Finalists have been announced for the 2016 ARBS Awards with the winners set to be revealed at a gala dinner on May 18, 2016 at the Crown Palladium in Melbourne.
A panel of industry experts evaluated the nominations based on various criteria including leadership, sustainability, performance and innovation.
Three finalists were announced for the Young Achiever Award including Ahmad Amiri of High Technology Control, Vladimir Poposki of Belco Electrical and Leon Wurfel of Bueno.
Ahmad Amiri is the general manager of High Technology Control, a partner of ABB which has been serving the HVAC industry for two decades. As a family man and proud father of two young girls, Amiri has balanced the commitments of his family together with running a $10 million business and managing over 30 happy staff.
Amiri exemplifies someone who has started from the bottom and worked his way up through hard work, determination and integrity. At the age of 34 he is the general manager across two companies which have strived under his stewardship both culturally and financially.
Vladimir Poposki is a highly experienced, energetic and dependable project manager, engineer and a company director who has demonstrated the ability to lead diverse teams of professionals to new levels of success in a variety of highly competitive industries, cutting-edge markets and fast-paced environments.
Poposki is a managing director of Belco Electrical and a senior electrical infrastructure engineer at the University of Melbourne. Belco Electrical is an electrical engineering firm providing reliable, independent advice that represents the interest of the owner and the end-user with the end result being a compliant, safe and workable system.
The third finalist is Leon Wurfel who was the winner of the Rising Star Award at the HVACR Leadership Awards in 2015.
Leon Wurfel co-founded Australia’s first property operations big data business BUENO (Built Environment Optimisation Pty Ltd), and serves as managing director of the company.
In creating BUENO, his goal was to disrupt the standard service and maintenance models for building automation systems and mechanical systems through implementing a data and analytics driven prioritisation of maintenance activities, as well as semi-automated diagnostics of service call issues.
He is a regular at industry events and is consistently invited for guest presenting and panel roles across Australia and internationally, where he shares his knowledge and insights on big data’s influence on property operations.
The organisations competing for this year’s Product/Service Excellence Award ranges from PlantPRO, which is provided by Conserve it, to FyreWrap from Trafalgar Products and Unifrax Australia. Another contender is the Braemar 7 Star equivalent ducted gas heater from Seeley International.
PlantPRO is the first complete chiller plant efficiency and optimisation solution and is designed to provide control of the chiller plant system in a way that delivers efficiencies beyond that of the individual components.
PlantPRO uses feedback from its on board real time analytics, diagnostics, measurement and verification systems to continually readjust the chiller plant for optimum performance, irrespective of which brand of chiller is installed and without the need for proprietary engineering tools.
The integrated wizard programming system configures both the hardware and software to match any chiller plant and supports up to 10 chillers in a single system. It delivers a comprehensive suite of engineering tools, graphical user interfaces, reports and charting tools as well as automated maintenance reports aimed specifically at the service market.
Next finalist is FyreWrap which provides a fast, clean and easy system for the fire protection of ductwork. The innovation of FyreWrap is an attractive alternative to intrusive and messy fire spray that has been prevalent on Australian construction sites.
The product is growing in popularity due to the long list of benefits it offers the mechanical trade. In addition to the recent approval for three hours fire protection, it’s much faster to install than conventional techniques used for the fire protection of duct work.
The installation is completely compatible with off-site duct construction and has exceptional health and environmental benefits such as being highly resistant to mould growth and low VOC ratings which are extremely important attributes for sensitive construction projects such as medical facilities.
The next finalist is Seeley International, Australia’s largest heating and cooling manufacturer. Launched in March 2015, the Braemar 7 Star equivalent ducted gas heater has the highest star rating and is the most efficient conventional ducted gas heater in the world.
The 7 star heater has shifted the paradigm of the star rating system in Australia, as the current rating system only offers a maximum of 6 stars, encouraging the Australian Gas Association (AGA) to reconsider the rating system.
It represents a major breakthrough for the industry, significantly reducing energy usage and the impact on the environment. The key features include a cost saving of $577 per year and a reduction in CO2 emissions of 1.99 tonnes per year compared to a 3 star ducted gas heating model.
The three finalists announced for the Outstanding Industry Education/Training Award are Diploma of Engineering Technology in Refrigeration and Air Conditioning – TAFE NSW Sydney Institute (Sydney TAFE); Energy Efficient HVAC for Business – Office of Environment and Heritage and AIRAH and the Refrigeration and Climate Control Centre of Excellence – AMCA and Box Hill Institute.
Diploma of Engineering Technology in Refrigeration and Air Conditioning – TAFE NSW Sydney Institute (Sydney TAFE)
In 2015 Sydney TAFE launched a nationally recognised high level HVACR qualification that can be undertaken by anyone, anywhere, anytime in Australia.
The Diploma of Engineering Technology in Refrigeration and Air conditioning (UEE51111) is for air conditioning and refrigeration engineering technicians. Students learn how to develop systems, select equipment and commission, maintain and diagnose faults/malfunctions of refrigeration systems and equipment that apply to commercial food storage and preservation and air conditioning and air distribution equipment and special applications.
This is the only TAFE that delivers this qualification 100 per cent online with a range of students from all over Australia. The instructional design embedded in the Learning Management System (LMS) uses innovative ways to deliver the program.
Currently Sydney TAFE is the only Registered Training Organisation (RTO) which delivers this program along the east coast of Australia. Sydney TAFE is listed as an approved trainer for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) of the qualifications for Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Mechanical Services including Unlimited Design for the Queensland Building & Construction Commission (QBCC).
Energy Efficient HVAC for Business is the Office of Environment and Heritage and AIRAH. Heating, ventilation and air conditioning is a significant energy user for many businesses, and the practical and interactive Energy Efficient HVAC for Business training program has been developed with this in mind.
The NSW Office of Environment and Heritage’s (OEH) HVAC training is designed to provide a structured approach to achieving energy efficient HVAC for buildings. The course consists of two separate modules, enabling participants to choose which topic areas may be most applicable to them.
The learning outcomes from module one: “Introduction to energy efficient HVAC” and module two: “Advanced HVAC – optimisation, operation and maintenance strategies” are further reinforced through complementary site visits and post training support which are available to all participants after completion of either module.
This allows businesses to maximise their learnings from the course and take their upgrade opportunities from idea to implementation. A supporting guide to optimising HVAC systems is also provided to all course participants. The guide focuses on the best use of existing systems, rather than large-scale equipment upgrades and replacement.
It was developed through an industry–government partnership between OEH’s Energy Efficient Business unit and the Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air conditioning and Heating (AIRAH).
Finally, the Air Conditioning and Mechanical Contractors Association (AMCA Vic) and the Box Hill Institute have come together to develop and deliver training solutions to the industry through a sustained and integrated relationship. This collaboration led to the development of the Refrigeration and Climate Control Centre of Excellence (RCCC), which is governed by a ‘Round Table’ and administered by a five-year strategic plan.
The collaboration has provided platforms and opportunities to address the current and the future education and training needs of the industry on both a state and national level. The collaborative partnership will continue to improve the quality
of apprentices and current employees within the industry through this joint initiative and ongoing access to the latest refrigeration and air conditioning technologies, while ensuring alignment to the current educational curriculum and the industry needs.
Finalists for the ARBS Project Excellence Award are Westpac/St. George HQ refurbishment by Norman Disney & Young and Westpac Corporation, Coles Coburg North by Coles and City Building Engineering Services Pty Ltd and Sylvan Australia ammonia glycol chiller project by Strathbrook Industrial Services and Danfoss.
Owned by Charter Hall and originally constructed in the late 1980s, this building in Kogarah is home to the St. George headquarters. Comprising of 31,000 square metres across five levels, the building was operating at a NABERS Office Base Building Energy Rating of 0 Stars and the brief was to elevate the rating to 4.5 Stars.
The brief to Norman Disney & Young (NDY) and the design team was clear: elevate the building’s credentials to a NABERS 4.5 Star Energy Rating and create a workplace that reflected the leading sustainability and modern workplace credentials of one of Australia’s largest banks.
Initially appointed in 2013 to provide a Master Plan Report for all services, NDY were subsequently appointed for the upgrade of the base building services. NDY were also appointed for all services related to the 26,000 square metres internal fitout.
NDY’s expertise in energy modelling identified options to improve the base building’s NABERS rating from 0 Stars to 4.5 Stars.
As a result of an ongoing commitment by Coles to create supermarkets with a sustainable footprint, its new concept store at Coles Coburg North (Vic) represents a leap forward in both HVAC&R system design and application.
Through the Coburg North project an energy profile has been achieved showing a 16 per cent reduction over recently enhanced stores boasting energy consumption figures to rival the award winning Hallam store (ARBS Project Excellence Winner 2014) with the added benefit of the removal of synthetic refrigerants.
North Coburg was built to 4 star (plus) green star standard and is the first partly solar powered Victorian store with 399 solar panels installed and the ability to generate 100 kW of power.
Strathbrook Industrial Services has designed and installed a new Glycol system for Sylvan Australia’s existing mushroom spore factory, which used an air cooled heat exchanger to cool a closed water loop, so that water could be pumped through a braised plate heat exchanger to achieve the first stage of cooling from 120ºCto 30ºC.
A critical charged ammonia chiller was also designed and installed to provide the second stage of cooling from 30ºC to 6ºC, using the new air cooled water system as a condensing medium for the ammonia chiller.
In addition to chilling the glycol, the new ammonia chiller also provides heat recovery to pre heat the water which is mixed into the product during production, prior to starting the boil heating system.
The chiller has an ammonia charge of 4.9kg and achieves a cooling capacity of 105kw at -2.5ºC sst and 32ºC sct. It is 39 per cent more energy efficient that the previous glycol system.