Spec Finish

The FIS 22 nd AGM and virtual conference was held on Tuesday 24 November 2020. It was an opportunity to assess what the sector has learned during this most unusual year and how we build on our new ways of working to incorporate efficiency, innovation and sustainability as we start a new year. IT’S ABOUT COMMUNITY... TOGETHERWE ARE STRONGER F IS President, Helen Tapper opened the online event acknowledging that 2020 was a year of nightmare scenarios, saying: “My business plans, just like yours, are in the bin and I have had to re-evaluate my aspirations for the future.” However, the FIS stepped up to the mark to support its members and in a matter of weeks produced the COVID-19 Hub to provide guidance on the procedures that left many confused and anxious. It provided the risk management toolkit and the health and safety task force, a group that provided crucial guidance on site procedures. There were daily mail shots, twice weekly webinars and most importantly, a friendly voice at the end of the phone when members needed moral support. And one that could carry members’ concerns to the wider industry and economic debate straight to the Construction Leadership Council, civil servants and ministers. She said: “Nearly 60% of our contractor members turn over less than £5m, only 17% turn over more than £10m and we never forget that statistic, all members need advice, technical guidance and moral support and once again, FIS membership pays dividends.” Part of this support is the new Business Risk Management Tool available to download from: www.thefis.org/ knowledge-hub/business-management Reassuringly, she stressed that FIS keeps an eye on the future: “The Building Safety Bill will have enormous repercussions for our sector. In response, Joe Cilia has collaborated with other leading bodies to produce the Guide to Firestopping of Service Penetrations, a guide that gets to the heart of safety issues in our sector. “The training team, hit badly by the withdrawal of CITB funding has, under new leadership in George Swann, been finding ways to continue resourcing the leading work we have been delivering through the Fit-Out Futures Programme and to set out a more standard framework for competence for our sector.” Once the official AGM business was completed, the 2020 conference began. It considered Brexit and the repercussions for labour shortages and product certification, the Building Safety Bill and reverse charge VAT all of which will make their presence felt in the first quarter of 2021. The headline topics of the conference covered some of the biggest issues our sector is facing and discussed how we foster healthy relationships in our supply chain; replacing mistrust with cooperation and collaboration and, with FIS support, give our sector the best chance of succeeding. Conference speakers In a packed agenda, all five keynote speakers had been given five questions to base their sessions on. Some sessions were live and some were pre-recorded. First speaker, Andrew Parkin, Partner at built environment consultancy, Cundall, spoke on ‘Changing needs: Back to work, back to normal or a complete reset?’ In this pre-recorded session, Iain McIlwee, FIS CEO and Andrew Parkin discussed trends in office design and refurbishment, particularly looking at what the return to work after COVID means for the fit-out sector and what clients are looking for in the office of the future. Andrew said: “The pandemic has accelerated the inevitable and forced us to us look at the way we work and re-evaluate office space. However workers use the office, their safety, health and wellbeing is paramount, so clients are now adapting their office space to the needs of their workers as well as their business to ensure productivity. “COVID has prompted a shift in design to more healthy environments so we have to design to mitigate health risks and even eliminate them. “Socially conscious clients want to build in sustainability and become net zero Iain McIlwee with Andrew Parkin, Cundall AGM and conference www.thefis.org 17