A new President for UEAtc

At the 55^th meeting of the UEAtc Co-ordination Commission, held last week, Mr Sean Balfe, Director of NSAI Agrément was unanimously elected as the President of UEAtc. In accepting the post, Mr Balfe noted that the coming year was vital for the UEAtc and continued with the following remarks.

As the organisation approaches its 50^th anniversary it must concentrate on increasing its relevance and value to all members of society, in an increasingly competitive and turbulent world. The operating environment is challenging but at the same time it provides UEAtc and its members with opportunity. The increasing emphasis on green construction, zero carbon buildings, the upcoming Construction Products Regulation and the current world economic crisis all present the organisation and the clients it serves, with serious challenges. If UEAtc is to survive and grow in this environment it must remain flexible, adapt to the clients' requirements and present new and innovative services which meet market demands. In this, it is encouraging to know that the UEAtc is ideally placed. It does not answer to any external body, it is innovative, can change with the operating environment and its members can freely collaborate in ways that are of mutual benefit to their clients and therefore to themselves. 

Collectively the members are able to offer a wide range of competences for the benefit of the clients. Significantly, the Technical Commission is examining issues that are currently of great importance to society i.e. sustainability, risk, energy performance of buildings and life cycle analysis. These topics are developing fast; therefore UEAtc needs to make a major commitment in order to develop the necessary knowledge and provide timely guidance and leadership. All members need to actively engage in these studies to develop the necessary services and provide added value to clients.

More and more manufacturers are seeking ways to gain a competitive edge in the market and for this they look to certification bodies to verify superior performance and thereby differentiate their products. A ubiquitous generic mark fails to make this differentiation. The life cycle of products is a key characteristic in the overall product performance and the Technical Commission is looking at this issue plus related ways to provide value to clients. As the building of structures becomes evermore complex, manufacturers recognise that the installation of their products is critical to performance.  Over 80% of construction failures are due to poor installation and UEAtc members have introduced installer schemes to ensure proper training of personnel. 

A critical part of any operation is communication with the outside world. If UEAtc is to be of value to manufacturers, specifiers and end users, it must become an outwardly focused organisation that is transparent and that offers value to the clients. The website is a critical tool in achieving this communication with outward focus and much valuable work has been done in modernising this website. However, it still lacks an external focus that offers real and valuable information to society, for example the bulk of information contained on the site is confidential to members. Communications is an area that can often be overlooked by technical professionals, even though it is critical to future development. The Enterprise Group will therefore give this issue their full attention to enable UEAtc to make maximum impact through the website.

The UEAtc has much to offer. There is a key role to play in assisting governments, manufacturers, architects, specifiers and building contractors to meet the target of zero carbon buildings. UEAtc is ideally placed to ensure that the best technologies and latest innovations are rapidly adopted for the benefit of all these stakeholders. By providing such a service, UEAtc will make a unique contribution to the future quality and sustainability of the built environment.