Like any part of a building, the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) have a finite lifespan. But upgrading the HVAC plant is often low on the priority list, below cosmetic changes or interior refits that appeal to current or potential tenants. While it’s not as instantly appealing as a paint job and new floor…
Ever started to get sick on a Monday, suffered all week, then found yourself bouncing back on the weekend? Or seen the same in your employees or co-workers? Jokes about ‘being sick of work’ aside, there can be a very real reason for these workplace blues. Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) is a recognised condition where…
If you have a 20-year-old car, you can keep it running for a long time by replacing parts as they fail and keeping it serviced. But it is never going to be a brand-new car, with all the advances in fuel efficiency, comfort and performance that entails. A 20-year-old car was designed with the knowledge…
We don’t always think of people in mechanical terms. But our bodies are essentially a complex system, engineered to perform under a range of conditions. What makes the human system remarkable is that it can generally keep functioning as long as there is sufficient oxygen and a temperature that sits within a certain range. We…
There is nothing new about flexible work hours, teleconferencing, hot desking and working from home. They have existed for years as possible ways to work but have never fully joined the mainstream for most modern businesses. But then COVID-19 happened. Since early 2020, work norms all over the world have been flipped on their heads….
There’s a very good article in the latest Bayley’s Auckland Office Workplace magazine talking about NABERZ – the initiative launched by the Aussie government to measure and compare the environmental energy and carbon performance of commercial buildings and tenancies. It’s Australian law that building owners have to disclose their NABERZ energy rating for their building…
Stuff has done a good job today (with help from expert input from Jacksons engineering director and ventilation engineer, Scott Roberts) explaining why ventilation systems need to be inspected, to stop the spread of coronavirus. We’ve got more coming on this but please reach out if you are a MIQ facility who needs a site…
Otago Boys High School – Dunedin’s largest school with 811 students — was having issues with their heating. Not ideal in a town where winter mornings can drop to -2ºC! The brief Originally, the school had three coal-fired boilers, installed in the 1970s in a below-ground boilerhouse. The boilers operated on coal until 2010 when…
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Health and the Dental Council of New Zealand released new guidelines for dental surgeries to meet. These related to urgent or emergency care of COVID-positive patients (or those suspected to be), dictating that only dental surgeries equipped with negative pressure environments could treat these high risk patients.
Newsflash: it is possible to reduce operating costs and improve the customer experience and sales all at the same time! In a nutshell, there is an opportunity for supermarkets to operate in a more sustainable way and improve energy efficiency (which leads to cost savings), just by integrating the design of their air conditioning and…