Electrical Engineering

Electrical engineering • Mechanical engineering, and •
Public health. Activities will vary according to the specialist

area of work and whether the building services engineer is
employed by a single organisation or a consultancy, but
tasks typically involve: • Advising clients and architects on
energy use and conservation in a range of buildings and
sites, aiming to minimise the environmental impact and
reduce the carbon footprint • Managing and forecasting
spend, using whole life cycle costing techniques, ensuring
that work is kept to budget • Developing and negotiating
project contracts and agreeing these with clients, if
working in consultancy, and putting out tenders • Attending
a range of project groups and technical meetings •
Working with detailed diagrams, plans and drawings •
Using specialist computer-aided design (CAD) software
and other resources to design all the systems required for
the project • Designing site-specifi c equipment as
required • Commissioning, organising and assessing the
work of contractors • Overseeing and supervising the
installation of building systems and specifying
maintenance and operating procedures • Monitoring
building systems and processes • Facilities management •
Ensuring that the design and maintenance of building
systems meets legislative and health and safety
requirements. The professional institution for building
services engineers is the Chartered Institution of Building
Services Engineers. There are a variety of grades of
membership depending on qualifi cations and experience.
The clerk of works The clerk of works is the architect’s
representative on site and usually a tradesman with many
years practical experience. • 1882 – formed as ‘ The Clerk
of Works Association’ • 1903 – Renamed the ‘Incorporated
Clerks of Works Association of Great Britain’ • 1947 –
Became ‘ The Institute of Clerks of Works Great Britain
Incorporated’.
18 Quantity Surveyor’s Pocket Book
The job title ‘clerk of works’ is believed to derive from the
thirteenth century when ‘clerics’ in holy orders were
accepted as being more literate than their fellows, and
were left to plan and supervise the ‘works’ associated with
the erection of churches and other religious property. By
the nineteenth century the role had expanded to cover the
majority of building works, and the clerk of works was
drawn from experienced tradesmen who had wide
knowledge and understanding of the building process. The
clerk of works, historically as well as now, is a very
isolated profession on site, most easily associated with the
idiom ‘poacher turned gamekeeper’. The clerk of works is
the person who must ensure quality of both materials and
workmanship and, to this end, must be absolutely impartial
and independent in any decisions and judgements. They
cannot normally, by virtue of the quality role, be employed
by the contractor – only the client, and normally by the
architect on behalf of the client. Their role is not to judge,
but simply to report (through exhaustive and detailed diary
notes) all occurrences that are relevant to the role.
Experience in the many facets of the building trade is
essential and, in general terms, most practitioners will
have ‘come from the tools’ in the fi rst place. When
originally formed, the Association was to allow those who
were required to operate in isolation on site a central
organisation to look after the interests of their chosen
profession; be it through association with other
professional bodies, educational means or simply through
social intercourse amongst their own peers and
contemporaries. Essential to this – as the Association
expanded – was the development of a central body that
could lobby Parliament in relation to their profession, and
the quality issues that it stands for. Although the means of
construction, the training of individuals, and the way in
which individuals are employed have changed
dramatically over the past 120 years, the principles for
which the Association was originally formed remain
sacrosanct.
Site manager/agent The site manager, often referred to as
an agent, is the person in charge of a building contract
and, as such, must be aware of and in control of all
aspects of site operations, including the planning of site
progress. It is the manager/agent who has responsibility
for both the profi tability of operations and adherence to
the agreed construction and cost plans.

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Electrical engineering • Mechanical engineering, and •

Public health. Activities will vary according to the specialist

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