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In his first column as President of the Building Controls Industry Association (BCIA), Malcolm Anson is encouraging professionals to work together in order to achieve better control and better building performance in the long‐term.
BUILDING CONTROLS BSEE Working together for long‐term success
was delighted to take on the role of the President of the BCIA in February this year. It's an organisation that has shown time and again what can be achieved when a trade association brings together people who can work towards a common goal. One of the big
achievements for the Association has been the development of the Building Controls Professional Assessment (BCPA). For many years, electricians have had the AM2 and their ECS card to demonstrate expertise. Controls engineers had to make do with an electrical trades card until now. The new Building Controls Engineer Gold Card from the ECS is linked to the BCPA and it tells contractors on-site that our engineers know their stuff.
By working together, members of the BCIA have developed a robust assessment that is helping to achieve a higher standard of recognition for the controls profession. This is not simply about promoting building controls and BEMS, but about getting our specialists
in on the important
conversations about building design and operation. Controls have a lot to contribute to long-term efficiency, and the knowledge of our
membership is vital to that. Building managers need to control energy to save it, not just drive down costs. Energy saving is what's required, not just a reduction in the fuel bill. Buildings need coordinated control systems, for all services, correctly set up by qualified engineers, and it’s our job to get BCIA members recognised as the specialists in that field.
However, this is not just about the increasingly specific skillset needed by our discipline, but also to help achieve another important goal – to end retentions and other onerous terms and conditions. An important element of recognition is that there is a strong argument to elevate the controls contractor to the same level as the mechanical contractor in the construction supply chain. Some jobs are so complicated that the mechanical contractors can’t assist with the controls
‘ Controls have a
lot to contribute to long‐term efficiency, and the knowledge of our membership is vital to that. Building managers need to control energy to save it, not just drive down costs.
’
in any way. In those scenarios, the controls engineers ought to be on the same contractual level as them, and not be reliant on the mechanical contractors having to release payments. We need to take a firm stance against continuance of the practice of retentions. For example, there could be a minimum value of project below which retentions are not held. As the owner of a small business myself, I know how harmful to cash flow late payment of retentions can be.
This is certainly an area where working together is crucial. The ECA and FETA have been doing an excellent job on retentions as well, and I look forward to standing beside them in their campaigns. If we all push together, we may get this issue to a head, and rid ourselves of the issue. Later this year (November 23rd) the BCIA will be working alongside the BESA and ECA. We are jointly hosting the Building Services Summit at the British Library. I have no doubt that this issue will be raised by all our memberships.
Collaboration on the Summit is not just about an event. It is going to be increasingly important for the BCIA to work with other associations in construction. Technology is driving greater connectivity, so many more items of plant will be installed with controls built in, and ready to connect to the building management system. With web-based protocols and open networks it is possible for us to have the AHU communicating with the boiler system and vice versa.
For the controls sector this means skill sets are changing. It's even more important for controls engineers to fully understand modern building services and communication networks, because we are knitting it all together, however we must not forget the basic principles of controls. It also gives another strong reason for professionals to work together in order to achieve better control, and better building performance in the long-term.
uBCIA President Malcolm Anson is also Managing Director of Clarkson Controls.
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BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER APRIL 2016 37
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