Capital Development Guidelines

Access Security

Access security is the control of entry and exit to a site or facility. To clearly differentiate this meaning from the security of supplies, this document uses the phrase "access security"

Approved Scope of Work

The extent of work approved by the funding authority and constituting the basis on which a Limit of Cost Estimate (Cost Plan C) will be prepared.

Area Schedule

A document summarising all building spaces incorporated in the project.  The area schedule, where possible, should be prepared in accordance with the listing in Appendix D.

Asset

An asset is an item possessing the following characteristics:

• It is a physical item of significant value
• It possesses service potential or future economic benefit
• It has a potential service life longer than one year
• It is controlled by an entity such as a health service or agency
• It originates as a result of a past transaction or event. Such an asset is called a ' non-current physical asset '.

Within this guideline, the terms Element(s) and Sub-element(s) that are the component of an asset are interchangeable with the term Asset(s).

Benchmark measure

The measure described by the hospital benchmarking system for measuring each Functional Unit against a standard.  For example, the Psychiatric Inpatient Unit benchmark is "occupied bed days per annum". Therefore the Benchmark measure is the per annum figure produced.

Building

A roofed enclosed facility, controlled by a Department or Agency. It also includes building plant and equipment, but excludes the equipment and loose furniture required by the building's users for their operations.

A Building is normally defined as a discrete structure, however this may be varied.  If a substantial building was constructed in stages each stage may be treated as a separate ‘building', or multiple smaller buildings of similar vintage and construction may be grouped as a single ‘building'.

Building Fabric

The base of the building that forms the main structural elements of substructure (foundations, stumps, earthworks) and superstructure (columns, floors, staircases, roof, external walls, windows and, external doors and finishes).

Building Services

Assets that provide engineering services within the building footprint, including systems such as air conditioning, lighting, power, water, wastewater, drainage, gas and communications.

Capital Expenditure

Costs incurred in the course of adding to the Service potential of the future economic benefits provided by an Asset as a result of physical additions, improvements or the extension of the useful life of the asset.

Category A

With respect to rotorcraft means multi-engine rotorcraft designed with engine and system isolation features specified in Parts 27/29 of the FARs or equivalent and Flight Manual performance information based on a critical engine failure concept which assures adequate designated surface area and adequate performance capability for continued safe flight in the event of an engine failure.

Category B

With respect to rotorcraft means single-engine or multi-engine rotorcraft which do not fully meet all Category A standards. Category B rotorcraft have no guaranteed stay-up ability in the event of engine failure and an unscheduled landing is assumed.

Compliance Assessment

The extent to which the Element complies with current statutory and other requirements for its current use, including:

• Building Code of Australia
• Disability Discrimination Act
• Workplace Health & Safety Act
• Australian Standards
• Heritage Act Requirements

Specific program and/or agency outcomes (e.g. Hospital accreditation, Aged Care physical and safety certification). Generally these should be specified in the assessment brief.
The extent to which the Element complies with statutory requirements for its current use, including the Building Code of Australia, Disability Discrimination Act, Workplace Health & Safety Act, Australian Standards

Condition Assessment

The physical condition of the Element or Sub-element  being assessed. This assessment includes consideration of the structural integrity, performance or reliability of the Asset against the required standard. The assessment of condition should utilise visual inspections where possible (typical for Functional Units) and where not, utilise historical records such as failure histories and/or local knowledge (typical for underground services).

Confidence Rating

For data captured, an assessment of the accuracy of the data or ‘confidence' in its correctness.

Cost

Is the total expenditure for the planning, design, construction, commissioning, and service delivery of the facility over the life of the facility?

Department

The major sub-division of a building complex, which can be separately, identified as providing accommodation serving a common function or purpose. 

Element

One of the following groups of Assets: Site Works, External Structures, External Services, External Building Fabric, Building Services or a Functional Unit.

Elevated heliport

A heliport that is at least 3m above the surrounding surface.

Emergency and Medical Services (EMS) operations

Operations by organizations established for the purpose of providing the following services with rotorcraft:

• Air ambulance
• Medical retrieval
• Search and rescue

Essential Engineering Services

• Electricity
• Gas
• Water
• Sewerage and drainage
• Communications
• Fire services
• Cooling towers.

External Services  

On site engineering services outside the building footprint. Includes electrical supply, security, stormwater drainage, sewer drainage, water supply - domestic, water supply - fire/hydrants, gas supply, fire protection, lighting, power and communications.

External Structures

Built Assets on site other than buildings. Includes retaining walls, covering structures, sheds, carports, outbuildings, boundary walls, fences and gates.

Facility

A complex of Assets (e.g. a hospital, secure custodial facility, water treatment plant, sporting complex, prison, court, police complex) which represents a single management unit for financial, operational, maintenance or other purposes.

Fair Average Quality Rating 

A rating system of +2 to -2 to describe the degree to which Assets vary from their "required standard".  A rating of "0" indicates the asset is performing at the required standard.  Positive ratings indicate the asset is performing above expectations and negative ratings reflect performance that is below expectations.  A FAQ rating is provided for each of condition, compliance, functional suitability and operational efficiency.

Final Approach and Take Off Area (FATO)

In relation to an HLS, means an area of land or water over which the final phase of the approach to a hover or landing is completed and from which the take off manoeuvre is commenced.

Floor area

The usable floor area for performing the function(s) of the Functional Unit. This in also defined as the Gross Floor Area. See additional definition.

Fully Enclosed Covered Area (FECA) 

The sum of all fully enclosed and covered building areas at all floor levels including: basements (except unexcavated portions), garages, floored roof spaces and attics, penthouses, enclosed porches and attached enclosed covered ways, equipment rooms, lift shafts, vertical ducts, staircases and any other fully enclosed spaces and useable areas of the building. The FECA is computed by measuring from the normal inside face of external walls, ignoring any projections such as plinths, columns or piers. It excludes open courts, light wells, connecting or isolated covered ways and net open areas of upper portions of rooms, lobbies, halls, interstitial spaces etc. which extend through the story being computed.

Function

The primary reason for an items existence.

Functional Suitability Assessment 

The extent to which the size, scale and physical layout of the Element enables quality provision of service to the standard required.
For Functional Units consideration needs to be given to the ability of the elements layout to support the intended function (operating at design capacity).
For Building and Site Infrastructure Elements consideration, needs to be given to the elements ability to support the function intended. Note that the service delivery capacity is not considered here. The adequacy of the size, scale and physical layout can be further defined using appropriate benchmarks (refer to the Benchmarking Guideline).

Functional Unit

The grouping of resources for the provision of specific services or alternatively the principal sub-grouping of the functional components of a Department or Agency.  A detailed listing of the health services Functional Units and a description of their role is provided in Appendix B of this guideline.

Gross Floor Area

The gross floor area of the property, in square metres. It is measured between the inner face of the external walls and includes unenclosed covered areas while excluding the area of external walls. The national standard method of measuring building floor area is: [1]equal to the sum of the Fully Enclosed Covered Area (FECA) and the Unenclosed Covered Area (UCA) as defined.

Helicopter Landing Site (HLS)

Means a place that is suitable for use as an aerodrome for the purposes of landing or taking off of rotorcraft; and, having regard to all the circumstances of the proposed landing or take off, the rotorcraft can land at, or take off from, the place in safety.

Heliport

An aerodrome or a defined area of land, water or a structure used or intended to be used wholly or in part for the arrival, departure and surface movement of rotorcraft.  (The term "Heliport" is an ICAO term)

Landing and lift-off area (LLA)

A load bearing area on which a rotorcraft may touch down or lift off.

Landing Decision Point (LDP)

The point used in determining landing performance from which, a power-unit failure having been recognised at this point, the landing may be safely continued or a baulked landing initiated.

Maintenance

Expenditure on an Asset (whether of a periodic, planned or crisis nature) in accordance with procedures, priorities, standards and service defined in a maintenance manual and which does not substantially improve its service potential or future economic benefits. Such expenditure generally restores the asset to a reasonable as built condition which is necessary for the ongoing safe operation of the asset. Includes preventive, break-down (emergency), corrective and service maintenance, undertaken on a day-day basis, which forms part of the annual operating budget. It does not include the costs associated with rehabilitation works or programs.     

Management Plans

Plans created to describe and direct the management of

the Assets such as operational plans, maintenance plans, risk management plans, condition audits, performance reports etc.

Obstacle

All fixed (whether temporary or permanent) and mobile objects, or parts thereof, that are located on an area intended for the surface movement of rotorcraft or that extend above the defined surface intended to protect the rotorcraft in flight.

One Engine Inoperative (OEI)

Refers to the condition in which the rotorcraft is operated with the critical power unit inoperative.

Operational Efficiency Assessment

The extent to which the Elements provide for cost-efficient provision of services, and allow the staff/users to fulfil their roles.

For Functional Units consideration includes issues such as the number and location of staff, distances of travel and the adequacy and location of storage and support facilities.
For Building and Site Infrastructure Elements consideration needs to be given to the layout of the element and whether significant inefficiencies have developed through such activities as staged developments, additions, changes to usage etc. When assessing site infrastructure consider what would be provided if site infrastructure was replaced assuming existing buildings remain in place.

Performance Class 1

Performance Class 1 operations are those with performance such that, in the event of failure of the critical power-unit, the rotorcraft is able to land within the rejected take-off distance available or safely continue the flight to an appropriate landing area, depending on when the failure occur.

Performance Class 1

An operator shall ensure that rotorcraft operated in Performance Class 1 is certificated in Category A.

An operator shall ensure that the OEI take-off flight path clears significant obstacles by a vertical margin of not less than 35ft in VFR.

Performance Class 2

Performance Class 2 operations are those operations such that, in the event of critical power-unit failure, performance is available to enable the rotorcraft to safely continue the flight, except when the failure occurs early during the take-off manoeuvre or late in the landing manoeuvre, in which cases a forced landing may be required.

Performance Class 2

An operator shall ensure that rotorcraft operated in Performance Class 2 is certificated in Category A.

An operator shall ensure that the OEI take-off flight path clears significant obstacles by a vertical distance of not less than 35ft in VFR.

Performance Class 3

Performance Class 3 operations are those operations such that, in the event of a power-unit failure at any time during the flight, a forced landing may be required in a multi-engine rotorcraft but will be required in a single engine rotorcraft.

Performance Class 3

An operator shall ensure that rotorcraft operated in Performance Class 3 are certificated in either Category A or B.

Planned Maintenance

It comprises three types:      

• 1. Periodic: that necessary to ensure the reliability or sustain the design life of Assets. Generally this category of maintenance is programmed be carried out within a specific period. Some items plant and equipment have statutory requirements with severe penalties applying for non-compliance, (i.e. lifts cranes air filters cooling towers etc).
• 2. Predictive: enacted by condition monitoring (surveillance) activities that indicate or predict failure.
• 3. Preventive: maintenance that can be initiated without continuous monitoring (e.g. using information contained in maintenance or manufacturers recommendations). Such maintenance is not condition based. Preventive Maintenance is the programmed action(s) performed to retain an item in a specified condition by providing a systematic inspection, detection and prevention of incipient failure.

Planning Unit

A grouping of Functional Units for planning purposes. For Health Services these planning units are inpatient, administration, clinical, day areas, education and research, miscellaneous child care/community health, commercial, general support, plant and travel and discretionary units.

Redundancy of Supplies

The provision within the system design of alternative sources of utility services, capable of meeting the requirements, for example:

Additional grid electricity feeders, and Access to an alternative tapping point or second water main.

Emergency generators are generally designed for essential loads only. They should not be considered within the calculation of redundancy if they are not capable of powering the total hospital load.

Refurbishment

Modification works (rebuild, replacement of parts or components) carried out on a built Asset to restore it to an acceptable condition. Some refurbishment works do not necessarily extend the life of an asset but are necessary for the planned life to be achieved. These works are not characterised as a significant upgrade or renewal (i.e. the heavy patching of roads, slip lining of sewer mains).

Works undertaken on an asset, or a component of an asset, which sustain it at a specified functional and physical standard and condition level. Renewal includes the replacement of the original asset when that is the most cost-effective means of sustaining its functionality.

Notes: Renewal is distinct from maintenance, repair, restoration, reconstruction, upgrade, rehabilitation or renovation. While these terms may overlap in meaning with renewal, they are unsuitable for renewal investment modelling. Also, renewal does not include any works associated with new initiatives (i.e. those providing for different types of service outputs or increased quantities of existing service outputs) but can include works required to sustain existing services at higher regulatory (e.g. disabled access), safety (e.g. surveillance), environmental (e.g. ESD), work place (e.g. staff facilities), amenity (e.g. better lighting) or effectiveness (e.g. reduced class size) standards.

Reliability of Supplies

Refers to the predictability and consistency of the delivery of the engineering services.  This does not of itself prescribe supplies without failure but supplies where the number and circumstances of the failures are known and are predictable.

Reliability is also used as a measure of system performance prescribed by such things as time between failures.  This meaning is quite specific and is not considered further in this paper.

Required standard

A level of quality that Assets is to be maintained to, for each of condition, compliance, operational efficiency and functional suitability. For example, surgical theatres require higher and different standards to be maintained than a storage shed. The use of required standards allows the effective distribution of available funds.

Safe forced landing

Unavoidable landing or ditching with a reasonable expectancy of no injuries to persons in the rotorcraft or on the surface.

Safety Area

A defined area on a heliport surrounding the FATO that is free of obstacles, other than those required for air navigation purposes, and intended to reduce the risk of damage to helicopters accidentally diverging from the FATO.

Security of Supplies

This term describes the system characteristics or design that guard against a failure in the supply of engineering services to the site.  This characteristic could be achieved by a number of means such as:

• Redundant supplies
• Use of ring mains for the distribution of services within the facility
• Connection to a source and supply system with minimum risk of failure, e.g. Underground feeders from a secure grid
• A control system with ‘seamless' switching to alternative supplies.

Service Potential 

Refers to an Asset means its future economic benefit or economic utility (i.e. its capacity for delivering an economic service delivery output) to an entity, based on the total benefit expected to be derived by the entity from use (and/or through sale) of the asset. Gross Service Potential means the total benefit expected to be derived when the asset was first acquired, and also the benefit from any subsequent upgrading.

A measure of an asset's ability at any point in its life to contribute to the delivery of a service. The term 'potential' is used because the asset itself does not provide the service - it only contributes to the delivery of the services. Also, the capacity of the asset to support the delivery of services may not be fully utilised. Service potential is also referred to as future economic benefit.

Services

Includes all infrastructure associated with the delivery of the following products and is generally contained within the Site or reticulated within a Building: electrical supply, security, stormwater drainage, sewer drainage, water supply - domestic, water supply - fire / hydrants, gas supply, fire protection, lighting, power and communications. Services included within a site include External Services and Building Services.

Services

When unqualified this term is used to describe the health and community care services provided by the DHS facilities to the community.

Significant obstacle

Any natural terrain feature or fixed (whether temporary or permanent) or mobile object, or parts thereof, which has vertical significance in relation to adjacent or surrounding features and which is considered a potential hazard to the safe passage of rotorcraft for a particular type of rotorcraft operation.

Site

The physical land upon which the facility is located. This may involve one or more separate parcels of land.

Site Infrastructure

All physical Assets on a site, including Site Works, External Services, External Structures, but excluding all assets within the building footprints.

Site Works

Generally aboveground Assets constructed to support the functions performed by the buildings. Includes carparking, roads, pathways, paved areas and landscaping. These assets are located on the site or parcel(s) of land owned, used or controlled by a Division or Region of DHS.

Sub-element

An Asset type that forms part of one of the Elements. For example the sewer system is a sub-element of the External Services element. Sub-elements are used when more detailed knowledge is desired about a particular Element.

Take-off decision point (TDP)

The point used in determining take-off performance from which, a power unit failure having been recognised at this point, either a rejected take-off may be made or a take-off safely continued.

Terrain

Surface of the earth containing naturally occurring relief features such as mountains, hills, ridges, valleys, etc.

Total End Cost (TEC)

The anticipated total project commitment which is not necessarily the final project expenditure but is the upper limit and comprises:

• Site acquisition and servicing costs (includes purchase costs, Statutory Authority fees and charges and other site specific items such as extraordinary foundation works, SEC substation and so on)
• Base cost
• Contract contingency
• Time contingency (includes budget allowance for escalation to tender, rise and fall, prolongation and dollar variations for major imported items). The tender date(s) and overall construction period should be stated and the basis for escalation, rise and fall and $Australian relativity
• Industrial contingency.

Unenclosed Covered Area (UCA)

The sum of all such areas at all building floor levels, including roofed balconies, open verandahs, porches and porticos, attached open covered ways alongside buildings, undercrofts and useable space under buildings, unenclosed access galleries (including ground floor) and any other trafficable covered areas of the building which are not totally enclosed by full height walls. The UCA is computed by measuring the area between the enclosing inside face of any enclosing walls, balustrades or supports but excludes connecting or isolated covered ways and eaves, overhangs, sun shading or awnings, unless they relate to clearly defined trafficable covered areas.

Unit Rate

A rate provided by CMB that describes the relative value of an Asset for planning purposes.  Unit rates approximate replacement values but are not to be used as such.

Useable Floor Area (UFA)

For the Department purposes common use areas for departmental occupants are not excluded, that is staff toilets, rest rooms, cleaners' rooms and so on shall be allocated to departments.

Utilisation

The ratio of the level of usage of the service to the current capacity expressed as a percentage.

Value

Of a facility is an estimate of the usefulness to the users in delivering services.

Value can be improved by the following:

• Genuine reductions in cost:
• - Delete high cost features and replacing with lower cost options, whilst maintaining the ability to meet the Brief's requirements
• - Use alternative methods of providing functions
• - Combine functions in a facility.
• Add functions to increase value (functionality/productivity).