www.heatingandventilating.net
Spotlight
Why aren’t more women working in our industry?
The main problem is the stereotype of manufacturing and engineering being a men’s job. It’s still seen as involving heavy lifting and being ‘dirty’. There’s a lack of awareness about what the roles really involve. I would always encourage work experience or having a chat with family and relatives working in the sector to find out what it’s really like. The key is having a passion about science and technology.
An observation I’ve made while chatting with females in the industry was that women can be quite self-conscious about their own skills. Unless they feel they can do 100% of the job, they won’t apply for it. Men tend to be more optimistic and self- confident. When they can do about 50% of what the role is asking for, they would still go ahead.
How did you become president of the EUA?
I’ve been involved in the HHIC for many years and became chair of the Boiler Manufacturers Group of the HHIC in 2016. Mike Foster, CEO of the EUA, invited me to become EUA president which I happily accepted, being inaugurated as vice president in May 2017 and then president this year.
What are your plans as president?
As president, part of the EUA policy is making sure to focus on specific strategic topics. While this typically means we look at how to influence and advise on legislation, I have taken a different approach, especially given my role as first female president. My presidency is a great platform for raising awareness of the gender gap and future talent attractiveness for our sector. And what I mean is not positive discrimination. If you look at the industry in general, the average age is relatively high which means in five to 10 years, many people will retire. We want to attract new talent to the industry. Look at it like this: we’re currently only appealing to 50% of the population, which means we’re missing out on 50% of the talent. No-one is really joining together, and what we need to do is promote the sector to schools and universities. There are big challenges ahead, like decarbonisation of heat and digital manufacturing. The HVAC and building services sectors need to ensure they have the ‘young appeal’. There are plenty of different roles available; as well as engineering there are commercial, marketing, logistics, management and admin roles. The problem is, we’re not very well understood as an industry. All the regulatory demands being made on the industry and the project-based work makes it an incredibly changing, diverse and interesting sector to be part of.
What advice do you give women who would like to get started in science?
1. Listen at school and don’t be put off by the difficulty. Subjects such as maths and physics might seem challenging, but they’re logical if you persevere. 2. Always ask questions 3. Look beyond the traditional roles. If you’re good at science, try to find out what roles are out there. There is a varied range: roles in engineering, commercial, marketing, logistics, project management, technical, production, there’s something for everyone. 4. Don’t think about science as an isolated field. Transferrable skills are key. I especially found problem-solving skills you develop in maths and physics beneficial. They open more job opportunities and train your brain.
John Barker
www.heatingandventilating.net August 2018 13
ViewPoint
Healthy boiler, healthy business
T
he good weather over the past few months has seen customer facing businesses such as restaurants, pubs and hotels thriving. For these types of customers, it may come as an afterthought to start talking about boiler servicing in readiness for the winter months. If you are advising customers about the best time to contact a service engineer, summer is the time to do it. Booking early for a service will allow your customer to avoid the last-minute rush towards the beginning of winter, which is when most business owners will naturally begin to think about turning the heating on for the first time in months. There are several important points that you as the heating contractor should be passing down to your customers about servicing, says Andy Forrest, national sales manager at Ideal Commercial Boilers. Downtime due to a boiler breakdown is a risk factor that could ultimately lead to a loss of earnings for several days. The freezing temperatures that the UK experienced at the start of 2018
cost businesses £6bn in lost sales and extra costs, such as call-outs to service engineers, replacement heating parts and the installation of new boilers. These stats are a real wake up call to the hospitality and retail sectors, where the lack of heating could mean the difference between customers visiting or not visiting a business. There should be a real emphasis on getting a service booked in before the winter sets in and the demand for call-outs increases. As a service engineer, you will understand better than most the long- term energy savings that can be gained by a regular service. Many businesses will only contact a contractor once they notice a problem, however, spotting a blocked flue or ensuring that the boiler is firing up correctly can ensure that emissions are kept to a minimum and reduce the business’s carbon footprint in the long run. Many businesses will jostle with the decision between repairing and
replacing an old boiler. However, with older heating systems, there are concerns regarding gas consumption and emissions, regardless of how effective the boiler is. There is a real argument for ensuring that customers replace an older boiler, even if they believe it to be working adequately, with one that not only helps to save on running costs due to a lower gas consumption but is better for the environment too. Boilers such as the Evomax offer both efficiency and a greener carbon footprint. With seasonal efficiencies of up to 97.2%, each boiler also boasts low NOx emissions of less than 40mg/kWh, which not only qualifies for maximum BREEAM points but means they are eligible for the government Enhanced Capital Allowance scheme. The ECA scheme allows businesses to invest in energy-saving plant or machinery that might otherwise be too expensive. As a benefit to customers, the first-year allowance offers 100% of the cost of the assets against taxable profits in a single tax year. This means that the customer gets cash back from writing off the cost of the new plant or machinery against the business’s taxable profits in the financial year the purchase was made. Regular servicing is also a requirement to maintain the warranty of most
boilers on the market. As a heating contractor there is a level of responsibility to ensure customers are reminded of upcoming service dates. Having a good relationship with your customer will help you to stress the importance of annual servicing.
www.idealcommercialboilers.com
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