NEWS
Concerns grow after nuclear switch-off
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is facing a popular backlash over rising energy prices 18 months after switching off her country’s nuclear power following the crisis at the Japanese Fukushima plant.
Energy consumers face 50% rises in energy taxes next January to pay for a huge increase in renewable power with a typical family of four expected to pay an extra ¤250 a year. A special tariff of 5.3 cents per kilowatt hour will be levied on users – up from 3.6 cents – but many politicians fear that the country will still be left with an energy gap that could result in increased use of coal- fired power stations.
‘Electricity should not become a luxury item,’ said Michael Fuchs, a leading figure in Merkel’s coalition government. ‘The energy switchover will only be successful if it is met with broad public support.’
Germans swoop on UK ductworker
Major UK ductwork contractor Senior Hargreaves has been sold to German engineering group M+W.
The takeover of the £20m turnover firm was described as ‘logical’ by the Hargreaves senior management and will result in it changing its name to Hargreaves Ductwork. The Lancashire-based company employs 200 staff and provides ventilation systems to a range of major commercial and industrial users.
‘I am very pleased to announce the disposal of Hargreaves to M+W and to wish the management and employees of Hargreaves all the very best for the future with their new, and more logical, owners,’ said Senior’s chief executive Mark Rollins. M+W is a global engineering, construction and project management company based in Stuttgart. It had sales of ¤2.5bn last year and employs 7,000 staff.
‘The Hargreaves team has a long history and extensive experience in technology -based projects, which fits well with our strategic plans for sustained growth in our target markets of science and research, technology manufacturing facilities and energy-based programs,’ added Peter Greenhalgh, chief executive of M+W UK.
10 CIBSE Journal November 2012
NG Bailey engineer is Graduate of the Year
technical society) and last year’s Graduate of the Year Angela Malynn.
l Winner scoops trip to Dallas as VIP guest of ASHRAE
Lee Tabis, a 22-year-old trainee design engineer with NG Bailey, has been named the CIBSE ASHRAE Graduate of the Year 2012. He received his award from CIBSE President David Fisk during the CIBSE Young Engineers’ Awards, sponsored by Lochinvar and Ruskin Air Management, held at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers on October 11. JDP was named the Employer of the Year for its outstanding record of investment in the education of young engineers and its advanced apprenticeship programme. Lee, a graduate of Leeds College of Building, was selected from a shortlist of seven outstanding young engineers. Each finalist was challenged to give a presentation to an audience and a distinguished judging panel that included the presidents of CIBSE and ASHRAE (the American
Lee’s prize is a trip to Dallas, Texas to attend the ASHRAE Winter Meeting in January. There he will be a VIP guest of the Society and will serve as CIBSE’s ‘ambassador’ for young engineers. Chris Marien, of Brunel University, and design practice Calfordseaden was the runner-up and received a cheque for £500 from the Rumford Club. Imran Shaikh, a graduate of BITS Pilani in India and a design engineer with CKR Consulting in Dubai, was placed third and received £250. Also shortlisted were Dinachi Onuzo of Imperial College and AECOM; Georgina Donnelly from Cambridge University and Arup; Baljit Bhogal of Coventry University and WSP; and Tom Greenhill from Bristol University and Max Fordham.
Each finalist had just five minutes to address the topic: ‘How will I help to engineer better communities?’ This subject was chosen to complement the theme of ASHRAE President Tom Watson’s talk to the UK industry on ‘Broadening Horizons’, which was another highlight of the packed programme. David Warriner received the IMechE
Construction and Building Services Division (CBSD) special achievement award following the inaugural CBSD lecture by Professor Tony Day. In the Employer of the Year Awards, AECOM was named winner of the large company category; Max Fordham won the medium company section; with JDP taking the small employer award, as well as the overall accolade. Shortlisted were Hoare Lea; Cundall Johnson and Method.
www.cibse.org
BIM the focus of new design framework
BSRIA’s Design Framework for Building Services (BG6) has been updated to help project teams manage design activities related to building information management (BIM) as well as the production of building information models.
The research body said the third edition of the framework was important because greater use of BIM ‘can help avoid confusion amongst the project team by defining more clearly the different stages of model development’. ‘It can also assist with avoiding the conflicts that sometimes occur during the handover of information from designer to installer,’ BSRIA added.
There are now direct references to BIM
deliverables, including the different types of model appropriate for design of building services; definitions of the range of building information models for building services design; clearer sub-division of RIBA Stage F1 into parts dealing with detailed design and co-ordination of building services; along with an overview of the activities required to deliver Soft Landings. However, BSRIA added that this would only be an ‘interim document’, as the pace of change and wider adoption of BIM meant that a fourth edition of the Framework would be required ‘within the next couple of years’. The Framework is priced at £50, or is available as a free download to BSRIA members.
www.cibsejournal.com
SIMON WEIR
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