Friday 21 September 2012

EcoShowcase in Birmingham

I had a most enjoyable day at the EcoShowcase event held in Birmingham yesterday (20 September) at the Villa Park Stadium - there was an exhibition to look round and a number of seminars to take in. CIAT has been supporting this traveling exhibition since 2011.

The highlight of my visit was meeting two passionate and inspiring students who were there to promote CIAT and the Architectural Technology discipline. I must make a special mention to Luke Dallison from Nottingham Trent University and Liam Barnett from Birmingham City University - having met both Luke and Liam, I know that the future of the Institute is in safe hands and I am delighted that they are both so involved with CIAT at this stage in their career.

Another highlight was sitting in on the seminar presentation given by Mark Wilson MCIAT on Specifying for a Sustainable Future - here is a Chartered Architectural Technologist who certainly knows 'his stuff' and I can only encourage you to go along and watch the presentation at the remaining shows for the year - all details can be found at http://www.ecoshowcase.co.uk/

Looking over the EcoShowcase exhibition

Luke Dallison, Mark Wilson MCIAT, Liam Barnett and yours truly

Mark giving his excellent presentation

Friday 14 September 2012

Support of a letter to new Secretary of State

CIAT is a signatory to the Society for the Environment’s (SocEnv) letter of congratulations to the recent appointment of Owen Paterson MP as Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Our Chief Executive, Francesca Berriman is also the current Vice Chairman of the SocEnv

The Society for the Environment is the leading Chartered professional body covering all aspects of the environment, environmental management and environmental protection. Its unique product is the professional qualification, Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) which provides a common, postgraduate level, standard for all professions.  It is comparable to the Engineering Council and the Science Council, and Chartered Environmentalist is equal in status to Chartered Engineer and Chartered Scientist.

SocEnv is one of the few bodies that can act as a liaison point between Government and professionals working in the entire environmental area.

SocEnv professions and industries represent a huge growth opportunity for the UK in environmental goods and services. The market for these services is growing at over 5% per year, and the potential gains for British business stemming from more efficient resource use (including water, energy and materials) are enormous: some £23bn a year. The export opportunities from a low carbon economy are even greater. This market is already worth £3 trillion a year, rising to £4 trillion by 2015. Better environmental performance in UK industry will sharpen its competitive edge, as well as helping to deliver the outcomes we want in environmental protection and management.

The Society for the Environment has a key role in developing and spreading information, skills, best practice and influence. Our member bodies’ wide range of expertise makes us a vital part of the response to climate change, resource efficiency and the protection of natural systems using a growing army of professionals: there are currently almost 7,000 Chartered Environmentalists, and we are working to increase this number. 


Yours sincerely,

Carolyn Roberts Signature                           Alex's Signature



CAROLYN ROBERTS
Chair
ALEX GALLOWAY
Chief Executive


Supported by

KEVIN BLUNDEN
Association of Building Engineers
FRANCESCA BERRIMAN MBE
Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists

MICHAEL BROWN
Chartered Institute of Building

STEVE LEE
Chartered Institute of Wastes Management
PETER MATTHEWS
Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management

SARAH BEACOCK
Energy Institute
TIM BRIGSTOCKE
Institute of Agricultural Management
MARTIN BAXTER
Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment

IAN DOLBEN
Institute of Fisheries Management

DAVID ARTHUR
Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining

CHRIS WHETNALL
Institution of Agricultural Engineers
RICHARD HILL
Institution of Chemical Engineers

WILLIAM POPE
Institution of Environmental Sciences

MICHAEL DORAN
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
NICK JONES
Society of Operations Engineers

Tuesday 11 September 2012

All Party Parliamentary Group for Excellence in the Built Environment

Along with the Chief Executive, I represented the Institute at the All Party Parliamentary Group for Excellence in the Built Environment launch of the 'A Better Deal for Public Building' report yesterday (10 September).

The report endorses the Government’s aim of achieving 20 per cent cost savings for public construction projects over the course of the current Parliament, as outlined in its Construction Strategy unveiled last year.

Key recommendations include:

- Setting up a Best Practice Procurement Advisory Group to assist inexperienced public sector clients (including Government departments, agencies, non-departmental public bodies and local government) to define their objectives clearly and adopt appropriate procurement arrangements for the size and type of project. The Government should do this via its Chief Construction Adviser. Infrequent clients would also benefit from appointing a professional adviser to develop the brief.

- Procuring projects on the basis of integrated teams (designers, contractors and, if appropriate, asset managers). The selection of an integrated team must not be made on the basis of lowest price. Instead, as with the construction of the venues for London 2012, the decision should be made on the basis of a balanced scorecard. This means, marking the bid against a prescribed range of specified criteria, one of which should be long-term sustainability.

- Ensuring large-scale public projects (£100m-plus in value) have mandatory construction commitments, based on the 2012 Construction Commitments. Participants in the project should be required to report progress in meeting these commitments over the duration of the project.

- Government should encourage voluntary adoption of such construction commitments across a wide range of public and private sector projects with a programme of promotional activity, including awards, to highlight and celebrate success. Key indicators could include: client leadership, sustainability, team integration, design quality, health and safety, and commitment to people, which includes a commitment to employing local people and excellent facilities.

- Requiring the Government’s Chief Construction Adviser to prepare an annual report on the performance of public sector clients (including Government departments, agencies, non-departmental public body and local authorities) in construction procurement. This should highlight positive achievements in successful projects, as well as failure to deliver value.

Graduation at Wolverhampton

Back to my own university now and the graduation ceremony held at the University of Wolverhampton on 7 September. It was great to see the involvement of my own Region, the West Midlands Region, at the ceremony who were on hand to present the CIAT Outstanding Student Award along with the Region's own award for the students.


Steve Scaysbrook MCIAT, West Midlands Region Chairman with Rachel Bristow and Charlotte Grey congratulated by the CIAT President

C'est moi in my robes

An exciting start to September

After my whistle stop run through of the past three months, I now reach September!

It was back to London for the first meeting of the CIAT 50th Anniversary Taskforce on 31 August to which I was invited to as an observer. This was a very productive meeting all about how we can celebrate the Institute's golden year in 2015. Lots of ideas to explore so keep a look out for news about this in the future.

On Saturday, 1 September, it was time for my second Council meeting as Chairman. At this meeting we had the important election of the next President Elect - the successful candidate was Karl Grace MCIAT. Congratulations to Karl and I look forward to working with him when he takes up the position at the AGM in November. Kevin Crawford MCIAT was elected Vice-President Technical and Bob Kay MBE PPBIAT MCIAT was re-elected as Honorary Treasurer.

The new President Elect

CIAT Council - 1 September 2012
5 September saw a meeting that I didn't attend but felt that I had to make a special mention to the Student Group. This Group is made up of student representatives from all our Accredited universities and it is wonderful to see such excitement and inspiration from this Group already. I look forward to the outputs from this Group and meeting with the students.

APS meets CIAT

I was honoured when I was invited by the Association for Project Safety (APS) to present their Student Award. Little did I know, however, that the winner was actually a graduate from the BSc (Hons) Architectural Technology and Management degree at the University of Ulster! So I was even more delighted to present the award to Eoin O'Shea ACIAT.

Presenting the award to Eoin



Graduations

This time of the year is also a busy time for universities and a time to celebrate all those graduating in Architectural Technology.

I was at the University of Bolton on 12 July to present the CIAT Outstanding Student Award to my ex student from Denmark, Mathias Elle - a very proud day indeed.

Mathias and me
Then along to University of Salford to present the Outstanding Student Award to Oliver Beasley - what a thrill to be able to meet these future Architectural Technologists and always such an inspiration to me.

Oliver and I

Networking

As President, I get invited to many functions over the course of the year and here are just a few that I attended over the past couple of months:

Society for the Environment Reception held in Pall Mall, London on 26 June - introduced to the new Chief Executive for the Society, Alex Galloway who is an old friend of the Institute as he received our application for Royal Charter at the Privy Council in 2005.

A chance to meet the new President of the Landscape Institute at their event on 28 June.

The Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) invited myself and the Chief Executive to their dinner held in Warwick - the opportunity to extend our working relationship with this and other Institutes present.

From left: Peter Holland, Chairman of IFE Board (and Chief Fire Officer of Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service), Martin Shipp, Member of IFE Board (representing Engineering Council Registrant members of IFE), Louise Craig, Chief Executive IFE, me, Francesca, Peter Caplehorn, Technical Director, Scott Brownrigg, representing RIBA and Roy Bishop, International President IFE (2012/2013)



Awarding excellence: back to school!

The start of July meant it was back to school for us when we went to present the Highly Commended Alan King Award to an old friend of CIAT, John Bridge ACIAT, a former Student Award winner. He works for Croft Goode Ltd who won for their project Hesketh Bank Children's Centre. I was delighted to present the winning plaque to John along with Vice-President Technical, Andrew Scott MCIAT.

John Bridge (left) and Andrew Scott 


Never too old to learn! Andrew, Francesca and I try out the classroom.
Full details on this project can be found on our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/watch?v=448X3o4unTA

It was then onto Inverness for another school - this time Farr Primary School. Richard Jack MCIAT had won Commended in the Open Award for Technical Excellence in Architectural Technology for the Rural Classroom at the school - full details can be seen here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRJiMPw5HW8


Meetings galore!

An integral part of the Institute is the work of all members within our Committees and Taskforces - who of whom are giving their time in a voluntary capacity.

19 June was a Professional Practice Interview Assessors Feedback Session, Chaired by Chris Pike PPBIAT MCIAT. Here we had discussion about membership progression and the robustness of the interview.

CIAT Assessors at the meeting
Executive Board met on 21 June, Professor Sam Allwinkle PPBIAT MCIAT presented about his work on what I view as my 'baby', the membership futures work. Legislation issues within the Republic of Ireland was also a high priority.

Executive Board: Honorary Secretary, President and Immediate Past President

The following day was my first experience of the all important Conduct Committee - the heartbeat to our professional integrity.

The Conduct Committee: myself, Robert Davey MCIAT, Robin Dodyk MCIAT, Robert Hill MCIAT, Gordon Souter MCIAT and Kathy Thurman MCIAT

Where do I begin?

Time for me to look back on a busy couple of months and I'll begin with the remarkable achievement of our Chief Executive.

Francesca Berriman was made an MBE in Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Birthday Honours, for services to the Architectural Technology profession.

The MBE rewards a service which is outstanding in its field and has delivered a sustained and real impact— this recognition to Francesca reflects the true ethos of the award in addition to her significant contribution to not only the Institute, the discipline of Architectural Technology but also to the built environment. Francesca is, and continues to be, an inspiring role model within the community.

It was a very proud moment for the Institute and recognises the fantastic work and commitment that Francesca has, and will continue, to give to the discipline, Institute and industry. This is a true recognition of the sterling work that Francesca and the team at CIAT, both members and staff, have given and this has been rightly acknowledged by her peers, of which she is a distinct figurehead. A fitting tribute in this Diamond Jubilee year.
Francesca is congratulated by Honorary Secretary Gordon Souter MCIAT
   
Francesca has been Chief Executive at CIAT since 1995 and has worked within the Architectural Technology environment for over 20 years. Of her many achievements, Francesca led the Institute to receive its Royal Charter in 2005. Francesca is also Vice Chairman for the Society of the Environment and was Vice Chairman for the Construction Industry Council (CIC), of which she is still actively involved.