A.G. Coombs Group Advisory Notes

Revised Standard - Air Handling and Water Systems - Microbial Control Australian Standard AS/NZS 3666:2011

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 10:50:00 +1100

Air-handling systems such as evaporative air conditioners and cooling towers have the potential to harbour bacteria that can cause debilitating illness and even death. Legionnaires’ disease is arguably the most publicised infection associated with cooling towers in particular. Australian Standard AS/NZS 3666 provides minimum standards for the design, installation, commissioning and ongoing operation and maintenance of these systems to minimise... read more...

Commercial Building Disclosure Program – ‘Mandatory Disclosure’ - May 2011

Sun, 01 May 2011 12:29:00 +1100

With the passing of the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Bill 2010, the disclosure requirements under the Commercial Building Disclosure (CBD) program came into effect on 1 November 2010.The aim of the program is to ensure that credible and meaningful energy efficiency information is given to prospective purchasers and lessees of large commercial office space. Initially the program requires owners and lessors of commercial office space with a... read more...

Tips on Practical Fire Protection in Computer Rooms and Data Centres

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 12:25:00 +1100

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has changed dramatically over the last 20 years, including fire protection technology that is used to protect these ICT systems.To follow are a number of key practical solutions for fire protection in computer rooms and data centres, as identified by leading fire protection and detection specialists, Walker Fire Protection.The hints and tips cover all areas of fire protection services, including:Smoke... read more...

Commercial Building Disclosure Program – ‘Mandatory Disclosure’

Sun, 11 Jul 2010 15:58:00 +1100

With the passing of the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Bill 2010, the disclosure requirements under the Commercial Building Disclosure (CBD) program will commence on1 November 2010.The aim of the program is to ensure that credible and meaningful energy efficiency information is given to prospective purchasers and lessees of large commercial office space. Initially the program requires owners and lessors of commercial office space with a net... read more...

Victorian Legionella Increase and New Cooling Tower Laws

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 09:21:00 +1100

An increase in Legionnaires' disease cases in Victoria including a number of deaths has prompted the Department of Health to issue a warning to cooling tower system owners and operators.Legionnaires' disease is a sometimes fatal form of pneumonia contracted by inhaling very fine droplets of water containing Legionella bacteria, such as those emitted by infected cooling towers.In Victoria, there have been 40 reported cases of Legionnaires'... read more...

Considerations for Gaseous Suppression Systems in Data Centres

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 09:38:00 +1100

Gaseous fire suppression systems are commonly used in data centres and other similar mission critical applications. The primary reason for their use is that compared to traditional systems such as fire sprinklers, the potential for non-fire damage to equipment or materials is significantly reduced. Furthermore post fire cleanup can generally occur much more quickly where a gaseous suppression system is present and has operated to extinguish a fire... read more...

Reducing Water Consumption of Fire Protection System

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 09:38:00 +1100

Due to prolonged drought in many parts of Australia there is a heightened community consciousness in relation to unnecessary water consumption. While water based fire protection systems are generally designed to be operated only when there is a fire, they need to be regularly inspected and tested to help ensure they will operate when needed. The inspection and testing regimes confirm both operation and performance of the system and although necessary,... read more...

False Alarms and Automatic Fire Protection Systems

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:37:00 +1100

BackgroundAround 30-50% of all brigade 'turnouts' are to monitored fire protection systems and it is estimated that well over 90% of those turnouts are classified as False Alarms, also referred to as Unwanted Alarms or Nuisance Alarms. Coupled with the increasing prevalence of monitored systems there is significant impact on Fire Brigade Operations and as such all Fire Authorities are placing an increasing priority on false alarm reduction.Irrespective... read more...

R22 Refrigerant Phase-out

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 09:36:00 +1100

Widely used in air conditioning systems in buildings, artificial refrigerants including chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC) have long been identified for their ozone depletion potential (ODP) and global warming potential (GWP). In 1996 the internationally agreed Montreal Protocol established a schedule for the phase out of these substances. The more harmful CFC’s, including R11 and R12, are now virtually phased out... read more...

Safe Access for Building Maintenance

Thu, 01 Feb 2007 13:52:00 +1100

Victorian Law requires building owners and occupiers to provide a safe environment for all building occupants, whether they be employees, visitors or contractors attending the site to perform maintenance or other works.The maximum fine for breaches of the Occupational Health & Safety Act has increased from $40,000 to $250,000 and the Government has introduced the crime of industrial manslaughter where gross negligence results in a workplace fatality.Designers... read more...