Whet your appetite for steam with bite-size education

Daniel Wells, National Consultant Specialist UK & ROI at Spirax Sarco, cuts through the jargon surrounding Continuous Professional Development (CPD) presentations and explains why more consultants and industry bodies should consider investing their time in a bite-sized, educational CPD.

Can you tell us about yourself?

I’ve worked for Spirax Sarco for 7 years but with Spirax Sarco UK and ROI for 8 years prior as a reseller. To-date, I’ve delivered over 1,600 CPDs to consultants and engineering procurement contractors. Before moving into my current role, I worked as a distributor for Spirax Sarco for eight years – providing me with an in-depth knowledge of the business’ core steam offering.

What does a Spirax Sarco CPD entail?

Put simply, a CPD is a free bite-size presentation delivered in around 60 minutes on a topic relevant to those attending. For instance, we offer entry level presentations that proved an overview of all things steam; this is also one of our most attended CPDs. Spirax Sarco is a CPD course provider for the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) and Engineers Ireland.

What CPDs do Spirax Sarco UK offer?

Our CPDs cover a broad range of topics tailored to those working across both the building services and process consultancy sectors. Topics start at an introductory level, with ‘Steam Fundamentals’ – before moving on cover ‘Basic System Design Considerations’; ‘Steam Heat Exchange’; ‘Steam Trapping’ and ‘Condensate Management’.  However those with some experience with steam systems already may be interested in our more advanced topics of ‘Energy & Steam’; ‘Steam Quality’ – or even ‘Steam in Healthcare Applications’.

Of course, carbon reduction, increasing energy efficiency and sustainability is currently a significant challenge across all sectors, and our CPD topic ‘Steam : What the Future Holds’ is proving to be highly relevant for those with an interest in decarbonising their energy demand in the near future.

We are now also offering to arrange CPDs over Microsoft Teams as a response to the rise of ‘hybrid working’ - we understand that everyone works differently and it's important that we adapt and are flexible to peoples different needs. 

Myself and the team continue to present countless webinars in conjunction with professional organisations such as the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE), Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMECHE), the Institution of Chemical Engineers (ICHEME) and the Institute of Healthcare Engineering and Estate Management (IHEEM). You can keep up to date with these via our LinkedIn account that stays up to date with upcoming webinars. 

Why are CPDs important within industry?

Steam is a broad subject and so cannot be covered in just one overall presentation. A CPD provides those attending with manageable pieces of information they can use to bolster their knowledge in a particular area. For example, our ‘The Future of Steam in Building Services’ CPD is ideally suited to consultants in the building services sector and will assist them in understanding how to increase energy efficiencies and reduce CO2 emissions. Those who attend will receive their certificate of attendance which will count towards their points as they work towards chartered status. In just a small amount of time, we’ll work through the presentation and attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions.

What can be gained from undertaking a CPD?

Time is money for any consultant, so taking time away from a job or the office could send alarm bells ringing. Fortunately, experts can take a CPD over their lunch hour either on-site or at their offices. A ‘Lunch & Learn’ provides a bite-sized approach to topics that consultants need – to maintain chartered status they will need to demonstrate that they have maintained their knowledge. In 60 minutes, Spirax Sarco can help employees and employers to help themselves. 

If an attendee still feels unsure of the content or indeed if they wanted to learn more, they could move beyond the presentation and enrol on one of Spirax Sarco’s many training courses. A CPD is not to be taken in place of training, but should be seen as a foundation on which to build. 

Why should I choose Spirax Sarco to deliver a CPD?

Spirax Sarco routinely delivers between 25-30 hours of customer-facing CPDs every month. This experience and breadth of CPDs on offer makes us uniquely positioned to deliver first-class education. Don’t just take our word for it, each year we present our CPDs to around 1,920 attendees looking to further their knowledge and advance their careers. To whet your appetite for steam please contact Daniel Wells: Daniel.Wells@uk.spiraxsarco.com

Daniel Wells, National Consultant Specialist UK & ROI