A Facility Manager’s
Perspective
Jeremy Bowler MIE Aust. MIHE (Ret’d)
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Content
1. My background
2. Building Owner / Operator’s perspective
3. What effect does construction delivery have on design and
who is the real client?
4. The Facility Manager’s expectations
5. The Designer’s role and impact on operations
6. Hydraulics
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Experiences with copper
Experience with PPR
7. A message
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My Background
 17 Years as an engineer in
manufacturing (7 as chief engineer)
 18 years as Director of Building
and Engineering at Barwon Health
 2 Years as Manager of Capital
Works and Redevelopment at
Barwon Health
 Last 3 years working on Asset
Management plans and operational
component of bids for Royal
Adelaide Hospital and Victorian
Comprehensive Cancer Centre
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Building Owner / Operator
Want a facility which:
 Is functional and fit for purpose
 Has full availability during operating hours
 Minimal interruption to operations
 Lowest overall cost – balance between capital and operating
 Maximises ROI
 No surprises
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Project Delivery and its Effect on
Design
 Traditional
 Design then tender
 Design then construction manage
 D&C
 Managing Contractor
 Partial design then assignment of consultants to construction
contractor
 Hard FM may be tendered and managed
 PPP
 FM part of bid price
 Who is the real client?
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Facility Manager
 Facility Managers want to be able to sleep at night and to be able to
work to a plan
 Facility ideally designed for:
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Maintainability
Availability
Accessibility
Sustainability
Flexibility
This is particularly so for basic infrastructure
Facility Managers often not technically qualified
Commissioning, Training and Documentation
PPP Operational specs require corresponding performance with
penalties for failure to meet standards of availability and condition
 Approximately 80% FM costs and risk largely fixed by the end of design
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Designer’s Role
 Easiest conforming solution - low risk high return – Ouch!
 Responsibility to achieve the best overall outcome
 Consider WoL and replacement strategy
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Capital cost
Energy
Preventative and Reactive Maintenance
Life Cycle Replacement
Finance cost
Operator costs (Soft FM and Hospital)
Consider total system
Communicate limitations of design
Advise clients of options and risks
Current PPP documents looking for warranties of up to 40 years, plus
designs which are innovative, flexible, durable and unlikely to fail.
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Hydraulics
 Until late 90’s, steel and copper
 Copper seen as long life and trouble free
 My own experience is that, in potable water systems, it is not
trouble free
 1997 Geelong Hospital:
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Leaks in straight lengths of DHW pipe
Leaks on bends DHW and condensate
Blue water DCW
Leaks in DHW in other buildings
 1998 paper delivered at IFHE conference identifying
widespread problems in Scotland
 Literature search identified further events – I was not alone!
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Hydraulics
 1999 Survey through IHEA sought incidence of pin holes,
blue water and electrical influence
 Response from 94 hospitals
 68% reported corrosion problems
 54% had experienced pin hole corrosion, 13 of 15 hospitals in
WA
 35% experienced blue water
 Melbourne and Sydney metro reported few incidences
 Regional areas significantly affected
 2001 SBSE Seminar
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Hydraulics
 Our response was to use PPR pipe
for potable water from 1999
 Utilised in McKellar Centre
redevelopment 400+ Aged care,
palliative and rehabilitation, first
building completed 2003.
 Warm water systems tested for
Legionella monthly
 Review in 2012 indicated no
problems reported
 Asset review of Northern Hospital
revealed failure in PPR pipe
installed in 1997. Review indicates
due to installation utilising
incorrect clipping and reported
prolonged elevated temperatures
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Pipework Considerations
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Total system
Velocity to achieve function
Effect of velocity on system components
Correct material for application
Heat source and temperature control
Redundancy and system size
Control in construction to ensure design is delivered
How embedded is main reticulation?
Service variability and sensitivity to life cycle changes
Commissioning plan
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A Message
 Key infrastructure needs to be either resilient or have a
workable replacement strategy
 Hydraulic systems are fundamental to operations in hospitals,
prisons and hotels
 The consequences of poor design and selection decisions are
usually born by someone else
 Leaks cause significant damage and downtime
 Leaks cause infections (Aspergillus etc.)
 Systems need to be considered wholistically
 Risks and limitations of any design should be understood and
communicated
 Standard practice should be regularly reviewed to ensure it is
Good practice
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