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INDUSTRY COMMENT: BCIA


Thirty years of progress…. (never stopped me dreaming)


Terry Sharp, President of the Building Controls Industry Association, discusses the evolution of the BCIA since its formation in 1991.


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s the dust settled on yet another major football tournament in which sadly none of our home nations could bring home the trophy


(although England could not have got much closer), I am sure those who can remember might have let their minds wander back to what they were doing when England did win the football World Cup in 1966.


Sport does have a habit of producing those “Where were you when ‘X’ happened” moments - Neil Armstrong walking on the moon being an obvious non-sporting example.


In slightly more recent history, 1991 saw the breakdown of the former Soviet Union and England beaten (sigh) by Australia at Twickenham in the Rugby Union World Cup final. Perhaps more relevant to readers of this column was the formation of the BCIA, originally launched as the Building Controls Group (BCG) by Secretary of State for Energy John Wakeham in 1991. In its earliest days there were just 11 members, that figure has since risen to around 120. Before its inception many companies operating in the controls sector had felt for some time that there was no single focus for their efforts to strengthen and develop the technology. It was subsequently decided to set up a new group within the Energy Systems Trade Association (ESTA). The new group’s key objectives were to establish a professional Code of Conduct, and advance technical standards, contract conditions and training and marketing the benefits of controlling energy usage and making potential users aware of the technology available to them.


played a crucial role in shaping our built environment up to this stage and I am proud to be able to oversee this significant landmark with the belief that the organisation will go from strength to strength in the next 30 years


‘The BCIA has ’ Read the latest at: www.bsee.co.uk


An industry worth celebrating


Thirty years later these core aims remain at the heart of the Association’s activity, and in 2007 it was decided that the innovative thinking and achievements in our industry were worth celebrating as the first ever BCIA Awards was held. The increasing popularity of this event is demonstrated by the record numbers of entries and attendees it now attracts, as well as the great variety of celebrity guest speakers in recent years. There have been some very interesting industry developments since the BCIA’s inception. Soon after the Association started, a second group of control system specialists was formed amongst the then installers of BEMS. Back then, the market was dominated by the controls manufacturers and names like Satchwell, Honeywell, Landis & Gyr, Staefa and Tour & Andersen held the majority share. These days over three-quarters of controls installations and servicing is done by the independent sector and most controls manufacturers focus on product development and distribution. Technological advancements have also changed the marketplace and perhaps most markedly is the emergence of affordable open communications standards that allow hybrid systems and brands to coexist within a BEMS. Gone are the traditional motor control centre (MCC) panels which housed the starter gear and large data gathering outstations of the early BEMS. These days smart plant, often with individual remote controllers, share operational data over IT networks or edge- technologies directly to the cloud. Thirty years from now I have every faith that the core aims mentioned earlier will still be driving the BCIA forward. The BCIA has played a crucial role in shaping our built environment up to this stage and I am proud to be able to oversee this significant landmark with the belief that the organisation will go from strength to strength in the next 30 years. And by then maybe, just maybe, we will have enjoyed another home nations success in a major football tournament! We can but dream….


www.bcia.co.uk BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER SEPTEMBER 2021 9


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