• • • EDITOR’S INTERVIEW • • • “We are also exploring means of achieving
greater membership engagement. Since I’ve been part of the association, membership has grown significantly. I think we’ve got to about 150 member companies. If we were able to grow the number of members able to contribute to our working groups and activities by a similar growth rate the benefits to the wider membership would be terrific.” Mr Rees said that this is one of the challenges
for Catherine Walker, BCIA’s new executive officer. “Catherine joins the BCIA at a perfect time to
help us on our development journey, capitalising on the foundation George Lee has set as well as bringing new, fresh ideas from the wealth of experience she brings. We wish George well in his retirement and thank him for all the hard work as well as extend a very warm welcome to Catherine.” Mr Rees continued: “We say that the BCIA is
run by its members, for its members. What we’ve achieved is amazing, which has been achieved with member contributions. If the number of members contributing doubled, I think we would probably more than double the value derived for our members and the sector as a whole.” Mr Rees said he is convinced that there’s an
Looking at building controls, Mr Rees said that
people want buildings that are comfortable, and have a positive impact on their wellbeing, productivity, and their connection to the business. “Large corporations see their buildings as part
of their brand – they want to employ the best talent and the facilities that they provide, the environment they will work within are all part of the effort to attract and retain the very best,” Mr Rees said. “Of course, the very best controls are those that
you don’t see and you don’t even realise are working in the background. Because if you’re perfectly at ease and comfortable, you don’t give it a moment’s thought – even the smartest controls are most likely the ones that are invisible. If someone complains they’re too hot or too cold, then we got it wrong, but we can take those problems away.” Mr Rees said that a passion of his is not just
the initial installation, but what happens when the building has been in use for five or 10 years. “Systems really need to be maintained, and
operated as designed,” he said. “Using a building differently to its original design application can have a dramatic impact on the energy consumptions and, indeed, the comfort in a building. “Another challenge the industry faces around
service and maintenance of systems is ensuring providers are well informed. We really need to understand what the client and the users of the building are actually doing, to understand if the building is being used as the original design intended.” Mr Rees highlighted that systems can give a
whole host of data that shows what is actually going on and highlight suggestions of what may be done to improve energy efficiency or comfort. “I’m sure that will get even more headlines as
we approach the winter with the rising energy costs,” he said. “Nowadays, with the advances in technology it is possible to acquire far more intelligence from
electricalengineeringmagazine.co.uk ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING • SEPTEMBER 2022 13
systems and highlight areas of concern. The analytics that can be done using the system data can illustrate a whole raft of savings. These things interest me because they are not just about the sense of achievement when a new building is finished, they’re the ongoing engineering and fine tuning of systems to really get what the client needs, and also pare out all the unnecessary waste, which can be significant and often invisible.” While the apprenticeship programme is going
well, BCIA’s commercial training is very popular and, Mr Rees said, is ideal for anyone in the industry that wants to get people trained up. “One of the many things we’re considering as a
future opportunity is that whilst all of the training that we offer is largely technical, we also see similar skills gaps in sales training and project management training,” Mr Rees said.
exciting road ahead for the BCIA, including driving greater awareness of the benefits of controls more broadly. “Some clients probably have no appreciation at
all of what’s going on behind the scenes within their buildings, but if their environment is comfortable and they experience no issues then understandably they may just take it all for granted,” he said. “I think a broader awareness of what we
do would be a great benefit to the industry as a whole.” Mr Rees said the doors of the BCIA are always
open to new member applications. “The industry association has been around for
31 years, and it’s done fantastically well to grow to the position it’s at now,” he said. “It’s made an enormous contribution to the industry as a whole and will continue to do so.”
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