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CIBSE Building Performance Training Programme Award
Training initiative, innovation or programme that has resulted in a positive impact on the performance of buildings.
Building Services Explained for VolkerFitzpatrick Site Teams - VolkerFitzpatrick
Watch the video here
This hard-fought award attracted a remarkably strong field of entries featuring, for the first time, major overseas training projects from Australia and the US, as well as entries from the UK.
The winning entry from VolkerFitzpatrick demonstrated an exceptional level of corporate commitment to training those who deliver building projects. Specifically ensuring that an understanding of the building's services is applied on site to improve the performance of the completed building.
The training programme was carefully developed with input from senior staff, as well as commercial, project and contract managers. The building services specialists have also participated so that they are fully aware of the training provided to their colleagues.
This has ensured that those unfamiliar with building services engineering now have a greater understanding of the needs of their building services colleagues and are far better equipped to engage with them throughout the construction process via the CPD accredited Building Services For VolkerFitzpatrick Site Teams Course.
The main objective of the course is to help staff understand that getting building services right is crucial to successful delivery of construction projects and has a huge impact on long term building performance, energy efficiency and, ultimately, client satisfaction.
The uniquely tailored one-day course was devised by training expert Glenn Hawkins of Clear Construction and Ted Pilbeam, VolkerFitzpatrick's building services and sustainability director.
Training was delivered to 109 members of staff with widely varying degrees of experience and seniority. Throughout 2015, mixed groups of between six and fourteen delegates attended the training course held in VolkerFitzpatrick's head office in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire. Glenn Hawkins delivered the course and was supported by Ted Pilbeam and his regional building services managers.
The programme is a major step in increasing awareness of the importance of building services delivery to the overall performance of the building in practice.
VolkerFitzpatrick's tender and site teams are now planning and building construction projects with services in mind right from the start rather than as an afterthought to be managed by specialists alone, making the engineering services part of the overall building solution.
Such integration has meant fewer defects leading to improved building performance, greater appreciation of the commissioning process and the timescales involved. This, in turn, has resulted in lower carbon buildings, better energy efficiency and fewer unscheduled returns to completed projects.