Educators providing Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) courses in Coventry

The importance of building services to the success of an organisation has never been greater and continues to grow. Developers and occupiers are becoming more aware of the contribution that building services make to the well being of occupants and hence their perception of the quality of the working environment. Those involved with the design, construction, maintenance and operation will increasingly be required to deliver building services that demonstrable contribution to the occupier's business. Energy efficiency, carbon management and occupant satisfaction depend substantially on the way building services are designed, managed and operated. To optimise these aspects, an informed strategic approach is essential. Tried and tested techniques and processes are available that, when applied holistically, will deliver substantial benefits. This course reviews best practice in the area and inspires participants to ensure that building services perform at their optimal level. To provide a better understanding of how building services can be designed, managed and operated to: * Maximise occupant comfort, satisfaction and wellbeing * Add value and contribute to the success of the business of the occupier * Improve health safety * Reduce operating cost, energy use, carbon emissions and environmental impact * Optimise cost and value * Provide strategies for continuous improvement and sustainable operation 1 BUILDING SERVICES FUNDAMENTALS * The function of services in commercial buildings and their importance to the core business 2 TECHNIQUES AND PROCESSES FOR OPTIMISING COST AND VALUE * Programmed operation evaluation * Continuous commissioning * Lifetime product management * Performance-based service * Energy efficiency and the scope for environmental improvement 3 MAKING THE BUSINESS CASE AND PREPARING THE STRATEGY * Motivating decision-makers * Empowering those who have to deliver the results * Managing business risk 4 STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING RESULTS * Ensuring that rich and robust feedback is available to support continuous improvement and strategy enhancement * When to get feedback * Why * How * What to do with it 5 CASE HISTORIES AND 'AIR TIME' * Sharing experience and addressing specific issues of interest to participants * Course review * Close

To provide a fundamental understanding of building services in the context of: * The working environment * The success of the core business * The health and safety of the occupants * Operating cost and environmental impact * The optimisation of cost and value * Strategies for continuous improvement DAY ONE 1 BUILDING SERVICES FUNDAMENTALS * The function of services in commercial buildings and their importance to the core business * Electrical services * Lighting * Heating * Ventilation and air conditioning * Lifts * Water * Understanding IT and communication systems * Practical exercises 2 THE PROVISION OF COMFORT AND SAFETY * Statutory requirements * Health and safety legislation * Control of contractors * Risk assessment * Fire precautions * Legionella, sick building and other risks * Business requirements * Understanding user requirements * Matching systems to business needs * Practical exercises 3 GETTING THE DESIGN RIGHT * What the FM needs to know about design and its procurement * Successful space planning * Relationship between services, space planning and design * Getting the brief right * Supplier selection and management * Practical exercises DAY TWO 4 OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE * Why maintain? * Maintenance contracts * Input and output specifications * Resource options * Contracts - principal elements * Tendering - key steps * Selection criteria * Operational criteria * Maintenance trends * Performance-based service provision * Input and output specifications * KPIs and thresholds * Risk containment * Value-add opportunities * Performance contract strategy * Practical exercises 5 CONTINGENCY PLANNING * Being ready for the unexpected * Identifying and reducing risk * Internal risks * External risks * Identifying threats at your site * Managing risk * Protective systems * Occupier obligations * Fire management * Testing * Practical exercises 6 COMMISSIONING SERVICES SYSTEMS * Physical commissioning * Common problems * Typical costs * Commissioning stages * Continuous commissioning * Energy efficiency and the scope for environmental improvement * Practical exercises 7 SATISFYING THE OCCUPANTS * Obtaining and responding to feedback * When to get feedback * Why * How * What to do with it * Practical exercises 8 'AIR TIME' * Sharing experience and addressing specific issues of interest to participants * Course review * Close

Nowadays not only do we rely on our commercial and sales staff to hit that bottom line but we expect our engineers and project teams to play their part too - not only through their engineering and management skills but by behaving in a commercially minded way in their dealings with their counterparts in customer or supplier organisations. This means understanding, amongst other things, the issues surrounding the commencement of work ahead of contract, having a clear contract baseline, recognising the broader implications of contract change, the need for timeliness and the consequences of failing to meet the contracted timetable. This practical one-day programme has been designed specifically to give engineers, project staff and others just that understanding. The course is designed principally to provide engineers and project staff with an appreciation of contractual obligations, liabilities, rights and remedies so that they understand the implications of their actions. It is also suitable for business development staff who are negotiating contracts on behalf of the business. The main focus of the day is on creating an awareness of when a situation may have commercial implications that would harm an organisation's business interests if not recognised and handled appropriately and how taking a positive but more commercial approach to those situations can lead to a more positive outcome for the business. As well as providing an understanding of the commercial imperatives the day also focuses on specific areas affecting engineers and project staff, such as the recognition and management of change, the risks when working outside the contract and managing delays in contracts. The course identifies the different remedies that may apply according to the reasons for the delay and provides some thoughts on pushing back should such situations arise. On completion of this programme the participants will: * appreciate the need for contractual controls and will have a better understanding of their relevance and how they can be applied, particularly the issues of starting work ahead of contract, implementing changes and inadvertently creating a binding contract by their behaviour; * have gained an understanding of the terminology and procedural issues pertaining to contracting within a programme; and * be more commercially aware and better equipped for their roles. 1 BASIC CONTRACT LAW - BIDDING AND CONTRACT FORMATION * Purpose of a contract * Contract formation - the key elements required to create a legally binding agreement * Completeness and enforceability * Express and implied terms * Conditions v warranties * The use of, and issues arising from, standard forms of sale and purchase * Use of 'subject to contract' * Letters of intent * Authority to commit 2 CHANGE MANAGEMENT * Recognising changes to a contracted requirement * Pricing change * Implementation and management of change 3 KEY CONTRACTING TERMS AND CONDITIONS By the end of this module participants will be able to identify the key principles associated with: * Pricing * Getting paid and retaining payment * Cashflow * Delivery and acceptance * Programme delays * Examining some reasons for non-performance... * Customer failure * Contractor's failure * No fault delays * ... and the consequences of non-performance: * * Damages claims * Liquidated damages * Force majeure * Continued performance * Waiver clauses and recent case law * Use of best/reasonable endeavours * Contract termination 4 WARRANTIES, INDEMNITIES AND LIABILITY * Express and implied warranties * Limiting liability 5 PROTECTION OF INFORMATION * Forms of intellectual property * Background/foreground intellectual property * Marking intellectual property * Intellectual property rights * Copyright * Software * Confidentiality agreements * Internet