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Tag: Featured
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BPEQ charges unregistered engineer
The Board of Professional Engineers of Queensland (BPEQ) has prosecuted a case involving an interstate engineer providing professional engineering services for a building in Queensland. According to the BPEQ, the engineer worked outside of Queensland and did not register as a registered professional engineer of Queensland (RPEQ). Unregistered engineers can face serious consequences for providing […]
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Innovative building materials on show
The Material and Embodied Carbon Leaders’ Alliance (MECLA) is promoting the uptake of low-carbon building materials through a new innovation competition. “The built environment accounts for roughly 40 per cent of global emission,” says MECLA. “Using lower carbon and innovative materials in construction is a crucial part of the decarbonisation journey for the industry. Companies […]
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Australia’s top talent battles for WorldSkills gold
WorldSkills Australia is holding its 2023 national championships from August 17–19 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. Held every two years, the competition sees the top skills talent from all over the country compete over four days. Across more than 60 skills – including refrigeration and air conditioning – participants will battle it out […]
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Climate control, termite style
Lund University researchers in Sweden have found that future buildings inspired by termites could achieve the same effect as traditional climate control but with greater energy efficiency and fewer emissions. According to the researchers, termite mounds have a sophisticated ventilation system that allows air to circulate throughout the structure. This helps maintain and regulate temperature […]
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ICCC 2024 issues second call for technical papers
ICCC 2024, the eighth IIR International Conference on Sustainability and the Cold Chain, has made its second call for papers. Scheduled to take place from June 9–11 in Tokyo, the conference is co-hosted by the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIF/IIR); the Sustainable Energy & Environmental Society; the Open Innovation Research Organization (SEES); and Waseda University. […]
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NEXTgen program opens for 2023–2024
Standards Australia has opened its doors for the next intake of industry professionals wanting to benefit from its NEXTgen program. The NEXTgen Program selects emerging industry and technical experts and provides them with an opportunity to become involved in standardisation processes. It is open to people with five to seven years’ industry experience wanting to […]
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Cundall aims to be net zero hero
Multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy, Cundall, has committed to achieving net zero carbon on all its projects by 2030. The pledge recognises the critical need for practical, science-led action to transition all buildings, infrastructure, and human settlements to net zero carbon as rapidly as possible. “We know that buildings are one of the fastest and most effective […]
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Have your say on VET education in Queensland
The Queensland Parliament’s Education, Employment and Training Committee will be holding three community forums and a public hearing briefing about the delivery of vocational education and training (VET) for regional, rural and remote Queensland in July 2023. The committee is keen to hear directly from workers, employers, and their representatives as part of its inquiry. […]
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Global refrigerant licence scheme launched
After a decade of work from organisations around the globe and a series of pilot projects, the United Nations Refrigerant Driving Licence (RDL) scheme was launched at the 45th meeting of the Open-ended Working Group of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol, held in Bangkok. The RDL is a comprehensive refrigerant management qualification program that […]
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A closer look at ASHRAE Standard 241
Since the recent approval of ASHRAE Standard 241 Control of Infectious Aerosols, international interest has grown in how the standard could be applied. That includes Australia. Responding to this interest, Prezant Environmental Managing Director and 241 Committee member Brad Prezant, Affil.AIRAH, is running two breakfast sessions in Melbourne to provide an introduction to and summary of […]
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Blockchain refrigerant tracking tool in line for award
New Zealand HVAC&R professional body CCCANZ has earned a nomination in the prestigious RAC Cooling Industry Awards for its HVAC&R F-Gas Collaboration Project, which uses blockchain methodology. The group has been shortlisted in the “Environmental Collaboration of the Year” category, which recognises the importance of partnerships and collaborations in the refrigeration and air conditioning sector […]
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Equal Pay Day to be marked on August 25
Equal Pay Day, a day that calls attention to the the gender pay gap between men and women in Australia, will be held on August 25 in 2023. The particular date is chosen because it marks the 56 additional days from the end of the financial year that women must work to earn the same […]
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NSW offers preview of incoming fire safety schedule
The NSW government has shared an advance copy of the fire safety schedule template, due to start on August 1, 2023. The new schedule is one of a raft of reforms that respond to recommendations in the report on improving fire safety in new and existing buildings, developed by the Office of the Building Commissioner. […]
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ATO advises employers to check super obligations
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is encouraging employers in the construction industry to check they are up to date with their super obligations by the next quarterly due date to avoid additional costs and penalties. When employers don’t meet their super guarantee obligations, by paying late, not paying in full or paying to the wrong […]
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NZ dates confirmed for 2023 future:gas roadshow
The future:gas organisers have confirmed venues and dates for the New Zealand leg of the 2023 refrigerant seminar roadshow. With the seminar series already under way and travelling across Australia, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu until September, the dates for Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin have been confirmed as July 25, 26, and 27. The series has been organised to […]
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Inaugural Women in Cooling competition winner named
Léana Khaled Payan, a refrigeration engineer with Axima Refrigeration in France, has been named as the winner of the first European Women in Cooling Video Competition. The competition, organised by European contractors group AREA and World Refrigeration Day, was designed to highlight women exhibiting best practice and innovative thinking in their work. The organisers asked that entrants […]
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New nationally recognised training on fire safety
Superior Training Centre (STC) and AIRAH have launched a new nationally recognised training program on fire safety. Inspect, Test, and Repair Fire and Smoke Control Features of Mechanical Services Systems (UEERA0098) is aimed at fire safety professionals working in the HVAC&R industry. “Fire and smoke control features are critical components of building safety,” says AIRAH […]
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Southern hemisphere clocks warmest month on record
April 2023 was the southern hemisphere’s hottest month on record, beating the previous record set in March 2016 by 0.06°C. The record passed almost without comment or substantial media coverage, such is the level of desensitisation of a rapidly heating planet. April also happened to be the fourth hottest April globally since modern recordkeeping began […]
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Ideas and action at Ideaction.23
Ideaction.23, a national Australian conference and exhibition for facilities management (FM) professionals, is slated to take place over September 4–5 at the Star Gold Coast. “Facilities management industry professionals will come together to strengthen industry knowledge at Ideaction.23,” say conference organisers, “the only facilities management national conference and exhibition developed by the industry for the […]
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Earthquake raises questions about seismic resilience
The recent earthquake in Melbourne, measuring 3.8 on the Richter scale, did not cause major structural damage. But it did raise questions about whether our building services are equipped to handle such events. A fortunate outcome According to Victoria’s SES State Commander David Baker, his crew received only three calls for help following the quake. […]