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"Perspectives"
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We asked AIRAH members from a variety of backgrounds their view on life, the industry, the environment and the future.


​This article appears in Ecolibrium, May 2020

MORE NEWS

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RED DIRT GIRL

Originally from north-west Tasmania, Clare Parry, M.AIRAH, spent most of the first half of her life bare-foot and covered in red dirt. She chose engineering because it combined everything she loved, especially a need to know how things worked.

LESSONS LEARNED

I had some really great bosses and leaders in businesses I’ve worked in. The greatest thing I’ve learned from all of them is that it’s a great thing to have a passion, and it doesn’t matter what that is, a business will work to support it. All the greatest workplaces recognise that the human beings that make up their cohort are at their best when they’re happy and supported; I’ve tried to take that into my business, Grün Consulting, too.
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And sometimes you don’t even have to “know” what your passion is, just follow your nose. I ended up in sustainability because I followed my interests – I got my first job because my prospective employer saw my environmental involvement at uni in my extra-curricular activities, and instead of taking me on as a hydraulics/mech grad they took me in as an ESD/mech grad. THAT was a big moment in my fledgling career that might have seen me head somewhere wholly different, or flounder completely – I’m no hydraulics engineer! After that, it’s been small and big steps in a similar direction with great support from colleagues, bosses and mentors.

PROFOUND CHANGES

It’s been a slow change in my opinion, but the ship is slowly turning towards placing utmost importance on whole-of-building performance. It might seem obvious that a building should do what it’s designed to do, but the number of safety factors built in throughout building design and construction results in some very clunky and inefficient projects. This is typically the result of silos, but project teams that work very closely together can achieve great efficiencies. It’s great to see new delivery models coming through now to rectify this.

FULFILMENT

I love seeing both the construction phase, but also the final product in use. Getting onsite is really exciting but seeing something leap off the paper and being used by occupants takes the cake.

FAVOURITE PROJECTS

I loved working on the Pixel Building. I was very lucky to work on such a high-performing, aspirational project. It was, at the time, very experimental, and remains a beacon of what’s possible.

AIRAH

AIRAH has been a great support for me personally, and resources like Ecolibrium and the DA manuals are excellent, and much read in our office.

​Most fundamentally, AIRAH is our body to join that recognises this amazing industry and collection of careers that go underrepresented. HVAC&R, at its best, goes entirely unnoticed by the general population, but has such a critical role, and AIRAH is important to both inform and celebrate excellence in the industries that we work in.
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THE LEGEND

​Clive Broadbent AO, L.AIRAH, has been a pioneer in HVAC design to prevent legionnaires' disease.

BACKGROUND

In the 1940s, my one-mile walk to primary school each day took me across a railway line near the station at Preston, a suburb of Melbourne, and occasionally there would be a steam engine on the move to see. I was always impressed by the sight of steam and its power.

I guess I could say I grew up in an age of steam, when having finished secondary school I started work for a nearby company called Dreadnought Steam Equipment Company. I was a fitter and turner there – capstan lathes, milling machines, toolmaking, valve testing – and we manufactured steam valves and condensate traps and the like.

I loved the work and the company wanted me to stay and advance with them, but I saw limitations and subsequently chose instead to undertake tertiary study at RMIT. I then secured in 1955 a cadet engineer position with the Federal Department of Works, completed the course and began my career as an Engineer grade 1 in 1959 working in the architectural/engineering drawing office in Exhibition St, Melbourne.
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I remained with ComWorks, in its many manifestations, until 1993 when that department was downsized. I then began a consultancy that is still active. 

AIRAH

My association with AIRAH started in 1960 when I met Jim Watson and Stuart Brown, each of Werner, as we were night school students at Swinburne Tech (Diploma in HVAC&R).

They mentioned AIRAH meetings, which were then held in Kelvin Hall, 55 Collins Place (now part of Exhibition Street) Melbourne. I attended and was awestruck with the industry knowledge passed on by luminaries such as Bill Dobney Senior (and later his son, Bill Junior), and by the monthly speakers.

I resolved to join to get closer to this knowledge bank but had to settle for the “Junior member” title myself. I could not enjoy the status of a full member until I was 26 years old. I think that limit was subsequently lowered to 24 and maybe doesn’t exist nowadays.

​Another luminary was Gwen Gray, who was noteworthy not only for the generosity of her time given to AIRAH but also for her role in leading HVAC&R course planning structures at RMIT and all on top of her day job at Bassetts.
So much about all this was impressive. All those I met seemed to be, well, nice people. And the technical talent was patently obvious. I liked to listen.

​That initial membership fee was a mere one pound 10 shillings, $2.10 in modern currency. It certainly proved to be good value! My certificate of membership is dated November 28, 1961 and was presented on March 14, 1962. The program for 1962 was very attractive and included site visits to the Gas Corp. and to CSIRO Highett. I have fond memories as these early years were the most influential of my life.

AIRAH has continued to provide the means for meeting and listening to experts giving freely of their knowledge. It’s essential to maintain such contact and to be aware of industry developments. I feel honoured to still be a member.

AIRAH for me was also the gateway to ASHRAE, the most influential of international societies in our building services industry.
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For AIRAH to be celebrating 100 years in this industry is not only commendable but also amazing.
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PROBLEM SOLVER

Aurecon’s ​Danni Roberts, M.AIRAH, was originally from New Zealand, but now calls Queensland home.​

PROFOUND CHANGES

There has been a huge shift in gender equality and the need for diversity in the industry over the past 10 years. Diversity within a team is desirable these days whereas when I first started my career, engineers were often expected to meet a stereotype. In addition to this, the skill set of an engineer has vastly changed with digitalisation, where communication skills are becoming more important than some technical elements

FULFILMENT

It’s the people I work with, clients, team members and seeing a solution unfold. Problem solving is fun.

MENTOR ADVICE

Get your work peer-reviewed, and take a walk around the block before you finalise a design. A clear mind and fresh set of eyes can do wonders for a concept or even final project design solution.

AIRAH

AIRAH is the go-to for Australian mechanical engineers in the building services industry, providing training resources, industry awards and events. I have found the most valuable outcome has been the network of people and industry connections I have made from my interactions and time as a member.

FAVOURITE PROJECTS

K25, Bowen Hills was a great project to be involved in, considering the timber building structure and challenges we overcame to get the right solution.

I have worked with Telstra for many years looking after HVAC systems in the exchanges. I have always found these projects interesting, and enjoyed the challenge around providing efficient solutions where there is such a high constant sensible heat load. Most of the buildings are old and in acoustically sensitive areas, which makes the design solutions challenging.
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YOUNG ABLE TAS MAN

Julian Cook, M.AIRAH, is Building Services team leader for COVA and president of the Tasmanian division committee.

LESSONS LEARNED

From my boss Miles Harrison: “You won’t get every project 100 per cent right the first time, but what matters is what you do when a problem does arise.”

That is, when a problem does arise, don’t try to deflect responsibility but simply get on with finding a solution. However, it is very important to keep good records of calculations and design decisions for later reference because when it comes to it, it could make the difference between having to pay for a variation and/or a damaged reputation.
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Also, contractors have installed a heck of a lot more mechanical systems than you – the consulting engineer – have, so don’t be afraid to ask for their opinion.

AIRAH

Being part of AIRAH has given me great connections into the contracting side of HVAC, as Tasmania has a great percentage of contractors involved in division events. This has ultimately meant that I have developed good working relationships with most of the mechanical contractors in southern Tasmania, which has been invaluable.

Building owners rarely seem to keep good records of mechanical as-installed drawings; however, if you know the who the maintenance contractor is you can usually get them within the hour.

FULFILMENT

Working with clients – normally architects – to make sexy solutions that everyone is on board with. Not everyone is an HVAC engineer and might not want to see all the services exposed, so it’s very satisfying when we can work together to hide services out of site, but still get good acoustic and thermal performance.

PROFOUND CHANGES

Even in the fairly short time I’ve been involved, we have seen a vast change in controls technology getting smaller, cheaper and more flexible. I’m building a house currently, and every fan/light/AC system will be voice-controllable, for maybe $4,000 all up. That wouldn’t have been possible even five years ago.
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More recently we have seen the changes around COVID-19. We have quickly seen everyone getting on board with working remotely and using technology more heavily in day-to-day work. Although it is not as efficient with the design team all working remotely, many client/architect meetings that can drag on for hours can be done far more efficiently with a video call and screen sharing.

FAVOURITE PROJECTS

My two favourite projects recently have been the Repatriation Hospital and Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre.

For the Repatriation Hospital (AIRAH Awards 2019 HVAC Upgrade finalist) we replaced 2 x 1200kW electric boilers with 2 x heat recovery chillers, which gave the Department of Health massive energy savings and huge improvement to thermal comfort, as it was coupled with air handling upgrades on the floors.

The Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre (finished) and Dove Lake Viewing Shelter (under construction) are two high-profile projects for Parks and Wildlife that have some interesting specialist mechanical systems including hydronic floor heating and window anti-condensation system to keep the view of Dove Lake picture-perfect in all conditions. 
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DIVINE WORK

Julian Cook, M.AIRAH, is Building Services team leader for COVA and president of the Tasmanian division committee.

BACKGROUND

Born in England, lived on Tyneside with a brief sojourn to Leeds where I started high school. Finished school at year 10 back on Tyneside and almost completed a pre-apprenticeship at Hebburn Technical College before migrating to Western Australia at age 15, my first ever flight was London to Perth, a real eye-opener travelling on my own.

I had my 16th birthday on the road to Wittenoom in the Pilbara. Started work the next day for Australian Blue Asbestos – the “Blue Sky Mine” of the Midnight Oil song. I left home on decimal currency conversion day a few months later and moved through various jobs in agriculture, construction and oil exploration, before finding myself back in the Pilbara working on the construction of the Port of Dampier ore-loading facilities, where I was introduced to R&AC.

​Eventually I completed an apprenticeship with Hamersley Iron (now RIO) as a refrigeration mechanic and moved to Perth a few months after cyclone Trixie gave us a very sleepless night. I worked for Direct Engineering Services in Perth – the company that started manufacturing air conditioners that became APAC – as a tradesman, service manager and contract supervisor.
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I then moved into education and training when I successfully applied for a lecturing position at Perth Technical College. In my 40 years with TAFE I have been involved in teaching, curriculum development, secondment to special projects, management and resource development, including the national textbook project that produced Australian Refrigeration and Air Conditioning.
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I completed a bachelor’s degree in education and more recently with a change of focus completed a degree in theology and was ordained as an Anglican priest in the Diocese of Perth.

AIRAH

AIRAH has been an integral part of my career, especially in education and training. It has always been a requirement for TAFE to work closely with industry – how else do we keep up with change, maintain our currency and meet the needs of employers?
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AIRAH has been a vehicle for me to maintain that close contact with the refrigeration and air conditioning industry. I have learned much, met great people and had the opportunity to contribute to our industry through my involvement.
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Much has changed in our industry since we crawled out of the cold store, but AIRAH has adapted and changed with the times. It hasn’t always been perfect but as an organisation we have endured due to the wise counsel of those who have taken up the baton of leadership.

​It is a great achievement to reach the Centenary and we look forward to AIRAH continuing to change and adapt towards the next 100 years.
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FIRST FEDERAL
​FEMALE FRIDGIE

The NT's Jenny Smith, M.AIRAH, continues to surprise people.

BACKGROUND

I’m the first female fridgie for the federal government. I had a dream apprenticeship working within the industrial, commercial and domestic arenas. I did my trade in Darwin and loved it. I went on to teach at TAFE and helped inject many women into non-traditional careers. I have my own business, About Airconditioning, and still surprise people when I show up to work on a project.

LESSONS LEARNED

My tradesman used to tell me to walk into a plant room and listen, feel and look, because the system will tell you its story.

My TAFE lecturer used to say we are “bucketloads full of heat mechanics”.

My Mum used to tell me to treat people with encouragement and respect.
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FULFILLMENT

Working with my hands, thinking out a problem and finding the root cause. Being good at diagnosis and remedy is my favourite thing.

PROFOUND CHANGE

I’ve watched ammonia come back into fashion and the digital era revolutionise control systems.

FAVOURITE ASSIGNMENTS

Anything customised or different always draws my full attention. Controls and sensors; it’s amazing how much information we can gather that can further the efficiency of a system. If you can think it, it can be done.

AIRAH

AIRAH has been supportive of women, and has been mentoring them to better represent in HVAC&R. We have so much to offer in this space, and it’s a rewarding career that needs to be considered.
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CONFIDENT COLLABORATOR

Mikaila Ganado, M.AIRAH, is an associate and part-owner at GWA Consultants Australia, has recently been elected onto the AIRAH board of directors, chairs the of Women of AIRAH STG, and is associate director of the Institute’s NSW division committee.

FAVOURITE ASSIGNMENTS

The Coliseum Theatre at West HQ, Rooty Hill. Not only has this theatre had a huge impact on the arts scene in the western suburbs and Sydney in general, but it was also an incredible project to be involved in. The huge open foyer area and multiple usage requirements for the theatre space resulted in a very challenging design brief. Working through those challenges to deliver a visually stunning and technically difficult solution for the air handling and controls systems was very rewarding. 

FULFILMENT

Bringing ideas to life and being able to measure successful performance. 

PROFOUND CHANGES

Collaboration. I see owners, designers and builders working a lot more collaboratively to meet tight energy performance criteria. 

LESSONS LEARNED

The most important message that’s been imparted to me is that no one is qualified for a job until they’ve done it, so stand up and say “yes”. The rest will sort itself out – with hard work and dedication. And we don’t have to have all of the answers all of the time. It’s OK to say, “I'll get back to you on that.”

AIRAH

Being involved with AIRAH has presented me with a lot of opportunities. From arranging events to presenting at conferences and now serving on the board. On a personal level, I've met some of my closest friends through my involvement with AIRAH and their encouragement, support and willingness to share their knowledge has helped me immensely throughout my career.
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THE NARRATOR

​If you have read an AIRAH technical document, Vince Aherne, F.AIRAH, has very likely played a part in it.

BACKGROUND

I’m a mechanical engineer with additional qualifications in building services and environmental management. I worked in both the consulting and contracting sides of the HVAC&R industry before moving into technical publishing and project management.

Having moved to Australia from Ireland in 1990, I got married, had three kids and made a tree change to a regional area in 2001. I now work in a small consultancy providing engineering advice, technical writing and project management services to a range of government and non-government clients.

As a technical writer and project manager I have managed a number of projects for AIRAH, working with AIRAH members to develop technical guidance on HVAC&R applications, energy efficiency, water conservation, and development of education and training programs.

I am currently working with AIRAH as the project leader for the Innovation Hub for Affordable Heating and Cooling (i-Hub). I’m helping AIRAH bring together leading universities, researchers, consultants, building owners and equipment manufacturers to create a connected research and development community in Australia.

LESSONS LEARNED, WISDOM IMPARTED

A few come to mind:
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  • Whatever you do, own it.

  • The devil is in the detail, or God is in the detail, depending on your perspective – in any case the details do matter. It is also always important and often helpful to be able to view things from other people’s perspective.

  • Communicate, to keep everybody on the same page, and make sure everyone is starting from the same place, understand your client’s and colleagues’ expectations.
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  • Things can always go wrong; plan for success but prepare for failure (just in case), have an exit strategy.

PROFOUND CHANGES

Without a doubt – digitisation. I remember a single shared computer in a computer room when I first went to university, and now we all walk around with computers in our pockets. The melding of computer and machine is relentless and changes everything we do. From very basic early calculators the industry has developed and adopted a range of digital tools such as load estimation, CFD analysis, CAD and evolving to modelling of building and systems for building design, construction and increasingly remote sensing and control for building operation and intelligent buildings.

The other profound change has been the recognition of the environmental impact that the industry has had, and continues to have. While refrigeration and HVAC services saves lives and improves health and productivity, both are rapidly growing sectors and are responsible for large chunks of energy use and global CO2 emissions.

​​However, with refrigerants and energy use moving to top of mind, solutions integrating HVAC with onsite energy storage and renewable energy generation assets are beginning to add up, technically and economically. 

AIRAH

I’ve been associated with AIRAH for over 25 years and in a range of capacities: as an industry liaison, as an AIRAH project manager and as an AIRAH member. I have collaborated with a wide range of AIRAH members and staff over the years, when developing AIRAH Application Manuals or other AIRAH projects.

For me AIRAH is somewhere between workmate and extended family member.

​Congratulations AIRAH, and all her supporters, on great work over the last 100 years!

Click here for more from Ecolibrium


For more from AIRAH's members, check out our 100 Faces.

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