Unlocking Hidden Spaces: Exploring Healthcare’s Most Advanced Facilities

One of the things that makes the IHEA community unique is the opportunity to go behind the scenes of projects and facilities that most people will never get to see. Over the coming months, our members will be invited to step into environments where resilience, innovation, and precision come to life — from a state-of-the-art emergency operations centre in South Australia, to a world-leading lighting manufacturer in Victoria, and a landmark professional development day in New South Wales.

These events are more than just tours. They are windows into the future of healthcare engineering, and a chance to connect directly with the people and ideas shaping our profession.

South Australia: Inside Adelaide’s Most Resilient Building

On Tuesday 2 September, IHEA members in South Australia will have the rare chance to explore Adelaide’s newest IL4 facility: the SA Ambulance Emergency Operations Centre.

Importance Level 4 (IL4) facilities are the highest tier of resilience. They are designed to keep operating during and after disasters — including major earthquakes — when the community needs them most. For ambulance services, that reliability can mean the difference between chaos and coordination in a crisis.

This guided tour will showcase not only the engineering excellence behind the building, but also the innovation of its “island mode” design, which allows operations to continue even if the rest of the city shuts down.

For those who attend, it will be a first-hand glimpse of resilience in action — a project that sets a new benchmark for critical infrastructure across the country. The evening will conclude with relaxed networking at the Hilton Hotel, offering time to reflect and connect with colleagues.

Register for SA Event

Victoria: Lighting the Way Forward with Clevertronics

In Victoria, members will be welcomed inside Clevertronics, a leader in emergency and energy-efficient lighting across Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.

This tour will take participants beyond the finished product, revealing how engineering, manufacturing, and testing come together to produce lighting systems that are trusted in some of the most demanding healthcare environments. From long-term reliability testing, to the design of automated monitoring systems, to the future of smart lighting controls, attendees will see how Clevertronics is pushing boundaries in safety, sustainability, and compliance.

Following the tour, a tailored learning session will dive deeper into emerging regulatory trends and the future of healthcare lighting. For facility managers and healthcare engineers, this will be an opportunity not only to see innovation at its source, but to bring home practical insights that can inform day-to-day decisions.

Register for VIC Event

New South Wales: Precision in Practice

Finally, in November, the NSW/ACT Branch of IHEA will join forces with the Society for Medical and Biological Engineering (SMBE) for a Professional Development Day unlike any other.

Hosted at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, the day will bring together biomedical engineers, hospital engineers, healthcare managers, and industry leaders to discuss two themes at the cutting edge of our field:

• Delivering major medical infrastructure, and

• Smart surgery spaces and the digital operating room.

  
  

The day will begin with technical presentations and guided tours of RPA Hospital, offering a practical perspective on the challenges of precision engineering in healthcare. It will then transition to a very different setting: a networking cruise on Sydney Harbour. Against the backdrop of the city skyline, participants will have the chance to continue conversations, strengthen networks, and reflect on the ideas of the day.

This is more than a professional development event — it is a platform to explore how the next generation of healthcare infrastructure will be delivered, and how digital technologies are redefining what is possible inside the operating theatre.

Register for NSW Event

Why These Events Matter

At IHEA, we know that professional development is not only about listening to ideas — it is about experiencing them. By stepping onto a construction site, walking the floor of a factory, or exploring a hospital environment, we learn in ways that presentations alone can’t deliver.

These upcoming tours and events will provide our members with the chance to:

• See world-class engineering and innovation in action

• Gain practical insights into emerging technologies and challenges

• Connect with colleagues who share a passion for advancing healthcare facilities

Places are limited for each event, and we encourage members to register early to secure their spot.

Together, these opportunities represent the best of what IHEA offers — access, insight, and connection. We look forward to seeing you there.