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ConsultA is an information ezine for ACEI members established in March 2020.  On a monthly basis, the ezine covers the key issues facing the consulting engineering profession at national, EU and global levels.  


ConsultA contains useful advice and critical information for member firms to support their businesses.  In addition, ConsultA tells the story of the ACEI members and the brilliant work they undertake daily.  Members are welcome to contribute to the ezine in many ways.  Those wishing to do so should click here.


Included in the newsletter are weblinks to the European (EFCA) and International consulting engineering association (FIDIC).

ConsultA 01 January 2024
ConsultA_10_December/January 2024
ConsultA_09_November/December 2023
ConsultA_08_October/November 2023
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The ACEI is delighted to welcome Kelly O’Connor to the team.  Kelly joins us from the communications department of Dublin City Council and will take up the role of Executive in the Association.  She brings a wealth of experience in marketing, communications, PR, and stakeholder management. 

 

Kelly will focus on increasing the number of companies joining the ACEI community, growing our online presence, building our reputation with external stakeholders, and supporting the work of ACEI communities.  She will play a pivotal role in telling the ACEI’s story and that of the excellent work of its members across Ireland and globally.  This will help highlight the role the consulting engineering sector plays and will play in resolving Ireland’s housing, infrastructure, and climate crises. 

 

I hope you will join me welcoming Kelly to the ACEI; I know she will have a rewarding, challenging and prosperous career working with the ACEI and its members.

 

Shane

Shane Dempsey, ACEI Secretary General

The EFCA newsletter has just been published, it contains information on the following:

 

The full newsletter is available here.

There has been an update to the software on the eTenders platform, which took place on 5th February 2024. The update to the platform software provides enhancements in the following areas:

  •               Enhancement to Qualification Systems for the Utilities Sector
  •               Inclusion of messaging functionality for DPS tenders
  •               Inclusion manual creation of Qualification Systems
  •               Adjustment to the operation of Part III B of the ESPD Request
  •               Offline evaluation – Inclusion of a printer friendly report that associates the submitted files with the decryption key that the        platform provides
  •               Inclusion of eForms notices in search results
  •               Ability to create standalone award notices directly to the TED Portal via eTenders

 

Please review these release notes for further information.  Any queries should be directed to: OGP’s Client Service Team at support@ogp.gov.ie or Tel: +35317738000

Noel Kane ACEI President 2002 – RIP

Noel graduated from UCD in 1965 with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering.  He spent over 40 years with Garland culminating in his role as Chairperson from 2002 to 2019. He became ACEI President in 2002 and worked tirelessly on behalf of the Association during his tenure.  See Garland’s memorial in honor of Noel here.ACEI sends sincere condolences and sympathy to Noels’ family, friends and colleagues; he will be greatly missed.

Funeral arrangements can be found on rip.ie. 

This year’s EFCA Future Leaders’ competition is special as some changes have been made to the Competition. The spotlight is on the Future Leader! With the introduction of new submission processes, and five new excellence categories, we want to highlight the role of the Future Leaders within a project. For the first time ever, entries can be submitted in a free form, including, but not limited to pdf, video, ppt, and prezi. Creativity is encouraged and rewarded with the introduction of a new excellence category specifically recognising the quality of the submission presentation.

The other new excellence categories are:

 

  • Engineering,
  • Digital & New Technologies,
  • Impact on Climate & Biodiversity,
  • Contribution to Society.


Further information is available here.

Please note the deadline for application is the 31st of March 2024.

The EFCA newsletter has just been published, it contains information on the following:

The full newsletter is available here.

The European Federation of Engineering Consultancy Associations (EFCA) has released its position paper on an EU Blue Deal. This document is the result of extensive research and collaboration among EFCA member associations and addresses the crucial issue of water management. EFCA advocates for the development of comprehensive EU water policies aimed at ensuring access to clean and drinking water, as well as climate adaptation measures for nature’s own water infrastructure.

Highlighting the importance of maintenance and repair of water supply infrastructure, as well as wastewater infrastructure, the paper underscores the need for investments and cooperation among Member States in the development of an EU Blue Deal. EFCA emphasises the need to make water a policy commitment of the new political term 2024-2029.

EFCA’s policy in brief together with the full Position Paper are available here.

At Varming Consulting Engineers, we have our finger on the pulse of the Irish construction industry, and the concept of circular thinking has gained some traction over the last decade or so. Traditionally, the linear ‘use & dispose’ approach to construction materials creates a lot of waste, however, the circular economy approach involves use followed by reuse.

Recently, the concept has been incorporated into the European Green Deal, which features a Circular Economy Action Plan, and with increasing support, it presents an exciting opportunity to integrate these principles into Irish building design. 

Recycling Construction Waste
An example of circular economy thinking can be seen in 2020 when an Irish construction waste management company called IMS. 3,000 tonnes of concrete waste was collected by the company from a Dublin Airport runway taxi-way project, however, it wasn’t disposed of. Instead, it was used to create Greenstone – an NSAI-certified aggregate. 

At the same time, IMS supplied 7,000 tonnes of Greenstone back to Dublin as a sub-base for the newly constructed runway. As such, following independent verification, this recycled aggregate has been certified as having a carbon footprint equivalent to just 5% of virgin materials. Moreover, the reduced transportation has resulted in much-reduced emissions.
 

In terms of construction waste, circular thinking can potentially transform how Irish construction deals with the waste it produces. Recycling materials in this way not only diverts waste from landfill but also reduces the impact of new material extraction. 

Working Towards a Greener Irish Construction Industry
Great strides are being made toward making the Irish construction industry cleaner and more environmentally-friendly, and the circular economy’s introduction advance matters further. Varming’s experienced mechanical and electrical engineers will continue doing their part in the transition to greener construction methods.

If you’d like to know more about us and our past projects, please visit us today at www.varming.ie, where you’ll find everything you need to know. Alternatively, to discuss your needs, call 01 4872300 and our experts will be happy to help you find the ideal solution. 

The 2024 calendar of Construction Industry Holidays is here.