INTERVIEW CIBSE PRESIDENT
engineering must adapt. ‘Clients care about energy, but don’t know what to do for the best. Main contractors are in a tough, recessionary frame of mind at the moment – not surprisingly – so low-energy solutions must be low-cost too. The money to support this is in the lifecycle.’ The industry has a poor reputation for innovation, but Ford thinks that is unfair. The contractual process has not helped, and that is something the government can help to reform by being an enlightened client. Perhaps a qualification in ‘clientology’ should be required in the future, he says.
Collaboration ‘For all its flaws, the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme had started to bring together expert teams whose knowledge could be replicated and applied to multiple projects – there was a contractual model there for creating teams, leveraging knowledge and replicating success. That has now all been discarded and the teams are fragmenting, but the government still has the problem of delivering an improved infrastructure for schools and colleges. ‘I don’t believe that the piecemeal alternative now in place will do better – it might not cost as much, but will it deliver?’ This collaboration of skills and effort
was very much in his mind when Fulcrum merged with Mott MacDonald. Putting Fulcrum’s sustainability skills onto a larger platform should mean they can have a greater influence on projects. The employee- owned company is heavily involved in major energy and infrastructure projects, and urban planning, as well as smaller-scale building services technology. Ford believes this is an evolving pattern with architectural practices, such as Fosters,
also seeing the need to integrate building services expertise into their teams. CIBSE can be a big part of this evolution
by working with other bodies to produce contractual frameworks for ‘beyond integrated teams’ to lifecycle businesses. He believes we need a new delivery
model for businesses without the traditional hierarchies and silos that hold back progress. Energy suppliers must also be part of this. ‘Naturally, our focus is mainly on the demand side, but we will not reach our carbon reduction goals if utilities are not simultaneously forcing the pace on decarbonising the national grid,’ says Ford. ‘Again we have a tremendous amount to offer in terms of what renewables work best where, and in what parts of the built environment – more and more utilities are looking to our members for expertise.’ Ford sees CIBSE’s willingness to share
its experience of building energy certificates with its American counterpart ASHRAE as a good example of what collaboration can achieve on a global level. ‘CIBSE has a role at many levels. We
work locally and so have to deal with local planning issues; we work nationally so have a position on the UK’s entire approach to carbon reduction across the built environment; and we work internationally with our worldwide members and like- minded partners. ‘From a business perspective, UK practices are looking abroad for work to compensate for the slow economy at home – but also because our work is global and there are big opportunities in growing overseas markets. Tackling global emissions has to be a global effort and it is also an opportunity to export British, and particularly CIBSE, expertise in this area.’
CV
ANDY FORD EDUCATION
1975: BSc (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering, Bath
CAREER Early career: Student apprentice at diesel engine manufacturer R A Lister in Dursley, Gloucestershire
1975-1983: Works at Max Fordham and Partners
1984: Founds Fulcrum Consulting
2009: Fulcrum Consulting joins Mott MacDonald Group
ACTIVITIES CIBSE president for this year
Chairman of the UK Green Building Council policy committee
Winner of the IMechE Construction and Divisional Prize 2009
Has sat on a wide range of government departmental project groups
CIBSE representative on the Construction Industry Council Forum for Research Innovation and Knowledge
RADIATORS
The Centaur Cheltenham, 13th September | Wembley Stadium London, 15th September | International Centre Harrogate, 20th September PARTNERS:
| SECC Glasgow, 22nd September
www.cibsejournal.com
July 2011 CIBSE Journal 29
www.cibsejournal.com
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