Vale Derek Olsen

AIRAH is sad to inform members of the recent passing of Derek Olsen, an active AIRAH member and HVAC&R professional based in WA.

Derek was an expert in building management systems and HVAC commissioning. He successfully founded and directed two businesses specialising in these fields in Perth – FastWorks and Olsen Environment – having previously held a number of roles at Trane, including general manager from 2004–06.

He developed X-Operative, a paperless report management system for testing and balancing building air conditioning systems. X-Operative won the Product of the Year award at the 2016 AIRAH Awards.

Derek was also closely involved with the Testing and Commissioning Association (TACA), which he helped establish in 2021. He served on the TACA board as secretary and was a lead author of the TACA Standards & Procedures Manual, which was released in late 2023.

Remembering the man

Former AIRAH president Paul Jackson, F.AIRAH, knew Derek as a colleague and a friend. He remembers Derek both for his professionalism and his friendly and giving nature.

“Derek would always pick up the phone for a chat, and not only about work – he had a great sense of humour,” Paul says. “He had a huge amount of knowledge around commissioning and the right way to go about it.”

Paul highlights the enormous contribution Derek made to training future generations of HVAC&R commissioning professionals, ensuring that his knowledge was passed on to future generations.

“Derek spent a lot of time training and upskilling people, especially in WA,” Paul says. “A large number of good commissioning technicians would have had the benefit of learning the finer aspects of HVAC commissioning from Derek. His dedication to the industry and his input into TACA and their training manuals will be one of his many legacies.”

AIRAH sends its condolences to Derek’s family and friends during this difficult time.