CIBSE ROUNDTABLE DEBATE
more affordable, and that’s where a lot of research and a lot of practise engineering needs to come together, and other institutions like RIBA need to feed into that process.’ ‘One of the key things that can help
with this is building physics,’ says Ford. ‘There has just been a report on Building Engineering Physics from the Royal Academy of Engineering [RAE], and we are looking at the knowledge that building services engineers have about what causes things to happen within buildings – how to impart that knowledge in an interesting way so that people can actively build buildings that need less input from building services. ‘I’m hoping that the sharp division between architecture and engineering becomes a lot less clear. That’s something that excites young people, excites architects, excites engineers. Those are the kind of people that we are talking about so that, in 20 years’ time, we have the right people in place. We need to show them that this is an exciting place to be and it is.’
their life that people want to be in? We can’t cut costs, as we are being asked to do, unless we increase our efficiency all the way through the chain, but that has lots of implications – which we do need to talk about – and not just within CIBSE. I think the roles across the CIBSE membership will vary. They are not all just sitting in consultancies or contracting; they’ll be in building or client organisations, they’ll be in architectural firms; so this discussion starts with our members, but is also going to engage with wider groups. ‘A key part of the equation is how we
bring the facilities management side into the arena, how we give them a product that they can manage and improve on,’ says Adams, continuing the theme. ‘Buildings are not just to be built; they are to be operated and improved over their life. We should be looking at buildings that last longer because they’ve had input from design, from construction, from research. We’ve got to make our solutions for making buildings more efficient much
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Diversity One of Andy Ford’s themes in his presidential year was diversity and that’s going to continue. ‘We are working with the RAE on understanding how diversity is affecting the whole engineering profession and CIBSE itself is trying to take a lead on that. We need more people and we need a bigger pool.’ ‘A lot of this is about pointing out to
young engineers that the opportunities in building services are far, far wider than they were 25 years ago,’ says Fisk. ‘How do we capture and convert general engineering students into building services engineers? We need to get at these broader groups.’ ‘We are going to need some really good
people to come into our industry,’ thinks Adams. ‘How do we make it more exciting for them? It’s partly about defining what we do – we are part of creating enormously exciting buildings. Building services is not about sizing pipes and cables; it’s about creating really exciting places. We need to tell young people about being a building services engineer – it’s about being part of a creative team that develops a building.’ A recent CIBSE Board awayday focused
on the future of the building services industry: what it could look like in 10 to 20 years’ time; what effects issues such as globalisation, climate change and population growth are going to have; and
what are the challenges and opportunities for the industry, the institution and its members. The awayday started from RIBA’s own review of the future of the architecture profession (see the ‘Future for Architects?’ link at www.buildingfutures.
org.uk/projects). ‘Twenty years from now is when some
of our Young Engineers Network will be leading the industry and they need to start thinking about some of these issues as early as they can,’ says Fisk. ‘CIBSE has to maintain and improve its position as a thinking and knowledge-based institution, where we can give practising engineers the opportunity to debate different issues; and we should be there
THE DEBATERS
David Fisk CB FRAEng FCIBSE FRIBA (Hons) FIoP – CIBSE President 2012-13
David Fisk is director of the Laing O’Rourke Centre for Systems Engineering and Innovation at Imperial College London. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and an Honorary Fellow of RIBA. He was previously chief scientific adviser to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Department of the Environment, and head of the mechanical and electrical engineering division at the Building Research Establishment (BRE). He received the CB for services to the Department of Environment in 1996.
George Adams CEng MCIBSE – President-Elect
George Adams commenced work in the building services division of Matthew Hall, where he completed a formal engineering apprenticeship and degree, moving to his current position of engineering director for Spie Matthew Hall. His business experience ranges from consulting work, designing and managing sites, through to engineering leadership of large teams.
Andy Ford CEng FCIBSE – Immediate Past-President Andy Ford is technical director of Mott Macdonald Fulcrum Consulting, specialising in sustainable low energy design solutions for the built environment. He serves on the CIBSE Publications and Research Output Delivery Committee and is chairman of the UK Green Building Council policy committee.
July 2012 CIBSE Journal 23
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