HOT TOPICS

The six associations in FETA have various topics and issues they deal with. On this ‘Hot Topics’ page you will find brief details of the topic(s) that the Association is currently dealing with. There is another page for ‘Specialist Topics’ – these are the longer term topics of interest to the association.

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SUPPORT FOR MEMBERS IN DIFFICULT TIMES FOR DUCTWORK INDUSTRY

Britain's ductwork industry is soldiering through tough times, but the ranks are holding steady.

Delegates to the ADCAS Spring Meeting at London’s Hilton Metropole Hotel heard that membership of the trade association, which represents ductwork contractors and suppliers of specialist equipment, was unchanged.

"We've kept the numbers up," ADCAS President Malcolm Moss told the packed meeting, "and our finances are in a position where we can lower membership fees by 20% - the second decrease in two years."

Friends on call
The President attributed much of this success to membership of FETA, which was providing excellent stewardship of the association.

"In tough times it's good to have friends on call," he said. "FETA can offer advice on industry developments and access to a legal and financial helpline. With FETA's aid we've established ADCAS as a serious player in the building services industry. A lot of progress has been made. The past year has seen the setting up of the first ever college-based NVQ-3 Level course for ductwork; organised in conjunction with SummitSkills and Bexley College. Planning is already starting for our joint conference with HVCA Ductwork Group in October."

Malcolm Moss also praised the positive campaigns undertaken by ADCAS on matters of industry concern.

"We've just launched a fight against the information overload that can make preparing a tender like hacking a path through the jungle," he said," and we've already received strong support from across the construction industry."

The sentiments of that campaign were echoed in the presentation by guest speaker Jay Hurwitz, of the Institute for Business Technology. His Executive Master Class included a warning against the danger of "being sidetracked by detail".

His audience agreed whole-heartedly. Hunting through a CD for drawings isn't, or shouldn't be, a job in itself!

The ADCAS Commercial Guide to Projects has just been released to advise members how to avoid many of the financial pitfalls associated with tendering.

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ADCAS CALLS FOR INDUSTRY-WIDE SUPPORT IN CAMPAIGN FOR SLIMLINE TENDER DOCUMENTATION

Ductwork specialists across Britain are to launch a campaign aimed at reducing information overload in the tendering process.

Their trade Association ADCAS* believes that a week's work could be cut from the tendering process for almost every major ductwork project if specifications were better defined in relation to specialist services.

Saving that time could cut the final cost of the job significantly.

"In a way we're the victims of progress," said ADCAS Director General, Cedric Sloan announcing the campaign launch. "In the old days producing huge, paper-based specifications was expensive, so the ductwork contractor got only the sections that were relevant to him.

In the electronic age it's all too easy just to send a CD of the whole project with everything on it.

And I do mean everything - drainage, plumbing and electrical services, windows and doors! A tender CD can have as many as 1000 drawings of which only 40 to 50 have anything to do with ductwork."

Time and money
Sorting through the maze takes time and money. ADCAS members report that they often have to print every drawing to find out which ones are relevant.

Once identified, detail drawings have then to be passed on to manufacturers of specialist equipment like fire dampers.

The cost to the ductwork industry is considerable, but Cedric Sloan and his colleagues realise that they are not alone.

''ADCAS recognises that this is an industry-wide problem - one we share with suppliers of all types of specialist products from electrical cables to pipework for heating and cooling services.  It's a huge problem that generates enormous wastage, but it's so big that it can be difficult to appreciate its true scale - a real "elephant in the room."

With that image in mind we’ve set up an internet discussion group on LinkedIn called "Information Overload - the elephant in the room".

We'll be actively seeking support from every sector of the construction industry. Anyone is welcome to join the group at http://tinyurl.com/c3e56m and exchange ideas on how the problem might be resolved. There are some relevant standards such as BS1192 and ISO13567, but few seem to know of their existence and even fewer stick to them.

We will also follow up the initial launch publicity with intensive lobbying of both Government departments and influential trade bodies.

We don't expect quick results. Winning hearts and minds always takes time. But, when the current downturn ends and construction demand booms again we'd like everyone to appreciate the cost advantages of the "slender tender."

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Taking Ductwork to the Next Level.  ADCAS supports first college-based NVQ L3 Course

ADCAS* has pledged its full support for a brand new course for the trainees who will form the next generation of management for the UK ductwork industry.

Organised in conjunction with SummitSkills and Bexley College, the course is the first of its kind to provide day-release students with a college-based NVQ L3 syllabus in this specialist subject. The new course will qualify as an Advanced Apprenticeship under the conditions of the scheme administered by the National Youth Agency to give 16-24 olds “earn-while-you-learn” training.

Bexley, in Kent, is one of only 4 colleges in the UK to offer ductwork training – and now the only one to offer a classroom setting for NVQ L3 studies. Bexley will also continue to offer an APL course to this level for experienced "mature" workers who normally work through a fast-track programme with work-based assessment.

"We need to look beyond today," said ADCAS President Malcolm Moss, at the announcement of the new course. "ADCAS has always stressed the importance of training - at every level - but no training is more important than the programme we offer to the young men and women who will lead our industry in the future.

It is these young people - the management of the day after tomorrow - who will benefit from the new NVQ L3 Ductwork course. For the first time they can study at this level in an academic atmosphere away from the pressures of life on site.

It's a major advance for the ductwork industry and we hope that ADCAS members and others will make the most of the opportunity it offers."

To qualify for the new course they will have already completed a basic apprenticeship/NVQ L2 in Ductwork.

Over the next two years in day-release sessions at Bexley College they will study a syllabus that includes:

• City and Guilds Level 3 technical certificate in H&V Ductwork installation.
• City and Guilds Level 3 NVQ in H&V ductwork Installation (including a mixture of on and off site assessment).
• Key Skills (IT, Communication and Application of Number).
• An opportunity for trainees to complete a SummitSkills advanced HVACR apprenticeship in Ductwork Installation.

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ADCAS Project Commercial Guide; May 2009

ADCAS has published its Project Commercial Guide, prepared on behalf of ADCAS by HALEYS. The guide is available to download here

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IN AT THE DEEP END

Malcolm Moss, the new President of ADCAS takes over the reins at a time when the ductwork industry faces new challenges.

The new leader of the UK's ductwork industry is a quiet man.

Malcolm Moss has served on ADCAS committees with the same down-to-earth determination and efficiency he brings to the management of one of the industry's largest component manufacturers. A quiet man, but, as he steps for the first time into the spotlight, he has no doubt that ADCAS needs a loud voice to argue the case for its members.

As the first President of ADCAS drawn from the ranks of the Associate members Malcolm Moss inevitably brings a new perspective to his role.

“Where I perhaps differ from my predecessors is that I feel we should try to increase the range of tangible benefits to members as well as being an ambassador for our industry.”

Watershed
In Moss's view the Association has reached a watershed in its development.

"ADCAS today is a very different organisation to the one we joined back in 1997," he explains. "Then as suppliers to the industry we were attracted by the opportunity to build up closer working relationships with our customers and stockists."

It was, he believes, a two-way exchange. “From day one ADCAS saw the benefit of involving suppliers in the Association, partly to provide funds, that’s obvious, but also because they saw that the Associates could bring to the table their skills in marketing and market intelligence. They could give advanced warning of changes in legislation and demand - across the UK and all around the world.”

The Association prospered and did much good work - Malcolm Moss is the first to acknowledge the vital importance of ADCAS training courses to the whole industry. Its profile, however, was not high.

All that has changed in recent years. Increased publicity and joining FETA have helped to raise the Association’s profile and this in turn has encouraged new members to join.

Membership may currently be high, but Malcolm Moss sees this as no excuse for complacency. “Full members still come predominantly from the South. Membership will only grow if there are reasons to join. The networking opportunities cannot be overlooked, but we need, to hammer home the other benefits – and create new ones - especially for the smaller companies.

The Association must adapt to an ever-changing market. It should provide support for its members at all levels, including the smaller ductwork shops and component suppliers. The more they can see in return for their fees, the more likely they are to join.”

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DUCTWORK ORGANISATIONS SIGN UP TO EXCELLENCE

ADCAS and the Ductwork Group of the HVCA have finalised an agreement designed to facilitate future collaboration and to promote excellence across the sector.

The agreement was signed at a joint meeting of the executive committees of the two bodies held in London on Thursday 25 September 2008.

Key areas of activity highlighted in the Partners in Ductwork Excellence Agreement include standards development, vocational education and competence accreditation, along
with reciprocal access arrangements relating to websites, specialist publications and training programmes.

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Standard ductwork sizes

Responding to the newly published BS EN 1506:2007 (Sheet metal air ducts and fittings with circular cross-section. Dimensions), ADCAS is promoting the use of standard ductwork sizes. They are working with software providers to flag up non-standard sizes in an attempt to minimise the use of non-standard sizes.

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FOLLOWING THE STANDARD IS A BETTER ALL ROUND CHOICE

Phil Johnson of ADCAS puts the case for the Association’s current drive for standardisation in circular ductwork systems. Choice is a fine thing, within reason. However, since the Latham Report, the UK construction industry has been tasked with avoiding unnecessary cost by using standard sizes for components wherever possible.

The standards have been set without prejudice to reasonable choice. Committees of industry professionals throughout Europe have laboured long and hard to formulate optimum size ranges for virtually every building component. It’s a testimony to their hard work that the standards for circular ductwork incorporated in BS/EN 1506:2007 still offer a very reasonable range of selection to the designer.

Publication of this standard is timely. A few years ago ADCAS campaigned alongside other industry bodies including CIBSE, BSRIA, HEVAC and HVCA to rationalise the standard sizes of circular ductwork.

Now there are reports that some system designers are again reverting to non-standard sizes such as 224mm and 280mm, which were declared non-standard back in 2001. The old 180mm and 224mm sizes are also still being requested for dust and fume removal systems.

All of these sizes – along with 600mm ducts – were supposed to be phased out, so ADCAS is tactfully reminding the industry of this fact and of the problems non-standard sizing can cause.

The problem is an historic one. The old imperial duct dimensions went up in increments of inches and many of these sizes were matched with a metric equivalent as a gesture towards the new “European” way. Old habits die hard and, as a result, certain UK designers are still insisting on using ductwork sizes that just don’t exist anywhere else in Europe. We must make them aware of the problems this causes.

Key advantage
The irony is that the key advantage of circular ductwork rests on standardisation. The whole concept is to use this type of ducting for areas where standard sizes can be applied. Rectangular ductwork is custom made for areas where the standard approach is not possible.

Circular ducts - and all the ancillary components from volume control and fire dampers to VAV boxes and attenuators that go with them - are designed to be available on short delivery times – often ex stock. Producing non-standard sizes takes up warehouse room that should be devoted to standard products. It adds unnecessary cost at every level up to and including transport to site. Non-standard items probably account for as much as 10% of the total stock value.

Reducing the range of ductwork and components as required by the standard makes it possible for manufacturers to offer a good selection of standard products at competitive prices – and for prompt delivery.

Large projects frequently utilise all three types of the primary ductwork system; flat oval, circular and rectangular. Non-standard sizing makes it more difficult to integrate circular ductwork into the modular systems, which are now increasing in popularity.

ADCAS believes that this is a problem that must be tackled at the earliest possible stage of the project and we’ve been speaking to designers, consultants and clients to highlight the issues involved.

We’ve even approached the software houses that provide design programmes for building services, because if they could build simple alarms to flag up non-standard sizing, the problem could be stopped before it starts. At least one such system is now available on the market.

Phil Johnson is Duct Shop Director, Senior Hargreaves and Chairs both the ADCAS’ Associates Committee and the ADCAS/HEVAC working group on spiral duct standardisation.

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