With a history of improving energy efficiency at sites around Sydney, Precise Air was contracted to maintain the Building Management System (BMS) at the 5 Star NABERS Energy rated 101 George Street in Parramatta. Precise Air’s Building Performance Optimisation (BPO) team worked with Dexus’s facilities management team to resolve existing issues and improve the overall environmental performance of the building. A key focus was addressing the programming and controller communication which was resulting in excessive energy use and reactive call outs. The existing BMS was upgraded to an open source system that could be maintained and supported by multiple suppliers. Electricity consumption dropped by an average of 31% within the first three months after project completion (May-August 2018 compared to May-August 2017), while water consumption reduced 14%, incrementally improving the NABERS Energy and Water ratings. The BPO team at Precise Air reviewed the environmental data against the historical baseline then progressed through the optimisation process, displaying the results using charts and graphs. “We pride ourselves on being a solution focused engineering team, not a product focused sales team,” explained Wissam Salama, Precise Air’s General Manager Building Performance Optimisation. “The implantation of an open BMS system enables a broader choice of […]

Precise Air Group is pleased to announce that on 12th December 2018 the Company entered into a formal agreement to become a fully owned subsidiary of Fujitsu General Limited. This acquisition provides a platform for Fujitsu General to expand its offering in the Australian commercial market and enables Precise Air Group to accelerate its own business strategies. As such, Precise Air Group and Fujitsu General will continue to operate business as usual, function independently and continue to serve their client bases with their individual products and services. “Fujitsu General and Precise Air Group share common goals and a commitment to forming lasting partnerships with their employees, customers and suppliers,” said Nadeem Tayar, Precise Air Group Managing Director. “They are both customer-centric companies who are focused on partnering with their customers and evolving to meet their changing needs,” said Nadeem Tayar, Precise Air Group Managing Director, “so this agreement with Fujitsu is a natural fit for both parties.” Fujitsu General and Precise Air also bring very complementary attributes to the agreement. Fujitsu is a leading brand in the Australian domestic air conditioning market and is focused on becoming a dominant HVAC supplier in the commercial market. Precise Air’s existing business model […]

LinkSafe’s improved Contractor module makes it even more simple to check whether our employees and contractors are up to date with their inductions, licences and certificates. LinkSafe’s development team incorporated Precise Air’s feedback into the latest release of the App so that our technicians out on site can complete site inspections quickly and easily. “As our National multi-service contract base continues to grow, partnering with LinkSafe has helped us keep ahead of the curve when it comes to managing employee and contractor compliance,” said Richard Bagnato, Precise Air’s National HSEQ Manager. The App provides a listing of all inductions and licences uploaded by the employee or contractor with expiry dates. “It’s an excellent resource for Site Inspections/Contractor Monitoring,” as Richard explains, “even doing a quick licence check during our Toolbox Meetings.”

Every building will change over time from its original design intent. Ageing systems, altered layouts, upgrades to services and changes to the Building Management System (BMS) all impact on building performance.  Precise Air’s Building Performance Optimisation programme within the Property NSW MFE contract is delivering significant savings to a range of buildings, including 453-463 Kent St Sydney. The collaboration of the major influencers of energy management at this site (Property NSW, JLL, Precise Air Group, Buildings Alive and Veolia) has resulted in substantial energy savings, improved NABERS ratings and building performance. Although the property has ageing mechanical systems, 453 – 463 Kent St was operating at a level far below its capability. Previously rated at 1.5 Star NABERS Energy and Water, the building has achieved 3.5 Stars Energy and 3 Stars Water. “The property has achieved a 3.5 Star Energy Rating without green power compared to a 1.5 Star rating 12 months ago,” explains Parag Shinde, Property NSW Senior Manager Energy and Sustainability. “This is a phenomenal improvement for a site over one rating period without any major Opex or Capex and was primarily achieved via building optimisation and fine tuning.” It has resulted in a 26% reduction in annual electricity use since the last rating period. “We’ve made considerable improvements by […]

Precise Air’s Queensland Installation team has developed a reputation for on time – on budget installations and has recently been awarded the SR5 upgrade at QIC’s Hyperdome Shopping Centre in Logan City, Brisbane. Precise Air undertook the first of 5 major plant upgrades (SR-1) in 2014. Since then we have completed two other upgrades (SR2 and SR4), with SR-5 now underway. All projects were carried out in a ‘live’ environment. During the replacement of major air conditioning plant it was imperative that QIC and their tenants were satisfied with temperature conditions and comfort levels for their customers. Working alongside the design engineer, Trevor Ford of Ford Consulting, and the Facility Management team, Precise Air’s projects were completed well before programme completion date. The installation of new equipment has improved energy consumption, as has the implementation of controls strategies, designed by Austec Automation, to manage the changing weather conditions throughout the year. In 2017 Precise Air won the maintenance contract, giving us the ability to ensure the equipment is being maintained to achieve the optimal energy performance. The SR projects included decommissioning and removing major refrigerant plant and replacing with new chilled water plants including new Powerpax chillers, pumps, and chilled […]

At Precise Air Group we are proud to have formalised our commitment to the wellbeing of our employees and their families by partnering with AccessEAP. AccessEAP is a leading provider of EAP (Employee Assistance Programmes) services and one of the founding members of the EAP industry in Australia. We believe that everyone can be vulnerable to the stresses of daily life and should be able to access help when and where they need it. From early intervention as issues arise to crisis counselling, our employees and their families have access to this free, confidential service via their Mobile App, phone or face-to-face counselling. AccessEAP’s monthly focus programme provides us with a wealth of helpful tips, activities and information to help build wellbeing so that we can be prepared when times get tough. Resilient communities begin with resilient people. We all have a responsibility to support each other in this endeavour.    

Precise Air’s Building Performance Optimisation team saved a client 13.5% or $18,000 in electricity costs in one summer month with zero capital expenditure by fine tuning the commercial building’s existing HVAC systems. “Our objective is always to make the most of the building’s existing systems,” explained Wissam Salama, Precise Air’s General Manager – Building Performance Optimisation. “Firstly we re-scope the BMS maintenance routine, switching from preventative to performance based BMS maintenance. We focus on checking for abnormalities through historical and current data then taking equipment back to design intent. Then we set about fine tuning the existing systems to increase their performance, both on an operational and an energy efficiency level.” “Being vendor neutral, we are not tied to any product supplier,” Wissam continued, “so we are not incentivised to replace existing equipment that can still perform well within its lifecycle stage, or to replace BMS or energy monitoring software that may already be in the building.” There are also other benefits from Precise Air’s approach. “Increasing energy performance means that we can increase the NABERS rating without upgrading any equipment,” said Wissam. “Switching from preventative to performance based BMS maintenance involves streamlining the BMS maintenance tasks, removing some repetitive […]

As a national provider of Mechanical, Fire, Electrical (MFE) and essential services, we need to be certain that not only our employees are inducted into our safety system and individual contracts, but that all of our approved partners are as well. Precise Air Group’s switch to LinkSafe has made employee and contractor compliance so much more transparent. “Linksafe allows us to carry out an evaluation of approved partner network health, safety and environmental management systems based on the level of risk associated with the work activities being carried out on our behalf,” explained Richard Bagnato, Precise Air Group’s National Health Safety Environment and Quality Manager. “It also allows us to centralise all of our approved partner’s insurances and licences in the one place, together with our partner employees’ credentials,” continued Richard. “We can quickly report on and follow up any outstanding paperwork and check whether their employees have actually completed the inductions that they say they have. ” Reporting on incidents and hazards is also simplified, with electronic records verifying every stage of the process. A  “mobile” learning and induction platform has been incorporated within LinkSafe so that we can develop and manage the distribution of content to employees and […]

Today’s Facility Managers are expected to do more than just ‘keep the building running’. The FM industry has moved on from its origins in the trades and into the realm of professional services, so Facility Managers have developed a different suite of skills to meet these demands. However, FMs still need a level of technical understanding to be able to assess and negotiate the best possible solution to improve the performance of their systems. “Increasingly, we are finding that Facility Managers are becoming more reliant on the advice of their technical providers,” explained Precise Air’s Director Business Development, Sam La Rocca. “For example, they may not understand why they should replace a component instead of fixing it, or why it’s important to do a small upgrade now instead of being hit with a major failure in the future.” To keep FMs up-to-date, Precise Air has developed a HVAC training for Facility Managers programme for our customers. The aim is to increase Facility Managers’ technical knowledge and confidence so that they understand the risks and benefits of maintenance and lifecycle planning. Training includes an introduction to the various types of equipment, how the equipment works and its importance in the overall system, […]

Complex, technical upgrades that tick all the financial, operational, sustainability and strategic boxes can be difficult for even the most technically savvy facility managers to assess. How can you know whether you are getting the best advice and solution possible? Can you be confident that the solution isn’t tainted by incentives, partnership or vendor arrangements between service providers and product suppliers? Finding out where these commercial arrangements exist can be the fastest path to understanding whether the advice you are getting is the best solution for your problem…or for the service providers’ bottom line. After all, the ‘best solution’ is what you are looking for, and it’s the best outcome of vendor neutral advice. The incentive behind vendor neutral advice (whether it be replacement, upgrade or repair of your mechanical or fire systems), is implementing the right ‘fit for purpose’ solution that ticks all those boxes. “Being vendor neutral is really important to us”, said Joe Mazza, Precise Air Group National Business Development. “It gives us the freedom to actively seek the best solution for our customers without restraint and provide them with transparency into our decision making. “Being tied to particular product suppliers can limit the options available – it […]

Precise Air Group’s reputation for delivering high quality maintenance services to the retail sector continues to grow with a series of portfolio contract wins across the country. Precise Air recently won the mechanical services contract for  ISPT’s IRAPT portfolio of 27 regional and suburban shopping villages and shopping centres located throughout NSW, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia. “Our Retail portfolio has really taken off in the last five years as more and more shopping centre managers are looking to us to increase the performance and energy efficiency of their centres,” explained Sam La Rocca. “Along with ISPT, we have recently been awarded contracts for shopping centres in NSW, South Australia and Queensland. This is in addition to our existing portfolios of suburban shopping centres and retail precincts around Australia. Precise Air’s approach to maintenance and optimisation means that facility owners can get more out of their existing systems. “Shopping centres have their own unique set of requirements when it comes to managing their assets and the day to day reliability of their systems,” said Sam. To remain competitive, Centre Managers require optimum comfort conditions all year round to attract shoppers, retain them, and finally motivate and encourage shoppers to return […]

Precise Air Group is proud to have been awarded the mechanical and fire services contracts for the NSW Department of Justice via Brookfield Global Integrated Solutions (BGIS). The portfolio includes over 190 court houses, justice services and precincts throughout NSW. Security protocols and close contract management on this type of account are paramount. “Due to our work over the years on portfolios with similar requirements, we have built high security protocols into our contract management frameworks,” explains Precise Air’s Director National Business Development, Sam La Rocca. “This has enabled our teams to quickly and easily transition into new contracts that require the highest levels of screening and induction.” Precise Air Group has effectively established mechanical and fire services that deliver high quality PPM, ad hoc works and equipment upgrades to secure facilities including: NSW Police Force Commonwealth Department of Public Prosecutions Qantas domestic airports Long Bay Prison and Forensic Hospital Villawood Detention Centre Federal Member of Parliament offices. For more information, please contact Sam La Rocca on 1300 728 250.