IOR President, Mike Creamer FInstR, addressed members and guests at the IOR Annual Dinner, which took place in London on 30 June 2022. The speech was an opportunity to remind everyone of the importance of the refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat pump sector while focusing on future opportunities and challenges our industry will face in the coming years.
During his speech, Mike Creamer highlighted that cooling influences the quality of everyday life and is vital in so many sectors, including healthcare, defence, and catering, to name but a few. He also pointed out that this dependency on cooling comes at a cost – our sector is currently responsible for approximately 17% of the World’s total electricity consumption, generating around 4 billion tonnes of annual CO2 emissions. With an ever-increasing demand for cooling products, innovation will be key in developing efficient systems, which will help to deliver the UK’s net-zero targets. But he emphasised that system maintenance will need to play an important part in this drive for efficiency. Mike Creamer said “Yes – Our industry produces highly sophisticated, energy-efficient products. The designers and manufacturers of these systems are to be commended. But our work cannot stop there – We must look after these systems.”
This led to the second part of his speech where he highlighted the importance of training, to ensure skilled maintenance and to fill the skills gap. He acknowledged the work of the Institute and its members in engaging with young people to promote the sector saying “We must recruit more young men and women into our fantastic industry, training them professionally, theoretically, as well as practically. That’s why the Institute has focused so much on Training & Education, Apprenticeships, Technical Documents, Good Practice Guides and much more, all produced by Members dedicated to the cause of helping others. And the STEM Ambassador activities in schools, delivered by Institute Members, aim to inspire the hearts and minds of young people to enter our wonderful industry. We must kindle the spark of engineering enthusiasm within boys and girls at school age if we are to benefit from their skills in the future. I sincerely thank all our STEM Ambassadors for their voluntary efforts.“
He then focused on the need to attract a more diverse workforce to increase the number of people working in the RACHP sector, “This need for a greater skilled workforce is why the Institute’s Working Group, Women in Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heat Pumps – is so important. Just over 50% of the UK population are women and I know from experience that women are woefully underrepresented in our industry.”
He concluded his speech by suggesting the creation of a new branch of training and underpinning certification, aimed at efficiency optimisation of systems. He said, “Optimising system efficiency might be very appealing to younger men and women, joining us at the coalface, perhaps acting as a dedicated workforce with specific energy optimisation skills!”
The presidential address was also an opportunity for the IOR President to thank the Trustees, Committees and Working Groups for their great work on behalf of the whole sector and for the time they are dedicating to the IOR. He also welcomed the appointment of Graeme Fox FInstR, as the IOR’s incoming President, who will take on this role in November 2022.
The IOR Dinner recognised the achievements of people working to advance RACHP
Four awards were given out during the evening which honoured individuals at various stages of their careers.
The J&E Hall Gold Medal recognises the most noteworthy practical contribution to the field of innovation in refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump technology. This year’s winner is Prof Graeme Maidment FInstR for his work on demonstrating innovation in the delivery of low-carbon solutions in practice for the refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump sector. He has pioneered the integration of heating and cooling with practical projects on combined heating, cooling and energy storage; integration of heat, power and whole energy systems; and smart heating and cooling. Upon receiving the medal and prize of £5000 from Andrew Bowden of J&E Hall, Graeme said “Receiving this award is an amazing honour but it means so much more because it is from J&E Hall, my mentor”
The Ted Perry Award for Student Research was made to Nausheen Basha for her research involving improving cooling and oil distribution within an oil-injected screw compressor. Nausheen, who has recently been named one of the Top 50 Women in Engineering, used a modern numerical and experimental approach to improve heat transfer between gas and oil. This has resulted in reduced compressor mechanical losses and improved compressor performance substantially. Judges commented: “This research will have an immediate effect, that could have a global impact and is ready to be applied now.”
The IOR’s RACHP Engineering Technician Section makes an award to an individual who has spent their whole career in a hands-on role, having displayed exceptional dedication to their customers, employers, and their sector. This year there were two candidates whose contribution was so exceptional and yet so different, that the judges decided to make two awards.
The first Lifetime Achievement Award Winner, Andy Murrell of Star Refrigeration, joined the industry in his early years and has been with his current employer since 1989. He is described as an all-round great individual who has a personality that allows him to work effectively with people from all walks of life – customers, sub-contractors, apprentices, and senior business leaders. His willingness and ability to share knowledge amongst these people when he is with them is second to none.
John Broughton of Danfoss also received a Lifetime Achievement Award recognising him for his 35-year work in the refrigeration business. He impressed the judges with his all-round dedication to the sector, helping clients and fellow engineers alike with troubleshooting problems, finding time to support colleges and students, and yet continuing with a busy schedule of international and national work travel.
The Lightfoot Medal which is awarded for the best IOR Talk and Paper of this session was made to Steve Benton and Andy Pearson for their paper “Relief Valve arrangements for carbon dioxide refrigeration systems”. The winner of this award is decided by vote of IOR members.
