Sun, sea, sangria...Spain’s Costa del Sol has them in abundance. Marbella was also home to the great and good of the electrical industry, as they travelled in record numbers for the annual get together, with the theme of joining up the industry.

Of course, joining up the industry does not confine itself to the electrical sector these days. The July council meetings of the ECA and HVCA are expected to discuss a proposed convergence model, one where the two Associations come together as a single body for m&e contractors.

There are issues to be resolved about the two bodies’ respective resources and electrical-only firms are particularly concerned that their interests are not diluted and that the ECA brand is preserved in some way. Nevertheless, whereas convergence has failed at the first hurdle in the past, this time both look well placed coming down the finishing straight.

Both sides have also been working hard on a combined m&e agreement. It is now at an advanced stage and should be ready by September. Again, there are sticking points, not least of which the issue of the future role of the electrical industry’s Joint Industry Board. The JIB has long been ripe for reshaping for the modern age and the timing could not be better for a rethink of an organisation that needs to be repositioned for a future that is m&e not solely electrical.

There was not much evidence of joined-up thinking when it came to a discussion of subcontract terms at the conference. ECA members are often stitched up nicely by their fellow members, it seems. Clearly, there’s plenty of work still to be done.

Source

Electrical and Mechanical Contractor

Postscript

Andrew Brister, Editor