Launch of HSE Medical Device & Equipment Management Policy

I attended by invitation and spoke at the launch this morning at the HSE Phoenix house building, of the HSE's new policy document on medical device and equipment, covering procurement, operation and maintenance. The event was hosted by Brian Gilroy of the HSE. Minister Mary Harney was the guest of honour and spoke of the importance of the new policy.

I used the opportunity to highlight the role of engineers in the medical profession, and how engineering mistakes can be more dangerous than medical ones. This of course gave me a segue to talk about registration and licensing of Chartered Engineers in Ireland.

Annual Conference

Well,  the dust has settled after a great annual conference in Cork last thursday and friday.  Well over 300 people attended,  and I suspect the final figure may be as high as 350.

Last monday (19th),  I was very concerned since we had lost four featured speakers due to Eyjafjallajökull - Minister Conor Lenihan, Craig Barrett, Ian Quinn and Bertrand Barré. Conor was stuck in Dubai;  Craig on US east coast;  Ian on US west coast and Bertrand in Paris.  Bertrand very kindly agreed to do a video conference instead.  I approached Ian's CEO,  Helen Ryan who happened to be in the country, and she very kindly agreed to take his place.  But both Conor and Craig were completely unavailable.

Joint Council & Executive Meeting

This morning we held a scheduled joint meeting of Executive and Council at Clyde Rd,  from 10am-1pm.

Council

We held our January Council meeting yesterday in Clyde Rd.   It was extremely well attended and, although there are occasional Liaison meetings after Council including yesterday,  I think it was the largest Council participation I've seen to date.

Regulation and Licensing of Professional Engineers

I attended a meeting this evening at Clyde Road hosted by John Power to discuss regulation and licensing of professional engineers.   This was a part of a series of meetings,  first started in October as I previously reported.

Heads of Schools Meeting

Today from 10am to 3pm,  John Power (DG),  Denis McGrath (Registrar) and myself hosted a meeting to which all heads of engineering schools nationwide,  both from Universities and Institutes of Technology,  were invited to discuss deeper co-ordination and co-operation between us all.

Finance Committee Meeting; Executive Committee Meeting

This afternoon at Clyde Road we had our November Finance Committee meeting,  followed immediately by a meeting of the Cafe Clyde Committee,  and then by the Executive.

Regulation and Licensing of Professional Engineers

One of my stated personal objectives for my Presidency this year was to advance the regulation and licensing of Professional Engineers in Ireland.   I reflected on this issue,  as affects Software Engineering,  in my presidential address.

Irish Property & Facility Management Association Conference "Seeing Through the MUD"

At the kind invitation of the Irish Property and Facility Management Association (IPFMA),  I attended their conference in Croke Park this morning,  with the intriguing title of "Seeing Through the MUD".

The MUD in question is the Multi-Unit Development bill 2009,  currently before the Oireachtas.  The Law Reform Commission made recommendations on the regulation and legislation pertaining to the Property Services industry,  and in particular to the role of management operating companies for apartment complexes.   The IPFMA have been extensively engaged throughout the process,  and the main purpose of today's conference is to consider a number of issues with the current draft legislation,  with a view to making a further submission to the Departments of Justice, Equality and Law Reform;  and of the Environment.

September Council meeting

On Saturday morning last we had our September Council meeting.

Council is now using basecamp to help organise our meetings,  including posting of documents and papers in advance of the meetings.   I encourage you to consider using basecamp for the organisation of any meetings with which you many be involved for our organisation.

Brian Kavanagh,  as head of the Finance Committee,  reported that finances remain extremely tight,  but we are currently still on course to break even for the full year.  Our main source of income is our subscriptions from members.

Presidential Address

I gave my first address as President yesterday evening, at Clyde Road and via Webex. I'll be giving a small number of invited repeat performances throughout the remainder of the year.

My main theme was the technical challenges in certifying software design and development as safe - safe from harming humans or damaging property.

Regulation of Engineering in Ireland is a key issue for Engineers Ireland. Currently, the profession is weakly regulated as compared to certain other jurisdictions. Elsewhere, all engineering works which may impact the health and safety of the public, or may give rise to material harm to property, must by law be duly certified by a professional Engineer.

Finance Committee Meeting; Executive Committee Meeting

Hope you had a great August!

We had a Finance Committee meeting, followed by Executive, at Clyde Road this afternoon.

Our finances remain tight, although we remain on target for a small profit for the year. Our main focus remains on our subscription revenues, both for existing members and new members. These are reasonably where we expect them to be at this time of year, are we are hoping for an uplift of new members joining in the light of our recent changes to our membership criteria for MIEI.

We had a first consideration of the annual budget for 2010, including member subscription rates for 2010. Executive's recommendations on subscription rates will be brought to our imminent Council meeting on 26th next.

2010 Conference, and debate series

I met with John Power (DG) and Fionnuala Kilbane (marketing & comms. director) this morning at Clyde Rd., to review the plans to date for next years conference, and a new debate series.

Our conference will be hosted by the Cork Region on 22nd April and 23rd April next, and will celebrate out 175th anniversary. In discussions with the Cork Region, and in particular with its Chair Kevin Murray, we are planning to extend the conference to a full two days, including in particular a new session on the afternoon of the friday. This new plenary session will consider a number of specific resolutions, which will be proposed by the Regions, Divisions and Societies this autumn. Six of these will then be debated at Conference in the new afternoon session, with a proposing delegation (from a Region, Society or Division as appropriate).

There also a number of social activities around the conference being planned by the Cork Region.

In discussions this morning, we also examined the conference fees for 2010, and hope to be soon able to announce a modest reduction in conference fees, despite the longer conference (of two full days, rather than a day and a half).

In addition to the Conference, we are also planning a series of evening debates throughout the autumn, winter and spring, culminating in the Conference itself. Topics for debate could include national water policy; national energy strategy; the future of the construction industry; innovation; job creation, and regulation of the profession. The exact topics will be chosen in consultation with the Regions, Divisions and Societies in early autumn.

I believe that the new plenary session at Conference, and the debate series, should both provide an excellent way to further engage the Regions, Divisions and Societies; as well as provide further visibility of Engineers Ireland with the public at large.