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INDUSTRY COMMENT: BCIA Making a difference


Terry Sharp, President of the Building Controls Industry Association, highlights some recent news stories which underline the importance of trade bodies like the BCIA.


at different stages in their careers. Roger Woodward was one of the founder members of what was then the Building Controls Group in 1991, while George Belfield was born that same year! The interview gave a fascinating insight into how the BCIA has grown into the industry body it is today and of its future priorities.


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Roger very accurately described the difficulties involved in promoting the BCIA as an important trade body and comparing its relevance to now. He said: “Companies are now much more open about their problems and opportunities but it took us a while to be able to promote the idea of the BCIA and get it recognised as a body that could influence decisions in industry and government. It is now a significantly more mature body compared to what it started out as.”


s part of its 30th anniversary celebrations the BCIA recently spoke to two members who are


Indeed we have seen a key example of the influence that trade bodies like the BCIA can have in the last couple of months. Among the many, many complicated details surrounding Brexit has been the issue of the UKCA mark, which the Government had intended to replace the established EU ‘CE’ product mark with by the end of this year. This would have meant that all UK manufactured or imported engineering services products would need to show the UKCA mark by the end of 2021. The BCIA, along with Actuate UK of which we are a part, warned that this would leave manufacturers and installers, clients and the public dealing with serious quality and contractual issues. Thankfully, the Government have listened to these concerns and extended the deadline by one year. The news that companies may continue to use the European Standard CE marking until the end of 2022 will ease the bottle-neck for testing laboratories, as only new products will require the UKCA mark before that date. It had been hoped that since the two standards (CE and UKCA) are claimed to be


harmonised, that a manufacturer with a successfully tested CE product could self-declare compliance with UKCA. If there is a need for re-testing for each standard, manufacturers will see additional costs for products destined for the UK marketplace.


Stark warnings


Of course, one of the BCIA’s most important ongoing missions is to improve energy efficiency in buildings through better


management and control. The well- documented statistic that buildings generate nearly 40 per cent of annual greenhouse gas emissions has to be improved and ignorance of the effect this has on our environment just won’t cut it with the stark warnings becoming more and more frequent. A recent report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns of the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre- industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, with extreme heatwaves, droughts and severe flooding all becoming increasingly more likely if the crisis is


not acted upon. We have already highlighted how the lockdown periods exposed the flaws in many organisations’ building management systems and underlined the need for better adaptability and tighter management of buildings. The encouraging news is that the younger generations are extremely aware of the threats to the planet they are inheriting from their forebears and it is people like George Belfield who will be carrying the BCIA torch for the next 30 years and beyond in ensuring it remains a force for positive change. As George said himself: “Adopt a problem- solving approach and try to avoid ‘pigeon-holing’ yourself in any one part of the industry. If you want to become a Software Engineer for example it’s useful to gain some knowledge in other areas as well, whether that’s working with a control panel and getting some hands-on experience or dealing with a call- out, you will always learn something that might prove valuable later in your career.”


I couldn’t have said it better. www.bcia.co.uk


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BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER OCTOBER 2021 9


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