But more changes are on their way and anyone in building services who wants to take advantage of the opportunities needs to act now.

BSRIA has undertaken extensive research into key trends and BSRIA Marketing Director Anne King points to two of these: “Integration and energy efficiency are two of the biggest things for the M&E sector. Now they are coming together and one is driving the other. Building services is inseparable from the rest of construction, but is increasingly taking a lead role. This is not being driven by Latham or Egan reports but by energy requirements for buildings.”

Others agree that there is going to have to be increasing integration and cooperation among construction teams. David Frise, Managing Director of mechanical contractor MS Frise comments: “You need to think about renewable technologies in building projects at a very early stage. This requires an increasingly holistic approach to building design. You can’t design a building and then simply add the services. That is already being done on large projects, but we will start to see it on smaller projects as well.”

King agrees: “We will see construction professionals working together more. Architects have to learn about building services, or take on services engineers. It is no longer acceptable to put up the structure and then say, ‘solve this problem’.”

The construction industry has often regarded sustainable design as a niche market. However there are now strong drivers which are taking green issues into mainstream developments. “Sustainable building is the one area in our research which is most likely to happen – even more than developments in use of IT,” says Anne King.

Although sustainability and energy efficiency issues are pushing building services to the top of the agenda, not everyone in the industry is ready to grab the opportunities. Keith Marshall, Chief Executive of SummitSkills explains that the organisation has recently completed an in-depth report into the skills requirements for the future. “The big message is that the sector is already missing out in the renewable energy sources and technologies areas – and that will get worse unless we do something about it now.”

Marshall points out that in a way, the industry is a victim of its own success. “Contractors are busy on routine work, the type of work they have been doing for some time. There is no incentive therefore to learn about these new technologies. This means that as more local authorities require use of renewables on-site for large projects, the clients often have to look abroad for the installation skills needed. Typically they go to Germany or Norway.”

As a result, the UK market is already missing out on these revenues, as well as the opportunity to learn new skills. “The Germans and Norwegians are building their expertise in this field, and we are trundling along mending Mrs Jones’ boiler. Unless we find some way of breaking that circle, the gap is only going to get worse,” warns Marshall.

Graham Manly emphasises the fact that it’s not simply a question of creating a new pool of specialists. “For a long time systems have been viewed as stand-alone and installed by specialists. If you wanted a CHP system installed you didn’t go to the plumber or heating engineer. If you wanted air conditioning you went to the air conditioning man. Now we have to think in an integrated way. For example with a technology such as heat pumps which provide heating and cooling. Who does that, the heating engineer, plumber or air conditioning installer?”

The issue of training for renewables installation is also one of performance. If the technologies are not installed and commissioned correctly they cannot be expected to achieve the carbon savings required by legislation. This in turn could lead to clients who don’t see the financial benefits of using renewables or energy efficient technologies.

David Frise, who a year ago launched 3rd Rock Energy which specialises in technologies such as solar systems and ground source heat pumps, agrees with this view: “We don’t need people who train on renewables alone. They need to understand the whole thing; to understand integrated design. They need to know how all the elements operate together as a system.”

Manly adds: “It is the plumbers and heating engineers who have to obtain the skills to work with renewables such as solar hot water or micro-generation. They need to know how to re-engineer a whole system in a house. For example if a ground source heat pump is providing water at lower temperatures then radiators have to be re-sized. There is no reason why a heating engineer or a plumber can’t do these things. It’s about up-skilling and retraining.”

The requirement for re-education doesn’t only rest with the contractors. Design engineers are also facing new challenges. “Engineers who deal with commercial projects often have little experience of domestic projects. Up until a year ago that wasn’t a problem. Now, thanks to planning restrictions there isn’t a commercial development that isn’t mixed. Every office, retail or hotel development has got 100 apartments stuck on top of it! Knowledge transfer between commercial and domestic is vital,” says Manly.

The subject of training has always been difficult for the construction sector, and its importance is unlikely to diminish in the foreseeable future. SummitSkills is tasked with delivering training that is relevant to the industry. Keith Marshall says: “This is a fundamental debate that has been going on for years. We are trying to say that training is an investment for the future, but contractors see the immediate costs, not the benefits.”

Training and skills shortages are closely linked. Graham Manly points out that while it is clearly better to have work carried out by properly trained and qualified individuals, the provision of training must be easy to achieve at a reasonable price. “It takes four years to train an electrician or heating engineer. This is itself a barrier. It is carried on a day release basis, but could be done quicker if the training were full-time. But the industry quite rightly says that trainees cannot simply be classroom trained; that on-site experience is vital. There has to be a solution between what the industry wants and what colleges are trying to do.”

In part, Keith Marshall believes that some of these issues will be addressed with the introduction of the new 14-19 Diplomas. “When these are introduced in 2008, training spending will be focused where it is most useful. Employers requirements will drive the training provision.”

Both Marshall and Manly raise the prospect of a ‘licence to practice’, although both agree that the phrase is not welcome in the construction industry. “People run a mile from this idea, but there is already work going with the competent persons schemes arising from the Building Regulations,” says Marshall.

Manly adds: “Government has been reluctant to introduce something like this because it is seen as a barrier to business, but so is a four-year training programme that we have now. We are already seeing the effects of this because the industry is bringing in people from Europe who are already qualified and experienced rather than increasing training in the UK. It may be the best solution for the industry, but it’s not necessarily the best thing for UK plc, and I’m sure that’s what the government must be thinking too.”

Some have predicted an increased use of off-site prefabrication to deal with the lack of on-site skills. However, predictions about the future of off-site are mixed. Anne King says: “There are those who are sure that it’s just going to happen as a matter of course. The extreme view is that we are moving towards very packaged and pre-fabricated modules which may be transported some distance to site. This doesn’t have widespread support, but it is certainly being aired as an idea.”

Graham Manly sees a more limited market for prefabrication, which won’t be driven by lack of skills but by more commercial factors. “Prefabrication offers faster construction times, lower costs, reduced waste and reduction of expensive on-site trades. There is limited application in terms of roof plant rooms for out of town stores, but I don’t see it as ever being a stand-alone industry.”

Stephen Matthews, Chairman of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers, agrees that training is vital, but that businesses must make sure that they invest in the right way. “Simply increasing your training budget is not an option. You need to think about your business; where you want to be; where the market is going. There is no simple template.”

Taking a long-term view of the market is one of the biggest challenges construction and building services companies face. In a market where small to medium sized firms proliferate, strategy is often overlooked. “The sector is a reactive one, and tends to be driven by legislative changes rather than being able to step back and influence things,” says Lindsay Gillespie, SummitSkills Development Director. “There is very little research undertaken. People assume that what they are going to do in the future is more of the same. We are tied to the contracting cycle, too busy doing the work to take a step back and think about strategy. ”

Matthews comments: “There is a lot to be learned in business terms. There has to be a mechanism where the sector develops to meet the customers’ requirements at an agreed price which gives sufficient profit to sustain and grow their business.”

David Frise believes that the industry is still very cost driven. “Unfortunately capital and operational costs are still separate so if a client can save £30,000 on capital costs he will do that even though it adds £40,000 to the operational costs. That’s not just the case with renewables, it is true of al projects. I would like to see that change, but there are no real drivers for that.”

Keith Marshall adds: “The industry is still cost driven rather than value-for-money driven. It is very tight in terms of time, money and resources. That leads very quickly to a lack of forward planning and taking a big picture view.”

The message is clear that organisations in the building services sector need to consider the future carefully. There are many opportunities available for those with a clear strategy. Sustainability issues may require extra training, but they also offer the chance to attract new blood. David Frise says: “Being involved with sustainability means that we do attract more graduates who are very enthusiastic about these issues.”

Also, manufacturers have tapped into the renewables markets with the introduction of new products and services. Graham Manly says: “Many of the manufacturers of traditional products are now offering technology such as solar hot water panels. They are selling integrated systems because they know how to link the two together. They have the knowledge, and are filling a huge gap, and that may well be the future.”

If you are interested in learning more about the opportunities of the future, come along to the M&E Event 2007 on 10 and 11 October at London Olympia. We will be addressing these issues and more at the free seminar sessions. Find out more and sign up now at www.buildingservicesevent.co.uk

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