The Casey compliance project

The compliance project is now well under way here at Casey, with all the main station buildings now having been assessed against the relevant building codes. The project was initially set up to assess the building assets, station infrastructure and services against the ever changing codes, standards and regulatory legislation.

The combination of different building classifications with the unique climate conditions present the compliance audits with interesting results. Given this unusual set of circumstances a certain pragmatic approach has to be taken into account when considering all of the non-compliances that arise.

The condition of the buildings is certainly a testament to the excellent design and quality of construction of the original AANBUS modular system, built in the mid 1980’s by the Australian Construction Services. These buildings have weathered the harshest of conditions very well and are generally still in pretty good shape.

After some 25 to 30 years in these demanding conditions, no matter how robust, things will inevitably start to break down and require heavy maintenance and complete replacement when required

The most common non-compliances are associated with energy efficiency due to the much more onerous requirements that have been introduced into the building codes over recent years, such as thermal efficiency of building fabric, turn down ratio and controllability of heating, ventilation and lighting systems.

Some rectification has already taken place such as removal of equipment and goods from fire isolated stairwells, unblocked emergency egress paths, application of warning signage and correct fire extinguisher selections.

The next phase of the station compliance project is focusing on fall protection, self arrest systems and confined spaces

By the end of this winter season there is no doubt Casey will be left a more compliant, safer and more efficient station.