The Queensland Nurses’ Union • The peak body for nurses and midwives in Queensland. • Active in public sector, private sector, and aged care. • Largest union in the state, with over 47,000 members and growing.
The QNU building
• • • •
Built in 1985 Partly tenanted until 2006 QNU started taking over floor by floor Last tenant left 2008
Building Management System • Controls and monitors air conditioner • Individual area controls • Programmed holiday turnoffs • Stager starts for units
Building Management System
Building Management System
BMS benefits • Saves TIME and MONEY on maintenance • Saves callouts – staff can see what’s going on • Improves plant reliability • Alerts and alarms help anticipate problems • Prolongs the life of the plant
2008: Last tenants leave
• Redeveloped remaining floors
2011: NABERS rating 3.5 stars • How to improve to 4 stars • Suggestions • Replace all lighting with T5s • Sensors lights in all conference rooms, tea rooms, toilets, etc • Exhaust fan sensors in the basement
Cost vs benefit? • Cost $33,000 • Benefit 10-15% of what?
Exhaust fan sensors • Spectacular! • Used to run 8-10 hours per day. • Now it takes 2-3 cars entering at once to turn on.
4 Star NABERs 2012 • Looking ahead – upgrade everything as we go. • Lift replaced after flood – much more energy efficient. • Air con upgrades.
Employees conditions • Much better conditions with the BMS. • Much better control of individual areas. • Staff can see and understand temporary heating and cooling. • Very little shutdown time.
Staff participation • • • •
Environment committees Updates at training and strategy days. Celebrate NABERS rating increases. Journal article updates spread our enthusiasm to members.
Recycling • When QNU has a pick-up, staff can bring in old computers, phones, etc. • Paper-shredding for gardens, pet shops, worm farms. • Chook scraps collected. • Halved size of general waste bin.
Black Balloon Day
• Fun and encourages discussion
The future • • • •
New building to refurbish Old building to be re-tenanted Plan ahead New additions to the BMS
12 advantages to using a BMS 1.
Monitoring energy usage to fine tune plant operation.
2.
To improve client comfort and have shorter down time of a facility.
3.
Monitoring and billing of tenant afterhours usage.
4.
Reduce maintenance costs and call out service costs due to trend logging and alarming.
5.
Due to automated graphics navigation and checking of system is easier for the untrained operator (when facility manager is away).
6.
Remote monitoring of buildings to reduce service and callout costs.
12 advantages to using a BMS 7. Ability to connect and monitor multiple systems from a single point. 8. Using historical data for building analysis. 9. Optimal start of plant for energy efficiency. 10. Load shedding of plant in relation to maximum demand to reduce energy usage peaks. 11. Water monitoring and leak detection.
12. Ability to have control of individual zone and areas.
