2019 was a very interesting year for us. The strategic acquisition of Buildingsense in 2018 gave us the opportunity to get involved with our clients at an earlier stage of their building’s lifecycle. With this approach, we’re making sure new buildings are born smart. This way we’re also able to solidify our commitment to give our industry a nudge to embrace the holistic view we envision. We have been involved in some very interesting projects during the past months. In this article, we provide a short overview of some of the most notable in the Greenfield space, which include schools, hospitals, airports, offices and government buildings. 

School Infrastructure NSW

Buildingsense was selected as a Strategic Solution provider for the New South Wales (NSW) Department of Education – School Infrastructure program. The program is investing $0.5 billion to upgrade more than 1000 schools to ensure cooler classrooms. Based on specific projects, Buildingsense is set to deliver integrated mechanical, electrical, and control systems incorporating BuildingIQ’s 5i vision. Additionally, we are currently in the final stages of commissioning Oran Park Public School and Wenona School; these projects are part of a $6.7 billion investment by the NSW government to build schools around the state. 

Hospitals

We are currently working with three hospitals in Australia: Somerset Hospital, Mudgee Hospital, and St. John of God Healthcare. Mudgee Hospital is owned and operated by NSW Health whereas the others are run independently. The scope of each project varies. 

At Somerset and Mudgee we’re managing the implementation of a Sauter BMS integrated with the mechanical-electrical infrastructure and will provide ongoing monitoring and tuning during the defect liability period (DLP) phase with our BuildingIQ 5i Platform. Additionally, we’re working to help Somerset Hospital achieve the goal of a 4.5 NABERS star rating during the post-occupancy phase. 

One of our biggest achievements in the delivery of our 5i technology-enabled services is St. John of God Hospital. While this project is not considered “greenfield” it is worth noting since the scope grew from delivering Outcome-based Fault Detection and Optimization services in two of St. John of God’s buildings to 16! You can read my recent update to learn more about this project. 

Forrestfield Airport Link

As part of a $1.86 billion project that will deliver three new stations at Redcliffe, Airport Central, and Forrestfield, and six additional buildings, we’re working with the Perth-based client to provide the HVAC control infrastructure for this greenfield project, including controls, switchboards and associated cabling. This large project will continue well into 2021. 

Completed Projects

We internally refer to the process of completing a greenfield project as “graduating it to 5i”. This means that the initial implementation phase has prepared the new building to receive and benefit from the capabilities of the BuildingIQ 5i Platform. Among those buildings, we have the Cockburn Operations Center, Melbourne Hotel, McIver House, and 24 Outram Street in Perth, the MLC Burwood Senior School and Flinders Bankstown office building in Sydney.

Going Forward

We have collected a lot of data from all these buildings while they were in construction mode. Now that we have occupancy data we are able to see the complete performance of the buildings. What this means is that we can develop two thermal models: in-design mode and operational mode. This is the new way of building operations.  

Through our 5i Platform —which is a combination of algorithms working behind the scenes and a team of experts— we continue to monitor the performance of these buildings. We become, in essence, the eyes and ears of our clients’ buildings.

And just a word about our team’s expertise. As direct Sauter Controls-certified professionals, our team of experts has received extensive training to ensure each implementation follows the highest levels of quality and performance.

Learn about other projects currently under Buildingsense management by visiting Buildingsense.com.au. If you want to learn more about our work in the Greenfield space, contact us! 

Roy Arindam has a dual role of Vice President – Asia-Pacific at BuildingIQ and Managing Director – Construction Services at Buildingsense. He also leads the operations and business expansion team spanning delivery of automation solutions to the greenfield sector and analytics services to existing buildings. Roy has more than fifteen years of combined entrepreneurial experience working for companies like Alerton Australia, Wormald Fire Service, Siemens. He has been instrumental in the implementation of automation technologies in 200+ buildings and the introduction of Artificial Intelligence using FDD in over 100 buildings across Australia and parts of Asia-Pacific.