Robert Petric

HFM Integrated Design

Director / Principal Engineer, Perth

Founding partner, responsible for operations, strategic and technical direction of the company with a strong emphasis on new and emerging technologies.

In collaboration with the principal directors of HFM Asset Management developed a new design office for the purposes of addressing capital expenditure building refurbishments and upgrades, thus enabling a more holistic service to the property market. The new business was located within the existing offices of HFM and required organizational change for the expansion to be accepted. Through exchange of knowledge and processes with directors and staff of HFM Asset Management solutions to common industry problems were developed. This included;

• Transparent communication processes
• Robust documentation control
• Facility management and engineering design interface

Transparent communication of monitoring services and deliveries coupled with centralized document control of asset registers, drawings, specifications, operation and maintenance manuals, certification and insurance management, site inductions, WHS procedures, incident reporting and general maintenance management have proved to be integral to increasing building performance and reducing risk.

Designed HVAC services and project managed building refurbishments for commercial, hotel, health and mixed-use buildings. Building services refurbishments and energy upgrades typically included;

• Mechanical services
• Building Management Systems and Controls
• Electrical services
• Fire services
• Hydraulic services
• Elevators and escalators

Buildings include;

• 1260 Hay St, 15,000sqm mixed use building, $6 million HVAC centric upgrade, heritage listed site, office block went from under 1 star to just under 5 star NABERS and remained occupied whilst upgrade works implemented.
• 130 Fauntleroy Ave, 5,000sqm office building $1.1 million HVAC centric upgrade, went from under 1 star and currently tracking at 5 star NABERS, achieved base building energy reduction of 84%. Building remained occupied whilst upgrade works implemented.
• Four Points Hotel, 278 guest room, $25 million building refurbishment (includes architectural and services) tracking at a reduced energy usage of 40%. Building remained occupied whilst upgrade works implemented.

Design and project management involvement with the above projects was realised through on-going works of monitoring and advising of building operating performance as part of the FM service. Timing and budget accuracy were key ingredients, and a proactive approach enabled the complete scope to be defined during the conceptual phases of the project.

Typical project involvement would include for;

• Asset register development and lifecycle reporting
• Project brief and budget development
• Proposal development
• Implement and manage communications and document control protocols using centralized site specific software
• Project management and stakeholder consultation
• Planning and feasibility reports, including ROI calculations
• System analysis and reporting
• Research and develop ISD, IPD and 6d BIM initiatives
• Local authorities and certifier approvals and negotiations
• Cost management and contract negotiation
• Specialist and contractor engagement and management
• Design development, coordination and review
• Tender analysis, review and recommendation
• Project works monitoring and problem solving
• Superintendent services and contract administration
• Building maintenance inspection and reporting
• Capital Expenditure Forecasting
• Work request and maintenance management
• Incident and OHS reporting
• Compliance management and reporting
• Project management

BCA Consultants

Mechanical Engineering Manager, Perth

BCA Consultants is / was a medium sized (about 32 people) multi-disciplinary building engineering design consultancy. As the Mechanical Engineering Manager I was ultimately responsible for producing HVAC design documentation for commercial and residential building HVAC systems. It was my responsibility to employ mechanical engineers and CAD operators based on project forecasts. I had the authority to approve fee submissions up to $250,000 and my primary objectives included;

• Manage and supervise the project team to achieve positive engineering outcomes for clients.
• Complete assigned projects on time, within specification, to budget and conform to all relevant codes, standards, procedures and techniques.
• Ensure project team is skilled and motivated and aligned to both short and long team business objectives.
• Help set and define revenue targets.
• Consistently follow requirements of the Quality Management policy.
• Establish and maintain effective client and stakeholder relationships.
• Manage costs, both internal and external.
• Manage and maintain positive office and team culture.
• Appropriately market the practice to industry.

Mott McDonald Group

Senior Mechanical Engineer, United Arab Emirates

Designed and project managed MEP services for commercial and mixed-use developments. Directed all project details from initial proposal preparation and budgeting to timeline planning and staff training. Clients include Lang O’rourke, RFR, and TDIC.

Managed the entire project lifecycle from proposals through to project administration, technical work, client relations, reports and presentations.

Contributed to a number of projects as team leader – managed technical work, reviewed design, maintained QA procedures and monitored project cost. Projects Include:

• Al Raha Beach Site Wide Utility Coordination Review – hallmark project consisting of 500 hectare high density residential, mixed use, retail and commercial development. Proposed to house 200,000 people, incorporate 8km ocean frontage and several canal front districts. As project manager for the utility coordination review, my responsibilities included reporting short comings of the utility coordination and to provide direction for resolution, whilst maintaining internal cost control and quality assurance procedures.
• Al Bandar Ferry Terminal – located within the Al Raha Beach Development. Building design consisted of a glass floor cantilevered over the ocean. As project manager, responsibility included guiding the MEP and structural design team and to provide primary interface with broader Al Raha Site stakeholders. During design process liaison with home office and international counterparts was required.
• Al Raha Beach Water Features – a series of iconic water features located throughout the developments public domain. Over 15 in total, ranging from relatively small interactive types to very large, each requiring a dedicated plant room. The largest and most complex plant room was 80m in diameter, required 4.5 megawatts of power, and was submerged in the middle of a canal. As the lead MEP engineer it was my responsibility to define the requirements of the plant rooms housing extensive electrical, electronic, pipe, and pumps used to create a water feature. Close coordination with American specialist water feature designer (Wet Design) was required in order to guide the MEP design team to the best solutions. Interfacing role involved negotiating with other design teams from both public and private domains.