Building Services Engineering

These resources have been developed with the support of CIBSE Patrons at the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers, to to help students understand roles and career paths into the industry. They include video case studies of five engineers with different roles, an introductory video, background information, and a series of PowerPoint based challenges for late Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 pupils in which they develop solutions in related areas. In these the five engineers are presented as cartoon characters, each offering a challenge to:
• turn a playing field shelter into a solar powered solution for users’ needs;
• improve access to a library to ensure everyone can use the facilities;
• design an alarm system to prevent beak-ins and secure valuables;
• assess plans for a home for the elderly; and
• a conversion challenge in which a church is being converted into a community centre with concealed services.

The emphasis and level in each is different and include aspects such as meeting clients’ needs to the management of materials and consideration of appropriate solutions and materials.

Teachers can use the resources to introduce students to opportunities in this sector of engineering and the roles in it that they may not have considered before. There is also a teacher guide which introduces careers in building services engineering, outlines each activity and its focus and provides links to career opportunities and further information. The appropriate KS2 and KS3 National Curriculum content is also included.

The challenges in the activities can be adapted and developed into research, design-only, or design and make projects to suit your school and pupils. They can be used with individuals or as group-based tasks and include opportunities for research, discussion and written work looking at the impact of building services engineering on society and the environment, and the way these feed back into the industry. Through the challenges offered there are opportunities for pupils to investigate and explore careers, operations and technologies in building services.

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