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Executive opinion

Changing places

We’ve been hearing plenty about it recently, but now the change agenda is the reality for us all, says ECA group chief executive offi cer David Pollock

I

t was hard to miss the call for change in the recent general election campaign, whatever political party or whichever politician you were listening to. Not surprising when you consider the enormous challenges

facing us all after the global fi nancial and economic crisis that’s had such an effect on the UK construction sector. The new political reality post-recession means that signifi cant change to the status quo is inevitable. Within the ECA, change is high on the agenda, too.

We have a new president, Diane Johnson – the fi rst woman to take the offi ce in the association’s 109-year history. You can read an interview with her to fi nd out what she’s all about elsewhere in this magazine (see First Lady, page 28). As you can see, too, in this fi rst issue of ECA Today,

the association is refreshing its communications with members and industry partners. Our new quarterly journal reflects what the ECA is doing today – both for our members, and within the industry to promote our shared interests and values. It’s your magazine, so we’d like to get your feedback and input as we go ahead.

New directions

At the same time, the ECA is taking stock of strategy. There have been two important Council decisions: ■ Last December, Council defi ned more clearly the basis on which we should pursue our important cooperation with the HVCA (Heating and Ventilating Contractors’ Association). As a result of this, a model for combining the two associations has been set aside. New proposals for collaboration are in development; and

■ In April, Council agreed to support the extension of the JIB (Joint Industry Board) working agreement on an optional basis to include mechanical grades.

We are driving forward to represent the electro-technical building services’ interests and to provide an M&E employment option for those that choose to use it. We are planning a strategic review, but the association’s aims remain the same:

About the author

David Pollock

David Pollock joined the ECA as director in 1997 and was appointed group chief executive offi cer in 2007.

■ To provide all our members with fi rst-class service and representation;

■ To improve business opportunities and profi t potential for members of all sizes;

■ To build an effi cient and sustainable industry, based on high standards of training and practice; and

■ To get us to the top table when it comes to contractual relationships.

New realities demand new ways of thinking that aren’t shackled by convention. The challenges set by national sustainability targets also offer tremendous opportunities for business – and for redefi ning the industry itself. Contractors’ command of information and advice, as

well as their installation skills, will become very important as we move towards a more favourable post-recession environment for the construction sector.

ECA members can become the

frontline troops for delivering the sustainability agenda in the UK

Shock troops

Addressing the sustainability agenda, Tim Yeo MP, when chairman of the cross- party House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee, said that he thought that the ECA’s members could provide an army of communicators for promoting sustainability in this sector.

On one level, we can make money out of installing

new equipment that can help people reduce their carbon footprint and save energy, and so on. But the most radical change, and the one that is, I believe, most likely to help electrical contractors add value in the long term – and also benefi t everybody in the supply chain – is to become the trusted adviser to clients. By asserting the role of larger specialist contractors

(Paul Morrell, the new Chief Construction Adviser, recognised their right to be Tier 1 contractors), and by using the one-to-one contact that small contractors have with private clients, specialist contractors can become respected as strategic advisers to industry, and personal advisers to the general public and small business. It’s one concept of change that offers a potentially

profi table scenario – that of ECA registered members becoming the frontline troops for delivering the sustainability agenda in the UK.

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