Case studies

The following article featured in May 2017 edition of Building Service & Environmental Engineer magazine.

With just one year to go until the Minimum Energy Performance Standard (MEPS) comes into force, Malcolm Anson, President of the Building Controls Industry Association (BCIA), explains why training is the key to success in meeting the MEPS challenge.

The Minimum Energy Performance Standard (MEPS) has been introduced as part of the Energy Act 2011, which was implemented to tackle a number of ambitious government targets. One of these is to achieve an 80% reduction of greenhouse gases and another is to achieve 'nearly zero' carbon emissions by 2050 for all new buildings.

From 1st April 2018, it will be unlawful to grant a new lease on any commercial building in the UK that does not achieve an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) of E or above.

For existing leases the changes will take effect from 2023. The objective is for the commercial property sector to be achieving a minimum EPC Rating of C by 2030.

According to findings by the Association for the Conservation of Energy (ACE), over a third of London's commercial buildings have the worst EPC ratings in the UK, with 18,000 of these only obtaining an EPC rating of F or G. In contrast, f the capital's 265,000 commercial buildings, only 34% has a performance rating of C or above.

These statistics for London alone are a cause for concern. They highlight that there is a lot of work to be done over the next year, to ensure all UK commercial buildings are not only achieving, but also working towards exceeding the minimum energy performance standard.

By being proactive and taking action now, building owners and managers can implement cost effective measures to improve their asset's performance and make vital energy and cost savings.. The building controls industry can assist with this and plays a significant role when it comes to improving energy efficiency in the built environment.

However, this is only possible if the industry can provide skilled and knowledgeable individuals, who can offer invaluable expertise to ensure the most suitable solutions are applied.

Training is key in the route to successfully meeting the MEPS challenge, since there is no one simple solution to improving energy efficiency and building efficiency.

We need to ensure the building controls industry is equipped with the right specialist skills to be able to offer the most effective control solutions across any building to achieve optimum performance.

Building controls specialists need a thorough knowledge and understanding of building controls from simple sensors to complex Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS). It is also just as important they have an understanding of different types of buildings, their capabilities and the building services within them, such as heating, ventilation and cooling systems.

In such a fast paced industry where technologies are continuously changing, ongoing training will ensure individuals and businesses keep up with the latest developments in technology and continue to drive the industry forward.

Knowledge is power and without it nothing will change. With only a year until the Minimum Energy Performance Standard (MEPS) comes into force, there is no better time than now to invest in training. Continuous investment and commitment to training will ensure future success in meeting the MEPS challenge and delivering energy efficient, sustainable buildings.

Visit the BCIA website here: www.bcia.co.uk

As building services evolves to encompass an ever more innovative raft of environmentally-friendly, energy efficient technology, a new event for the industry asks:
"What is the future for building services in 21st century?"

Launched this month, The Building Services forum takes place on February 8th 2018, at The Building Centre, in London.

Event organiser Jacqui Henderson said: "From our experience of talking to manufacturers and industry professionals, we know that there is a gap for a new platform that will allow the industry to explore the new opportunities and technology available within our sector. Our seminar programme is being tailored to reflect some of the emerging issues that are at the top of every building manager's list of concerns, from cyber security and fuel costs, to smart controls, renewable energy, energy management, new legislation and healthy buildings.

"This new event will give access to an unrivalled pool of expert knowledge with the opportunity to ask questions, put forward ideas and open the debate about where building services are going in the next few years."

Legionella prevention and control should be a major consideration for everyone involved in the design, installation and routine maintenance or domestic buildings; neglected duties can lead to criminal prosecutions in 'worst case' scenarios. Guidance from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) emphasises the importance of 'duty holders,' but who are they and what are their responsibilities?

Across the lifetime of a building, responsibility for water hygiene spans a whole range of sectors, relying on architects, design engineers, specifiers and installers pulling together to create a water system that complies with legionella control guidelines.

The guidance defining specific responsibilities is HSE's Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) L8, Legionnaires' disease: The control of bacteria in water systems .

It is important that plumbing and heating engineers know this legislation to make sure that they understand their legal responsibilities.

The law makes it very clear that if you are responsible for the control of a building, you have a duty of care towards the occupants.

According to HSE, 'duty holders', or those responsible for the control of legionella bacteria in water systems, must understand how to assess and identify legionella risk themselves, or appoint somebody competent to do this, called the 'responsible person.'

This 'responsible person' can be a member of staff or an external organisation, whose duties include the preparation of a written legionella control scheme, managing and monitoring legionella precautions, appropriate record keeping and the identification and assessment of all sources of legionella risk, carried out in accordance with BS8580:2010.

There should be thorough risk assessments in place. Risk assessments should ask the following questions:

• Is water stored or re-circulated in the system?
• Is water temperature between 20 and 45oc?
• Are there any deposits that could support bacterial growth?
• Is it possible for water droplets to be produced and, if so, can they be dispersed?
• Is it likely that end users could be exposed to contaminated water droplets?

It is recommended that the risk assessment is reviewed 'regularly'. The risk assessment will dictate how regularly it will be reviewed, but here are some things that may indicate a review is necessary.

• When there is a change to water system
• A change of use of the building
• New information available about risks or control measures
• Checks indicating control measures are not effective
• Staff changes
• A case of legionnaires' disease

It is important that you remain up to date with latest developments and available training.

The details within this article featured in HVP Magazine – May 2017: Water Treatment – Fighting Legionella which was written by Steven Booth.

In a press release released on 19th April 2017, the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) announced that according to a survey of employers, two fifths (42 per cent) of employers who have had difficulty recruiting candidates have increased the salary on offer.
Their report continues to give more stats:
In an attempt to attract candidates after failing with an initial advertisement, 80 per cent of employers re-advertised the role. A quarter (24 per cent) have resorted to lowering the requirements of the role.

Skills shortages continue to be a major concern amongst employers, with half (49 per cent) stating they expect a shortage of candidates for permanent roles in the next three months.

Demand for staff prevails, with a third (34 per cent) of employers stating they have no spare capacity and would need to take on new staff if demand increased. A further 46 per cent have just 'a little' capacity and might have to take on staff if their workload grew.

The REC's latest JobsOutlook survey of 600 employers also reveals:
• One fifth (22 per cent) of employers plan to increase permanent headcount in the short term (the next three months) and medium term (the next four to twelve months).
• Construction, engineering/technical and health/social care are the three sectors where employers most expect a shortage of candidates for permanent roles.
• One fifth (19 per cent) of employers plan to increase temporary agency headcount in the medium term, and 12 per cent plan to do so in the short term.
• Engineering/technical, hospitality and drivers are the top three sectors where employers expect a shortage of suitable temporary agency workers.
REC chief executive Kevin Green says:
"The good news is that while we have record employment, employers have no intention of halting hiring. If you're ready and willing to move jobs, you could benefit from an increase in pay as many employers are increasing starting salaries to attract candidates with the qualities that they're looking for.

"However, throwing money at the problem isn't a long-term solution for employers, as they compete with each other for the available talent. We need to train people up by embedding employability skills in schools, providing effective careers guidance and promoting apprenticeships. Employers should take responsibility for investing in training – it will help them retain staff and grow their own talent.

"The short supply of skilled candidates is likely to get worse. Many sectors of the economy are dependent on EU workers. The government has got to design an immigration system which enables businesses to fill the roles they have available and keeps public services up and running. If it becomes harder for EU nationals to work here and employers can't fill their jobs, they will have little choice but to outsource the work overseas or automate it."

Key points:

• Permanent placements growth slows, but temp billings rise at sharpest pace for four months
• Steepest drop in candidate availability for 16 months
• Demand for permanent and short-term staff remains marked

Summary:

The Markit/REC Report on Jobs – published today – provides the most comprehensive guide to the UK labour market, drawing on original survey data provided by recruitment consultancies.

Slowest increase in permanent placements for seven months

Growth in permanent staff placements slowed to its weakest for seven months during April, but was nonetheless solid overall. In contrast, temp billings increased at a sharp and accelerated pace that was the fastest seen in 2017 so far.

Sharper drop in candidate availability

The availability of permanent and temporary candidates declined at sharper rates in April, with the former posting the quicker pace of reduction. Notably, both categories saw the steepest deteriorations in candidate availability for 16 months.

Strong growth in salaries sustained...

Although growth in permanent starting salaries edged down to a four-month low in April, it remained sharp overall and stronger than the series average. Meanwhile, hourly pay rates for short-term staff increased at the sharpest pace in 2017 so far.

...as demand for staff remains sharp

Vacancies continued to rise markedly in April for both permanent and temporary/contract staff. This was despite growth in demand for both types of staff softening slightly since the previous month.

Regional variation

The Midlands saw the fastest rate of expansion in permanent placements, closely followed by Scotland. Meanwhile, London saw the slowest increase.

Temp billings growth was recorded across all monitored regions, led by Scotland and London. The weakest increase was registered in the South of England.

Sector variation

Latest data pointed to divergent sector trends, with demand for staff rising sharply across the private sector, but declining across the public sector. Demand for private sector permanent and temporary staff rose sharply despite the rates of expansion easing to four- and three-month lows, respectively.

At the same time, vacancies for permanent public sector staff declined for the second month in a row, albeit slightly. Demand for public sector temporary workers meanwhile fell for the first time since January, though only slightly.

Engineering was the most in-demand category for permanent staff in April, closely followed by IT & Computing and Nursing/Medical/Care. Nonetheless, strong expansions were seen across the board at the start of the second quarter.

April data signalled a broad-based upturn in demand for temporary/contract workers in the UK.
Nursing/Medical/Care continued to top the table, while Hotels & Catering placed second in the overall rankings.

REC Chief Executive Kevin Green says:

"Demand for staff is growing within all sectors and all regions of the UK, but there are fewer and fewer people available to fill the vacancies. We have the lowest unemployment rate since 2005, and people already in work are becoming more hesitant about moving jobs amid Brexit uncertainty. Meanwhile, the weakening pound and lack of clarity about future immigration rules is putting off some EU nationals from taking up roles in the UK.

"As a result, candidate availability is at a 16-month low and recruiters are flagging a shortage of suitable applicants for more than 60 different roles from cleaner to accountant. Every shortage has wider implications, for example the exceptional reputation UK engineering enjoys globally is at risk because employers can't find people with the skills they need.

"One thing is for certain, if British business is to thrive then whichever party forms a government after 8 June needs to address the ever-shrinking pool of suitable candidates by investing in skills and career advice for UK jobseekers, as well as safeguarding access to the workers we need from abroad. It is vital that the future immigration system is agile enough to reflect and adapt to evolving labour market needs."

Article https://www.rec.uk.com/news-and-policy/press-releases/permanent-placements-increase-at-slowest-pace-since-last-september (23/5/2017)

Non-residential project starts in March saw a surge in March, with their value being 7% ahead of the same period in 2016, according to the latest Glenigan Index. The surge was supported by a stabilisation in hotel and leisure starts and increases in private housing, industrial, retail, amenity, and health and community. Residential starts were 1% higher than a year earlier as a rise in private-housing starts was offset by subdued activity in the social-housing sector.

Overall, the value of work starting on site in the three months to March was 2% higher than during the same period a year ago. On a seasonally adjusted basis, starts were 2% up of the last three months of 2016.
Allan Wilén, Glenigan's economics director, said, 'Private residential starts for the three months to March were 6% higher than a year ago and 3% up on the previous quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis.
'This renewed strengthening in starts is encouraging and should help sustain sector activity growth during the current year.'

Non-residential project starts during the first quarter were 10% up on the previous three months on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Glenigan figures exclude projects valued at over £100 million to present clearer time-series trends.
Regions in England that saw double-digit growth during the first quarter compared with a year earlier were the south east (27%), north east (19%) and east (14%). Wales had a growth of 13%. There was also growth in the London and the north west of England.

Elsewhere, the value of project starts slipped back, with the sharpest drop being the West Midlands at 20%.

Industry news taken from: http://www.modbs.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/16950/Boost_for_first-quarter_construction_starts.html (19/5/17)

Tim Wentz, the President of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, was speaking at the CIBSE's Technology Symposium at Loughborough University in April 2017, when he called on Engineers to embrace the potential of technology to deliver more comfortable and effective buildings, and he emphasised the dramatic changes that are being driven by digital technologies.

Tim Wentz spoke about what he believes is an imminent 'golden age' for engineering and listed psychology and its role in occupant satisfaction as being a growing area for building-services engineers to occupy as traditional disciplines are increasingly taken over by computers.

With computers capable of more processing power that all of humanity predicted to exist by 2050, he encouraged engineers to embrace the opportunity to build better buildings than ever before in a 'built-environment renaissance'.

CIBSE president John Field said, "It is exciting time to be an engineer as technology changes profession right before our eyes. We need to be prepared to embrace new ideas and techniques as they develop to take full advantage of their potential. Events like the Technical Symposium show us what is possible by giving a platform to some of the best engineering minds at the top of their fields and by allowing us to all swap and share ideas that may result in the next big advances in the future."

This news has been taken from http://www.modbs.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/16952/Engineers_are_encouraged_to_seize_future_opportunities.html (19th May 2017)

Latest forecasts by the Construction Products Association (CPA) suggest that activity in the construction industry is rising at a faster pace than initially expected following the EU referendum.

Construction output is expected to rise each year between 2017 to 2019 by 1,3% in 2017, 1.2% in 2018 and 2.3% in 2019.

Although the figures may fuel hope of a resilient UK construction industry amid Brexit-related anxieties and rising costs, the growth masks a considerable difference in activity across the construction sectors . Infrastructure projects are expected to be the industry's main growth engine, driven by a strong National Infrastructure and Construction Pipeline valued at £300 billion over the next four years.

In particular, growth to 2019 is expected to be primarily driven by a 34.5% increase in infrastructure activity due to major projects in the energy, rail and water sub-sectors, which would offset expected falls in commercial and industrial construction.

Read more here: http://www.heatingandventilating.net/cpa-forecasts-show-construction-industry-activity-ahead-of-post-brexit-expectations

Modern Building Services and the Building Controls Association have joined together to create a program. Part 2 of 4 in 2017 speaks about the importance of the role of the engineer and future training needs to tackle the building performance challenge.

Some key point from this includes:
• The industry fully recognise s the importance of building controls as a smart and effective solution to energy saving and long term performance.
• Retaining the talented engineers and skilled professionals within the industry is important
• Part L of the 2013 Building Regulations states that "reasonable provision shall be made for the conservation of fuel and power in buildings by providing fixed building services which are energy efficient and have effective controls"
• At the 2016 Building Services Summit it was outlined that the vast majority of builders do not understand controls, yet they are responsible for reducing costs of the building.
• It is down to the engineer to fully engage with the client and explain that bricks and mortar is much more than just a building.
• Training at all levels is essential in tackling the building performance challenge, so let's be united in winning this battle.

More about this can be read here: http://www.modbs.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/16963/Time_to_train_the_next__generation_in_building_controls.html

A guide has been released by the Industrial & Commercial Energy Association (ICOM) to commercial water treatment in response to industry concerns of poor water treatment and conditioning in commercial heating systems.

The main focus of the guide is on water treatment for boilers and heating systems, and the guide has been contributed to by many of the leading commercial-boiler manufacturers.

The audience of the guide is expected to be plant operators, engineers and people with little or no knowledge of water-treatment chemistry. It will assist with their understanding of what effect any water and its subsequent treatment will have on a heating system.

Ross Anderson, director of ICOM said, 'The consequences of inappropriate or non-existent water treatment can prove costly to rectify and give rise to arguments between equipment manufacturers and plant operators.
'The treatment of water in closed and open heating systems is essential for the avoidance of fouling, biofouling, corrosion and scale. These problems can result in energy wastage, poor system performance and the need for early replacement of heating system components.

'Any installation must be thoroughly flushed and cleaned before it can be filled and used. ICOM's comprehensive guide deals with all aspects of water treatment for commercial heating systems.

'By studying the contents and following the freely given advice, heating systems will operate more efficiently with less chance of failure.'

Details of the story taken from: http://www.modbs.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/16941/Water_treatment_for_commercial_heating_systems.html