Tag: Australia

#ONEHOLMES

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We have exciting news! From July 1, 2022, Holmes Fire and Holmes Consulting are coming together to provide the same expert services we currently offer in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia—operating as one business across both countries. We’re also working even more closely together globally, with one Holmes Executive Team leading Holmes internationally.

For our clients and partners, it means our specialist services are better connected and integrated, and Holmes is structured to deliver you even more value, quality and responsiveness. We’re also better positioned to support our clients as technology, markets and opportunities evolve.

In Aotearoa New Zealand, Holmes Fire and Holmes Consulting is combining our three connected specialist Practices. “Holmes NZ” now delivers Fire, Structures, and Infrastructure engineering, while “Holmes Australia” continues to deliver premium fire engineering services to the Australian market. Holmes NZ also continues to extend its reach into the Netherlands, delivering advanced seismic assessment and structural engineering.

In the USA, Holmes offers premium engineering services across thriving Structures, Fire and Residential Practices, with strong links to Holmes in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. While our friends at Holmes Solutions continues to deliver world-leading international product development and testing from offices in Aotearoa New Zealand and the USA—with key connections into the wider Holmes Group.

As always, the team at Holmes is committed to delivering quality and value in everything we do, wherever we do it. We’re looking forward to seeing you soon.

John Hare, Hamish Nevile, Stuart Harris, Glen Mitchell, Sam Cooper, and the Holmes team in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

Atlassian | The World’s Tallest Timber Hybrid Tower

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Over 39 storeys high, Atlassian’s proposed Australian headquarters, to be funded and developed by one of Australia’s leaders in property Dexus, will soar above the new innovation and technology precinct, Tech Central, located above Central Station as Sydney’s tallest hybrid-timber commercial tower, and the tallest of its kind in the world. The complex design will not only push physical limits but will also set a new benchmark in sustainable design and future proofing.

Atlassian and Dexus have been working with the NSW Government, undertaking a thorough planning process and international design competition to determine the amazing design for the Atlassian building, and various commercial and technical agreements to enable development on the YHA site.

The hybrid-timber design will predominantly house commercial offices, with retail and accommodation facilities that are adaptable for the changing needs and expectations of Sydney’s tech community.  

Holmes is proud to be contributing to the fire engineering and structural fire engineering design of this signature building. Our experienced engineers have been working closely with the design team and approval authorities to inform the building’s design and fire safety strategy, with careful consideration of the development’s connection with surrounding existing and future developments. Advanced thermal and structural fire analysis will be utilised to support and verify the design of the primary exoskeleton and the mass timber habitats. 

Our team is looking forward to continuing to work on this project for the next few years and contributing to an iconic development that is sure to be considered a significant milestone in Sydney’s built history.

Design and building practitioners legislation in Australia

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In response to the public’s growing uncertainty and trust in the residential sector, the NSW government has introduced new legislation and regulations aimed at improving the quality of building and construction work.

From the 1st of July 2021, the Design and Building Practitioners Regulation 2021 (DBP Regulation) came into effect in NSW. The new regulations include a registration and certification scheme that supports the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (DBP Act) enacted last year on 10th June 2020. The DBP Regulation has been designed to increase accountability in key stakeholders of the building including designers, developers, builders and professional engineers as well as establish a process requiring compliance declarations at multiple points of the building works.

On each residential apartment building project that adopts Performance Solutions, the Fire Engineer will be required to declare that the design meets the Performance Requirements and that the Fire Engineering Report integrates the designs of other key consultants such as structural, mechanical and fire services. These key consultants will also be required to declare that the requirements of the Fire Engineering Report have been incorporated into their design documentation.

Holmes Fire views the DBP Regulation as a welcome addition to the building industry and supports the inclusion of the design intergration process as a positive step towards a higher quality of building construction.

To streamline the process of integrating designs, Holmes Fire offers documentation review services – to put the magnifying glass over the drawings and specifications provided by key consultants to verify that the fire engineering requirements are correctly documented. Though the DBP Regulation and its requirements are new, Holmes Fire has an existing process to undertake documentation review services and have been offering this service to our clients for over 2 years.

Our team has found that reviewing documentation at the design stage results in issues being identified much earlier, when such issues only exist on paper. The time and effort taken to amend a drawing is relatively minimal compared to resolving a construction issue that has been built and has other completed building works surrounding it. This design documentation review process will reduce the number of issues that are discovered during construction works and fewer ‘patch fixes’ being used to resolve those issues.

Since offering design documentation review services 2 years ago, our team has developed an efficient process to review all relevant documentation and help the project proceed in a timely manner.

While the industry navigates its way around these big changes, it’s important to remember that it will take all affected practioners and businesses some time to adjust to the new norm for residential apartments. The DBP Regulation will lead to changes to our regular processes but the identification of errors at earlier stages will create opportunities for collaboration and innovation while also providing builders and developers with cost savings due to reduced rectification works during construction.

Who runs the (engineering) world

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A Holmes Fire Engineer is a challenger to the expected, motivated to find the best solution for all, and is curious in the face of a new problem. 

Making up nearly 15% of our current team, the women at Holmes have played an important role in our success across Australia, New Zealand and the US. From graduate roles to branch managers, Holmes firmly believes in giving women the tools and support they need to reach their professional goals. As the industry continues to expand and engineering becomes a more common career choice for women, we believe that we have been extremely fortunate to find the right engineers for our team so far but also look forward to discovering talented female fire engineers to join us.

This International Women in Engineering Day #INWED2021, we’ve chosen to shine the spotlight on a few of the women engineers in our Leadership team. In each of their roles and as engineers, they’ve brought their own talents, skills and drive to the table to support Holmes and the wider team as mentors, educators, problem-solvers and luminaries.

Click on their images below to find out a little more about each of these inspiring women.

Sarnia Rusbridge

Project Director

Sydney AU

Kathryn Devine

Business Manager | Project Director

Auckland NZ

Keryn Goble

Project Director

Auckland NZ

Alyson Blair, Senior Fire Engineer Downtown

Alyson Blair

Senior Fire Engineer

San Francisco US

Fire Australia 2021 Conference & Tradeshow

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Australasia’s largest fire protection event, Fire Australia 2021, returns to Sydney this year with three days of the latest, leading fire safety content with key industry experts. The event features an intensive Conference Program with high profile speakers, breakout sessions, CPD seminars and off-site tours. The Tradeshow Hall will be open for all three days showcasing market-leading products and services from over 80 local and international exhibitors. FPA Australia will also be announcing their Award winners at the Conference Dinner held on Wednesday 12th May.

First held in 1965, the conference is hosted by Fire Protection Association Australia (FPA Australia), a not-for-profit organisation and national peak body for fire safety. The Association is made up of members from manufacturers, suppliers, installers and servicers of fire protection products and services, firefighters, building owners, insurers, designers and building surveyors, government and legislators, educators, bushfire consultants and anyone else working as part of the fire protection community to provide a safer environment for all Australians. The Association’s vision and purpose is a safer community where loss of life, injury and damage to property and the environment are eliminated through effective fire protection.

Join our very own Sarnia Rusbridge, Project Director in our Sydney office, and Nate Lobel, Principal Fire Safety Engineer at Performance Based Consulting, for a breakout session after Morning Tea on Day 1. They’ll be diving into a contentious topic, “Fire Safety Engineering – Did we drop the ball?”, where they’ll look at how fire safety and the role of fire engineers has developed, what the industry is currently achieving and what’s being done in the background to accommodate and prepare for the expectations of the building and construction industry. Be prepared to leave this session asking yourself – are we doing enough – through legislation, education, research and in our role as fire engineers within a project team.

Don’t miss the opportunity to see Sarnia in action and engage with industry professionals from around Australia, register now at fireaustralia.com.au.

It’s that time of the year again

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A little more sparkle, a little less stress. These holidays, we wish you the very best.

Thank you to all our clients and colleagues for your patience and support this past year.

Holmes will be taking a short break over the holiday period to rest and recuperate in preparation for another big year.

Local office closures for all Holmes offices in Australia are listed below.

All the best to everyone this Holiday Season!

 

 

USA

Seattle | San Fransisco | Los Angeles

 

Offices in the US will be closed from Friday 25th December 2020 and reopen on Monday 4th January 2021.


Australia

Brisbane | Sydney | Melbourne

 

Australian offices will be closed from Monday 21st December 2020 and reopen on Monday 11th January 2021.


New Zealand

Auckland | Hawkes Bay | Wellington | Christchurch | Queenstown

 

All New Zealand offices will be closed from midday Friday 18th December 2020 and will reopen on Monday 11th January 2021.

A welcomed undertaking

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The International Fire Engineering Guidelines (IFEG) has been the go-to handbook of Australian fire engineers for years but this could all be changing soon.

Engineers Australia has formed a team comprised of leading fire engineers to provide guidance on the content of the new Australian Fire Engineering Guidelines (AFEG) at the behest of the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB). This team features our very own Sarnia Rusbridge, Project Director in our Sydney office. She has been working alongside Kjetil Pedersen from Warrington Fire, Jonathan Barnett from Basic Expert, and Tobias Salomonsson of RED Fire Engineers since mid-2020. Between the four, the team has decades of fire engineering experience internationally and in Australia under their belt and are well known within the industry for their specialist knowledge of fire safety practices and research.

The release of the AFEG will be welcomed by existing and incoming fire engineers who are focused on providing the best solutions for a project. Holmes looks forward to when the AFEG is completed and the clarity it will provide the Australian Fire Engineering industry.

Legislation changes for professional engineers in NSW, Australia

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Following the paths of Queensland and Victoria, NSW Parliament recently passed a new law under the Design and Building Practitioners Bill that will require professional engineers to be registered to practise from July 1st.

The new law will require that anyone wishing to provide professional engineering services in the fields of civil, structural, electrical, mechanical and fire safety engineering be registered themselves or be working under the direct supervision of a registered engineer. The law aims to lift the professional standards of the engineering industry within NSW, to meet the legislative standards of our neighbouring states and to provide the community with a level of confidence in the engineering industry.

Future regulation will dictate the minimum requirements to be registered and the process for individuals to register. Engineers Australia (EA) and other professional bodies are pushing to allow anyone who is registered on the National Engineering Register (NER) or is a Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng) with EA to use their status as a pathway to statutory registration.

With 30% of our engineers currently holding a NER and/or CPEng status, and accreditations in Queensland and Victoria, Holmes welcomes the changes the new legislation will bring to the industry and look forward to meeting the higher levels of scrutiny and responsibility.

Glen Mitchell
CEO Australia | Project Director

James O’Neill
Branch Manager BRIS | Senior Fire Engineer

Sarnia  Rusbridge
Project Director

Michael Bower
Senior Fire Engineer
Erik Carlsson
Branch Manager SYD | Senior Fire Engineer
Mathew Freeman
Branch Manager MELB | Technical Director
Linus Lim
Technical Director

Michael Tsitovitch
Senior Fire Engineer

Celebrating diversity at Holmes

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We know diversity and inclusion is a significant opportunity to build stronger, more creative, more resilient teams at Holmes. Each member’s personal journey, vibrant personalities and aspirations offer unique perspectives to complex problems and contribute to the culture we’re so proud of.

This past week, we joined our colleagues in Sydney celebrating Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and those in Aotearoa New Zealand celebrating Pride Month. Holmes is committed to ensuring our people are comfortable and feel respected in their environment—regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

To provide an opportunity to grow and prioritise diversity at Holmes, Together@Holmes (TAHi) was born. TAHi has been formed with a group of people around the business who are passionate about Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion (DEI) at Holmes.

Our long-term vision at Holmes is to be more representative of the communities we serve— and the places we live and work.

At Holmes, we encourage our team to dream big and therefore, empower them to achieve their goals;

  • In an environment where you can relax and be yourself.
  • Where we recognise and value diversity of thought and approach.
  • With equal support and equal opportunity to grow and develop.

The new faces of our Fire Practice in Australia

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We know OUR PEOPLE are our strength and the reason we are the fire engineers of choice for so many of our clients.

Our team is filled with dynamic, diverging and inquisitive personalities from all over the world, together they foster the positive culture that we’re so proud of.

In 2019 we found a further 25 people internationally who embodied the Holmes energy. Find out how the four new members of our Australian team have found life at Holmes so far.

 

SELENA CHIN

Fire Engineer
SYD

 

Selena is a recent graduate from the University of Maryland, receiving her Master of Science in Fire Protection in December 2018. She made the big move across the world to join the Sydney team in February 2019. Selena has worked on a variety of buildings in different project sections since joining Holmes Fire, but has been especially involved in projects with residential buildings.

Selena brings a fresh perspective to the projects she works on from her experience in the US and is utilising her student knowhow to establish herself as a speed report writer within the team. Selena is attentive and thorough in her understanding of new projects, which coupled with her keen interest in problem-solving makes her an asset to any project team.

What attracted you to Holmes Fire?

Holmes Fire offered a multinational experience with many UMD alums to vouch for the company.

How have you found it so far?

Great – company culture is unrivalled and I’m learning new things everyday.

What do you love and what do you hate about fire engineering?

I love the purpose it serves and how every project is different, but fire engineering is still relatively unknown and doesn’t get the recognition it deserves.

How do you recharge when work’s out?

In my free time, I like to play soccer (when I’m not injured), explore Sydney, and bake. I have just started a volunteer coaching position for the 2020 season, coaching an All Age Women’s Division 2 soccer team.

What would you be doing if you weren’t working at Holmes Fire right now?

The body has always fascinated me, especially given my affinity for sports. I think if I weren’t working as a Fire Engineer, I would be in school studying to be a physiotherapist.

 

JARED MATTERN

Fire Engineer
SYD

Jared joined the Holmes Fire Sydney team in April 2019 following an extended holiday, travelling through Asia.

With over 5 years’ experience as a Fire Protection Engineer in San Francisco, Jared has worked extensively on large scale residential and commercial projects. He is especially familiar with performance-based solutions for atria and complex smoke control. Jared enjoys problem solving with innovative technical solutions – his projects of choice are often unique and challenging, requiring his technical eye to solve any technical conflicts and increase design flexibility.

What attracted you to Holmes Fire?

I had some interaction with Holmes Fire while working in San Francisco. They appeared to be trying to innovate more than just providing standard design advice. When I had finally decided to move to Australia, I knew I wanted to pursue a career with Holmes Fire.

How have you found it so far?

The transition to Sydney and primarily Performance-based Fire Engineering has been a refreshing change of pace, allowing for a greater opportunity to learn and be creative.

What do you love and what do you hate about fire engineering?

The variety of the work. Each project is so different, giving me many opportunities to learn across several different topics. The variety of projects also means you do not typically get stuck working the same project all day everyday, for months or years on end, keeping me from getting bored. Litigation and legislation can impact the approval process, making it more difficult to receive approval for sound technical solutions – often not because of the contents of the science itself but the current public zeitgeist on a topic.

How do you recharge when work’s out?

Travelling is my recharge. Exploring another country with little more than a backpack allows for a different perspective of your life/world.

What would you be doing if you weren’t working at Holmes Fire right now?

If I hadn’t gone down the path of Fire Engineering that led me to Holmes Fire I would be working as a Structural Engineer somewhere in the States.

 

SILVIA PARRA

Fire Engineer
SYD

Silvia joined Holmes Fire Sydney after completing her International Master of Science in Fire Safety Engineering, a specialised Fire Safety degree that involves studying at three prominent universities around Europe over two years. The universities Silvia attended to attain this degree include the University of Edinburgh (UK), Lund University (Sweden) and Ghent University (Belgium).

Silvia inclination towards fire engineering began through her previous position in her home country, Colombia, which involved the coordination of design projects and designing active fire protection systems.

Silvia has experience working on projects in a range of sectors including residential, education and healthcare. Her expertise in BIM and modelling applications is a valuable addition to any project, which she’s always happy to share with the team.

What attracted you to Holmes Fire?

Holmes Fire is well known in the Fire Engineering field around the world. I came to know about Holmes Fire by information coming from the United States while I was in Europe. Then I found out that Holmes Fire is the most experienced fire engineering firm in Australasia and this definitely caught my attention.

How have you found it so far?

Holmes Fire is great. I like the collaborative environment in the office. Everyone is willing to help, to guide on technical matters and to share their knowledge with the less experienced ones.

What do you love and what do you hate about fire engineering?

What I love of Fire Engineering is being able to apply engineering concepts to increase the level of safety of occupants in a building. It is rewarding to know that we are working for the wellbeing of people.

What I find the less enjoyable is the little relevance that some people think Fire Engineering has in their projects. Some underestimate the involvement of a fire engineering team in the early stages of a project and then struggle to rectify mistakes when the construction process is already too advanced.

How do you recharge when work’s out?

Food always gives me a big boost when I need some energy. I keep little chocolates or cookies with me. Lately, I’m becoming a big fan of the coffee available in the office.

What would you be doing if you weren’t working at Holmes Fire right now?

Most likely, I would be working in my home country in the design or installation of fire protection systems since what we know here in Australia as Performance-Based Design is not applied there. With a bit of luck, I would be working for another fire engineering consultancy company, possibly outside Australia.

 


MICHAEL TSITOVITCH

Senior Fire Engineer
MELB

The newest addition to the team, Michael joined the Melbourne team in December –  just in time for the end of year party! Michael’s experience in the Australian construction industry began as an engineering intern during his undergraduate studies until he joined the field as a qualified engineer in 2014. Conveniently receiving his C10 accreditation within weeks of joining Holme Fire, Michael has been a valuable addition to the senior team, bringing experience from his work on a wide range of projects including mixed-use developments, residential, infrastructure, commercial, entertainment, healthcare, childcare, aged care and education.

Michael is especially experienced in large scale mixed-use, airport, and entertainment projects requiring the use of fire engineering software and tools to develop fire and life safety strategies. His experience in both fire safety and fire services has allowed Michael to develop exceptional project management and communication skills. With the end goal always in mind, Michael works closely with other engineering disciplines and project stakeholders to ensure fire engineered solutions are customised, sound and commercially viable.

What attracted you to Holmes Fire?

Holmes Fire has always been a trusted name in the industry including representation at various professional bodies, committees, and government inquiries, as well as possessing an impressive range of project involvement. When a current employee reached out and let me know Holmes Fire was hiring, I was very sceptical hearing that the only negative about working at Holmes Fire was the office location being one block too far from a particular public transport stop!

Having met with some of the senior staff, it quickly became apparent that Holmes Fire would be a great fit for both my professional and personal aspirations.

How have you found it so far?

The Holmes Fire ‘family’ have welcomed me with open arms. It is an absolute pleasure to be working alongside this group of bright-minded individuals. The friendly back and forth banter has been a welcome part of the overall laidback office vibe.

What do you love and what do you hate about fire engineering?

Fire engineering is an ever-evolving field that combines aspects of mechanical, electrical, structural, fire protection and chemical engineering disciplines together with building law and human behaviour. This diversity is one of the major drawcards to fire engineering. One thing that frustrates me is the inconsistency in the approval processes between states and territories, as well as the registration of fire engineers.

How do you recharge when work’s out?

By standing next to a power point…

In all seriousness though, spending time in the great outdoors as well as with family and friends are my ‘from where you’d rather be’.

What would you be doing if you weren’t working at Holmes Fire right now?

Flying has always captured my imagination. If it weren’t for Holmes Fire I could see myself as a pilot, preferably in a fighter jet. Over the years I have developed a great respect for the fire brigades – so alternatively, I imagine firefighting would also be a rewarding career.

 

If  you’re looking for a change and you think the Holmes culture might be a fit for you, visit our Careers page to see if there’s a role you

Or just get in touch, we’d love to hear from other like-minded people out there who believe they’re what we’re missing.

Holmes opens in Melbourne

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We’re excited to announce Holmes is now operating in Melbourne!

Following the success of over 20 years in Sydney, and two years in Brisbane—our Melbourne office will allow us to more easily service and add value for our increasing number of clients in Victoria.

We will be bringing the high levels of quality and service that Holmes is renowned for. In addition, we want to open the Melbourne market’s eyes to the cost savings and design potential that performance-based structural fire engineering can bring to projects of all sectors.

Launching the expansion south will be Mathew Freeman (CPEng), a Technical Director here with us at Holmes.

In the 11+ years Matt has been with Holmes, he’s become a Chartered Professional Engineer on the National Engineers Register in Fire Safety and is an accredited Fire Safety Engineer [QLD, NSW & VIC]. Matt specialises in Fire Safety Engineering, Infrastructure Fire Safety, CFD Modelling, Evacuation Assessments, Interim Fire Safety Strategies, Building Code of Australia (BCA) Assessments and has had extensive experience on projects from all sectors.

Matt not only brings a wealth of technical knowledge with him but also has the necessary business experience, having successfully managed the Sydney office as Branch Manager. We have no doubt that Matt will bring his secrets of success to the Melbourne market.

Matt will continue to be supported by the 25+ engineers in our Sydney and Brisbane offices, and our greater international team.

Get in touch to find out more about Holmes and how we can develop fire safety strategies that work best for you.

Another Chartered Professional Engineer joins the Holmes team!

Another Chartered Professional Engineer joins the Holmes team!

It’s an exciting start to the year for Holmes. We’re pleased to announce Erik Carlsson has achieved the status of Chartered Professional Engineer under the Engineers Australia accreditation scheme.

Erik has been part of the Holmes team since 2011. Graduating from Lund University in Sweden, Erik developed his Fire Engineering skills in the Sydney office whilst also assisting our Aotearoa New Zealand offices, as required. After 18 months working in our San Francisco office, he is now back in Australia working with the Sydney team. Erik brings a global mind-set and experience to our team—helping us to think outside the box that the Australian regulatory system can sometimes impose.

We’d like to congratulate Erik, after all his dedicated work over the years—this is a well-deserved achievement to have his competency officially recognised by Engineers Australia. And for Holmes, it’s great to add another Chartered Professional Engineer to our already experienced team, enabling us to deliver even more high quality fire engineering for our clients. Well done Erik on your hard work, it’s a fantastic accolade!