Hotel Engineer 17-4

THE

HOTEL ENGINEER OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF HOTEL ENGINEERING

PP 319986/101

Volume 17 Number 4 Summer 2012

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CONTENTS Publisher’s Message

5

State News

11

A Guide to Quality LEDs

17

Guest Room Technology: What Guests Want!

20

Big Opportunities to Reduce Waste to Landfill and Save Money

27

Total Facilities Live

30

Empowering the Hotel Engineer

33

Regulation Update

38

What’s That You Are Walking On?

41

Back of House

43

Reducing Electricity Costs by Load Shedding and Demand Management

44

Anchor Point and Static Line Inspection Intervals

47

First Impressions in Façade Maintenance

50

Energy Management Using Pressure Balanced Showers

60

Get Out of the Back Room: Keys to Developing and Growing Your FM Career

64

12% Chromium Utility Stainless Steels

66

Summer: Time to Focus on Problem Pests

72

Going Green

74

Product News

THE

44

3

HOTEL ENGINEER

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF HOTEL ENGINEERING

PP 319986/101

Volume 17 Number 4 Summer 2012

Front cover: Sydney’s newest five star hotel, The Darling at The Star, has won world-wide acclaim after it was named the Best International New Hotel for Construction and Design.

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Boundary

Overhead

Gooseneck

PUBLISHER’S MESSAGE Hello, and a very happy 2013 to everyone.

As I write this it’s just one day before Christmas, my very last job and I am out of here for a couple of well-earned weeks of holiday.

This time of year I always like to thank everyone whom has helped in putting this magazine together throughout the year.

In particular all those people whom take the time to write for us, offering their knowledge through some excellent articles throughout the year. The AIHE state presidents for their input and a big thank you to Neil Weenink whom is always happy to offer his assistance and his regular contribution looking at many years in the hospitality and engineering industry with “Back of House”.

As all engineers know, lighting is a huge part of the power bill, over the last 12 months there has been a lot of discussion about lighting in hotels and in particular the LED.

They are the future of lighting, are highly efficient and have a long life, however with so many different manufactures of LEDs now in the marketplace, some have shown to be of varying quality.

We asked Bryan Douglass, CEO of the Lighting Council Australia to give us some information on what to look for when assessing which LEDs to buy.

Both Brendon Granger and Jenny Campbell spoke at the recent AIHE Conference. They have put their presentations into words for us where Brendon brings part 1 of 2 on Guest room technology and Jenny her expertise on Waste Management.

As usual we have a wide variety of articles, exterior cleaning, pest management, and the first of a couple of articles from Bob Holesko, Vice President facilities HEI Hotels and Resorts America on his hotels energy conservation programme.

Till next time…

Neil Muir

View The Hotel Engineer online now!

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ADBOURNE PUBLISHING 18/69 Acacia Road Ferntree Gully, VIC 3156 PO Box 735, Belgrave, VIC 3160 www.adbourne.com Editorial Consultant Max Agnew Editorial Contributor Thomas Johnson

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 PRODUCTION Sonya Murphy T: (03) 9758 1436 E: production@adbourne.com

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AIHE STATE PRESIDENTS Ian Crookston, QLD E: ian@hyatt.com 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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4

AIHE STATE

NEWS

NEW SOUTH WALES Greetings from NSW chapter.

We had a successful year in 2012 and now begin another with the hopes of many more goals to be achieved.

Let me begin with the update on AIHE NSW Chapter events for the past few months.

The September meeting was held at Quay West Suites and Dr. Kalyani Perera of Independent Monitoring Consultants presented an informative presentation on Indoor Air Quality. In October we had a committee meeting to discuss the arrangements for the AGM and the chapter Christmas Party.

The State President’s meeting was held in November at Hyatt, thanks Steven Eames and Ian Crookston for the arrangements of the venue. A webinar on administration of the new AIHE website was conducted with K. Money of Broadway Infotech, the developers of the website.

Committee Members – Brendon Granger, Scott O’Brien, Trevor McCarren and Jackson Wong Congratulations to all the new committee members and thanks to the previous committee for their effort and contribution during last year for the our Chapter. I must mention another name here, very special thanks go to Carl Van Den Heaver who has been a great support to the Institute; he will be continuing his services as the Public Officer of the chapter. Carl arranged the venue for the AGM. The chapter’s Christmas gathering was held at Pullman Sydney Hyde Park on Saturday the 1st December. It was a fantastic evening, where the attendees got to enjoy a three course dinner, music, the dance floor and door prizes. Everyone received a bottle of Wine (special limited release for the Institute). Credit goes to all the members who helped organise this year’s Christmas Party. I was unable to be fully involved in organising the events at the latter part of this year due to various work commitments in my new role at Shangri-La Sydney. A special

thank you goes to Carl who proposed the venue, Elizabeth and Brendon for arranging the invitations on my behalf, and Trevor for organising the decorations, music and the dance floor. All the drinks were sponsored by CHILL TECH Services and CraftWORK Project Management, we appreciate your generosity.

A committee meeting was organised at the request of Brendon Granger to plan for the year 2013. We had this meeting at Quay West Suites on the 12th December and foundations have been set for another great year.

In closing, I would like to express my appreciation to the committee members, all Engineers and our corporate members and various hotel General Managers for their support over the past year and look forward to working with all in the future.

Wishing you all a good year ahead.

Anura Yapa JP President – AIHE NSW chapter

In November we had a breakfast meeting at the New South Wales AGM at Pullman Sydney Hyde Park.

Election of office bearers took place with all positions declared vacant. I was re-elected as the President of the NSW chapter. Other newly elected members are as follows: President

Anura Yapa

Vice President

Stephen Wilson

Secretary

Benjamin Gray

Treasurer

Elizabeth Tam

Event Coordinator

Jason Manley

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AIHE STATE

NEWS

VICTORIA Another year has just passed us by, I hope it was kind to all of our readers, and everyone had the opportunity to enjoy some time out with your families, making the most of the recent festive season.

The Victorian chapter has gratefully appreciated the support of all our members, both hotel engineers and corporates. It has been rewarding to meet many newcomers that have attended our meetings, hopefully they have gained some benefit from what our Institute has been able to offer during the course of 2012.

To wrap up the year, we held our AGM in December, traditionally a month that we do not host a meeting. As our attendance and support over the past year has been positive, we decided to host our AGM and Christmas cocktails to close off the year. We had an attendance of 30 members, the meeting was held at Grand Hyatt Melbourne, making for a memorable evening.

The outcome of the AGM returned all of the existing committee back into their positions. We also welcomed one new member.

The 2013 committee now consists as follows.

Committee Members – New appointment, Soudi Noori.

Re-elected, Adam Vince, Don Robertson, Ian Charman, Ponce Casass, Greg Mallet, Andrew Eldred, John Appleyard & David Jones.

Meeting Coordinator – Stephen Docherty Secretary – Peter Barbour Vice President – Anton Van Den Brink President – David Zammit.

Madeline McLagan who was a previous committee member advised that she would not run for reelection in 2013. We thank Madeline for her support and look forward to our ongoing association.

Our November meeting was hosted by Gladstone Forbes at Park Hyatt Melbourne. Leenah Khor and colleagues from Reece Onsite delivered an informative presentation for all our members.

November also marked a milestone for Gladstone. After 24 years with Hyatt, Gladstone has taken a well earned break after leaving his position of Engineering Manager at Park Hyatt Melbourne.

6

continued

I personally wish Gladstone the very best, after having worked with him over this period, I am sure we will see him back in the industry sometime in the near future.

Victor Herrera, Building Manager at Novotel on Collins hosted our October meeting. That evening we had the pleasure of two corporates providing us presentations. David Wilson and Michael O’Dea of mySmart CTI, along with David Jones of Middy’s Electrical.

Both presentations complemented each other, whilst introducing us to the latest technology available in the areas each company represent. After concluding the presentation, Victor was kind enough to take us through several refurbished rooms within the Novotel, giving us a comprehensive update of what his team had undertaken to enhance their guest experience.

As we are already into a new year, I would like to thank all committee members for their assistance during 2012 and certainly look forward to their support in further growing our chapter in 2013. A special thank you to Peter‘s other half, Monica Barbour, who has assisted Peter behind the scenes in the role of secretary.

I sincerely thank Monica for her support to our chapter in her administrative capacity.

I would also like to thank my fellow state presidents, Ian, Anura and Tony. I know all three gentlemen have been instrumental in driving their respective chapters and are committed to the growth of AIHE. I look forward to our continued association this year.

In closing, I take this opportunity to wish all our members, readers and their families, a safe & healthy 2013. I am grateful for your ongoing support of our chapter.

David Zammit President AIHE Victoria Chapter david.zammit@hyatt.com

WESTERN AUSTRALIA The September meeting was held at the ThyssenKrupp Perth offices.

Our guest presenter was Omega Power Equipment.

Heinz Ruetschi gave an information session overview on the Theben product range.

continued on page 8…

2.5 kW ~ 8.1 kW Reverse Cycle Models

Window / Wall Type Room Air Conditioners Reverse Cycle & Cooling Only Models Suits screen sizes 10” to 42” (VESA compatible) 2.1 kW ~ 6.0 kW Models Bench Top 50L Bar Fridge

9.2 kW ~ 20 kW Reverse Cycle Models Under Bench / Free Standing 117L Bar Fridge

900 mm ~ 1200 mm Models *Illustration purposes only E&OE

AIHE STATE

NEWS

continued

…continued from page 6

Omega also displayed some of their Green Energy products as listed below: • Eco Air Hand dryers.

• LED down lights.

• Energy * Rated Exhaust Fans with built in Draft Stopper.

Our October meeting was held at the Holiday Inn City Centre and we had two guest speakers on the night: Clevertronics Clevertronics are a company who specialise in emergency lights and exit signs. They are Australian owned, with their Head Office and factory in Melbourne, and a large warehouse and sales facility in Malaga.

Michael Duce, Head of Engineering at Clevertronics conducted an informed presentation on ideas for the emergency and exit lighting

industry and the future trends in this ever-evolving industry, which includes revolutionary new technology, incorporating the most environmentally products available.

Dali vs. standalone systems: Proposed changes to emergency lighting standards in Australia: • 40% of Exit/emergency signs used in our city don’t comply. How and why?

• The safest way to achieve energy saving in stairwells • The best use of jumbo exits Infinite Energy Aidan Jenkins is the Managing Director of Infinite Energy, one of the largest Solar PV companies in Western Australia. Infinite Energy has been one of the companies driving the solar revolution forward, having installed over 4000 systems across WA and Qld. Infinite Energy also has almost 1mW of Commercial solar projects in progress including what will be the largest “behind the meter” installation in WA. Topics that were covered: • Introduction to Solar PV • WA’s strategic solar advantage • Solar on a commercial premises • Solar as an investment – financial returns • Demonstrating green credentials Many thanks to Mitch French Chief Engineer of the Holiday Inn City Centre.

The Western Australian chapter continues to sponsor an apprentice award with the Master Plumbers & Gasfitters Association of WA, Master Painters Australia WA Association, MPA Skills Training & Employment.

This award will be presented to two pre-apprentices each quarter for the most improved and most safety conscious, each winning pre-apprentice will receive a $100 voucher from the Institute.

In closing I urge all General Managers of Hotels to encourage their engineers to join and make use of the networking advantages of the AIHE. Regards Tony Fioraso President AIHE Western Australia

8

9

AIHE STATE NEWS

continued

QUEENSLAND The last quarter of 2012 was rather quiet with only the December Christmas Party to report. It is hoped that the back of house tour of the newly built Gold Coast Hospital which was scheduled in October, will still proceed in the early New Year.

The 2012 Christmas Party was a Dinner & Show run by, and at, RACV Royal Pines. Fire & Ice was the show which had a number of Gymnastic acts that entertained everyone through out the dinner. Later, was a band for all to dance the remainder of the night away.The four AIHE tables were just a small number attending with over 500 guests in attendance.

A Great night was had by all!

If you’re not aware, the new AIHE website is now operational, so if you have any questions or wish to update your personal details do not hesitate to email admin@aihe.com.au and we will assist as soon as possible.

Ian Crookston President AIHE QLD Chapter

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Visit our website at

www.aihe.com.au

A sample SSL Quality Scheme label produced by Lighting Council Australia

A Guide to Quality LEDs BRYAN DOUGLAS Chief Executive Officer | Lighting Council Australia

Overview Solid state lighting is a rapidly developing technology offering a useful alternative to traditional light sources. LEDs (a form of solid state lighting) can provide excellent illumination in a wide range of applications. They are highly energy efficient. They have a long life – lasting up to 50 times longer than incandescent lamps and two to five times longer than fluorescent lamps, making them ideal for hard-to-access locations. LEDs are durable and can withstand vibration and shocks. They are not affected by regular on-off switching, which is good for areas such as bathrooms. In addition, they are at full brightness as soon as they are switched on and many are fully dimmable.

However tests on some LED products found in the marketplace indicate a wide variation in product quality and how effectively they may light space. Some lower quality LEDs sold may not provide sufficient light, may flicker when dimmed, change colour through life or fail prematurely.

LED products are still in a comparatively early stage of development, and comparatively few have undergone rigorous testing in real-life settings over a prolonged period of time. Accordingly users need to be aware before investing in the technology.

This article provides some basic advice on how to select a quality LED. Consumers are encouraged to look for the important LED product features summarised below, including light output, colour characteristics, lifetime and energy consumption.

Common LED performance indicators 1. Lamp equivalence claims Be cautious of claims that lamps are equivalent to common incandescent or halogen reflector lamps. The best LEDs are currently about four to five times more efficient than their typical incandescent lamp equivalent. This means that for an LED lamp claiming to produce as much light as a 60W incandescent or 50W dichroic reflector lamp, it will need to use at least 12W of energy. Look for sensible numbers on any claim of equivalence and compare products.

2. Light output Another way to determine whether an LED is suitable is to look for information about the light output, measured in lumens (lm).

The higher the number of lumens, the more light is emitted.

Lumens are the best, most accurate way to compare two different types of lighting. If the lamp carries a lumen output rating, it may also indicate that it was actually tested for this performance – a good sign.

11

The following table shows the number of lumens that a range of traditional incandescent light bulbs produce. An LED with the same number of lumens as one of the lamps in the table should have a similar light output.

Incandescent (GLS) lamp

Light output in lumens

25W

220 lm

40W

420 lm

60W

720 lm

75W

930 lm

For a LED lamp to provide equivalent light to the common 50W MR-16 dichroic downlight, it must produce a minimum of 480 lumens. To achieve light output equivalent to the best quality MR-16 downlight, it will emit 900 lumens. Always look for a clear statement of light output in lumens.

Unfortunately the information on some LED packaging is not always accurate. Sometimes the information on light output will relate to the light source – that is, the LED chip, not the light fixture (luminaire), of which the chip is only one component. It is also important to note that LED light sources tested under laboratory conditions will always have a higher light output than the LED lamp when used in normal conditions. If unsure about the specifications, intending purchasers should contact the manufacturer or supplier to understand how the light output

12

of the product has been measured. The most useful measure is when light output from the complete light fixture is measured.

3. Lamp lifetime (hours) Some LEDs claim to have very long rated life, 60,000 hours or more – having been tested but under the best laboratory conditions. For high quality LED products, the expected (and more believable) lifetime is somewhere in the range of 20,000 to 40,000 hours. It is very likely the claimed LED life is not based on testing for the indicated life. Rather, life can be based on a minimum 6,000 hours operation and then a prediction of the light output decay is used to determine operational lifetime.

Look for realistic lifetime and manufacturers who can back up their lifetime claims, either with testing or certification indicated on the product packaging.

4. Lamp warranty period (years) A good approximation for information on lifetime testing is the warranty period that a manufacturer is willing to provide.

For a lamp claiming to last 25,000 hours (about 34 months of continuous operation, or 22 years of regular nightly use in a home), a manufacturer should be able to provide a warranty of at least two to three years. If a longer life time is claimed look for a corresponding longer warranty of perhaps five years. Look for a clear statement of warranty period.

5. Colour temperature LEDs are a coloured light source and are designed to produce white light using a number of methods. As a result, they actually

produce white light in a number of ‘shades’ - just like incandescent and fluorescent lamps – from warm-white (similar to a regular, incandescent lamp) to cool white or bluish white (daylight).

Look for and make sure to choose the colour that best suits the intended application and that you are most comfortable with.

6. Colour Rendering Index Some LEDs are better at helping the human eye discern colours than others, depending on the method used to produce white light. Look for lamps that have a Colour Rendering Index (abbreviated CRI) of at least 65 for outdoor use, and 80 or better for indoor use. A new international measurement more specific to LEDs is under development, but in the meantime the best way to judge how well the LED light influences the colour of objects is, if possible, to view them installed in the intended application. Look for and make sure to choose a CRI number to suit the application.

7. Energy Efficiency Many people assume that LED lamps must be extremely energy efficient; however this is not always the case. Many LEDs currently on the market are similar to or a little less efficient than the equivalent fluorescent lighting. Some poor quality LED lamps have been found to be only marginally more efficient than incandescent lighting, and less energy efficient than other types of lighting such as compact fluorescent lamps.

The energy efficiency of a light is measured in lumens per Watt (lm/W). If this measurement is not marked on the package,

simply divide the number of lumens by the number of Watts.

The higher the number, the more efficient the product. Look for an energy efficiency rating on the product.

8. Safety rating All lamps must be safe to operate. At a minimum this means they have met mandatory requirements and earned their safety marks. While marks such as ‘UL’, ‘CE’ or other certification have no legal status in Australia, they may indicate the product meets the required safety standards. Look for at a minimum a compliance claim to the standard IEC 62560.

9. Other label or website information Some ‘information’ on LED packaging may in reality be misinformation. Less reputable suppliers may provide a range of logos, and other cryptic insignia, that has minimal or no value. Such may include ‘UL’, ‘CE’, ‘RoHS’, various numbers and green claims (greenwash). Look for and view such claims with scepticism.

An Australian certification scheme for LEDs In response to many poor quality LEDs in the marketplace and exaggerated claims from some suppliers about their product’s performance, Lighting Council Australia – a not-for-profit organization representing Australia’s lighting industry – has developed a labelling-based certification program to assist purchasers of LED products. The Solid State Lighting Quality Scheme is a voluntary industry program that provides confidence to the market that an LED product carrying the Scheme’s label matches certain critical performance claims made by the supplier (energy efficiency, light output, colour temperature and CRI). Registered products appear on a searchable database on Lighting Council Australia’s website (www.lightingcouncil.com.au). ■

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ADVERTORIAL

A Brief LED Case Study on Two Major Projects.

Scott Gracie

‘On a project of this scale failure was not an option’.

‘Maintaining thethe original ‘Maintaining original atmosphere waswas very atmosphere very important’. important’.

The David Jones national lighting project with over 22 stores was initially implemented to save money on electricity and maintenance costs, providing an economical green solution to the existing energy wasting lights.

After the first brief testing with a lot of LED lamps and modules on the market it was realised that a more rigorous testing approach was needed, leading to the development of more than twelve brands in store running continuously for over six months. This approach was taken due to the massive number of lights in the project over the whole of Australia, failure was just not an option.

It soon became clear that important factors needed to be met when choosing an LED such as minimal colour shift, good life and light output over the life of the lamp, glare control, excellent colour rendering, retrofit options, fitting options, different beam angles and good lumens per watt for efficiency.

During the course of the trial there were LED lamps and fittings that failed, changed colour, were too glary, had a lot less light output than when they were turned on and some just didn’t have at all the light output needed for a commercial project.

At the end of the trial the final standing LED was chosen because of its stability and cost effectiveness and it covered all the important factors not normally thought about when deciding on an LED option.

LED lamps used in this case study: MR16 10W, 8W, 4W by Megaman MR11 12v by Megaman The Hamer Hall project located in the Melbourne Arts Centre precinct at South Bank stepped into the new age of advanced technology and energy saving concepts.

Sourcing quality product whether it’s for your home or a large scale project such as this makes all the difference. It was important to maintain the original atmosphere of the centre while implementing energy saving lighting that wasn’t like the normal glary LED lighting with the funny dots. On a project like this atmosphere means everything and good quality lighting adds to making the whole experience pleasurable. Sometimes it not just about saving money or benefiting the environment even though in this instance the Hamer Hall AR111 and Par38 LED lighting achieved this also without any compromise.

Not having to worry about colour shift or making your skin look pasty, they do the job they were meant to do unlike some LED options that were tested.

These particular LED lamps were chosen for the commercial quality they offered, not only were they good value and high output with excellent lumens per watt, they also look like the original halogen lamps being replaced adding value to the finished project.

LED lamps used in this case study: AR111 by Megaman Par38 by Megaman Crown Silver LED by Megaman

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Give every room an awesome view

Model No. HA790

*

With Samsung’s Innovative

Solution

Upgrade your guest’s inroom experience with Samsung’s Hospitality TV Smart Hub*, the smart solution that helps to give your guests the opportunity to explore your facilities, access the internet, interact on social media pages and share content wirelessly from a mobile device. And all from the comfort of their room.

3

YEAR WARRANTY Setting A

3D VIEWING EXPERIENCE Immersive 3D viewing experience, bursting with rich, vivid images.**

Setting A

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If you’re ready to take your hotel tv experience to the next level, visit www.samsunghtv.com or contact Stuart Meighan (Business Development Manager) Phone +61 2 9763 9952 Email s.meighan@samsung.com

* Certain advertised features and applications may not be available on all devices and regions and are subject to change without notice. Internet connection required. Data and subscription charges may apply.

Some features may require additional peripheral devices which are sold seperately. ** 3D glasses required to watch 3D images. 3D glasses sold seperately. ^ Samsung takes copyright seriously. Samsung does not authorise, sanction, approve or countenance any use of its AllShare application that infringes copyright or is otherwise contrary to law. ^^ USB sold seperately.

16

AIHE Presentation August 2012

GUEST ROOM TECHNOLOGY: WHAT GUESTS WANT!

BY BRENDAN GRANGER

In this series of articles I am going to discuss “Guestroom Technology” and in particular what guests want.

W

e will look at some of the biggest trends in technology across the globe right now and talk about how they impact us as hoteliers There are a lot of changes in technology at this point in time and we can probably talk for days, but, we won’t. I will focus on those that mainly affect individuals as hospitality is about being hospitable to individuals.

I’ve broken the trends down into the 5 Key areas, and they are: Ubiquity – internet access is now common place; Mobility – internet access from the palm of your hand; Cloud – private data accessible via the internet; Social Media – you probably go to Facebook; and iVideo and iTV – we’ve probably made this one up, I’m not sure. What we’re talking about here is video and TV over the internet and the fact that guests are bringing their own devices and content. In a sense their own entertainment.

I’ll cover the first three trends in the article and the remaining two in a future article.

Ubiquity So, let’s look at the first one, Ubiquity. The meaning of ubiquity has been around since the 1500’s but today, it’s used to mean that the status of something is extremely common. Something found everywhere.

It is normally used when talking about technology and often in reference to the internet.

Internet accessibility – there are 2.3 billion people that have access to the internet, about 33% of the entire population. 70% of those in Oceania and Australia have internet access, 80% of people in North America, and 26% of people in Asia. Asia represents a substantial growth opportunity.

Asia currently represents 45% of the total

17

worldwide internet users and it has grown eightfold in the last 10 years. However, only 26% of the Asian population have access to the internet. Over the last 10 years, there has been more than a fivefold growth in those who have access to the internet.

Internet access today is so common place – it’s now viewed almost as a standard utility.

So what does this mean for your guests?

Well, probably nearly all your guests have access to great internet connectivity at home and the office and they expect the same level of internet access at your property no matter what your star rating is and they have a low tolerance to poor bandwidth.

Mobility The next trend is Mobility. What we mean by mobility is literally mobile computing.

Hand held portable computing that are internet capable, smart phones and tablets, and they don’t all start with “i.”

87% of the population have mobile phones. More people own a mobile phone than own a toothbrush. There are currently 1.08 billion smart phones out there and that’s about 20% of the entire mobile phone market. As we said, not all of those smart phones are iPhones, in fact, just under 30% are iPhones. Smart phones that use the Android platform (Samsung, LG HTC, Sony Ericsson etc) are the most common at just under 50%, followed by Blackberry with 16%, Microsoft at 5% and the Symbian operating system (Nokia etc) at under 2%.

Of the 1.08 billion smart phone users out there, 89% of them use their phone throughout the day not just for making calls of course. 84% use a smart phone for internet browsing. Tablets are now the fastest selling consumer electronic device in history. There are now 145 million tablets out there and 84.1 million are iPads, that’s about 58% of the market.

The big thing about smart phones though is the Apps. Basically, an apps takes the information from the internet and presents it in small usable chunks. There are now Apps for just about everything you would want to do. There are over 1 million apps on Apple and Google and over 45 billion apps have been downloaded.

Coupled with mobile devices are the predictions with regards to wireless internet

18

access. They’re predicting that wireless internet access will exceed desktop based access in 2016 and in the same year, tablet sales will exceed notebook sales.

So what is the impact on hotels?

Well, hotel guests are now checking in with more devices. 40% of your guests have 2 or more Wi-Fi devices. 25% have 3 or more Wi-Fi devices. Most of these devices need charging so there’s an increased demand for power outlets. Most of these devices are used to access the internet which puts an increased demand on bandwidth.

Guests are now also bringing their own content on these devices as well or access it on the internet on the device within in your property. As a result there is less dependence on the in-house video-ondemand solution to the point where new built properties are seriously considering if they need a video-on-demand solution or not.

There’s an increased demand to enable guests to readily access their own content just as they do when at home. They want to play/watch what they want, when they want and if they’re in a hotel room and they’ve got an 8-inch tablet and the room has a 42 inch TV, it would be great if they could connect their device to the TV and watch it on the TV. Tablets and smart phones are great for video but of course video uses more bandwidth. The other thing about video is it is a continuous stream. Hotels are seeing bandwidth consumption rates increase as a result of mobile devices and it’s only going to continue.

Mobile devices also have a dramatic impact on a hotels wireless network, because these devices depend on wireless.

So there is an increased demand for wireless but not only that, there is an increased demand for wireless across the entire hotel, not only in the guest room but by the pool and in all the public areas and restaurants.

The other thing to keep in mind is that wireless antennas on tablets and smart phones are weaker than those on a laptop.

So, your existing wireless infrastructure may not be adequate enough to cover the entire property when it comes to a tablet or a smart phone.

Cloud Computing The thirds trend is Cloud computing. Cloud computing is private or business information that you control and accessed via the internet. It could be things like data storage, programs like SkyDrive. It could be email, for example Gmail. There are personal and business applications; Microsoft 365 is a Cloud based version of Microsoft office. There are customer relationship management products like Sales Force as well accounting packages etc. Having your application and information in the Cloud means you can access it from anywhere that you have internet access.

Cloud computing is becoming common place and it is predicted to increase at a 50% annual compound growth over the next 3 years.

So, what’s the impact of Cloud computing on hotels?

Many guests will need to access the Cloud in order to conduct business. So once again, we see an increased demand for internet access. It’s also going to put more pressure on bandwidth than traditional business email and web browsing.

Your guests will need to access their applications/information in the Cloud to be productive. Since it is business related they will pay to be more productive and will have low tolerance for a poor internet service or bandwidth.

To summarise, I have discussed, 3 of three 5 major trends that we are seeing being; Ubiquity, Mobility and Cloud computing.

These are all changing the way we as individuals and companies do things and of course, how hotel guests do things and what they expect from hotels. The trends above mean that guests expect great internet connectivity, increasing demand for wireless and increasing demand for more and more band width. As businesses provide access to business tools via the internet, guest tolerance for a poor internet experience is diminishing. The increase prevalence of smart phones and tablets is not only put increasing demand on wireless availability but also wireless signal strength as antennas in tablets and smart phones are weaker than those in tablets so existing wireless infrastructure may be insufficient for today, let alone tomorrows guests.

Next time we’ll look at Social Media and iTV and iVideo. ■

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BIG OPPORTUNITIES TO REDUCE WASTE TO LANDFILL AND SAVE MONEY

BY JENNY CAMPBELL | ENCYCLE CONSULTING

Hotel Engineers play an essential role in improving waste management and recycling practices of hotels across Australia.

Solid waste from Australian businesses makes up about 30% (or about 7 million tonnes) of waste to landfill in Australia each year. In real terms, this is a ‘waste’ of materials and money.

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T

he Accommodation and Food Services Sector produces 2.2 million tonnes of waste nationally per annum. Currently around 32% of waste from this sector is recycled and the remaining 68% is sent to landfill, even though most hotel waste is recyclable or compostable.

Waste to landfill is expensive and will become more so, particularly with the Price on Carbon, reduced availability of landfill space and increasing landfill levies.

It’s generally cheaper to recycle or compost, so why is over twothirds of hotel waste going to landfill? Often it is because there is no-one willing to tackle the issues and realise the opportunities. In hotels where waste management works well, it is very often the hotel engineer who has the know-how to understand the data and identify the opportunities for waste through developing a waste management plan.

A waste management plan specific to the hotel can help all hotel personnel to understand their responsibilities for managing waste in their work area. A waste management plan describes all the

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waste and recycling systems in place and sets out an action plan for implementing new waste minimisation or recycling initiatives.

Most of the waste generated by hotels is either recyclable or compostable. The recyclables are cardboard, glass bottles, plastic bottles, steel cans, newspaper and office paper. Food waste is compostable and makes up around 40% of the total waste stream from hotels by weight (more if there are large restaurants or conference areas).

Many hotels have recycling systems for cardboard and glass or commingled (mixed) recyclables in place, but may not have a clear picture of how effective they are at diverting waste from landfill or where the opportunities are for saving money and managing waste more efficiently.

The hotel engineers who understand the costs and performance of their waste management system have a simple, but effective waste and recycling data reporting and management system. The system is not necessarily complicated, and most of the relevant information can be obtained by requiring your service providers to give you the numbers you need in a useful format.

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On a monthly basis, update your figures and keep track of the tonnages sent to recycling and landfill and the expenditure. By monitoring the data provided by your waste and recycling service providers you will be able to determine a recycling rate for your hotel. From here future targets and performance indicators can be set. Without a measurement system in place, it will be difficult to manage your recycling or composting initiatives. Keeping an eye on the numbers uncovers the opportunities for more efficient systems and provides the good news stories for the marketing team and the corporate annual report.

When setting up your data management system, most hotel engineers tend to think about whether the numbers they collect and monitor will answer the important questions for them. How much does it cost for your hotel to dispose of waste each year?

While waste disposal costs may not be a large part of your hotel’s bottom line, the disposal fees are likely to only be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to working out how much waste really costs your hotel. Have you included all the bulk bins for refurbishments?

Have you included all the waste and recycling streams, such as cooking oil and grease trap waste?

Most hotels find that food waste is a significant part of their waste stream and is also the fraction that causes the problems; it’s smelly, heavy to move around and can create problems with vermin. Food waste is also a part of the waste stream that causes problems in landfill. Food waste decomposes in landfills to produce methane which is a greenhouse gas over 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide. It also produces leachate, a liquid that if not managed well can contaminate ground water.

Food waste can be diverted from landfill if it is segregated from all other waste in hotel kitchens. In most Australian States, waste service providers offer an organics collection service where food

to avoid the need for packaging and instead use more re-usable containers such as crates. Of course, you need a good system to make sure that these crates are collected by the suppliers regularly and don’t clutter up your loading dock.

waste is taken to commercial composting facilities for processing into compost products. There are also new technologies available such as GaiaRecycle - a machine that dehydrates and sterilises food waste to produce a dry, sterile organic material, approximately 10% of the volume of the original waste that can be applied directly to land or sent for compost processing.

By treating food waste on-site, it reduces the need to have waste removed. It can also reduce manual handling of waste and eliminate all sorts of manual handling headaches for stewards, kitchen and loading dock personnel. It will also reduce odour and potential occupational health and safety issues.

Substantial cost savings can be realised by not producing waste in the first place. There are a number of ways that your hotel could generate less waste. You could put the onus back on suppliers and couriers to take back their packaging, particularly those annoying single-use timber pallets that seem to reproduce in hotel loading docks. A review of purchasing policies could identify opportunities

If you’re going to all that effort to reduce waste and recycle, why not support the industry further and create more demand for recycled products, by purchasing products such as office paper with recycled content? There might be other products you could purchase with recycled content too.

After you’re implemented some great initiatives and started to achieve reduced waste generation rates and higher recycling performance, make sure you tell your staff, guests, customers, shareholders and broader community all about your hotel’s success.

But be careful to get your facts straight, otherwise you may be at risk of ‘green washing’.

Hotel Engineers play an important role in driving waste reduction and recycling initiatives in hotels. They understand the numbers. ■

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Total Facilities Live BOB HOLESKO | CEM, CEA VP OF FACILITIES HEI HOTELS & RESORTS NORWALK, CT

ENERGY MANAGEMENT FROM AUDIT TO IMPLEMENTATION *CASE STUDY*

L

ooking back at where HEI’s energy conservation program began compared to what it has become I realize that I became part of the “Perfect Storm” for hotel energy conservation.

A “Perfect Storm” is an expression that describes an event where a rare combination of circumstances come together resulting in an event of unusual magnitude. HEI’s rare combination of events include: 1. Acquiring Hotels in need of energy conservation upgrades

2. Having access to Capital 3. Having the freedom to implement change In 2006 I attended the annual LIGHTFAIR International Expo in New York City. During a lunch break with my entire team of energy conservation consultants, suppliers, and installers, I challenged them all by saying: “HEI Hotels & Resorts needs to win the ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award ASAP.” Winning the award would mean more than helping the environment. It

would mean that HEI had developed and implemented a program that was effective, measurable, and had proven results.

Of course doing so required not only coming up with the program but getting the program endorsed by the “C” Level Leaders at HEI (CEO, CFO, COO). It was no small task, but I knew my team and I could make it happen.

In 2009 we won the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) Award for Corporate Energy Management of the Year, making us

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the first hotel company to win that award since Marriott won it back in 1978. The next year we won ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year (POY). Our Goal had been met. But why stop there? Every aspect of our energy conservation program was effectively saving energy, preventing pollution and was saving millions of dollars each year. We kept at it and have since won POY in 2011 and won ENERGY STAR’s highest award, Sustained Excellence, in 2012.

What it took to build one of the most successful energy conservation programs the US Hospitality Industry has ever seen was simple but not easy, nor did it happen overnight. Key elements of the program included: • Reliable Data/Benchmarking: Results had to be measureable • Upper Level Commitment: Executive level leaders at the company had to buy into the program and supply the capital • Proven Technology: While risk can be good, going with what was known to work provided guaranteed results • Effective Implementation: Of both the capital projects and operational programs.

• Reward Success: Incentives helped to get the necessarily support from the Chief Engineer and hotel Department Heads.

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on I had nearly guaranteed approval on any project that delivered an estimated three year ROI or better. This set me up nicely for step two.

Step two, which began in 2007, was the aggressive implementation of proven energy conservation capital projects. Many of these projects were augmented with utility supplier and State funded Demand Side Management (DSM) Rebate programs.

Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs) and Projects that were implemented portfolio wide and commonly referred to as the “Low Hanging Fruit” or “No Brainer” items included: • Lighting Retro-fits: T-12 fluorescent tubes with magnetic ballasts and incandescent EXIT lights & bulbs replaced with T-8 tubes with electronic ballasts, LED EXIT lights and compact fluorescent (CFL’s) bulbs.

• Guestroom Thermostats: Replaced nonprogrammable stats with programmable stats.

• Variable Frequency Drive’s (VFD’s): Installed on applicable systems with motors 10HP or greater.

• Heating,Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Controls: Energy Management System (EMS) overdue software upgrades, heating & cooling outdoor air reset controllers, refrigeration & heating equipment control upgrades, etc.

• Window Film: Rebate driven project.

Step one of implementing the program was for HEI to join ENERGY STAR in 2006. This allowed use of ENERGY STAR’s Portfolio Manager Program for hotel by hotel benchmarking through use of utility data.

• Miscellaneous: Installed photo cells, motion detectors & timers on lighting systems, installed plastic strip doors on walk-in coolers & freezers, high quality scales to weigh loads in laundry to maximize efficiency of equipment, etc.

This benchmarking supplied the hard data and performance results needed to sell the “C” Upper Level Management on the investment rational of energy conservation capital projects. The Net Present Value (NPV) discount rate had to exceed 20% in order to get that buy-in. In 2005 HEI had already performed lighting retro-fits on nine hotels. Using the Portfolio Manager Program, I could show that this initial round of lighting retro-fits delivered a 33% return on investment ( ROI). That made it a slam dunk as an investment. From then

These items became known as “HEI’s Standard Energy Conservation Capital Package” and are implemented as needed at all new HEI hotel acquisitions. A major benefit of this methodology is the “Bundling of Projects” since many of the HVAC related items and especially the window film projects when measured as a stand-alone project have an ROI of 4+ years but when bundled as part of a “Package” hit the 3 year ROI threshold. A simple rule of thumb is that “Any project teamed with a lighting retro-fit sells easier.”

The final Step in HEI’s “Perfect Storm” energy conservation program targeted Operational Programs, Awareness & Incentives. Now that I had great benchmarking data, “C” level support, and a robust capital commitment the missing link was to bring it all together from an operational stand-point.

At HEI we never stand pat and are always looking for ways to improve our hotels’ financial performance and reduce our carbon footprint, “Corporate social responsibility isn’t just a catch-phrase at HEI, but something we work hard to demonstrate every single day,” said HEI CEO Gary Mendell. For example, now that we have replaced all applicable 100 watt incandescent bulbs with an 18 watt CFL we now want the hotel staff to turn off the 18 watt CFL. Main Operational Enhancements implemented companywide include: • Energy Dashboard: We developed a custom dashboard trademarked as the Energy Looking Glass or ELG which allows the Chief Engineers to monitor energy use daily.

• FAB 4 Incentive Program: Identified the key energy consuming department heads – Chief Engineer, Executive Housekeeper, Executive Chef and Banquet Managers and developed an incentive that instilled an energy saving culture that was lacking.

• Energy Set Point Program (ESP): Developed a program that certifies the optimum operating parameters for all key energy consuming setpoints such as domestic hot water supply and chilled water supply. Each hotel can have a few dozen ESPs to monitor.

In closing, one of the keys to HEI’s success was the performance, buy-in and commitment of our hotel Chief Engineers.

These are the guys that make it happen and are responsible for steering the ship through the “Perfect Storm”. Without their dedication we would not have been able to reduce our energy consumption 20.2% companywide since the programs began back in 2005. ■

ADVERTORIAL

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On a negative note, we hear from clients and within the industry of ‘inferior’ LED products being offered at over inflated prices, this regrettably reflects adversely on the LED industry in Australia. The significant and critical factor in using LED lighting solutions is in the ‘quality’ of the components within the light (LED chip, driver, transformer) to produce a superior product which provides the required lumens/candela at low wattage for the specific applications that it is intended for, together with longevity of life span, and importantly a competitively priced unit. Our products encompasses all of the above and we pride ourselves on our after sales support service to our many clients.

We focus and specialise in special projects that include new builds, retro fits, upgrades in the hospitality and corporate/commercial property arena, wherein our clients are major hotel-chains, resorts, property developers. We work closely with one of the largest power companies in Queensland. In addition, we provide advice and support various shire councils.

Our product range is extensive and includes downlights, spotlights (MR16), tubes (T8), decorative, exterior lighting, etc. LED lighting is highly diverse with a wide range of styles to suite both, indoor and outdoor environments.

Consequently our range changes regularly with new technology and designs being introduced into the market. As a result our website does not reflect in its entirety our complete product range.

We offer a unique service to clients in designing LED lighting solutions to optimise the product for their applications: brightness, colour, beam angles… and to budget constraints without compromising on quality. It is imperative that the application in which LED’s are used for are correctly applied the first time, additionally to ensure quality and energy efficiency. The installation or retrofit to any LED lights from the usual incandescent or halogens is simple. Furthermore, due to the relatively low heat emitted from LED’s negates a possible fire hazard and reduces the air-conditioning load. An interesting feature of the LED light is in its absence of UV rays, which has a positive impact in not attracting most insects to the light, our products are to Australian standards and approvals and subject to the product and project, carry an extended warranty.

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EMPOWERING THE HOTEL ENGINEER ROSS SHARMAN | Technical Director | Knowledge Global ANDY GOONESEKERA | Director of Engineering | InterContinental Sydney

Profit squeeze The rising cost of electricity continues to squeeze profitability and long term business sustainability.

This year’s introduction of carbon as a cost item along with huge rises in network costs has provided an added incentive to reduce energy consumption.

Procurement managers are feeling helpless as increasing percentages of the bill are nonnegotiable. The ability to reduce electricity costs now largely becomes an issue of reducing energy consumed, which means the pendulum of opportunity has swung towards the engineer.

The Energy Savings Scheme and Knowledge Global To improve their hotel’s energy performance, InterContinental Sydney engaged Knowledge Global to use its award winning software system EMMA. Knowledge Global is also an accredited certificate provider of the NSW Energy Savings Scheme (ESS). InterContinental Sydney is an innovator in their sector and is the first hotel using this approach.

The ESS was created to help manage long term electricity costs within the state. Electricity retailers are mandated to buy a number of Energy Saving Certificates (ESC) and this cost is passed onto all business consumers The current value of one ESC (equivalent to one carbon tonne) is around $30. In rough terms if you have invested in an efficiency project and now save one Mega Watt Hour (MWh) you will save around $170 in electricity costs, additionally

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there is a potential to earn $30 from ESCs for each MWh saved (minus administrative costs).

The scheme can be interpreted as a reward mechanism for saving energy; and is legislated to run to 2020 unless it is replaced with a National Energy Efficiency Scheme.

The short term option – deemed savings (forward creation of credits) Promises of free or discounted lighting products are commonly offered in NSW and VIC. This is made possible as sellers can forward claim certificates based on the potential energy savings of these lights for the product lifespan.

The problem with this course of action is that this potentially makes claiming ESCs for other works in your facility costly and onerous. Installing ESC discounted lights will mean you need to apply a suitable method to ensure you are not double counting the energy savings.

The ESS allows you to forward create or annually create certificates for non-lighting projects using the project impact assessment method. However this relies on detailed engineering assessments of the project and as such administrative costs of creating the ESCs are increased.

Using the longer (and smarter) term option– actual savings The approach Knowledge Global offers is very different; they use the metered baseline method, establishing a baseline from historical data and then continually measuring the savings against this baseline. As various efficiency projects are

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realised, the actual energy savings against this baseline can be accurately quantified and registered as ESC’s.

This approach effectively creates a consistent stream of revenue that can be used to re-invest in new projects. A process of continuous improvement of energy performance is created, which is measured and managed by the Knowledge Global software EMMA. Unlike the deemed savings, this method means revenue is available for the full duration of the scheme – delivering longer term rewards.

So often good maintenance, innovative thinking and best practices that reduce energy go unrecognised and unrewarded – this approach allows the results of this work to be quantified and financially rewarded.

This approach encapsulates all energy savings and contributes to the overall saving of energy.

An additional benefit of using EMMA has been that it has been able to provide some

real smarts around electricity tariffs and is instrumental in budgeting, planning, returns on investment and procurement. It can also be used to track the energy performance of individual assets – useful in tracking actual performance against forecasted performance (often promised by vendors).

This now means the engineer (and finance) has the tools and mechanisms in place to squeeze every inch of efficiency out of their hotels. That pendulum of opportunity should be grasped with both hands and be used to earn the engineer the status they deserve.

InterContinental Sydney – Case Study After a chiller replacement in 2009, there have been a number of smaller projects and a continued roll out of best management practices at InterContinental Sydney. As a result, energy consumption has dropped by 18% from its baseline, resulting in approximate annual electricity

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savings of $250,000, and the generation of 1,700 ESC’s per year (current value of $51,000). A staged LED lighting roll out will further grow these savings, putting the hotel in a much stronger fiscal position.

InterContinental Sydney will continue to reap these rewards until 2020 or even longer if the federal scheme takes off.

And into the future ….

Looking into the future; the development of LPG export industry will result in significant increases in gas costs, and cost pressures on waste and water will increase.

Therefore, initiating and reviewing your sustainability management strategy with the right tools and reward mechanisms today, will ensure you a competitive advantage for tomorrow.

Ross Sharman, Knowledge Global www.knowledge-global.com Phone (02) 8216 0993 Andy Goonesekera, InterContinental Sydney www.sydney.intercontinental.com

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HOTEL ENGINEER Regulation Update

DEREK HENDRY | HENDRY GROUP

Smoke Hazard Management: Building Code of Australia (BCA) AUST – HENDRY building surveyors advise that the Building Code of Australia (BCA) in Clause E2.2 ‘General Requirements’ establishes the requirements under the BCA for smoke hazard management and sets out other general provisions. As a guide for building surveyors when faced with performance based designs it would be reasonable to accept minor departures from the deemed-to-satisfy provisions (for instance the variation of sprinkler or smoke detector head spacings) by using the performance Clauses EP2.1 and EP2.2 in Part E2.

Building Code of Australia Clause E2.2 General Requirements Where a design involves a complete departure from the deemedto-satisfy provisions of BCA Table E2.2a, General Provisions, expert assistance should be obtained to assess compliance with the performance criteria.

Class 2 to 9 buildings under the BCA must comply with E2.2(b), (c) and (d), which cover the fire mode operation of air-handling systems in order to maintain the basic integrity of the fire compartments.

In addition to E2.2(b), (c) and (d), BCA Class 2 to Class 9 buildings must comply with the requirements of Table E2.2a,

which provides some general and specific strategies for smoke hazard management.

The following illustration from BCA Illustrated depicts the requirements for smoke hazard management in a building over 25 metres high with multiple uses. Please note no ‘Issue’ and Explanation’ is included.

E2.2(b) requires an air-handling system which is not part of a smoke hazard management system to be designed and installed with suitable strategies to ensure that, in the event of fire, it does not: • Recycle air from one fire compartment to another; or • Otherwise contribute to the spread of smoke between fire compartments.

In a fire, an air-handling system which is not part of a smoke hazard management system must either shut down or operate as a smoke control system in accordance with AS/NZS 1668.1:1998 ‘The use of ventilation and air-conditioning in buildings – Fire and Smoke control in multi-compartment buildings’.

Where the air-handling system is shut down in fire mode, it must incorporate automatic smoke dampers where the ducts penetrate any fire barriers.

The use of a purging arrangement of smoke control, in accordance with AS/NZS 1668.1, is allowable in buildings which are not covered by the general provisions in BCA Table E2.2a, and in some instances in conjunction with other measures in accordance with Table E2.2a.

Any air-handling systems which serve more than one fire compartment and can be covered by Clause 7 of AS1668.1 must be designed and installed in compliance with that section of the Australian Standard, except where the system serves a carpark. This approach is intended to minimise the spread of smoke between fire compartments.

Note that provisions on the operation of carpark ventilation system in the event of a fire in the carpark, are included under the general provisions in BCA Table E2.2a.

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An AS/NZS 1668.1 system for zoned smoke control and automatic air pressurisations for fire-isolated exits must be controlled by a smoke detection system installed in compliance with Clause 5 of BCA Specification E2.2a Smoke Detection and Alarm Systems.

Fire Brigade Connections: Essential Safety Measures AUST – Essential Property Services advises that fire brigade connections under the Building Code of Australia (BCA) are ‘fireservice booster connections’. Fire-service booster connections (which become nominated essential safety measures) consist of an arrangement of valves and pipe work specifically designed to suit a building’s needs. The design of the fire-service booster connection must enable the fire brigade access to sufficient water quickly, to allow them to attend to a fire.

Building Code of Australia The Building Code of Australia in clause E1.3 Fire hydrants, specifies the requirements for the installation of a fire-service booster connection. A part extract of clause E1.3 follows:

fire-service booster connection must be provided adjacent to allow boosting of the system.

The fire brigade’s use of the fire-service booster connection ensures that sufficient water pressure is available for fire brigade officers to utilise the fire hydrants (fire-service booster connections also connect to a building’s sprinkler system).

The illustration opposite from BCA Illustrated (http://www. bcaillustrated.com.au) depicts the access requirements to fireservice booster connection. (Please note ‘Issues and Explanation’ of a fire-service booster connections not included).

Essential Safety Measures Audit - Fire Service Booster Connections The Following is a part extract of clause 1.1 Safety Measures covering fire-service booster connections: Table I1.5 SAFETY MEASURES – SIGNS Safety Measure

E1.3 Fire hydrants (b) The fire hydrant system (vi) where the water supply system is taken form a static source, suitable connections and vehicular access must be provided to permit fire brigade personnel to draw water from that source and a

Fire hydrant system (including on-site pump set and fire-service booster connection)

BCA provisions for determining standard of performance E1.3

Is your power consumption going up? Are your guests leaving the air conditioner on all day while they are out?

Are your guests running the air conditioners at 16 degrees? Help is on the way!

Now you can take control of how your guests use energy hungry air conditioners. The ultima remote allows you to control the temperature range at which your air conditioners will operate, having a direct and immediate effect on your power consumption. How hard is it?

Swap your existing air conditioner remote with an Ultima remote, enter the code supplied and save save save. It is that easy and your payback can be measured in weeks not years.

Call us and discover how inexpensive it is to save over 15% on your air conditioner’s energy use immediately. We have sold over 10,000 energy saving remotes in the past two years. Find out how you can start saving today.

Find out why Varsity Towers, Beachfront on Trinity, Merimbula Beach Holiday Park, Beaconsfield Beach Apartments, Cedar Lodge Motel, Medina Executive, Ocean Beach Holiday Park, Santaanna by the Sea, Travelodge Mirambeena, Pacific Rim Hotels, Dubbo RSL Club Hotel, Vibe Hotels and hundreds of others have all had positive results with our energy savings remotes.

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Testimonial…

“Being a manager of a Holiday building I see every day the unnecessary electricity usage from the air conditioners, Some guests set the temperature as low as possible on the control and leave it on 24/7 thinking nothing if they leave it on all day if they are out, or at Night time they put blankets on the bed as the rooms are so cold. The Ultima remote allows me to take some control over this, by setting the minimum Temperature at the recommended 24deg. This allows the air conditioner to quickly cool the apartment to be at a comfortable temp, Once there the compressor shuts down. Temperature settings lower than this create the compressor to work 24/7 to get the apartment at a lower temperature that it struggles to get to, or can never achieve.

Some modern Inverter machines have features in them that shut down when they sense no movement in the rooms, (energy saving features) I can program the machine with the manufactures remote, then replace it with the Ultima remote, this gives me the control over the features so they can’t be de-programmed.

Yes I am sold on the Ultima Remote as a great energy saving device” Jack Santaanna by the Sea (Gold Coast)

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Essential Safety Measures Audit - Fire Service Booster Connection Most building surveyors/ certifiers will nominate AS 1851-2005 Maintenance of fire protection systems and equipment in their state’s essential safety measures schedules/ determinations for the inspection, testing and maintenance of fire-service booster connections. Essential safety measure auditors must check the fire-service booster connections maintenance contractor’s logbook for the designated inspection frequency and record in the building’s essential safety measures logbook details of the facilities observations.

Safety Measure

BCA provisions for determining standard of performance

Glazed Assemblies

B1.4

The Building Code of Australia nominates the following Standards applicable to glazed assemblies: • AS 2047-1999 Windows in buildings - Selection and installation • AS 1288-2006 Glass in buildings - Selection and installation

Glazed Assemblies: Essential Safety Measures

Essential Safety Measures Audit - Glazed Assemblies

AUST – Essential Property Services advises that the Building Code of Australia (BCA) in Part B1 Structural Provisions allows for glazed assemblies in buildings, providing compliance with specified requirements. The building surveyor/ certifier should be specific in the description used in the essential safety measures determination/ schedule so that the essential safety measures auditor can locate all glazed assemblies.

An essential safety measures auditor must locate the glazed assemblies in the building and report any defects in the building’s essential safety measures logbook.

The illustration on page 35 from BCA Illustrated depicts a ‘glazed assemblies’ in a shopfront, door and side panel. (Please note ‘Issues and Explanation’ of glazed assemblies not included).

The following is a part extract of clause I1.1 for an Essential Safety Measure known as glazed assemblies:

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Table I1.12 SAFETY MEASURES - OTHER MEASURES

Derek Hendry is the Managing Director of the HENDRY group of consulting companies that include HENDRY Building Surveying Consultants, HENDRY Disability Access Consultants, Essential Property Services and Emergency Plan.

HENDRY pioneered the private certification system of building approvals in Australia, and the consultancy assists clients nationally in all facets of building control and disability access compliance, essential safety measures audits and emergency planning requirements. HENDRY publish a monthly e-newsletter entitled ‘Essential Matters” and provide a subscription service, BCA Illustrated, which provides over 3000 illustrations that interpret and explain the BCA as it applies to your building. http://www.hendrygroup.com.au

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What’s that you are walking on?

BY GREG BLAIN ARCHITECT Answer: The Floor!

How often do we think much about what we are walking on… floors and pavements?

Well…hardly ever, but what we walk on is by far, our most physical contact with a building!

Other than turning handles and taps, we barely touch a building, except for the floor…and we are in heavy physical contact with it always.

So this particular relationship between user and building is rather unique. And it varies with user.

For babies, the floor is almost their whole world. For kids and teenagers it is the medium used to speedily get from one place to another. For adults it’s about ease of movement and cleaning.

For the elderly who often shuffle while walking or use walkers or wheelchairs, a floor or pavement type can mean the difference between being able to move about or not.

And the floor…what does it have to do? Well, there are many things it needs to do – and these all vary in importance depending on the building and application!

Generally, floors need to be durable to withstand constant abuse and impact. They also need to be cleanable, reparable, provide ease of movement, not let you slip too easily, not damage you or other things too much when dropped, look good, manipulate light and glare usefully, and not hold odours (spilt stuff and air-borne substances, including pollution, settle on the floor).

So you can see…the humble floor or pavement is an unexpectedly complex part of a building.

A Closer Look at Floors This will be just a whir-wind tour of the world of floors.

Floors need to be durable. Harder floors will generally last longer than softer floors, but harder floors are more likely to result in injury during a fall, cause fatigue, cause more sound reverberation (echo), or cause breakage of dropped objects.

Floors need to be cleanable. Lighter and plain colours may reveal dirt more than dark patterned colours. Textured or fabric surfaces can be harder to clean than smooth surfaces, however smooth surfaces may release more dust into the air. Smoother surfaces are easier to clean but can be less slip resistant.

Floor slip resistance is an important safety issue. It is more critical with Wet Area floors, food preparation area floors (which can become more slippery with less cleaning), and mechanical work area floors. Certain materials (eg polished timber, smooth concrete and polished tiles) can be slippery especially if the floor is dusty or wet.

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Slip resistance considerations often need to be balanced against cleaning requirements. However safety must always take priority.

Slip resistance can come from the material surface itself or by applying a slip resistant coating. Slip resistance rating can be determined, specified, and then site-tested once the flooring is installed.

Floors need to be flush (no steps or sudden level changes) to avoid trip hazard. Avoid single steps as they can be an unexpected trip hazard which can be eased with warning colour and/or textile floor change, but it is still best not to have a single step.

A floor level change of about knee height (even if Law allows no handrail) can be a fall danger. A handrail should be provided (including a mid-rail for children). This handrail could be set-back so a person can use the floor change as a seat and not hit their head when they stand.

A source of unacceptable heat reflection and glare comes from light coloured external pavements (including standard grey concrete) and floors near large windows. Darker colours should be used to avoid excessive heat reflection and glare.

Outside Floors – Pavements Of course, like internal floors, well designed outside pavements can enhance our quality of life.

But the design and selection of pavements involves different conditions, primarily needing to withstand the rigours of nature.

Basic design factors can include texture (roughness causes fall abrasion injury), durability, trip hazards and steps, slip resistance, drainage, sealing, cleaning, maintenance, load (people, cars), glare from lighter colours, and falls/slope.

Rough paving will likely not suit the elderly, wheelchairs, children’s wheeled toys, and cleaning. It can cause more abrasion injury during a fall, than smoother paving. Some coarse paving (eg very rough cobblestone or natural stone) may even cause ankle injury.

I prefer to use lightly honed concrete pavement. It is fairly smooth (more usable for the elderly and less abrasion for children falling), it is fairly easily cleaned (especially if sealed), requires less maintenance (tiles and pavers can come loose or settle unevenly), and it is very durable.

If there are in-ground services under pavement which may require future access, segmental (individual) pavers laid on compacted roadbase is a sensible choice.

Pavements need to be drained and surface water drainage must not cause erosion, or discharge to a neighbour.

Roofs or awnings should not discharge rain water (or even drip dew) directly on to paving, as this can promote paving mould growth which is a slip hazard and causes paving deterioration.

Sealers for earthen or concrete pavers can be applied to protect against spills and staining. However surface sealers (which dry over the pavement surface like paint) can alter the slip resistance and can peel off over time. I prefer to use penetrating sealers which get absorbed into the surface of the pavement.

Gravel for pathways is not ideal as it can’t be compacted and moves when walked on (like course sand), the elderly can’t walk on it, children may play or throw it, cats like to defecate in it, and dogs like to dig it.

Crushed gravel is sharp and uncomfortable to walk on in bare feet.

River washed rounded stones are hard to source, are expensive, and can destroy natural habitat to obtain. Recycled crushed concrete and brick can provide a rounded aggregate and is an environmentally sensible choice.

Stairs – Another Floor Dimension Stairs can have similar characteristics to floors, but of course they involve users also moving in the vertical dimension. This brings in a whole new set of safety issues.

A handrail should never be too far away on a Stair.

Also the most used part of the Stair is the tread nosing (the tread edge). The foot tends to rotate on the nosing so this part is critical.

Durable, slip resistant nosing pieces can be used however these need their top surface flush with the Stair tread surface. If they are sitting proud (or above) the tread surface, they can form a trip hazard for users descending the Stair.

Curved Stairs can be unsafe as each tread is triangular shape and users tend to walk across the Stair (from the outside to the inside) meaning they traverse treads of irregular width.

Spiral Stairs can save space and may be quirky, but can be unsafe as they can be difficult to traverse, increasing fall potential. Also, only small things can be carried on them.

Landscape Stairs and steps require some different considerations especially regards safety.

Landscape Stair safety can include having slightly rounded edges (to reduce fall injury), slip resistance, and having regular and predictable tread widths and heights. Timber needs to be smooth and splinter free – if not maintained timber deteriorates to eventually become splintered and dangerous.

A landscape Stair descent trip hazard may be created by different materials settling differently. An example is timber sleepers forming the vertical part of the step, in-filled behind by pavers, and the pavers settle lower than the timber.

The Humble Floor is Anything but…

You have now some appreciation of design of that humble and unassuming part of every building – the floor. Step lightly and carefully when selecting flooring. There are a million different products and types.

As with anything building related, it is often best to consult an Architect. Once built, decisions become real, affecting people’s lives and are harder to fix.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Greg Blain has been a Registered Architect since 1989 and his experience spans over 30 years in the Building Industry. Greg currently operates a Practice specialising in detailed architectural design and architectural specification writing (www.BlainSpecifications. com.au). Greg also has produced a series of small books designed to help Australian house owners succeed with their new house or renovation project (www.HouseDesignHelp. com.au).

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40

NEIL WEENINK’S

BACK OF HOUSE

A friend passed on recently who was surely from ‘back of house’. He was what was then called an Engineering Chemist, and of all things was something of a guru on whale oil. His father owned an ancient stone walled hotel in the north of Britain, and young Wilson dutifully learned the tricks of the trade, up to a point that is. His true passion was with hydrocarbons, and it so happened that the fellow Drake who put together the first successful drilling rig on the planet, cemented Wilson’s passion indeed for the ‘term of his natural life’.

I

leant much of this when I first meet the lad doing research on the Southern Harvester in 1953. Goodness what a stink is set about by a whaler! She had just arrived on Tyneside from a season in the Antarctic. Being always interested in the other fellows ship, and in particular, what machinery was down below, I paid a visit, and it was here in his stinking lab that I first met Wilson.

By then so he told me, his father had given up on the hospitality business but that the whole caboodle was there in trust for Willy when he left off ‘fooling around in fish oil.’ Which I felt was a mite unfair to humankind. OK so I am the first to grieve at the loss of a single whale to human butchery, and am also the first to applaud the great Stop Whaling monitories. However I will persist in saying this: As with all great notions and inventions landing on the shoulders of those before, so did the oil from the whale fit the needs of one moment in time. Consider illumination before whale oil, before kerosene was distilled from coal, before the greatness of Edison, Faraday and the many others. Consider the fluid in the early clutch less auto transmissions. Fact is that whale oil be it sperm or the other was immaculately suitable for many engineering purposes.

Back then, to the ancient Hotels in the North of Britain. Wilson talked of the days of candles and oil lamps. And of coal and steam [heavens!] and the new fangled incandescent light bulb. Which of course the ladies were entirely against. Imagine that glaring light on our not always perfect presentation, they said. And worse, the cable sneaking around on the floor. What magic is this, begora? The clients using the old hotels maintained a dim view of the ‘oil-less lamps’ for a considerable time. Not to mention the noise and smell from the power plant somehow connected to the afore mentioned cables; indeed a most distressing situation altogether!

And then the pre WW1 kitchens Wilson’s Father had told his son that over the years it had been likened to hell on earth, stashed away in the nether regions of the hotel or tacked on to a free standing restaurant; a place best forgotten, hot, humid, a place of long working hours, hard floors with puddles of dirty water; a place

where young boys were tyrannized by the Chef and men grow old before their time, burned out by the flames of their stoves and the pressures of their environment. Ugh. Key words here are the ‘flames of their stoves.’ Many of our generation have seen [and sweated over] Chinese Wok appliances in hotels and many of us have maintained the darned things, including the wet exhaust systems associated. Many a to-do I have had with Chefs over this one, but I fear that Chinese history and culture has the casting vote. On the other hand, using the same Satanic Fires to cook a couple of eggs seems to me a mite over the top.

Whichever, Fire has been an important part of all cultures and religions from pre-history to the modern day, and while Wilson knew this, his interest was left of centre - in a word petroleum hydrocarbons. Just why he went from a North Sea oil rig to an Antarctic whaler he kept under his hat. These professor type chaps are a bit hard sometimes for we mere mortals to keep up with. But going on his record, you could believe that his next move may have been in distilling coal and oil shale. Oil refineries began manufacturing kerosene after crude oil became readily available during the mid-1800s.

Kerosene distilled from crude oil quickly replaced other oil-lamp fuels, and kerosene lamps became the most common lighting source until electricity became widely available in the 1930s and 1940s.

Any one out there served in hotel’s using these grand old systems?

You’d need I would guess to be in your eighties at least. Drop me a line why don’t you?

So Wilson and I said our farewells on the Southern Harvester, little knowing then when we should meet again, indeed at a Wake following his passing. May I say this was a marvellous event, and Wilson would have been proud? As the evening rolled around, various references were made to the ‘Hotel Industry’ and to the exquisite comradelier generated.

Even then. Even so long ago, the Upstairs Downstairs theatre of our beloved hospitality was alive and well. ■

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REDUCING ELECTRICITY COSTS BY LOAD SHEDDING AND DEMAND MANAGEMENT

BY MICHAEL NEWTON | WATT UTILITIES

Do you have an OnSite Generator?

Can you manage your electricity load?

If your answer is yes you may be able to explore an alternative way to negotiate electricity contracts with significant reductions.

Our Electricity network is geared for customers to buy from the wholesale pool at the spot price but the pool is nearly exclusively used by the generators and retailers. The spot price for wholesale electricity is calculated for each half hour period during the day and is the clearing price to match supply and demand in the market. Generators and retailers also trade in financial instruments known as hedge contracts outside the wholesale pool to hedge the fluctuations in spot prices.

Normal customers don’t by from the pool due to risk and volatility in cases when the pool prices spike. Yet if you can manage load to avoid these risks you can access low cost electricity at wholesale rates.

Saving electricity costs using existing backup Generator assets or Load Shedding Demand side participation, also referred to by the market as load shedding, curtailability or DSM, is the situation where an electricity consumer can reduce their consumption of electricity in response to a change in market conditions, such as high spot prices or network constraints. This is a deliberate action taken by the customer when demand drives spot prices high and can be a manual process or automated using communication and control equipment. This strategy is

beneficial to both the customer and the market as it allows the customer to avoid the peaks of high spot prices, risk-managing this potential exposure. A similar strategy, called load shifting, is a process where specific demand is intentionally moved to a time when there is lower overall demand and consequent lower spot prices.

There are also now alternatives to traditional retail contracts. There are niche retailers out there that will allow you to access the wholesale pool if you can manage your load. This now offers a significant opportunity in reducing costs.

What are some of your alternatives to traditional retail contracts and why would this potentially benefit your organisation if you can load shed?

These options are available as an alternative to normal electricity contracts: • Capped Pool • Managed Pool • Structured Options • Managed Purchasing • Short Term Grid connected backup generation • Renewable and base load generators • Automated Load Management Systems Demand Side Management and Demand Reduction Reducing and managing your electricity demand also plays a significant role in

going green. Looking at this option not only has a positive impact on your bottom line it expands to wider economic impacts and has significant environmental benefits. There is an interesting statement listed on the CSIRO website about Demand-side Resources, it says, demand-side resources could be worth up to $1 billion per year to the National Electricity Market while helping to keep the lights on during extreme events. Not small change by any means.

DEMAND reduction has to be a key topic if we are to develop a sustainable approach on the development of new power infrastructure. Our electricity supply is often taken for granted by most people yet it is now a matter of concern.

With our population growth, temperature shifts in the extremes with heat waves and cold snaps and our general demand for power increasing, we will we get to a point where our demand for electricity is greater than supply.

So if you want to be serious about making a real difference and also have reduced electricity costs start learning about DSM (Demand Side Management) and load Shedding. The bottom line is you weigh up your apparent risks, open your eyes to the opportunities and think out side the traditional methods and you could save significant costs. ■

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Anchor Point and Static Line Inspection Intervals

BY MAX WINTER | THE HENDRY GROUP

Hotel Engineers are well aware of the multitude of mechanical, electrical and cleaning services required to maintain optimum hotel services efficiency and amenity for hotel clients.

However, the maintenance of some of these services can be hazardous, and require specific safety measures such as anchor points for working at heights. These anchor points and static lines are themselves required by law to be inspected at regular intervals and while the frequency of inspections is addressed by state legislation, there are differences from state to state and the legislation can sometime seem contradictory.

This article will provide an outline for hotel engineers on the requirements on a state-by-state basis and explains where to find the answers to manage this most hazardous of tasks.

HOW IS THE LEGISLATION STRUCTURED? Priority is given to legislation as follows: The OHS Act of each State is the primary legislation and mandates compliance with health and safety regulations which deal with specific risks such as asbestos management, confined spaces, plant and height safety. The detail and content vary from State to State but, essentially, the Regulations are legal documents.

Codes of Practice and Compliance Codes give practical advice regarding specific risks. Workplace safety authorities regard

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compliance with the Codes of Practice as complying with OHS laws. Compliance with Australian Standards are not necessarily legally binding unless called up in higher order legislation as applied, incorporated or adopted. Under these circumstances, compliance with that Standard becomes mandatory and the Standards effectively form part of the legislation.

South Australia The South Australian Regulations mandate inspections of anchorages that are permanently fixed at least every six months. The Australian Standard dealing with fall prevention

inspected six-monthly, “other than” the anchorage points. This creates a lot of confusion for users. When read literally, the legislation implies that all the components of a system should be inspected, such as the ropes, inline shock absorbers, end terminals and shuttles, except for the anchorage point, which need never be inspected.

Surely the most fundamental part of a system that is designed to stop a person hitting the ground would be the anchorages, which hold the system to the main structure. Despite this contradiction in the Regulations, a more logical approach is to interpret the regulations to mean that the full system must be inspected on a six-monthly basis, not just the anchorage points. The importance of anchorages cannot be overstated: they hold the system together and the regulations deal with them in 25 different paragraphs!

Fortunately, Section 321 4(a) clearly states that a system must be inspected at six-monthly intervals and that records are to be maintained for at least four years. The Regulations make continual reference to anchorages being a part of the system, which brings closure to this contradiction.

Western Australia Western Australia’s Regulations call for six-monthly inspections of all fixed anchorages. There is no reference in these Regulations to any Australian Standards.

Australian Capital Territory The National Code of Practice for the Prevention of Falls in General Construction is nominated as a Code of Practice in the ACT, meaning that there is a requirement for six-monthly inspections of permanently fixed anchorages.

Victoria Victoria was the first state to introduce a separate set of Regulations for the Prevention of Falls in 2003, and while the current Regulations do not specify the frequency of inspections, the Compliance Code does.

Inspection is required within six-monthly intervals when the anchorages are permanently fixed and in “regular use”. The Compliance Code does not define regular use, so it is up to the hotel engineer to determine whether the anchorage points are ‘regularly used’. The Compliance Code makes 32 references to anchorages, which reflects their perceived importance to height safety compliance.

New South Wales equipment, AS/NZS1891, is also adopted as a Code of Practice in South Australia.

Since the Regulations are higher-order legislation than a Code of Practice, the requirement for six-monthly inspections takes precedence over the 12-monthly inspections required under AS/ NZS1891.

Queensland Section 323 10 (c) of Queensland’s Workplace Health and Safety Regulations states that every component of a system must be

The NSW Regulations deal with working at heights in Division 6 of the 2001 Regulations. The 2001 Regulations calls for inspection “on a regular basis”. The more recently published position paper and 2006 Safe Working at Heights Guide confirms that requirement in relation to inspection and testing.

WHAT CAN GO WRONG? If anchors and static lines are not routinely inspected and maintained, they can fail. Fixings can loosen and rope fittings can dislodge. Site conditions can also change; new air conditioners may be installed, for example, or gutters may become inaccessible from the ground. Dangling from the side of a building in a harness can

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lead to tragedy when toxic shock/suspension trauma kicks in. If the equipment fails or is incorrectly configured, there is also a chance of hitting the ground, fully dressed in your harness.

THE BOTTOM LINE: THE LEGISLATION AND INDUSTRY PRACTICE In terms of inspection frequency for anchor points and static lines, in most States, the law points to six-monthly inspections, although differing circumstances may mean the answer may not be quite so straightforward. Work Place Safety Assessors can help you appraise the most suitable requirements for your needs.

About HENDRY company, Work Place Safety Assessors As part of the HENDRY group of consultancy companies, Work Place Safety Assessors are able to provide working at heights audits, confined space audits, storage and racking, asbestos register maintenance, chemical storage audits, cooling system audits, emergency planning, fire safety advisor, evacuation diagrams, fire system testing, building audits, fire door audits, essential safety measure audits, glazing audits, building surveying, energy compliance audits and disability access audits.

Work Place Safety Assessors have the national presence required to deliver our services across Australia, while maintaining the State OHS legislation expertise necessary to provide for your local needs with offices in Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. Work Place Safety Assessors provide a complete suite of workplace safety and compliance services to building owners and managers, and can provide an obligation-free quote on your needs. â– For more information go to www.wpsa.net.au for your local State office, call Work Place Safety Assessors on 08 8274 3713 or email wpsasa@wpsa.net.au

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First impressions in façade maintenance Cleaning and maintaining the exteriors of buildings is an important way to improve the image of your hotel or motel – and technologically advanced cleaning equipment makes it easy to achieve outstanding results.

F

irst impressions count – it’s an accepted fact in all walks of life.

If you want to sell your house, a tidy front garden and freshly painted front door will help; cordon bleu chefs will often say that we eat with our eyes, so go to great lengths to make their dishes look beautiful; and if you want to get that new job a smart suit will go down better than jeans and a scruffy T-shirt!

The same goes for the image of your hotel or motel – so keeping your premises pristine, both inside and out, is crucial.

They are the public faces of your organisation, so if they look below par, chances are that both existing and potential new clients will be less than impressed and take their custom elsewhere. A smart, clean façade to your buildings presents a professional face to

the world, stating that your business really does mean business.

Making sure that effective and regular cleaning regimes are in place is therefore a must, but there are many different issues that need to be taken into consideration when cleaning the façades of buildings. Safety is arguably the most important, and there have

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been significant changes in this area in the last few years.

Design and technology provide safe solutions Advances in technology have a big part to play in influencing how an industry sector evolves. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the most obvious and visual manifestation of façade maintenance – window cleaning.

The ‘traditional’ days are long gone – thanks to advances in design that have made window cleaning faster, safer and more efficient. Water-fed poles have become the equipment of choice for professional window cleaners, allowing them to clean high buildings and windows safely from the ground, alleviating the need to work at height.

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Pure water is used in this type of cleaning because it leaves glass and surfaces spot and streak free, without the need for chemicals. Pure water is, as the name suggests, water in its purest form. To get to this state the water is processed to remove the minerals and impurities that would otherwise dry and lead to spots and streaks. These impurities are known as Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and are measured in parts per million (ppm) – water is considered pure when its TDS is measured at 0ppm. The two water purification methods recognised by the cleaning industry are: • Deionisation (DI) – where the water is filtered through ion exchange resin which attracts and removes 99% or more of the minerals • Reverse Osmosis (RO) – where the water is passed through a series of

ER ST GI OW RE N

membranes and filters which retain and flush away most of the minerals and impurities Water-fed poles continue to evolve, incorporating new design features and materials that make these systems even easier to use, with the added bonus that they deliver even better quality results in a fraction of the time, saving companies money too.

The ‘next generation’ water-fed poles provide a better balance between weight and rigidity. Because the poles are lighter it makes the cleaning operative’s job easier and more comfortable, but this reduction in weight does not compromise rigidity, meaning that the poles are still responsive and easy to control, allowing brushes to get right into every corner.

Advances in brush head design, water delivery via multi-jets, angled adapters and pole extensions that allow operatives to clean to heights of up to 65ft while keeping their feet firmly on the ground, all make this sector of the industry a fast-changing and exciting place to work in.

Assess the risks As with any cleaning job, site surveys and risk assessments will help to establish the best equipment to deliver the results you require. It can also identify gaps in knowledge or training, and how frequently your façade needs to be cleaned.

The different materials that need to be cleaned must also be taken into consideration. For instance, is it primarily glass (windows) that need to be cleaned, or are there other materials on the exterior of your building that will also need attention, such as metal signage? With an increasing awareness of environmental issues, companies are also thinking about incorporating energy saving into their business activities, and energy creation is also a hot topic.

Solar panels are becoming more and more popular – for residential and business premises – but they need regular cleaning. Exposure to rain water does help to wash off some dirt, but it also adds new dirt particles to the panel. A build up of dirt and soil can reduce the light absorption of solar panels, making them less efficient and effective. Water-fed pole technology is now stepping up to the mark to provide solutions to this particular problem by developing larger brushes with soft bristles specifically designed to clean and prevent damage to solar panels.

With further developments in technology and training in response to market forces and customer needs, façade maintenance and cleaning can only continue to become easier, quicker and more professional.

For more information about the latest facade maintenance cleaning technologies, contact Pall Mall Manufacturing, provider of specialist accessories to the commercial and industrial cleaning sectors, and exclusive distributors for Unger cleaning equipment in Australia – telephone +61 2 9584 8644 or visit www.pallmall.com.au

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Energy Management using Pressure Balanced Showers

BY CHRIS MCDONALD | JEM AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

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ow that we have compulsory maximum flow rates for showers and taps the challenge for the Hotel Industry has been to meet water restrictions and building code requirements and still provide guests with satisfactory showers.

The Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards Scheme (WELS) has been in operation now for over 5 years so this means that any shower head purchased for the guest rooms will have a flow restrictor fitted. The maximum flow rate mandated by the regulations is 9 litres per minute (3 Star WELS rating). The problems caused by these restrictors and the remedies are discussed later.

To reduce the shower flow rate to 9 litres per minute presents a challenge in shower head design. The design must ensure that 9 litres per minute can be delivered in a manner so the shower feels comfortable and looks good. It is important that the consumer is satisfied with the quality of the shower as well as the savings.

HOW MUCH WATER IS SAVED? Before the Installation of Efficient Pressure Balanced Showers

The positive outcome of these regulations is that not only is water consumption reduced but energy consumption is also reduced, both resulting in utility cost savings.

Significant savings can be achieved in water usage in Hotels and Serviced Apartment buildings. The magnitude of these savings will depend on the number of people occupying the room or apartment and the ablution habits of the guests.

The water and energy savings generated by these regulations can be used to investigate and purchase the best solution for the guest and the hotel.

Figures 1 to 3 opposite show the calculations for usage of water in Hotel rooms with different room densities before flow control is installed.

Firstly, assess how much water is saved and secondly how much energy is saved. Then consider what is the best shower solution at a flow rate of 9 litres per minute that will maximise the showering experience for your guests.

When a shower is turned on, the hot tap is usually turned on full to allow the hot water to arrive at the hot water tap more quickly, then the cold water is added to provide the required showering temperature. The resultant flow rate for a non flow controlled shower is usually 18 to 20 litres per minute.

Previously a flow rate of 12 litres per minute could achieve significant water savings using almost any style of shower head.

After the Installation of Water Efficient Pressure Balanced Showers We have based this comparison on a shower providing a pressure balanced flow rate of 9 litres per minute for the shower and 6 litres per minute for the basin. We have assumed the shower head selected meets the suggested performance criterion detailed further in this article.

Figures 4 to 6 show the reduction in water consumption when a water efficient pressure balanced shower system is installed to reduce the water consumption in showers and flow controllers are installed in the basins.

Figure 1 – Occupancy Density of 1 – without any flow control

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Fixture Type

Ave Daily Use

Flow Rate l/m

Times used/person

% of Total

WC

75 litres

11 litre flush

6.8

22%

Bath

27 litres

180 litre bath

0.15

8%

Shower

210 litres

20

1.5

63%

Basin

23 litres

12

6

7%

TOTALS

335 Litres

100%

Figure 2 – Occupancy Density of 1.5 – without any flow control Fixture Type

Ave Daily Use

Flow Rate l/m

Times used/person

% of Total

WC

112 litres

11 litre flush

6.8

22%

Bath

41 litres

180 litre bath

0.15

8%

Shower

315 litres

20

1.5

63%

Basin

35 litres

12

6

7%

TOTALS

503 Litres

100%

Figure 3 – Occupancy Density of 2 – without any flow control Fixture Type

Ave Daily Use

Flow Rate l/m

Times used/person

% of Total

WC

150 litres

11 litre flush

6.8

22%

Bath

54 litres

180 litre bath

0.15

8%

Shower

420 litres

20

1.5

63%

Basin

46 litres

12

6

7%

TOTALS

670 Litres

100%

Figure 4 – Occupancy Density of 1 – water efficient pressure balanced shower Fixture Type

Ave Daily Use

WC

Flow Rate

Savings %

Litres/Room Saved

75 litres

0

0

Bath

27 litres

0

0

Shower

126 litres

9

40%

84

Basin

11 litres

6

50%

12

TOTALS

239 litres

29%

96

Savings %

Litres/Room Saved

Figure 5 – Occupancy Density of 1.5 – water efficient pressure balanced shower Fixture Type

Ave Daily Use

Flow Rate

WC

112 litres

0

0

Bath

41 litres

0

0

Shower

189 litres

9

40%

126

Basin

17 litres

6

50%

18

TOTALS

359 litres

29%

144

Savings %

Litres/Room Saved

Figure 6 – Occupancy Density of 2 – water efficient pressure balanced showe Fixture Type

Ave Daily Use

Flow Rate

WC

150 litres

0

0

Bath

54 litres

0

0

Shower

252 litres

9

40%

168

Basin

22 litres

6

50%

24

TOTALS

478 litres

29%

192

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HOW MUCH ENERGY IS SAVED? Savings in Energy Calculations A large percentage of the water shown above as saved is hot water. Because water used in showers is warm water the hot water component of the total flow rate can be calculated.

This can be calculated as follows: The highest showering temperature for most people is 42 degrees.

But stored water must be at a minimum of 60 degrees C to prevent the growth of bacteria such as legionella.

Assume an average cold water temperature of 15 degrees C. Under these conditions the percentage of hot water required to produce a shower at 42 degrees is 60%.

Therefore, 60% of the water saved in the shower is hot water.

The hot water saved at the basin is estimated to be only 20% as some of the usage is cold water only.

The energy required to heat the hot water can now be calculated by using the formula: m3 x 1.28 x Δt kW = η Where kW = m = 1.28 = Δt = η =

kilowatt of energy quantity of water in cubic metres a constant factor temperature difference between the hot and cold water efficiency of the hot water supply system

To calculate the actual energy required to heat hot water the system efficiency must be considered.

A decentralised continuous electric storage system will have an input to delivery point efficiency of about 85%.

A centralised storage system (the most common) that is indirectly heated from a central plant can have an input to delivery point efficiency of 45% or less.

In both cases the system efficiency allows for both standing and circulating losses, plus the heating medium transfer losses.

These efficiency percentages are approximate and will depend on the piping system design and type of insulation used.

EXAMPLE Calculate the annual energy savings for a 250 room hotel with an occupancy rate of 75% and an average room density of 1.5.

Calculations: Before any flow control water consumption Water consumption in rooms in cubic metres = (503 x 250 x 365 x 0.75 )/1000 = 34,424 m3 per year

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53

To calculate the hot water consumption this consumption is then split into the shower usage and the basin usage as follows:

• A pleasurable experience

Shower usage = (315 x 250 x 365 x 0.75)/1000 = 21,558 m3 per year

• Strong even pressure (water velocity)

• Plentiful spray • Even and stable showering temperature

Basin usage

= (35 x 250 x 365 x 0.75)/1000 = 2,395 m3 per year The remainder is the water used in the WC and bath

The first two items – a pleasurable experience and plentiful spray are dependent on the design of the shower head. This design determines how the water is delivered to the body and if the delivery method makes effective use of the available water quantity.

The percentage of water that is hot: Shower – 60% = 12,935 m3 per year Basin – 20% = 479 m3 per year TOTAL hot water usage = 13,414 m3 per year

The diagram below is of a typical water saving shower head and shows some of the deficiency in the current designs.

The energy required to heat this hot water in a centralised, indirect fired system that has a system efficiency of 45% is calculated below: kW = (13414 x 1.28 x 45)/ 0.45 = 1,716,992 kW per year After the installation of an efficient pressure balanced shower system Water consumption in rooms in cubic metres = (359 x 250 x 365 x 0.75 )/1000 = 24,569 m3 per year To calculate the hot water consumption this consumption is then split into the shower usage and the basin usage as follows: Shower usage = (189 x 250 x 365 x 0.75)/1000 = 12,935 m3 per year Basin usage = (17 x 250 x 365 x 0.75)/1000 = 1,163 m3 per year The remainder is the water used in the WC and bath

The main faults with this shower are, • A hollow centre to the spray pattern.

• The spray is narrow and does not cover the body. This usually means the user has to move around constantly in the shower to keep warm and to rinse any soap from the body.

The percentage of water that is hot: Shower – 60% = 7,761 m3 per year Basin – 20% = 233 m3 per year TOTAL hot water usage = 7,994 m3 per year The energy required to heat this hot water in a centralised, indirect fired system that has a system efficiency of 45% is calculated below: kW = (7994 x 1.28 x 45)/ 0.45 = 1,023,232 kW per year A reduction in energy of 693,760 kW per year

These problems have always been an issue for low flow shower heads.

A recent design has solved these problems. A technology called “Twin Jet” has been developed and patented. (see figure opposite) This technology solves the problem of hollow centres in the shower head and is designed so the spray covers the full width of the body. The computer simulation diagram below shows how this is achieved.

SUMMARY What is the best Shower system solution for a 9 l/m flow rate?

Research has shown there are four main requirements for a shower experience.

A strong even pressure and stable showering temperature are the two items that conventional restricted shower heads cannot always provide because a restrictor is fitted into the shower head or arm to provide the 9 litre per minute flow rate. However, the best way

Figure 7 – Water and Energy savings per year for a 250 room hotel, 75% occupancy – Occupancy Density of 1.5

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Utility Usage in Rooms

No Flow Control

Water efficient shower

Savings %

Saving Quantity

Water in rooms only

34,424 m3

24,569 m3

37%

9,855 m3

Hot Water Energy

1,716,992 kW

1,023,232 kW

40%

693,760 kW

to provide stable showering temperatures and pressures is to install the flow control into the shower tap to provide pressure balance between the hot and cold water supplies.

EFFICIENT PRESSURE BALANCED SHOWERS VS. SHOWERS WITH RESTRICTORS Showers with Restrictors fitted into the arm or head of the showers.

In the past many Hotels and serviced apartments have been fitted with a restrictor or a restricted shower rose, by the building developer. This has been done in an attempt to provide water conservation or to meet the requirements of the local Supply Authority.

Generally the guest is dissatisfied with the quality of the shower so they will complain about these shower roses. The Hotel then replaces them with an unrestricted shower rose.

The net result of this is the attempt at water conservation is neutralised and the money spent on the restricting shower roses has been wasted.

Our water saving and pressure balancing technology has been installed into more than 70,000 hotel rooms throughout Australia and the Asia Pacific region. – These properties have maximised their water saving but have not compromised guest comfort and satisfaction. – The benefits JEM technology offers is not achievable by fitting a shower head alone.

WELS Compliant Products Now Available Phone: 02 9807 8592 or Fax: 02 9807 8594 for your local distributor Water Efficient Technology from:

JEM Australia Pty. Ltd. ACN 071 535 450

These showerheads will save water but there is an amenity cost to the end user that can result in a negative attitude towards water conservation in showers.

sales@jemaustralia.com www.jemaustralia.com

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The main amenity costs when restricting shower roses are used are as follows: • Not enough water.

Conventional restricted shower head – A flow rate of 9 litres per minute can appear to be insufficient when the design of the shower head cannot deliver the water in an efficient manner.

This then results in guest complaints of “not enough water” and “poor shower pressure”.

Solution - “Twin Jet” shower head – A twin jet shower head has been specifically designed to deliver a flow rate of 9 litres per minute and will even operate at flow rates as low as 7.5 litres per minute with a spray pattern that gives good coverage over the body.

• Uncomfortable shower.

Conventional restricted shower head - The velocity of the water discharging from the showerhead is too high. The high velocity gives the feeling of holes being drilled, by the water, into your body. This high velocity can cause pain and general discomfort to the user.

Solution - “Twin Jet” shower head - A “twin jet” shower head produces a softer shower spray to provide a comfortable shower with no narrow jets of water.

• Dangerous shower. – Everyone has experienced temperature fluctuations in the shower when someone turns another tap on, we call this “thermal shock”.

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Conventional restricted shower head - when a restricted shower rose is installed the thermal shock is increased dramatically. There have been incidents where people have been scalded, or injured jumping out of the way of a shower when the temperature has suddenly changed.

Solution - Pressure Balanced “Twin Jet” shower head – when the shower flow rate is controlled by the in-tap pressure balance the thermal shock is eliminated. The in-tap pressure balancing system balances the hot and cold pressures separately so that when they mix together in the pipe to the shower head any changes in the hot or cold pressures are absorbed by the individual hot or cold pressure balancing valve. This results in a shower flow that is stable in temperature and pressure.

CONCLUSION The best solution for a hotel shower is the combination of a shower with pressure balance and “twin jet” technology.

There are showering systems on the market that provide the combination of these technologies that are 3 Star WELS rated that can be retrofitted or can be provided built-in to new shower taps. ■

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58

ADVERTORIAL

Local manufacturer awarded for its environmental leadership (Somersby, NSW): BAC Australia, the country’s leading manufacturer of evaporative cooling, thermal storage, and heat transfer equipment, has had its sustainability credentials validated by winning the 2012 Hunter Manufacturing Award for Environmental Excellence.

With its national headquarters and manufacturing plant located in Somersby, the award recognises the company’s expanding, sustainable commitment to environmental excellence over the last 12 months on the Central Coast.

This award comes on the heels of the company winning the Central Coast Business Excellence Award in Sustainability in August. It was also a finalist in the Central Coast Business Excellence Award Manufacturer of the Year.

Along with acting locally to generate an impressive suite of waste reduction, recycling and management activities, the company launched its nationwide environmental management plan in May. Titled visionblue, the plan has set the company on the path to being carbon neutral by 2020.

According to Managing Director, Craig Johnson, the Hunter Manufacturing Award recognises the efforts of BAC Australia staff members who have been working hard to reduce the company’s environmental footprint.

“We are delighted to have been recognised with this prestigious award, particularly given that it recognises the contributions of businesses on the Central Coast, of which we are a proud member,” he said.

Johnson said that while the company had been working hard to offer environmentally sustainable solutions for its customers for many years, placing greater focus on its own environmental

management has been an important step for a business that considers itself a leader for the local community.

“For some time we have been highlighting the environmental performance of our products to our customers, however the truth of the matter is that until recently we haven’t really been walking the talk ourselves,” Johnson said. “visionblue is our commitment to walk the talk, and the awards we have won this year recognise our efforts so far, and provide great motivation to continue into the future.”

“We have taken the approach that if we want to build a sustainable business for the longer term, the communities in which we operate need to benefit. Furthermore, we need to minimise any negative impact on our environment and also educate our customers and the wider industry about the most sustainable approaches to heat rejection.”

The visionblue plan is being implemented alongside state and local government coordinated programs, including the Sustainability Advantage Program.

Johnson added that the company had also benefitted greatly from collaboration with Central Coast Manufacturing Connect, a new organisation recently set up to act as an umbrella group for the different organisations in the region that support the manufacturing sector.

“What’s good for the environment is also good for business, and we’re pleased that our customers as well as our peers on the Central Coast are recognising this,” said Johnson.

For further information please contact: Craig Johnson, Managing Director, phone 0419 517 550.

59

GET OUT OF THE BACK ROOM

Keys to Developing and Growing Your FM Career MICHEL THERIAULT FMP, RPA, LEED AP

Success for you and your company are driven by results. Get results by improving performance.

You can improve performance by implementing strategic management practices in all aspects of your responsibilities.

Leverage the fundamentals you already know and implement practical tools and techniques that maximize value and improve results. Use these techniques to drive performance from yourself and the staff, systems, suppliers and contractors you rely on to deliver services and manage your facilities or buildings.

Strategy in Facility and Property Management All too often, property and facility managers spend most of their time managing day-to-day issues and focussing on tactical services that their customers rely on.

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Getting better results means carving out some time to think ahead, develop ideas and sell both the ideas and the implementation to senior management.

Start by looking at your organization’s own strategy and goals. What do you need to do to support them? What are you missing that will help you achieve results? Do you have the right staffing, skill sets, systems, internal support and information to get results?

While a Mission, Vision and Values is often seen as a head office issue, it can serve a very important purpose if developed properly from the ground up for your team instead of in a corporate board room. Developing a Mission and Vision with your staff can foster useful discussion, focus attention on what matters and guide decisions.

It can also be a launching board for developing a strategic plan, which is an important way to set your direction and identify what you need to implement or change to improve your operations.

Getting and Using information for Decisions Developing strategy and making decisions takes information, not just data. Data is dimply a series of facts while information gives meaning to the data and provides the knowledge necessary to make decisions that improve results.

A good example is measuring performance. A performance dashboard that shows results at a point in time is just data. A twelve month trend graph of the same data provides information.

Also, don’t focus as much attention on what is going well - focus on the results that are outside of the norm. This takes less time and gives you the best value. If you have call centre information, filter out the so-called normal results and dig into the issues and problems to find root causes and either correct problems or adopt solutions. For instance, an unusually low number of janitorial calls in one building or area may mean someone is bypassing the system, not that there are few problems. Comparing those results to Satisfaction Survey results, for instance, can reveal the truth.

You can leverage existing systems and processes to get the information you need or plan changes or new systems to give you what you need. Often, corporate systems are not designed to give you the information you need, so you must seek other ways to get the information or implement your own facility/ property systems.

Getting Information Improving results requires information and information takes data.

Getting the data is an important process and if you have systems and processes that provide it, you need to leverage them. If you don’t have data, the best way to improve results is to implement ways to get it. The most common ways to get data are: Computerized Maintenance Management Systems This not only enables you to schedule regular preventive maintenance routines, it should also track failures and corrective maintenance, whether identified by your staff, suppliers or customer calls. By tracking work against equipment and where possible identifying the resources, time and cost of the work, you can use the information as part of your capital replacement programs and future business cases, both for projects and resources.

It helps you make decisions on what equipment should be replaced and contributes to the justification you need for funding. It also helps support environmental and energy projects, a key area for getting results.

An example is an organization that had their subcontracted maintenance contractor on a work order system, but their in-house staff activities were not. After adding the in-house staff to the same system, they discovered patterns that allowed them to redirect in-house staff to higher value work and reduce overall costs. That’s an example of using a maintenance management system to provide information that gets you results.

Call Tracking Understanding what is happening in your buildings or portfolios is important. Tracking calls from occupants and categorizing them can provide you with information you need to assess subcontractors, identify trends that need to be corrected, support capital planning and business cases.

While a formal call centre is ideal, for smaller portfolios or buildings, a simplified system, which could be an excel spreadsheet, can provide you with the data you need as you track all calls and requests. This includes all sources, including your suppliers, technicians, security staff, and calls you field yourself. In one example, tracking the number and type of problems related to elevators which were often made to the security guard in the lobby - helped support an elevator modernization project. A building with similar elevator problems that was managed by a different Property Manager wasn’t tracking the problems and couldn’t justify their own elevator project, since they didn’t have any information to back-up their business case.

Be sure to track the data in a way that you can analyse and turn into information you can make decisions with. Categorize the calls and record the date in a format that can be sorted and analysed.

Customer Satisfaction Surveys Feedback is an important part of any efforts to improve results and service. The best way is to ask your customers. Use several techniques. While you may already visit your occupants and ask them how satisfied they are with services, this is often only with the tenant or occupant representative and misses information from everyone else. As well, it isn’t in a format you can use to compare trends or analyse results.

Develop customer / occupant satisfaction processes and programs that enable you to effectively measure results and act upon the information to make improvements instead of simply benchmarking satisfaction results. Don’t just use an annual survey.

Implement a transaction survey to follow-up on their satisfaction with specific issues they have called about and work performed on a monthly basis.

Ask a modest number of questions and make sure you can act on the questions. Try to track the location of the response, for instance by building, floor, tenant or occupant. Keep the same questions each time you do the survey to enable comparisons over time. If you ask for comments, don’t leave it open. Be specific and you are more likely to get responses.

Enter the information into a spreadsheet or other system so you can do comparisons and get information that you can use.

Different results for cleaning on different floors may be related to the janitorial staff themselves, for instance, and are easily corrected.

Temperature problems with one tenant may indicate problems with the system. Concerns about response time to issues may prompt you to re-examine your process and improve it.

Performance Management Performance management is often seen simply as measures in the form of Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s)

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There is much more to it, however, and by using the techniques as part of a larger process instead of simply a way of measuring and penalizing poor performance, you can get better results from your staff and suppliers.

First, the very nature of measurements looks backwards at past results, not forward. Expand it out by using historical and trending techniques with the data and create information you can use to manage performance going forward by preventing problems before they result in failed service.

While measuring key results (i..e KPI’s) are important, you should also look at the underlying processes that create those results and measure them as well. Use the data to develop information that you use constructively with your staff or suppliers to analyse and solve problems rather than waiting for failure.

Include costing information in your performance measurements.

In corporate facilities, this would include cost per square foot, real estate cost per FTE, cost per Move/Add/Change, etc. For commercial property management, this also includes cost per

62

square foot as well as cost of delivering work order services, maintenance, etc.

Have a formal process with your staff or suppliers, giving them a chance to see the results on an ongoing basis and identify solutions and changes that will have a positive impact. Sometimes they are beyond their control, but if they identify them, you can take action and improve results.

By looking strategically at what you do and trying to improve results using performance based approaches, you will not only make it easier to make decisions and manage your operations, you will get results that get attention and not only support your corporation’s goals, they will increase your value to the organization.

Michel Theriault is Principal with Strategic Advisor, specialising in facility management consulting and training.

For more information, contact him at michel@strategicadvisor.ca or visit his web site at www.strategicadvisor.ca or his blog at www.thebuiltenvironment.ca

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12% Chromium Utility Stainless Steels This article appeared in the Australian Stainless Magazine published by the Australian Stainless Steel Development Association.

Background Almost all of the stainless steels in use have 16% chromium or more and have nickel or other additions to make them austenitic and hence formable, tough and readily weldable. However, the formal definition of a stainless steel is that it is an iron- and carbon-based alloy with more than 10.5% chromium. Historically, the corrosion mitigation industry regarded alloys with more than 12% chromium as stainless steels mainly because those alloys did not corrode in mild environments.

Because of the perceived problem of high initial price when using stainless steels, alloys that are ‘barely’ stainless (and with low nickel to boot) are more competitive with painted or galvanised carbon steel than higher alloys.

How were these grades developed?

More than 30 years ago, developments from the 409 grade (used for car exhausts) led to a weldable ferritic that was tough to sub-zero temperatures. Two versions were developed: a stabilised grade for corrosive environments and an unstabilised grade that matched international standards. One issue was that the titanium used for stabilisation was hard on the refractories and caused the surface finish of flat product to be less appealing.

64

However, when end users moved to unstabilised versions, corrosion problems arose in some applications. Research lead to further alloy development and proprietary grades with outstanding resistance to weld sensitisation.

• Like duplex alloys, they do not suffer from chloride stress corrosion cracking.

What is different about these materials?

However, there are a few cautions:

• They are ferritic (and attracted to a magnet), and can be bent, formed, cut and electric process welded like carbon steels.

• Low chromium, low nitrogen and no molybdenum means thay have low corrosion resistance (PRE~11). They will pit in marine environments and in less severe conditions they cannot be used if aesthetic appearance is critical.

Painting is a useful option in aggressive environments.

• The balance of their metallurgy limits grain growth when heated. So, unlike the ferritics used for cladding, thick sections can be welded without excessive grain growth and embrittlement.

• After welding, they have a duplex ferriticmartensitic microstructure that does not usually require heat treatment.

• As ferritics, their thermal expansion is low (actually less than carbon steel) which reduces distortion risk during welding or furnace operations.

• They have good scaling resistance in air to ~600˚C and reasonable strength at that temperature compared with more expensive austenitics with a scaling limit of ~800˚C in air.

• Like duplex alloys, they do not suffer from chloride stress corrosion cracking.

• They provide excellent and economic resistance in corrosive wear applications compared to hardenable carbon steels, surface-treated materials of higher alloys.

• Neither cold work nor heat treatment will increase their strength, although they are slightly stronger than 300 series stainless steels. Because they do not cold work, they should be less susceptible to galling then austenitic stainless steels.

• While it is nothing to do with the material, supply is mostly limited to sheet or plate, i.e. bar, hot-formed sections, hollow sections and wire are generally unavailable.

What are the alloys?

There is a plethora of proprietary and standardised grades with between 10.5% and 12% chromium. The Ferritic Solution

booklet available from the ISSF [www.euro-inox.org/pdf/map/ The_ferritic_solution_EN.pdf ] lists about a dozen. In Australia, the major proprietary grades are 3Cr12 and 5Cr12 where the ‘3’ and ‘5’ are labels, not compositions, and may include additional letters for other grades in the family. However, these labels cover three different material design decisions – and only those in (A) below are standardised: A. Low chromium, no molybdenum and low nickel, carbon and nitrogen. These are covered by S40977/1.4003 in ASTM A240/ EN10088.2 respectively or S41003 in ASTM A240.

B. As above, but with stabilising titanium or titanium plus niobium.

There are several rules for titanium content but 4 (C+N) with a limit of 0.6 is used. The Ti/Nb will lock up C and N and reduce the risk of sensitisation, i.e. it limits corrosion associated with welds.

C. As above, but with lower carbon and nitrogen limits and specific controls on ferrite and austenite stabilising elements. This gives immunity to sensitisation in corrosive environments where there is a risk of fatigue.

How were these grades developed?

The cost of steel that has been galvanised is currently up to 30% less than the cost of a 12Cr utility stainless steel when transport, pickling and other costs are included. When added to the cost of better trained (and hence more expensive) staff required for fabricating stainless steel, it is apparent that on a prime cost basis, even this basic stainless steel will not be cost competitive. However, on a LCC basis, the 12Cr grades have a significant advantage primarily because of durability.

Table 1 shows the relative lifetime of zinc (as a proxy for galvanising) and aluminium vs a 12Cr stainless steel in a medium and low corrosivity environment where the atmospheric corrosion rates for carbon steel are listed averaged over a 20-year exposure. It is clear that the life cycle cost of the 12Cr stainless steel is much better than either of the alternatives listed.

Table 1 Zinc

Aluminium

Cr12 [ratio to zinc]

Corrosivity (mild steel corrosion rate)

15

80

315 [21]

Medium (33μm/yr)

7

60

200 [28]

Low

(24μm/yr)

Years of life with mild steel = 1 year Welding of Cr12 Stainless Steels AS/NZS 1554.6 deals with welding of structural stainless steels and compacts all three branches of the 12Cr grades under ‘1.4003’ for selection of consumables. The recommendation is to use a 309L consumable although 18-8Mn (Note 8) is also prequalified. Heat input should be between 0.5 and 1.5kJ/mm and the interpass temperature should not exceed 150˚C. As with all stainless steels, contamination by carbon steels must be avoided and any heat tint should be removed prior to exposure to corrosive service. While owners using Cr12 alloys for corrosive abrasion service regard the in-service removal of heat-tint surface layers as sufficient, this is only true if sufficient material is removed to expose the virgin stainless steel before the first rest period with corrodents on the surface could promote pitting.

Applications for 12Cr Stainless Steels Applications include piggeries, rail cars, road transport, sugar and mineral industry (especially with corrosive wear), effluent tanks, under pans for conveyors, ducting (including furnaces), BBQ plate, electrical meter boxes, floor plates, gravel screens, railway overhead support towers, etc.

Acknowledgements This paper has been prepared with support from ASSDA colleagues and especially Acerinox, Atlas Steels and Sandvik. Their assistance is gratefully acknowledged.

Reprinted with permission of Australian Stainess magazine as published by the Australian Stainless Steel Development Association

65

SUMMER

Time to Focus on Problem Pests

BY GLENN DUBOIS MCom(UNSW) | Secretary Of Australian Pest Controllers Association Inc.

M

ost hotels and motels are at high risk for a rapid pest infestation, particularly during the hot humid summer months.

Keeping them at bay can be expensive and ineffective without full cooperation from the property manager.

According to Glenn DuBois of Australian Pest Controllers Association, the usual periodic use of insecticides must work in conjunction with non-chemical controls managed by the property owner / manager.

In addition, there are new pest control products on the market that give far superior safety and effective control of insect pests commonly associated with the hospitality industry.

In this article, we examine three prime pests that regularly infest hotel and motel premises, namely, bed bugs, ants and cockroaches, and what the property manager can do to help ensure such pests are effectively controlled.

Look for dots of blood in a line on bed linen. The blood has a sickly sweet odour. Also look for dried blood deposits around cracks in the bed, bed-head, flooring, bedside furniture and mattress.

Bed bugs feed for 3 to 5 minutes at night, in the early morning hours, before returning to their harbourage area, usually located within a few metres from their feeding area. Bed bugs can survive for long periods without a blood meal.

High standards of hygiene and sanitation will certainly help as an ongoing preventive measure.

All clothing, bed linen, curtains, fabrics and the like must be laundered prior to insecticidal treatment. Seal gaps in furniture, floor boards and cracks in wallpaper and other such areas where bed bugs can hide during the day light hours We recommend to use a professional pest controller for periodic insecticidal treatment in any commercial lodgings situation where bed bug infestations are likely to be a problem..

Bed Bugs are blood-suckers and are commonly found in motels, hostels or boarding houses where itinerant travellers stay overnight.

Do NOT attempt do-it-yourself pest control using a surface spray on bed-linen or mattress. Such a use could be a DANGER to the health and safety of the occupants and will most likely result in ongoing infestation.

Bed bugs are transported with luggage, clothing and other articles, but not on the person. It is not practicable to know if boarding guests are ‘bed bug carriers’. Bed Bugs do bite, at night, often evidenced by dots of blood in a line on bed linen.

A new product recently released by Bayer, namely Temprid insecticide spray is highly recommended to be used against bed bugs. Where a spray cannot be used say near electricals we recommend Permethrin dust be used.

Non Chemical Pest Control procedures include the regular inspection of the entire bedroom, particularly bed linen and other areas where luggage and clothing are stored, for signs of bed bugs.

In addition, it may be essential for the entire room to be treated using pyrethrum insecticide dispensed through a fogging or misting machine, in order to flush the bed bugs out of their hiding areas and into contact with the Permethrin dust or Temprid surface spray.

Bed Bugs

These areas should be thoroughly vacuumed on a regular basis paying particular attention to underside of mattress and nooks and crannies in these areas.

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The cost of professional pest control for bed bugs using the recommended low hazard insecticides, will depend upon several

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If applied in sheltered locations, the new generation ants baits and sprays, should last the majority of the extended summer period. You would be unlikely to need any follow up procedures. So it’s probably cheaper in the long run to use the more expensive but highly effective ant control products.

Cockroaches factors, including the size of the property, the extent of infestation and ease of access to treatment areas.

Everybody hates cockroaches due to their unsanitary environment.

They eat rancid meats and almost anything organic.

Bed bug control requires extensive time, effort and expertise to solve a severe infestation. Service warranties may vary depending upon the circumstances and risk of reinfestation.

Several species are problematic in Australia. It is the smaller light brown German cockroach that can rapidly infest kitchens and other food handling premises. The female German cockroach carries an egg sac of about 40 eggs – which can hatch and reach maturity within one month. A very rapid breeding cycle.

Ants Ants often infest kitchens, pantries and dining areas in large numbers. Until recently, ants were by far the most difficult of all pest control problems to solve in a timely and cost effective manner. The latest generation ant control products are non-repellent to the ants and to focus on achieving a transfer effect, that is, the ants come into contact with the surface spray and transfer the chemical back to the colony nest. The chemical has a delayed effect and is highly effective at entire colony eradication.

Ants live in permanent colony nests located in a variety of habitats, in the soil, in timber, under pavers, in wall cavities and roof void spaces of buildings.

Correct identification of the particular pest species of ant is vital to implementing a control program. You need to know their likely nesting location and the type of food they prefer. Some species nest in the ground, others are more likely find a home in your roof void or wall cavity. Some ants prefer sugary foods whilst others are predominately meat eaters. The problem ants for kitchens and commercial premises are usually the sugar feeding variety.

Non-Chemical Pest Control – Procedures include regular inspection of premises for signs of an ant infestation. Try to locate their nesting site which sometimes is easier said than done. They follow pheromone trails back to their nest. Where practicable, minimise food and water source for the ants. Food supplies to be stored in sealed containers. Food and other edible waste products to be stored where ants and other pests cannot gain access.

Chemical Pest Control – make sure the pest controllers uses the latest generation of ant baits is that have a delayed lethal transfer effect.

Ant baits are applied to high activity areas. Foraging ants collect and carry the appetising food bait back to feed the other ants in the colony nest. The ant baits are designed to be very palatable to the ants but takes several days before the lethal effect kicks in. Enough time to be transferred back to the colony nest to be fed to other ants. With sufficient dosage the entire colony is eradicated in matter of days.

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Generally cockroaches are nocturnal. Preferring to come out in the quite dead of night when no one is around. If you see them during the day you have a large infestation.

Non-chemical procedures include regular inspection of premises for signs of cockroaches. Their faeces look like small black dots often confused for tea leaves. Particularly inspect incoming goods for live cockroaches, cockroach eggs and faeces. If you spot some contact the supplier to advise them of the problem. Where practicable, minimise food and water source for the cockroaches. Food supplies to be stored in air tight sealed containers. Food and other edible waste products to be stored where cockroaches and other pests cannot gain access.

Seal all cracks and crevices in the premises where cockroaches may congregate. They even like to hideout under picture frames.

Minimise cockroach harbourage areas. Where practicable, store all containers and articles, particularly cardboard boxes off the ground as otherwise, Chemical controls – Make sure any pesticides used by professional pest controllers are the latest generation of cockroach baits that have a delayed lethal transfer effect.

Cockroach baits are applied to areas in the kitchen away from regular human contact. The foraging cockroaches eat the bait and carry it back to feed to the other cockroaches in the nest. With sufficient dosage the entire nest of cockroaches are eradicated in matter of days. Regular insecticidal treatment is required ■ A WORD OF WARNING: There are many of the older style insecticides for pest control on the market that are far cheaper but will not give such certainty of total elimination of the infestation.

Make sure you ask the pest controller if they use these leading new generation products. They are safer and much more effective.

For further information go to PestControl.org.au or contact Glenn DuBois at Australian Pest Controllers Association Inc. Phone 1300 660 200

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Going green

BY JOHN TAYLOR

T

There is continuous pressure to “go green”.

Sometimes it may be subtle such as using biodegradable coffee cups, but there are a lot more accepted green initiatives such as, it being almost commonplace to take your own reusable bag when shopping.

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he hospitality industry has been a trailblazer in the green initiative particularly with the guest determining the frequency of laundering linen goods and more emphasis will be placed on housekeeping to use green initiatives by guests and property owners and managers. A lot of cleaning products you are currently using can be classified as “green” but you probably don’t even realise it. But firstly a short description of “green cleaning” courtesy of Wikipedia – ‘green cleaning refers to using cleaning methods and products with environmentally friendly ingredients designed to preserve human health and environmental quality’.

Environmentally friendly includes products made from recycled and waste materials and renewable resources. Another consideration is the amount of waste material generated by the cleaning process.

This can include dirty water such as the cocktail of chemicals and waste that are generated when cleaning and “disposable” cloths and paper products and the energy required to carry out the tasks e.g. lights and power.

There are a number of environmental goods and services certifying authorities with GECA (Good Environmental Choice Australia) one of the most recognised. They have stringent testing guidelines to ensure their certified products are worthy of carrying their logo. Look at the products you are currently using and if you see the GECA logo you know it is environmentally friendly and as the GECA logo becomes more widely recognised your guests will appreciate your environmental initiatives.

An example of a GECA certified range of bathroom paper products is one where clean office waste paper is processed with the pins and staples thankfully being removed and sent to scrap metal merchants, the ink being reprocessed into products such as fertiliser and the paper being sanitised and pulped and made into toilet tissue, hand towel and facial tissues. Some paper

manufacturers are using bamboo and sugarcane waste while others are using a combination of virgin plantation timber and recycled paper.

Plastic garbage bags may not be seen as a “green” product but there are not too many cost effective alternatives.

Black garbage bags are predominately made from recycled material. It is common practice in plastic bag factories to remanufacture the waste from clear and coloured plastic into black garbage bags.

There are masses of “green” cleaning chemicals on the market. Most manufacturers have a green range made from a variety of base materials including sugar cane waste, citrus byproducts, cotton waste and a range of enzymes. Not only are the majority of products safer for the environment but also for the user especially considering they are using them all day long.

There are an increasing number of people, particularly children, which have allergic reactions to traditional cleaning products. A marketing tool could be that “only natural chemicals are used to clean rooms”. The products are as effective as or better than traditional chemicals and the costs are becoming on par.

Microfibre has been one of the greatest revolutions in the cleaning industry in the last decade. Microfibre cloths with sanitising attributes and blocks of microfibre that only need water to activate are common. Mopping systems that require little or no chemical to work and minimal amounts of water and virtually no dirty water to dispose of are being widely used. Microfibre products are available in the standard colours of red, blue, green and yellow so it is easy to establish a colour coding system.

Steam cleaning has great “green” attributes. The steam cleaning machines use as little as 5ltrs of water per hour and for most jobs, no chemicals. There is minimal waste water to be disposed and steam can be very effective for removing build up and residue normally requiring strong chemicals. It has great sanitising attributes and is well known as an effective method to kill bed bugs.

Vacuum cleaners are a necessary tool in housekeeping.

There are low energy vacuum cleaners on the market that claim that the cost of the machine can be saved over the life of the vacuum cleaner by the energy savings. Other machines have extremely good filtration that stop dust spreading into the air and causing additional resources to be used to clean the dust. Good quality vacuum cleaners remove sand and grit from the carpets which extends the carpets life which means less waste from dumped carpet. Regular shampooing also extends the carpets life and makes vacuuming easier which means less power is required to clean the carpet. Disposable dust bags, even though they have to be dumped, offer greater filtration which extends the life of the vacuum motor so it does not have to work as hard and use excess power and returns cleaner air to the room reducing the airborne dust.

well as being a safety issue for the operator. Purified water is used to wash the windows by extension poles and soft brushes.

The extension poles are made of super light yet very strong materials like carbon fibre and can be up to 18m long. Solar panels dramatically loose their efficiency unless cleaned on a regular basis and pure water cleaning is ideal.

There are a number of chemical free methods available for cleaning polished stone floors. Diamond and ceramic infused pads can be used to eliminate the need for floor polish. Floor polish needs to be replaced regularly by stripping and resealing which generates a lot of waste chemical. The gloss level from polish is greater than maintaining with infused pads but there is a lot more energy and chemicals required to get this possibly unnecessary extra gloss.

The use of large area vacuum cleaners to clean areas such as ballrooms and meeting rooms not only reduces the amount of power and time required to vacuum with small machines but saves the power required to light the area. Battery powered machines are quieter than electric machines and can be used without disturbing guests or when cleans are required between conference sessions and they use less power to charge than electric machines. ■

There are a number of chemical free methods available for cleaning polished stone floors. Diamond and ceramic infused pads can be used to eliminate the need for floor polish.

Exterior window cleaning with pure water has reduced the need for cleaning chemicals and squeegee rubbers as

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PRODUCT

NEWS

New Product Release: WAVE 75 Maytronics Australia (www.maytronics.com.au) is pleased to announce the launch of it’s newest commercial cleaner – the WAVE 75.

This rugged addition to the commercial family compliments the existing range and provides an entry level commercial cleaner for the smaller commercial pool market – including swim schools, smaller hotel pools and unit block pools.

“The Wave 75 is a fantastic addition to our family of cleaners, it really supports those smaller commercial pools that still need the heavy duty aspect of commercial cleaning but don’t quite have the budgets to buy the larger commercial range products like the ProX or ProExpert, “ said Cameron

Permanent Pothole Solutions Permanent Pothole Solutions has expanded its offering to include Buckets Permanent Pothole Solutions has been providing its “Asphalt in a bag” permanent cold patch in 20 kg bags to local councils, roadtek depots and mines throughout Queensland for over 2 1/2 years, we now hold stock in NSW, VIC ACT and QLD. We have now expanded our offering to include:

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McKinlay, Commercial Manager for Maytronics Australia.

Maytronics operates throughout Australia and the world and is regarded as the leader in Robotic Pool Cleaner technology. “We are 100% focused on providing outstanding service, support and the right solutions for customers in the robotic pool cleaner segment”, said Dan Kwaczynski, Managing Director of Maytronics Australia. Maytronics has service facilities in all major centres and local dealers that will support the roll-out of the Wave 75 across the market.

The Wave 75 specification: • 24 m cable • 2,3,4 hour cycle • 2 year warranty • Swivel – YES • Fine Filtering – YES • Combined or Wonder brush options • Remote control – YES • Caddy – YES

Asphalt in a bag – 20 kg bags in Mix 7, Mix 10 and Mix 14 Asphalt in a bag – 1 Tonne bulker bags in Mix 10 Asphalt in a bag – 20 kg buckets in Mix 10 “Asphalt in a bag are not designed to replace traditional hot mix for road building purposes, but to provide a quick and reliable means of effecting permanent repairs,” says Jackie based in South East Queensland.

“The mixture works so well that many of the Asphalt contractors and local councils now use it for repairs and maintenance all around the country.”

Manufactured from selective aggregates, bitumen and polymers our mixture is designed to suit the harshest of weather

For more information, Maytronics can be contacted on 1300 MYDOLPHIN or www.maytronics.com.au

conditions. With an indefinite shelf life in its bagged/bucket form. The ready-mix is ideal for maintaining paths, driveways and roads Our products expand and contract with the surface and will bond to concrete, steel, asphalt and even wood, explains Jackie.

Install in 3 easy steps. Requires no mixing or additives. Ready to use straight out of the bucket or bag. Simply tip into hole, pat down with a shovel and drive over immediately providing minimal disruption to traffic.

For more information, consult the website at www.permanentpotholesolutions. com.au or give Jackie a call on 1300 789 967 for price and availability.

Exceptional guest experience, repeat business and brand loyalty, drive and dictate a hotel business’ profitability.

Hotel refurbishments are essential in order to maintain star ratings, brand reputation and market share, while offering a premium level of fit out for the guest in an environment which is comfortable and aesthetically pleasing.

Clipsal by Schneider Electric can advise and supply the complete electrical solution to create a superior guest experience, while reducing your maintenance and operational costs. Our integrated electrical solutions include:

Saturn OneTouch – Perfectly suited to any Hotel room refurbishment

• Integrated lighting control systems (C-Bus and DALIcontrol)

TECO Australia introduces Bar Fridges to its range

Camp Accommodation and Common Area Portable Building Units, Student Accommodation areas and Hotel/Motel Rooms, TECO have introduced a range of Bar Fridges specifically designed to cater for the hospitality industry.

Following its successes in supplying Split System and Window Wall Air Conditioners, and LED/LCD TV’s to Mining

• Emergency lighting and monitoring systems • Data and MATV systems • Climate control systems • Metering and monitoring systems • Building management and security systems • Power conditioning and circuit protection.

Engineered to Perform with Super Quiet operation, Stylish Design, Internal Light, Glass Shelving and handy Drink Can Dispenser in the 117Ltr Freestanding or Under Bench Bar Fridge is suitable for medium to large rooms, and to cater for

As well as the above systems and solutions, Clipsal by Schneider Electric can provide the most comprehensive range of stylish power outlets and switches.

Beautifully crafted and architectural by design, Clipsal’s power outlets and switches are available in many different styles, colours and configurations.

Saturn OneTouch, Clipsal’s latest electronic switch and dimmer, offers a touch of style above all others. This product is perfectly suited to any hotel room refurbishment, and is compatible with standard electrical wiring. From accommodation suites through to corridors, foyers, reception, restaurants, function rooms, pools, day spas, car parks and back of house, Clipsal’s extensive hotel solutions can assist to meet your refurbishment objectives – and provide a superior guest experience.

For more information about Clipsal’s Hotel Solutions – visit promo.clipsal.com and enter keycode H012E to receive a free brochure..

Student Accommodation and smaller Hotel/ Motel Rooms, that require a small fridge for guest convenience, TECO have also introduced a 50Ltr Bench Top Bar Fridge.

To complement this range, TECO Australia will introduce over the coming months, Vertical Freezers, Chest Freezers and Frost free Refrigerators with Multi Flow Control ranging from 215Ltr to 410Ltr. For more information visit www.teco.com.au

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Bee mpressed m I pressed

Are you looking for new or replacement appliances, lounges and sofa beds (custom made in Australia), bedding, furniture packs, case goods or flooring products (including custom designed woven carpets)? Is your property in need of a refurbishment (full or partial)?

From Interior Design to Refurbishment including Project Management, Surjio Ceanee can offer a complete solution tailored to suit your operation. We also have a Procurement division for the supply of white goods, TV’s and other operational items. For the ultimate in service and quality contact 1800 SURJIO (787 546) or info@surjioceanee.com and

Be Impressed.

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INDOOR AIR QUALITY

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that more than 50 percent of all commercial buildings have significant Indoor Air Quality problems, a figure that most people are oblivious to.

INDEPENDENT MONITORING CONSULTANTS Head Office

23–25 Daking Street North Parramatta NSW 2151 1300 131 405 (02) 9890 5067 sales@imc1.net New South Wales Ian Hartup 0411 109 353 Queensland Brisbane Ms Yih Pien (Ping) Chang 0412 116 114 Cairns Keith Friedrichsen 0408 368 921 South Australia Roz White 0431 503 195 Victoria Tony Cairnscross 0412 117 114