INDUSTRY NEWS Inbrief


With female technicians accounting for less than one per cent of OFTEC’s 9,000 plus registration base, the trade association has said action must be taken to encourage more women into the profession as a vital step towards combatting the industry’s growing skills crisis. www.oftec.org.uk


The Boiler Plus legislation encourages energy effi ciency by mandating requirements for heating systems, and the Heating and Hotwater Industry Council (HHIC) has published a consumer guide which sets out the changes for new boiler installations. www.hhic.org.uk


Nuaire has announced its promotion of Andy Mudie to the newly created post of marketing and business operations director. www.nuaire.co.uk


Transtherm Cooling Industries has strengthened its building construction product design and sales off ering with the appointment of its new applications engineer. www.transtherm.co.uk


Alpha Heating Innovation has appointed three new technical sales managers to its team. www.alpha-innovation.co.uk


Robin Vollert has taken over as managing director of Swegon Group UK and Ireland following the retirement of Kevin Munson. www.swegon.co.uk


Remeha has appointmented two new area sales managers to strengthen its national sales team across the North of England and North Wales. www.remeha.co.uk


Halton’s recent successes have enabled the continuation of an aggressive UK growth plan within its Buildings: Indoor Environments division, as the company welcomes Martin Fackrell as business development manager at a new Bristol location. www.halton.com


Baxi Heating, which includes Andrews Water Heaters and Potterton Commercial, is celebrating the launch of its new Commercial Training Academy. www.baxi.co.uk


8 May 2018


ICOM SPRING CONFERENCE PUTS FOCUS ON DECARBONISATION


T


he biennial ICOM Spring Conference was recently held in London, where members


were updated on critical issues for the commercial and industrial heating industry. Speakers including Karen


Wood, senior policy advisor in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS); Rufus Ford, BEIS heat network specialist; CIBSE’s technical director Hywell Davies; head of technical services for IGEM, Ian McCluskey; and John Henderson, senior advisor in the Environment Agency, delivered their insights into the challenges posed by decarbonisation targets. ICOM director Ross Anderson opened proceedings, stating that decarbonisation had created a “battle for survival” with all fuel sources fi ghting for supremacy. He set the scene for the one-day


conference at St Ermin’s Hotel: “Changes have to happen, if we want


to achieve what is needed by 2050”. First speaker Karen Wood told guests that the Government had already made strides towards decarbonisation, but warned: “We still need to do more, and this won’t be easy, because heat is a very diffi cult decarbonisation challenge.” Ms Wood said while the country was still heavily reliant on gas as a fuel source, the Government was looking at evidence available for diff erent approaches. Its call for evidence would look at new technologies for low carbon heating and determine the path to transition. In an overview about heat network


policy, Rufus Ford of BEIS said the government was in support of heat networks which allowed diff erent sources to heat buildings. He said: “We believe heat networks open up options for us.” Discussing the future of the gas network, IGEM’s Ian McCluskey argued the network had a critical role


to play in meeting decarbonisation targets as it had the potential to deliver new environmentally friendly forms of energy for the UK. He reminded members that when


severe weather hit the UK recently, the gas network, unlike others, held fi rm – a stark reminder that to replace gas, other networks must able to cope with the same demand. “We need to keep the grid


and invest in it otherwise we will be forced into an expensive decarbonisation route with a major impact on consumers. We must also recognise there is not just one single solution but diff erent technologies in diff erent situations.”


CIBSE’s Hywell Davies gave an update on building regulations, touching on the Climate Change Act and the Hackitt Review on building regulations and fi re safety, while John Henderson of the Environment Agency addressed the Medium Combustion Plant Directive.


COOLAIR LEADS INDUSTRY RESPONSE TO DATA PROTECTION LEGISLATION


C


oolair Equipment achieved an industry milestone with new data protection rules on the horizon, being awarded Cyber Essentials Plus certifi cation. The Government accreditation shows that Coolair’s IT


systems provide the highest levels of protection against cyber threats and are helping to keep the building services environment safe to do business.The company, which provides tailored cooling and heating services to the retail, residential, commercial, education and hotel sectors from offi ces in Manchester, the Midlands and Kent, achieved the kitemark-style award with the support of its long-standing IT support partner, ACR IT Solutions.


Tony Burrisson, managing director of ACR, said: “Having


the certifi cate clearly demonstrates to clients across its business sectors that Coolair takes safeguarding commercially sensitive data extremely seriously and that it manages its business processes in a secure environment.” ACR, a leading security specialists, worked with Coolair to ensure that the controls in place for all data, documents and devices meet the more robust requirements of the higher Plus certifi cation. This involved vulnerability testing by a fully qualifi ed independent assessor. Mr Burrisson added: “Certifi cation has also enabled Coolair to put itself ahead of the curve in complying with the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that comes into force on May 25 2018. This will widen the scope of what is meant by personal data and the consequences of a data breach.” Helen Sharratt, fi nance director for Coolair, said: “We


are delighted to have become the fi rst company in our fi eld to be awarded Cyber Essentials Plus certifi cation, which highlights our commitment to ensuring the security of our information systems and providing excellent customer service. We are not only prepared for the requirements of GDPR, but able to satisfy tenders that are likely to include having the accreditation as a requirement.”


www.heatingandventilating.net


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