An Engine for Change - A Chronicle of the Engineering Council

88A CHRONICLE OF THE ENGINEERING COUNCILOn the face of it the remits of the two new Boards should have encouraged significantbeneficial change in the operation of the EngC. However, the success of the Faircloughinitiative ultimately depended upon whether the Institutions - with their new influence in theSenate - would allow the two Boards, particularly the BEP, to fulfil their duties effectively.As a consequence of the new Board structure, the final meetings of the Executive GroupCommittees (EGCs), the two Coordinating Committees and of the Board for Engineers’Registration [see Fig. 2] took place in October and November 1995. In anticipation of thereformed EngC and new procedures coming to fruition, the EngC Membership Departmentforged closer links with the Institutions and devised improved procedures for theNominations Committee to audit the registration, accreditation and membership processes.The Nominations Committee, in turn, prepared new nomination and compliance regulationsand 18 reviews of Nominated Bodies were conducted by this Committee during 1995.Recruitment and training of a team of volunteer Engineering Council Representatives, toassist the Institutions and improve the audit process, assumed a higher profile during 1995.This part of the new arrangements got off to a good start.The 11 th [and last] Engineering Assembly was held at Exeter University in July 1995. Thetheme was ‘Action for Engineering’ which echoed the DTI’s initiative of the same name. DrDavid Evans (Head of the DTI’s Technology and Innovation) closed the Assembly.Thereafter the Assembly was replaced by an Annual Engineering Conference, the first beingheld in September 1996.Rent for office accommodation in the Aldwych area of London fell markedly in 1991, sonearby offices were sought for the EngC’s satellite operations, the Chairman’s initiatives, andthe Central London ECRO and EOSG support, which we describe below. During 1992 twofloors in Essex House in Essex Street, neighbouring the Maltravers Street offices, weresecured on a lease. The Membership Department moved in from the offices that had beenrented from the IEE in Savoy House and the IT Department expanded at Essex House to lookafter the EngC’s increasing computing needs. In Essex House, an IBM RS6000 computersystem to serve the whole EngC replaced two separate systems that had been used for wordprocessing and the EngC’s Registrant Database.Interfacing with the InstitutionsIn parallel with the Fairclough Initiative, existing and new activities were vigorously pursued.The EngC continued to encourage mergers among the Institutions. During 1991 theInstitution of Production Engineers changed its name to the Institution of ManufacturingEngineers and then, after a failed attempt to merge with the Institution of MechanicalEngineers, merged with the Institution of Electrical Engineers retaining the IEE name. TheInstitute of Marine Engineers and the Royal Institution of Naval Architects agreed to proceedwith merger discussions, although over ten years later they remained separate but in anamicable relationship. By the end of 1991 there were 46 Nominated Bodies, the EngCNominations Committee having completed the review of the 12 bodies outstanding from their1990 work, and two Professional Associates as in 1990 [see Chapter 4].The Institute of Metals changed its name to Institute of Materials on 1 January 1992 inanticipation of a merger with the Institute of Ceramics and with the Plastics and RubberInstitute later in the year. The Minerals Engineering Society and the North East CoastInstitution of Engineers and Shipbuilders ceased to be Nominated Bodies in May and July© Engineering Council UK 2004