Institution news
For further details about this year's event, please visit the event website.
Please could you briefly explain your role, involvement, and experience with regards to Nuclear Ventilation and the IMechE’s 11th Nuclear Ventilation Conference?
James Bevis (JB): I am the Managing Director of Exyte Hargreaves, we are a specialist HVAC Engineering Construction and Manufacturing Business. Having celebrated our 150th anniversary in 2022, we have been involved with every major Nuclear project in the UK during that time.
Our breadth of experience and track record extends from a near 70-year association with Sellafield, to the Safe Containment Arch on Chernobyl and most recently, Hinkley Point C. We are the UK’s foremost expert in specialist Nuclear HVAC from concept to commissioning.
Our roots are in UK Manufacturing, with a bespoke facility in the heart of Greater Manchester. From this base we have engineered solutions in technically complex and safety critical environments for decades.
Exyte Hargreaves is part of the Exyte Group, a multi-billion pound turnover global business. We share a vision to enhance the value of modern life through the delivery of high-tech facilities across our target business sectors.
What, in your experience, has been the biggest roadblock for utilising innovative technologies in your sector?
JB: The construction sector is notoriously slow to change. Innovation is therefore never ‘a given’. It requires time, investment and track record to enact true change. At Exyte Hargreaves, and within the wider Exyte Group, we are fortunate to have created an environment where innovation is encouraged. It’s also about building the right partnerships with the right stakeholders and clients. At HPC we’ve been trusted to use digitisation and
digital engineering techniques to innovate and seek efficiencies which are benefiting the project in real time.
What key topics are you excited to discuss at this year's conference?
JB: We want to talk about the future of this sector and everything that means. There are massive projects and challenges ahead of us and it’s important that as a sector we’re moving in the same direction. Collaboration is key, whether you’re talking about digitisation, sustainability, social value or delivery. That last point is crucial – as an industry we must deliver to meet the demands of the future.
Selfishly, to challenge potential misconceptions about our identity as a business. We might be 150 years old, but Exyte Hargreaves today is a much-changed business from the ductwork manufacturer that some people may know.
What would you say are the technologies or applications to watch for the future?
JB: BIM isn’t necessarily a new concept but it’s still solving new problems in digital construction and modelling. We can work faster, more efficiently and more collaboratively. Also, robotics (or cobotics). The significant benefits of DfMA, off site construction and modularisation. We don’t have to build and install everything in situ on site anymore and that can have radical positive impacts on delivery programmes and cost.
Who else are you most interested in hearing from on the programme?
JB: It’s always a privilege to meet and discuss topics with our clients. The presentations from Dounreay, Sellafield and AWE should be real highlights.
Why is it important for engineers to join this conference?
JB: We’re all busy with the project work happening right now. Conferences like Nuclear Ventilation 2023 offer a chance to take stock and look to the future. There are always interesting thoughts and new perspectives on offer from the presenters and speakers. It’s an opportunity to share ideas and listen to colleagues from across the sector.
The Nuclear Ventilation 2023 conference will take place on 14-15 November 2023 in Manchester.
Taking place every two years and now in its 11th successive iteration, this two-day conference is the only event of its kind that enables power industry professionals and engineering practitioners from all sectors of the nuclear community to stay abreast of developments in nuclear ventilation within the UK.
For further details about this year's event, please visit the event website.