Have you considered solar for your building?
Renewable energy, in particular the solar photovoltaic (PV) sector, has experienced exponential growth in recent years. The growth of this industry has largely been due to rapid rises in electricity prices, aided by the lower capital cost of solar systems, government rebates and special finance schemesnow available.
There are many considerations when it comes to selecting the solar system, and solar system installer, right for your building.
To begin, the most important consideration is the “right size” of the system.It’s not as simple as the old saying “the bigger the better!” This is due to solar systems being categorised by approval authorities based on the rating of the solar inverters which connect to the grid. For example, going one extra kilowatt over 150-kilowatts will likely add over ten thousand dollars of additional equipment and weeks of engineering to comply. Rather, it’s best to match the size of the solar system with the anticipated “base load” of the building. This base load can be much lower on weekends and holidays when the solar may produce at maximum, but nobody is at work to use the power. A number of energy retailers are now entertaining “power purchase agreements” to buy exported power in this scenario, but the purchase price is far lower than the price you would otherwise buy power.
An example of this is the Perth Zoo solar system which produces over 230kW. This power is consumed daily by the running of pumps, animal enclosure heating, cooling and general operations, regardless of the number of visitors on a given day.
When selecting a system installer, the most important consideration is their past experience with systems of a similar size to your planned system. The reason being, it’s the installer’s responsibility to negotiate authority approvals, with design, installation and commissioning to the authority’s requirements.
All growing industries experience growing pains, and the solar industry is no exception. The Australian Standards for solar systems, authority approval processes and best-practice installation methods are constantly developing and improving. Such regulation is critical to ensure the quality of solar equipment, safety of users and reliability of the power grid is maintained. Responding to these issues, several fact sheets and technical guidance documents are now available from supply authorities to establish a consistent understanding of these requirements.
WGE provided their input to the National Energy Efficient Building Project
WGE have provided their input to the National Energy Efficient Building Project which is looking at the efficacy of the energy efficiency measures included in the National Construction Code (NCC). Energy efficiency measures have been included in Section J and Part 3.12 of the NCC with aim of reducing the Greenhouse Gas emissions associated with the operation of buildings. Whilst these measures have undoubtedly improved the efficiency of new building stock, there are some issues with the system that need to be refined to ensure the improvements continue.
The main issues raised by WGE include:
- A process needs to be implemented to sign off and audit buildings after construction to confirm that they have actually installed the materials as designed.
- The commercial JV3 energy modelling process needs to award buildings for good orientation.
- A proportion of energy models used to show compliance should be audited to ensure quality modelling is performed.
- Before consultants can issue JV3 modelling reports, they should be required to obtain and maintain relevant qualifications, similar to the requirements for the residential NatHERS modelling requirements.
There are many issues that need to be considered to ensure the NCC continues to drive the built environment to greater levels of energy efficiency. Everyone in the industry is encouraged to have their say at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NEEBP.
GBCA Event - Green Star Design & As Built Information Session
As ‘Thought Leaders’ for Green Star 2014, WGE hosted a breakfast information session about the changes currently planned for the next generation of Green Star tools. On the 6th November, Jorge Chapa, Executive Director for Green Star Technical Development and Operations, updated a group of nearly 50 industry professionals about the current process and the planned changes.
Green Star 2014 will deliver a single Design and As Built tool that can be used to rate any class of building other than single residential dwellings. All of the benchmarks will be reviewed to ensure they continue to drive sustainability in the market and the documentation requirements will be updated to minimise excess documentation and to make Green Star more affordable to achieve. All of these changes will mean that Green Star will be more cost effective, consistent and relevant to the current construction industry.
Toyota’s new headquarters drives water recycling to new levels
The Perth Wood & Grieve Engineers (WGE) hydraulic team has worked with Roxby Architects to create Toyota’s new state of the art headquarters.
Toyota’s drive from the start was to create a stand out building in regards to sustainability which should match their car branding, aiming to save CO2 emissions, minimise the ecological footprint and achieve a minimum of 5 Star Green Star Rating. This drive meant the whole design team was challenged to come up with considerably more than just the standard design solutions.
WGE’s hydraulic team’s main goal was to reduce the water consumptionof the building to a minimum. To achieve this goal the team looked at all water use from the type of initial tap installed, to water recycling schemes through treatment systems.
The integratedblackwater treatment system installed istraditionally designed to treat water to a certain level and discharge it back into the aquifer below ground. WGE’s hydraulic team went one step further and integrated a treatment plant which produces A class water quality, in other words almost drinking water. 100% of the wastewater discharge of the building gets fully reused on site and as a result water consumption is reduced to a minimum.
The WA Department of Health has very strict guidelines for wastewater reuse, creating quite a few challenges for the team. Open, clear communication from the WGE project engineers was needed to achieve full approval and certification of the system. These strong communication skills were again utilised when sourcing and working with the supplier of the system to ensure the correct end result.
The building is now complete and even includes a welcoming LCD screen displaying the current energy and water usage of the building – highlighting how it will sustain a positive impact on the community into the future.
WGE part of team chosen to sink the Wellington Street Bus Station
Wood & Grieve Engineers (WGE) is proud to announce they are part of the successfulconsortium with Brookfield Multiplex and BG&E, which will now form an alliance with the Public Transport Authority (PTA) to build a new state-of-the-art underground bus station in Perth. This is an enormous project, with an investment value of $249 million, which is essential to the $4 BN Perth City Link project and will be the final step in reconnecting Perth and Northbridge.
WGE was chosen to be part of the Brookfield Multiplex team as they have a proven track record of successfully delivering large, complex projects on time and within budget.
WGE will play a pivotal role in this project providing 11 separate services including electrical, hydraulic, integration, vertical transportation, security, acoustics, audio visual, services management, sustainability, fire protection and fire engineering.
WGE’s CEO, José Granado, said, “We are delighted to be working with Brookfield Multiplex, BG&E and the Public Transport Authority on what is a truly dynamic project that will change the face of Perth as we know it. WGE has played a major role in many of the projects that have shaped WA and we look forward to driving forward on this one too.”
The project is set to commence early next year, with construction of a temporary bus station already underway.
New civil engineering specialist joins Melbourne team
Wood & Grieve Engineers (WGE) is excited to announce that specialist commercial building civil engineer, Dara McGrenaghan, has joined the Melbourne team.
With Dara’s addition to the team the Melbourne office has one of the most diverse engineering offerings in Melbourne with experts in acoustics, civil, electrical, fire protection, fire engineering, hydraulics, mechanical, property asset management, sustainability, structural and underground power services.
WGE see this expansion as a necessity, and in direct response to client demand and future strategic developments.
Melbourne office manager, Grant Holman, said, “Dara’s hire is key to meeting our clients’ expectations and capitalising on market and economic movements. As an office, we are focusing on developing our civil offering over the next few years which will produce great synergies with our existing disciplines, particularly electrical, acoustics and hydraulics. We welcome Dara to the team and are excited to see what he will bring to the mix.”
Dara added, “I am delighted to have been offered the opportunity to be part of the growth of WGE’s civil offering in Melbourne. It is exciting to move to a firm which has such a genuine commitment to delivering outstanding client service and is prepared to utilise considerable resource to achieve this goal.”
Dara is an expert in water network design and optimisation as well as hydraulic modelling.
Shaping tomorrow’s workforce
What makes an organisation great? Clearly, not just financial performance. The drivers of excellence go much deeper.
People are searching for meaning in their work, for something they can contribute to and be truly recognised for. If the staff value and understand the organisation, what it stands for, their role within it, the impact they have and their importance then it will go a long way towards strong engagement. It becomes more than just work – there is purpose.
While ‘culture’ is often spoken of and values are plastered across websites and marketing materials, what matters most is that the people within the organisation do what they believe. A fun, dynamic culture can permeate the organisation. People bring their personalities to work.
Hierarchy is the enemy of collaboration. To create a truly collaborative and dynamic culture, there should be no corner offices. At Wood & Grieve Engineers our CEO sits in the midst of the workforce, surrounded by all levels of engineers. Our project engineers (most of whom are owners of the firm) are the people at the ‘coal face’ and who have a 360° collaborative support structure around them. As a result, the younger generations within Wood & Grieve are far more engaged working alongside the senior staff. They are encouraged to challenge their leaders, a trait which drives accountability at all levels. Gone are the days of top-down management, closed doors and officious titles.
Creating meaningful careers for staff, at all levels of the organisation is also critical for engagement. Many workplaces overlook the fact that each staff member makes a unique contribution to the organisation’s vision. It may be surprising to some that the receptionist is probably the only person within an organisation that talks to every client – a considerable responsibility! Some senior management eager to protect their role and status may only give lip service to the task of nurturing staff. However, organisations should understand that performance is what matters and the ability to identify and reward those willing to take control of their career is the role of management.
Our industry faces a real challenge in encouraging more experienced staff to stay on within their organisations and impart knowledge to their peers. Meaningful careers are created by identifying talent early and not locking them into roles dictated by years of experience established hierarchy. While age and experience should not be discounted, too often experienced staff move on or retire when their organisation fails to respond to their changing needs.
Allowing staff to have a tangible stake within the business (instead of making them wait forever for it) is a great way to acknowledge and reward talented people. The 44 working principals and 19 associates at Wood & Grieve own Wood & Grieve. The uplift in performance together with the heightened care and concern for the organisation and the quality of its work is noticeable. There’s something incredibly motivating about being an owner in an organisation you love to work at.
Performance also is not selective. Strong adherence to accountability and a desire to meet and exceed the expectations no matter what your role in the organisation, is vital. Hard work and high performance is not just for those that don’t have an equity stake in the business – it is everyone’s responsibility. Given we spend many of our waking hours at work it’s fundamentally important that our work places are fun and energised. At one stage or another we have all had that feeling of dread upon waking, when you know that you have to head to work – well that really shouldn’t happen very frequently at all both for you and your colleagues.
As society changes so must the organisations that function within it. In theory, boosting performance should be easy, but the real challenge lies in the actions of people within the organisation, from the top and throughout. Organisations that embrace the new paradigm of a sense of purpose, collaboration, lack of hierarchy and creating meaningful, satisfying careers for their people, will be sought out by employees, clients and partners. They will be the star performers.
