Hawaii Hospitality - January/February 2014 - (Page 12)

Engineered for Success Meet two well-regarded hospitality industry directors of engineering and find out what makes them tick. BY STACY POPE I n this issue of HH we profile two hospitality industry engineers who serve as excellent examples of success in their field: Harzali Hashim and Craig Lovett. Originally from Australia, today Hashim and Lovett both call Honolulu home. In addition to being friends, they're also working neighbors of sorts-Hashim as director of engineering and sustainability champion (yes, that second bit is part of his official title!) at the historic Moana Surfrider, A Westin Resort & Spa, and Lovett as director of engineering at the Sheraton Waikiki, right next door. Added together, these two Starwood properties feature more than 2,400 guest rooms as well as numerous guest lounge and recreation areas, restaurants and a full spa-in other words, loads of responsibility for their engineering teams. Read on to find out what makes our two featured directors of engineering so good at what they do. Then, we encourage you to take a moment to recognize your own engineering teams for everything they do to keep Hawaii's hotels and resorts guest- and employee-friendly, environmentally progressive and profitable. Harzali Hashim Director of Engineering and Sustainability Champion Moana Surfrider, A Westin Spa & Resort It may indeed be an unusual job title, but Harzali Hashim can be proud to be called both director of engineering and sustainability champion at the Moana Surfrider. In his role as director of engineering, Hashim oversees a department of nearly 30 associates and is responsible for updating the 113-year-old hotel and maintaining the integrity of its structure. As sustainability champion, Hashim is also tasked with advancing it into the 21st century through various green initiatives that will reduce the hotel's footprint. Regarding his inspiration to enter the field of engineering, Hashim says he "always enjoyed finding out how things worked and were put together. And I was also a lot better at math and science than English. Everything in the world involves some form of engineering, so I figured it was a great degree to have and a perfect fit for me!" Hashim pursued a background that has enabled him to be at the forefront of engineering design and ingenuity. He earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering at the University of South Australia and then worked for an engineering consulting firm both in New Zealand and Honolulu before joining the Moana eight years ago. The projects he worked on as an engineering consultant also advanced his knowledge of sustainable engineering, "such as the NELHA Gateway Center in Kona," says Hashim, "where we would look at unconventional means to cool, ventilate and provide power and lighting to buildings. Being able to reduce buildings' energy and water consumption always made me feel good, since we were helping the environment," he adds. "At the hotel, sustainability is extremely important, since we run a 24/7 operation. The more energy and water we can save, the lower our utility bills will be." For Hashim, sustainability is not an achievement, but an 12 Hawaii Hospitality ■ January/February 2014 ongoing mission. He has already helped the Moana earn ENERGY STAR certification and initiated the process to procure the rarely awarded gold-level LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, plus continues to implement a wide range of green initiatives, research the latest technology on the market and install improved systems for the hotel. One of the projects he is particularly proud of in terms of engineering logistics is the 2009 replacement of the Moana's chiller, cooling tower and heat pumps-major pieces of equipment that perform essential duties such as cooling the entire hotel and providing it with hot water-with new energy-efficient versions. This was a massive undertaking that required working in a very tight plant area, and on the rooftop of the hotel. "Replacing the cooling tower involved coordinating a helicopter to pick up the equipment on a

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hawaii Hospitality - January/February 2014

Talk Story with George Szigeti
Maui Ho‘okipa No Ka Oi
Hawaii’s Food & Beverage Superstars
All Systems Go!
Featured Department: Engineering
New Restaurants
Clean Talk with Rose
News Briefs
Association News
Marketplace

Hawaii Hospitality - January/February 2014