The ECA arrived in Marbella for its annual conference, with the theme ‘Joining up the industry’. The sol failed to show up, but Andrew Brister spreads some sunshine with his report from the Costa
Marbella’s motto is ‘A way of life’. And life is certainly sweet when you’re tucking into a bit of sea bass in one of the restaurants that surround the old town’s Plaza de los Naranjos. The ECA Electrical Industry Conference chose this Costa del Sol original for its 2008 venue, and record numbers proved that it was a popular choice – or was it because of the business line-up?
Allan Littler took office as ECA president on the first morning. He reminded delegates that, despite the economic doom and gloom, 2008 is the Year of the Rat in China, a time for optimism and innovation.
Littler referred to his involvement in the ECA’s Strategic Review. He highlighted key areas from the review where the industry will face opportunities and challenges: competence and certification; skills; industrial relations; health and safety; lobbying; commercial and environment; and business management.
“Of course, a grand strategic plan is best developed by people working together, and a grand strategic plan for this industry is best developed by joining up the different parts of the industry,” said Littler.
He spoke of the need for organisations to work together with the supply chain and trade unions to present a united front to lobby the government on major issues such as sustainability.
“I believe our combined electrical, mechanical and building services industry is well placed to innovate right across the spectrum, from providing a comfortable environment within the most humble of dwellings to finding the sustainable solutions to battle against the threat of climate change,” he said.
Of his elected position at the ECA, Allan Littler said: “I am simply the guardian for one year of an institution that boasts over 100 years of history. We must continue to build on this great foundation in the next 100 years. The future of the industry is being shaped now.”
ECA chief executive officer David Pollock brought delegates up to speed on a number of association initiatives on joining up the industry, including the big one: ECA and HVCA convergence.
The ECA and HVCA councils are expected in July to consider an outline proposal as to how the two trade associations could come together as a single representative body for m&e contractors.
“We need to present a model that is acceptable to members,” he said. “ECA members want ring-fenced resources, to preserve the brands and to ensure that there is no dilution of the interests of single-discipline contractors.”
Turning to training, Pollock also signalled the potential establishment of a ‘skills academy’ to embrace the views of all parties.
We need to deliver unchallengeable quality on sustainability, otherwise new people will emerge who will deliver
David Pollock
“Co-operation across traditional boundaries is essential if we are to draw talent into the industry at all levels. There are four times as many applying to join than can be accommodated by the industry – we need to provide employers with incentives,” he said.
In addition to the recent announcement of a £10m training fund, Pollock told delegates that the ECA was working with the Olympic Delivery Authority on an initiative to develop adult trainees.
Pollock saw many opportunities ahead for contractors.
“Contractors can make or break the nation’s efforts in meeting the sustainability agenda. The ECA needs to ensure members are well placed to take advantage,” he said. “We need to deliver unchallengeable quality on these issues, otherwise new people will emerge who will deliver.”
Alongside, but entirely separate to, convergence are talks on a combined m&e agreement. A draft agreement is at an advanced stage and should be ready for September this year. It will contain a single m&e welfare benefit for workers, but the industrial relations infrastructure needed to oversee this remains uncertain.
“The combined m&e agreement will simplify administration for employers,” said Ray Foster, managing director of J Brand and the ECA’s chief negotiator on industrial relations. He told delegates that the deal is the starting point for more collaborative arrangements with the HVCA and, hopefully, Select in Scotland.
“We won’t allow this to compromise the interests of single-discipline firms, but we have to provide appropriate solutions for members large and small,” said Foster.
The HVCA remains sceptical about the role of the electrical industry’s Joint Industry Board in any future combined m&e accord.
“We do need to reposition the JIB for a mechanical as well as electrical future,” said Foster.
Foster said there were other challenges.
“There are major changes taking place in the Unite union. We are facing unprecedented change. It was a challenging environment on the last wage negotiation.
Payment is often late, contractors are underpaid, there are undervaluations of variations and unclear contract conditions
Bill Wright
“Unite has removed free membership for JIB electricians, so numbers have fallen, and there is increased activism among the remainder. There is strong support for the JIB from the union, though,” he said. “It is possible, unless we are careful, that we may return to the bad old pre-JIB days. We want to avoid that.”
The theme of joining up the industry was challenged when delegates heard the results of an ECA survey that revealed members are still experiencing problems on contracts, sometimes when working as subcontractors to other ECA members.
“Payment is often late, contractors are underpaid, there are undervaluations of variations and unclear contract conditions,” said ECA past-president Bill Wright, of W Wright Electrical and chairman of the association’s commercial, contracts and legal committee.
He told delegates that 32% of the 282 respondents to the ECA survey had worked as sub-subcontractors, with most of those being medium-sized firms.
More than 70% had had to wait in excess of 21 days to be paid. 47% indicated that the subcontractor had supplied materials so that they, the sub-subcontractor, had provided labour-only services.
“Members would prefer to take responsibility for the timely arrival of materials,” said Wright.
“The fact that 26% of respondents were responsible for someone else’s design is hugely worrying,” said Wright. “Design responsibility is passed on in clauses that are often not spotted until it is too late.”
Wright urged contractors to get a full copy of the contract before starting work, with all site instructions in writing. Firms should beware of extended-liability periods, and project documents are essential proof.
“Beware also of risk dumping – you may end up with something that you’ve no insurance cover for,” said Wright.
Not quite a totally joined-up industry yet, then. So much remains to be done between now and next year’s get-together in Malta.
Sustainable solutions
A conference wouldn’t be a conference these days if it didn’t cover sustainability. The Marbella gathering was no exception. Neil Painter, maintenance services manager at retailer New Look led delegates onto green pastures. Energy use and waste disposal are key issues for a group with over 600 properties, and recent price hikes in the price of energy have concentrated the mind.
Initiatives at New Look include examining more efficient lamp sources, longer lamp life and control gear.
Painter said companies such as New Look would be looking at contractors’ environmental policies, demand better use of resources, both natural and human, and want quality solutions that are built to last.
Dave Tilley of DJ Lighting Group told delegates how his company has worked alongside New Look to improve lighting performance in its stores.
His particular ‘best in class’ solution involved Reggiani’s IOS reflector, GE Lighting’s CMH and T5 Wattmiser lamps and Ingenium CFLs from Megaman.
“To monitor is to know,” said Tilley. “You have to balance energy costs with light output and sales, and you need information for informed decisions.”
Doug King of m&e consultant King Shaw Associates is no stranger to innovation. His projects, including Sainsbury’s Eco Store in London’s Millennium Village and the Innovate Green Office in Leeds, are well known for cutting-edge designs that reduce energy use to a minimum. He acknowledged there are many barriers to such projects ever getting off the ground.
“There is no joined-up thinking. It’s ‘lowest cost’ not ‘best value’ procurement, and 10 years after Egan there is still a dislocated design-and-delivery team and adversarial contract arrangements.”
He showed that when you do get it right you can delight the client as well as achieve outstanding energy performance. The Innovate Green Office has the comfort conditions of an air-conditioned solution but is naturally ventilated and has 80% lower CO2 emissions than an air-conditioned equivalent. There is a waiting list for office space and the building is visited weekly by architects and design teams for inspiration.
“You must allow time for design and encourage dialogue between designers and installers,” advised King. “You must recognise and reward everyone’s experience and use partnering contracts with no blame culture.”
Few in the audience would disagree.
High-speed networking
Speed-dating at the ECA conference? The mind boggles. But it’s not what you might think. Six topics, 12 presenters, 10 minutes each and then the whistle blows. Short, sharp speeches were the name of the game as delegates tackled the key issues in small groups: intelligent buildings; counterfeiting; energy efficiency and legislation; energy efficiency in the lighting industry; online seminars or webinars and new communications technology.
On intelligent buildings, Eric Anderson of Siemens told delegates that there was a danger that this segment of the market could be taken over by those outside the industry, for example the IT sector. What was needed was system installation training in this area from day one, perhaps as part of the apprenticeship programme.
He warned of the dangers of closed, bespoke controls protocols, instead extolling the virtues of the KNX system, which most building services suppliers are now adopting.
He advised contractors to look at the KNX training course run by the BRE at Watford.
Counterfeiting in the electrical industry is well documented. Keith Smith of Eaton told the audience that more needs to be done, and the workshops proposed that the industry improved traceability of the supply route, strengthened manufacturers’ franchised distributors and increased awareness through a ‘naming and shaming’ policy.
Alan Birks, also of Eaton, gave delegates feedback from the workshop on energy efficiency and legislation. It thought more was needed to be done to raise awareness of the opportunities created by energy-efficient solutions, including better training, better guidance on the regulations and improved labelling of compliant products.
The lighting industry continues to make great strides in energy-efficient products, but they are not taken up quickly by contractors. Gerry O’Donnell of Philips Lighting said his workshop put this down to education.
“Legislation will force change,” he said, “and the industry needs better lines of communication with the energy bill-payer, architects and consulting engineers.”
An ECA energy efficiency office was proposed, a body that could conduct energy surveys and lobby government.
EMC’s recent webinar on the 17th Edition of the Wiring Regulations was the starting point of a discussion of how online seminars can help contractors get up to speed on legislation, technology, health and safety and other issues in an interactive format.
The final session was a look at new initiatives from Voltimum, the portal from leading electrical equipment manufacturers.
Source
Electrical and Mechanical Contractor
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