1st year training results
April 1st 2004

Ann Hull of the Building Controls Group explains the importance of the Building Controls Industry Technical training scheme as an independent method of establishing building controls as a professionally accepted occupation Since the launch of the Building Controls Industry Technical training scheme, just over a year ago, 50 Building Controls Industry Technical Certificates have been awarded: 42 at the foundation level and eight advanced certificates. And it should be noted that these certificates have to be well earned by achieving a pass grade under examination conditions. Until the launch of the training scheme, a recognised pan-industry qualification did not exist. Consequently, building controls engineers often started their careers as electrical or mechanical engineers and then progressed into building controls by way of specific product-based training. Wide ranging, generic understanding of all types of manufacturers controls equipment and software was only added later as engineers moved from company to company or learned on the job by being faced with a controls problem that everyone else was expecting them to resolve. Strength in Numbers: The Building Controls Group and Control System Specialists Group of ESTA had identified the need for a recognised training scheme some time ago and working with the Electrical Contractors Association and Siemens Building Technologies, who through their own extensive training were able to contribute much of the source material, began formulating a series of generic modules that would cover the control demands of building services. The final result was to be a series of six modules: Fundamentals of HVAC & Building Technology, Measuring & Control Technology and Hydraulics in Building Services at foundation level, with the advanced certificate also requiring passes in Control Functions in Heating Plants, Control of Ventilation & Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Technology. Building controls is a specialised discipline that requires a working knowledge of a broad range of building services plant and equipment. To date, controls training has been provided by individual manufacturers who, naturally, have concentrated on the specifics of their product range. A cohesive set of training modules that approach building controls from a generic standpoint has not been widely available. The Electrical Contractors Association neatly dovetailed into the partnership due to the fact that many controls engineers began their careers in the electrical industry. The Association also had in place a long established and well-respected training programme with full support structure. In addition to the financial funding needed to launch this initiative and the administrative capability provided by the Electrical Contractors Association, the most important ingredient to the success of the training programme proved to be peoples time. Time freely given by experienced managers and engineers working for competing building controls manufacturing and installation companies because they had a commitment to seeing building controls become a recognised profession. Members of the BCG and CSSG came together and worked in unison to ensure that every aspect of the proposed modules represented a global approach to controls, ensuring that future students received a well rounded view of building controls. Since its launch at the end of 2002, 133 delegates have attended some 279 training courses, under the direction of Keith Doherty, as they progressed through the training modules. All types of training: The majority of delegates enrolled in the courses work for established controls companies, though several self-employed engineers have shown true initiative by subsidising their own training. Not directly employed within the controls industry but with a watching brief as package manager for BMS on a PFI development project for Skanska, David Green saw the benefit of a building controls qualification. His background is mechanical engineering, but with responsibilities for BMS contracts, he wanted to extend and improve upon his existing knowledge of building controls systems. With 19 years of building services experience behind him, he had not expected the course to be quite as challenging as it turned out to be, which clearly demonstrates the thoroughness of the material. Not deterred by the challenge, he has tackled both the foundation and advanced levels. The BCG and CSSG purposely structured their training scheme to encourage a wide range of people, whether directly involved with controls engineering or in a supervisory role as undertaken by a consultant or contractor, to reach an accepted level of controls understanding and engineering excellence. Generating a profit is not a major factor and that is clearly demonstrated by the low cost of the course compared to the care in keeping classroom numbers low in order to provide personal interaction between trainer and each student, together with the extensive course notes and CD-based instruction. Indeed, the only profit the BCG and CSSG seek is to establish building controls as a professionally accepted occupation that represents one of the most technically skilled functions within the building process. Comments: Building controls is a specialised discipline that requires a working knowledge of a broad range of building services plant and equipment. To date, controls training has been provided by individual manufacturers who, naturally, have concentrated on the specifics of their product range.