INDUSTRY COMMENT A new era for BCIA
New BCIA President Stacey Lucas discusses her pathway toward this celebrated and important industry role and outlines some of her goals for the next two years
AquiTron AT-SRG A revolutionary new refrigerant gas sensor for occupied spaces
H
ello! It is a real honour to be taking over the role of BCIA President from Graeme Rees, who has done a fantastic job in increasing member engagement and setting us onto a clear path as an organisation carrying recognition, respect and influence in the building controls industry. I am looking forward to sharing our ideas and progress as well as a general industry viewpoint through this column.
I am of course very proud to also become the first female President of the BCIA and to also welcome Jen Vickers as the new Vice-President. Jen’s experience and knowledge of the industry has already been of great value to the BCIA and I look forward to working with her to achieve our aims for the next few years. One of the things I love about the building controls industry is the diversity in roles, skills and people that come together to bring life to buildings. There are many routes that people have taken into our industry – whether by choice or by coincidence – it is an industry that never fails to fascinate. Some people might have had their mind set on an engineering career path from an early age, whereas others might have found their way into the industry later in life purely by accident. However you came to be in building controls we are happy you choose to be here. There will be many like me who joined without any prior knowledge of the mystical magic that is building controls and progressed up the ladder as they learned more about the industry. I joined Sontay in 2001 as a Customer Service Advisor and worked my way up through customer service, sales, operations and marketing areas of the business. During this time I have established long lasting relationships with many connections in our industry. The experience and insight I have gained in these years has given me a strong base of industry knowledge and technical understanding which continues to prove invaluable in this ever-evolving sector.
Looking ahead
We’re just a couple of months away from the BCIA’s highlight of the year – the BCIA Awards – which will take place in a fresh new venue this year, at Birmingham’s Eastside Rooms. We have once again received a huge number of entries of exceptional quality, making the judging process extremely difficult. The finalists will be announced very shortly, so if you have entered keep an eye out to see if you have made the shortlist, and I look forward to celebrating with many of you on the night. In the longer term we wish to build on the great progress already made in a number of
areas, such as amplifying the voice of the BCIA to highlight the value of building controls, influencing policy makers, changing perceptions about the wider industry and promoting our inclusivity. Our ongoing investment in training remains a top priority as we look to close the skills gap and promote the building controls sector as a career of choice. One of the ways in which we can do this is celebrating apprenticeships which is something that National Apprenticeship Week in February allowed us, along with a wide variety of other industries, to do. National Apprenticeship Week, which ran between 5th-11th February 2024 provided an ideal opportunity for top employers and organisations to come together and inform people about their opportunities to thousands of candidates who are actively seeking an apprenticeship. Apprenticeships are a crucial part of the building controls industry and it is up to us as an organisation to showcase our sector as an exciting place to be. Also taking place during National Apprenticeship Week was T Level Thursday, on which the Department of Education shared a range of content across its channels to shine a light on the career pathways that a T Level course can open up to students after their GCSEs. Optimising the opportunity of T Levels for our members will bring benefits for employers and school leavers alike and hopefully help to flood the industry with new talent full of enthusiasm, passion and fresh thinking.
Read the latest at:
www.bsee.co.uk
Safeguard your customers and air
conditioning systems with the installation of a refrigerant gas leak sensor
15+ YEAR LIFETIME, NO CALIBRATION REQUIRED Low lifetime cycle cost of ownership
IMMUNE TO POISONING
The sensor is not affected by hairspray, deodorants or other non-target gases
COMPACT DESIGN AND EASY INSTALLATION Fits into a single gang electrical wall socket
230Vac and low voltage options available
Can be retrofitted to replace older semi-conductor sensor technologies
MULTIPLE ALARM OUTPUTS
Audible and visual together with centralised and BMS monitoring capabilities
COMPLIANCE: STANDARDS & REGULATIONS Helps achieve BS EN378: 2016, BREEAM Pol 01 and F-GAS
& 01403 216100
info@aquilar.co.uk .
www.aquilar.co.uk Aquilar hp BSEE
Mar24.indd 1 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER MARCH 2024 11 9/2/24 13:43
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