Better Business June 2016

A BETTER BUSINESS BUILDING ENGINEERING SERVICES ASSOCIATION JUNE 2016 BESA Regional Meetings COVERED THIS MONTH BESA AND VENTILATION THE INDOOR AIR DIVERSITY HYGIENE CONSTITUTION QUALITY GROUP How we are supporting Legislative compliance A modern makeover for The BESA Indoor Air a more diverse associated with air the constitution, with Quality Group looks at workforce within handling and an update on what has how we can make our engineering ventilation ductwork been decided buildings safe havens THE BESA PUTS MEMBERS AT THE HEART OF BUILDING ENGINEERING SERVICES [email protected] www.theBESA.com @BESAGroup BESA Group Building Engineering Services Association, Lincoln House, 137-143 Hammersmith Road, London W14 0QL

DIVERSITY IN ENGINEERING BESA is sponsoring National Women in Engineering Day (NWED) on June 23 with a series of events being held across the UK. Currently just 9% of registered engineers in the UK The Association will be running a series of press are women and the Association believes it is essential articles and social media updates before and after that our sector develops a more diverse workforce. the day. We also plan to hold our own diversity event The UK is also at the bottom of the EU league table in the autumn. for the number of women in engineering. Doing something about this can play a part in plugging the If you would like further information email industry's growing skills gap. [email protected]. For more information on BESA's stance I on diversity please visit www.theBESA.com/lobbying is in career opportunities available to girls in the industry. The for 2016 is #RaisingProfiles and BESA by holding or supporting events in their area. NW BESA Training Chairman's award is presented to Reanna Evans of NG Bailey by Peter Williams the NW BESA Chairman (L) and BESA President Mr Jim Marner (R). LEGIONELLA Following BESA’s release of updated standards relating to contamination within air handling systems, Paul, who is also a member of the 40 years since the first reported outbreak of Association’s ventilation hygiene working group, Legionnaires’ disease, BESA technical consultant will speak about legislative compliance associated Paul Downing will address the 13th international with air handling and ventilation ductwork and ‘Combating Legionella & Water Treatment’ water hygiene measures. conference at Villa Park, Birmingham on September 22. He will identify risks in new build and upgrade projects as well as giving pointers on the 234 people fell ill and 34 died at the annual maintenance of ventilation systems that will conference of the American Legion at the directly benefit users of the indoor environment as Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia in July well as specifiers and consultants. To book a place 1976. The contamination was traced to a cooling visit www.combatinglegionella.hvnplus.co.uk tower for the hotel’s air conditioning system; and the outbreak triggered decades of scientific If you have any further questions email research, new regulation and standards. [email protected] A new technical bulletin on legionella will be published shortly. Access previous bulletins here. A YOUR BESA MEMBERSHIP GIVES YOU ACCESS TO A BROAD RANGE OF TECHNICAL GUIDES ON BUILDING ENGINEERING THE MEMBERS' LOGIN AREA OF THE BESA WEBSITE - WWW.THEBESA.COM SERVICES ASSOCIATION

KITCHEN VENTILATION SAFETY The BESA ventilation hygiene working group has started a campaign to have kitchen extract systems reclassified as Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) units. An increase in deadly carbon monoxide fumes from solid fuel cookers, barbecues and pizza ovens is putting commercial kitchen staff at risk and the new fashion for placing layers of ‘volcanic rock’ on top of traditional gas grills is creating a new source of harmful emissions, including greatly increasing the amount of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) detected in the air. Re-classifying kitchen extract systems as LEVs would mean they were subject to more stringent regulation and inspection leading to more regular cleaning and maintenance to improve their ability to remove harmful breathable fumes and organic compounds from the air. Owners who fail to operate or maintain If you have any further questions, email LEVs face harsh legal penalties under regulations [email protected] enforced by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE). MENTAL HEALTH & WORKPLACE STRESS BESA is co-hosting a seminar with the Samaritans, the ECA and the CIBSE Patrons to discuss the impact of workplace stress on members of the building engineering community. 80% of engineering services firms believe that Attendance is free for BESA members. workplace mental health will have a serious impact “Mental health is the forgotten health and safety on their businesses over the next five to 10 years. This issue,” said Mr McLaughlin. As an industry, we worrying statistic emerged from an occupational have made impressive progress on workplace health survey carried out by BESA and the ECA, safety in the past 20 years, but on health (and which also revealed that 31% of companies found on- mental health in particular) we still have a long site mental health issues “hard to manage”. way to go.” Following the recent survey, BESA wants to ensure that companies have the information and tools they If you have any further questions email need to address the issue of mental health in the [email protected]. workplace. Chief executive Paul McLaughlin will chair the event, which takes place on July 21 at St Matthews Conference Centre, Westminster. To book a place on this seminar click here or visit the events page on the BESA website. A YOUR BESA MEMBERSHIP GIVES YOU ACCESS TO A BROAD RANGE OF DISCOUNTED BUILDING ENGINEERING TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS VISIT WWW.BESAPUBLICATIONS.COM SERVICES ASSOCIATION

INDOOR AIR QUALITY The UK government calculates that rising levels of air pollution account for between 40,000 and 50,000 premature deaths in this country every year. The BESA Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) group has been looking at the implications for buildings and their occupants – can we turn our buildings into safe havens? As such a critical issue, and one on which our content of the Guide. The first bulletin will focus on members can have an impact, a number of definitions to help members explain the whole activities are planned to raise awareness. BESA concept of IAQ to clients. is seeking to empower clients and building owners to demand better specifications, as The Association is also supporting the H&V News IAQ well as ensuring maintenance standards take Question Time event on June 29 at the Royal Society of account of IAQ requirements. Chemistry in London. IAQ Group chairman Giuseppe Borgese and BESA technical director Tim Rook will be The BESA IAQ group is collaborating with taking part as members of the expert panel. BSRIA on producing a Guide to Best Practice outlining the main factors that determine air quality inside a building and what measures For those who aren't already attending this event as should be taken to safeguard the health and part of the London & SE regional meeting, you can well-being of occupants. book a place by emailing [email protected] The group will deliver a short series of Technical Bulletins outlining key aspects of IAQ. These will be made widely available to If you would like to join our Indoor Air Quality LinkedIn members and will invite comment and Group, email [email protected] feedback, which will help to determine the CHANGES TO THE CONSTITUTION At its meeting in December 2015, BESA President Jim Marner, recommended to Council that they rise to the challenges set out in the vision they endorsed by embarking on a process of modernisation and reform of the BESA Constitution. The President received a mandate from Council to embark on an exploratory exercise to make the document fit for modern purpose. In March 2016, a survey was conducted amongst Council members which gave members the opportunity to shape the future Constitution. The results of a survey on the proposed changes to the Constitution were presented to Council at its meeting in April 2016. The Officers then recommended and Council agreed, that to take the modernisation Changes will only take place at a general meeting programme forward, a reform group, comprising of the BESA membership, once the reform exercise 3 independent Council representatives, the is concluded and Council is able to recommend a Association’s Officers, the Chief Executive, the document to the BESA membership at large. Director of Legal and Commercial and the Association Secretary should be tasked with the composition and scrutiny of a an agile, fit for We will keep you informed – however, in the purpose constitution which clearly defines the interim any questions can be addressed to BESA governance structure and process. [email protected] A YOUR BESA MEMBERSHIP GIVES YOU ACCESS TO ADVICE AND GUIDANCE FROM OUR LEGAL BUILDING ENGINEERING AND COMMERCIAL TEAM CALL 020 7313 4919 SERVICES ASSOCIATION

TALL BUILDINGS There are an increasing number of tall buildings being constructed in the UK and the supply chain is being stretched to deal with this. Additionally the specific knowledge around tall buildings is not generally available to clients, specifiers, Engineers or contractors. This has the potential to lead to dangerous construction practices, unsafe and inefficient buildings. BESA is leading the way with support from CIBSE, ECA and member companies. We are championing a specific tall buildings initiative and have already made good progress on pressure systems. Other systems that will be addressed include; public health, HV distribution, ventilation, AC and fire If you have any questions, email protection. [email protected] The aim is produce a series of technical If you would like to be involved in the documents that aid all aspects of the development of tall building guidance, email construction supply chain. The first of these [email protected]. bulletins will be published shortly, which will provide guidance to engineers working on buildings 15 storeys and higher. DIGITAL CONSTRUCTION BESA has been leading the way on some of the exciting developments in the digital world of construction that are shaping the future of the way we construct and do business. BESA has been listening to Government’s views on SMART cities and digital economy and is playing a leading role by educating members on the opportunities for increased productivity, risk management and profitability, which lie in digital transformation – as part of this journey BESA will be looking to provide feedback and influence technology suppliers stepping into construction, as it is a technologically an immature market. Our experts are looking at: cloud storage, ERP in We will sort the wheat from the chaff and let you construction, 3D scanning, project management know what has value and how you can use it in platforms, walk through service models, your business. document storage, fleet management, GPS Our exp located snagging, mobile job tracking, payment For queries on business management based platforms, dispute visualisation, planning, virtual technology [email protected] O&M manuals, variation tracking, all the way through to BIM the BESA team are working to make this real for members. For queries on site based technology email [email protected] A YOUR BESA MEMBERSHIP GIVES YOU ACCESS TO A BROAD RANGE OF OFFERS INCLUDING BUILDING ENGINEERING SERVICES ASSOCIATION 30% DISCOUNT OFF AN SFG20 SUBSCRIPTION. FOR FURTHER INFO VISIT WWW.SFG20.CO.UK

Environment Engineering Industry (EEI) Staff Salary Agreement The Association’s Employment Policy Committee (EPC) has recently been giving consideration to the next review of the Environmental Engineering Industry (EEI) staff salary agreement (prospective effective date 1 January 2017) and the closely associated review of Student Engineer salaries (effective 1 September 2016 review date). The Committee’s recommendations are that we staff association, EESA (part of Unite the Union). should seek to achieve a two-year settlement in Your feedback will be presented to Council on 7 each case, with salaries increasing by 2 to 2.5 per July, with a view to negotiations with the staff cent in the first year and by 2.5 to 3 per cent in the association commencing late July/August. second year. If you use the EEI staff salary agreement, you are invited to comment on the EPCs recommended negotiating objectives. In particular, you are asked to consider whether the suggested levels of settlement are thought to be appropriate and whether there are any other changes to the staff salary agreement that should be pursued with the OPERATIVE NATIONAL OPERATIVE NATIONAL AGREEMENT-WAGE AGREEMENT - SETTLEMENT INTRODUCTION Following receipt of a claim from the Operatives’ OF EMPLOYEE PENSION trade union, Unite, for an increase in hourly rates of the National Agreement amounting to almost 6% per year over the next four years, the Association’s CONTRIBUTIONS negotiating team has concluded a wage settlement with Unite for the two-year period beginning 3 Following an agreement reached in principle with the October 2016. The deal involves a 2% increase in trade union earlier in the year concerning the possible hourly grade rates from 3 October 2016 and 2½% introduction of employee pension contributions under from 2 October 2017 and the introduction of a new the National Agreement, the Employment Affairs and building services supervisory grade. Skills Department will very shortly be issuing guidance to employers on the consultation process that will be The allowances of the Agreement are not subject to necessary before employee contributions can be increase. Members applying the Agreement to their hourly paid site-based Operative workforce should lawfully implemented. look out for JCC Letter 117 which is to be published shortly containing the detail. Members applying the pension provisions of the National Agreement to their Operative workforce The letter will be shortly available in the Wages and should look out for a letter on this important legal Salaries section on the Members' Area of the BESA obligation with appropriate briefing material from the website. Employment Affairs and Skills Department. If you have any further questions, on any of the topics above, contact the Employment Affairs and Skills Department at [email protected] A YOUR BESA MEMBERSHIP GIVES YOU ACCESS TO A BROAD RANGE OF BUSINESS SERVICES FOR BUILDING ENGINEERING FLEXIBLE AND COST-EFFECTIVE EMPLOYEE BENEFITS PACKAGES, VISIT WWW.WELPLAN.CO.UK SERVICES ASSOCIATION

APPRENTICE RECRUITMENT At this peak time of year for recruitment, BESA is trialling a number of different approaches to ensure that we continue to attract the best talent to our sector. Facebook adverts have been used in Scotland to recruit candidates, onto the Service and Maintenance apprenticeship course, where the number of applicants had been lower than expected. Although in the early stages, there has been vast online engagement with the adverts. This approach is now going to be rolled out across other regions and courses to ensure a healthy pipeline of apprentices for the new academic year. In addition, a new page will shortly be added to the BESA website to display the current list of Apprentice vacancies that exist. Like our BESA Training Facebook page here to This is start of a wider overhaul of the BESA find out more about apprenticeship vacancies Training pages that will be taking place over the and short courses summer to move applications online, and to make it easier for employers to find qualified apprentices and for school leavers to find apprenticeship courses. BESA'S NEW WEBSITE GOES FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH Since the launch of the new BESA website nearly 5 months ago, our web analytics highlight a positive story. Compared to the same January-June period in 2015 on the B&ES site: • Visits to the new site are up by 130% • Number of users of the site are up by 190%, suggesting we are attracting both new and returning visitors at a higher rate than before • The number of pages viewed are up by 130% • The number of searches on the Find a BESA member are up by over 190% - showing the level of demand to find BESA members This is just the start - there are lots of plans to develop the website further including introducing live chat so you can ask an expert at a time that suits you, social sharing buttons so you can more easily share content that you feel would be interesting to your network, and options to update your contact preferences to ensure you hear about news that is relevant to you. In addition there are a number of enhancements to the ‘Find a BESA member’ being made including the: • Introduction of a search by specialism or name in addition to by postcode • Introduction of an ‘operating in region’ view which will showcase your business as operating in any or all of the regions you have ticked on your blue form • Improvement of the layout of the search functionality so that there is less scrolling If you would like to find out more, or if there is any feedback you would like to give on the website, please don’t hesitate to get in touch at [email protected] A YOUR BESA MEMBERSHIP GIVES YOU ACCESS TO DISCOUNTED SHORT COURSES, SUITED TO BUILDING ENGINEERING ALL LEVELS FROM SITE WORKER TO DIRECTOR. FOR INFO VISIT WWW.THEBESA.COM/TRAINING SERVICES ASSOCIATION

A SELECTION OF UPCOMING EVENTS MENTAL HEALTH DIVERSITY IN BUILDING SEMINAR SERVICE ENGINEERING 21 JULY, ST. MATTHEW'S CONFERENCE CENTRE, LONDON JOINT EVENT WITH BESA, THE ECA AND The Building Engineering Services Association LONDON SOUTH BANK UNIVERSITY IN (BESA), the Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA) OCTOBER. and the CIBSE Patrons are joining forces to work with the Samaritans on a campaign to address the Chaired by Paul McLaughlin, BESA CEO, the seminar growing problem of mental health and workplace will also draw on speakers from LSBU, the Women’s stress in the building engineering industry. Engineering Society, and a number of other leading organisations in this field. It is free to members of BESA, the ECA and CIBSE Patrons. BESA NW GOLF DAY 30 SEPTEMBER, PIKE FOLD GOLF CLUB BESA NW region will be hosting its annual golf day, open to all members, affiliates, clients, customers and guests. Tickets for the day are £50. BESA NE ANNUAL BALL & TRAINING AWARDS 11 NOVEMBER, CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL, NEWCASTLE the achievements apprentices. Tickets are £45 are available if booked before 9 September. UK CONSTRUCTION THE BUILDING WEEK 2016 SERVICES SUMMIT 18-20 OCTOBER, NEC BIRMINGHAM 23 NOVEMBER, BRITISH LIBRARY, LONDON BESA is proud to be a partner of UK Construction The 2016 Building Services Summit, organised by Week (UKCW). Visit nine shows under one roof, and leading industry Associations, helps companies gain hear from Tim Rook, BESA Technical Director on the a better understanding of how to optimise building building performance gap at the HVAC main stage. services equipment in their own buildings. A FOR FURTHER INFORMATION INCLUDING HOW TO BOOK ONTO ANY OF OUR EVENTS, VISIT BUILDING ENGINEERING WWW.THEBESA.COM/EVENTS SERVICES ASSOCIATION