Role of the building services engineeringconsultant

J.H. Gura. C.Eng.. F.I.E.E.. F.C.I.B.S.. M.Cons.E.

Indexing term: Engineering administration & management

Abstract: In the past three decades the engineering services content in buildings has grown continuously inquantity and complexity. What used to be the province of the plumber and electrician now demands theservices of a body of highly educated and specialist trained professional engineers. To meet the growingdemand, a body of such professional and technical engineers has been expanding rapidly. The paper provides awide ranging view of the environment in which the building services engineer operates, the relationship with theindustry and the other professionals involved, the technological content and the management skills which areneeded. Many discussions with aspiring engineering graduates have left the author with the conviction that thebuilding industry does not rate very highly as a prospect. The paper endeavours to demonstrate that the skillsrequired, and the degree of challenge involved, offer prospects of a rewarding and varied career. What is certainis that the demand for competent building services engineers is greater than the supply.

1 Building services engineering

Building services engineering, commonly abbreviated to'engineering services', comprises all the engineering systemsassociated with building, other than civil and structuralengineering. In the UK, electricity, gas, water and sewageprovisions will normally derive from the public utilities.Overseas, the services engineer must expect to be involvedfrom time to time in all or part of these provisions on site.

It would be difficult to provide a 'complete' list of all theservices which can be included within the services engi-neer's responsibility. In totality they will represent 20% ofthe cost, in the simplest of buildings, to 50% or more inthe more complex high-technology buildings.

The following is a summary of the systems a servicesconsultant will be dealing with fairly generally:

(a) Provisions applicable to almost all projects:(i) environmental comfort: heating, ventilation, air-

conditioning and lighting, including all relevant plant, suchas boilers, air plants, refrigeration units, water treatmentetc.

(ii) water distribution and public health systems(iii) electrical power distribution; this will commonly

include high-voltage distribution and the provisions ofsubstations

(iv) gas distribution(v) security, fire detection and alarm, and antitheft

systems, as well as battery-operated emergency lighting(vi) communication systems; telephones, staff loca-

tion, paging systems(vii) clock installations(viii) mechanical transportation; lifts, escalators, and

conveyors(ix) lightning protection(x) control and supervisory systems for all the above.

(b) Specialised provisions commonly required:(i) public address systems, including multilingual con-

ference facilities

For the sake of clarity, the term 'building' is used to describe the whole of the 'builtenvironment' as we know it today. It includes 'enclosed space' for whateverpurpose, and any external space which provides a facility or amenity in relation toour domestic, working, welfare or leisure needs. Major projects will almost alwaysinclude both.

Paper 3313A (M3, M4), first received 17th January and in revised form 19th June1984The author is a director of the Oscar Faber Partnership, Marlborough House,Upper Marlborough Road, St. Albans, Herts. AL1 3UT, England.

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(ii) refrigeration for process in industry and com-merce

(iii) hospital systems; medical gas and vacuumsystems, steam plant and distribution, sterilisationequipment, laundry equipment, disposal plant, specialistlighting etc.

(iv) external lighting, including street lighting(v) water treatment for swimming pools(vi) refuse and noxious effluent disposal(vii) catering equipment(viii) fume and dust extraction(ix) industrial cooling water systems(x) acoustic control(xi) standby generation and distribution(xii) uninterruptable power supplies for special appli-

cations(xiii) sewage disposal plant(xiv) material handling plant(xv) process air-conditioning and sterilisation for

sterile manufactures, e.g. drugs.

2 Organisation of design consultancy in theconstruction industry

2.1 The consultant teamThe services consultant will receive some commissions onwhich he acts alone, but these are a minority, and usuallyconsist of studies and reports on particular problems andprobably some limited but specialised provision or refur-bishment of an existing installation.

More generally, the services consultant will be commis-sioned as part of a consultant team. Traditionally thatteam has been 'professional', as opposed to 'contractor'.The team will be responsible jointly for carrying out thedesign and specification of the project and appointment ofthe contractor and his team, followed by programme andquality control of the construction, to the point of commis-sioning and handover. Overall cost control and expendi-ture management is a joint responsibility throughout.

The formation of the professional team within this formof organisation will vary with the type of project. As far asthe services consultant is concerned in the area of majormultidisciplinary projects, there are broadly three classesof work involved. The detailed duties of the services con-sultant do not vary greatly between them, but there aredifferences in the leadership of the professional teams andthe respective contract arrangements in general use.

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2.2 BuildingThis is the area of activity in which the services engi-neering consultant will be called upon for the major pro-portion of his activities. It will include every aspect of thebuilt environment within both the private and publicsectors for living, working, welfare and leisure. There isconsiderable overlap with civil engineering in some areas,for instance in defence, but the principal characteristic isthat the projects will usually be designed and managed bythe traditional architect-led team.

The latest edition of the 'conditions of engagement',which applies to all the respective members of the pro-fessional team, has been designed to radically improve har-monisation, and to establish explicitly that while thearchitect has no responsibility for the detail design of otherdisciplines, he does have overall responsibility for properlyincorporating the design of his structural and services col-leagues into his design. Similarly, during construction thearchitect alone has direct responsibility for monitoringprogress and issuing certificates as required by the con-tract. Quality control is the responsibility of each consul-tant in his own field.

The most widely used contract for building is known asthe 'JCT contract'. It is produced by a 'joint contract tri-bunal', on which all interests, professional, contractor andclient's, are represented. The prime document (there areothers) used for major projects is extremely complicated,and regarded by many as somewhat rigid in its applica-tion, making for much difficulty for the professional team.One particular point is that neither the structural nor ser-vices consultant is referred to in the contract document.His control can, therefore, only be directed through thearchitect's administration, or in the last analysis throughthe client.

From the consultant's point of view, the JCT contract isextremely rigid in respect of availability and accuracy ofdesign documentation to the sole requirement of the con-tractor. Even subcontractor's information in this area isthe responsibility of the design team. The most trivial ofomissions in this area generally leads to claims for delay. Itis a fact of life that for many contractors, the 'claim game'is a way of life. In these circumstances, it is imperative forthe designer to avoid going to tender until the most com-plete design information practicable is available.

Nevertheless, with the notable exception of the 'pro-perty services agency', the JCT document is widely used,where the traditional professional team is appointed.

2.3 Hea vy engineeringIn the context of this paper, the term 'heavy engineering' isused to define the very wide area of construction whichfalls outside what is generally regarded as the architecturalscene, although an architect is often employed to make acontribution to the aesthetic quality, or in relation to. abuilding subsidiary to the main project.

A high proportion of these projects will be civil-engineer-led. These will include harbours, dams, bridges,major road systems, infrastructure, water supply anddrainage etc.

Teams engaged in the generation and distribution ofelectricity, major pipelines and pumping stations will obvi-ously be led by electrical and mechanical consultants,respectively. Civil engineers are more often than not thelead consultants in projects for 'heavy' industry, e.g. steel,cement, grain or oil.

The extent of the contribution of services engineering tothese fields will vary substantially, but is always significant.For example, the structure of an oil platform represents

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most of the cost, but the comfort and safety of the work-force in the services element is vital. In the industrial field,services consultants play an ever-increasing role. Theraising of standards of effluent control and safety systemsand the like, to guard against industrial and localenvironmental health and other hazards, is just oneexample of the changing scene.

2.4 Specialised services projectsThere are a limited but significant number of projects onwhich the services consultant is required to carry out theleadership role of the professional team, and subsequentlyco-ordinate control of the construction. The following aretypical examples:

(a) District heating and cooling(b) Central services plant installation, with distribution

for major sites(c) Services refurbishment, where the structure is not sig-

nificantly altered(d) Total energy plants(e) Combined heat and power schemes(/) Modest-scale plant for main or standby generation,

together wtih its distribution.

The contract document mostly used for this purpose is the'model form A', as published by the IEE and the Institu-tion of Mechanical Engineers. The arrangements havebeen used for many years, and there is no evidence that itraises any particular problems.

The above represents the most commonly used methodsfor the respective areas of work, but there is growing criti-cism of the traditional method, particularly in urban build-ing.

Comments in present circulation include the following:(a) The traditional team is too fragmented, with individ-

ual vested interests taking precedence over the client'sinterest

(b) The architect's management talents are sometimesless than adequate

(c) The sequential nature of the traditional processdelays project completion, and the design which precedescontractor selection takes no account of contractor exper-tise.

A number of alternatives have in consequence been offeredfrom time to time. There are many computations of thesemethods in detail, but they fall into three main categories:

(a) Project management consultancy: nearly always aprofessional, who will represent the client during the wholedesign and construction process, often where the client isnot experienced in building procurement

(b) Design and build: a total service provided directlybetween the contractor and client; although projects usingthis method are sometimes large in scale, they are rarelycomplex in character

(c) Management contracting: this is a method where theclient appoints a major contractor on a fee arrangement toact globally on his behalf. The management contractor willhimself, sometimes with client nomination, appoint theprofessional design team and subsequent subcontractors,as and when they are required. The management contrac-tor will not normally carry out any of the constructionwork himself. The advantage claimed for this method isspeed and efficient construction, in that construction canbegin almost immediately after basic design information isavailable. The disadvantage is that there can be no cer-tainty of final cost, comparable with the traditionalmethod.

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In all these nontraditional methods, engineering servicesconsultants, in common with other consultants, can be asfully employed as with the traditional methods, alwaysproviding that professional codes of conduct are adheredto, and the client clearly understands any limitations ofresponsibility inherent with the method of organisation.

It is difficult to analyse simply the factors on whichjudgments have been made on the relative merits of thetraditional and nontraditional methods, and indeed muchof the criticism of the traditional method is ill-informedand misguided.

While undoubtedly some design firms had inadequatemanagement ability, the problems of the last two decades,of delay, cost escalation and sometimes failure, arose in myopinion for a number of prime reasons:

(a) Drastic reductions in cost allowances(b) Use of new and largely untried materials and tech-

niques(c) A rapid increase in engineering content, often only

housed with difficulty in buildings designed by architectswithout adequate advice from engineers; this often led toadditional design and alteration late in the process

(d) Shortage of experienced skill in all areas of craft,management and design; the latter is particularly true ofengineering services, and is referred to later in this paper.

However, it is not true that failures have been associatedonly with the traditional method. Ronan Point is perhapsthe best-known of the 'fast track' failures.

Today, most of the problems have been largely identi-fied, and the building process is now substantially bettermanaged in terms of time and cost targets.

Wherever the precise cost of a project must be known,particularly for complex technological buildings such ashospitals, the traditional method of tendering on a com-plete design is indispensable, although some modificationto the method is available, to involve the constructorsearlier in the process.

However, when the speed of building is paramount, andthe financial loss arising from delay outweighs someincrease in building cost and efficiency, then methodswhich allow building to start in advance of finalised designdetail are being used more and more. While the methoddoes not necessarily demand contractor management, agrowing number of clients are happily paying an addi-tional fee for management in one form or another. Myown experience demonstrates that while management con-tracting does provide an effective fast method, design con-sultants are presented with substantial additional workarising from the lack of continuity in the design process, amultiplicity of small contracts, often with limited integra-tion, and an increase in site attendance inevitably inherentwith the method.

3 Duties of a services consultant

3.1 The A CE conditions of engagementIn the UK the majority of consultants as principals inprivate practice are members of the Association of Con-sulting Engineers (ACE).

The ACE publishes a series of documents, known as the'ACE conditions of engagement', which provide agree-ments, for the use of its members, of all engineering disci-plines for work in the UK.

The duties described here summarise in general termsthe ACE 'Agreement 4A(i), full duties for engineering ser-vices in relation to subcontract works'. This Agreementhas been chosen because it includes the fullest range of

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duties faced by services consultants, whereas others legis-late for more limited duties. In addition, it represents thebasis for many other forms of agreements, for example,agreements with central government for hospital work,defence work and the like. It can be used with minimumadaptation for any form of project organisation, tradi-tional design and build, management contracting or what-ever. Indeed, many forms of agreement used in theCommonwealth bear a remarkable resemblance to earliereditions of this form. The summary does not go into thecomplex financial and legal arrangements between clientand consultant included in the form. The form is readilyavailable from the ACE.

The duties listed in the form comprise eight stages,which were designed to match as nearly as possible thework stages used in the architect's 'conditions of engage-ment'.

In the interest of simplicity, this paper divides thearrangements into three parts:

(a) Inception and feasibility(b) Design and documentation process(c) Construction stage.

Before going into some detail under these headings, it mustbe stressed that whatever the organisation of the particularproject, and regardless of who is employed to lead, be theyprofessional or constructor, the services consultant is amember of a team of designers and constructors, and allmust continuously ensure total compatibility with eachother, to achieve the end product and its efficiency inservice. To achieve this continuous understanding andcommunication between the design professionals is para-mount. For many years, it was common practice toappoint the services consultant after completion of theinception and feasibility stage, and to present him with anestablished building design, onto which the M & E engi-neering was 'stuck on'. To some degree it still happens.

It cannot be stressed too much that if the services engi-neer is not consulted from day one, the quality of the fin-ished project will suffer.

3.2 Inception and feasibility

3.2.1 Identifying the client's requirementsAlthough the requirements of every project must always betreated as unique, the scale of this exercise is very muchrelated to the designer's experience of the kind of buildinginvolved. A major hospital is an extremely complex tech-nological project, but years of experience of the require-ments exist. On the other hand, if one is appointed todesign, say, an opera house or a microchip-manufacturingplant, then experience is limited, and considerable study ofand travel to the best existing examples are vital, often tofind out how not to do it. The consultant must, therefore,initially advise the client on the need for such studies,investigations and surveys he considers relevant to under-standing of the problem.

He will, in parallel, expect to be briefed on the scope ofthe services in terms of content and performance, financeavailable, and not least the precise terms of his appoint-ment. During this process the consultant will have estab-lished his relationship with other members of the designteam. Where relevant, special investigations will be carriedout jointly with the other designers.

Before proceeding further, the consultant must confirmto the client that he is satisfied with the brief and the'order' of finance available, and obtain authority toproceed on an agreed programme.

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3.2.2 Preliminary technical appraisalHaving established the client's initial brief, the servicesconsultant will, in collaboration with the other designers,consider the range of options which will affect the build-ing's size, shape and orientation in terms of noise andweather protection, and establish construction standardsin terms of glazing, thermal insulation, thermal capacity,natural and artificial lighting and solar gain etc., to ensureoptimum energy consumption.

Computer software available today makes it quite prac-tical to examine the whole range of options quickly andefficiently. Given the will for designers to co-operate prop-erly, there is no reason for not achieving a building withthe highest environmental and energy efficiency, compat-ible with the resources available.

Following the resolution of the broad anatomy of thebuilding, the services consultant will proceed with theassessment of the technical content of the scheme, theoperational requirements in principle, methods of controland means of energy supply, distribution and heatrecovery systems, as relevant.

The latter will involve first contacts with local authori-ties and public utilities to establish availability of facilitiesand matters of principle in planning.

The consultant must prepare a report summarising con-clusions and options available at this point, together withfirst approximate costs and an outline programme fordesign and construction, taking account of the proposedcontract procedures. The report will include the first sketchdrawings and outline calculations.

This report must be clear and comprehensive, to ensurethat the client understands and confirms without ambi-guity the content of the engineering which the consultantconsiders he has to provide.

3.3 Design process

3.3.1 Acceptance of responsibilityAcceptance of the above report by the client, with orwithout modifications, represents the authority to proceedwith the design. The consultant must know the exactextent of his duties and those of the other members of thedesign team. For example, it will need to be decidedwhether the engineering services consultant is responsiblefor the entire cost management function or, alternatively, ifthe quantity surveyor is to do this, and if the engineeringservices are to be the subject of 'bills of quantities' or a'lump sum' tender.

The design process is divided into three stages, followedby preparation of the documentation required for con-struction.

3.3.2 Services proposals: development in principleThis period will involve the examination and considerationof each services requirement in detail, and determination ofthe most suitable systems to provide for them, within anyrestraints that apply, financial or otherwise, and always incollaboration with other members of the team. A numberof further studies will be necessary. Some of these studieswill be unique to a particular project, for instance servicesrequirements to specialised manufacturing equipment etc.Others occur on most projects. Some examples are:

(a) An energy study to resolve the fuel to be used(b) Consideration of availability and location of public

utilities, including tariffs, to establish principles of supply,e.g. high or low-voltage electrical supply

(c) Traffic studies, to establish details of mechanicaltransportation such as lifts, escalators, conveyors etc.

(d) Planning and fire officer's requirements.

Having established detailed design requirements in prin-ciple, it is now credible to produce an agreed cost plan forthe whole project, to ensure viability before proceeding tothe development of the first scheme designs.

3.3.3 Outline design & sketch plansThis is the first stage in which all the members of the teamwill jointly produce a set of drawings which provide theaccommodation required by the client and provisions forthe engineering services, and provide the first 'hard' infor-mation for the structural design. At this time the designteam will consult each other almost continuously, toensure co-ordination between them.

The services consultant will be:(a) Assessing and preparing schedules of loads for

power, heating and cooling, and establishing size and loca-tion for plant rooms, major ducts and services routes

(b) Principles of location and access with respect to falseceilings and underfloor systems utilised for services dis-tribution

(c) Providing information to the structural consultant ofapproximate size and weight of major plant to allow hisdesign to proceed

(d) Establishing with the architect the acceptability ofhis provision of space for services. The successfulresolution of this task at this stage is fundamental to thesuccess of the project, not only at completion, but through-out its life. The services consultant will not achieveoptimum success on any project unless he ensures that hisspace provides for good access for preventitive main-tenance, as three foot high fitters are hard to come by thesedays, proper facilities for rapid removal and replacementof equipment, installation of additional services and ulti-mately complete services refurbishment. There are count-less major buildings less than 20 years old which cannotviably be refurbished to provide services for computersand other electronic and communication equipment nowcoming into use, because original space provision is inade-quate

(e) The services consultant will also need to confirmwith the architects finalised building details which affecthis load calculations, such as glazing standards and insula-tion details

(/) Revised estimates will be prepared and incorporatedinto the overall cost plan, following which it is normal fora presentation of the scheme to be made to the clients,which will include confirmation of the services provisionsincluded.

3.3.4 Detail design and production informationThis is the 'slogging process' of giving effect, in detailedterms, to all the decisions made prior to this stage.

It comprises the detailed calculations and drawingsnecessary to size all equipment, pipework, ductwork andcables from main plant to final outlet, together withdetailed specifications to enable procurement of allequipment and materials suitable for the required purpose,as well as the method of their installation and system oper-ation.

The drawings, schedules and specifications are, inessence, the means of conveying comprehensively theintent of the designer in detail to the constructor, and willbe the basis of the contract.

Within this stage, the services consultant must ensurethat all his drawings and specifications are compatiblewith those of other members of the design team. There is

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now a growing practice for the services consultant toproduce co-ordination drawings to a scale necessary toshow the physical interrelationship between the respectiveservices, as well as their relationship to the structure andarchitecture, all in sufficient detail to demonstrate that theservices will be separated one from another and can beproperly installed and maintained. In order to producethese drawings, the consultant will have taken action toinvite quotations for major plant, where it is necessary tohave equipment finally selected in order to resolve fixingand similar details.

In parallel with this the services consultant will also:(a) Produce drawings demonstrating the builders work

necessary to accommodate and fix the engineering services(b) Establish final details with the utilities for incoming

services(c) Obtain all approvals necessary from planning

authorities, fire officers etc.(d) Resolve with the other members of the design team

conditions of contract and the form of tender action to beused

(e) Check that the cost plan is still valid.

3.4 Construction stage

3.4.1 Tender action: preparation of bills of quantitiesWhere it is agreed that 'bills' for engineering services are tobe used, these will either be prepared in their entirety bythe services consultant, or by the quantity surveyorappointed to prepare all the bills for the project. In thelatter case, the consultant has the duty of providing 'addi-tional' information to the quantity surveyor, to enable himto prepare the bills. On completion the bills are priced, toestablish a final pretender estimate.

In collaborating with the other professionals, the ser-vices consultant will advise on the choice and suitability offirms for the execution of the works, including consider-ation on whether tenders should be sought on a single ormultidisciplinary basis.

The consultant must have a watertight tendering pro-cedure, thoroughly understood both internally and exter-nally, to ensure fair tendering to all.

On return, the tenders will be analysed to ensure theyare complete in detail, in accordance with the tenderingconditions. A cost analysis will be prepared, comparedwith the cost plan service by service, and a report preparedfor the client with appropriate recommendations.

The consultant may have some supplementary duties inrespect of alternatives or special equipment involved. Inaddition, he will be expected to comment on the formalcontract or subcontract documents relating to acceptanceof the tender.

3.4.2 Execution of the works: site supervisionThe services consultant is entitled to have appointedspecialist staff for this purpose. They may be full-time orpart-time, but on major work full-time staff are essential;in either case, it is solely the consultant's decision. The staffmay be employed by the client or consultant, but theirconditions of service must ensure that the staff shall in allcircumstances take no instructions other than from theconsulting engineer. The consultant will provide instruc-tions to the site staff as to their duties.

There are occasions when clients do not easily agree totheir supervisory staff being totally controlled by a consul-tant. In my own firm our policy is clear. If this occurs, andit does, the client is advised that the responsibility, and

therefore the accountability for the supervisory per-formance, is removed from the consultant.

The services contractors are responsible for producinginstallation and detailed shop drawings. The consultantwill be required to examine these drawings submitted tohim as proposals, to ensure they are compatible with thedesign intent. If necessary, he will collaborate with othermembers of the design team to resolve any problems whichmay arise.

There has long been some controversy regarding thepreparation of drawings by services contractors. Clearly,where fabrication by a specialist manufacturer is involved,for example, ductwork for air systems, detailed shop draw-ings will always be necessary. But when a consultant isappointed to prepare detailed co-ordination drawings, thecontinuing requirement for comprehensive installationdrawings from the contractor is debatable. The mostimportant distinction between consultant's and contrac-tor's drawings is that the consultant alone should beresponsible for system design, calculation and sizing, aswell as ensuring the proper accommodation, in all respects,of the equipment within the building.

The consultant will make visits to the site as he thinksnecessary to ensure the site staff are fulfilling their duties,and that the work is being carried out in accordance withgood engineering practice.

If so appointed, the services consultant will provide acomprehensive cost control service. This will include theinitiation and administration of any variations which maybecome necessary. If others are responsible for costcontrol, the services consultant will still be responsible forall the technical aspects involved in the variation process.The above also applies to issuing interim certificates forwork in progress and, ultimately, final accounts.• Testing and commissioning of the installations is theresponsibility of the contractor, and the procedures willhave been included in some detail in the services consul-tant's specification. Nevertheless, precise procedures andprogrammes must be agreed with the consultant so he issatisfied that they are properly carried out and witnessedas appropriate. This process will need to be fully recordedand certificated, to satisfy the client and all outside regulat-ing bodies relevant to the particular project.

Finally, the services consultant will receive and examinecopies of record drawings, operating instructions andmaintenance schedules, all provided by the contractor.

4 Skills of the services consultant

It is evident that with the range of technology and dutiesinvolved in any large-scale services work, there cannot bean individual who could truly project himself as a totalservices consultant. We must therefore define the term con-sultant as a team in whatever form, whether partnership,company or even in-house team, within a large organis-ation. Services consultancy organisations vary consider-ably in size, numbering from a handful to several hundred.Their capability will vary accordingly.

In such a team there will be engineers of three primedisciplines, electrical, mechanical and public health engi-neering, aided by a number of auxiliary specialists. Thelatter might be building economists, to produce cost plans,bills of quantities and the like, as well as manage costcontrol during construction; a computer team; andspecialist site staff, whose training and experience is practi-cally orientated. Large teams may also include specialists

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for lighting, acoustics, specialised control systems and thelike.

The engineering members of the team are generallyspecialists in their own discipline, and a multidisciplinarydesign engineer is a very rare animal. Nevertheless, everyprofessional engineer is expected, from his initiation as atrainee, to acquire a growing knowledge of the problems ofhis fellow professionals, if proper co-ordination of the ser-vices is to be achieved, both in installation and subsequentoperation and maintenance. He will also need to acquire aconsiderable understanding of architecture, building con-struction and structural engineering.

In essence, a building services engineer is a systemsdesigner, but efficient equipment selection is of equalimportance. He is not expected to be able to design aboiler or transformer, but he has to be competent enoughto specify equipment which is capable of meeting therequired performance, with design characteristics toachieve adequate life with minimum maintenance. Much ofthe equipment involved today is very sophisticated andmostly computerised, such as environmental controlsystems, communication equipment, security systems etc.In such cases, some specialist advice might be appropriate,but this does not absolve the services engineer from hisresponsibility of meeting his objectives.

The average services engineer will also be responsiblefor day-to-day duties during construction, such as dealingwith variations, quality control and the like. He will alsobe responsible for compliance with all appropriate regula-tions, with which he must be fully conversant.

The above represents the basic skills of a building ser-vices engineer. To advance his career he must demonstratemany other talents.

The building services consultant and other members ofthe professional team have a prime responsibility of ensur-ing the success of the project for their client. In doing so,they will need to overcome the inevitable individual inter-ests of themselves and the contractor team. Good commu-nications and wisdom are vital qualities necessary toachieve co-ordination of purpose and overall success.

Cost and programme control demand a high level ofplanning and management. In particular, cost planningand contract cost control demand sophisticated organis-ation, with the ability for precision. Clients today will tol-erate nothing less.

Wherever appropriate, services consultants must be pre-pared to accept project management in totality, includingthe administration and co-ordination of other pro-fessionals, as well as the contractors in the broadest sense.

As with all consultants, the services consultant will needa complete understanding of the intricacies of the wholerange of contract documents in use in the constructionindustry, and there are many. This will include an abilityto arbitrate fairly between client and contractor whenresolving differences, which occur on almost every project.

Above all, a successful services consultant must be notonly the master of his technology, but have the ability tocontinually initiate new ideas and techniques. This particu-lar engineering discipline has been developing and expand-ing at a phenomenal rate, decade by decade. Buildingconstruction and the means of installing services havechanged as much as the engineering itself. Accuracy in per-formance, combined with high energy efficiency, all atminimum cost, have led to most practitioners and offices ofsubstance being fully computerised for calculation, and lat-terly for drawing and administration. Virtually all the soft-ware has been produced by the profession for itself.

In this climate the services consultant will need to

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provide, within his own office, substantial resources fortraining, not only initially for graduates etc., but for con-tinual professional development.

Inevitably, he will be contributing on a major scale tothe work of Institutions, British Standards committees andthe like.

5 Recruitment, education & training

The EDC for Building, chaired by Sir Monty Finniston,included two comments in a draft report prepared recentlyto assess technological change in the construction industryto 1990:

(a) 'The building services element in most contracts isgrowing as a proportion of the total, and the technology ischanging faster than in other parts of the contract. Thetwo aspects of technology change are firstly developmentsin the main services themselves, these changes beingmainly to do with improving energy efficiency, and sec-ondly, new types of demand arising from technologicalchange taking place in the activities of building occupants,the outstanding case being computing and informationtechnology. The spread of information technology, i.e. theelectronic office, is the outstanding centre of the newdemands being made on building services, stimulating newthinking on their design and effectiveness, the results ofwhich are bound to have wider application than just inoffices where the new technology is installed'

(b) 'Already there is a clear demand for many higher-level technology-related skills, particularly those whichcross traditional boundaries, such as design engineers,programmers, systems analysts, maintenance engineers andbiotechnologists. An increasingly wide range ofoccupations is now likely to be involved in contact withthis technology in various forms, and many people needbasic familiarity with it in order to operate and monitorthe new equipment. A shortage of these skills wouldhamper the optimum use of new technology, and have anadverse effect on competitiveness'.

Ted Happold, Professor of building engineering at theUniversity of Bath, wrote in November 1982:'It is easy to be critical of the music graduate who wishesto work as a musician and cannot. It may have happenedto you in your day. But you were lucky enough to discoverthe growth field of services engineering and the creativeopportunities it allows. Yet, strangely enough, the uni-versity courses in services engineering are dying from lackof good applicants, in spite of the glamour that shouldattach to them, let alone the money. I am 'snowed under'with offers to take our sandwich students on placement,and each one of our graduates gets at least ten job offers.Yet I have trouble filling our course, and it is one of thefew remaining'.

Building services now generally make up between 25and 50% of the value of new construction, depending onthe complexity of the type of building, while the structuralvalue may be approximately 20%. Yet the industry is nowserved by 26000 architects, 30000 quantity surveyors and13000 structural engineers. It is difficult to be preciseabout the numbers engaged as building services engineers.There are 6000 corporate members of the CIBS, many ofwhom are also corporate members of the IEE or IMechE.To this one must add a further number of the IEE andIMechE members working in the building industry, but itis thought that these numbers are relatively modest.

Whatever the numbers, there is clearly a large shortfallof professionally qualified building services engineers,

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which demand has to be met one way or another. Mostconsulting engineers are using technician engineers andengineers without any formal qualifications in an attemptto fill the gap. Even the latter are difficult to recruit.

Comparison with other disciplines engaged in construc-tion suggest that there should be something like 15000specialist building services engineers at professional level,of which 60% should be mechanically oriented and 40%electrically oriented.

If this is the order of the need, what are the resourcesavailable to meet this need? There are four universities andtwo polytechnics which offer accredited degrees in buildingservices engineering, and together they produce about 120graduates each year. The universities operate on smallclass sizes of 12 to 15 each, and are limited by the numbersthey can recruit. The polytechnics produce the majority ofgraduates, with class sizes of about 30 each, and one poly-technic offers a part-time degree course. These degrees areprincipally directed towards specialisation in mechanicalbuilding services.

A recent introduction, in collaboration with the IEE,has been a building services option to an existing degree inelectrical engineering at the Polytechnic of the SouthBank. This degree is offered on both a sandwich and afull-time basis. However, the first graduates will not beavailable for at least two years.

Consulting can, and does, recruit nonspecialist graduatemechanical and electrical engineers, but in spite of inten-sive recruitment efforts, much enhanced salaries and post-graduate education facilities, the take-up is low. Thereason is clearly that regard for employment in the con-struction industry is minimal, for teacher and studentalike. Since the major engineering institutions have takenthe same view for decades, it is hardly surprising.

If the above figures are anything like correct, andassuming wastage of 5% per annum for retirement, over-seas recruitment etc., resources are needed one way oranother to produce some 750 graduates for the buildingindustry, as well as a massive public relations campaign todemonstrate that a career in this industry is challenging inengineering terms, with a great variety of experience andabove average opportunities for promotion.

On the subject of the structure of degree courses there isconsiderable debate. There is a growing school of thoughtthat all degree courses associated with building should beinterrelated and accommodated within faculties of build-ing rather than engineering.

There are obvious advantages in common education forthe building professionals, but this must not be allowed todisplace education in analytical engineering over the broadarea included in current engineering degree courses. TheEngineering Council has recently published a paper sup-porting a growing proportion of extended and enhancedcourses aimed at high flyers. This presents one possibilityfor some common education for building professionals.Another possibility is an extension of the availability ofpostgraduate and second degree courses which currentlyexist.

There are suggestions in some quarters that the CIBSdemands less in the way of academic and experiencerequirements from its corporate members than those ofother institutions. The author can state unequivocally thatCIBS bylaws and examinations have been totally compat-ible with those of the Council for Engineering Institutionsfor Chartered Engineers since 1969, when all engineeringinstitutions established an engineering degree as theminimum entry standard.

The problem is one of available educational resources,but there is some evidence that the Engineering Council isputting its considerable weight behind the effort toincrease and enhance those resources.

6 The construction industry in society

Finally, it is appropriate to take a view of the constructionindustry and its contribution to our society.

The following is an extract from an address by Mr. JohnStanley, the then Minister of Construction, in 1981, to anRICS Conference:'In the successive transport revolutions of canals, railways,roads and airports; in the laying down of modern indus-trial economy in the last century and this; in meeting thedemand for housing from a rapidly expanding population;and in the exploitation of North Sea oil: in each and everycase the construction industry has been the indispensableengine of advance.

'The same is bound to be true in the future. The majorexpansion of the nuclear power programme; the necessaryreplacement of our nineteenth and early twentieth centuryinfrastructure; the adoption of rising standards for build-ings in which people work, shop and live; and the demandfor ever more cost-effective heating systems and buildingmaintenance systems: these must all ensure a continuingand large-scale demand for the construction industry's ser-vices.

'By any yardstick, the construction industry holds a keyposition in the economy. This is as true today as it hasbeen in the past.

'If you include construction materials in the ambit ofconstruction, and you should, the construction industryemploys about 2 million people; that is more than in engi-neering, and nearly three times the number in car manu-facturing.

'Construction accounts for some 11 % of the total GDP.That is nearly twice as much as engineering, four times asmuch as vehicle manufacturing, and five times as much asagriculture and chemicals.

'By its nature, construction is largely home-based, but itmakes a significant contribution to our exports: £3 billionon visible and invisible earnings last year. That is almosthalf as much as our total oil exports, and as much as thebalance of payments benefit from either tourism or motorvehicle exports.

'The central economic significance of the constructionindustry cannot be questioned'.

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