A.G. Coombs Group White Papers

Tri-Generation for Data Centres

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 15:59:00 +1100

With data centre sector carbon emissions expected to exceed those of the airline industry by 2020 and rapidly increasing energy costs, the use of Tri-Generation systems is seen as a key strategy available to Australia’s Data Centre owners and managers to mitigate these risks Requiring significant capital investment, large Tri-Generation systems can provide high payoffs in terms of carbon emission and energy cost reductions. Whilst tri-Generation systems are being considered for new data centre facilities, retrofitting and commissioning of large Tri-Generation systems is considered to be particularly challenging within a live data centre environment. NAB are making a significant commitment to the environment through their Carbon Neutral 2010 Program, with carbon emissions associated with their Data Centres targeted for particular attention. In 2010 they completed the installation of a 2000kW Tri-Generation system at their primary data centre facility with the joint aims of reducing the Data Centre’s carbon emissions by some 20,000 tonnes of CO2 per annum as well as providing a positive financial return. It should be noted that the installation of the Tri-Generation plant in the Data Centre was an NAB initiative. The initiative was supported by Bank’s Facility Managers, United Group Services, who provided significant input and cooperation during the design and construction phases of the project. The project presented many engineering, installation and commissioning challenges whilst assuring the overriding requirement that the data centre’s service availability and system reliability were not compromised through the project delivery. Now that the plant is up and running, Brian and Michael present some of the key lessons learnt through the project implementation from the design phase through to final client handover, as well as review the performance of the system to date. read more...

BIM-MEPAUS enabling best practice technical FM

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 11:45:00 +1100

Following overseas trends, the Australian Construction Industry is seeking to use Building Information Modelling, (BIM) as the platform to deliver project design and construction services more effectively as well as providing property owners with the asset database they need to manage buildings in the 21st century. Realizing in practice the potential that BIM offers involves overcoming some significant challenges though. Investments in new technology, industry standards and training will be required as well as the rethinking of many traditional roles and responsibilities for those involved at each phase of a building’s life cycle.BIM-MEPAUS is an industry lead initiative by the AMCA that addresses many of the current industry challenges in realizing this potential and will provide long term significant benefits to property owners and facility managers.

Practical Fire Protection in Computer Rooms and Data Centres

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 13:34:00 +1100

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) including hardware, software and ancillary services has changed dramatically over the last 20 years. Similarly, the technology and application of fire protection systems used to protect ICT systems has also seen significant changes in technology.

As a result there has been a wide variety of fire protection technologies, systems and strategies adopted to provide fire protection to the ICT infrastructure. While some systems such as high sensitivity smoke detection are commonplace, there is a wide variety of design and installation configurations that are adopted.

With the advent of powerful desktop computers in the 80s & 90s computer systems were de-centralised. Mainframe systems were decommissioned in favour of personal computers on each desk. In the internet age and the advent of cloud computing, there has been a shift back to centralised systems to leverage processing power and energy efficiencies. Furthermore, technology advances have seen introduction of high density computing in the form of Blade servers and virtual machines, where a single machine may host a number of (many) physical and/or virtual servers.

This paper considers various aspects of fire protection in ICT Computer Rooms and Data Processing facilities from an equipment, system and strategic point of view. A critical review of common approaches to fire protection within ICT facilities has been undertaken examining the advantages and disadvantages.

The objective of the paper is to provide the reader with a view of good practice approaches to various forms fire protection within ICT facilities from a practical point of view.

HVAC Retrofitting for Green Refurbishments in Occupied Buildings

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:10:00 +1100

Major retrofits in occupied buildings to achieve energy efficiency outcomes may pose significant issues and challenges. The works are carried out behind the scenes or on a staged basis and it is exceptionally difficult to deliver the works without significant disruptions over an extended project duration.

The essential issue is that most building energy related systems, especially the HVAC are structured and controlled over multiple floors. This combined with usually inadequate system documentation and knowledge can and often does lead to very significant on-site issues. Additionally the major stakeholders: owner, tenants, builder or head contractor, property or facility manager and service providers will all buy into the ultimate objective however they have different and often conflicting agendas and expectations.

A different paradigm is required for these projects: one that is heavy on planning, project management, expert engineering support and most importantly, effective and proactive communication across all project stakeholders. We have done or are engaged in a number of major projects in this genre and share some of our experiences in this paper.

Sustainability: Bridging the Knowledge Gap

Thu, 24 May 2007 13:50:00 +1100

The Australian real estate market continues to demand greater environmentally sustainable performance at a time when the skills required to achieve performance enhancements are decreasing in the industry.
The skills shortage is compounded by a ‘knowledge gap’, which has occurred as critical knowledge of building design and operation is lost between different stages of the building life cycle.
A focus on a single rating number is contributing to a lack of the specific data that is required in order for performance uplifts to be achieved and maintained.
The introduction of tools that rate environmental performance, such as Green Star and ABGR, has brought about a change in the way real estate is designed and operated and has lifted awareness across the property sector.
The take up of the rating tools has been high, with over 100 projects having received or been registered for certification under Green Star and some 29% of the national office market having been rated using ABGR.
The rating tools have the potential to facilitate the transfer of knowledge, and to improve understanding of the real issues around sustainability performance outcomes, by focusing on data reporting at a more specific level.
If the knowledge gap is addressed, the Australian market environment presents a unique opportunity to achieve innovation and global best practice in measurement and reporting on sustainability performance.
Environmental performance rating tools have the potential to drive this change; however the industry must play a role in ensuring that Australia takes advantage of this opportunity.

Maintenance for Energy Efficiency and Ongoing HVAC System Tuning

Tue, 15 May 2007 13:48:00 +1100

This paper recognises the drivers and trends in the broader property industry that are demanding energy efficient maintenance and ongoing tuning for HVAC systems to improve their energy efficiency. The current HVAC maintenance paradigm is reviewed together with general maintenance practices and a series of issues and challenges are identified. Energy efficient maintenance is defined in terms of focus, scope, cost and benefits. The paper offers a way forward and suggested actions to encourage the development and promulgation of energy efficient HVAC maintenance practices through the industry.

The Ten Key Principles of Green Fire

Thu, 15 Jun 2006 16:32:00 +1100

Fire Protection Services are one particular area of buildings that has not been fully explored with respect to sustainable design, maintenance and management. There is significant opportunity to reduce the amount of water they use over their life, to substantially lessen the extent of materials and other environmental impacts required for their installation and ownership, and to lessen the limitations that fire services can sometimes place on achieving broader sustainability solutions and outcomes.

Ten key principles for “Green Fire” are put forward in this paper, grouped for convenience into the categories set out in the Green Building Council of Australia’s Green Star Office Design Rating Tool (v2). The appropriate Reference Number is provided where there is a direct correlation to Green Star points.

Fire Safety Engineering Design and the Implications for Facility Managers

Wed, 03 May 2006 12:57:00 +1100

One of the primary benefits of a fire safety engineering or performance approach to fire and life safety systems design is that it allows for the consideration of all the features that will be inherent in a particular building, including structure, installed systems and management and occupancy regimes, when assessing the overall fire safety requirements. This can lead to substantial cost savings for building developers at the time of construction.

However because fire safety engineered solutions often rely on how the building will be operated and the integration of various systems they can place significant responsibilities on the Facilities Manager to ensure that the fire safety of the building is maintained. A very clear understanding of the resultant elements of a fire safety engineering design is required when formulating occupancy and maintenance management systems and procedures.

HVAC - What the future holds (maybe!)

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 13:24:00 +1100

The provision of Heating Ventilation and Air-Conditioning to buildings, or simply air conditioning as it has become generally referred to, has become a complex business since its widespread introduction began after World War 2. Simple systems to provide heating and ventilation have evolved into a sophisticated technology that controls the indoor environment maintaining temperature, humidity and air quality.

What of the future of HVAC? Whilst predicting the future is always a risky endeavour, particularly with anything to do with technology, there is always something to be gained from analysing current drivers of change and trends and speculating over how they may affect matters. At the very least you gain a better insight into why things are the way they are and at best you are enabled to successfully prepare yourself for future changes.

So let's take a quick look at some of the drivers of change in commercial buildings and speculate on how these may affect air conditioning.

Green Age Buildings - The New Challenges for Commissioning

Sat, 01 Oct 2005 13:24:00 +1100

This paper provides a précis of the issues facing building services commissioning in Australia and the current shortcomings. It looks at the drivers and trends in the industry that are demanding change to commissioning practices including the requirement for more sustainable buildings and building practices, the demand for higher quality building services and better indoor environments, and the uptake of new technologies and the integration of active and passive building systems.

Out of these the paper identifies the commissioning related challenges that face the industry in the areas of the specification of commissioning requirements and designer involvement in commissioning, technical and management skill shortages, Industry knowledge gaps, technology application, new building delivery methods and management, assuring energy and environmental targets are realised, and commissioning management and knowledge capture and management.

The paper offers a series of recommendations or "calls for action" for change to meet these challenges.