CIBSE Lifts Group Manchester seminar - 7 June 2022 by David Cooper
I have the great pleasure of attending many events and very often I come away thinking that was just so worthwhile; the CIBSE Lift Group Meeting in Manchester on 7th June 2022 was one of those. I made the trip up from London myself having seen the agenda and knowing that the topics covered were so relevant to what is going on in our industry now.
I was also delighted to present the CIBSE President’s message for the year. There were two main themes – evacuation lifts and professional competence.
Nick Mellor presented the standards affecting evacuation lifts, and explained the relevance of BS9999, BS9991 and EN81-76. Nick also discussed the various methods for evacuation under discussion. This was superbly complemented by Adam Scott who discussed the London Plan and how this has evolved, is still evolving and likely to affect other areas of the UK.
Dr Gina Barney presented a very interesting paper about how the RTT formula can be adapted to evacuation lifts and their sizing. Three super papers that complemented each other so well. Starter, main course and sweet – I will leave you to decide which was which.
I had the pleasure of a few minutes on the rostrum after Michael Bottomley opened proceedings to deliver the CIBSE President's message. I conveyed that the Building Safety Act was now on the statute books and professional competence within our industry was under scrutiny.
Phil Pearson complemented this with a paper setting out his journey to becoming a Chartered Engineer. The message to take away from his paper is that if it’s hard, it’s worth doing. If I am allowed to let my philosophical head to take over for a minute, I would quote the old saying “a person that stands still in a progressing world is really going backwards”.
Experience is relevant as is Academia, we all went away with the message that professional registration is important. A superb event in the wonderful surroundings of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce offices. I opened with my views, and I will close with them too. Going south on the train gave me time to ponder even more and the very fact that 36 very senior people in the Northwest lift industry made the effort to attend. This screams out loud that the CIBSE Lifts Group should be congratulated for its efforts to expand activities outside of London - offering members outside the capital high-quality in-person content. It was a joy to be there, it was educational to be there, and I look forward to my next trip up.
Why did I sign up to get a CEng?
by Phil Pearson, Pearson Consult
Capacity calculation for evacuation lifts (the London Plan)
by Dr Gina Barney
Why should Manchester bother with the London Plan?
by Adam Scott, SWECO
The Practical Problems in Providing Evacuation Lifts
by Nick Mellor, MD LEIA