bebuiLding effiCienCy

ContentS

2009 edition

02>A.G.CoombsandanotherNewRoyalChildren’sHospital04>InnovativeheadcontractmodelforNextgen05>AddingvaluetoMacquariewithKnightFrank06>ProtectingSwiftAustralia’sgreatestasset 07>ANZHeadquarters Australia’slargestofficebuildingtobeatechnicaltourdeforce 08>AccoladesforworldclassMelbourneRecitalCentre 09>CarbonRoadmap™ leadershipingreenbuildings 10>SupportingtheworkofRedCross > Apprenticeawards

> Industryleadershipinsafety > Theplacetowork > Innovativeleadershipdevelopment

A YEAR OF INNOVATION, INTEGRATION, AND GROWTH

Welcome to this year’s edition of A.G. Coombs’ publication, Building Efficiency.

The 2008–2009 year has been particularly momentous, not only in terms of growth for the A.G. Coombs Group but in terms of the Group’s vision of providing a complete service offering to the market place.

The Group’s integrated customer service approach is the culmination of an ongoing strategy of proactive management, investment in staff and a commitment to continual improvement in the A.G. Coombs Group member companies both individually and as a cohesive, integrated business.

It has been particularly pleasing to see that the strong growth experienced this year has been accompanied with a corresponding commitment to A.G. Coombs’ values-based culture; a culture based on continued investment in its people, their safety, and the teamwork required to deliver the total service offerings increasingly required by industry.

The A.G. Coombs Group Building Efficiency magazine is testament to just some of the companies’ many achievements this year, and I recommend this publication to you.

RUSSELL TELFORD

Managing Director

THE A.G. COOMBS GROUP VISION

PHILIP COOMBSChairman

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The 2008-2009 year has been very much about the growth and improvement of individual business units within the A.G. Coombs Group as well as their integration toward a complete and cohesive Whole of Life service offering.

Throughout the year, the Group has demonstrated an ability in this area, especially with the provision of integrated advice, design, construct, and maintain packaged service offerings. It has been particularly exciting to see business units develop to a level where they are working collectively to provide a seamless solution to customer needs.

The continued refinement of our Group’s packaged service offering has meant that A.G. Coombs has been able to provide an end-to-end, Whole of Life approach with a multi-service capability, in an industry increasingly driven by the dynamics of sustainability, the greening of buildings, and the continued emergence of public-private partnerships.

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This year, in particular, has highlighted the benefits of progressive long-term planning undertaken at A.G. Coombs. With a strong 60 year history and commitment to staff development, the Group is seeing Post Graduate and Post Trade Apprentice Staff step up, with front line personnel taking on extra responsibilities. There is a continuing strong emphasis on personal development and training, including such initiatives as the A.G. Coombs Business Excellence and Leading Edge programs. The Group continues to be the industry leader in safety with the SafetyMAP accreditation program fully extended to A.G. Coombs Servicing Pty Ltd and Walker Fire Protection Pty Ltd.

The Group’s commitment to continual improvement and planning lead to some exciting growth opportunities in market sectors including opportunities to extend our geographic coverage.

The establishment of A.G. Coombs (NSW) Pty Ltd at its new premises in Newington was a highlight during the year. For some time now a number of national and New South Wales based customers have been encouraging the A.G. Coombs Group to develop a stronger

New South Wales presence. This has mostly been driven around the customers’ desire to further utilise and leverage A.G. Coombs’ technical capabilities and proactive approach which is considered a clear point of difference in the current Sydney market, particularly in regard to sustainability and performance outcomes.

The strong growth we are seeing in engineering capability within the company is being reflected in all the business units from Projects and Walker Fire Protection, through to Advisory Services. Property Trust clients are recognising these capabilities and using our skills to enhance the traditional service delivery with more sophisticated solutions.

The Projects business has secured a strong medium to longer term pipeline of work revolving around the ANZ at Docklands, the Royal Children’s Hospital, the Royal Melbourne Hospital and a sizable proportion of direct repeat business.

The Service business has also grown through its existing customer base; the extension of existing portfolios; broadened service offerings and the addition of new customers.

Walker Fire Protection has secured a number of key repeat business customers, including National Australia Bank, for which we are providing services as part of design, construct and maintain packaged service offerings.

As well as being proactive in the field, the Group continues to promote the integrated service offering message to our customers and the market, including follow-up from last year’s A.G. Coombs Carbon Roadmap™ Conference. This was a terrific highlight for the company, and provided a fantastic vehicle for educating our customers on the bigger environmental picture for the built environment, and the practical steps required in their building portfolios, to secure a sustainable future.

Feedback from our customers has been overwhelmingly positive in terms of interest and application of the Carbon Roadmap™ service offering. The response from the broader coverage of the event and its objectives has also been excellent.

These strategies and events have combined to ensure A.G. Coombs retains the leading industry position in providing a Whole of Life approach to meet customer needs.

Image courtesy Melbourne Recital Centre

A.G. COOMBS AND ANOTHER NEW ROYAL CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL

In 1963 the Royal Children’s Hospital moved from its original Carlton location to a new state of the art facility in Parkville. Construction began in 1957 and A.G. Coombs played an important part in providing air conditioning for the new hospital. At that time it was the largest mechanical services installation in Australia. History has come full circle and A.G. Coombs is again engaged in the construction of a new state of the art Royal Children’s Hospital at Parkville.

The current Royal Children’s Hospital in Parkville was opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in February 1963. It was a far cry from the Carlton buildings that had been home to the hospital since 1876. The bold Stephenson and Turner design was representative of the ‘International Style’ of architecture favoured in the post war period and the buildings featured the latest concepts in air conditioning and ventilation. The new hospital was the realisation of a long held dream to, “provide the very best possible buildings and facilities for the care and treatment of sick children”. Over the years, the hospital’s buildings have been extended and enhanced, however, ultimately a new hospital was required.

Construction of today’s ‘new’ Royal Children’s Hospital continues apace adjacent to the ‘old’ hospital at Parkville. To be delivered in two stages, the new $1 billion hospital provides a world leading children’s healthcare facility on a scale not seen in Australia. Construction commenced at the end of 2007 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2011. Following relocation to the new building, much of the existing hospital will be demolished and reinstated as parkland. This will be completed in 2014.

The project is being delivered as a Public Private Partnership. The Royal Children’s Hospital will continue to operate the hospital and provide all core clinical services, staffing, training and research, while the Children’s Health Partnership is responsible for the finance, design, construction and ongoing maintenance of the new hospital buildings for a 25-year period. The consortium comprises Babcock & Brown as sponsors, Bovis Lend Lease as builder and Spotless Group as facilities manager. As part of the Bovis Lend Lease team, A.G. Coombs is responsible for providing the complete air conditioning and mechanical services. A.G. Coombs has entered into a joint venture partnership known as ‘RACAH’ with A.E. Smith to deliver part of these services.

With the capacity to treat an additional 35,000 patients every year, the new hospital is family-centered and features improved accommodation and facilities for parents. It is located in a unique natural setting with the majority of patient rooms having views of the park and access to courtyards and gardens providing children and families with easy access to the outdoor ‘healing environment’.

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The new hospital is environmentally friendly and aims to be Australia’s first 5 Star Green Star hospital. An overall 45% reduction in attributable greenhouse gas emissions will be achieved through measures such as energy efficient cooling, heating and lighting systems, inclusion of a gas-fired cogeneration plant, bio-mass boiler and solar panels. Rainwater will be collected from new roof areas and a black water treatment plant will recycle this and wastewater for reuse in toilet flushing, the cooling plant and watering both the internal gardens and Royal Park.

The new Royal Children’s Hospital is one of the largest projects undertaken by A.G. Coombs and has involved a tremendous amount of pre-planning and preparation. The project’s workforce of engineers and site personnel is likely to peak at over 150 people, all committed to ensuring that the new facility is yet again a significant improvement in “providing the very best possible buildings and facilities for the care and treatment of sick children”.

A.G. Coombs is proud to have returned to Parkville for the construction of another ‘new’ Royal Children’s Hospital.

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INNOVATIVE HEAD CONTRACT MODEL FOR NEXTGEN

Acting as Head Contractor for a complex project in an open-book arrangement requires sound management practices, technical expertise and a skilled workforce. And this is precisely what A.G. Coombs provided for Nextgen client, IBM, with the delivery of their operational data centre at West Melbourne.

As a wholly owned subsidiary of Leighton Holdings, Nextgen is an Australian telecommunications carrier that owns and operates Australia’s third largest fibre network. They are specialist providers of high performance data services to carriers, corporations and government.

The ProjectWhen Nextgen committed to provide for IBM at their dedicated operational data centre at West Melbourne, A.G. Coombs was appointed as Head Contractor for the project. Having undertaken a wide range of complex projects in the high tech data centre industry, the A.G. Coombs team leveraged off their proven ability to foster strong partnering strategies in delivering a complete service offering.

Services ranged from conceptual and detailed design management to the provision of multiple mechanical, electrical, fire protection, and building works in the installation and commissioning of the project.

The project scope of works included the installation and commissioning of three 583kW air cooled chillers, 12 computer room air conditioning (CRAC) units, plant room and office air conditioning, and a building management system upgrade, all in an operating data centre. The large computer hall now accommodates heat loads up to 500W/m2 with a designed expansion allowance to 1000W/m2. Electrical installations included two 1675kVA generator sets, two 800kVA uninterruptible power system (UPS) units, lighting systems, switchboards and cabling. Fire protection measures included the installation of dry pipe sprinkler systems, coupled with a Very Early Smoke Detection Apparatus (VESDA®). To house the mission-critical infrastructure, the building works included extensive raised floors, the building of a large roof top structural platform, block walls and riser construction, complemented with a complete office fitout.

Paramount to the success of these works was the detailed and extensive planning involved with the architectural, acoustic, structural and services design. The project was delivered through the dedicated A.G. Coombs Project and Design Management team that managed

the outcomes of 12 individual subcontractors and consultants.

The Contract ModelA key component of the innovative approach to the project has been the contract model. Based on Australian Standard AS 4902 for Design and Construction contracts, the contract model was co-authored with Nextgen. It provided a workable framework for the sharing of risk with incentives and penalties, and with key performance indicators such as budget limits and completion milestones. The contract was an open book alliance partnering arrangement, with transparent cost planning to agreed margins.

Nextgen’s Managing Director Peter Harrison said, “We are very pleased to be involved with A.G. Coombs in the provision of state of the art facilities to clients such as IBM. The facility is testament to our commitment to becoming a market leader in the delivery of premium data services, and our ability to continue innovating as a specialist data carrier, most notably with Virtual Private LAN service and our Ethernet over SDH product”.

Working to a tight and challenging project timeframe of nine months (from first inquiry to final commissioning), A.G. Coombs’ delivery of Nextgen’s IBM facility sets the benchmark for the implementation of complex, multi-service infrastructure projects in the IT industry.

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ADDING VALUE TO MACQUARIE WITH KNIGHT FRANK

Knight Frank provides Facility Management services for the Macquarie commercial building portfolio that includes buildings in Melbourne’s CBD and outskirts. A.G. Coombs’ involvement includes maintenance of air conditioning systems, mechanical services and related systems such as Building Management Systems together with a broader range of technical services.

A.G. Coombs’ initial work with Knight Frank assisted in developing a life cycle plan for buildings which included identifying ways to improve performance and reduce energy consumption. A.G. Coombs has gone on to carry out detailed system tuning works in a number of the buildings that have resulted in significant ongoing energy savings and other benefits.

Knight Frank’s Victorian Director of Facilities Management, Melinda Bool, said, “This is an example of A.G. Coombs’ proactive approach toward the maintenance requirements of the portfolio, since the energy and performance optimisation initiative was instigated by A.G. Coombs and is over and above the stated requirements of their brief”.

“A.G. Coombs’ Service team are proactive in their approach and bring matters to our attention rather than waiting to be asked questions. They really think outside the box. Since A.G. Coombs’ appointment, the number of unforeseen plant or equipment failures has dropped dramatically and the performance of the systems in the buildings has been fantastic compared to previously”.

Whenever additional expertise is needed for chillers, boilers, controls and other technical services, A.G. Coombs provides most of its services in-house, whereas others may outsource the work. According to Melinda Bool, “Having these capabilities in-house has meant that A.G. Coombs provides better service and this has certainly been reflected in the operation of the Macquarie buildings since A.G. Coombs has been involved”.

To complete the service value-adding equation, A.G. Coombs has an account management structure, which means Knight Frank has the one point of contact for the Macquarie portfolio.

Steve Banbury (A.G. Coombs Service Contract Manager) said, “The energy efficiency improvement process is a collaborative one with monthly meetings and the proactive application of our technical expertise in mechanical services, refrigeration services, and plumbing services. The process involves both identifying and implementing improvements. From installs to commissioning and balancing, through to engineering and advisory services, we have the ability to provide the expertise through one phone call. For clients like Knight Frank and Macquarie it means they have ready and timely access to all the technical expertise they need”.

“Macquarie has longstanding experience with A.G. Coombs through major capital works. The reputation built through that experience provided a good foundation for us coming on board with maintenance and building tuning works. A.G. Coombs believes in a hands-on approach to customer service and relationships, and this ethos flows through to everything we do”.

A.G. Coombs’ proactive maintenance approach has added considerable value to the continual improvement of Macquarie’s building stock, and provides testament to the A.G. Coombs point of difference.

A.G. Coombs are proud to be associated with Knight Frank in the maintenance of Macquarie’s buildings in Melbourne, bringing a point of difference to the Service value equation.

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Swift Australia approached Walker Fire Protection with a challenge – to design and install a fire detection and emergency warning system that would help protect its greatest asset – its people.

While this might sound relatively straightforward, the project involved several unique challenges due to the nature of work performed at Swift. Swift Australia is part of the JBS-Friboi Group, the largest beef processing company in the world. Its Brooklyn processing plant operates at a high capacity, capable of processing over 9,000 animals each day.

To avoid lost production time, Walker Fire Protection was required to deliver a solution that could be implemented while the plant continued to operate. This was achieved through the combined efforts of Swift Australia’s management, Walker Fire Protection’s Project Manager (Peter Watt) and the site team (led by foreman Scott Plant). According to Peter Watt, “The project team was able to avoid plant downtime through disciplined project management including daily coordination with Swift Australia’s site engineering and production management.”

Another challenge for the project team was to design a system capable of early detection in the very wide range of environments that exist at the site without suffering ongoing problems with false alarms. The Swift plant has cool store freezers operating at around -25°C and a boiler house operating anywhere between 30 and 50°C. During production, the processing areas operate at a dry and stable 4°C, however these are washed down at night with a sanitising solution heated to 75–80°C, creating a warm steamy environment. To meet these variable environmental conditions, Walker Fire Protection installed approximately 50 VESDA® aspirated smoke detectors and over 5.5 km of tubing, in accordance with the design concept prepared by engineering consultants BECA. A range of other technologies was also installed, including linear heat detection and single point type smoke and heat detection.

As in any food processing environment, maintaining hygienic conditions was critical. Walker Fire Protection developed a simple, yet innovative system to seal openings to avoid leakages and eliminate the accumulation of dust.

Both the fire detection and warning system comprise three networked integrated control panels, located in different areas of the plant.

These panels display alarm messages and allow manual control and transmission of live speech messages across 400 loudspeakers throughout the site.

Throughout the project, safety of personnel was paramount at all times. Walker Fire Protection used its SafetyMAP accredited procedures in conjunction with Swift Australia’s site safety procedures to ensure all aspects of the installation were carried out as safely as possible. This included the provision of permanent access platforms enabling detectors at high level to be safely installed and maintained.

The project outcome – an innovative fully compliant fire detection system designed and installed to provide the highest level of protection for Swift’s number one asset – its people!

PROTECTING SWIFT AUSTRALIA’S GREATEST ASSET

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AUSTRALIA’S LARGEST OFFICE BUILDING TO BE A TECHNICAL TOUR DE FORCE

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The new ANZ Global Headquarters building under construction at 833 Collins Street will be an extraordinary facility. From a technical systems maintenance and operational perspective, its size, technical complexity, requirement for superior environmental performance and high standard of occupant amenity make it a very special building.

Designed to be the greenest commercial office space in Australia, it will be home to over 6,500 ANZ staff and is due for completion in late 2009. The building features multiple sources of on-site electricity generation, advanced energy efficient air conditioning systems, leading edge lighting systems, smart water management technology and sophisticated automation systems for overall control and management.

Large tri-generation plant will provide supplementary electricity for the building, creating power using natural gas as a low carbon alternative to brown coal sourced mains electricity. Heat from this process will be used in absorption chillers to cool the building in summer and, in conjunction with natural gas fired boilers, to heat the building in winter.

Additional clean power will be generated by a large 1000m2 solar array and a series of wind turbines installed on the roof.

The building’s air conditioning systems feature a range of leading green design features including an underfloor air distribution system that maximises the use of outside air for an improved working environment, and the utilisation of cool water from the adjacent Yarra River to remove excess heat from the building.

Lighting throughout the building is computer controlled to ensure efficient operation and operation only when required.

All waste water from the building will be treated and used in toilet flushing, cooling towers and landscape irrigation. Stormwater collected from the roof will be used for irrigating another of the building’s environmental features; its green, landscaped roof.

Leading edge computer automation from Siemens has been installed to ensure the building’s multiple energy and building services systems work together to deliver a superior indoor environment with a minimal environmental footprint.

During construction, A.G. Coombs Projects provided detailed design, installation and commissioning for the extensive mechanical, air conditioning and ventilation systems.

A.G. Coombs was also responsible for installing the building’s automation and controls systems and the tri-generation system. A.G. Coombs Advisory provided the critical Green Star Independent Commissioning Agent role, assuring the commissioning of all environmentally related building systems and features in order to achieve the best practice 6 Star Green Star As Built rating.

For this building and its technical systems, a seamless transition from construction through the warranty period into a fully operational facility is a major undertaking and a fundamental requirement. Integrated Technical Management, a member of the A.G. Coombs Group, is providing specialist technical multi system maintenance and operational services to the new building’s Facility Manager (Jones Lang LaSalle) for the initial building tuning period and for ongoing operation thereafter. This involves bringing together the knowledge of all technical systems and the development of detailed operational strategies, procedures and systems to support Integrated Technical Management’s on-site operational and maintenance team and the Facility Manager. The aim is to deliver superior tenant amenity and world class environmental performance in Australia’s largest new office building.

Image courtesy Mugley

“The Melbourne Recital Centre is an internationally acclaimed performance venue, recognised for its architecture and state of the art acoustics… this beautifully crafted development is one of a kind, reflecting both a passion for music and design through construction”.2009 Property Council of Australia Awards for Innovation and Excellence, National Award for Public Buildings.

“This project offers a significant architectural experience that successfully crosses design boundaries, having achieved accolades in the diverse categories of urban, interior and architectural excellence”.Australian Institute of Architects Victorian Architecture Awards, Victorian Architecture Medal, the William Wardell Award for Public Architecture and the Joseph Reed Award for Urban Design.

“The Recital Centre has joined the ranks of Melbourne’s iconic structures; its stunning façade is matched by its acoustic performance internally. This landmark building is a masterpiece of design, construction and a showcase for local workmanship”.Master Builders Excellence in Construction Awards, Master Builder of the Year Commercial Building over $80m.

As the only purpose-built professional recital hall of its size in Australia, the Melbourne Recital Centre has been developed to provide world-class facilities to key arts organisations and a venue worthy of attracting leading overseas performers. The magnificent building, with its two carefully crafted performance spaces including the 1000 seat Elisabeth Murdoch Hall and the 150 seat Salon, was opened in February 2009.

The Elisabeth Murdoch Hall is based on the proportions of the classic shoe-box shaped European concert hall with enhancements designed to provide greater acoustic intimacy and improved sightlines for the entire audience. The timber interior incorporates an organic texture that diffuses the sound to enhance the timbre and blending of instruments. The visually stunning design results in excellent acoustic performance with strength and clarity, and a rich, reverberant response that is unique to the hall.

The smaller Salon is designed for more intimate performances such as soirees, master classes or pre-concert talks. The lime washed timber-lined

walls feature an inscription of a section of a graphic score by Australian composer Percy Grainger. It is also a fully equipped recording studio.

As builders, Bovis Lend Lease rose to the unique challenges posed by the project and appointed A.G. Coombs for the installation of the air conditioning systems and mechanical services. Given the constraints imposed by the architectural plans, it soon became apparent there was limited room for standard air conditioning arrangements, let alone the complex system that was required to meet the exacting acoustic requirements imposed by the design brief.

Bovis Lend Lease General Manager, Geoff Moore, said “We were very pleased to see A.G. Coombs’ design, engineering and installation expertise applied to the challenges imposed by these constraints, and most importantly, to see that they developed the sound-proofing solutions to meet and exceed the critical acoustic requirements for the project”.

Each project is unique and comes with its own set of challenges. A.G. Coombs’ involvement in this extraordinary building (with its demanding acoustic and spatial requirements) is a significant contribution to the construction of an outstanding arts venue that will benefit the Victorian public for generations to come.

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“Melbourne’s Recital Hall will be ranked amongst the world’s great halls for its uncompromised acoustic, architecture and artistic program.”Excerpt from The Recital Hall Brief, December 2003

ACCOLADES FOR WORLD CLASS MELBOURNE RECITAL CENTRE

If recent awards are any indication, the Melbourne Recital Centre has more than lived up to the expectations set by the project brief. Constructed with the Melbourne Theatre Company’s new performance space as part of the Yarra Arts development, this landmark building has attracted multiple awards for its architecture and construction quality.

Image courtesy Melbourne Recital Centre

In a world concerned with climate change, A.G. Coombs has taken a leading role in greening buildings.

The energy consumption of buildings is recognised as a significant contributor to rising atmospheric carbon levels and resultant climate change. The opportunity to improve the energy performance of buildings is seen internationally as one of the best and most cost effective ways to slow the increase in global carbon levels. In the Australian property and building construction sectors, the push for improved energy performance is now the strongest driver of change.

To help meet the challenge of greening Australia’s buildings, A.G. Coombs has developed a unique set of capabilities that cover the entire building life cycle. These include designing and installing building services for environmentally conscious new buildings and major retrofits. It also includes providing independent commissioning management services to assure environmental performance outcomes. In existing buildings, A.G. Coombs optimises and tunes systems to make them the best they can be and then applies innovative, energy efficiency practices to keep them at their best. Through its Carbon Roadmap™ process and energy performance contracts, A.G. Coombs enables the complete transformation journey of buildings, taking energy inefficient buildings to warranted high performance energy efficient Star rated outcomes.

A.G. Coombs is engaged in the construction of a number of Australia’s greenest new buildings, including the ANZ Global Headquarters building at Melbourne’s Docklands and the New Royal Children’s Hospital, both of which are designed for world class environmental performance.

A.G. Coombs also installed and commissioned the air conditioning and mechanical services in Bovis Lend Lease’s environmental award winning 6 Star Green Star new Melbourne headquarters ‘The Gauge’. This now involves maintaining the building’s systems to ensure sustained performance.

The successful delivery of some of the country’s highest profile green building developments has been assured through A.G. Coombs acting as Green Star Independent Commissioning Agent. These projects have included the multi international award winning Council House 2, the 500 Collins Street and 500 Bourke Street Melbourne major green refurbishments, Century City in Perth, the innovative Bendigo Bank headquarters and the architecturally stunning Melbourne University Economics and Commerce Building (pictured above).

In existing buildings, A.G. Coombs is working with a number of Australia’s largest institutional property owners to optimise energy performance in their national building portfolios through a sophisticated program of building systems tuning. The operation of the energy systems (including air conditioning and ventilation, lighting and power systems)

are optimised using building automation to best match tenants’ requirements whilst minimising energy consumption year round. An ongoing strategy of energy performance focused maintenance and monitoring is then applied, ensuring that the improved energy ratings are retained or improved.

A.G. Coombs is providing warranted energy performance outcomes in facilities in Melbourne and Sydney through a range of Carbon Roadmap™ and energy performance contracts. Applied in commercial and institutional buildings and healthcare facilities, these contracts are providing cost surety, comprehensive risk coverage, trouble free project delivery, and quality assured energy performance outcomes. Ongoing benefits include significantly reduced energy costs, increased building system reliability and tenant satisfaction, and improved building valuations and market standing.

With a leadership position also comes responsibility. A.G. Coombs is actively assisting in developing our industry’s capabilities in energy efficiency. This includes contributing to energy efficiency education and training, supporting the development of guidelines, standards, codes and building rating tools and sharing knowledge through the presentation and publication of professional papers. A.G. Coombs also has its own longstanding programs to continually reduce the environmental impact of its own operations.

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LEADERSHIP IN GREEN BUILDINGS

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Supporting the Work of red CroSS

When fires broke out in Victoria earlier this year, it wasn’t surprising to see A.G. Coombs’ staff rallying together to lend a hand. Some gave cash donations, others donated their leave entitlements and gave of their time. The A.G. Coombs Group also provided the Red Cross with a cash donation as well as pro bono air conditioning services and materials to support the organisation in its vital work with fire victims.

A.G. Coombs Group 03 9248 2700 A.G. Coombs Projects 03 9248 2700 A.G. Coombs Service 03 9645 4066 A.G. Coombs Advisory 03 9248 2700 A.G. Coombs (NSW) 02 8020 6000

Walker Fire Protection 03 9279 7100 Integrated Technical Management 03 9248 2700

techfm.com.au agcoombs.com.au walkerfire.com.au

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ApprentiCe AWArdS

As the leading Building Services Specialist, A.G. Coombs has a long-standing policy of attracting and developing only the best. This is certainly evident in the company’s well-established and innovative apprenticeship program. The Allan Coombs Training Award was initiated in 2000 to recognise the talent of apprentices, with the latest recipient being Ben O’Brien in 2008. A previous winner of this award, Grant Warren, was also recognised as the Air Conditioning and Mechanical Contractors Association (AMCA) Apprentice of the Year in 2008.

induStry LeAderShip in SAfety

A.G. Coombs continues to be the leader in safety. The company was the first in the industry to receive SafetyMAP accreditation a decade ago. Whilst others have followed, A.G. Coombs has been driving further improvements in its established system to ensure it is embedded in the culture and fully integrated across the business. The result is a dynamic, robust system that can handle increasingly complex safety challenges.

A.G. Coombs continues to achieve milestones in workplace safety by working in partnership with customers to identify and eliminate safety risks. The ongoing commitment is to achieve an injury free workplace.

A.g. CoombS: “the pLACe to Work”

A significant contribution to the success of A.G. Coombs over the years has been the calibre, loyalty and stability of its workforce. Celebrating 21 years of service in 2009 include Russell Telford, Craig Granger and Richard Turko. Over 115 employees to date have served at least 21 years with the Company. The depth of such expertise ensures customers are continually provided with specialist, reliable service and advice that works.

innovAtive LeAderShip deveLopment

A.G. Coombs’ culture has always been one of continual investment in the development of its people. One of the outcomes of this is an innovative suite of learning and development programs including:

4 BusinessExcellence An accelerated development program that includes management courses, coaching and business assignments tailored for a broad range of employees from emerging leaders through to executives. The program supports the personal development and career progression of staff.

4 LeadingEdge An intensive leadership development program that focuses on challenging current A.G. Coombs’ managers to lead strategically through self awareness, team development, change management and business innovation.

4 FlyingStartLifestyles A contemporary, flexible program that recognises the importance of staff developing a balanced, sustainable and healthy lifestyle to ensure ongoing performance and innovation.

These programs provide participants with the perspectives and frameworks they need to drive innovation. The aim is to continue developing extraordinary leaders who create superior customer value well into the future.

Safety MAPA SafetyMAP certified Organisation