 6 of these beauties………..

Our offices were in Singapore and you could easily see by the make and model of cars just who was indeed whom.

Complete with uniformed drivers it was further proof of the project size and importance; mind you as VP Hotel Engineering I was one of the lower tier, there being a huge gap between Presidents and VP’s. But that’s the way of it – have we not all discovered at one time or another!

Somewhere in this mad scenerio, I had the idea of a centralised training facility housed in a huge building – itself a component within the Training Project. Ugh. Yes I know Mavis, it all smacks of Orwellian night fever. But this thing was beginning to feed upon itself, and when you have a virtually unlimited budget, these things do happen. To give a few examples: I had put the word out that all Manufacturing heads of air-conditioning plant and controls based in Singapore should be available to meet me, the agenda for which was simply this: Their conviction and reasoning that state of art plant being designed by them was/would be superior to same on the boards by others.

Very simplistic stuff but I hammered it home and after 3 exhausting days, the papers began to come in. In my entire life I will not forget that period, for I was you see, shooting from the hip and in a life time you get few chances to be ahead and still in the position of demanding greater and better and wanting it NOW!!

Oh Mavis thinking back, it surely was dreamtime, and yet and yet……

Why not the best of the best spread across the project? At that time, Trane was still Trane; Carrier was still Carrier.

York was still York, and Honeywell was still Honeywell, and few in our Industry would not be familiar with these great Corporations.

Oh Mavis, as I write I can hear myself saying all those years ago “No matter what you are now designing, I want details on product design for tomorrow!!”

And so I gained info on gismos already promulgated in the 1970’s but eased into mainstream in the ‘80s. Like Cloud Storage: in which the digital data is stored in logical pools, the physical storage spans

NEIL WEENINK multiple servers (and often locations), and the physical environment is typically owned and managed by a hosting company. Heck, before this, I was looking heavenwards would you believe to gain evidence of new storage systems!

Meanwhile back in the office – housed in Singapore, 2 hrs drive to Kuala Lumpur where the think-tank was, or by air a quickie up and down, or for the desperate, by launch across the Strait of Johore Bahru. This mode which I chiefly used was a hot bed of Island gossip, albeit quailed by a usually inebriated launch driver, and awash at most times with the incessant ship traffic along the Strait.

But here I was confronted with The Desk Top Computer. I kid you not Mavis, just 27 years ago this thing was alarmingly new to me, and my blunders nearly drove our secretary vivid with frustration. These girls really deserve some form of recognition, as not only are they dealing with typos, but dealing in a spoken and technical language entirely foreign to them.

God bless ‘em is what I say.

And so as I write, I see this IBM Computer housed in a delightful wooden frame, full face and centre, on a grand wooden bench-top, with my hands gingerly reaching towards the keyboard.

Ho Mavis. All those years ago. But as said at the beginning, it was too much of a dream to continue. Much too much.

The fellow at the Head had the ambition, but not the political clout. Plus the small matter of dinaroo both real and imagined in far flung sources. [Unfortunately more imagined than real,] and by the time the Times sniffed the story, it was all over.

And I’ll never forget. Believe me.

With best regards, Neil

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NEWS Innovation Square Every hotel room is a haven for resting and much more. A massage chair will increase the value and user experience by leaps and bounds.

Clients can release all that built-up tension and strain with a good-quality massage chair. Here are some of the benefits of using a massage chair: Pain relief- This is the most immediate benefit. Relaxing in a massage chair eases body aches & pains.

Stress relief- Stress and tension are among the biggest causes of headaches.

Sitting in a good massage chair helps relax your shoulder, neck and head area off stress and the associated side-effects like headaches.

Muscle relaxation- Many people feel a certain amount of discomfort after they have carried out a strenuous physical activity or of they have had a long day at work/school. Fatigue, discomfort and soreness are very common symptoms of physical strain and 10-15 minutes in a massage chair can loosen and relax your muscles.

Improves spine alignment- Massage chairs and especially ones with an automatic recline function support the spine while the massage is being carried out. This allows the spine to stretch and relax and eases the pressure, thus improving its alignment.

And So Much More…

Call Innovation Square on 1300 780 022 to discuss your requirements. We offer leasing options and bulk purchase discounts for businesses.

Leading Facilities Management Conference and Exhibition “Ideaction.2016” announced for Melbourne in June Melbourne will this year host the facilities management industry’s leading conference and exhibition “Ideaction.2016” at the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre in June.

public policy and education related topics.

These will be addressed through a lively mix of individual presenters, panel discussions, debates, workshops and site tours.

Hosted by the Facility Management Association of Australia, and as part of their annual Ideaction series, the theme for the 2016 conference is “Leading the Change”. This clearly articulates the constant need for the industry to proactively approach the many challenges faced from both within and without the industry, including advances in technology, changes to legislation, and shifts in community expectations.

CEO of FMA, Nicholas Burt, said “I am delighted that the conference is back in Melbourne for the first time since 2009.

Melbourne is a city that in every way is leading the change with some of the most interesting and diverse facilities in the country. The Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre has itself become a leading landmark in the amazing transformation of the Yarra over the past few years”.

The three days of Ideaction.2016 will bring together learnings from the past year on a range of key areas that continue to affect and influence the industry. These include research papers, strategic and technological innovation,

Attracting delegates and sponsors nationally and abroad, this conference is a must for anyone working in the facilities management industry.

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Registrations for the conference open on 25th January, 2016. To register go to: www.ideaction2016.com.au Conference Organiser Contact: Alignment Event Solutions Jodie Pryor – 0422 87 87 47 E: jodie@alignment.com.au

About FMA The Facility Management Association of Australia (FMA) is the peak national industry body for facilities management, serving and promoting the interests of those who create, operate and maintain Australia’s built environment. A primary focus of FMA is to ensure that the needs of facilities managers (FMs) are understood and considered in government and business policy formulation and decision making. Visit the FMA Website at:

www.fma.com.au

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