Modern Building Services

MODERN BUILDING SERVICES DECEMBER 2022/JANUARY 2023 31 “The pandemic had led to greater collaboration with lots more sharing of knowledge and best-practice about making buildings more resilient to the transmission of diseases. People realise we can’t solve this on our own or by arguing about whose tech is the best”. Challenging However, she warned that this winter would be very challenging because people would be looking to conserve energy by not openingwindows, which could lead to other health problems linked tomould and damp. Professor Noakes also launched the new annual World Ventil8 Day, created by a coalition of scientists, academics, engineering bodies and environmental activists. The first one took place on November 8 2022 and involved a series of ‘in person’ and online events. It was driven by BESA, CIBSE and FETA in the UK in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Future Urban Ventilation Network. World Health Organisation (WHO) clean air advocate Rosamund Adoo Kissi-Debrah also discussed the role of ventilation and urged the UK to learn from other countries that already have models in place to help people improve the indoor air quality in their homes and schools. “We don’t need to re-invent the wheel. Let’s look at what is already being done elsewhere – like Germany and Belgium – and adopt that. We also need to use every means of communication at our disposal to tell people about their indoor air as it is still a new concept to many – but so many are terrified of the outdoor air!” she said. Other highlights included a panel chaired by BESA President-elect Claire Curran chaired about Women in Construction that welcomed the growing number of young women coming into the sector but said the building services sector needed to market itself better to attract its fair share of talent. “A new generation of women are showing interest in careers where they can influence climate change so need to be directed our way,” said Lucy Sherburn of Fairheat. “We need to point out that we are saving the planet…while many other careers are not.” Alexandra Knight, founder of the diversity initiative STEMazing, urged delegates to promote engineering careers in their local schools. She added that stereotypes needed to be challenged more aggressively including suggestions that STEM careers are not for women and that “you have to be amazing at maths”. Competence in general was an over-arching theme with Arup’s transformation director Gill Kernick calling for a change of emphasis: “The industry is very focused on tackling competence, but tends to stick to ‘technical’ competence because that’s what we understand best, but we need to be competent in areas like analysing why we fail and risk management.” More also needs to be done to encourage demand reduction in buildings to meet decarbonisation goals, according to Scott Mason, chair of the CIBSE Patrons, who was part of a panel looking at potential heating solutions. “We often jump straight into mechanical intervention and ignore demand reduction like façade efficiency upgrades,” he said. “ People can get railroaded by tech – I’ve got a bigger heat pump than you! – and we need to avoid competing claims when it is likely to be a combination of solutions that will deliver the right results.” There was an open forumabout a groundbreaking collaboration between the built environment’s leading professional bodies who are seeking to align the data standards used tomanage costing, carbon and building and facilities maintenance, in a bid to clear up confusion and shift the digital focus fromnew build to whole life building performance. The fact that BESA, CIBSE, RICS andNBS areworking together on this with support fromthe Government Property Agency prompted one attendee to describe it as a“game changingmoment for building maintenance and operation”. Awards are back with a bang! The awards dinner was back to celebrate the best and brightest in our sector after an unscheduled two-year break. The awards included several exciting new categories designed to showcase the important role our industry plays in crucial areas like energy efficiency, air quality, and building safety. The awards, which were free to enter, celebrated individuals, teams, and companies responsible for delivering projects, products, innovations, and initiatives that demonstrate excellence in building services engineering. Source 1 www.worldventil8day.com 2 https://les.mitsubishielectric.co.uk 3 www.lighthouseclub.org www.theBESA.com Congratulations to our 2022 winners! Electrical Apprentice of the Year Daniel Pallett, Enerveo Facilities Management Engineer Apprentice of the Year Julie King, ECG Facilities Services Heating & Ventilation Apprentice of the Year Joe Smith, Munro Building Services HNC & HND Building Services Apprentice of the Year Dylan Gilbert, BES Refrigeration, Air Conditioning & Heat Pump Apprentice of the Year, Sponsored by Mitsubishi Electric George Lowrey, T Clarke Climate Solutions Customer Service Person of the Year Claire Pilcher, FP Hurley & Sons Indoor Air Quality sponsored by Nuaire RDM Electrical & Mechanical Services Contractor of the Year Roperhurst Specialist Groups Award for Excellence Adrian Sims, Owner, Vent Tech Net Zero Initiative of the Year Elementa Consulting Small Budget Project of the Year... under £500,000 A&E Treatment Rooms, Royal London Hospital - TRS Large Budget Project of the Year... over £500,000 Ashton Old Baths, Ashton-under-Lyne - Sudlows Product Innovation of the Year sponsored by The Installer SHOW Aalberts integrated piping system - Pegler Women in Building Services Award Lisa-Jayne Cook, GEA Group - Service Sales Manager Key Accounts Diversity and Inclusion Initiative Award IORWomen In RACHP Competence and Compliance Award sponsored by the BMTFA Farmwood Mechanical & Electrical Services President’s Award for Excellence Roland Ferry, Ductform HFE RACHPWorld Skills Award Luke Haile, Apprentice for Lightfoot Defence and student at Eastleigh College The Manly Trust Management Bursary Mark Simm, HE Simm & Son National Apprentice of the Year George Lowrey, T Clarke Climate Solutions BESA CONFERENCE AND AWARDS 2022