NEWS | DIGEST IN BRIEF Building services body aims to upskill installers The new Engineering and Building Services Skills Authority (EBSSA) which is charged with overseeing skills progress across all mechanical, electrical, plumbing and associated trade disciplines was formally launched in January, at a meeting it co-hosted with the Construction Leadership Council. EBSSA, which was convened last year, is inviting multiple installer disciplines to begin codifying standards and competences for the sector. New managing director for Introba Introba has appointed Richard Hansen as its new managing director for the UK and Europe. He will oversee and direct the business operations of Introbas UK and Europe teams, while also setting the direction for training and mentorship of technical talent. Many council building control services will cease, warns LABC Pressure to certify and register professionals before 6 April deadline A signicant number of councils across England and Wales will be unable to offer building control services from 6 April because of a lack of registered professionals, the body representing these ofcers has warned. The concerns are outlined in a letter from Lorna Stimpson, chief executive of Local Authority Building Control (LABC) to the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), the Welsh government, and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), sent on 2 February. She writes that a signicant number of council building control professionals will not be certied in time to meet the deadline for registration on 6 April. More than 4,500 building control professionals will have to be assessed and certied by that date. As of 31 January, only 1,500 had started the process, according to Construction Management. A signicant number of authorities in England and Wales will be forced to cease undertaking a building control function from that date because of a lack of appropriate registered professionals, Stimpson writes. The introduction of the new requirements is prompting an exodus of building control professionals, she adds. Among the tasks councils will not be able to meet are inspections of in ight construction and serving stop and compliance notices Stimpson strongly encourages the BSR, DLUHC and the Welsh government to delay the deadline for implementing registration by at least six months. LABCs Building Safety Competence Foundation is one of three approved schemes that can carry out building control competency assessments. Adrian Catchpole (left) and new CIBSE Fellow Dru Crawley The Evolution of IT Cooling with Liquid Cooling Technology WEBINAR NOW AVAILABLE ON DEMAND ASHRAE Winter Conference attracts 3,500 ASHRAE CEO Jeff Littleton opened the ASHRAE Winter Conference in Chicago by emphasising the organisations growth, impact, and commitment to a sustainable future. He highlighted successes in the 130th year of ASHRAE, including a new region, a $2.85m US government Department of Energy grant for training energy code ofcials, and a return to membership growth. More than 3,500 delegates attended the conference and the accompanying trade fair was the second largest ever, with 1,864 exhibitors spread across 12 acres of McCormick Place. ASHRAEs continuing focus on internationalising its activities was evident in the awards presented at the opening plenary event. Ten of the 23 ASHRAE fellowships awarded went to members from outside North America, and two of the three student design project awards went to students from UK universities Loughborough and Shefeld. The Winter Conference was attended by CIBSE President Adrian Catchpole, pictured above presenting Dru Crawley, director, building performance at Bentley Systems, with a CIBSE Fellowship. 10 March 2024 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE March 24 pp10 News.indd 10 23/02/2024 13:45