Tenants of 20 English St are enjoying new air-conditioning units, after the recent completion by Essendon Fields of a significant asset replacement project.

Corey Wilson, Senior Facilities Manager at Essendon Fields, said the installation of the new air-conditioning units in conjunction with Willira Heating, Cooling & Electrical was a major priority as the old units had reached close to the end of their life cycle.

“We operate an Asset Management Plan at Essendon Fields, to ensure action required for physical assets is clearly planned for optimising cost, risk and performance across the asset life cycle,” said Mr Wilson.

“We worked closely with our tenants on this project, which started at the end of March and took place over a five week period. We had an initial meeting with the contractor and the tenants to walk them through what was involved in the works. Project milestones were also communicated to the tenants via our Facilities Response Centre, which meant they were always informed of progress and next steps,’’ he said.

Undertaking works at Essendon Fields has its challenges, given the unique environment. As a mixed-use precinct incorporating an operating airport, community and retail facilities, and over 300 businesses across a range of sectors, creating a safe environment is paramount. Mr Wilson explains that the project team had to bring in a crane to lift the new units into place into the building, which triggered its own unique height responsibilities.

“A submission needed to be made to the Essendon Fields Airport Aviation Operations Team which included details of the crane required and its location to successfully perform works. The team had to confirm that the works we wanted to do would not impact on the obstacle limitation surface (OLS) of the Airport – the airspace that has to be protected for aircraft operating during the initial and final stages of flight, or when manoeuvring in the vicinity of the airport. Our works were confirmed to be under the OLS, and we were given approval to proceed. That’s just one of the unique requirements we needed to work through for this project,” said Mr Wilson.

Now that the new units have been put in place, the benefits will be felt by tenants, especially during the coming winter months.

“We’ll see an improvement in temperature comfort, a reduction in ongoing maintenance and we expect the optimal performance of new units will see energy efficiencies. This is another fantastic step in protecting our local environment today, for a sustainable tomorrow at Essendon Fields,’’ Mr Wilson said.

For further information on the sustainability initiatives at Essendon Fields, please click here.