Poor commissioning discussed in depth

Much of the discussion centered on the problems caused by ‘inadequate management of the commissioning process’. A roundtable debate jointly staged recently in London by IHEEM and the B&ES, the leading UK trade association for building services engineering contractors, took the debate forward. As HEJ editor, Jonathan Baillie reports, the discussions confirmed that one of the key contributors to poor commissioning is a failure to involve specialist building services contractors sufficiently early. It was also agreed that finding a really effective ‘client-side’ project manager, with the panoply of skills and experience the role requires, can be ‘a tough ask’. In this issue of HEJ we report on the debate’s first ‘half’; in June’s edition, we will cover ‘part two’ of a lively, forthright, and positive debate.

The roundtable debate was held at the B&ES’s Esca House headquarters in Bayswater on 12 March, and chaired by IHEEM’s CEO, Julian Amey, with Mike Malina, who runs his own building services engineering practice, Energy Solutions Associates, and drew up much of the programme, acting as facilitator. Each participant began by briefly outlining their professional background, expertise, and experience. Alongside Julian Amey, and Mike Malina, the other participants were:

•    Bob Towse, head of Technical & Safety at the Building and Engineering Services Association (B&ES).
•    Robin Whitby, Healthcare bid director, Laing O’Rourke.
•    Stephen Wignall, business leader north, Crown House Technologies.
•    Chris Barrass, business development manager, British Gas.
•    Alan Newman, partner, Troup Bywaters + Anders.
•    Christopher Shaw, senior director, Business Development, Medical Architecture, and chair, Architects for Health.
•    Chris Johnston-Stuart, technical and compliance manager, North Bristol NHS Trust, Southmead Hospital – Estates Department.
•    Chris James, head of engineering services and infrastructure, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust.