BESA conference will focus on the ‘four Rs’ CONFERENCE PREVIEW
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The eighth Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) Annual Conference will take place on Thursday, 17 October at the Brewery in London
t will set out to: ‘Inspire a better building engineering services industry for a safe, sustainable, and efficient future’ with a broad programme of technical and topical seminars.
Registration is now open for the one-day event, which is sponsored by Mitsubishi Electric and is designed to appeal to a broad range of industry professionals, young engineers, manufacturers, specifiers, and procurers of building services projects. Young engineers can attend free of charge. Presenters and debaters will seek to deliver the ‘four Rs’ of Roles, Responsibilities, Risks and Rewards giving delegates an insight into growing legislative pressures and the associated contractual risk, but also highlighting the growing business opportunities available to building services specialists. This year’s conference will feature more panel discussions and fewer lengthy PowerPoint presentations. While the programme of technical topics is wide ranging, there will be a common thread covering competence and compliance in line with the increased amount of legislative scrutiny created by the Building Safety Act.
Pitfalls
The Association will be showcasing its ‘Play it Safe’ awareness campaign that helps all supply chain members identify their specific roles and responsibilities under the Act. This will be supported by a detailed legal &
commercial update highlighting the likely additional contractual risks associated with the Act and providing practical guidance on avoiding potential legal pitfalls. There will be an enhanced focus on skills during the 2024 conference, again with a view to ensuring all BESA members and others across the building services landscape have access to the appropriate training. A dedicated ‘Skills Zone’ will introduce employers to a comprehensive suite of training services and recruitment support along with guidance on how to identify and address skills shortages. Net Zero will be another key topic but again with a strong focus on ensuring the industry has the right breadth of skills and experience to meet the unprecedented challenge of retrofitting and refurbishing the UK’s existing 30 million buildings to meet climate change goals. The latest developments around heat pump technology along with the transition towards lower global warming refrigerants, including increased safety fears linked to flammable gases, will dominate one highly anticipated session. Another seminar will provide the latest updates on the deployment of heat interface units (HIUs) and the wider topic of heat network performance, including the newly launched quality assurance scheme to safeguard consumers. BESA’s young engineers – represented by its growing NextGen Network – will lead several sessions with a particular emphasis on emerging technologies and the need for
more industry mentoring. They will also lead a session on Artificial Intelligence (AI) which will demonstrate how this technology can improve productivity and project quality using digital-led building maintenance as an example. Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) will feature
prominently, but this year the session will focus specifically on retrofitting buildings to address the growing health crisis caused by poor standards of ventilation and air filtration, particularly in the social housing sector.
Barriers
The role of offsite fabrication of building services modules will also come under renewed scrutiny with a discussion exploring its potential to improve productivity and address skills shortages. Similarly, the topic of commissioning will be in the spotlight with leading practitioners sharing their frustrations over the continued lack of time and resources given to this essential service while also explaining the latest developments.
Several updates to BESA’s technical guidance will be unveiled during the day. Water efficiency, performance and management will be on the agenda for the first time with the involvement of the regulator. The Conference will be followed by the BESA Industry Awards.
The event is designed to showcase and reward individuals, teams, and companies
responsible for delivering projects, products, innovations, and initiatives that demonstrate excellence in building services engineering. Several new categories have been
introduced including Retrofit Project of the Year to reflect the growing focus on refurbishment of existing buildings to meet net zero targets and improve occupant health and well-being. The increased focus on training and skills led to the first Training Provider of the Year Award for BESA’s training partners. This sits neatly alongside the new Competence and Compliance category which celebrates the growing focus on raising professional standards and helping building engineering firms prove their ability to comply with increasingly stringent legislation. The BESA Industry Awards 2024 also continue the Association’s long-standing tradition of celebrating and rewarding apprentices and other emerging building services talent with the first Rising Star of the Year award.
For details contact
awards@theBESA.com
THE BREWERY LONDON
The BESA Annual Conference is the premier event for industry professionals, visionary speakers, leading industry exhibitors and aspiring leaders. It is the perfect place to connect with a trusted community and help shape the future of our industry.
The BESA Annual Conference is the premier event for industry professionals, visionary speakers, leading industry exhibitors and aspiring leaders.
Dr Jo Jolly
Director, Environment and Innovation OFWAT
Emma Gibbons
Air Quality Specialist and DoctoralResearcher University College London
Industry experts from across the United Kingdom will join us to deliver some of the most thought provoking topics in the sector.
Read the latest at:
www.bsee.co.uk BESA Conference hp BSEE
Sep24.indd 1
Professor Dhiya Al-Jumeily OBE
Professor of Artificial Intelligence Liverpool John Moores University
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BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER SEPTEMBER 2024 31 27/8/24 11:33
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