IHEEM 2022 AE CONFERENCE
A focus on how standards evolve and their impact
Speaking at IHEEM’s 2022 Authorising Engineers conference, titled ‘Meeting the Standard’, at Epsom Downs Racecourse on 6 July, Brian Kirk, who chairs the Institute’s Decontamination Technical Platform, and Paul Harris, Chair of the IHEEM Electrical Technical Platform, took an in-depth look at the evolution of the wide range of standards applicable to different disciplines within healthcare engineering and estate management, and how they continue to develop. They also looked at how IHEEM AEs and others in the sector with relevant expertise and experience can contribute. HEJ editor, Jonathan Baillie, reports.
The one-day IHEEM 2022 AE conference took place in the spacious setting of the Diomed Room on the first floor of the Duchess’s Stand at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey, which enjoys spectacular views over the racecourse and surrounding Surrey downland. The Institute partnered with Air Sentry and GPT Consult to stage the event. Delegates – many IHEEM-registered AEs – attended from all parts of the British Isles, with the topics covered in an engaging and lively conference programme ranging from the evolution of national and international standards, and what AEs can do to influence them, and the appointment of Authorised Persons (AP) in healthcare – and whether the process requires regulation/registration, to ‘The way forward in Scotland’, the importance of AEs being independent, and the current major drive toward Net Zero. Welcoming delegates, IHEEM’s CEO,
Pete Sellars, said he was pleased to see not only many experienced healthcare EFM personnel attending, but also tradespeople and apprentices. (GPT Consult supported tradespeople attending, and Troup, Bywaters + Anders paid the delegate fees for apprentices.) He then handed over to IHEEM Council member, Nigel Keery OBE, to introduce the day’s first speakers, Brian Kirk and Paul Harris. Nigel Keery explained that they would be discussing ‘How standards evolve, and how you can influence them’. Speaking first, Brian Kirk BSc, MSc, PhD, MRPharmS, FIHEEM, AE (D), Chair of IHEEM’s Decontamination Technical Platform, said: “The focus of our talk today is how standards evolve and – importantly – how IHEEM, and you as individual members, can influence them. Hopefully you will be interested in engaging in this process in the future.”
British, European, and International standards He continued: “I have considerable experience in the development of
Brian Kirk, who chairs the Institute’s Decontamination Technical Platform, has extensive experience in the development of ISO, EN, and British Standards.
the ISO, EN, and British Standards for decontamination, and Paul has similar experience on the electrical standards, so our purpose today will be to provide a brief introduction to what standards are, and how they evolve and develop – using decontamination and electrical standards as examples. We also want to help you understand how IHEEM, its members, and AEs, can influence the content.” Standards, Brian Kirk explained, were
‘written documents agreed by consensus of all parties involved’. He said: “So, there might be two parties involved in agreeing a ‘standard’. I use that term in inverted commas – it might be a technical addendum to a contract you have agreed with your client – essentially a standard on how you will deliver the product or service they want.” Standards were often approved by a recognised regulatory body, and then became a means for conformity assessment. Brian Kirk elaborated: “So, if you’re making a product, and following a certain standard, linked to a regulatory document, that’s a means
of proving that you meet the regulatory requirements specified. Otherwise, it might be a specification for a given device, or a process, to achieve a desired end-point.” In ‘his world’, Brian Kirk said this might, for example, be the sterility of a medical device. He added: “We have a specific standard, which you can see on the slide – EN 556, which talks about what is meant by a product labelled ‘sterile’.”
Why are standards needed? Turning to why standards were needed, Brian Kirk showed an illustration of a cart with square wheels – ‘not what we want to end up with’. He said: “Basically, it’s to ensure that what we want is what we get. So, it could be part of a purchasing specification, to avoid cross-border barriers to trade. Way before we had the European Union,” he continued, “every country would have its own specific product standards, and manufacturers would have to manufacture to those. The harmonisation of all these standards within Europe meant we had a common
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