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The CIBSE presidential blog prompted two discussions on LinkedIn concerning the role of FMs and urban planting
Malcolm Wallace I’m presuming that, to be chartered, a person will need a university degree, more so in this age of globalisation. And I do wonder whether FM is one of those professions that naturally lends itself to non-university educated people with a broader and deeper range of experience. I think the requirements of any professional registration absolutely has to enhance and not hinder the chances of that person performing.
Jim Kingston I often despair of FMs not being aware of new technologies; not wanting to understand the requirements of new tenants; working hard to find fault with contractors working in their building, rather than working with them so that what they are constructing will, in the future, make the FM easier... And when it comes to energy efficiency and sustainability, if chartered, they
Martyn Horton This can only be done if they have the same technical qualifications as chartered engineers, otherwise it de-values and makes a mockery of chartered status. We also need to realise that people become FMs from a broad range of backgrounds, including soft services such as cleaning or catering.
may then understand what the words actually mean and what they should be doing to promote this. RICS already has Chartered Facilities
Management Surveyors, which belong to the FM Professional Group, which I believe has about 12,000 members. In my experience, few FM managers
belong to RICS. The majority are probably non-graduate, although that is changing with FM graduates entering the profession, along with those from other disciplines. My personal view is that you need
a good mixture of non-graduates and graduates in the engineering field and, in FM, there needs to be a gentle tilt towards increasing the latter, who tend to think more broadly and strategically.
FMs should become chartered sooner rather than later
Rob Farman There are many professions that are chartered: surveying; architecture; accountancy; marketing; personnel and development; physiotherapy; and sciences, like biology and chemistry. My view is that FM should become chartered sooner rather than later, and I think it will help BIFM up its game to gain its charter. Where I do agree – and have often advocated with BIFM LinkedIn discussions – is that FM managers need to improve their technical knowledge, particularly, of energy and sustainability. However, they do not need – and cannot afford – to spend the time studying to the same depth as a design engineer.
l Join the debate at CIBSE’s LinkedIn group.
www.linkedin.com The presidential blog is at
www.cibsepresidentblog.co.uk
CIBSE asks: what role does urban planting play in tackling climate change?
John Coleman Has anyone noticed that where there are thermally inefficient buildings with adjacent vegetation, there is a tendency to create micro climates that encourage insect, plant and bird-life? Thus robins, dunnocks and wrens survive during harsh weather in towns, as opposed to rural areas where stocks diminish significantly. I’m not proposing to justify poor thermal performance – rather that improvement will have an impact.
20 CIBSE Journal February 2014
Julie Futcher Here in London, we have a tendency to build on every square inch, with the development of brownfield seen as sustainable sites... I think this stance is wrong and that we need to revaluate this approach... along with the one that says its bad to develop the sterile green belt... I’m not saying build on the green belt, I’m saying we have to get this into some kind of
perspective...This includes the positive influence that open spaces in central urban
environments have on building energy management.
William Roberts I am not a tree hugger, [but] maybe if we all planted at least one tree a year, our children would have better air quality?
Malcolm Wallace For a pro-tree city, come and have a look at Toronto. The view from the 24th floor of a downtown office tower was of a pure urban forest – a canopy of trees.
This is supported by local
by-laws that some may consider draconian – it’s illegal to cut down a tree (definition: anything with a ‘trunk’ more than 4”) even on your own property. The downside is plenty of leaf raking in autumn and, of course, the extensive power outages after last week’s ice storm (falling branches bringing down overhead lines). The upside is an urban environment that is definitely nicer than that of many cities in the world.
www.cibsejournal.com
BIKERIDERLONDON / SHUTTERSTOCK
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