Services
Engineering
COVA Group provides mechanical, electrical, hydraulic and fire engineering across Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia, designed for the owner: systems that comply, perform and cost less to run across the life of the asset.
The four disciplines are designed as one coordinated whole, so systems perform together, comply with the codes of each jurisdiction and are practical to build and maintain.
The work runs from specialist lighting and Building Management Systems to rainwater harvesting, off-grid buildings and fire protection. 178 projects featured on this site carry an engineering scope.
What's included
Engineering services
Mechanical
- Air conditioning & ventilation
- Electrification refurbishments
- Research & process climate control
- Pool heating & AC systems
- Kitchen / smoke / carpark exhaust
- Building Management Systems (BMS)
- Heat recovery
- Hydronic and geothermal systems
Electrical
- Specialist lighting design
- Authority applications
- Communications & NBN
- Security & CCTV
- Lightning protection
- Power factor correction
Hydraulic
- Authority applications
- Potable water & filtration
- Sewer
- Trade waste
- Domestic hot water
- Roof drainage
- Rainwater harvesting & reuse
- Off-grid buildings
Fire
- Authority applications
- Sprinklers
- Extinguishers
- Fire detection
In detail
What each service covers
One COVA design manager is the single point of contact for all four disciplines, with a responsible engineer certifying each one. The scope runs from an existing-conditions inspection and return brief, through concept, schematic, developed and tender documentation, to construction-phase services and the defects period - designed to the National Construction Code and Australian Standards, and coordinated with the architect, quantity surveyor and authorities at every stage.
One design manager, four disciplines
Every engagement is run by a design manager who is deliberately not the responsible engineer for any one discipline, so coordination and client communication never compete with technical production for the same person's time. Each discipline has a responsible engineer accountable for its design strategy, compliance and certification. Before each issue, a reviewer separate from the author carries out an internal design verification and constructability review. The project manager and architect carry less of the coordination load as a result.
Feasibility and existing conditions first
On feasibility studies COVA tests the options - plant strategy, energy modelling against local climate data, incoming supply capacity - and supplies the capital, energy, maintenance and replacement cost inputs for a 30-year life-cycle comparison. On refurbishments and live buildings the work opens with a combined site inspection by the mechanical, electrical, hydraulic and fire engineers and a written retain, modify or replace recommendation for every system. Incoming supply, switchboard and hot-water capacity are checked against the new layouts before anything is drawn; ageing switchboards and legacy circuit breakers are assessed for risk, and targeted work often avoids wholesale replacement.
Staged deliverables the design team can coordinate to
A written return brief; concept sketches for spatial coordination of plant, risers, switchrooms and ceiling zones; schematic design to development-application standard; developed design with equipment schedules and a controls strategy; tender drawings, specifications and schedules; and for-construction documentation incorporating tender addenda. Drawings are shared at nominated coordination issues, and a pre-tender estimate for each discipline feeds the quantity surveyor's cost plan at each stage. Documentation is produced in Revit MEP or AutoCAD and issued digitally.
Mechanical: comfort, air quality and running cost
Heating and cooling selected space by space, from split and VRF systems to radiant and hydronic floors. Ventilation matched to actual demand with CO2 and occupancy control, heat-recovery ventilation that reclaims waste heat from exhaust air to temper fresh air, and economy cycle where ambient conditions give free cooling. Kitchen, carpark and smoke exhaust; all-electric plant, including high-temperature heat pumps replacing gas boilers; and a Building Management System functional description covering energy-saving features, occupancy control, and fault and alarm reporting.
Electrical, communications and security
Supply-authority liaison and connection applications; switchboards, single line diagrams, cable sizing, protection coordination, metering and sub-metering; solar PV sized to the site and integrated with metering and plant control. Energy-efficient lighting with occupancy and daylight control, specialist retail and feature lighting, and emergency and exit lighting. Communications infrastructure including NBN design and application management, and access control, CCTV, intercom and duress systems to the client's specification. Fire detection and the fire indicator panel are documented within the electrical package.
Hydraulic and fire protection
Potable water from the site connection with metering and backflow prevention; hot water generation, storage and tempering, including warm-water systems for aged care; sanitary plumbing and drainage to the legal point of discharge, with the capacity of existing sewer networks assessed; trade waste and grease arrestors; roof drainage; and rainwater capture and reuse. Fire hydrants, hose reels, extinguishers and sprinklers, with the available fire water supply assessed against authority pressure and flow statements and tanks and pumps designed where it falls short. Hydraulic design is certified in-house; wet-fire certification is arranged through accredited certifiers where the jurisdiction requires it.
Working in live buildings
Where a switchboard or plant is replaced in an occupied building, the deliverable that matters most is a staged cutover and contingency plan: temporary supply, the order in which submains transfer, agreed outage windows, hold points and a tested fallback at each step, issued as a tender document so contractors price the staging rather than assume it. Fire, egress and life-safety services keep a defined, tested supply throughout, and the fire authority and building surveyor are engaged on any period of reduced protection. The same staging discipline keeps shopping centres trading and schools open through their programmes.
Construction phase to defects
Tender RFI responses and addenda, technical assessment of tender returns, and review of shop drawings, technical submittals and substitution proposals. Site inspections at the stages that matter - before walls and ceilings are closed, during commissioning and at the pre-handover defects inspection - with commissioning witnessed and results reviewed. Operation and maintenance manuals and as-installed drawings are checked before handover, and technical support continues through the defects liability period.
FAQs