March 2014

March kicked off with the Events team attending Eco-Build

Unfortunately due to my day job commitments I was unable to attend on any of the days however Jess Gallagher has kindly reviewed the event :

“The CPD seminars and Exhibitor Showcases were very well presented

The launch of How To Be Brilliant was a great team effort between ILP and acdc staff,

All 150 Lighting Journals whizzed off the stand and it was great being able to give people such a well presented snapshot of what the ILP is all about.

We handed out 30 Defra leaflets, 100 LED Specs and 100 Light Pollution leaflets.

We signed up five new members

We launched Lighting Landscapes to an audience of 50 interested people – the panel discussion prompted lots of questions and comments from the floor, and there was a great buzz around the subject.

The ILP Twitter account was busy as ever and gained 26 new followers, and approx 200 retweets and favourites. One tweet led directly to a new member joining, who wasn’t physically at the show, but was ‘there in spirit’ via twitter.

I am enormously thankful for the hard work put in by Chantal, Jo and Guy”

I can only echo Jess’s comments and thank all involved; another great event.

Council met on 12^th March following the success of the VP Exec Board workshop day in February  Mark Cooper (SVP and Council Chair) used the same format to gain some ideas from Council. A number of points were raised and Councillors have taken some issues back to the regions for consideration over the next few months.

Keith Henry VP Technical is pleased to announce that, following an open invitation to all members, to apply for the vacated post of ILP CIE representative, Nick Smith has been appointed to the role. Well done and congratulations Nick.

On 6^th March I spoke at the APSE conference in Newcastle to a room full of Highways Engineers! It was interesting to hear some of their views with regard to lighting views that I hasten to add I attempted to put straight !!!!

The ILP were represented at the Lighting Design Awards on 20^th March,  both Mark Cooper and myself were asked to present awards; an honour not normally bestowed on the ILP and I hope a reflection of our growing membership and recognition of the Institution within the design community. The evening as always drew to a close with the award for Lighting Designer of the Year ;a prestigious award at the event .

I am extremely proud and pleased to inform you that this year’s recipient was non other than our very own Mark Ridler (VP Architectural). The award announcement was greeted with great joy and the room stood to applaud , the ILP logo was displayed behind Mark on the screen as he accepted the award and during the citation recognition of his work with the ILP was made. We really are incredibly proud of Mark, a huge congratulations from all ILP members.

On the evening of the 25^th March I attended the first of the regional AGM’s

I would like to thank Eddie Henry (London Borough of Southwark) for having such a fantastic year as Regional Chair and wish Colin Fish (WSP) all the best for his forthcoming year in the hot seat. It was great to see well over 100 members attend the event.

Going forward April is busy it all kicks off on 1^st April with the Midlands AGM, followed immediately by the Northern and then North East AGM’s. The Western Region have theirs on 24^th April so I’ll be putting in the miles to attend all these

My thanks must go to my employer Skanska (IS) for supporting me with the time required to fulfil the duties as your President. Without this full support it would be extremely difficult.

You can also now follow me  @mjrugby1968
Until next time
Mark

February Review

Another busy month kicked off with The Executive Board holding it’s monthly meeting. The meeting was attended by Jo Harding of Harding Consult  who presented her business case for improving the ILP’s communication and marketing requirements both internal and external. As an ongoing process of the board engaging with the YLP, Fiona Horgan YLP Chair was also present in an observer capacity.

Unfortunately I was unable to attend Lightschool however other members of the HQ team were present, Jess provided the comments below:-

What Happened at Lightschool, part of the Surface Design Show

Our experience at Lightschool reflects the progress that the ILP has made in the last few years in becoming the home for all lighting professionals. We had a top name designer declaring ‘I’ve been wanting to join – thank you for making it so easy’ and another told us ‘in the last two years the ILP has changed massively for the better’.

The speakers at Light School were described as ‘a who’s who of lighting design’ and every single seminar was packed out with students standing at the back, lots of questions and speakers staying to talk afterwards.

We were one of the top five twitter accounts for the show, as verified by Seen Feed. This means we reached a lot of people who weren’t even present at the show, a very efficient way of reaching new people. We had heaps of interest in the launch of the Lighting Landscapes book and the new How To Be Brilliant series.

Since the show we’ve been in touch with over thirty new contacts, whose projects, enquiries and interest include architectural practice, university studies, LED, art, lighting for older people, Phd information, seasonal decorative lighting… the list goes on. We’re keeping everyone informed and already seeing membership applications coming through too as a result of our activities at the show.

Massive thanks to Jo W, Jo H and Mark R who all did a sterling job on the ILP stand – much appreciated.

A very busy and successful three days

On 14^th February I made my way to Scotland and attended the Scottish Regional dinner dance held at Airth Castle. I would like to thank the Region and it’s Chairman Daryl Bullock for inviting me to the event. The weather was a touch inclement !!!! and the flight a little lumpy on the way up but the event itself was organised well and the venue was fantastic. An enjoyable night was had by all with great food, excellent company and one of the best live bands I’ve been entertained by in sometime. Having to be at the airport for my 10am flight was a challenge but nevertheless I made it

The build up to ECO BUILD is now underway, coupled to that is the eagerly awaited launch of the latest ILP publication “Lighting Landscape, A Guide to Implementing Successful Lighting Within the Public Realm”  Jo Harding (Harding Consult) our communications and marketing  consultant has commented as follows

“We have now launched the You tube videos on the ILP website and this will be announced in the latest newsletter, we have also launched the guide with images on Pinterest which should encourage the landscape architects and clients to view the fantastic images and pin the ones they like-all hopefully driving interest to the guide and launch”.

You tube links- https://www.theilp.org.uk/resources/lighting-landscapes/

Pinterest site- http://www.pinterest.com/theilp/

As the month draws to a close the Exec Board met with the VP’s. The meeting comprised of a general review and workshop for the VP’s to interact with each other and understand some common areas requiring assistance. Jo Harding was part of the meeting to assist with any communication and marketing requirements and indeed to assist in form some strategies with regards to new events and forthcoming PLG launches. During the workshops individual VP’s were invited to meet with the SVP President and CEO to review their business plans for the past year and to forecast their aims and targets for 2014 . Look out for amendments to their web-pages to reflect their new target and KPI’s over the next few weeks.

My thanks must go to my employer Skanska (IS) for supporting me with the time required to fulfil the duties as your President. Without this full support it would be extremely difficult.

You can also now follow me  @mjrugby1968
Until next time
Mark

January

Its been a while since my last update but life goes on and we all have a day job to do.

Another year has been and gone and here we go again. Already this year the Regional Officers have met at Rugby and been briefed some changes that we would like to see at all Technical seminars going forward. I’m sure the regional committees will all be briefed at their next meetings. In a nutshell ALL Regional Officers that is to say Councillors, RTLO’s and RMO’s are expected to stand up and deliver a short update on what is happening in the area of representation. The Executive Board and VP’s are now also going to be a lot more visible at Regional seminars to ensure our messages are being delivered as expected and tasked. Indeed I myself recently attended the London and South East Committee meeting and also the HEN on the Road Exhibition. My congratulations to Eddie Henry for another great session and some absolutely fantastic, young, first time speakers my congratulations to them all for talking about their journey into lighting or not as the case maybe. I feel that these young students are such an important group of people that we need to make more efforts to engage with them and bring them into our industry. The three speakers on the day are clearly talented and enthusiastic, we need more like them to replace us old codgers who have been here for years.

It is also my pleasure to welcome Jo Harding to the team, Jo is a professional marketing consultant with over 20 years of experience within lighting. Jo will be addressing a number of issues that have been raised by members in the past with regards to how we market ourselves to those who are aware and more importantly those who are not aware of the great work we do as an Institution. Jo will be responsible for all our strategic marketing needs and internal/external communication. Jo has been contracted for 12 months and will initially be assisting us for two days a month, however, this can be increased at anytime should the need arise, in order to deliver the services we require.

So what’s on the horizon for the next few months.

The Executive Board and VP’s will be holding a workshop to discuss business plans and objectives for 2014, along with a review of VP performance for 2013.

The website has been updated with useful documentation login to the members area (MYILP) go to Useful documents you will now find

·         Byelaws, Regional Rules

·         Code of Professional Conduct

·         Articles of Association

·         Business Case Template

·         Guidelines for Regional Operations

·         Regional Constitution and Rules

The Grid is also now live Elizabeth Thomas BSc(Eng) CEng MILP, ILP Vice President for Highways & Infrastructure, commends THE GRID: It’s an amazing resource. The ILP is all about bringing people together to share knowledge and help each other to provide better lighting. There are unique challenges facing those of us in highways and infrastructure lighting, and THE GRID is an invitation to all my public lighting colleagues to support one another in a friendly and supportive environment”. Why not go and take a look, contribute and assist Elizabeth.

Further existing Technical Reports and PLG’s will be available for free download in the very near future so keep an eye out.

Lightschool at the Surface Design Show on 4 – 6 February 2014, London. Launched in October in conjunction with the Institution of Lighting Professionals and the industry’s creative agency, Light Collective, Light School will be looking to educate architects and interior designers in lighting design and lighting products. For more information visit www.light-school.co.uk. It’s free to attend so please register and take a look.

The next intake of students will commence their Exterior Lighting Diplomas on 17^th February so good luck to you all. I hope to attend during the week to personally meet you all and offer some encouragement!

The Western Region have there Past Chairman’s dinner and the Scottish Region have their Dinner Dance at Airth Castle. I wish both events great success.

The YLP have a Committee meeting with the new Chair Fiona Horgan and a Technical day @ NAL.

The IALD have a Gas Light Street Tour of Westminster on the 6^th Feb 2014.

A guided tour of the historic gas London within Westminster, yes within London there still remains gas lit streets and the tour will take in some of the 306 within the City of Westminster. Your tour guides, from WSP-UK and Westminster City Council, will explain the history of the lighting within the street from the hand held torch to the candle and the development of gas from just a flame through to the latest 2012 developments recently implement by the Council to ensure that the lighting is as economical as possible. The tour will include some unique equipment such as the only operational sewer vent gas column and an original cannon column but will also look at local quirky facts and take you down some streets you might never know existed.

date + time : 6 February 2014 7.00 pm meeting 7.15 pm  leaving

tour starts :St. Stephen’s Tavern, 10 bridge street, Westminster,  London, SW1A 2JR

Thanks to our tour guides from Westminster City Council and WSP

Spaces are limited so secure your place  RSVP EMMA@IALD.ORG

My thanks must go to my employer Skanska (IS) for supporting me with the time required to fulfil the duties as your President. Without this full support it would be extremely difficult.

You can also now follow me  @mjrugby1968
Until next time
Mark

November Update

It seems like only yesterday I was writing Octobers Blog and here we are the End of November with Christmas rapidly approaching.
It’s been another full and hectic month
This year HEA conference was a great event once again a very different format to our own Summit but again very well attended a huge congratulations to all the winners of the respective awards on the night not least our own Alistair Scott (Past President) who won the Service to Industry Award.
Thank you to Gareth, Sue and the HEA team for a great event and looking after me on the night. I wish Jerome and Karen well in their forthcoming year as Chair of HEA and HEA / HEMSA respectively
The HEA event was quickly followed by Luxlive, another tremendously well attended and successful event. From the Institution’s perspective this year was our best year at the event. The team managed to sign up over 40 new members a welcome boost to the regional membership. The stand was busy both days and the HQ team were willingly assisted buy Guy Harding, Elizabeth Thomas and Jon Hall. Both seminars hosted by the ILP on day two were extremely well attend (approx 30 in each) This year the Best Practice in Competency Award was awarded to Elizabeth Thomas from Walsall MBC, as I’m sure you are all aware the Engineering Council require us to audit 1% of our members CPD and as a way of re cognition and encouragement we now have this award. CPD submissions are mandatory requirement for all members and our EC registrants be you an Eng Tech IEng or CEng.
Our congratulations must go to Philip Avery who was the winner of this year’s written paper submission for Young Lighter of the Year (as voted by the ILP). My thanks go to Jon Hall and Graham Festenstein for judging the four papers. My congratulations must also go to David Kretzer who won best Paper Presentation (on the day) and finally to Rachael Nicholls who won the Young Lighter of the Year at the evening award dinner and indeed to all the other award winners on the night.
The YLP also held their AGM this month where Chairman James Wright handed over to Fiona Horgan for the forthcoming year. Well done to James who had a fantastic year as Chairman and good luck to Fiona for the year ahead. Following the Executive Board  Strategy meeting changes were made with regard to the YLP and how they will integrate within the ILP. The YLP now report to the Immediate Past President and have a direct link to the Executive Board where their thoughts ideas and visions will be fed into. This is  in recognition of the importance the Board places on the YLP, after all they are the future of the Institution and they need a voice.    
Finally I attended the ELD module 3 and spent some time with this year’s students. I wish them all well in completing their project and look forward to seeing who the Student of the Year will be at the September 2014 summit.

My thanks must go to my employer Skanska (IS) for supporting me with the time required to fulfil the duties as your President. Without this full support it would be extremely difficult.

You can also now follow me  @mjrugby1968
Until next time
Mark

October Update

Well here we are and October has gone!! so time to update you all as to what’s been going on since my last blog.

Earlier in the month the Executive Board held it’s annual strategy day in London , the aim of which was to review the progress of growth for the Institution over the past year to learn from any issues raised by the members and to produce a strategy going forward for the next 5 years. More will follow on this as the year progresses and decisions are taken, I will keep you all informed.

Following on from that the CEO and I attended the IET Presidents Address held at the Royal Institution the home of The Charles Marques Lecture with over 200 of their members. Barry Brooks, the new President of the IET, used his Inaugural lecture to remind their members of some of the many engineers who have been the leaders and innovators and  who have made a difference to the world, and how their example needs to be followed by today’s engineers and technicians. Along with a familiar call for volunteers to support the IET and announcements of further events we also had the winners of the recent Lego League in attendance

For the first time in the competition’s history, a UK team was crowned Champions at the FIRST World Festival in the USA.

Over 20,000 teams take part in FIRST LEGO League globally. The teams have a multitude of tasks to complete each season, and are mentored by volunteers.

The team, Untitled 1, and their robot called The Beast, won the Champion’s Award  in St.Louis, MO, USA, beating 79 other teams taking part in the festival. Over 21,000 teams from around the world had taken part in the past year’s competition.

 

Team members Freya Alder, Tom Mason, Dani Workman, Rafi Borries Gruber, Joe Mason, Max Workman and Claudia Moorhouse are all students at two Bath schools – Ralph Allen and Kind Edward’s.

The team came up with a revolutionary doorbell fingerprint scanner, a project which took more than 300 hours to complete that impressed the judges at the event. The team also had to build and program their own LEGO MINDSTORMS robot, a task which they spent more than 500 hours on.

A huge congratulations to all of them from the ILP.

Many contacts were made at the event and I hope to see some collaborative working with other Institutions happening over the next few months.

On 23^rd October the Executive Board met with the Vice Presidents as a follow up from the strategy day. Further ideas were put forward with regard to improving communications and structure. A great meeting and very productive; the ideas now need to be moved forward and implemented.

Finally I attended the L&SE evening event on the 24^th Oct. Fantastic trip and a pleasure to catch up with people The landmarks of London looked amazing lit up in all their splendour. Well done Eddie and the committee for sorting out a great event. I was unable to attend the technical session due to the day job but kept up to date on twitter, the feedback was again very positive and so encouraging that so many people attended the session for the day and found the papers interesting.

My thanks must go to my employer Skanska (IS) for supporting me with the time required to fulfil the duties as your President without this full support it would be extremely difficult.

Finally I am now on twitter you can follow me  @mjrugby1968
Until next time
Mark

Marks 1st blog

The ILP Summit at Glasgow

 

Welcome to my first blog as ILP President

It seems like only yesterday we were in Glasgow for the summit yet almost two weeks have passed so I must apologize for the delay in posting my thoughts.

Despite the time elapsed I am still on a high from the event and extremely thankful for the encouragement and support from so many of my peers and friends. I just want to take the opportunity via this blog to say THANK YOU to you all.

I will not apologize for saying this yet again but a huge thank you must go to Jess, Jo & Chantal(who were at the event) to all the HQ team involved with the event, to Alan Jaques (VP Events) and finally to Richard Frost for making sure I was ok! all have worked so hard to make the summit the success it was.

To the Thistle Hotel staff - fantastic venue, fantastic service and great food.

To the Exhibiters - I am glad I had time to visit you all and to say thank you. Your support is so appreciated and a huge thank you to those who have already signed up for next years summit in Solihull.

To the speakers and Session Chairs – Thank you all, some fantastic and informative papers and for those of you that didn’t see Doctor Peter Hughes from Primary Engineers you missed something very unique!!!.

The celebration dinner – Great food, great company Thank you to Peter Hughes and Bailie Allan Stewart who kept me entertained with their stories and to the amazing mind of Drew McAdam I still don’t know how he got Steve Anderson Number!.

Finally to the award winners well done all.  

I hope all who attended the summit enjoyed it as much as I did.

On Tuesday(10^th Sept) of this week following an Executive Board Meeting the Board attended the launch of Light School. This event will be part of the Surface Design Show at BDC in February next year. The event is being run by Light Collective Light School consists of three parts: The School Room, Product School and the School Newspaper.

The aim of Light School is to provide you with some education about lighting design and lighting products. Light and Surface are inseparable partners and they want you to leave the show having learnt something that will change the way you see light.
They have asked leading members of the lighting design community to take a lesson in the school room. They want to explain how light works, why we love it and why you should too. Come and be inspired…
More details will follow
Finally I am now on twitter you can follow me  @mjrugby1968
Until next time
Mark

Pete's Last Blog

To those of you that followed my sporadic blogging, my thanks.
I hope you have enjoyed the photo's and my diverse ramblings.
You have followed me through the seasons of the years as I have sought to make this blog personal.

So today is no exception. I went to a business meeting this morning and I was so saddened to hear that a person I had worked with (civil engineering - not lighting) and who had become a friend, took his life this weekend. We all sat at the meeting stunned and in the end, decided that it would be better to re-schedule the meeting.
 I have just finished reading the book Ecclesiastes - written by King Solomon and the verses
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven
a time to be born and a time to die - Chapter 3:1-2
came to my mind.

Life for me only makes sense, when I acknowledge and have a personal relationship with my Creator. Nuff said

I am looking forward to handing over the badge of office to Mark Johnson, who I know will do an excellent job.

Looking back over the year I have really enjoyed getting out to the Regions and meeting the members and those who give of their time to run the committees. It has been great to wish outgoing Chairman, The ILP's thanks for a job well done and to welcome in the new Chairman and wish them the very best in their year.

One thing that so many Chairman have said in their summing up of their year, is how quickly it passed. All I can say is it is exactly the same for this President. The year has passed so quickly.

I love the diversity of the regions, all committed to lighting and yet all with slightly different perspectives. All doing a similar thing, in a slightly different way. Long may it continue.

It would be wrong to single out a specific favourite, to me you have all enriched my life in so many different ways - So to all of you, each region, each member - My grateful thanks.

To all who work so hard for the ILP at Rugby, my thanks. To the Executive Board members that give so much of their time, thank you.

Lastly to Richard Frost the ILP CEO, thank you for putting up with me on all those train journeys and flights. Thank you for all the wisdom and patience you have given to get this current President through his year. From memory, Richard has steered and patiently guided 17 Presidents through their years.

So, when Mark starts his Presidency, please read his blog and give him the support he will need.

Shalom

Pete

ps- the last photo is a sunset, it has been my screen saver for a year