IHEEM AE CONFERENCE 2019
AEs should be expert and impartial advisers
Authorising Engineers (AEs) have a key role to play in ensuring the safe, efficient management and operation of key plant, equipment, and systems in a range of engineering disciplines in hospitals and other healthcare facilities, in accordance with key HTM and other guidance, and legislation. Speaking at the IHEEM AE Conference 2019 at Cranmore Park near Birmingham on 20 March, senior consultant/Authorising Engineer (Water), Philip Lonsdale, MIHEEM, of the Water Hygiene Centre, addressed the topic, ‘AE (W), friend or foe, or both?’
Beginning with his own professional background, Philip Lonsdale explained that since starting work in the water hygiene field in 1996, he has worked with private, public sector, and public services clients ‘at all organisational levels’, advising a broad spectrum of clients – including NHS Trusts, hospitality and leisure facilities, retailers, and residential and commercial property management companies – on maintaining safe, hygienic water systems. He currently acts as an AE (Water) for the Water Hygiene Centre, is a member of IHEEM and the Water Management Society, and an associate member of the Royal Society for Public Health. His previous experience includes: Consultancy support following HSE Improvement Notices;
Incident investigation, producing a close monitoring programme and prioritised action plan to immediately control systems and eradicate Legionella counts;
Third party reviews of Legionella risk assessment, evaluating property risk ratings to ensure that high risk sites are adequately assessed; Training provision.
Drawing on personal experience The speaker explaining that, while very much the same obligations would apply to AEs working in other disciplines, he would be focusing in his presentation on the work, duties, and responsibilities of an AE (W) working in healthcare, drawing on his own experience. He said: “From my own and colleagues’ experience, there is no question that confidence in the AE, and in their knowledge, experience, and expertise, can play a key part in successful water safety management.” He continued: “HTM 00 succinctly defines the AE’s role as being that of ‘an independent auditor and assessor of competency and performance’. Interestingly, the theme of today’s conference is ‘Why do we need an AE?’, and I must say that I find it quite puzzling why the question is asked as frequently as it is. Having spent the past
The Cranmore Park Conference & Event Centre – the venue for the IHEEM Authorising Engineer Conference 2019.
18 years providing water safety consultancy services to clients in a variety of fields – never as an employee, but always as an external advisor – the benefits seem pretty clear to me – you get an experienced subject specialist, and only pay for them when you need to, without the permanency and hit-and-miss of recruitment. You can also ‘shop around’ and get the knowledge, experience, and approach, that best fits your organisational circumstances.”
More productive
Philip Lonsdale said an external AE’s ‘productivity’ might well also be higher (than somebody employed ‘in house’), since such individuals were ‘generally conscious of the need to finish a job and get paid’, while their views and opinions were ‘usually impartial’, since they were not influenced by organisational budget, staffing, and other pressures.
He added: “HTM 00 indeed makes clear that the AE’s job is to provide independent services, to act as an assessor of both competency and performance, to monitor performance, and to provide an annual
audit. Of course,” he added, “the notion of an AE being truly ‘independent’ can be a little contentious, because one could argue that nobody works entirely without commercial interest. We AEs are, however, ‘independent’ because we are not employees, and are thus free from the client organisation’s particular pressures and ‘politics’. We can also offer impartiality without conflict of interest. Furthermore, AEs may be professionally obligated to act in accordance with relevant Codes of Practice, such as those from IHEEM and the Legionella Control Association.”
Quite a ‘loose’ description Turning to the suggested functions and obligations of an AE under HTM 04-01, Safe water in healthcare premises, Philip Lonsdale said the guidance gave ‘quite a loose description only’. He elaborated: “The HTM does suggest that the AE (W) should be part of a Trust’s Water Safety Group, and that they should provide services in accordance with the HTM and the HSE’s HSG 274 Technical Guidance.” In practice, he told delegates, the level of
May 2019 Health Estate Journal 33
Cranmore Park Conference & Event Centre
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