Following this week's Pump Industry Awards, the British Pump Manufacturers Association (BPMA) have pleasure in announcing the very best of the best! Six companies and one individual were recognised and rewarded for sheer excellence in the pump, and pump-related industries, and the winners were as follows:

Cooper Lighting and Security has introduced an innovative and patented series of JSB fire detectors that provide new self-test functionality. In the event of a fault, the detectors trigger both a visual alert and a signal to the fire panel, which allows customers to respond more quickly to potential danger.

An automatic volume flow controller, which removes the tedious and expensive process of adjusting flow rates in ventilation and air conditioning systems, has been unveiled by TROX (UK).

Building control and communication just got easier with the introduction of two touch-screen interfaces from Priva Building Intelligence. Both have been designed on easy to understand graphical formats, but have the inbuilt flexibility to be customised to the user’s specifications. That includes full reconfiguration of the menu and help texts to best suit the user and the building(s) under control. And just as important, both provide a high resolution (320 x 240 mm) display at an affordable price.

The new SAV Control Commissioning Module brings to engineers responsible for setting up control of terminal units all the benefits already enjoyed by their colleagues in balancing system volume and flow rates.

Now available from CCL Veloduct Ltd is a range of Acoustic Flexible Ducting, which combines noise reduction capability with the proven advantages of the company’s Tecflex concept.

Heatrae Sadia has revamped its catalogue, offering a one-stop-shop for architects, specifiers and installers by providing all the information they need for the specification of heating products.

MK Electric is set to revolutionise the cable management sector with the launch of Prestige 3D – a system providing ground breaking innovations that deliver high quality, professional installations with greater ease and speed of fixing.

For fast, economical installation with extra protection, Wieland Electric Limited has added 2, 4 and 5 pole versions to the popular gesis IP+ 3 pole range of connectors. Designed for the safe installation of lighting and other building services components, especially where a high degree of protection is required in harsh environments, the new, state of the art connectors offer time savings of up to 80%.

BEST (Building Engineering Services Training), the training subsidiary of the HVCA, has launched the BEST assessment centre, which will initially work with three colleges in the north west of England. BEST has achieved awarding body approval to offer NVQs two and three in Heating & Ventilation (H&V) Industrial/Commercial, H&V Domestic and H&V Service and Maintenance.

Supra flues, manufactured by SFL, have been installed at the Wester Hailes Community Centre and High School which lie on the west side of Edinburgh.

Raychem electric underfloor heating systems are being installed at the Pier Arts Centre in Stromness, Orkney, which is currently undergoing renovation and regeneration with an extension to link the two existing buildings, designed by architect Reiach & Hall. This three storey arts and exhibition centre is a cultural landmark housing a collection of 20th Century exhibits charting the development of modern art in Britain, including key works by Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson and Naum Gabo.

Built in the 1980’s the Civic Centre has provided a valuable service to the community. However, the council was keen to ensure that its employees were afforded the best possible working conditions that improvements in lighting and design over the last twenty years could offer during their recent refurbishment.

Meeting increasing heat loads and rising fuel costs head on, the Yorkshire Building Society (YBS) has worked with Airedale, to reduce building energy costs by replacing an existing, less efficient chiller with Airedale’s low energy free-cooling technology in its main call centre offices.

Monkeys at a new £1 million enclosure at Bristol Zoo Gardens are being kept warm all year round thanks to high efficiency Ferroli boilers. Two Econcept 50a gas-fired units have been installed in the Monkey Jungle, situated within the heart of the 12-acre site. The Zoo’s primate collection, including lemurs and macaques, recently relocated to its new home, which is designed to give visitors a chance to mingle with the monkeys in an interactive forest experience.

Twin Eco Heat Pumps have been installed to supply energy efficient heating and hot water for a new Community Centre in the Western Isles.

State of the art Daikin inverter controlled VRV heat recovery air conditioning is a key component of new building services designed by consultants Foreman Roberts, for the 15 Fetter Lane, EC4, development. Rising phoenix like from its former site, the new complex is among the more imaginative and visually attractive additions to the City’s commercial office stock.

Eton Associates Limited, the Docklands based building services control specialists have been awarded an order by Canary Wharf Management to upgrade 36 Mammoth packaged air handling units in two buildings occupied by Barclays Capital.

The Tank Museum, Bovington, which houses the largest and finest collection of armoured military vehicles in the world, is now protected from fire by a Gent by Honeywell technically advanced, efficient fire detection and alarm system.

SummitSkills has outlined its work so far on a major new project called Horizon, which will create a Sector Skills Agreement for building services engineering. The project has been introduced for employers to have a greater say in training for both the next generation of employees and their existing workforce. This will fundamentally alter the way skills are developed and delivered.

Consulting engineer Buro Happold has provided the structural engineering design for the spectacular Palace of Peace and Reconciliation which was officially opened on 1 September, in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. The president of Kazakhstan opened the building which was completed in time for the triennial Congress of Leaders of the World and Traditional Religions, a regular meeting of leaders of all the major faiths intended to promote religious tolerance.

The environmental division of White Young Green (WYG), consultants to the built natural and social environment, has further expanded its Manchester office team with the appointment of Steven Radford, a renewable energy specialist.

The ECA has offered its general support for the new Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Bill.

Mitsubishi Electric has received another boost to its green credentials following the publication of a Top 10 ‘Green’ Companies of the Year list.

aM&T (automatic Monitoring & Targeting), the correct selection and application of meters combined with AMR (Automatic Meter Reading) and M&T (Monitoring and Targeting) is a key element in Best Practice Energy Management.

As a recognised and long established designer and manufacturer of state-of-the-art Uninterruptible Power Systems (UPS) with world-wide coverage, Chloride closely follow developments in technology and product application. Of particular interest at this time is the changing nature of the computer loads that UPS products have to support. Whilst we have always been aware of the non-linear effects of computer loads we recognise that certain modern day IT products such as blade servers can draw power from the supply with a leading displacement power factor (DPF).

In February of this year we brought to you news of a new IT cabinet cooling system which was being brought to the market by Trox AITCS. Six months later, and with the system up and running in Imperial College London, we look at how the pioneering carbon dioxide based IT cabinet cooling system fares in the real world.

Engineers and managers involved with buildings are well aware of the benefits of variable speed drives, but many have concerns about specifying them in applications where they need to continue operating in the event of a fire. A lot has, however, been done to address those concerns, as Georgina Perkins of Siemens Building Technologies explains.

It is a debate that continues and any number of expert witnesses will come forward to put the case for their favoured material for above ground drainage systems. However, where the basis for judgement is open to interpretation, we are often asked to rely on opinion rather than fact.

The construction boom looks set to continue with a significant amount of current and future projects, for example the 2012 Olympics, requiring a vast range of sports facilities and venues to be built over the next few years. Sports stadiums are often designed with a number of uses in mind, not only in terms of their primary purpose, but also taking into account how the space can generate additional revenue, for example through conferences and corporate entertainment. Many projects require legacy issues to be examined, making future use of space a key consideration. Versatility, flexibility and longevity in terms of building design, including boiler plant, are therefore vitally important in creating facilities and venues which will meet environmental requirements today and tomorrow.

This month sees the launch of the new and exciting Building Controls Industry Awards 2007 which are being launched in association with the BCIA (Building Controls Industry Association) and BSEE.