Annual Report 2010-2011 (PDF - 2.47 mb) - Royal Botanic Gardens ...

Contents
OUR ORGANISATION
Building and maintenance provisions of the Building Act 1993
Pursuant to section 220 of the Building Act 1993, the Royal Botanic Gardens Board
Victoria ensures that all works requiring building approval have plans certified, works
in progress inspected and Occupancy Permits issued by independent Building
Surveyors engaged on a local job-by-job basis. It also ensures that plans for these
works are lodged with the relevant local council.
The Royal Botanic Gardens Board Victoria requires all building practitioners engaged
on building works to be registered and to maintain registration throughout the course
of the work.
Buildings are maintained in a safe and serviceable condition through routine and
responsive maintenance.
Building work
At RBG Cranbourne, there were no new buildings constructed during 2010–11;
however minor upgrade works in the Nursery were undertaken to create a new
propagation area and additional office space.
The design of two shelters and three buildings in the Australian Garden Stage 2 was
undertaken by Registered Building Practitioners and reviewed by an independent
Building Surveyor.
Maintenance
At RBG Cranbourne, major works were undertaken on the security system including
mapping and zoning of the system, upgrading of movement sensors and the
introduction of an annual compliance audit to ensure all movement sensors, Passive
Infra-red Sensors (PIRs) and smoke alarms are operational.
Annual maintenance and improvement works were undertaken including painting,
replacement of faulty fittings, and replacement and repairs to the control panels
of the lift, the pump house irrigation system and the automatic entry doors to the
Boonerwurrung Café, after a power brown-out had caused them to fail.
Three replacement drivers were installed into the Rockpool Waterway pump house
and major servicing of two of the four sewer pumps on site was undertaken.
Programmed maintenance and regular servicing of HVAC systems, exit and
emergency lighting, portable fire equipment, automatic doors and moveable walls
and the visitor centre lift was carried out to ensure that they were kept in a safe
and serviceable condition. An annual program of thermographic scanning of all
switchboards and distribution boards was introduced and there was regular
servicing and maintenance of the three septic tank systems on site.
An annual Essential Safety Measure Compliance Audit was undertaken, which
included quarterly access and egress inspections.
At RBG Melbourne, the recovery work on buildings affected by the severe hail storm on
6 March 2010 was completed and the affected buildings brought back up to standard.
In addition, a five-year plan commenced to rectify building defects identified in a
comprehensive defects report prepared in 2009–10 for all RBG Melbourne buildings.
The defects were prioritised from one through to five, with one being the most urgent.
To date, 85 per cent of Priority One and Two items has been rectified.
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