posted on May 16: Ventilation system upgrades under way in Arthur Bourns

An extensive refurbishment of the heating, ventilation and air circulation (HVAC) system in Arthur Bourns gets under way this week.

The system renewal will improve the comfort levels and quality of air distribution in ABB. The project will take approximately one year to complete and will be done largely during off hours.

The project is one of a number of HVAC upgrades and system renewals that will take place in many campus buildings over the next year. The systems in John Hodgins Engineering are nearing completion and work continues in the Life Sciences Building.

The renewal projects stem from a comprehensive and extensive study and assessment of several campus buildings conducted by Physical Plant in conjunction with two independent consultants, Dynamic Flow Balancing and Filer Engineering. The consultants have conducted a total performance evaluation in the buildings, identified deficiencies and made recommendations to improve, repair and replace the existing ventilation system.

The initiative is part of a University plan to address deferred maintenance on campus. Like other universities across the province, McMaster's buildings are showing significant signs of age and are in need of urgent refurbishment and upgrades.

For senior administrators Karen Belaire, vice-president administration and Tony Cupido, director, physical plant, improvements to the air quality and flow within buildings is a top priority for the University.

“Our goal is to establish a better physical working environment for all,” says Belaire. “We are confident our work on improving these systems will address concerns that have been raised by occupants of a number of our aging buildings.”

Cupido says his team in physical plant is working hard to address the recommendations contained in the consultants' reports. “It's going to take time, but we are making progress and our goal is to do both a thorough and comprehensive job. We appreciate the support and co-operation of faculty and staff on the work we have done to date.”

Stuart Gilmour, a technical specialist with 24 years' experience at McMaster, is leading the ABB refurbishment and has overseen much of the work in other campus buildings.

“Our major goal in renovating and working in buildings that are occupied is to do it with minimal disruption.” Much of the work will be completed during off-shifts and on weekends and holidays. “Our goal is to get these systems fully functional as quickly as we can. But it's a long process and we plan to do it once and do it properly,” says Gilmour.

Physical plant staff and contractors will, he says “start at the top of the system and address all the issues logically. We're going to repair and retrofit the systems from top to bottom where required.” The work will involve everything from the movement and installation of heavy equipment to the fine tuning of computerized controls.

Gilmour hopes to obtain additional support and resources to speed up the restoration work that's to be done. He says he's unaware of any other university that is addressing this area of concern in as comprehensive a way.

More upgrades are expected. Dynamic Flow is currently collecting data on the Ivor Wynne Centre. Buildings which have been evaluated to date include ABB, JHE, LSB, Thode Library, General Sciences, and Michael DeGroote. Surveys of the humanities and social sciences complexes and Gilmour Hall are also planned.

The improvements to the ABB system are being welcomed by the health and safety committee that oversees the building. “From our perspective, things are going well,” says Rob Gillies, co-chair of the Faculty of Science Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee. “We have been told that money is being spent and we fully expect that a recent recommendation we have made to (senior management) will be responded to positively.” The committee is concerned about the air quality within the building and has recommended that the recirculation of air in all labs be discontinued.

Gilmour has invited Gillies and other members of the committee to tour the HVAC system in ABB to see what improvements are planned.

Built in 1965, ABB houses both the chemistry and physics departments, the Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research and CIS offices.

Ron Angus, director of risk management, says several rounds of air quality tests have been conducted in the building over time. “All have come back within normal levels,” he says. Chemical analyses, mould and bacteriological tests are among the tests that have been done.

Gillies says the committee has received complaints about air quality. “The air handling system is not what it should be. It's recirculating the same air. We need to make sure people are breathing fresh air and they haven't been for some time now.”

Costs to renovate the HVAC system in ABB could be as much as $500,000. To date, $450,000 has been spent on system upgrades and renovations throughout campus. A multi-year plan and fund for ventilation system upgrades on campus was approved last year.