The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) will hold a combined national technical conference and awards dinner on 19 October in London.

The full day event at the Park Plaza London Riverbank hotel will focus on four key areas for the building engineering sector: Indoor Air Quality (IAQ), District Heating and Tall Buildings, Heat Pumps, and Digital Construction including modular systems and BIM.

The event will feature expert presentations, but is also designed to encourage active participation from delegates during a series of workshops aimed at knowledge sharing and practical outputs. It will also feature an exhibition of the latest products and innovations.

Leading authorities on mental health, such as Mates in Mind, as well as authorities on diversity and training funding, will also address the conference, which will conclude with a black tie awards dinner celebrating the best of the sector’s national apprenticeship talent and awarding Management and Contractor of the Year awards.

On IAQ, the Association has just announced plans to develop the industry’s first comprehensive guide to good practice following a special event on National Clean Air Day. BESA also has a working party developing guidance for tall buildings to reflect the surge in planning applications for high structures throughout the UK. This will, inevitably, include the latest thinking on fire safety following the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

The BESA National Conference will also look at the likely impact on the refrigeration and air conditioning sector of the growing popularity of heat pumps and a rapid shift in the use of refrigerant gases as a result of the F-Gas phase down of HFCs. It will also examine the difficulty the sector is experiencing in embracing modern digital working methods in a bid to ensure firms take advantage of the efficiency gains available from initiatives like BIM and data capture.

BESA chief executive, Paul McLaughlin, commented: “This will be a significant new event – both for the Association and the industry as a whole.” He added: “The interactive nature of the conference means we will have the opportunity to share our growing body of knowledge with others while also capturing latest thinking from other experts in their fields.

“By linking the conference and our National Awards, we are also creating a great networking and social opportunity. It is a ‘must attend’ event for contractors, designers, manufacturers – in fact,anyone interested in the art and science of building engineering.”

For more information and to register for the BESA National Conference and Awards, visit: www.thebesaconference.com