IHEEM AE REGISTERS


Vital advisory role of the AE (Electrical) stressed


In the final HEJ article of four published since January looking at the remit and responsibilities of IHEEM’s four current Authorising Engineer (AE) Registers and those registered on them, Mark Richards, chair of the Institute’s Electrical Technical Platform, who also sits on the AE (Electrical) Registration Board, examines the role of the Authorising Engineer (Electrical), and the process and criteria for registration. He also argues that collaboration between all the AE registers is essential to provide consistency across the profession, and to confirm to organisations employing AEs that the individuals have satisfied the technical and ‘soft skills’ criteria to become an Authorising Engineer.


Having read the three previous AE Register articles in HEJ (published in the January 2017, February 2017, and March 2017 issues), written by my peers, Graham Stanton, Dr Nick Hill, and Ian Sandford, I was pleased to discover that we all have a similar perception as to the role of the Authorising Engineer – with all the core principles associated with the role aligning with Health Technical Memoranda (HTM) 00, S(Scottish)HTM 00, W(Welsh) HTM 00, and the associated discipline-specific HTMs. HTM 00 addresses the general principles, key policies, and factors common to all engineering services within the healthcare organisation. These include, but are not limited to: a) Compliance with policy and relevant legislation.


b) Professional support and operational policy.


c) Design and installation. d) Maintenance.


e) Training requirements.


Applicable to all building engineering services


HTM 00, supported by the HTM suite of guidance documents, ensures that anyone concerned with designing,


procuring, or managing, a healthcare facility understands the requirements of the specialist, critical building, and the engineering technology involved. The guidance, including professional support, is applicable to all building engineering services, including those not covered by HTMs – for example, confined spaces, and steam and pressurised hot water, which are underpinned by statute and regulation.


All healthcare providers have a duty under legislation – namely the Health and Safety at Work Act – to ensure that appropriate engineering governance arrangements are in place and are managed effectively. HTMs are the main source of specific healthcare-related guidance for estates and facilities professionals; they provide best practice engineering standards and policy to enable management of this duty of care. The Health Technical Memorandum suite of documents make specific references to legislation, international and British Standards, HSE regulations (COSHH, PSSR, etc.), and other discipline- related standards, such as the Electricity at Work Regulations, and the Medical Devices Directive. Although the discipline- specific HTMs constitute guidance only,


Healthcare organisation board of directors: • Accountable officer (for designated service) • Executive and non-executive members


they enable the Healthcare Providers/ Regulated Care Providers to evidence their compliance with statutory and legislative standards, including the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009 (CQC Regulations), and the requirements relating to safety and suitability of premises; safety, availability and suitability of equipment, and cleanliness and infection control.


Right to expect


All users of the healthcare estate have a right to expect that the engineering systems and equipment they work with will be designed, installed, operated, and maintained, to standards that will enable them to function efficiently, reliably, and safely. Compliance with the guidance in the HTMs helps to accomplish these goals. Ensuring the quality and fitness for purpose of the healthcare estate should, of course, be one of the key drivers in ultimately delivering safe and efficient healthcare to patients, and ensuring that engineering staff have the resources to provide that service, without compromising safety.


External independent professional support


Appointed qualified technical staff


Competent technical staff


Figure 1: Management structure (from HTM 00, Chapter 3). 20 Health Estate Journal April 2017


Assesses support staff (safety)


Senior estates & facilities officer


Professional support The managers of a healthcare establishment require the services and support of technical and professional staff. The healthcare provider should consider the structure in Figure 1 (from HTM 00, Chapter 3), to be able to achieve compliance, not only with HTMs, but equally with other legislation such as the Pressure Equipment Regulations (PER) and the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations (PSSR). HTM 00, Chapter 3, describes the role and responsibilities of those within this this ‘professional support’ structure in greater depth. In HTM 00, the Authorising Engineer role and brief is defined as: ‘The AE will act as an independent professional adviser to the healthcare organisation.


© Department of Health.


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