Industry opinion A family concern
The convergence of technology should be refl ected in the way different sectors cooperate, says Matthew Griffi ths, CEO of PLASA
M
y father left the Royal Navy in 1946 at the age of 18 and, having learnt basic electrical and electronic skills, found a job as an electrician in one of London’s West End theatres. He then went on to spend his whole career in what we now know as ‘entertainment technology’ and, like so many other families, I followed into the same trade as my father.
His youngest brother left school, became an electrician and joined an electrical contractor where he too spent his whole career. His sons also followed into the same trade.
Both men reached the top of their professions,
but in their day – back in the 1960s and 1970s – entertainment technology and electrical contracting were viewed as being worlds apart, and operated as such. Within our family, though, both brothers were considered the same – they were both electricians. The family, of course, were right. Whatever industry sector they went into, they both had to have the basic principles of physics and electrical knowledge under their belt.
From that, we will be able to look at a range of areas both organisations are already involved in to see if there are synergies in working more closely together.
Skills agenda
Entertainment technology is becoming more and more relevant to the electrical contracting industry
Pulling together Some 50 years later, the electrical industry is a different place, and the myriad technical disciplines are converging on to the same professional delta. Entertainment technology is becoming more and
more relevant to the electrical contracting industry, with installation and system integration of audio, digital projection, effect lighting, software and staging being progressively used in the industrial landscape. Customers, architects and consultants are all becoming increasingly aware of the economic advantage of using entertainment technology in their specifi cations, so it makes sense that both sectors become not only more aware of each other, but also start to share their collective knowledge resource. We can do this in a number of ways, beginning with
PLASA and the ECA having a closer working relationship based on frequent communication. That has already begun to happen, and I am sure will go on from strength to strength.
The most obvious areas for cooperation would be skills training and qualifi cations, which would enable our industry workforce to move between technical disciplines while maintaining the high level of capability and competence that’s already expected. Technical standards, regulation and access to technical assistance are other areas where both PLASA and the ECA could share established resources. All our businesses are under intense economic pressure at the moment, and wherever we can make the broader industry more coherent from a technical standpoint or less onerous from a regulatory position the better it will be for all the companies and individuals we represent. Another area, which I think would be of real commercial benefit to all concerned, is the collation of market data for both sectors. As I mentioned earlier, there is a convergence of technologies that has been under way for some years, and for businesses planning in the coming years there is a need for quantitative and qualitative market intelligence from all sectors of the industry.
Networking Finally there is the networking angle that in a roundabout way brings me back to the family metaphor at the beginning of this piece.
About the author
Matthew Griffi ths Matthew Griffi ths is chief executive offi cer of PLASA, the lead international membership body for those supplying technologies and services to the event, entertainment and installation industries.
Both sectors should engage more on a business-to- business level and not view each other as completely different industries or sectors. There is a lot to be learned on both sides, as technology – and, more particularly, the application of that technology – fi lters into mainstream electrical contracting.
A great place to see that technology and its many applications – and, perhaps, to meet distant relatives in the electrical family – is the PLASA 2012 Trade Show held in Earl’s Court London between the 9-12 September. I look forward to meeting some of you there.
September 2012 ECA Today 23
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