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Fire Engineers and HVAC Designers: Choosing the Right CPD

30 September 2024

CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL Development (CPD) is essential for fire safety and HVAC engineers such that they can stay ahead in what is now a rapidly evolving industry, particularly so in view of the increasing demands exerted by the Building Safety Act 2022. Here, SMAY Ventilation Systems’ David Fitzpatrick examines the importance of CPD in fire safety and HVAC system design.

The law mandates that engineers continuously update their knowledge and skills in order to comply with the latest regulations and Best Practice. Selecting the right CPD course is crucial for meeting these legal obligations, enhancing professional expertise and effectively safeguarding lives.

CPD is more than just a requirement for maintaining professional credentials. It’s also an investment in your career and your ability to deliver safe, compliant and innovative solutions. That’s why making wise choices in terms of how you use your time is very important.

Addressing specific challenges

The right CPD should address the specific challenges you encounter in your work. For example, professionals involved in high-rise buildings should seek courses that cover critical topics like smoke control, pressure differential systems and compliance with new safety-centred regulations.

Choosing a CPD course accredited by a respected body, such as the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers, ensures high-quality training that’s recognised within the industry. Accreditation adds credibility to your professional qualifications and enhances your career prospects.

Look for courses that go beyond the basics, offering advanced insights into topics like the latest EN 12101 standards, practical design applications and Case Studies of real-world projects. The depth of content should be sufficient to help you tackle complex design challenges and improve your decision-making process, leaving you with additional resources and support post- training.

The best CPD courses fit into your busy schedule. Whether it’s in-person training, online sessions or a hybrid approach, flexibility is key to ensuring you can access the learning you need without disrupting your work.

Choose companies that thoroughly understand your challenges and prioritise solving them. Review their website and social media presence. Verifying the course content is crucial, but equally important is knowing who delivers it and what additional support they’re able to offer.

Practical applications

SMAY’s CPD courses are designed to streamline your design processes and particularly so for high-rise buildings where smoke control is critical. Through our training, you’ll gain insights into the latest fire protection technologies, such as pressure differential systems, and also learn how to incorporate them effectively into your projects.

We provide Case Studies, such as detail on the iconic Varso Tower, in order to illustrate successful implementations and their tangible benefits.

Our CPD training ensures that you are fully equipped to meet the stringent requirements of the Building Safety Act 2022 and EN 12101 standards. We focus on practical and evidence-based design strategies supported by research, CFD simulations and detailed calculations. This knowledge will enable you to design compliant systems that withstand scrutiny from safety officers, local authorities and other stakeholders.

Improving stakeholder communication

One key challenge in smoke control system design is gaining approval from a diverse group of stakeholders, including developers, architects and safety officers. SMAY’s CPD courses provide strategies for effectively communicating the value of advanced smoke control systems, ensuring that your designs are quickly understood and approved. Learning to justify your design choices can reduce the risk of costly revisions and project delays.

Last, but by no means least, invest in future-proof skills by exploring our CPD offerings, which are designed to meet your team members’ needs.

David Fitzpatrick is General Manager for UK Operations at SMAY Ventilation Systems (www.smay.pl/en/)

*Visit the SMAY Ventilation Systems website at https://www.smay.pl/en/training-cibse/ to learn more and schedule a session for your company

 
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