Issue 69-NSW - March 2010

NEW SOUTH WALES

Welcome to the New South Wales March edition of essential matters. Essential matters informs people involved in managing buildings, constructing and altering buildings, occupying and maintaining existing buildings of the key issues, events and legislative developments that are critical to the building and property industries.

You'll find topics of interest under six broad headings - Building & Property, Safety Measures & Risk Management, Facility & Property Management, Emergency Planning & OHS, Residential, and Sustainability. Please contact our State offices for assistance regarding any of your consulting requirements.

building & property Application of BCA 2010 to New Projects John Rigney, Director advises that project managers and design teams need to be aware that BCA 2010 will become effective on 1 May 2010.  In this regard any projects, currently in the design process and for which an application for a construction certificate or complying development certificate… (HENDRY)   (more...)   Fire Doors - Protection of Openings Matthew McNamara, Manager Building Surveying, has compiled Hendry Knowledgebase illustrations and articles that provide explanations of the Building Code of Australia clauses relevant to fire doors and the application of solid core doors in certain circumstances. (HENDRY)   (more...)   BCA Alternative Solution There have been many articles written about “alternative solutions” (as defined in the BCA), some informative, some misleading, but very few that inform readers what alternative solutions are.  It appears that there is a very great misunderstanding of the regulations and the regulatory process.  Robert Marsicovetere (Architect and Building Surveyor) provides this very informative article.   (more...)   BCA Illustrated - Your Guide BCA Illustrated provides the BCA in both a downloadable Desktop Edition (no internet connection required) and an Online Edition with over 3000 illustrations, issues and explanations all exclusive to BCA Illustrated.  Printing or saving clauses and illustrations for clients or personal use are just some of the many features of BCA Illustrated. BCA 2010 is available at our updated website now. (HENDRY)   (more...)   Complying Development Checklist and Guide John Rigney, Director, advises that the Building Professionals Board, together with the Department of Planning, have developed a Checklist to assist council or accredited certifiers when assessing applications for Complying Development Certificates made under State Environment Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008. (BPB)   (more...)   Glossaries Building Abbreviations Matthew McNamara, Manager Building Surveying has compiled a number of very good websites that contain a glossary of real estate and architectural terms that all practitioners should be aware of. Eg. Absolute, AustGov, Bldg Cat, docDownload, Draftsperson and SurveyorsBd.(HENDRY)   (more...)   safety measures & risk management Building Clearances for Fire Appliances Adrian Righele, National Manager, advises commercial building owners and managers that various state regulations and legislation specify differing requirements for mandatory testing, inspection and maintenance of essential safety measures.  The following article is generic information on access to large isolated buildings. (EPS)   (more...)   FPA Workshop - Gaseous Fire Extinguisher The Fire Protection Association of Australia is holding a number of morning workshops on the new fire extinguishing systems standard AS ISO 14520.  AS ISO 14520 is the new Australian Standard for the design, installation and commissioning of gaseous fire extinguishing systems. (FPA)   (more...)   Understand Fire Ratings - Guide Matthew McNamara, Manager Building Surveying, has compiled from the Hendry Knowledgebase, articles on ‘fire rating’.  The term ‘fire rating’ is probably the most misused term to do with passive fire protection. Property managers and professionals need to understand the correct terms. (EPS)   (more...)   Fire Stopping - Have We Got It Right? This article explores the roles and responsibilities of various parties involved in the design, specification, installation and certification of fire stopping systems.  In light of the new materials we are using as services, we need to ensure that we look a bit more carefully into holes in fire barriers around services. (Elect. Conn)   (more...)   Fixed Foam Fire Protection Systems While the petrochemical industry is undeniably one of the major users of fixed foam fire protection systems, it is essential to have a detailed understanding of the particular installation, the risks and processes before deciding on the most appropriate solution. Here, John Allen, EMEA Marketing Director for Tyco Fire Suppression & Building Products looks at some of the issues affecting system design (APF)   (more...)   emergency planning & ohs New Asbestos Standards and Requirements Roman Cwyk, Senior Building Surveyor, reports that there are new legislative requirements in NSW for the removal or demolition of asbestos material in relation to complying and exempt development.  The Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Asbestos) Regulation 2009, and amended planning policy, State Environmental Planning Policy… (HENDRY)   (more...)   The New National OHS Laws The recent release of model legislation to establish national Occupational Health and Safety laws represents a significant step towards ensuring that all Australians enjoy equal protections and safety standards in the workplace, as well as providing greater certainty for employers and employees. (facility per.)   (more...)   Gone in a Flash Infra red thermography has become a well-established and proven method for inspecting live electrical equipment.  Technicians must be aware of the hazards, legislation and safety issues, and techniques and equipment best suited to minimising the risks when working in these dangerous environments. (Elect.Conn)   (more...)   How Do We Judge Evacuation Software? Study into human evacuation phenomena has made great advances over the past 20 years.  With a growth in performance-based, complex building design, the ability to understand and model large numbers of people is an area of growing interest and importance. (FPA)   (more...)   AFIA - Safety Procedures Working in Roofs The Aluminium Foil Insulation Association (AFIA) has released a set of safety procedures designed to minimise risks associated with working near electrical fittings in roofs.  AFIA vice-president Michael Bostrom says the new guidelines have been developed by Professor Alex Baitch, one of Australia’s leading authorities on electic safety. (SafetoWork)   (more...)   facility & property management Strategic Property Portfolio Management IQPC's highly successful 'Strategic Property Portfolio Management Conference 2010' is being staged in Sydney commencing on 4 May. The conference will give you the knowledge you need to ensure your organisation is fully exploiting the solutions available to develop a best in class property portfolio operation. It will ensure your portfolio management strategies will provide you the maximum return (IQPC)     (more...)   Water Efficiency of Cooling Towers Matthew McNamara, Manager Building Surveying, advises that AIRAH has launched a new online calculator for assessing the water efficiency of cooling towers. There are an estimated 30,000 cooling towers across Australia, which can account for up to 30 per cent of a site's total water use. (AIRAH)   (more...)   Dust Storms, HVAC and the Facility Manager Eight years after the devastating September 11 attacks on New York's World Trade Centre towers, questions linger concerning the long term health hazards presented by airborne particulate matter generated at the time. Similar questions arise following the recent dust storms that covered... (ABSJ)    (more...)   Property & Facility Management Software fmXpert is a fully integrated Property and Facilities management system. Using the latest technology this system provides a simple user interface, web access, and mobile technology. Key features include Lease Management, Asset Management, Job Management and Document Management.   (more...)   HVAC Hygiene - Best Practice Guidelines AIRAH’s release of its best-practice HVAC Hygiene Best Practice Guideline is an Australian first.  AIRAH engineering manager Phil Wilkinson says building energy use and energy conservation has become increasingly important to owners and system operators.   “Maintaining HVAC systems in a clean condition is one… (AIRAH)   (more...)   residential New Insulation Safety Procedures Roman Cwyk, Senior Building Surveyor advises that the Aluminium Foil Insulation Association (AFIA – manufacturers of foil insulation) have released a set of safety procedures designed to minimise any risk associated with working near electrical fittings in roofs.  AFIA has recognised this information gap and has moved (AFIA)   (more...)   Energy Efficient Glazing Calculators Matthew McNamara, Manager Building Surveying advises that the ABCB has developed a series of glazing calculators to assist users with the calculations required by the BCA Deemed-o-Satisfy energy efficiency provisions.  Users simply input the necessary data into the spreadsheet, which operates in Microsoft Excel, and all table lookups and calculations are carried out automatically. (ABCB)     (more...)   BCA Illustrated - Your Guide BCA Illustrated provides the BCA in both a downloadable Desktop Edition (no internet connection required) and an Online Edition with over 3000 illustrations, issues and explanations all exclusive to BCA Illustrated.  Printing or saving clauses and illustrations for clients or personal use are just some of the many features of BCA Illustrated. BCA 2010 is available at our updated website now. (HENDRY)   (more...)   The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Based on a century of local climate data, a new tool highlights the importance of region-sensitive building practices.  While much of industry is working towards a centralised, national approach to housing construction, designing for climate… (Bldg Conn)   (more...)   Return of the Granny Flat One of the incentives offered by the New South Wales State Environment Planning Policy (SEPP) on affordable options for converting part of an existing house into a granny flat, or where there’s a minimum size block of 450 square meters… (API)   (more...)   The Power Is In Your Hands Technology generally is credited with all kinds of benefits, but will a new breed of electricity meter and power grid be good for a typical household?  Approximately 30% of Australia’s generated power capacity is consumed each year, in bursts of roughly two… (Conn Home)   (more...)   sustainability Glossaries Energy Efficiency Matthew McNamara, Manager Building Surveying, has compiled a number of very good websites that contain a glossary of energy efficiency terms that practitioners should be aware of. Eg. EIA, EnergySmart, ICANZ and ResourceSmart. (HENDRY)   (more...)   Saving Energy Today for a Greener Tomorrow It’s not often a case study in this publication makes a detailed look of a product in action and not a hotel.  However, reports about the release to the hotel industry of another device to save energy consumption were so glowing that our Publisher asked for a… (Hotel Eng.)     (more...)   rmXpert - Booking Resource Needs Announcing an exciting new product to manage all your resource booking needs, rmXpert will manage all of your resources and equipment simply and efficiently.  It can manage meeting rooms, sporting events, bus time tabling, equipment access and more.  All your resources managed on line, approved on line with automatic notifications to keep everyone informed.  Introductory price includes software, installation and training.   (more...)   BCA 2010 Revised Energy Efficient Provisions The ABCB has announced that new provisions for Greenhouse pollution reduction would be included in the national Building Code of Australia (BCA) for 2010.  These new provisions have been developed at the request of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG).  They further enhance and expand the existing energy efficiency provisions in the BCA. (ABCB)   (more...)

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The views expressed in essential matters are the views of the contributors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Hendry Group. Products and services advertised in essential matters are not necessarily endorsed by the Hendry Group. Whilst every reasonable effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, neither the Hendry Group nor any persons contributing to this publication shall incur any liability in respect to any information contained herein, nor for any errors or omissions which may occur in this publication.