by Brianna Crandall — September 27, 2017 — In a telling indication of trends in the building services industry and recognizing the increasing percentage of engineering tasks being conducted in a purely digital environment, including by engineers involved in facilities management (FM), U.K.-based building services engineers group CIBSE has launched the Society of Digital Engineering (SDE).
The new Society will provide a community for accreditation, training and career advancement for all engineers working digitally across building services and its supply chain including clients.
CIBSE says it has taken the lead in developing support, guidance and specific tools for digital engineers: the most notable recent example was the development, with NG Bailey, of the BIMHawk online tool to automate the transfer of product data templates into BIM platforms. This experience illustrated the number of engineering professionals involved not only in building services but also product design, facilities management (FM), information control, etc., whose common experience lies in their shared understanding of working in a digital environment.
For this group of people — which will include both new entrants and experienced engineers recognizing the importance of digital technology for their future career — there is currently no obvious route to recognition of their specialized knowledge or association to provide continuous knowledge sharing, support and career advancement, points out CIBSE.
SDE is designed to meet this need and to provide a home for digital engineers to network, share and create best practice and find sources of information, training and peer groups.
Entry to SDE requires applicants to be measured against competence criteria that have been mapped against both CIBSE and the Engineering Council U.K. requirements. This has been drafted for full membership, as well as for EngTEch and IEng up to CEng status, ensuring that SDE can deliver career progression through the SDE grades, leading to MCIBSE and EC Registration.
In launching the SDE, CIBSE is not only demonstrating its long-time commitment to developing the art and science of digital engineering, but is also working with the full support and collaboration of many of the industry’s leading players. Those who have explicitly lent their support to the initiative include: N G Bailey, Atelier Ten, Atkins, Buro Happold, Hilson Moran, Arup, Autodesk, IES, Legrand, MagiCAD, Shindler, Trimble, and Trox.
The Society for Digital Engineering was officially launched on September 12, 2017 at the Royal Academy of Engineering. For further information on the Society, the application process and its ongoing remit, visit the CIBSE Web site.
