AEME

A Message from Lord Pickles and Lord Blunkett, followed by AEME's best practice article

The ability to listen and learn from one another has always been vital in parliament, in business and in most aspects of daily life. But at this particular moment in time, as national and global events continue to reiterate, it is uncommonly crucial that we forge new channels of communication and reinforce existing ones. The following article from AEME is an attempt to do just that. We would welcome your thoughts on this or any other Parliamentary Review article.

Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett, MP

Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles, MP

www.aeme.co.uk

1AEME |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE

CEO Peter Reid

Lifetime achievement award

In 1997, Peter Reid established AEME as a training and

equipment solutions company for the cleaning sector. Fifteen

years prior he had founded Overclean but had begun to realise

that the training provision was inadequate for what he required.

Recently, he has expanded his operations by developing a

5,000-square foot training centre from which he has trained

4,000 people from all over the world. Peter tells the

Review

more about the development of the business.

In 1984, I established Overclean, an organisation focused on cleaning the ducting

that supplied air conditioning into buildings. This was shortly followed by the

emergence of several competitor organisations, but five years later the quality of

work by some was so appalling that I began using a small office to start training

my own personnel. In 1997, I was asked to retrain 40 Swiss chimney sweeps as air

hygiene technicians after they became at risk of being made redundant as a result

of the new pollution standards in Switzerland. By this stage it had become obvious

that the equipment and training offered externally were not up to the necessary

standards, so I decided to set up AEME to provide both training and equipment.

Raising standards through training

After establishing the business, I wrote the training manuals covering indoor air

quality, kitchen extract cleaning, risk assessment and fire damper testing. Over

the next 20 years, aware of my own limitations and realising that one-day training

courses were not rigorous enough in their approach, I undertook two years of

FACTS ABOUT

AEME

»CEO: Peter Reid

»Founded in 1997

»Based in Devon

»Services: CITBNI fire and

smoke damper testing and

inspecting CPD, kitchen

extract cleaning courses CPD,

risk assessment courses, IAQ

ductwork cleaning courses

»No. of employees: 8

»www.aeme.co.uk

AEME

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

2| AEME

training to hone my skills. In July

1999, I became certified under OCR to

design training and development, and

in November 2000 I was certified to

assess individuals for completion and

to evaluate their training standards.

During the following years I was a

major contributor to the HVCA, later

becoming BESA in the TR17 and TR19

guidance documents and the green

book training manual. At the time, I

was heavily criticised for training the

competition, but I felt this was unfair. I

was training the ambassadors, so that

the UK could lead the world in indoor

air quality standards, and between

2003 and 2013 ours was the course

recommended by BESA. Aware of

the need to have outside registration

and certifications, I set about getting

CITB registered approved courses and

in 2007 my first course was certified.

This was followed in September 2012

by my second risk assessment course

also receiving approval. In 2013, CITB

courses were changed to CITB NI, and

in June 2016 I gained registration for

our fire damper course.

Drive for continual

improvement

In 2018, we gained CPD certifications

for the kitchen extract course followed

by the fire damper course. Aware that

we needed to expand coverage for

AEME training courses, we decided to

partner with PSS in Stirling and DCUK

FM in Hertfordshire to supply truly

national coverage for our courses.

We are currently in negotiations to

open a training centre in Dublin and

have been approached from Australia

and Dubai about setting up our first

international course regime. In March

2019 we became CITB ATO.

In 2015, Bill Benito, the President of

NADCA in the USA, flew over to open

our new training centre, which had

been launched with help from the BSB

and DCUK FM. Bill expressed envy at

the fact we had been able to develop a

National Training Centre of Excellence,

with the capacity for 4,000 students

across a 5,000-square foot complex.

The centre cost around £400,000, but

we now own the premises and have

avoided paying expensive rents in

thefuture.

Students under

instruction

I was training

the

ambassadors,

so that the UK

could lead the

world in

indoor air

quality

standards, and

between 2003

and 2013 ours

was the

course

recommended

by BESA

“

3AEME |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE

To date, AEME have trained hospital

fire officers from the UK and fire

investigators from the FIA, including Dr

Peter Mardsen, a world expert in his

field. Over the past two years, we have

trained the LPC assessment officers for

the LPCB’s own insurance standards

and fire officers from Scotland. In

addition, we have welcomed students

from Moscow, New York, Iran,

Saudi Arabia, Qatar and many other

countries around the world. We are

also training personnel from major

companies in the UK, all of whom

recognise the importance of indoor

air quality for their clients and want

their personnel trained to the highest

standards possible. These companies

include the likes of Emcor UK and

Mitie, and we hope to work with

others of a similar stature in the future.

Centre of excellence

In 2014, I became a fellow of the

Institute of Consultants and in 2018 I

received a lifetime achievement award

for contributions to the industry. I was

even lucky enough to gain the personal

thanks of the Toshiba UK managing

director for my amazing teaching

abilities at the HVR awards. While

these accolades are a vindication of the

project that I started over 20 years ago,

I am not resting yet and remain eager

to seek out new opportunities and

areas in which we can innovate.

AEME is now recognised as an

approved centre of excellence by

NAADUK, a new association that

represents the interest of 350

members. The chair of NAADUK

Jonathan Brennan recommended that

anyone looking for a professional

approach to training should use AEME.

Having opened three years ago, the

association is looking to make changes

that will help improve the environment

for all, with new approaches, rather

than just giving old documents a

new twist. We are proud of what we

have achieved independently and in

collaboration with external bodies over

the years, and AEME is now considered

the jewel in our group of companies.

We will continue to strive to improve

standards of indoor air quality in the

UK, learning from our past experiences

and from future partners too.

AEME is now

recognised as

an approved

centre of

excellence by

NAADUK, a

new

association

that

represents the

interest of 350

members

“

NAADUK training centre

www.aeme.co.uk

The Parliamentary Review Publication, in which this article originally appeared, contained the following foreword from Rt Hon Michael Gove.

Rt Hon Michael Gove's Foreword For The Parliamentary Review

By Rt Hon Michael Gove

This year's Parliamentary Review comes at a momentous time for parliament, as we collectively determine the destiny of the United Kingdom.

On October 31, the UK will leave the European Union. The successful implementation of this process is this government's number-one priority.

Three years after a historic referendum vote, we will deliver on the decisive mandate from the British people. Trust in our democracy depends on it. Until that final hour, we will work determinedly and diligently to negotiate a deal, one that abolishes the backstop and upholds the warm and close relationship we share with our friends, allies and neighbours in the EU. But in the event that the EU refuses to meet us at the table, we must be prepared to leave without a deal.

As the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, it is my job to lead on this government's approach, should that scenario happen. Preparing for Brexit is my department's driving mission. But while I am leading this turbocharged effort, the whole of government is committed to this endeavour.

Ministers across Whitehall are working together to ensure that every possibility is considered, every plan is scrutinised and every provision is made. A daily drumbeat of meetings means that we are holding departments accountable, so that preparations are completed on time.

The chancellor has confirmed that all necessary funding will be made available. And we have mobilised thecivil service, assigning 15,000 of our most talented civil servants to manage our exit from the EU.

We will make sure that on November 1, there is as little disruption to national life as possible. Our trade relationships will continue to thrive, thanks to agreements with countries around the world worth £70 billion. Our country will remain secure, thanks to nearly 1,000 new officers posted at our borders. And the 3.2 million EU nationals now living and working among us can remain confident, with absolute certainty, of their right to remain in the UK.

Above all, our goal is to be transparent. Soon, we will launch a public information campaign so that citizens, communities and businesses are ready and reassured about what will happen in the event of “no deal”.

In my first few weeks in this role, I have travelled to ports and tarmacs, borders and bridges, all across the UK –from the seaside of Dover to the rolling green hills of County Armagh. I have heard from business owners and border officials, farmers and hauliers. They are ready to put an end to uncertainty. And they are ready to embrace the opportunities ahead.

Our departure from the EU will be a once in a lifetime chance to chart a new course for the United Kingdom. Preparing for that new course will be a herculean effort. But this country has made astounding efforts before. We can do it again.

Rt Hon Michael Gove
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster