Events
Our upcoming events and conferences for BESA members.
Read MoreBESA specialist groups set the standards that shape building engineering services and to contribute to the strategic development of the Association.
Read MoreFrom commercial insurance to employee benefits, or training requirements to the latest legislative updates, we’ve got you covered – and all at preferential member rates.
Read MoreMembership means more services to add value to your business and to help you make the most of the opportunities in the marketplace.
Read MoreAs a BESA member, you automatically qualify to apply for FREE Trustmark status, helping you to win domestic work.
Read MoreThe BESA Competence Assessment Scheme provides independent accreditation of our members’ technical competence and commercial capability.
Read MoreFrom commercial insurance to employee benefits, or training requirements to the latest legislative updates, we’ve got you covered – and all at preferential member rates.
Read MoreThe BESA provides practical assistance to its members in managing, developing and training their workforce and in establishing terms and conditions of employment.
Read MoreIn its role as an employers’ organisation, the BESA is responsible for ensuring the relevance to members’ needs of collective agreements with the sector’s recognised trade union.
Read MoreThe BESA is committed to ensuring that its members are fully compliant with all relevant health and safety legislation, and that they remain up-to-date with current industry best practice.
Read MoreBESA has been providing best-in-class technical guidance and standards to the building engineering services sector for over 100 years.
Read MoreThe BESA technical team is on-hand to give expert advice, guidance and practical support that address key technical issues as well as deliver access to standards, specifications and guides to good practice.
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Read MoreCertification and registration enable the demonstration of best practice to end users, as well as enabling you to remain compliant.
Read MoreAs a BESA member you have access to expert support from our experienced and knowledgeable legal & commercial team.
Read MoreIt is crucial that employers understand and manage the wide range of regulatory requirements and obligations they must comply with.
Read MoreContracts can be a minefield. Ensuring your company's contracts are managed efficiently can save your business not just time, but money too.
Read MoreDebts, disputes and payment issues can cause a real impact on your business' cash flow meaning the right advice and guidance can be essential.
Read MoreAs a business owner, protecting and de-risking your business from threats is essential and having plans and processes in place along with a support network is key.
Read MoreBESA has been providing best-in-class technical guidance and standards to the building engineering services sector for over 100 years.
Read MoreLatest news on the initiatives and activities being undertaken by the BESA in support of its members and the building engineering services sector.
Read MoreBESA Training has provided training and apprenticeships for the building engineering services sector and its employers for over 25 years.
Read MoreAs a BESA member you have access to expert support from our experienced and knowledgeable legal & commercial team.
Read MoreIt is crucial that employers understand and manage the wide range of regulatory requirements and obligations they must comply with.
Read MoreContracts can be a minefield. Ensuring your company's contracts are managed efficiently can save your business not just time, but money too.
Read MoreIt is crucial that employers understand and manage the wide range of regulatory requirements and obligations they must comply with.
Read MoreBESA Connect is a scheme helping those who don't have the digital equipment at home to assist them in completing their training or apprenticeship.
Read MoreUse our interactive Find A BESA Member facility to take advantage of the high competence and health and safety standards to which our members adhere.
Read MoreConstruction is a complex process. It therefore requires significant expertise to deliver the building engineering services that buildings demand.
Read MoreThe BESA Book is an annual industry directory published on behalf of the Building Engineering Services Association by Open Box Publishing.
Read MoreBringing together early career technical personnel working in our sector to learn about the industry and new technology, collaborate
Read MoreBrowse the organisations which are members of the BESA affiliation scheme.
Read MoreLatest news on the initiatives and activities being undertaken by the BESA in support of its members and the building engineering services sector.
Read MoreUp-to-date comment and thought leadership on key industry issues from our expert team.
Read MoreUp-to-date information on a range of events of interest and relevance to building engineering services contractors, attendance at many of which are free of charge.
Read MoreIt is crucial that employers understand and manage the wide range of regulatory requirements and obligations they must comply with.
Read MoreIt is crucial that employers understand and manage the wide range of regulatory requirements and obligations they must comply with.
Read MoreIt is crucial that employers understand and manage the wide range of regulatory requirements and obligations they must comply with.
Read MoreIt is crucial that employers understand and manage the wide range of regulatory requirements and obligations they must comply with.
Read MoreJoin us for a full programme of technical content, including an exhibition featuring innovative technical solutions.
Read MoreYour BESA magazine is an exciting new member's magazine offering valuable guidance and updates on technical, training, skills and education along with other association and industry related news.
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Read MoreThe podcast that delves deeper into the unique challenges faced by the construction and building engineering services industry.
Read MoreThe BESA helps shape the building engineering services industry, progressing key issues and keeping on top of consultations
Read MoreA dedicated area to help raise awareness on the key issues surrounding the current lack of diversity, promoting the business benefits of a diverse workforce and sharing best practice case studies and actionable resources.
Read MoreA dedicated area to help raise awareness of mental health wellbeing in the building engineering services sector, providing practical resources and tools to help companies address this important issue in their workplace
Read MoreA dedicated area to help raise awareness of the importance of indoor air quality, the conditions of air inside buildings and how our sector can work together to make buildings safe havens.
Read MoreA dedicated area to focus on how we in the building engineering services sector can learn from and improve following the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
Read MoreA dedicated area highlighting BESA's efforts to address the issue of retentions in the built environment.
Read MoreA dedicated area with resources and guidance for members affected by the Carillion collapse, as well as information on late payment reform.
Read MoreThursday, November 12, 2020
Companies will be compelled to use digital tools to register and record details of their work under new building legislation, according to safety reformer Dame Judith Hackitt.
She told last week’s BESA National Conference that it would “no longer be allowed” for firms to deliberately avoid recording project information using widely available digital technology under the regulations, which are due to come into force in 2023.
She said it was crucial that the industry “started doing things differently” including switching to digital “as fast as possible as that will help get it right and also gather the data you need…and get away from all the paper trails”.
Hackitt has called for all projects to have a ‘golden thread’ of information to preserve and record the original design intent throughout a building’s operational life.
“The technology exists to record everything you do and trace actions back, but the decision is often made not to record that information. That will no longer be allowed,” she told the BESA Conference; adding: “It doesn’t have to be BIM, but that will certainly be part of it.”
Delegates and speakers at the conference welcomed the increased emphasis on digital as an opportunity for improvement. However, several suggested it was not a ‘silver bullet’ for the sector’s current problems with information and communication.
A panel of engineers and FM experts, chaired by BESA’s head of business development Steve Tomkins, warned that digital tools could also lead to information ‘dumping’.
Excitement
“There is a danger with improving technologies that we need to ask, ‘Are they fit for purpose?’, for each project that we work on. We must not overlook practicalities in the excitement over technology,” said Christine Gausden from the UKBIM Alliance.
Former CIBSE President George Adams added that BIM was not affordable for all clients and might not be suitable on many retrofit projects.
“The worst outcome would be that each company on a project offers a ‘packet’ of digital information at the end of a job. That would not be a good outcome. It is the digital equivalent of handing over an O&M manual and walking away,” said Martin Trentham, head of national design at Interserve.
The BESA Conference also heard from the Centre for Digital Built Britain on the benefits of using ‘digital twins’ and modern methods of construction. The industry was also urged to learn lessons from other sectors, during a presentation by the centre’s Dr Didem Gurdur-Broo.
“We consider our own organisations, our inner world including how we react with our suppliers, customers, and all of our partners. And this is one way to look at it, but don’t forget there is also another influence from the wider world,” she explained.
Gordon Pringle, managing director of Heating Appliances and Spares (HASL), said there was already a great deal of useful technology capable of making building services systems more efficient.
“We can apply technology to help alleviate problems in water systems, which suffer component failure or poor performance due to inadequate commissioning, for example. This will also ensure that they are operating optimally, and not wasting energy.”
BESA added that greater use of digital tools was a key part of its widely used SFG20 industry standard for building maintenance. It said this was helping to realise Hackitt’s ambition for a ‘golden thread’ of information by enabling the inclusion of building operational information at an earlier stage of the design and construction process.
Providing building engineers with additional digital skills is a key aim of its new online training Academy and they also form part of the revised Competence Assessment Standard used in its membership application process, the Association said.
To review the BESA Conference sessions go to: www.theBESA.com/conference
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