Our first stop is Melbourne on our tour of BSE, this time to chat with Nithin.
Nithin has been a joyful part of TeamBSE for over 2 years, bringing a consistency and innovative approach to project delivery, while embodying our commitment to True Partnership. A mechanical engineer, with a consultative approach that prioritises coordinated design for buildability.
Q&A –
1. What excites you about your area of engineering?
Sustainability – being able to develop and design solutions which have a practical impact on the environment and well-being of our future generations.
Considering up to fifty percent of the building load is typically consumed by HVAC equipment, improving the efficiency of the system will have a significant impact on the peak demand and overall maintenance costs.
2. How do services engineers add value to projects?
Electrical and mechanical services are my personal favourites (if I’m allowed to say that). These services have such a direct and immediate impact on the comfort levels of everyone who use the space.
Generally, projects who engage quality services engineers for full design, get personalised results which meets their design intent and purpose of the space. When projects use a more D&C model, there is the risk that this level of detail and customisation gets missed. Engaging engineers early in the process ensures the client is involved with the design at every step, and the final design is well coordinated with other consultants. This in turn minimises the design changes required during construction and ensures the original client requirements are not compromised in the final product
3. Did you choose the property/ construction industry as an intentional career choice, or did it choose you?
It chose me! Building services wasn’t something I was even aware of, apart from HVAC so I didn’t realise the importance of it until I started working in the area.
During my first graduate job after completing university, I got the opportunity to be involved with the design all four major services for a variety of projects which really strengthened my understanding of this field of Engineering. Visiting the site after completion of construction and seeing the designs come to reality was rewarding in itself, however I also realised the importance of services and the impact it can have on the occupants. In my opinion, like so many “invisible” things, if you walk into a building and you don’t notice the lighting or air flow or room temperatures, then you know the system is working as designed. Broadly, the sector has the potential to have such a positive impact on sustainability, it’s a great industry to be part of and such a huge part of our economy (particularly powering through COVID).
To end on a lighter note, we’re asking all our team the most controversial question of recent time:
4. Pineapple on pizza?
No. I don’t think it needs any further explanation