The first project, which falls under the PRIME initiative, has received funding.
According to AIRAH’s media release, the project is a National Construction Code (NCC) whole-of-building commissioning proposal.
The aim of the project is to develop an industry-agreed proposal for change (PFC) to provide an industry-endorsed commissioning process into the first volume of the NCC.
AIRAH CEO Tony Gleeson stated in the media release that the project will prevent commissioning being incorrectly executed.
“Commissioning is such an important component of helping to make the built environment more energy efficient.
“Unfortunately, despite being critical to the efficient operation of HVAC&R equipment–and therefore of buildings and the built environment itself—it (commissioning) is often neglected, done shoddily, or completely ignored. Introducing a minimum standardised approach to commissioning into the NCC will ensure this is far less likely to occur.”
The media release also states that AIRAH are providing the resources to run the project and that a small PRIME working group of technical experts from AIRAH, AMCA, CIBSE and NEBB has been formed. There is also close dialogue with the Australian Building Codes Board, as well as with individual state and territory building administrations. AIRAH Technical Manager, Vince Aherne, stated in the media release that this partnership approach is critical as “there are a number of administrative issues and regulatory challenges that need to be worked through.”
The announcement of the project and its funding comes three months after the AIRAH board approved a funding proposal to establish a Secretariat for PRIME. The proposal for a Secretariat was put forward to deal with PRIME’s stalling due to lack of funding.
The AIRAH website states that PRIME is an initiative developed by a coalition of stakeholders from within the Australian heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC&R) industry and is the blueprint for a successful transition to a low-emissions future. PRIME stands for Professionalism, Regulation, Information, Measurement and Emission abatement and was launched at ARBS 2014.