Problems attributed to maintenance failings are bad for business, which is why ANDY GREEN advocates a business-focused approach to maintenance.

Preventive maintenance prolongs plant life, increase energy savings and saves money, so why do too few companies realise the benefits asksJOHN WRIGHT?

Variable-speed drives are now well established in building services, and the early product generations are becoming ripe for replacement. It is not just at breakdowns that replacement should be considered; changing out in time can help prevent downtime. A new drive can also reduce energy consumption and save space, as NICK THORNE explains.

Outsourcing facilities-management responsibilities to a specialist company with an innovative attitude provides the opportunity to satisfy competitive cost criteria via efficiency benefits rather than service cuts.

JAMIE REYNOLDS explores how.

The company which owns Powergen, e.on UK, has awarded a major facilities-management and service contract to the national facilities-management team of Inviron.

To prepare St Lawrence College in Ramsgate for the new academic year, the site’s appointed specifier has again turned to Keston Boilers. The company has provided a rig comprising five boilers, two low-volume velocity headers. This is the third of five orders for prefabricated rigs.

Following the recent securing of its biggest-ever national maintenance and support contract with a leading financial-services provider, Pickerings Lifts has enhanced its maintenance and support programme — with the goal of offering best-in-class service for the UK lift industry.

Ladies, as well as gentlemen, are now benefiting from air conditioning at a prestigious outfitter in Salisbury. Chas H. Baker installed air conditioning in the gentlemen’s department some time ago. Now Domair International has specified and installed a Carrier XPower system for the ladies department. It comprises two ceiling cassettes, with outdoor units on a neighbouring roof.

Richmond Hydro-Chem has developed a scheme to help clients protect against the risks of legionella.

When maintenance costs for community heating and heating in sheltered accommodation operated by Aberdeen City Council Housing began to escalate and written complaints were being received from wardens, a condition survey of the affected heating systems was initiated.

A prefabricated modular plant room installed on the roof of new research facilities for Queen Mary College of the University of London was a key element of the refurbishment of the Wingate Institute.

To help organisations and individuals avoid the risk of litigation, the head of technical and safety with the Heating & Ventilating Contractors Association stresses the vital role of guidance developed by HVCA.

The flexibility of Mitsubishi Electric’s City Multi R2 heat-recovery air conditioning has been exploited in the modernisation of Elizabeth House in Woking, a 3000 m2 office development. The equipment has been installed to provide climate control for a huge open-plan area, whilst swapping heating and cooling between different rooms.

The REFCOM refrigerant database for tracking refrigerant movement from supplier to cylinder to plant has been successfully trialled by MacWhirter Air Conditioning, the first company ever to join the REFCOM scheme.

Maintenance costs and downtime of a rehydrating unit at the Nottingham plant of Imperial Tobacco have been reduced following the installation of a Kal-Guard+ scale inhibitor from Watermatic. A payback of less than four months was achieved.

As part of the refurbishment of All Saints Church at Leadon near Sunderland, an underfloor heating system has been installed beneath the central worship space, with radiators around the perimeter to minimise lateral losses.

‘Intelligent maintenance’ software which facilitates remote Internet monitoring and control of equipment and assets has been developed by t-mac Technologies.

Refurbishment of lighting installations in 30 Territorial Army Centres and other properties belonging to the Reserve Forces & Cadets Association (RFCA) in the north of England is achieving significant energy savings — with associated substantial reductions in carbon-dioxide emissions. The work was carried out by Parkersell (Lighting & Electrical Services). Payback in terms of energy and cost savings is expected in two to four years.

Cofathec Heatsave has been awarded a national contract to provide a comprehensive range of maintenance and management services to the estate of the Crown Prosecution Service.

A wide range of comfort and energy benefits are being provided by a new heating and ventilation system in the plastic injection-moulding plant of Collins & Aikman in the West Midlands.

Building-management systems are the key to capitalising on investment in intelligent buildings says ANDY HAYNES.

According to the Building Controls Industry Association (BCIA), the UK market has recorded its best year since it started analysing the building-controls industry in 1991. The total value of products, installed systems, and service and maintenance supplied by controls and BMS companies operating in the UK home market during 2004 equalled £489 million.

Open systems increase the complexity of building-management systems, making their commissioning a more demanding process. JOHN REID examines the issues.

Simmtronic has expanded its SPECS3 range of addressable lighting controls for corporate development projects where DALI electronic ballasts are specified.

Trend’s IQView touchscreen user interface for controlling building-management systems immediately ‘learns’ the structure of the Trend BMS to which it is connected and can then be quickly configured to give different levels of user access.

Trend has launched a wireless space-temperature sensor and receiver which are said to provide the lowest-cost solution for most applications. Even on relatively small systems, says Trend, there is a saving of up to 60% to be made using these controllers compared with conventional wired sensors.

Tridium has developed what is described as a breakthrough in control for building-services plant for use by OEMs. It is based on Tridium’s Niagara open framework.

Mentmore Homes is installing intelligent building controls from ABB in a prestigious project in Gerrards Cross, Bucks. The Georgian-style exterior of the £2.8 million, 5/6 bedroom homes hides a luxury development featuring a home cinema, gym and sauna.

Schools throughout West Sussex are being helped to achieve more efficient environmental control by the council’s property department. The team, based in Chichester and led by Tony Farrant, head of engineering and environmental services, provides advice and guidance for some 400 schools and operators of many other buildings.

A Honeywell Hometronics wireless home-automation system controls a 19-zone heating system and the domestic hot water in a large private home in Stanmore, Greater London.

The launch of a new extranet web site to provide fast, easy and secure access to developments in the Desigo PX range of modular HVAC controllers from Siemens Building Technologies was among the highlights of the first Desigo certified partner conference at the company’s factory at Zug in Switzerland.

That champion of British industry, SIR DIGBY JONES, believes the building-services industry is in a unique position to stimulate and encourage the development of individuals.

As long as the price of raw materials dictates how a project is executed, the benefits of many cost-saving techniques will not be fully exploited on site. MARTYN ROWLANDS discusses factors that contractors should be considered when specifying pipework.

Simply installing variable-speed pumps may not save energy, as experience in Switzerland demonstrates. PETER NEARS explains why correct pump selection is vital, especially when pumps are being replaced.

What a magnificent achievement by Lord Sebastian Coe and his team in bringing the Olympic Games to London in 2012. Not only does his success provide the opportunity for London and Britain to shine as hosts and British athletes to give sterling performances, but it also demands that the construction industry responds to the commercial opportunities presented to it and performs to deliver the buildings and infrastructure that are necessary to present the Olympic Games in the twenty-first century.

The staging of the Olympic Games in London in 2012 and its associated £10 billion programme for sports stadia, accommodation and infrastructure has been welcomed by the construction industry. The construction bill alone is expected to be £2.5 billion. Work has already started on two key venues — the £70 million Aquatics Centre and the £30 million Velopark.

The performance of M&E contractors is continuing to improve, according to the latest set of Key Performance Indicators published by BSRIA. This is the fifth set of KPIs. There are 10 headline indicators, of which eight have improved since last year, with seven showing a continuous improvement over the past five years.

A complete review of the multitude of workforce registration schemes, along with changes in attitudes to quality, has been called for by the Heating & Ventilating Contractors’ Association.

Construction orders in the year to May rose by 6% compared with the previous year, according to figures from the Department of Trade & Industry.

Air-conditioning manufacturer Airedale has won a British Safety Council award for the seventh consecutive year for its significant achievements in safety standards.

A web site aimed at simplifying project partnership contracts has been developed by the Association of Consultant Architects. It is targeted at constructors, consultants and specialists and presents contractual material in an accessible and user-friendly way. It also offers facts and guidance on using the association’s partnering contracts, as well as providing tasters, case studies, answers to common questions and other free downloads.

Following the completion of the first phase of redevelopment, Waterloo Air Products has rationalised its product range to concentrate on the manufacture of grilles, diffusers, VAV equipment and active chilled beams.

Northampton-based contractor Briggs & Forrester has taken its sponsorship of Northamptonshire County Cricket Club a stage further by advertising on the players’ match shirts.

The acquisition by Watts Industries of Electro Controls has extended its UK offering of HVAC and building-management-system controls.

The demand for hydrocarbon refrigerants (HCs) is growing, according to BOC. Mike Dennis, business director for special products, believes there is more scope to grow in the HC market than almost any other refrigerant sector.

Goodmarriott & Hursthouse, one of the UK’s oldest electrical-engineering companies, has been bought by Imtech, the European-wide technical-services provider.

York International claims to be the only HVACR company to have won a 2005 Climate Protection Award from the US Environmental Protection Agency. The company was recognised for its pioneering work and ongoing development of energy-saving technologies applied to chillers — specifically electronic variable-speed drives, with their dramatic energy-saving potential.

Young plumber Thomas Pearson has been named Apprentice of the Year at the National Apprenticeship Awards. He was presented with his award by Olympic gold medallists Sir Matthew Pinsent (left) and Garry Herbert (right), having beaten over 500 entrants for the award.

Building–services contractor Briggs & Forrester has a long-term commitment to training and development. Its latest intake of trainees includes 12 at the head office in Northampton and a further three at the offices in Hitchin and London.

Aberdeen’s renowned climate has been exploited in designing low-energy ventilation as part of the £7.9 million extension and refurbishment of the 100-year-old His Majesty’s Theatre in the city in designing building services for this Grade A listed building dating from the early 1900s. Average ambient temperatures are 17 to 18°C, which have been exploited through the extensive use of displacement ventilation.

The first Daikin water-cooled VRV-WII air-conditioning system in the UK has been installed by Adcock Refrigeration. The 10 hp system serves the administration block of the Castle Mall Shopping Centre in Norwich and was supplied and commissioned by Space Airconditioning.

The delivery of a prefabricated plantroom to a school in Walsall has enabled a major project to be completed outside of the summer-holiday window.

A combination of underfloor heating and efficient boiler with effective control has reduced gas bills so much at the headquarters of Osma Underfloor Heating that British Gas investigated why.

Hydrocarbon refrigerants are used in three rooftop chillers installed at the Department for Transport Great Minster House building in Westminster. Each has a cooling duty of 127 kW.

Hamworthy’s Masterflue MF system, teamed up with a Wessex M660 boiler installation, has provided a trouble-free heating and domestic-hot-water installation for Medivir UK at Chesterfield Research Park in Saffron Walden. The company specialises in drug research and development.

The long pipe runs possible with Toshiba Super Digital Inverter heat-pump split systems have been fully exploited for air conditioning a restaurant in Leeds.

Cooling for this massive, predominantly concrete building with its south-facing glass wall in Yorkshire Sculpture Park is provided by two Carrier Aquasnap chillers. The machines provide 38 kW of cooling as chilled water for the air-handling system. The chillers are very small and quiet and are sited in a service area to the rear of the gallery, screened by trees.

Cardiff & Vale NHS Trust is on course to increase the efficiency of chiller plant by 30 to 40% and reduce wear and tear following the installation of a liquid-pressure amplification system from Excalibur LPA. The system has been installed in the University Hospital of Wales site at Heath Park and Llandough Hospital on Penlam Road. The plants serve critical areas and represent a comparatively high proportion of electrical consumption and load.

Energy-efficient hot water for a luxury-apartment complex in London’s South Quay is provided by plant fired by six Nu-way fully modulating gas burners. The equipment was specified by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, and the boilers were supplied by HRS Hevac.

Major reductions in packaging waste and more efficient working on site for the lighting installation on a large London project have been achieved by a re-usable packaging system devised by Thorn Lighting.

Summer temperatures of 35 to 45°C in a hotel kitchen have been reduced to around 23°C following the installation of Breezair evaporative cooling from Seeley International. Specified by Aircon Services, the Breezair system has dramatically improved conditions for staff in the kitchen of the George Hotel at Dorchester-on-Thames in Oxfordshire.

Faced with being unable to suspend a kitchen ventilation canopy from the roof in a school in Telford, Weatherite designed a special self-support system made from stainless-steel hollow section.

Legrand and Tenby have combined expertise to create a system of wiring accessories ‘that will completely redefine the market’.

York International has extended the scope of its service operation to form York Energy Solutions, a specialist team to provide energy and cost-savings opportunities for clients. Where required, York will also take over responsibility for reducing energy consumption.

A long-range microwave detector with an adjustable range of up to 60 m has been introduced by CP Electronics. The MWS4 can be applied to large spaces such as factories, leisure facilities and warehouses. It reduces the number of sensors required to cover an area, reducing installation and commissioning time.

Vent-Axia has extended its range of air curtains for commercial applications with three new models.

CCL Veloduct’s new range of air terminal devices includes grilles, louvres and air valves.

The Micro-Environment Control System (MECS) from JS Humidifiers for delivering precise micro-climates for critical manufacturing or testing processes is now available with an on-board computer. MECS can supply up to 200 l/s of air at temperatures from 15 to 45°C (±1 K) and relative humidity from 30 to 98% (±1%).

Daikin is upgrading its entire range of screw chillers to use compressors with stepless control.

To provide highly visible confirmation that Rapidrop flexible connections to sprinklers in suspended ceilings are installed correctly, IFI Fire has introduced a minimum-radius indicator. This bright-orange proprietary device can only be fixed to Rapidrop connection when they have been bent to the correct radius. The high visibility means they can be inspected from the floor, rather than requiring a close visual check on each bend.

RCD-protected 2-gang switched socket outlets are now available in Eaton’s Memstyle range for applications where there is not a residual-current device or where tripping discrimination is required at the socket outlet.

KSB’s Movitec pumps are designed for applications where high pressures and heads are required. Available in 10 sizes and up to 25 stages, these pumps have a maximum output of 75 m3/h and a head of up to 400 m.

A new range of evaporators and condensers introduced by J. & E. Hall International has cooling capacities from 220 W to 100 kW. The range is available through Halltherm.

Toshiba’s latest digital inverter split-system condensing units are lighter and as much as 40% smaller than previous Toshiba models, which themselves are claimed to be smaller than other choices.

Exhausto’s EBV central extract system can serve housing complexes with up to 12 apartments per system. It ensures that each dwelling has the optimum indoor environment and also enables occupiers to control their own ventilation conditions.

Exhausto’s EBV central extract system can serve housing complexes with up to 12 apartments per system. It ensures that each dwelling has the optimum indoor environment and also enables occupiers to control their own ventilation conditions.

CCL Veloduct is now the sole importer of ABB’s Iris duct dampers, and offers them from all its branches.

Yorkshire Fittings has launched a comprehensive range of commercial valves for every application. The launch of the Proflow range marks a rebrand of the company’s valves and controls products as part of a programme of expanding the product range.

Broag’s Avanta range of wall-hung gas-fired pre-mix condensing boilers are available as system boilers and combination boilers.

Designed to provide power for ceiling-mounted lighting, heating and ventilation equipment is Ackermann’s Interact over power track. It can be installed quickly and easily, with the minimum of skilled labour.

Airedale has added higher-output chillers to its Ultima Compact range of free-cooling chillers with scroll compressors. The additions cover cooling capacities from 160 to 450 kW, complementing existing 75 to 150 kW units.