Logi-tek (UK) support Rise Futures with a “gift of opportunity”

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We are delighted to share with you that we will be supporting, UK based charity Rise Futures with their mission to help vulnerable young people reach their full potential, realise their self-worth and flourish in all that they do.

During walking month in May 2021, Logi-tek (UK) and Commtech Asia took part in an internal charity walk, taking “steps towards a better future” to raise money for charity.

We donated £5 for every 10,000 steps taken by our team and the Rise Futures mentors throughout the entire month, which totalled £3,106. We were overwhelmed by the efforts of everyone who took part so topped this sum up to £5,880, which Rise Futures tells us is the value at which their intervention demonstrably “changes a person’s life”.

We have since been working closely with Rise Futures lead, Sarah Hunter and Rise Futures mentor Emma White who in turn have been working closely with the City of London local authority and social workers to establish the most effective and impactful way to invest the money raised. Rise Futures come up with a wonderful idea they’ve titled “gift of opportunity”, whereby a “gift” is given to the young people within the care system across the City of London on a birthday, for Christmas or just because.

Why is the “gift of opportunity” needed?

– To improve the mental health and self-worth of individuals touched by the care system.
– To encourage young people into holistic hobbies that are affordable and social.
– To prepare and teach the young person the value of giving gifts.
– To make transition of leaving the care system more bearable.
– To support young people to follow wellbeing activities.
– To share joy and care throughout our society.

Rise Mentor Emma White said, “Most children in care feel they have been forgotten. Dreams soon fade away, as they lose all hope of getting those boots to make them the next Ronaldo. The chances of owning a guitar let along having a music lesson are too slim to even consider. Birthdays and Christmas are meant to be a happy time, yet for them, it can be a time of sorrow and disappointment. No presents, no company. I think we take for granted of the power of a gift.”

We are thrilled to be partnered with the incredible mentors at Rise Futures on this campaign and are humbled by the impact they anticipate the “gift of opportunity” having.

#charity #rise #risefutures #gift #giftofopportunity #giving #charitywalk #walkingmonth #stepstowardsabetterfuture #giveback #teamwork #collaboration #commissioning #technicalprojectmanagement

Germany is open for business

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We are delighted to share with you that in response customer demand, we have established a new subsidiary in Germany, enabling us to deliver best in class solutions across the EU post-Brexit.

Our EMEA business is focused on delivering highly efficient built environments to create productive buildings and places for people and businesses to realise their full potential across the region.

“The decision to further expand our presence in Germany was Brexit related but it was always in our business growth strategy.” said Kevin Fletcher, EMEA Managing Director, “The German market is very important to our expansion plans in Europe, opening this new hub amplifies our commitment to further expanding staffing and service capabilities”.

The German office along with our Dutch subsidiary will enable us to support clients and prospective clients with substantial projects in the country and in other EU countries.

#germany #commissioningmanagement #technicalprojectmanagement #engineering #commissioning #projectmanagement #openforbusiness #subsidiary #open #bestinclass #solutions #buildingservices #regionalhub

Objectives & Key Results with 15Five

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We are delighted to announce that we have recently introduced a new goal-setting framework called Objectives and Key Results (OKR) across Logi-tek (UK). This framework is supported by a platform called 15Five and a pilot phase began in Q3 2021.

The goal-setting framework allows businesses to align and achieve targeted objectives and has been adopted globally, from small start-ups to internationally recognised businesses such as Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Netflix, Spotify, and Twitter to name a few.

There are various platforms that support the OKR framework, but we chose to use 15Five. The check-in feature gives everyone in our team a voice and allows our managers to support their teams throughout each period. The platform enhances collaboration and innovation in our goal setting processes and provides transparency, accountability, and quality assurance.

15Five will also play host to our brand-new feedback, review, and recognition process where our team can empower and be empowered.

15Five gets its name from the habit its tools encourage: setting aside 15 minutes each week to write reports and five minutes to read them.

The purpose of introducing the OKR framework is to “measure what matters”. The framework allows us to focus and commit priorities by aligning and connecting teams, setting challenging, ambitious goals, and tracking progress. Encouraging and motivating everyone in the business to excel by doing more than we’d thought possible.

When asked, Operations Director EMEA, Remi Portes said, ” ‘Measure what matters’, is a book that I now recommend to anyone that wants to create a structured strategic planning system. Since our “pilot phase” was rolled out, I’ve seen more focus on what matters and in parallel, a refocusing in cases where we were falling behind. I’m now looking forward to rolling this out across the entire business and to watch our team collaborate, grow and support each other to achieve theirs, and our goals”.

#15Five #objectivesandkeyresults #OKR #OKRs #keyresults #goals #goalsetting #framework #businessdevelopment #commissioningmanagement #technicalprojectmanagement #engineering #commissioning #projectmanagement #solutions #buildingservices

Employee spotlight with Erin Rowe, Commissioning Project Manager

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For this month’s Employee Spotlight, we talked to Commissioning Project Manager Erin Rowe. Erin was based in Shanghai, China, working within our APAC (Commtech Asia) division. Erin is currently based in the Netherlands and supporting Logi-tek projects in EMEA.

Erin, describe Logi-tek in Three words?

Dynamic, diverse and fun!

Would you mind telling us something interesting about yourself?

I was a Science & IT Secondary school teacher in Guyana, South America, for a while. I took a two-year hiatus from the grind and had a great experience in this profession.

We would love to hear about your journey into commissioning?

While in university, I started my journey as an intern at a commissioning company in New York and a pharmaceutical validation company in New Jersey. I got to see some fascinating innards of buildings, such as the old PAM AM building and the Lincoln Center mechanical rooms.

Being a slightly ‘clueless’ new graduate, I wanted to better understand the design side of buildings, so I got my first job as an HVAC design engineer.

I eventually made my way back to commissioning, initially in retro-commissioning. While living in Asia, I started working more in Data Center commissioning. I enjoy learning something new from every project I work on, and there is rarely a dull moment.

Previously, you worked in the APAC (Commtech Asia) division; what are you enjoying/finding interesting, now working in EMEA (Logi-tek)?

On the APAC side of the business, I primarily worked on the project management side of commissioning projects. At Logi-tek, I enjoy getting into the nitty-gritty of the commissioning process and understanding how to streamline it for clients or make it more efficient. For example, I’ve been working with clients on investigating how to commission earlier, particularly for pre-fabricated systems or modules.

What has been one of your proudest moments working at Logi-tek?

I’ve recently been working on streamlining and standardising the Logi-tek commissioning delivery process to serve our clients better. This project has enabled me to meet several new people within the company and understand what tools and deliverables they want or need to manage a commissioning project efficiently.

While it’s still in progress, it has been rewarding working with a few new projects to pilot the process, deliverables, and templates I’ve developed. I look forward to rolling them out on a companywide scale soon.

How would you like to see Commissioning change in the next five years?

I would like to see an increased use of automation and data analytics in the Cx process as we advance. Monitoring-based commissioning has been a credit for LEED projects for some time. Still, few projects fully utilise the benefits of setting up and monitoring trend data via the BMS or EPMS.

The data is valuable and can be used within the commissioning process to validate whether a system or piece of equipment is performing correctly. Automating this process, utilising the data early, and engaging with the operations team will ensure that as-commissioned systems continue to perform post-occupancy and allow the operations team to identify underperforming systems quickly.

#employeespotlight #commissioningmanagement #technicalprojectmanagement #engineering #commissioning #projectmanagement #validation #LEED #automation #futureofcommissioning

The Netherlands is open for business

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We are delighted to share with you that in response customer demand, we have established a new subsidiary in The Netherlands, enabling us to deliver best in class solutions across the EU post-Brexit.

Our EMEA business is focused on delivering highly efficient built environments to create productive buildings and places for people and businesses to realise their full potential across the region.

“The decision to further expand our presence in The Netherlands was Brexit related but it was always in our business growth strategy.” said Kevin Fletcher, EMEA Managing Director, “The Netherlands market has emerged rapidly in recent years, and we see the opportunity to further expand staffing and capabilities in our professional services”.

Establishing a presence in The Netherlands was built on the success and footprint we have worked hard evolving over the past few years. The Netherlands office will enable us to support clients and prospective clients with substantial projects in the country and in other EU countries.

#thenetherlands #commissioningmanagement #technicalprojectmanagement #engineering #commissioning #projectmanagement #openforbusiness #dutch #subsidiary #open #bestinclass #solutions #buildingservices

Employee spotlight with Remi Portes, Operations Director (EMEA)

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For this month’s employee spotlight, we talked to Remi Portes, Operations Director. Remi started his Logi-tek journey in 2014 as a Design Manager and now leads the operations for the business.

We found out more about Remi, his journey, and his thoughts on the future of commissioning.

Remi, describe Logi-tek in Three words?

Family, Transparency, Collaborative

What is your guilty pleasure?

I have been a big fan of Lego since I was little. I keep getting more and more, I own most of (if not all of) The conquest of space set. Building lego is my peace and a form of meditation for me. The only issue is the space they take up in the living room, kitchen, bedrooms, studio….!

Tell us a bit about your journey into commissioning?

I always wanted to be an engineer in the construction industry (maybe because of my love of Lego). I completed my HND in Mechanical Engineering in France and then moved to London, theoretically for six months, to learn English. (15 years later, I am still here😊)

I joined a maintenance company on a new estate in Paddington and started a part-time university BEng in Building Services Engineering. While working for them, I realised that many issues were arising on newly completed projects. I was shocked by the things we found, and it’s at that point, I decided to join a main contractor as a technical services manager and started making changes at the source.

I enjoyed working for this business. It taught me so much; my role was to manage the entire engineering aspect of the project from A to Z, but I liked driving the commissioning process and seeing how every system comes alive.

At this point, I got in contact with Logi-tek as they were working as Client-Side commissioning managers on my current project. It was the first time I came across an independent commissioning management company, and I immediately knew this is what I wanted to do.

It’s been a fantastic seven years, and I have never looked back.

So, what advice would you give to graduates currently doing a Building Services Engineering (BEng) qualification?

Don’t stop at a BEng. Go all the way. You are on an excellent career path, one that will always need engineers. Experience a wide range of jobs, from being on the tools, a project manager or a designer. All that rounded experience will be critical for your future.

What is the most rewarding aspect of your role?

I would say seeing my colleagues happy with their successes — experiencing that moment when you look back on what we have achieved always makes me feel very proud.

How has commissioning changed over the last five years?

The importance attributed to commissioning is what has changed the most. Now everyone understands how vital it is to think about commissioning; the next challenge is to demonstrate that by the time businesses think about commissioning, it’s already too late.

How would you like to see Commissioning change in the next five years?

We have already established digital delivery and paperless processes. The industry needs to focus on this. For example, there are no excuses for why a pressure test needs to be recorded on paper.

During the last year, to support our sites and clients during lockdowns, we launched our Net Zero Cx Commissioning platform. This entails live broadcasting all the tests on-site so that the design team and client could attend without ‘being there’. It has also opened up doors for specialists that may be busy on other projects/tasks to participate in numerous projects. Net Zero Cx also serves as a depository for records and training. I see this being a big thing in the future, it will reduce the need to travel and reduce carbon emissions.

The vision for the future is off-site commissioning, where most of the plant will assemble off-site and be thoroughly tested before being delivered. It will allow a faster build with less quality/commissioning issues while offering the opportunity to have the plant ready on order for a just-in-time delivery, inline with client needs.

Click here to find out more about Logi-tek’s Net Zero Cx Commissioning Platform.

Introducing remote witnessing platform, Net Zero Cx

#employeespotlight #commissioningmanagement #technicalprojectmanagement #engineering #commissioning #projectmanagement #carbonneutral

National walking month progress report

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We are delighted to report that throughout #NationalWalkingMonth Logi-tek (UK) and Commtech Asia walked over 23 million steps for two amazing charities, circa 18,000 KM.

Here’s what the charities had to say:

Sarah Hunter, Rise Futures Development Lead “Stepping to make a difference has allowed us to explore the power of community and shown the impact we can all make when we come together. We thank Logi-tek and Commtech Asia for allowing us to be a part of this challenge and their community. We are looking to using the resources this challenge has provided to change the lives of some of our most vulnerable young people in the city of London.”

Engineers Without Borders, Hong Kong said; “Today’s university students will work both locally and globally and be tasked with providing technological solutions, embedding UN Sustainable Development Goals to global development problems and challenges. With the support of this Logi-tek (UK) and Commtech Asia, EWB-HK’s Global Citizenship Programme provides a platform for our future Leaders and Change Makers to serve society proactively as global citizens. The support enables the EWB-HK Global Citizenship Program to provide both workshops and hands-on Community Services activities to fill the gaps in their theoretical training and conventional service learning.”

Incredible effort from the Logi-tek (UK) and Commtech Asia teams.

Employee spotlight with Tom Mitchell, Divisional Director (UK)

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Tom Mitchell has been promoted to Divisional Director (UK) at Logi-tek. Tom manages the UK team and holds overall responsibility for the bidding process, market expansion, learning & development, and forecasting.

We found out a bit more about Tom and his career journey, which has led to this new position.

Tom, Congratulations on your promotion; it’s been a rewarding five years for you at Logi-tek; describe your journey in 3 words?

• Passionate
• Encouraging (no idea is too small, anything is possible)
• Innovative

Tell us three facts about yourself?

1. I am very Client-focused – the client needs to walk away with the VERY best version of what they requested. I use the analogy: “If I was building a new house and employed the best specialists from around the world, it needs to be the best house I ever lived in.
2. I am very family-oriented and love spending weekends and spare time with loved ones.
3. I am passionate about internal development and focusing on innovation.

Tell us a bit about your journey into Commissioning?

I started my career as an engineering lead in the public sector. Transitioning into the private sector, I discovered my passion for adding value to a project. I enjoyed making a difference in the industry and not just meeting tight deadlines and financial incentives.

I moved into Project management, where I worked with both the client and the main contractor. Seeing their respective visions and differentiators taught me to see the bigger picture.

On joining the commissioning management team, I was exposed to aspects of the role I loved, especially getting in the detail. I was also learning more from working alongside people immersed in design, delivery, management and closeout. These were the influencers that spoke transparently with all levels of leadership on the project.

What have been some of your proudest and most rewarding moments working at Logi-tek?

I believe individuals and structure are critical to our success as a company, so these moments will always involve people.

I have aided in developing our bidding and interviewing process; I am proud to see the project base and the team grow as a result.

Building the UK team and innovating with unique, passionate engineers/managers is very rewarding.

However, the most rewarding part of my role is identifying strengths in individuals, inspiring them to use their best assets across projects, and seeing the fantastic output.

How would you like to see Commissioning change in the next 5 years?

Commissioning is a fundamental aspect of the industry, it’s becoming more than just MEPH-focused. Commissioning managers have huge, varied backgrounds. They are Project Managers, Technical Service Managers and Designers. They can all be utilised further to add even more value to projects.

I would also like to see the boundaries of engineering pushed further and commissioning management redefined.

Technology will become an enormous part of our industry and, in line with sustainability and building greener; master systems integrations will be built into packages. Our Net Zero CX platform has been developed to support this.

Lastly, I would like Commissioning Management to become a recognised qualification. It is an ‘envelope’ understanding of many disciplines and combinations of different elements that reach across an entire project.

The potential knowledge share amongst commissioning managers is vast. Therefore, the base qualification could be a combination of factors from some widely understood and known university degrees.

Tom’s promotion is important at Logi-tek, we spoke with the leadership team to obtain their thoughts on Tom and his role at Logi-tek.

Can you describe Tom in one sentence:

Tom is highly Committed, Enthusiastic, and Energetic.

We asked, Remi Portes, Operations Director EMEA about Tom’s leadership qualities;

“Tom has been my trusted right-hand man since we started working together and I am so proud to see where he is now. With Tom, there is always some sort of “Beauty” in what he does. He knows how to bring people together and to share his passion for commissioning. Tom is a driven individual that always wanted to do more and had leadership at heart. Tom is a natural manager, able to focus on his team’s strengths to overcome any weaknesses. Well done Tom, you really deserved your promotion, and no doubt you will excel.”

Chris Dodd, Commercial Director EMEA, discussed Tom’s Key strengths;

“Tom has an impressive ability to juggle competing demands without letting anything drop. He supports colleagues at all levels and consistently goes the extra mile to ensure that his projects succeed. I’m excited by what 2021 has to offer for all of us and am sure Tom has a big part to play in our success.”

Kevin Fletcher, Managing Director EMEA, endorsed that Tom will help to shape the business going forwards.

“Tom’s promotion is recognition of the leadership role that he has taken regarding UK operations. As a business, we continue to grow and thrive in the UK and Tom’s role is central to this”

#employeespotlight #divisionaldirector #promotion #commissioningmanagement #technicalprojectmanagement #engineering #commissioning #projectmanagement

Offloading with Rugby League Cares.

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We have teamed up with Rugby League Cares who are delivering three virtual Offload ‘fixtures’ to our staff during April and May as part of our commitment to safeguarding their mental health.

Offload is a clinically designed mental wellbeing initiative that equips participants with the tools and techniques needed to build and maintain a winning mindset. Presented by a team of former professional sportsmen who share their experiences of tackling challenging situations in their own lives, Offload has had a transformational impact on the lives of thousands of men since its launch four years ago.

The issues covered include coping with stress, building resilience, and how to acquire a positive mindset.

Chris Dod, Commercial Director EMEA commented, “One of the core objectives for Logi-tek is to ensure that, in delivering the highest quality of services to our clients, our team are aware of potential mental health challenges arising in any working environment. COVID-19 has focussed many people on the need to be ever more mindful of mental health and the Offload programme delivered by Rugby League Cares allow us to encourage the team to look out for themselves, one another and the people with whom we work each day.”

Rugby League Cares’ Community and Welfare Manager Keith Senior, the ex-Leeds Rhinos and Great Britain international centre, said: “It’s been a pleasure to deliver Offload fixtures to Logi-tek staff, who have all been very receptive to the tips and advice we’ve shared so far. It’s fantastic that a progressive company such as Logi-tek recognises both the importance of protecting the mental fitness of its staff and the success of Offload and Rugby League Cares.”

Offload was recently hailed as a “model of best practice” for engaging with people on issues around mental wellbeing in a report produced by academics at Edge Hill University. The programme is currently being delivered at nine professional Rugby League clubs across the north of England, as well as a handful of leading companies including the Environment Agency, SSE, the Co-operative and Logi-tek.

For more information on Offload please visit www.rugbyleaghuecares.org/offload

If you are interested in how Offload can make your employees healthier, happier and more productive, email their Health Project Manager, Wendy Barr – wendy.barr@rlcares.org.uk

#commissioningmanagement #technicalprojectmanagement #socialvalue #engineering #commissioning #projectmanagement #charity #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness

Introducing remote witnessing platform, Net Zero Cx

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The future of Carbon Neutral Commissioning is right here.

Downing tools on a mission-critical construction project is not an option, even in a pandemic. 

Well-established commissioning businesses like ours have had to be creative and innovative to provide ongoing support to our Clients’ projects whilst enabling our employees to operate safely at work. We developed Net Zero Cx to do just that, providing off-site, around the clock, commissioning. 

Our initial pilot on the platform produced excellent results. Working collaboratively with clients, we implemented further refinements, which enhanced the effectiveness of the platform. We now regularly provide this versatile solution for clients, with regular 360° reviews. 

Five facts about Net Zero Cx:

Fact 01: Distance is no longer an obstacle; Anytime, anyplace, anywhere. Net Zero Cx removes distance as an obstacle and replaces it with the guarantee that you are always just a few clicks away from a project. 

Fact 02: Enhances training, development, and compliance; Net Zero Cx helps to future proof businesses.  Video files gathered during witnessing activity can be saved, shared, and stored securely and used for future training, development, and compliance.

Fact 03: Reduces out of hours commissioning costs; Time zone collaboration allows us to collaborate with our colleagues from Commtech Asia (APAC), to attend out of hours witnessing activity on a project in Europe. This will significantly reduce costs as the APAC team will witness during normal working hours.  
 
Fact 04: Enhances specialist support; Net Zero Cx makes global collaboration across multiple teams easier. Our project teams can tap into knowledge pools from colleagues across our organisation, immensely benefitting a project.

Fact 05: Reduces the impact on the Environment; We recognise the importance of Carbon Neutrality. By utilising Net Zero Cx we will significantly reduce our carbon footprint of the project with the added benefit of large cost savings due to a reduction in the need for expenses such as flights, hotels, hire cars, insurance, travel expenses.​

Key fact: ​
Using Net Zero Cx on a project is a proactive way to reduce resource numbers on a project and thereby greatly assisting in helping the project to be more Covid secure. 

We talked to Richard Lee Smith, Commissioning Manager at Logi-tek, who has been using the platform to find out more:

So what is Net Zero Cx, and what problem does it solve?
Net Zero Cx is a platform that enables remote witnessing on projects. A series of mobile, static and Wi-Fi enabled cameras are set up on-site with a two-way communication system. A live stream of the testing process is then broadcast live, directly to the Client, MEP consultants, and other members of the project team.   

During the sessions, the viewer can interact directly with the Commissioning Engineers and ask any questions. All sessions are fully recorded and provided to the Client at the point of handover, giving a compliant training tool for their wider business.

It solves several problems:

– Travel times and out-of-hours commissioning costs reduce for clients; they can view the process from anywhere in the world, even when in quarantine.
– Less travel means lower emissions and a sustainable, carbon-neutral initiative. 
– Visibility is increased for clients, as they can watch, rewind and interact directly with the engineers at the crucial stages of the project.
– Improved compliance, clients can use the recordings for internal training sessions. 

What about set up times? 
The average setup time is a few hours, 2-3, dependent on how many cameras are needed and the size of the site. The platform is also flexible, and we can add more cameras if required.

How easy is it to use? 
Our clients have found it very straightforward to use. 
Once they are set up and logged in – they are good to go. There are self-explanatory screen prompts along the way, the test section is explained clearly and of course, our team is there to guide and support throughout. 
  
What feedback have you received from your clients? 
Clients like the platform. Some clients were sceptical at first, but when they experienced the image quality and the ability to manipulate cameras, they were convinced. The Client can quickly go back and view any test at any time.  

Client quote: 
“Going into the remote witnessing, I was sceptical of the ability to feel that I was part of the testing and concerned that I would be unable to follow along with the process. I found it to be very user-friendly, with the ability to move the camera and zoom in to what I wanted to see, which is a massive positive. I would totally recommend using this again on future projects with Logi-tek as it gives complete transparency to all stakeholders.”

It’s allowed us to operate in a business as usual way during pandemic lockdowns and through the current quarantine laws that are in place.

So what’s in it for the Commissioning Engineers? 
We see this as an integral part of the future commissioning solution. Engineers will always be needed on site. We do not see Net Zero Cx as a platform to replace people but only to add value and enhance the commissioning process.

If you are interested in our commissioning services using Net Zero CX, please contact admin@logi-tek.co.uk