Frankfurt, Germany, 7 October 2018:  The Working Group Maintenance Building Technology (AIG), an association of specialist companies under the VDMA Air-Handling Technology Association, aims to offer comprehensive services related to buildings and the technical systems they contain, said Thomas Damm, Technical Manager, Sector Department, Air Conditioning and Ventilation Technology, while highlighting the group’s commitment to promote best practices in building maintenance and upcoming activities in this regard. Damm said experts of AIG and VDMA-member companies use trade fairs as a platform to share knowledge and discuss important issues. At the upcoming Chillventa, he said, the group will be conducting a lecture on ‘Practical Implementation of the 42nd BImSchV – Information for Planners, Installers and Operators’, on October 17, 2018, at Hall 9, Stand No. 9-531, under the Applications and Training and Regulations forum.

To underpin the importance of the topic at hand, Damm said that several years ago, there were illnesses and deaths in Germany, caused by Legionella from evaporative cooling systems. “With the 42nd ordinance implementing the ‘Federal Immission Control Act’ (Ordinance on Evaporation Cooling Systems, Cooling Towers and Wet Separators – 42. BImSchV), the Federal Republic of Germany has drawn up an ordinance aimed at reducing such risks to a minimum in the future,” he said. “Based on the guideline VDI 2047-2, specifications were developed, which concern planners, installers and operators of evaporative cooling systems, cooling towers (capacity > 200 MW) and wet separators.” Damm added that one focal point is the requirement related to the operation of evaporative cooling systems. “Risk assessment, regular checks, zero value determination, operating diary and reporting obligations are some of the measures that the operator must carry out, in conjunction with external partners,” he said. “These measures can make an existing evaporative cooling system considerably safer.”

Providing a background on the group, Damm said that more than 25 years ago, AIG saw the need to describe a standardised scope of services for the maintenance of building services, components and systems. “This set of technical rules – VDMA 24186 – has since developed into the state-of-the-art for maintenance in building technology and is applied across all sectors,” he said. “Tenders for maintenance work are issued regularly on the basis of the VDMA 24186 series.” Over the years, Damm said, inspection has increased in value and demand, and it was important to formulate the inspection as an engineering service with its goals, contents and results – the content of which can be seen in VDMA 24186.

“The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) has put energy inspection in the limelight and anchored it in the national legislation of the EU member states for the first time,” Damm said. “The VDMA 24197 series, comparable to the maintenance in VDMA 24186, describes the work contents that typically make up the Energy Inspection. These services are to be performed directly on the components and systems on site.” This includes the recording and listing of existing components with their performance data, as well as various parameters, such as temperatures and volume flows, he said. “These data form the basis for further analysis, calculation and estimation of optimisation potentials, derivation and suggestions for improvement,” he added.

Damm said that AIG has been exchanging technical information with the bodies of state administrations at federal and state level for many years. He said that the exchange takes place in cooperation with the Working Group for Mechanical and Electrical Engineering of State and Local Administrations (AMEV) at the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community (BMI) on the AMEV recommendations “Maintenance” and “Servicing”, in particular.

Damm said that in addition to the maintenance of technical buildings, AIG’s range of services include the operation of complete plant systems, adding that the technical know-how of the companies make them competent partners for plant recording and assessment, energy inspection, modernisation of technical plants and energy management. “The AIG member companies are also providers in the fields of building management, facility management and performance contracting,” he added. “Some companies are specialised and active in partial areas. Others cover the entire spectrum, offering everything from a single source.”  Damm said AIG is also the publisher of AIG maintenance information, highlighting issues that the group believes are not receiving the necessary attention, such as the contribution of maintenance to efficient plant operation and operating costs/life cycle costs, operator responsibility and water in building services engineering.

Hannah Jo Uy is Assistant Editor at Climate Control Middle East magazine. She may be contacted at hannah@cpi-industry.com