In September 2025, as the CIBSE Lifts Group takes the last step to become the Society of Vertical Transportation, the final Chair of the Lifts Group and the SoVT's first Chair, Michael Bottomley shares his thoughts on that journey.
In the early 1990’s when Peter Day of Land Securities put together a group of people with an interest in lifts, I wonder if he foresaw that thirty-five years later some of his volunteers would still be part of that group. Well, it is hard to say because it is long enough ago, for human memory to lapse the detail of events, and CIBSE apparently has no record of them. One of those volunteers, however, were she here today, would no doubt have been able to put her academic rigour to good use and set us all straight. I refer of course to the late Dr Gina Barney who was part of the team that produced the first edition of CIBSE Guide D and sometime between 1995 and 2000 became the driving force of the CIBSE special interest Lifts Group.
By the mid 2000’s Gina took over Guide D and irrespective of the appointment of officers with apparent job descriptions, Gina took the actual role of Treasurer, Secretary, Chair and any other role that crossed her path. I mean no disrespect or criticism by those remarks. Her heart was in the right place and she had time on her hands to do it.
I was grateful for her support when I was Chair of the group from 2008-2011 and again as Treasurer in 2011-2014. When Gina asked me to take the chair again in 2021, I was flattered by the offer and agreed. A few weeks later she announced her medical prognosis to the group executive but being an optimist, I did not think that a little thing like cancer could overcome Gina.
Not long before her death we began talking to CIBSE about developing the Group into a Society. In these early discussions we were very conscious that we did not want to change the ethos of the group and lose sight of everything that had already been achieved, but instead to build something that could make a real difference to the VT sector in the long term.
What happened next was the industry wide realisation of the implications of the Building Safety Regulations. At a craft level the industry had become much more structured and regulated but anyone could call themselves a Lift Consultant or even an Authorising Engineer for lifts. Something had to change.
So, further meetings were arranged between a small group of the executive and CIBSE and after a series of discussions, agreement by the executive and membership of the group, and a lot of hard work from CIBSE staff we are here today to say goodbye to The CIBSE special interest Lifts Group and hello to the Society of Vertical Transportation.
Is it however a case of "What's in a name? " I for one, think not.
How do you prove your competence in the Vertical Transport industry these days? If you are a craftsman NVQs and other vocational qualifications are readily available thorough LEIA and other sources. For Designers and Managers etc, although there are generic qualifications in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, but they do not offer any assurance that you can inspect a lift, or design a lift system, or carry out traffic studies, or traction calculations etc. In conjunction with CIBSE and the Engineering Council the Society of Vertical Transportation will fill that gap.
The Lifts group has for the last 30 years been the backbone supporting CIBSE Guide D and now the Guide bears the name and logo of the Society of Vertical Transportation. Our ambition as a Society is to become the worldwide hub for VT technology and the education of VT professionals.
We will continue to hold CPD seminars across the UK and eventually abroad, whenever possible free of charge to members and non-members alike. We will help educate, update, and mentor people who want to improve their knowledge and advance their skills and careers.
Very soon now that we have a Membership Committee in place we will be able to begin processing applications to join the Society. In time we will expand our operations to other parts of the globe when and as circumstances allow. Our aim is to be inclusive and welcome all stakeholders in the industry at any level. We can and will learn from each other’s diverse experiences and by so doing to help build a safer and more sustainable industry for the future.
So please join me in saying Goodbye to the Lifts Group - GOODBYE!
And Hello to the Society of Vertical Transportation - HELLO!