#082

William Lane, F.AIRAH

​Calling Melbourne home, William Lane, F.AIRAH, began his career in the industry with the completion of a plumbing apprenticeship at the Preston Institute of Technology and a licence as a Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works plumber.
 
In the last year of his apprenticeship, Lane earned the Albert Smith Award – recognition as one of the top 10 apprentices in Victoria, presented by then Governor General of Victoria, Sir Rohan Delacombe.
 
The award was a launching pad into further studies in heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration. Lane broadened his technical skill base, completing a refrigeration mechanic’s course and completing an exam to hold a restricted electrical “R” licence with the State Electrical Commission of Victoria. He also undertook a testing balancing and adjusting course with the US-based National Environmental Balancing Bureau (NEBB), becoming a certified NEBB supervisor in air systems, hydronic systems, and building systems administration.
 
Lane was a part-time teacher at RMIT in commissioning and balancing, HVAC duct design and maintenance (Certificate IV).

In terms of AIRAH duties, Lane is a past Victorian division Committee member; past division president; and previous national council member, formerly serving as national secretary.
 
He initiated the establishment of AIRAH’s first Special Interest Group (now re-established as STGs) to promote commissioning and balancing, for which he served as convener. Lane is also a member of the AIRAH Legends club, which meets regularly for lunch in suburban Melbourne.
 
Lane has also been actively involved in the creation of technical resources. He co-authored DA04 Air System Balancing – in HVAC and DA24 Hydronic System Balancing – in HVAC. He has presented papers on commissioning at Clima2000 (Napoli, Italy in 2001); at Federation Square (Melbourne in 2005); and Clima2010 (Antalya, Turkey in 2010).
 
He also won the 2010 Plumbing Industry Training Award in the “Reach for Excellence” category.
 
These days, Lane serves as the working director of Air-Con-Tech Pty Ltd, where he performs the duties of commissioning for all types of environmental systems.

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100 Faces Q&A

​​What brought you to the HVAC&R industry?

After completing my plumbing apprenticeship and winning the Albert Smith Award, I was given an opportunity to further enhance my thirst for knowledge. This allowed me to enter into the air conditioning industry.

What's your favourite HVAC&R-related memory?

The commissioning of the Rialto project for James L Williams, along with travelling to Malaysia to commission a project for Phillip Morris.

How long have you been a member of AIRAH?

Over 30 years – I originally joined AIRAH on May 25, 1987.

How do you see the HVAC&R industry developing over the next 100 years?

To conserve energy, I see the state of building construction becoming more positively airtight, similar to clean rooms. This would allow the energy losses and gains to be minimalised and more quantifiable, enabling the use of heat recovery units to maintain the comfort conditions of the building as the cost of energy will dictate this.
 
The use of reducing the power requirements will impact the selection of the boiler, chiller, and fan power necessary to obtain the correct convection currents within an air-conditioned space.
 
I also see the Coandă effect being more readily available.
 
I see commissioning being an integral part of this to ensure maximum energy savings – hence the importance of training the technician and also grading the technician to ensure the skills have been achieved and verified.
 
This can be the weak link within the whole process. The technician has a duty of care to ensure the readings are a true and provide a correct appraisal of what has been achieved.  

What’s something everyone should know about you, your work, or the HVAC&R industry?
 
I believe that the end user is entitled to receive the air conditioning system commissioned to the highest standard that can be achieved at this point in time. To achieve this, I believe that the commissioning technician should have a grading classification of competence.
 
The commissioning technician should be suitably skilled. The following four levels of accreditation would provide easily recognised, uniform standards for the industry, thus indirectly improving overall workmanship quality:
 
The introductory technician should be skilled in the following:

1. Air balancing – methodology used, understanding of air conditioning components
2. Water balancing – methodology used, understanding of hydronic components
3. Psychrometric – understanding the properties of air and effect of humidity
4. Test instrumentation – understanding the accuracy of the test instrumentation
5. Job and personal safety – understanding the risks to personal safety (OH&S)
   
   

The novice technician should have the above skills, plus:

1. Refrigeration – knowledge of components, electrical supply, and controls
2. Electrical – wiring diagrams and schematics, overload protection devices
3. System components – understanding all components used in air conditioning systems
4. Controls – electrical schematics, plus electronic and pneumatic controls

The senior technician should have the above skills, plus:

1. Plumbing – installation of components, gas, water, and steam
2. Customer liaison – good presentation and highly skilled communication
3. Documentation of results – ensure results are true and accurate

​The master technician should have the above skills, plus:

1. Steam – properties of steam, and safety when using steam.

​It would be essential that ongoing training be part of the accreditation to ensure that the technician is keeping abreast of the ever-changing technology within the industry. This could be completed in 12 hours over two years in recognised training courses that would help advance participant knowledge and career opportunities.
 
Technicians’ aims should be to:
 

• Test and verify the performance of equipment against the design criteria
• Adjust and calibrate to achieve the design intent
• Ensure the system is working in the manner for which it was designed
• Record all readings for future reference.​

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For more on William Lane, visit his LinkedIn.

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