As a BMS Service Engineer, James is part of the service team, delivering Onsite Maintenance for our customers.
Arriving on site
When I first started in January I spent some time shadowing other service engineers like Dan Sherwood and Taylor Summerfield, so I would go to lots of different sites shadowing them, which was a great way to learn as every day was different.
I also spent some time at the Hemel Hempstead panel shop, which was actually something I requested, so that I could get a better understanding of the inner workings of the panels and how they function, something that has definitely helped me on site.
For the last couple of months I have been based at the BBC site so I arrive each day at 8:00am and the first thing I do is speak to the facilities management team to find out whether there are any issues that have arisen overnight or during the weekend.
Morning
Our primary focus on site is cooling, making sure that all the chillers are working correctly so that everyone in each part of the building is able to work comfortably.
There are three separate parts of the BBC building and they all have different BMS systems. They’re all connected to one overall system but they each operate differently so we have to work with the facilities management team to find out where the problems are.
Often we’ll find out that it’s actually a mechanical issue rather than something being wrong with the BMS, but it’s important that we go through the full process and confirm that everything else is working like it should be.
Afternoon
Once we’ve handled any specific issues for that day and I’ve had chance to get to Tesco to grab some lunch, I get working on any Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) that we have scheduled.
Keeping up with this kind of maintenance is really important, it helps us to spot issues early so that they can be resolved before they cause problems for the people using the building, and helps us protect assets so they work more efficiently for longer.
We do also spend a lot of time doing reactive maintenance for end of life controllers. Resolving problems that come up and just trying to prevent downtime and keep things running smoothly.
End of day
I usually leave site at about 4:00pm after checking with facilities management that there are no urgent issues that need to be resolved first.
Being able to work closely with the facilities management team and the other learnd service engineers is definitely something I really appreciate. Even though I’m now based primarily on one site there are still lots of opportunities to work on new things or find new solutions to problems and it’s great to get to learn from everyone around me.
Earlier in my career I worked in wood flooring before I trained as an electrician and then eventually got into building controls, but one thing I really like about BMS is that you’re looking at the whole picture for a building. We’re looking at old buildings, new buildings, net zero targets, it’s a really exciting space to be in right now.
Interested in joining the team?
If this sounds like your kind of day on the job, reach out to our Recruitment Manager Kevin Bratherton or visit our careers page to find out about our available roles.
