June 24, 2024 in Advisory Notes
Mould in Buildings and HVAC Systems
Mould plays an important role in the natural environment as a break-down mechanism for dead organic matter. In the built environment, it is an unwante...
CSL Behring AlbuRX
CSL Behring is a global biotherapeutics leader driven by its promise to save lives. The parent company, CSL Limited, headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, employs more than 22,000 people, and delivers its life-saving therapies to people in more than 60 countries.
CSL Behring’s Broadmeadows site in Victoria is Australia’s national plasma fractionator and is the only commercial-scale facility of its type in the southern hemisphere.
Now the addition of a new manufacturing facility at the site, will help CSL Behring meet the growing global demand for Albumin – a protein derived from human plasma that is used in critical care to treat burns and shock.
Construction of the three-level, 23,900m building was managed by builder, Cockram Construction (now Icon).
In 2015, A.G. Coombs was appointed as the project’s mechanical services specialist contractor and tasked with bringing to life a highly complex mechanical services design documented by consulting engineer, Irwinconsult.
This included the integration of specialist process systems for manufacturing requiring chilled water, heating hot water, steam and compressed air, as well as a services-heavy HVAC solution.
The design also called for the control and management of strict air pressure regimes including transitions between high pressure in good manufacturing process (GMP) areas and low pressure spaces such as corridors and offices.
In an Australian first, a specially-designed laminar air flow booth was also installed within the facility. Supplied from Europe and constructed on-site by A.G. Coombs, the stainless steel facility features HEPA filtration and dedicated air handling plant to manage the high number of air changes required per hour.
The A.G. Coombs project team worked with CSL engineers from the construction phase through to the commissioning process.
A.G. Coombs led the coordination of all services on site, as well as the delivery of the project in BIM (building information modelling) to satisfy the high level of attention to detail required. Additionally, a process for documentation management was implemented, with one A.G. Coombs project team member dedicated to seeing the commissioning period through to completion.
An A.G. Coombs commissioning technician also remained on the site during the Defects Liability Period (DLP).
Following the completion of the project, A.G. Coombs hosted a client de-brief conducted by an independent facilitator. Thirty-five people from the project, including key stakeholders CSL and Cockram Construction attended, where outcomes were discussed and key learnings documented.
The lessons from the CSL AlbuRx project are now being applied in the delivery of a new manufacturing facility at Broadmeadows, where A.G. Coombs has also been engaged as mechanical services contractor.
“On a project as technically complex as CSL’s AlbuRx facility, it is important that all project team members are focused on delivering a high quality outcome,” said Louise McKinnon, Project Manager for Cockram Construction.
“A.G. Coombs’ technical abilities and attention to detail, as well as its dedication to seeing the commissioning of the facility through to the end has proved invaluable.”
