Electrical Contracting News (ECN) July 2017 | Page 7

INDUSTRY
NEWS
SCS GROUP MANAGING
DIRECTOR ALLAN MEEK
SUMMITS MOUNT EVEREST
SCS Group’s managing director, Allan Meek,
has made it to the summit of Mount Everest
after six weeks of intense training, climbing,
acclimatisation and waiting.
Allan Meek, 56, who owns the BMS and smoke
control company, reached the top of the world’s
highest mountain on the morning of Tuesday 16th
May as dawn broke i n the UK.
Allan reached the top at 9.45am local time.
It appears Allan’s just one of several Welsh
people to have successfully summited Everest,
including the first Welsh man, Caradog Jones,
in May 1995 at the age of 33, and the first Welsh
woman, Tori James, in May 2007 at the age of 25.
Allan was part of a team of eight members
and nine climbing Sherpas in an expedition led by
Nepalese company Ascent Himalayas.
Allan has been sponsored in his quest by
SCS Group. Allan’s son Ben Meek, who works
at SCS Group as design manager/fire engineer,
said, ‘I’m really proud of dad, this is a fantastic
achievement. I had no doubt he would make it to
the summit, he always achieves whatever he puts
his mind to. I can’t imagine what’s he’s planning to
do after this!’
BCIA AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED
The winners of the 2017 Building Controls
Industry Association (BCIA) Awards were
announced at the prestigious ceremony and
gala dinner on Thursday 11th May 2017 at the
Hilton Metropole, Birmingham.
This year’s awards, hosted by BBC
broadcaster Steph McGovern, saw the best
of the best recognised and rewarded for
showing true excellence in the building
controls industry.
The winner of Independent Building
Controls & BEMS Installer of the Year was
Global Associates. The company’s innovation
and commitment to client satisfaction saw it
stand out in this category.
BG Energy Solutions took the honours of
Best Service & Maintenance Provider, thanks
to its customer focused services, which saw
Vue Entertainment benefit from a 24-hour
real time energy monitoring and maintenance
bureau across 85 UK/Ireland cinemas. BG
Energy Solutions was also successful in
picking up the Energy Management Award for
this project.
WORKPLACE ABSENCE DUE TO MENTAL HEALTH
PROBLEMS ALMOST AS COMMON AS COLDS AND BUGS
New analysis of sickness absence in the contracting sector shows worrying
levels of absenteeism due to mental health problems. Analysis of sick pay data
from ECIS, in support of BUPA’s Healthy Minds month in May, shows mental
health as one of the top three reasons for employee absence (13 per cent), after
musculoskeletal conditions (48 per cent) and general sickness, colds and bugs
(15 per cent).
In stark contrast, the number of claims for the treatment of mental health
problems remains a small fraction of all health insurance claims managed by
ECIS, suggesting contractors are not getting the support they need to get to the
root causes of their issues.
Vicki Leslie, client relationship manager for ECIS, commented, ‘Between
2013 and 2016 we saw a 20 per cent increase in health insurance claims
for mental health conditions in the contracting sector but this is still a tiny
proportion of all the health insurance claims we manage. There’s a real
disconnect between the number of workers suffering from mental health issues
such as stress, anxiety and depression and those taking action to address the
problem by seeking professional treatment. We therefore urge employers to
take up an active role in promoting mental health and wellbeing as well as
highlighting the importance of early intervention amongst their workforce. ECIS
offers a direct access service for mental health problems allowing members
to access treatment without needing to see a GP, along with an Employee
Assistance Programme which provides confidential 24/7 telephone support.’
Other winners on the night included:
The BCIA Award winners
with BBC presenter
Steph McGovern.
• Technical Innovation of the Year – Projects:
Enterprise Control Engineers
• Technical Innovation of the Year – Products:
The Siemens Building Technologies product
Desigo CC
• Contribution to Training Award: Eton
Associates
• Engineer of the Year: Stephen Astwood of
Johnson Controls
• Young Engineer of the Year: George Belfield of
InTandem Systems
Outstanding Contribution of the Year went to
Andy Bartlett of Belimo Automation UK. Presenting
the award Malcolm Anson, president of the BCIA,
said, ‘I am delighted to present this award to Andy.
He and his company have been members of the
BCIA from the very beginning. Andy has been a key
player in moving the controls industry forward and
has actively supported the BCIA in many ways.’
Malcolm added, ‘I would like to congratulate
all of the finalists and winners and a big thank
you goes to all of the sponsors.’
BUSINESS LEADER MIKE SMITH
BECOMES NEW ECA PRESIDENT
A highly respected electrical engineer and businessperson – Mike
Smith of SES Engineering Services – has taken over the presidency
of the Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA).
Mr Smith has held a variety of commercial roles at SES over
the past 25 years, and is currently the firm’s estimating and sector
director. He has worked on projects totalling tens of millions of
pounds, and has helped the business grow its turnover significantly
during his tenure.
Mike began his career as an electrical apprentice with Leeds
based R&I Harrison, joining the business straight from school, just
before his 16th birthday.
On his appointment Mike commented, ‘As someone passionate
about improving the engineering and electrotechnical services
sector, I’m delighted to be taking over this prestigious ECA role as
an industry champion.
‘The industry faces a range of challenges – including ensuring
Brexit works for our sector and improving productivity – and I am
determined to raise the profile of these issues and the industry
more generally.’
ECA CEO Steve Bratt, added, ‘We are delighted that Mike Smith,
a great industry advocate, has become the ECA’s new president.
The entire ECA management team and staff look forward to
working with Mike to further enhance the status of the ECA and the
wider engineering services sector.’
New ECA president
Mike Smith.
July 2017 | 7