Personality Profile
Sponsored by :
RICHARD HUMPHREY –
TOWARDS BUILDING A COHESIVE
INDUSTRY
We chat to the local ASHRAE president and owner of
HFW Consulting, Richard Humphrey about his HVAC
career and his future plans, particularly for ASHRAE in
South Africa.
A
t HFW Consulting (a small Durban-based consulting firm),
Humphrey still consults daily and gets actively involved in all
projects. This is aside from his ASHRAE responsibilities, of course.
GETTING STARTED
His father was an electrical engineer who ran his own consulting
practice. After the army, Humphrey started doing drawing work here
but it was not for him. As such, his dad pushed him to join Homeaire
in 1989 where he worked under Roger Rowe, spending six months
installing ducted split systems.
Humphrey then applied for a draughting position at a specialist
design and supply company called Combined Air. There he spent time
in the workshops and service department while studying at night
school towards completing his National Diploma. Today, he is also an
Engineering Council of SA (ECSA)-registered mechanical engineer.
He went from a draughtsman to an estimator to design engineer
and eventually a director in 1996. In 1999, the company was sold
to Improvair, where Humphrey then managed the design and
estimating department.
He worked as a contractor until 2002 and went straight into
consulting thereafter. He’s since worked for companies like MPM,
Aurecon, Aecom and Parsons and Lumsden.
ASHRAE CHAPTER
Humphrey was previously president of the South African
Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Contractors Association
(SARACCA).
He was appointed as president of the SA Chapter of ASHRAE
mid-2018. “They were looking for volunteers to kick-start the chapter
and I ticked all the boxes,” he explains. “When they called and asked if I
would like to be president I said why not — I needed a new challenge.”
www.hvacronline.co.za
FOR THE LOVE OF
THE JOB
“The construction industry has its ups and downs, but if I had to do it
all again, I would not change a thing.” According to Humphrey it has
everything you want from a job: travel, a bit of stress, some shouting,
some engineering, loads of fun, a fantastic spread of diverse people,
and you get out of the office.
PROJECTS
The largest project he has worked on was for the fire consulting
on a greenfields Coca-Cola project in Matola, Mozambique
whilst with Aecom. The most technically challenging was the
development of the powder rooms in Coca-Cola Swaziland while
with MPM. The most satisfying was the HVAC and ice storage
system at Shepstone and Wylie, achieving SA’s third only Green
Star rating.
FUTURE PLANS
“I really want to steady HFW Consulting, consolidate, and successfully
hand over a fully functional successful business to the people who
helped me make it what it is today.”
For ASHRAE, Humphrey’s main objective has been setting
up the various local committees. “I hope these committees grow
and create co-ordinated efforts in these professional spaces.” The
last committee he is desperately trying to get off the ground, is
Women in ASHRAE, aimed at growing the number of women in the
engineering fields.
Between ASHRAE and the other local industry bodies, they hope
to bring local professionals technical training and access to world-
class lecturers in future. “The aim is to, over time, create a cohesive
industry, which has been sorely missed over the last decade.” RACA
RACA Journal I June 2019
39