GOVERNANCE AND ASSURANCE
Five key drivers for Terms of Reference review
In early 2019 a full governance review across all of IHEEM’s core business activities was undertaken by Head Office. The operation and management of Technical Platforms (TP) and Boards of Registration(AE) ((BOR(AE)) was identified as a corporate risk, and this, together with the recommendation to undertake a review, was discussed with and agreed by the Executive Council. As this article explains, the Engineering Council UK’s licencing review in 2019 also issued a ‘red alert’ in relation to how the TPs were being managed.
IHEEM’s CEO, Pete Sellars, says in explaining the review: “There were five key drivers that highlighted the need to review and update the Terms of Reference for our Technical Platforms and AE management arrangements, as follows: n To meet the licencing requirements set out by the Engineering Council UK in its 2019 review, and the Institute’s corporate responsibilities to the Charities Committee and all IHEEM members.
n To protect IHEEM from potential professional litigation and reputational damage.
n To ensure transparency, fairness, and inclusiveness, along with consistency across all aspects of TPs and registration boards in terms of structure, core competencies, accessibility, and levels of activity to support and update members.
n To create confidence across the system that all IHEEM activity is underpinned by robust governance and assurance, and operates within agreed standards and by appropriate codes of conduct.
n To support the 5 Year Business Plan commitment to modernise all elements of the Institute, ensuring that it is fit for purpose to respond to new opportunities and challenges.”
“In March 2019,” Pete Sellars continued, “I advised all TP chairs of the intention to undertake a review, and the broad context was then set out for initial feedback. This subsequently formed the basis of a detailed face-to-face discussion held in July 2019, where we sought initial feedback from TP Chairs around key topics such as professional indemnity, along with trademarking, and concerns around individuals and companies operating under the IHEEM brand without having approval to do so. In February 2020, at an IHEEM Strategic Planning event, Council considered the findings of that
review, and unanimously agreed that governance and assurance around TP and BoR(AE) activities should be strengthened to meet the points provided in the rationale set out above.”
A ‘broad plan’ developed Following further engagement, a broad plan was developed in May 2020, and in August 2020 a Working Group, chaired by IHEEM President, Paul Fenton, was established to ensure that all members of the Technical Platforms and BOR(AE)s had a fair and equitable chance to contribute to the discussion on behalf of their respective groups. The Working Group met several times to develop and
agree on a proposal to Council for a revised suite of documents based on a scope which featured a number of key issues, including: n The role and structure of the Technical Platforms and BOR(AE)s.
n Membership. n Independence and inclusivity. n Assurance of professional standards and behaviours.
n Process of appointment and re- appointment.
n Consistency of approach. n Transparency and fairness.
IHEEM President, Paul Fenton, said: “The Working Group spent in excess of 10 hours discussing and deliberating on a wide range of issues and areas as a group, not to mention the additional time the group’s members took to consult with Platform and Board members. Their input has been invaluable and much appreciated, especially during recent times, when our sector has been under such enormous strain and pressure. Although it has been a lengthy process, it is one which was vitally needed to ensure that robust governance is in place to protect both the Institute and Technical Platforms and AEs in their duties. I would like to thank the members of the Working Group for their time and commitment.”
Pete Sellars added “Following the completion of this review, I am delighted that to say that the Engineering Council UK has changed the ‘red alert’ to ‘green’, which is positive news, and clearly demonstrates why this work was so important.
New benefits
Each IHEEM AE will now be issued with a membership card, which will include their photograph, membership number, and registration expiry date.
22 Health Estate Journal August 2021
“Going forward, our Technical Platform members and IHEEM AEs can enjoy a number of new benefits – including dedicated AE logos for their own use, individual AE photo ID cards provided with an IHEEM lanyard, and individual listing in our online AE directory, as well as
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