黑洞社区

M&E contractors will miss out on major business opportunities unless they adapt to a market that is changing rapidly to embrace renewable technologies and sustainable building design.

This is the view of David Frise, newly elected chairman of M&E Sustainability, a pan-industry campaign formed by the ECA and the Heating and Ventilating Contractors鈥� Association (HVCA).

M&E Sustainability is developing a series of technical standards, training courses and awareness campaigns to ensure businesses are geared up for the growing demand for sustainable building services. However, Frise is concerned that many companies are currently struggling to cope with the extra demands put on their technical and management skills.

鈥淭here are huge business opportunities here, but very few companies have much idea how to exploit them,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he m&e landscape is changing fast, and in the next decade the business environment and skills we require will probably be unrecognisable from the situation today.

鈥淭here are huge opportunities in the design, installation and maintenance of sustainable technologies, but conversely, those who are not properly skilled in these areas will be left far behind.鈥�

M&E Sustainability is producing contractor-specific guidance covering subjects such as installing domestic lighting and renewables, power factor correction, heat pumps, biomass boilers and combined heat and power (CHP). It is co-ordinating training provision and running a series of nationwide seminars alerting contractors to changing legislation and new political and economic targets.

鈥淐learly, we need to develop a favourable business environment that will encourage the design, installation and maintenance of 鈥榣ow to no-carbon鈥� m&e systems,鈥� says Frise, who also runs a thriving renewables design business in Wiltshire called 3rd Rock Energy.

鈥淗owever, in order for that environment to exist, contractors need access to better information and technical know-how. Our group has a lot of work ahead of it, but it has already made a very positive start.鈥�

M&E Sustainability exists to promote ECA and HVCA members as experts in integrated energy systems. The members take a holistic approach to satisfying growing demand for sustainable building services engineering solutions.

Too many still believe that sustainability is a matter for the designers, but it is in installation, operation and maintenance that the weaknesses lie

David Frise

And it is forming alliances with training providers and other industry bodies where work will overlap to avoid wasting time and resources. Organisations representing the interests of all parts of the supply chain have also allied themselves to M&E Sustainability including the British Institute of Facilities Managers (BIFM) and the Chartered Institution of 黑洞社区 Services Engineers (CIBSE).

鈥淭here is a wealth of useful information surrounding sustainability out there,鈥� says Frise. 鈥淭he problem is working out what is quality, what is relevant to contractors and, most difficult of all, convincing contractors that this is something with which they simply must engage.

鈥淭oo many still believe that sustainability is a matter for the design professionals, but it is precisely in the areas of installation, operation and maintenance that the weaknesses lie. Makers are ploughing on and producing the technologies, but we need to be far more buttoned down on how well these products are being applied.

鈥淎lso, there is a huge disconnect in the delivery process that works against sustainability,鈥� adds Frise. 鈥淭hose with specialist, practical knowledge need to be involved far earlier in the process than they are. Without proper supply chain integration, sustainability is pie in the sky.鈥�

However, to convince clients that they should be involved earlier, contractors need to demonstrate their competence and improve their credibility. That is why M&E Sustainability is focusing heavily on knowledge transfer between members of the two associations and on technical and management training.

A website is currently under development that will provide a central resource for this process, but much of the knowledge exchange will be achieved via physical interaction between companies and working partnerships, according to Frise.

鈥淭here are pockets of specialist knowledge sitting around the country and we need to join those up,鈥� he says. 鈥淢y own company has formed a number of strategic alliances with like-minded contractors to provide national coverage.鈥�

M&E Sustainability has identified skills as a pivotal issue and is looking to provide extra resource for training providers and to support employers seeking to invest in the necessary skills for working with new technologies and new design approaches.

鈥淩esource efficiency is also a key part of the sustainability agenda,鈥� says Frise. 鈥淭he most competitive m&e companies will be doing more with a lot less which, as well as preserving precious natural resources, also means increased profitability.鈥�