The Maintenance Corner
Building surveying

The Essential Guide for Maintenance Training in 2019

4 min read

In this blog, I will be giving some advice on where to find good building maintenance training and discuss some courses I have found to be particularly useful. There are plenty of hidden gems out there and excellent training providers which can help develop your knowledge and understanding. By no means is this going to be an exhaustive list and please feel free to reach out to me if I have missed anything that you feel is worthwhile having in this guide.

Safety Training Scotland

  • IOSH Managing Safely Course
  • IOSH Working Safely Course
Health and safety can be a fairly dry subject depending on how it is delivered. I undertook the three-day IOSH Managing Safely course and was riveted from start to finish. The lecturers are friendly and enthusiastic and deliver the course in a way which maintains your concentration. If you are in Scotland and are looking for some health and safety training you should certainly look these guys up.

ASCP / AGSM / AESM

  • ASCP annual conference 2019 - Creif Hydro - 26 September 2019
  • Level 4 VRQ Certificate in Electrical Safety Management in Social Housing
  • Level 4 VRQ Diploma in Asset and Building Management Compliance
  • CORGI Level 4 VRQ Certificate in Gas Safety Management in Social Housing
The Association of Safety & Compliance Professionals (ASCP) has grown from strength to strength since its launch at the AGSM National Conference in 2018. They offer a range of vocationally related qualifications from level 1 to level 4. I have completed the Level 4 VRQ Certificate in Electrical Safety Management in Social Housing and thoroughly enjoyed it. The national conferences are also really fun to go to and give a chance to network with professionals within the housing sector.

Scottish Lime Centre Trust

  • Damp in Buildings Masterclass
  • Retrofitting Traditional Buildings: Principles and Practice Masterclass
  • The Structural Repair of Historic Buildings
The Scottish Lime Centre Trust promotes the knowledge and traditional skills required for the conservation, repair and maintenance of the historic built environment. During the Damp in Buildings Masterclass I was able to meet one someone I very much look up to, one of the world’s leading building pathologists, Mike Parrett. I would highly recommend this 1-day seminar, even if it is just to meet Mike. The folks at the Scottish Lime Centre trust are really friendly and offer a bunch of courses which can suit contractors, homeowners and building professionals alike.

CIOB

  • Building Conservation Webinar
  • The Successful Management of Conservation Works
  • Drone Technology: 3D Modelling, Mapping and Topographical Surveying
All the above are completely free and can be found on the CIOB academy website. CPD is not always about spending money, some of their CPD leave a bit to be desired but none the less there is plenty of interesting subjects to sharpen your knowledge. The CIOB offer a range of free and paid online training covering topics from conservation right through to site management.

CABE

  • WEBINAR: Structural-Safety: learning lessons from structural failures
  • FREE EVENT - Stabilisation & Repair of Heritage Structures/Listed Buildings
  • FREE EVENT - MacLennan-Lse: Woodworm & Dry Rot: Timber Repairs
The Chartered Association of Building Engineers offer a mixture of free and paid training throughout the year. They are particularly good at fire safety and structural training. They have an annual conference in Manchester in October where the focus will be on improving building safety and cultural reform. If you are a member you will receive the Building Engineer magazine which can be a good read (especially the article I wrote on Japanese Knotweed!).

RICS

  • Residential Property Defects - Structural Damage and Cracking
  • Residential Property Defects - Roofing
  • Residential Property Defects - Damp
The RICS offers a bunch of conferences, seminars, training & networking options. I find the online training to be fairly cheap and accessible. The Built Environment Journal (which incorporates the Building Surveying Journal, Building Conservation Journal and Building Control Journal) is a free download and can often include a raft of interesting topics.

Honourable mentions

Roofing Today - They offer a free subscription to their roofing today magazine. This interested me as I worked in the roofing industry for a number of years so I like to keep up to date with the goings on.

The Property Care Association (PCA) - provide training for damp, waterproofing, ventilation and invasive weed control. The only thing that has stopped me from taking one of their courses is where they are based (Cambridgeshire) although they do offer in-house training which could work if there are a number of staff looking to take a specific course.

The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) - They hold forums for SFHA members on property maintenance right through to mid-market rent.

The Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM) - They have a bunch of interesting good practice guides available on their website.

AICO - Aico produce the likes of smoke, carbon and heat alarms. They also deliver training right across the UK in relation to the fire safety regulations which is particularly pertinent in Scotland.

Infrared Training Center (ITC) - I went on a free online tutorial called ‘Introduction to Thermography’ which I found to be quite useful. They have a bunch of courses which might help if you have just bought a new FLIR thermographic camera and are trying to wrap your head around this technology.