ABSTRACT

All Buildings have some form of mechanical and electrical services in order to provide the facilities necessary for maintaining a comfortable working environment. These services have to be controlled by some means to ensure, for example, that there is adequate hot water for sinks, that the hot water in the radiators is sufficient to keep an occupied space warm, that heating with ventilation and possibly cooling is provided to ensure comfort conditions wherever, irrespective of the number of occupants or individual preferences. Basic controls take the form of manual switching, time clocks or temperature switches that provide the on and off signals for enabling pumps, fans or valves etc. The purpose of a Building Management System (BMS) is to automate and take control of these operations in the most efficient way possible for the occupiers/business, within the constraints of the installed plant.

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1

BACKGROUND

a) High Rise Building The high-rise building is generally considered as one that is taller than the maximum height which people are willing to walk up; it thus requires mechanical vertical transportation (elevator). This includes a rather limited range of building uses, primarily residential apartments, hotels, and office buildings, though occasionally including retail and educational facilities. High-rise building is defined as a building 35 meters or greater in height, which is divided at regular intervals into occupiable levels. To be considered a high-rise building a structure must be based on solid ground, and fabricated along its full height through deliberate processes (as opposed to naturally-occurring formations). A high-rise building is distinguished from other tall man-made structures by the following guidelines:

1. It must be divided into multiple levels of at least 2 meters height 2. If it has fewer than 12 such internal levels, then the highest undivided portion must not exceed 50% of total height 3. Indistinct divisions of levels such as stairways shall not be considered floors for purposes of eligibility in this definition. Any method of structural support, which is consistent with this definition, is allowable, whether masonry, concrete, or metal frame. In the few cases where such a building is not structurally self-supporting (e.g. resting on a slope or braced against a cliff), it may still be considered a high-rise building but is not eligible for any height records unless the record stipulates inclusion of this type. b) Majlis Perbandaran Kluang The view is located in the heart of Johor Darul Ta'zim, surrounded by all the provinces, except for Muar. Kluang area is 2, 8518.8 square kilometers. Council administrative area of 126.57 square kilometers. View accessible from the other cities through a network of roads and railways The year 1915 was a historic year for the view. In that year, the administrative centre was established for the central region of Johor. The same year also connect Kluang railway communication with other major cities were built. Kluang Municipal Council (Majlis Perbandaran Kluang) is authorized by the Local Government Act 1976 (Act 171) and several other acts in connection with the By-Laws to perform the functions and duties. Its history as local authorities began in 1920 when the Town Board opened view. Kluang Town Board has been upgraded to the Town Council in 1957 Kluang, Kluang District Council of the North in 1977 and subsequently declared Kluang Municipal Council on May

With the height of 6 floors including 2 basements, it surely show how high-rise building for our mechanical and electrical project. In this building, every floor is given their own level of office from admin to their worker workplace. Install for easier access the building are a good place to inspect their facilities function throughout.

1.2

OBJECTIVE OF STUDY

a. To identify how the M&E system operating in the high rise building b. To generate our knowledge about the types M&E systems c. To design a new building included M&E systems 1.3 SCOPE OF STUDY a. Mechanical systems b. Electrical systems c. Building transportation d. Fire safety systems

CHAPTER 2

MECHANICAL SYSTEM

2.1 INTRODUCTION

The main purposes of mechanical systems are to provide thermal comfort and to maintain good indoor air quality (IAQ). These conditions are essential for a quality, highperformance building. Mechanical systems are also one of the largest energy consumers in buildings, and relatively small improvements in design or equipment selection can mean large long-term savings in energy expenditures over the life cycle of the system.

The choice and design of mechanical systems can affect many other high-performance goals as well. Water-cooled air conditioning equipment is generally more efficient than air-cooled equipment, but it increases water consumption and maintenance. Mechanical systems are also the major source of outside air ventilation in most buildings, making their operation and maintenance mission critical for IAQ. The acoustic environment of building spaces can be adversely affected by noise created by the movement of air through ducts and air diffusers, and from the operation of mechanical equipment. Proper design, installation, and operation of mechanical systems and controls minimize these potential impacts.

a. Integrated Design

To achieve a high-performance design, it is very important to integrate the mechanical systems with the building envelope, lighting system, and other equipment. Integrated design creates opportunities for greater comfort, lower first costs, easier equipment maintenance, and lower operating costs. It is sometimes difficult to recognize integrated design opportunities. Electrical, mechanical, and envelope systems are designed and specified by different disciplines and communications between the disciplines is limited. It is critically important to understand and define the project goals during pre-design and to establish a process of effective communication between design disciplines. It is equally important that the mechanical system designer participate in making early architectural design decisions. An extra investment in up-front design can easily pay for itself in improved efficiency and may also lead to reduced construction cost.

The interactions between systems may be obvious or they may be subtle. Some of the ways in which high performance can be achieved through integrated design are: Selection of light-colored finishes for systems furniture can reduce the lighting power required to achieve a certain luminance level by as much as 25%, resulting in reduced cooling load and downsized air systems. Under-floor air distribution allows flexibility for renovations and access for future power and communication needs. Under-floor systems require significant architectural coordination. Attention to the radiant temperature of surfaces through careful envelope design reduces heating and cooling energy requirements. This is especially true of windows, where an extra investment in window performance may eliminate the need for a separate perimeter heating system in some cases. Using a central heating and chilled water plant opens opportunities for solar thermal or geo-exchange sources for heating or cooling and permits consideration of thermal energy storage for managing peak electric demand.
6

 Integration of mechanical system controls and lighting occupancy sensor controls can reduce operating costs for both systems. Careful attention to shading, the locations of windows, glazing types, placement and type of landscaping, roof colors, building thermal mass, and enhanced natural ventilation may eliminate the need for cooling for some buildings in many parts of the United States. Natural ventilation can eliminate the need for ductwork, allowing higher ceilings and more opportunities for day lighting. Supply air temperature affects the airflow required for cooling or heating which in turn affects duct size and the space required for ducts. Advantages are smaller ducts, potentially higher ceilings or reduced floor-to-floor height, and better moisture control. 2.2 MECHANICAL SERVICES IN THE BULDING

a. HVAC (heating, ventilating, air-conditioning) General HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) is the technology of indoor and vehicular environmental comfort. HVAC system design is a sub discipline of mechanical engineering, based on the principles of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer. Refrigeration is sometimes added to the field's abbreviation as HVAC&R or HVACR, or ventilating is dropped as in HACR

HVAC is important in the design of medium to large industrial and office buildings such as skyscrapers and in marine environments such as aquariums, where safe and healthy building conditions are regulated with respect to temperature and humidity, using fresh air from outdoors.

 Ventilation

Ventilation is the process of changing or replacing air in any space to control temperature or remove any combination of moisture, odors, smoke, heat, dust, airborne bacteria, or carbon dioxide, and to replenish oxygen. Ventilation includes both the exchange of air with the outside as well as circulation of air within the building. It is one of the most important factors for maintaining acceptable indoor air quality in buildings. Methods for ventilating a building may be divided into mechanical/forced and natural types. But for this building, it has used mechanical ventilation system. o Mechanical ventilation system

"Mechanical" or "forced" ventilation is provided by an air handler and used to control indoor air quality. Excess humidity, odors, and contaminants can often be controlled via dilution or replacement with outside air. However, in humid climates much energy is required to remove excess moisture from ventilation air.

An air handler, or air handling unit is a device used to condition and circulate air as part of a heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system. An air handler is usually a large metal box containing a blower, heating or cooling elements filter racks or chambers, sound attenuators, and dampers. Air handlers usually connect to a ductwork ventilation system that distributes the conditioned air through the building and returns it to the AHU. Sometimes AHUs discharge (supply) and admit (return) air directly to and from the space served without ductwork. An air handler designed for outdoor use, typically on roofs, is known as a packaged unit (PU) or rooftop unit (RTU).

Parts of air handling unit (AHU)

Part of Roof Top Unit (RTU)

Ductwork ventilation system

Building exhaust systems

10

 Air-conditioning

Air conditioning and refrigeration are provided through the removal of heat. Heat can be removed through radiation, convection, or conduction. Refrigeration conduction media such as water, air, ice, and chemicals are referred to as refrigerants. A refrigerant is employed either in a heat pump system in which a compressor is used to drive thermodynamic refrigeration cycle, or in a free cooling system which uses pumps to circulate a cool refrigerant (typically water or a glycol mix).

Free cooling systems can have very high efficiencies, and are sometimes combined with seasonal thermal energy storage so the cold of winter can be used for summer air conditioning. Common storage mediums are deep aquifers or a natural underground rock mass accessed via a cluster of small-diameter, heat exchanger equipped boreholes. Some systems with small storages are hybrids, using free cooling early in the cooling season, and later employing a heat pump to chill the circulation coming from the storage. The heat pump is added-in because the storage acts as a heat sink when the system is in cooling (as opposed to charging) mode, causing the temperature to gradually increase during the cooling season.

Air conditioning condenser

11

Air conditioning systems in the building

b. Plumbing systems For plumbing purposes, the term multi-storey is applied to buildings that are too tall to be supplied throughout by the normal pressure in the public water mains. These buildings have particular needs in the design of their sanitary drainage and venting systems. Water main supply pressures of 812 metres can supply a typical two-storey building, but higher buildings may need pressure booster systems

Pressure-boosting systems can be of several different types:

Pumping from a ground level or basement gravity tank to a gravity roof tank; Pumping from a gravity storage tank or public water main into a hydropneumatic pressure tank that uses captive air pressure to provide adequate drinking-water supply pressure;

Installation of booster pump sets consisting of multiple staged pumps or variable speed pumps that draw water directly from a gravity storage tank or the public water main. Multistage booster pump sets typically include discharge pressure regulating valves to maintain a constant drinking-water supply pressure.
12

Booster pump i. Waters supply Many variables must be considered during the engineering of domestic water system for a high rise building. Apart from providing sufficient pressure to deliver cold water or hot water to the upper floor is very important in water supply design. For a high rise building, there is always insufficient main pressure to supply water directly to upper floors. Boosting by pump from a break tank is therefore usually necessary and several more of these tanks may be required as building rises, depending on the pump capacity

Schematic diagram for water supply in high rise building

13

Suction tank at the ground level 1. Cold water supply and storage With the advent of high rise buildings, it is essential to ensure that the main water services are sufficiently pressurized to overcome the static height so as to supply water at a reasonable pressure to the highest drawn-off point in the building, which is always the valve ball in a roof-level storage tank. As a rule of thumb, cold water storage should be taken via a ground storage tank to intermediate storage tanks.

Schematic diagram for cold water supply and fire sprinkler

14

Storage tank at the roof top

2. Water supply for sprinkler

For automatic sprinklers to operate there must be supply of water to the sprinkler that open extinguish of control the fire. Pressure tanks are pressurized water reservoirs used to supply limited amount of water for building sprinkler system. Each tank is located above the highest sprinkler heads. When the public pressure is too low to supply water to sprinklers on the upper high rise floors, the pressure tanks are used until water can be pumped into the sprinkler system through the connection department.

15

Water storage tank for fire sprinkler

ii. Drainage system

All the piping within the private and public premises which conveys sewage, rainwater and other liquid waste to a point of disposal. A drainage system does not include the mains of public sewer systems or a private or a public sewage treatment or disposal plant.

16

1. STACK A general term used for any vertical line of waste or vent piping.

2. SOIL PIPE A pipe that conveys the discharge of water closets or similar fixtures containing fecal matter, with or without the discharge of other fixtures to the building drain or building sewer.

3. WASTE PIPE A pipe that conveys liquid waste. A waste pipe is generally smaller than a soil pipe because of the nature of matter being discharged into the system.

4. BRANCH The any part of the piping system other than the main, riser or stack.

5. BUILDING DRAIN That is the lowest horizontal piping of a plumbing system which receives the discharge from waste and other drainage pipes inside a building and conveys it to the building sewer.

6. BUILDING/HOUSE SEWER That part of the drainage system that extends from the end of the building drain and conveys its discharge to the public sewer, private sewer, individual sewage disposal system, or other appropriate point of disposal.

17

How the sanitary drainage systems work

Sanitary drainage systems in the building

18

iii. Sanitary disposal

In the days when waste was collected without preliminary sorting on site, waste chutes were frequently installed in residential and administrative buildings, as well as in high-rise buildings. Such waste chutes are not advisable in taller buildings due to the associated greater height of fall for paper or plastic bags tear open as they fall and considerable noise is generated by the waste as it falls and collides with the walls and bottom of the chute.

1. Sewage treatment

Sewage treatment is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoffs domestic and commercial. It includes physical, chemical, and biological processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants. Its objective is to produce an environmentally safe fluid waste stream and a solid waste suitable for disposal.

19

Sewage treatment plant

2. Waste disposal

Waste disposal is the collection, transport, processing or disposal, managing and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics. Waste disposal is a distinct practice from resource recovery which focuses on delaying the rate of consumption of natural resources.

20

CHAPTER 3

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

2.0 INTRODUCTION An electric power system is a network of electrical components used to supply, transmit and use electric power. An example of an electric power system is the network that supplies a region's homes and industry with power - for sizable regions, this power system is known as the grid and can be broadly divided into the generators that supply the power, the transmission system that carries the power from the generating centers to the load centers and the distribution system that feeds the power to nearby homes and industries. Smaller power systems are also found in industry, hospitals, commercial buildings and homes. The majority of these systems rely upon three-phase AC power - the standard for large-scale power transmission and distribution across the modern world. Specialized power systems that do not always rely upon three-phase AC power are found in aircraft, electric rail systems, ocean liners and automobiles. a) Components of electric power systems: i. Supplies All power systems have one or more sources of power. For some power systems, the source of power is external to the system but for others it is part of the system itself - it is these internal power sources that are discussed in the remainder of this section. Direct current power can be supplied by batteries, fuel cells or photovoltaic cells. Alternating current power is typically supplied by a rotor that spins in a magnetic field in a device known as a turbo generator. There have been a wide range of techniques used to spin a
21

turbine's rotor, from steam heated using fossil fuel (including coal, gas and oil) or nuclear energy, falling water (hydroelectric power) and wind (wind power). ii. Loads Power systems deliver energy to loads that perform a function. These loads range from household appliances to industrial machinery. Most loads expect a certain voltage and, for alternating current devices, a certain frequency and number of phases. The appliances found in your home, for example, will typically be single-phase operating at 50 or 60 Hz with a voltage between 110 and 260 volts (depending on national standards). An exception exists for centralized air conditioning systems as these are now typically threephase because this allows them to operate more efficiently. All devices in your house will also have wattage; this specifies the amount of power the device consumes. At any one time, the net amount of power consumed by the loads on a power system must equal the net amount of power produced by the supplies less the power lost in transmission. iii. Conductors Conductors carry power from the generators to the load. In a grid, conductors may be classified as belonging to the transmission system, which carries large amounts of power at high voltages (typically more than 50 kV) from the generating centers to the load centers, or the distribution system, which feeds smaller amounts of power at lower voltages (typically less than 50 kV) from the load centers to nearby homes and industry. iv. Capacitors and Reactors Reactors consume reactive power and are used to regulate voltage on long transmission lines. In light load conditions, where the loading on transmission lines is well below the surge impedance loading, the efficiency of the power system may actually be improved by switching in reactors. Reactors installed in series in a power system also limit rushes of current flow, small reactors are therefore almost always installed in series with capacitors to limit the current rush associated with switching in a capacitor. Series reactors can also be used to limit fault currents.

22

v. Power electronics Power electronics are semi-conductor based devices that are able to switch quantities of power ranging from a few hundred watts to several hundred megawatts. Despite their relatively simple function, their speed of operation (typically in the order of nanoseconds means they are capable of a wide range of tasks that would be difficult or impossible with conventional technology. The classic function of power electronics is rectification, or the conversion of AC-to-DC power, power electronics are therefore found in almost every digital device that is supplied from an AC source either as an adapter that plugs into the wall or as component internal to the device. Power electronics are also essential for any power source that is required to produce an AC output but that by its nature produces a DC output. They are therefore used by many photovoltaic installations both industrial and residential. vi. Protective devices Power systems contain protective devices to prevent injury or damage during failures. The quintessential protective device is the fuse. When the current through a fuse exceeds a certain threshold, the fuse element melts, producing an arc across the resulting gap that is then extinguished, interrupting the circuit. Given that fuses can be built as the weak point of a system, fuses are ideal for protecting circuitry from damage. Fuses however have two problems: First, after they have functioned, fuses must be replaced as they cannot be reset. This can prove inconvenient if the fuse is at a remote site or a spare fuse is not on hand. And second, fuses are typically inadequate as the sole safety device in most power systems as they allow current flows well in excess of that that would prove lethal to a human or animal.

23

b) Electrical power

Sub switchboard i. Standby power system Standby power is electrical power used by appliances and equipment while switched off or not performing their primary function, often waiting to be activated by a remote controller. That power is consumed by internal or external power supplies, remote control receivers, text or light displays, circuits energized when the device is plugged in even when switched off, etc. Power can be saved by disconnecting such devices, causing at worst only inconvenience. While this definition is inadequate for technical purposes, there is as yet no formal definition; an international standards committee is developing a definition and test procedure. The term is often used more loosely for any device that continuously must use a small amount of power even when not active; for example a telephone answering machine must be available at all times to receive calls, switching off to save power is not an option.
24

Timers, powered thermostats, and the like are other examples. An uninterruptible power supply could be considered to be wasting standby power only when the computer it protects is off. Disconnecting standby power proper is at worst inconvenient; powering down completely, for example an answering machine not dealing with a call, renders it useless. Advantages and disadvantages standby power system Advantages It may enable a device to switch on very quickly without delays that might otherwise occur ("instant-on"). This was used, for example, with CRT television receivers (now largely supplanted by thin solid-state screens), where a small current was passed through the tube heater, avoiding a delay of many seconds in starting up. It may be used to power a remote control receiver, so that when infrared or radiofrequency signals are sent by a remote control device, the equipment is able to respond, typically by changing from standby to fully on mode. Standby power may be used to power a display, operate a clock, etc., without switching on the equipment to full power. Battery-powered equipment connected to mains electricity can be kept fully charged although switched on; for example, a mobile telephone can be ready to receive calls without depleting its battery charge. Disadvantages Devices on standby consume electricity which must be paid for. The total energy consumed may be of the order of 10% of the electrical energy used by a typical household, as discussed below. The cost of standby energy is easily estimated each watt of continuous standby consumes about 9kWh of electricity per year, and the price per kWh is shown on electricity bills. Electricity is very often generated by combustion of hydrocarbons (oil, coal, gas) or other substances, which releases substantial amounts of carbon dioxide, implicated in global warming, and other pollutants such as sulphur dioxide, which produces acid rain. Standby power is a significant contributor to electricity usage.

25

As electricity consumption increases, more power stations are needed, with associated capital and running costs.

ii. Emergency power system An emergency power system is a standby generator which may include lighting, electric generators, fuel cells, uninterruptible power supply and other apparatus, to provide backup power resources in a crisis or when regular systems fail. They find uses in a wide variety of settings from residential homes to hospitals, scientific laboratories, data centers, telecommunication equipment and modern naval ships. Emergency power systems can rely on generators, deep cycle batteries, flywheel energy storage or hydrogen fuel cells. Finally, some homebrew emergency power systems use regular lead-acid car batteries.

Emergency power generator Operation in buildings for emergency power system Mains power can be lost due to downed lines, malfunctions at a sub-station, inclement weather, planned blackouts or in extreme cases a grid-wide failure. In modern buildings, most emergency power systems have been and are still based on generators. Usually, these generators are Diesel engine driven, although smaller buildings may use a gasoline engine driven generator and larger ones a gas turbine. However, lately, more use is being made of deep cycle batteries and other technologies such as flywheel energy storage or fuel cells. These latter systems do not produce polluting gases, thereby allowing the placement to be
26

done within the building. Also, as a second advantage, they do not require a separate shed to be built for fuel storage. With regular generators, an automatic transfer switch is used to connect emergency power. One side is connected to both the normal power feed and the emergency power feed; and the other side is connected to the load designated as emergency. If no electricity comes in on the normal side, the transfer switch uses a solenoid to throw a triple pole, single throw switch. This switches the feed from normal to emergency power. The loss of normal power also triggers a battery operated starter system to start the generator, similar to using a car battery to start an engine. Once the transfer switch is switched and the generator starts, the building's emergency power comes back on (after going off when normal power was lost.) Unlike emergency lights, emergency lighting is not a type of light fixture; it is a pattern of the building's normal lights that provides a path of lights to allow for safe exit, or lights up service areas such as mechanical rooms and electric rooms. Exit signs, Fire alarm systems (that are not on back up batteries) and the electric motor pumps for the fire sprinklers are almost always on emergency power. Other equipment on emergency power may include smoke isolation dampers, smoke evacuation fans, elevators, handicap doors and outlets in service areas. Hospitals use emergency power outlets to power life support systems and monitoring equipment. Some buildings may even use emergency power as part of normal operations, such as a theater using it to power show equipment because "the show must go on."

Metering panel
27

iii. Electric power distribution

Main electric switch board Electricity distribution is the final stage in the delivery of electricity to end users. A distribution system's network carries electricity from the transmission system and delivers it to consumers. Typically, the network would include medium-voltage (2kV to 34.5kV)[1] power lines, substations and pole-mounted transformers, low-voltage (less than 1 kV) distribution wiring and sometimes meters. In the early days of electricity distribution, direct current (DC) generators were connected to loads at the same voltage. The generation, transmission and loads had to be of the same voltage because there was no way of changing DC voltage levels, other than inefficient motor-generator sets. Low DC voltages (around 100 volts) were used since that was a practical voltage for incandescent lamps, which were the primary electrical load. Low voltage also required less insulation for safe distribution within buildings. The loss in a cable is proportional to the square of the current, and the resistance of the cable. A higher transmission voltage would reduce the copper size to transmit a given quantity of power, but no efficient method existed to change the voltage of DC power circuits. To keep losses to an economically practical level the Edison DC system needed thick cables and local generators. Early DC generating plants needed to be within about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of the farthest customer to avoid excessively large and expensive conductors.

28

c) Lighting

Lighting system in the building Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve a practical or aesthetic effect. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight. Day lighting (using windows, skylights, or light shelves) is sometimes used as the main source of light during daytime in buildings. This can save energy in place of using artificial lighting, which represents a major component of energy consumption in buildings. Proper lighting can enhance task performance, improve the appearance of an area, or have positive psychological effects on occupants. i. Interior Lighting Interior Lighting Controls Interior lighting is one of the largest electricity energy end-uses in many commercial buildings. And controls can have a significant effect on their total use. Interior lighting controls give occupants control over the electric lighting in a space, and can be used to manage building lighting automatically. Effectively controlling the space lighting results not only in occupant comfort, but also in energy savings. Efficient lamps and light fixtures reduce the total installed lighting power, whereas controls generally reduce the amount of lighting used or the amount of time for which lighting is used. Lighting controls can be classified as those required across the entire building and those that must be applied space by space. The following sections describe the interior lighting controls required by building energy codes and standards.

29

ii. Exterior Lighting Exterior lighting includes lighting installed in parking lots, parking garages, building faades, walkways, entries, exits, canopies, and building grounds. Energy codes attempt to control exterior lighting consumption by regulating both the installed lighting power and the time for which the lights can be on. Each category of exterior lighting has specific limits on the power that can be installed. Similarly, separate control strategies are specified for the different categories of exterior lighting. iii. Emergency Lighting An emergency light is a battery-backed lighting device that comes on automatically when a building experiences a power outage. Emergency lights are standard in new commercial and high occupancy residential buildings, such as college dormitories. Most building codes require that they be installed in older buildings as well. By the nature of the device, an emergency light is designed to come on when the power goes out. Every model, therefore, requires some sort of a battery or generator system that could provide electricity to the lights during a blackout. The earliest models were incandescent light bulbs which could dimly light an area during a blackout and perhaps provide enough light to solve the power problem or evacuate the building. It was quickly realized, however, that a more focused, brighter, and longer-lasting light was needed. The modern emergency floodlight provides a high-lumen, wide-coverage light that can illuminate an area quite well. Some lights are halogen, and provide a light source and intensity similar to that of an automobile headlight.

30

d) Auxiliary or support system

Main hub for telephone system

i. Telephone A telephone, or phone, is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are not in the same vicinity of each other to be heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into electronic signals suitable for transmission via cables or other transmission media over long distances, and replays such signals simultaneously in audible form to its user. The word telephone has been adapted into the vocabulary of many languages. First patented in 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell and further developed by many others, the telephone was the first device in history that enabled people to talk directly with each other across large distances. Telephones became rapidly indispensable to businesses, government, and households, and are today some of the most widely used small appliances. A landline telephone is connected by a pair of wires to the telephone network, while a mobile phone, such as a cellular phone, is portable and communicates with the telephone network by radio transmissions. A cordless telephone has a portable handset which communicates by radio transmission with the handset base station which is connected by wire to the telephone network.

31

Although originally designed for simple voice communications, most modern telephones have many additional capabilities. They may be able to record spoken messages, send and receive text messages, take and display photographs or video, play music, and surf the Internet. A current trend is phones that integrate all mobile communication and computing needs; these are called smartphones. ii. Signal

Signal processing on the top of the roof A signal as referred to in communication systems, signal processing, and electrical engineering "is a function that conveys information about the behavior or attributes of some phenomenon". In the physical world, any quantity exhibiting variation in time or variation in space (such as an image) is potentially a signal that might provide information on the status of a physical system, or convey a message between observers, among other possibilities. For example, in information theory, a signal is a codified message, that is, the sequence of states in a communication channel that encodes a message. In the context of signal processing, arbitrary binary data streams are not considered as signals, but only analog and digital signals that are representations of analog physical quantities. In a communication system, a transmitter encodes a message into a signal, which is carried to a receiver by the communications channel. For example, the words "Mary had a little lamb" might be the message spoken into a telephone. The telephone transmitter converts the sounds

32

into an electrical voltage signal. The signal is transmitted to the receiving telephone by wires; and at the receiver it is reconverted into sounds. In telephone networks, signaling, for example common-channel signaling refers to phone number and other digital control information rather than the actual voice signal.

iii. Data

Wireless networking Data are values of qualitative or quantitative variables that belong to a set. Data in computing (or data processing) are represented in a structure that is often tabular (represented by rows and columns) a tree (a set of nodes with parent-children relationship) or a graph (a set of connected nodes). Data are typically the results of measurements and can be visualized using graphs or images. Data as an abstract concept can be viewed as the lowest level of abstraction, wherefrom information and then knowledge are derived. It is people and computers who collect data and impose patterns on it. These patterns are seen as information which can be used to enhance knowledge. These patterns can be interpreted as truth, and are authorized as aesthetic and ethical criteria. Events that leave behind perceivable physical or virtual remains can be traced back through data. Marks are no longer considered data once the link between

33

CHAPTER 4

FIRE SAFETY SYSTEMS

4.1

INTRODUCTION In many construction projects, coordination between the client, the designer and contractor is lacking, resulting in miscommunication of vital information that could affect safety and health risks in the project. To ensure continuity in information flow, the client should appoint a suitably qualified Project Safety and Health Coordinator. The Project Safety and Health Coordinator should follow through with the project from the design stage, to the construction stage until the handover to the client for maintenance. As such, the Project Safety and Health Coordinator should be on-board the team as early as the concept design stage so as to facilitate the design review

4.2

DUTIES OF THE PROJECT SAFETY AND HEALTH COORDINATOR The duty of the Project Safety and Health Coordinator is to: Facilitate the process to involve all stakeholders to review the design and mitigate the risks; Maintain records of safety and health issues arising from the Design Review Process and actions taken; and Ensure the relevant safety and health information is passed on to the contractor for his tendering and work purpose. Before
34

the engagement of any coordinator, the competence of the coordinator should be assessed. The coordinator should: Have relevant experience pertaining to the type of construction works stipulated. A total of 10 years of both design and construction experience in any combination.

4.3

FIRE SAFETY NEEDS An important aspect of fire prevention is concerned with the human responsibility in ensuring that accidental fires are not allowed to start. Training and education at all levels plays an important part in this and the management responsible for a building has a responsibility to ensure that people in the building understand the risk attached to various activities they undertake.

If a fire does occur it is essential that occupants become aware of it as soon as possible and have awareness of the actions they need to take to move to a place of safety. This requires knowledge of the safety provisions which have been made and an easy identification of the route to follow to reach safety outside the building. In large and complex buildings this may be a progressive process through areas of increasing safety. It is not normally expected that the occupants will use on-site facilities to control a fire but where these are available it is possible that use can be made of them to tackle a small fire and extinguish it.

Achievement of fire safety requires an integrated approach to the provision of safety measures and their maintenance in good order. Constant vigilance is needed to ensure that fire does not become a problem for the occupants of a building. The fire protection systems comprise ten main components, listed below, which apply in varying degrees to different buildings or different parts of a building. The main components are; Prevention of fire
35

Fire growth control Detection & alarm Means of escape Structural stability External fire spread control On-site fire control Fire brigade facilities Fire safety management

4.4

CATEGORISATION OF BUILDINGS Buildings are divided into two main groups, the residential type buildings which provide sleeping facilities for the occupants either on a permanent or a temporary basis. The other group includes non-residential buildings where people work, go for commercial or recreational reasons and where goods are produced or stored.

Each category shown represents a particular use within that group and whilst in general the risks are similar in all buildings of that type there will difference in relation to the size and the nature of the fire load. Technical recommendations make such distinctions where necessary and the table makes sub-categories in a number of cases to grade the risks. Storage and industrial buildings cover a wide range of risks from relatively inert contents and operations to hazardous usage.

36

Building categorized The objective of measures for fire prevention is to reduce the probability of a fire starting in a building or premises to which the Code requirements apply.

All fixed equipment which generates heat or utilizes energy, such as heaters, cookers, refrigeration units etc., shall be installed according to the provisions contained in the standards dealing with their use in buildings. The equipment shall be maintained in good working order and no repairs or modifications shall be carried out by unqualified people. All operations which can be potentially hazardous shall be carried out in a safe manner by staff trained to undertake such operations Operations which require the use of flammable materials shall be controlled so that only a small quantity of material necessary for the operation is present and the rest is kept in a safe place from which it can be withdrawn as needed. Such materials shall
37

be stored in a separate protected place with limited access to specified personnel. Smoking and the use of naked flames should also be prohibited from premises where a fire can cause special problems for the escape of people, such as cinema, theatres, hospital wards, public transport and so on. Notices shall be displayed to draw attention to the prohibition on smoking and where the ambient light conditions are poor the notices shall be illuminated. Cooking appliances using bottled gas should be properly installed with connections made to a good standard if possible the cylinder shall be located in a protected place at a safe distance from the appliance. Spare gas cylinders shall be kept in a safe place away from the appliance.

Commercial building type 4.5 DETECTION & ALARM An early awareness of a fire is necessary to give occupants of a building sufficient time to make use of the escape provisions to a place of safety. This is particularly necessary where the occupants have some restriction on their freedom of movement due to disability, age, condition or restriction, and where the complex nature of the building and the occupancy level may create special problems.

38

When a fire starts it produces heat, smoke and other toxic products. The conditions in the fire zone can deteriorate quickly and the occupants need to leave this area as rapidly as possible. These products will progressively spread to other parts, depending on the layout of the space and the presence of fire barriers, gradually the conditions in other parts of the same floor, and on other floors, can also start to deteriorate making it unsafe for occupants to stay. The time available for occupants, especially in and adjacent to the fire zone, depends on the time of awareness of the fire and the time by which conditions become untenable. Consequently earlier the awareness of the fire more time the occupants have available to move to safety. The time needed to move to a place of safety depends upon a number of human factors including the number, the nature and the condition of occupants. In a hospital environment and confinement areas the movement is likely to be at a comparatively slow rate, in buildings with large number of occupants the speed of movement may also decrease significantly. In buildings with sleeping risk the awareness of a fire may not be prompt. Another factor which can cause awareness delay is the occurrence of a fire in unoccupied parts of a building or parts which are not normally obvious such as concealed spaces. This can be the case especially with high risk areas in buildings containing electrical equipment or flammable materials which are not normally manned. In the fire zone the occupants should become aware of the fire quickly if the space is not too large and the people are awake and carrying on normal activities. The automatic human detection of fire becomes less reliable as compartment sizes increase, spaces are divided by rooms and barriers are introduced. The requirements specify three types of systems: Type M - manual alarm systems with alarm buttons in suitable locations for operation by the occupants. Type L1 - automatic detection systems installed in rooms or areas communicating with the escape route or in areas of special risk due to nature of the use or to detect a hidden fire.
39

Type L2 - automatic detection system installed throughout the building. In cases of L1 and L2 systems a manual system is always provided for the use of occupants.

Fire alarm

Fire sprinkler

40

4.6

MEANS OF ESCAPE The building shall have adequate means of escape for the occupants such that in case of a fire they are able to move safely to the outside directly or in stages. The means of escape shall be protected as necessary and remain available at all times the building is occupied. When a fire starts it releases heat, smoke and other undesirable products. Due to buoyancy these gases rise to the ceiling and spread sideways. In a room the smoke layer gradually deepens and then moves to other areas if the door is open. It is the presence of these products with the associated heat which creates hazardous conditions for the occupants. In the vicinity of the fire the conditions become unsafe fairly quickly and deterioration of conditions in other areas is progressive as smoke and other gases travel to these areas. As soon as the gases reach a vertical shaft or opening they preferentially move upwards. Their progress depends on the continuation of the fire and the availability of free passages. Obstructions to the flow of gases by fire barriers or other means will slow their progress and delay the pollution process. The ability of occupants to escape from the fire zone depends on a number of factors such as the awareness of the fire, speed of growth of fire, time available before the environment becomes unsafe and the adequacy of escape routes.

Mean of escape

41

a. Escape route size The minimum headroom at any part of an escape route shall not be less than 2 m, when passing through doorways this may be reduced by 100mm due to the depth of the door frame. The minimum width of the escape route and exits shall not be less than 800 mm. The width shall be adjusted according to the number of people expected to use the route as shown in Table 8.3 below; In assessing the width of the exit where a door is provided the width may be locally decreased by not more than 100 mm due to the door frame. In calculating the stair capacity it is often assumed that one of the stairs may become smoke logged and therefore be not available for the occupants. However this discounting is not necessary if; The building is provided with an automatic detection and alarm system, or The stairs are approached by a protected lobby or corridor, a protected lobby is not needed for the top floor, or A mechanical smoke control system is provided to keep the stairs clear of smoke

Fire resistance door

42

4.7

VENTILATION AND AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEMS If a building is provided with a ventilation and/or air conditioning system, it shall be so designed that it does not spread smoke in case of fire. he system should either automatically close down, or stops recirculation of air to other parts of the building or disperses the extracted smoke from the fire zone to the outside. The system may be designed to provide smoke control by its ability to reverse flow, if necessary, and to be able to be boosted to high flow rates. If smoke control is provided by a pressurization system in case of a fire this should over-ride the normal air conditioning and ventilation system.

4.8

FIRE CONTROL EQUIPMENT Adequate fire control facilities shall be provided which can deal with a fire incident as it starts by the provision of on-site fire control devices such as portable extinguishers, hose reels or fixed fire extinguishing systems. These shall take into consideration the level of risk and the needs arising from the use of the buildings. Most fires start in a small way by the ignition of a combustible content which makes contact with a heat source. If the occupants become aware of a fire at an early stage it can be extinguished easily by the help of a portable device. Some experience is needed in effectively handling portable extinguishers and in the hands of trained personnel they have been shown to be very effective. With untrained people the chances of their effective use are more limited. Different types of portable extinguishers are available for dealing with different fire categories, the major types are listed below:

43

Types of fire extinguishers Portable extinguishers have only a short operating time, a few minutes only, and where more persistent application of water is foreseen a hose reel provides a better means of controlling fires. They can be for the use of the occupants or the fire services when they arrive on the scene and find that the fire does not require the application of large quantities of water. A standard fire hose is not suitable for use by occupants of a building and cannot be substituted for a hose reel.

Portable fire extinguisher

44

Fire alarm system The provision of a fixed extinguishing system is required only in a few specified cases listed below. In other situations it may be provided to obtain concessions on compartment size or fire resistance, or to gain more favorable fire insurance premiums. A fixed fire extinguishing system is required for; Underground car parks with floor area in excess of [1000] m, Electrical switchgear or transformer stations for high rise buildings, Stores containing flammable materials in excess of 1000 MJ when not provided with fully fire resisting barriers, Shops in a shopping complex without full compartment,

Carbon dioxide fire extinguisher

45

Fire hydrant

4.9

LARGE AND COMPLEX BUILDINGS The types of unusual and complex buildings described in this chapter require different approach for the provision of fire safety in comparison with traditional occupancies. The fire safety issues need to be considered for each individual risk and the fire safety system designed to meet the particular characteristics of the building. It is suggested that the fire safety provisions should consider the following issues and prepare a package of measures for discussion with the safety authority. A number of publications are available which can provide the technical background to the design of the safety system. Control on the use of combustible goods and fittings in the common circulation areas, Automatic fire detection system. Fitting of automatic sprinkler systems in shops and other areas where fire control is needed. Sub-division of circulation areas with well sign posted escape routes. Provision of smoke reservoirs in the roof space of large open areas to limit the spread of smoke.

46

To provide smoke curtaining in multi-storey malls for directing the smoke towards the roof. Provisions for the clearance of smoke from the circulation areas and escape routes by natural or mechanical extraction systems. Adequate means of escape, separate provisions should be made in multioccupancy buildings for each part.

Mains fire control system rooms

47

CHAPTER 5

BUILDING TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM

5.1 DEFINITION

Building transportation system is a phrase used to describe the various means of travelling between floors in a building. All buildings with more than one storey of course have at least one set of stairs and the provision of stairs is a very important consideration when designing buildings in order to ensure all the occupants of the building can escape safely in the event of a fire. In buildings with more than four storeys, a lift is desirable as there is a limit to how far people are willing to walk up stairs. In addition to this, stairs are unsuitable for infirm and mobility impaired persons so buildings with only two storeys are sometimes fitted with a lift. A third option is the escalator which is ideally suited for high volume applications such as shopping malls and airports but not practical for high rise buildings as they take up a lot of space. i. Lifts A lift or an elevator is a transport device used to move goods or people vertically. It also considered a requirement in all buildings over three storeys. Minimum standard of service one lift for every four storey with a maximum distance of 45 m to the lift lobby Floor space estimates and car capacity can rebased on an area of 0.2 m2 per person

There are several type of lift and various speeds of lifts

48

a) Location of lift

Positioning of lift should be at locations which provide easy means of access for all building users central entrance lobby of offices, hotels, apartments, etc. Grouping of lifts is essential for user convenience

Possibilities of lift grouping arrangements

b) Lift performance
49

Lift performance depends on acceleration, retardation, car speed, speed of door operation, and Stability of speed and performance with variations of car load. The assessment of population may be found by allowing between one person per 9.5 m2 of floor area to 11.25 m2 of floor area. For unified starting and finishing times - 17% of population per 5 minutes may be used. For staggered starting and finishing times -12% of the population may be used.

The number of lifts will have an effect on the quality of service. For 18-person lifts provide the same capacity as three 24-person lifts but the waiting time will be about twice as long with the three-car group. The quality of service may be found from the interval of the group. 23 to 35 seconds excellent 35 to 45 seconds - acceptable for offices 60 seconds acceptable for hotels 90 seconds acceptable for flats

Further criteria for the comfort and convenience of lift users: Directional indication of location of the lift lobby for people unfamiliar with the building. Call buttons at landings and in the car positioned for ease of use with unambiguous definition for up and down directions. Call buttons to be at a level appropriate for use by people with disabilities and small children Call display/car location display at landings to be favorably positioned for a group of people to watch the position of all cars and for them to move efficiently to the first car arriving. Call lights and indicators with an audible facility to show which car is first available and in which direction it is traveling. Lobby space of sufficient area to avoid congestion by lift users and general pedestrian traffic in the vicinity.

50

A method for estimating and comparing efficiency and effectiveness of lift installation is by calculating the round trip time (RTT): An average period of time for one lift car to circulate, incorporating statistical data for time lost due to stops It is measured from the time the lift doors begin to open at the main terminal to the time they reopen when the car complete its cycle

c) Component In the usual lift system, there are several component can be listed example

1- Control system 2 - Electric motor 3 - Sheave 4 - Counterweight 5 - Guide rails

51

Lift system in the building ii. Escalator

An escalator is a conveyor transport device for transporting people, consisting of a staircase whose steps move up or down on tracks that keep the surfaces of the individual steps horizontal Where large numbers of people are anticipated, such as airports and railway terminals, department stores and shopping malls, several escalators will be required and can be grouped in a number of ways to suit the building functions. The angle of inclination is normally 30o, but may increase to 35o if the vertical rise does not exceed 6 m and the speed is limited to 0.5 ms-1

52

Escalator arrangement

Escalator Component

Escalator system in the building a) Safety

The void containing escalators could encourage fire to spread rapidly through building. Therefore the following precautions could be considered Sprinklers, installed to provide a continuous curtain of water down the escalator void Fire curtains or shutter mechanism released by fusible link or smoke relay to seal the top of the escalator shaft Compartmentalization or separation of escalators into well or fire-protected enclosure
53

Fire sprinkler at the escalator

54

CHAPTER 6

CONCLUSION

Building maintenance management is a highly complex sphere of operations, involving the interaction between the technical, social, legal and fiscal determinants that govern the use of buildings. An excellent practice of maintenance management is greatly needed to increase the life cycle of the property and to minimize unexpected breakdowns or deterioration effects. In this respect, the maintenance personnel will have to rely as much on knowledge of the managerial and social sciences as on the traditional technique knowledge base of building construction and deterioration. Improper conduct and application of maintenance management procedure and systems may result in deteriorating the property itself. Effective building maintenance can be achieved through a well-organized management, skilled maintenance personnel and a good organization structure. In this study the maintenance personnel requirements in Malaysia has been evaluated and the finding shows that many parties should be involved in enhancing the standard.

55

REFERENCES

1. H. T. Mustafa and P. K. Bansal, Building Management Systems: Beyond Electronics, AIRAH Journal, pp. 22-27, May 2002.

2. Hanna, Awad S., Russell, Jeffery S., Gotzion, Timothy W., and Nordheim, Erik V., Impact of Change Orders for Mechanical Construction, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Volume 125, No. 5., May/June 1999, pp. 176-184.

3. Riley, David and Sanvido, Victor, Space Planning for Mechanical, Electrical Plumbing and Fire Protection Trades in Multi-story Building Construction, Proceedings of the 5th SCE Construction Congress, Minneapolis, MN, October 4-8, 1997, pp. 102-109

4. Tao, William K. Y., and Janis, Richard R., Mechanical and Electrical Systems in Buildings, Prentice Hall, Columbus, 2001.

5. Tatum, C.B. and Korman, Thomas M., "Coordinating Building Systems: Process and Knowledge," ASCE Journal of Architectural Engineering, December 2000 issue (vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 116).

56

APPENDIX

57

58