"energymenu" launched
Ashburner Francis are proud to announce the launch of the “energymenu” a comprehensive service to industry for Ecological Sustainable Development services. “energymenu” is designed to take the confusion out of Section J of the BCA, Greenstar, NABERS, Energy Audits and other ESD initiative and tools available on the Australian market place.
“energymenu” forms a new drive for Ashburner Francis to lead the way in Sustainability, whilst adapting to the change industry desires.
“energymenu” is offered by a small, fully trained and dedicated team of Mechanical Engineers with experience, passion and understanding of the built environment, whilst advocating ecological sustainability.
Information on the “energymenu” can be found at
www.energymenu.com.au or through our corporate internet site.
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City Council Funding for Energy Audits
In 2007/2008 Brisbane City Council  initiated the Lord Mayor’s sustainability grants to promote sustainability across Brisbane City. The Program provides funding to local non-profit organisations who are seeking to increase the environmental sustainability of existing community facilities, through energy and greenhouse gas reduction savings.
Eligible projects include:
Energy audits
Solar hot water systems
Heat pump hot water systems or heat exchanges
Insulation purchase and installation
Solar photovoltaic panels
Funding to conduct energy audits is available for the first time in this round of the Grants Program.
Ashburner Francis is keen to assist your organisation to apply for the funding, and can also help with Energy Audits, and with the selection and design of energy saving systems.
Please contact Robert Saunders or Alix McLean
on (07) 3510 8888 for more information.
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Another "Quest" for Ashburner Francis
Ashburner Francis extend their operations in the Northern Territory with the design of mechanical and electrical services for the “Quest” Hotel in Palmerston, 20 minutes outside Darwin. Constructed over nine floors with podium level Restaurants, Retail and a Gymnasium, the facility offers modern accommodation for visitors to the region.
Ashburner Francis provided both the Mechanical and Electrical Services using modern high technology such as Variable Refrigerant Volume air conditioning.
The design, carried out by Alix McLean and Wasantha Basnayake, presented various challenges, not least the humid climate and stringent time lines.
Ashburner Francis has extensive experience in the hospitality sector across Eastern Australia.
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Queensland Health gets a Check Up
Queensland Health has recently appointed Ashburner Francis to carry out seven assessment reports on key Community Health Facilities across Brisbane.
Robert Saunders and Clinton Morris from the Brisbane office spent several days surveying the various buildings, studying the Mechanical, Electrical and Lift Systems, before writing comprehensive reports and providing cost estimates on the condition of the building services.
The various facilities, ranging from seven storey buildings to local regional administration centres, provide for the local communities for physiological and child health related issues.
Ashburner Francis has a healthy relationship with Queensland Health, having carried out several recent projects including new Communication Room Air Conditioning at the Biala Detoxification Centre, Variable Refrigerant Volume Air Conditioning at The Prince Charles Hospital, Air Conditioning at the Eventide Aged Care Facility and new Cooling Towers at Caboolture Hospital.
Ashburner Francis regularly carry out assessment reports with clientele such as ANZ Bank, Air Services Australia and the GPT Property Group.
Caboolture Hospital
Pine Rivers Community Health Centre
New Mitsubishi VRF Air Conditioning Equipment – Prince Charles Hospital Brisbane
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We have lift off
Ashburner Francis is proud to have been selected as part of the design team to refurbish twelve of Australia’s key air traffic control towers across the nation. Working in conjunction with Airservices Australia, Incoll and Intelara Integrated Solutions, Ashburner Francis surveyed each of the sites, designing upgrades and new solutions to the mechanical and electrical services.
 The National Tower Refurbishment Programme had stringent design requirements considering the environment, the safety of the maintenance team and the working environment of the air traffic controllers, providing world class facilities for the nations airports.
The twelve sites were spread throughout Australia and included amongst others the international airports of Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Cairns.
Ashburner Francis deployed skilled design teams for each tower, carefully documenting the engineering requirements whilst considering the importance of Airservices operations. The program will provide Australia with leading edge technology within its air traffic control towers and the continued assurance of service quality to the millions of air passengers that use air travel in Australia.
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Now that's a flagpole
Australia Day 2009 saw the raising of a  12m x 6m Australian Flag on a 45 metre (150 feet) high flagpole at Picnic Point in Toowoomba. Ashburner Francis designed the floodlighting system so the flag can fly day and night. For the full story click here.
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Northern Territory Expansion
Ashburner Francis has strengthened its  service commitment in the Northern Territory with the appointment of Associate Graham Heaslip as Operations Manager for the region. Graham, along with colleague Robert Saunders, makes regular visits to Darwin, working from our office facilities in Smith Street. Ashburner Francis has already undertaken several projects within the Northern Territory and will further develop business activity during 2009.
Darwin, our fifth office, will call upon the resources of our Queensland facilities with Graham Heaslip and Robert Saunders providing in-person project and design management for electrical and mechanical design services respectively.
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Government Green Building Fund Open for Applications
In late October 2008, the Federal Government released the $90 million Green Building Fund, as part of the Clean Business Australia initiative.
Existing commercial office building owners are encouraged to retrofit and recommission their buildings to reduce their energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Grants for doing so range from $50,000 to $500,000.
Industry organisations are also able to apply for a grant if they are committing to reducing energy and emissions by developing their knowledge and skills.
Further information can be found at the AusIndustry website.
Ashburner Francis can advise you on retrofitting and recommissioning the mechanical and electrical services of an existing building. We welcome your enquiry.
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Star Ratings for Housing and Residential Buildings
Ashburner Francis staff are now fully accredited in the use of the BERS Pro Energy Rating tool.
BERS Pro is a powerful tool that is used to simulate and analyse the thermal performance of Australian houses and residential buildings
It is one of the methods available for verifying compliance with the Building Code of Australia's' energy efficiency requirements, and is useful for unusual or complex buildings.
The tool is also useful for comparing the costs and performace of various constrution options during the design stage, so that the optimum result in terms of energy efficinecy can be achieved.
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Associate Professional Certificate in Sustainable Building Design
Staff members and Directors of Ashburner Francis successfully completed the ACEA course on Sustainable Building Design in conjunction with the University of Sydney.
The course, run over two days, investigated the latest sustainable design strategies applied to lower energy demand, improve thermal comfort and reduce carbon emissions.
The course also included some case studies on recently completed sustainable building projects, and provided some valuable insights into the effectiveness or otherwise of various strategies.
At Ashburner Francis we are committed to offering realistic and cost effective sustainable design solutions to our clients.
You can download more about Energy Ratings for Buildings here. We have prepared a brief outline explaining how the current schemes fit together |
Commercial Building Energy Star Rating Accreditation
Ashburner Francis staff are now accredited in the use of a range of Energy Star Rating Assessment Tools for commercial buildings.
These include:
- Green Star
- NABERS Office (formerly ABGR)
These are voluntary schemes for assessing, comparing and maintaining the energy performance of commercial buildings.
Many tenants and Government Departments now require a high level of energy efficiency in their buildings and tenancies, and require buildings which provide 4 Star or higher ratings.
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"Lodges on George" Modern High Quality Aged Care Development – Redcliffe
Ashburner Francis has successfully designed and project managed the Air Conditioning, Ventilation and Electrical Services for a multi stage Aged Care Development in Redcliffe. The project was run over five years in multiple stages and provides a high level of thermal comfort for its occupants from its modern facilities. Ashburner Francis have also arranged and managed an on going maintenance programme for the mechanical services at the facility. "Lodges on George" is a fine example of the high standards expected in modern Aged Care Facilities. |
Pilot Scheme for $150 Million Statewide Highway Lighting Upgrade
Ashburner Francis has taken on the role as Site Superintendent for a highway lighting upgrade pilot scheme. The scheme will ultimately lead to a major upgrade of the electrical reticulation and safety systems to highway lighting throughout Queensland. The pilot is being run at three sites in Mooloolaba, Nambour and Townsville, and the experience gained will ensure a smooth roll out to more than 200 other sites. We have partnered with the Department of Main Roads and Parsons Brinckerhoff for the project.
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Officeworks Superstores
The ongoing expansion of Officeworks stores throughout Australia is continuing, with assistance from Ashburner Francis.
The one-stop office supplies outlets have gone from strength to strength, with stores opening in Regional Centres and Capital Cities throughout Australia.
Ashburner Francis has provided engineering consultancy services for around 12 projects, including recently completed stores in Canberra, Wagga Wagga, Noosa, and Bundaberg. |