IHEEM’S NEW PRESIDENT
being considered as the next President about 18 months ago, I put together a personal statement outlining my suitability.” This included reference to the fact that in May 2010 (just before her 30th birthday), she had been diagnosed with Mediastinal Large B-Cell Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and had to undergo a year of chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment. She said: “During this time, I continued working on various engineering projects, and arranged my chemotherapy treatments so they took place just before weekends, meaning I could be back at work the following week. Work was very much a good distraction. After eight cycles of chemotherapy at Harrogate District Hospital, and 15 sessions of Radiotherapy at St. James’s University Hospital in Leeds, I was given the all-clear. It has now been almost 12 years since I was first diagnosed, and I continue to live a normal and happy life, reviewing and setting new goals regularly.”
Succession planning Alison Ryan had joined IHEEM’s Council in 2019, and believes her being approached about the Presidency – following a suggestion from Ian Hinitt, who has strong Yorkshire connections and knows her well professionally – was part of IHEEM’s succession planning strategy. She explained: “I have been involved with IHEEM for about 15 years now, beginning with a spell on the Yorkshire Branch Committee. I first heard about IHEEM through DSSR, who encouraged me to join on the basis that membership is good for professional development. I subsequently served as Branch Secretary, Treasurer, and Chair, before being asked to chair IHEEM’s Professional Development Committee – an area that is a real passion of mine – including the STEM aspects. From there I joined Council.” She admits she was both ‘very pleased
and pretty proud’ to be approached about the President’s role. She said: “It was fantastic to be asked to be IHEEM’s first female President, and I think it shows how far the industry has come. In my view it is a step in the right direction gender equality- wise.” I wondered whether she had ever felt her career had been ‘held back’ by her
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The perception of women in engineering has changed. I think businesses and people are wanting to be more diverse. It has to be from the top down though, which is exactly what the Institute is doing
gender. She said: “I found myself the only female among 30 or so students on my HNC, and indeed on my distance learning course I was one of few women. However, the perception of women in engineering, and indeed in a whole raft of other jobs – has changed – driven largely by wider behavioural change. I think businesses and people are wanting to be more diverse. It has to be from the top down though, which is exactly what the Institute is doing.”
Recruiting engineers It had already become clear that one of the new President’s roles would be recruitment, and promoting STEM subjects and careers in schools and colleges. She said: “I have always been involved with careers evenings, and doing presentations at local schools in Harrogate and Ripon, and this year signed up as a STEM Ambassador, leading a Faraday Challenge Day at the Sirius Academy in Hull during the summer. The students had to design something that would improve the hospital environment for the patient. Some of them produced mood lighting, and others audio- visual and voice-activated devices, all working from a limited set of components to a tight timescale and budget. There was some impressive effort. IHEEM has already made strong progress on the STEM agenda, and has some great connections with schools and colleges, largely due to the work of former Presidents, Ian Hinitt, Pete Sellars, and my immediate forerunner, Paul Fenton.”
Changing times? Earlier in our discussion, Alison Ryan had acknowledged that there was little focus on engineering careers in the latter part of her secondary education, but I wondered if she thought things had changed. She said: “I think all the work with STEM is strongly
promoting engineering. In my view, discussion on future career opportunities in engineering needs to start at about the age of 14 – since that is when youngsters are considering their GCSE subject choices.” I wondered about her other priorities during her Presidency. She said: “Obviously, Net Zero Carbon, and building and refurbishing healthcare estate more sustainably, must be a key focus. The sustainability aspect is really important for me in authoring the new guidance on refurbishments, and I hope many in the EFM community will get involved by submitting their views. I would strongly encourage people to get involved at consultation stage, which is likely to be next year.”
Sustainable thinking I wondered whether she thought most in the healthcare EFM and engineering community were already thinking quite ‘sustainably’ given the imperative to do so. She said: “I think the last five years have seen a real shift. Even five years ago, we were still replacing boilers with gas-fired boilers and CHP.” Looking ahead at where the greatest opportunities for ‘alternative’ renewable fuel sources might lie, she added: “I think one is low carbon electric technologies, which are improving year on year. We are also looking at embodied carbon in terms of the building materials we use, and how they were manufactured – something we have never really properly considered before. In terms of future M&E plant, I think both air and ground source heat pumps could have a significant role, although currently take-up is being hindered both by costs and the operating temperatures, especially where the pumps are being installed retrospectively for existing buildings, because the traditional technologies operated at much higher temperatures.”
The new IHEEM President, pictured just behind Pete Sellars and Paul Fenton, with representatives from the Institute, at the Faraday Challenge 2021-2022 Finals Day.
Different parameters Alison Ryan explained that air and ground source heat pumps need to operate at lower operating temperatures. She said: “This means existing heat emitters – such as radiators – may not provide the same heat output. This would either require replacing the heat emitters, or installing supplementary heating. Currently,” she added, “air and ground source heat pumps are expensive to buy and install, while on retrofit schemes, installers have to be aware of issues such as compatibility and
November 2022 Health Estate Journal 37
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