A copy of this presentation is available here.

The regulations are here: Draft Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2012

And an explanatory note is here: Strengthening the Building Control System – A Document to inform public consultation on Draft Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2012

Submissions should be made to:

Mr. Paris Beausang,
Architecture / Building Standards,
Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government,
Custom House,
Dublin 1,
Tel: + 353 (0)1 888 2321
Fax: + 353 (0)1 888 2693
E-mail: buildingstandards@environ.ie

The deadline for receipt of submissions and comments is 17:30, Thursday, 24 May 2012.

Further information is at the Dept. of the Environment, Community and Local Government webpage here: http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/BuildingStandards/PublicConsultations/

The understanding of contract and design liabilities is becoming ever more important for structural engineers, due to ongoing changes in public liability and environmental legislation. This seminar will comprise four sessions to consider the relevant issues, each presented by a leading member in their area of expertise.

The topics to be covered and the speakers are:

• Contracts and contract administration – Niav O’Higgins, Partner with Arthur Cox Solicitors. Niav has extensive experience of all standard forms of building and civil engineering contracts and appointments used in Ireland and the UK. She also advises on Health & Safety matters, particularly with respect to construction.
• Professional Indemnity Insurance – Graeme Tinney, Director of Griffiths & Armour Professional Risks. Having acquired broad experience in liability exposure in Ireland and the UK, Graeme provides strategic advice to construction consultants on managing professional risk. He has represented the interests of consulting engineers with major procurement bodies, including Government.
• Dealing with contaminants – Paul Foran, Managing Director of OHSS Consulting. With over 15 years’ experience as both a consultant and inspector in the field of Health & Safety, Paul lectures at the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), UCD and TCD. He is a qualified Occupational Hygienist.
• Health & Safety – Peter McCabe, Chairman of Construction Safety Partnership. A part-time lecturer at TCD, Peter is a chartered member of IOSH and specialises in equipping people with knowledge of how to stay safe in the workplace. He was named the IOSH Ireland branch winner in 2010.

Participants registered to attend will be given the opportunity to submit questions prior to the seminar.

This seminar is open to non-members. We ask members to display the notice prominently in their workplace and to copy it to friends who may be interested.

Cost:
€120 (€150 for non-members)
There is a limited number of places available at €60 for students / unwaged / retirees.
There will be a mid-morning and mid-afternoon coffee break, and lunch will be provided.

Please register in advance for this seminar by sending your name, contact number and company details to Aileen Phelan at 041 – 983 9958, or to registrations@istructe.ie – a response e-mail will issue.

A flyer is available for download here.

Venue: DIT Bolton St, Dublin 1, Rm TBC
Date: Tuesday, 29 May, 2012
Time: Registration from 08:30; Seminar 09:00-17:00
Cost: €120 (€150 for non-members); €60 for students/unwaged/retirees (places limited).

The presentation will be followed by a networking reception.

Abstract
Developing a 30 year Masterplan for Ireland’s largest port, Dublin Port’s Chief Executive Eamonn O’Reilly outlines the consultative process undertaken to integrate the many views from the broad range of the port’s stakeholders into the long term development plans of the country’s most important port. Eamonn will also discuss the key outcomes of the consultation process and how the company plans to deliver on the 30 year Masterplan.

The Speaker
The speaker is Eamonn O’Reilly, Chartered Engineer – Chief Executive, Dublin Port Company. Eamonn O’Reilly joined Dublin Port Company in 2010 from Portroe Stevedores, where he was Chief Executive of the Dublin Port-based cargo handling business for five years. During that time, he was also Group Business Development Manager of Portroe’s parent company, Doyle Shipping Group. An electrical engineer by profession, he is a graduate of University College Dublin and holds an MBA from Trinity College Dublin.

This event will be webcast – for log in details, please see Engineers Ireland’s website www.engineersireland.ie

A flyer is available for download here.

Venue: Engineers Ireland, 22 Clyde Road, Dublin 4
Date: Tuesday, 8 May, 2012
Time: 18:00 for lecture 18:30, Reception afterwards

Abstract: This talk will skim through various aspects of bridge history. Bill will use pictures and videos of bridge behaviour to explain what we think we know and the gaps that remain in our knowledge and understanding of these economically vital structures. There will also be brief excursions into aspects of more modern structures.

The Speaker: Bill Harvey has been a committed bridge engineer since 1954. He began properly working on bridges in 1971 when he spent some time on big steel bridges (Humber, Ouse, Dunkeld) before settling into academic life working on masonry arch bridges in 1981. Since then he has become an internationally-renowned bridge engineer and has spent many happy hours in cold damp places but also in libraries and sometimes even in the sun, learning about how arches came about, how they were built, how they work and how they deteriorate. He has worked as an independent consultant and software developer since 2000 and is particularly known for his masonry arch assessment software Archie-M.

Click here to download a flyer to publicize the event.

This event is jointly hosted by the Republic of Ireland Branch of the Institution of Structural Engineers, and the Structures and Construction Division of Engineers Ireland.

Venue: Rm 281, Dublin Institute of Technology, Bolton St.
Date: Tuesday, 1 May, 2012
Time: Reception 18:00, Lecture 18:30

The event will provide an introduction to BIM for Engineers and present the UK strategy for the full adoption of BIM by 2016 as well as current international practice. Speakers will pass on their practical experience on the implementation of BIM within their Consulting Engineering firms.

This event is presented in joint collaboration between Engineers Ireland, The Institution of Structural Engineers and the Association of Consulting Engineers of Ireland.

The Speakers:
Introduction & current adoption of BIM:
Brian Lahiff – Thomas Garland & Partners will provide a summary of the BIM process and current adoption in the UK and internationally.
Civil Engineering:
James Duggan – ARUP Cork will discuss the practical application of BIM on Arup Projects.
Structural Engineering:
John Casey – Casey O’Rouke Consulting Engineers will discuss their current design using the BIM process.
Mechanical & Electrical Engineering:
Michael Downey – J.V. Tierney & Co. Consulting Engineers will discuss their initial experience in the adoption of BIM within the firm.

A flyer is available here.

Date & Time: Monday, 16th April, 2012, Lecture at 18.30
Location: Engineers Ireland, 22 Clyde Road, Dublin 4.
Can’t attend the lecture? View it live online at www.engineersireland.ie

The speakers are:

• Eamonn Cannon, Chartered Engineer & retired lecturer NUI Galway
• Dr Jamie Goggins, Chartered Engineer & Lecturer, NUI Galway
• Eddie O’Brien, Project Manager, BAM Contractors
• Fiona Purcell, Chartered Engineer, Arup Consulting Engineers

This event is jointly hosted by the Republic of Ireland Branch of the Institution of Structural Engineers, and the Structures and Construction Division of Engineers Ireland.

A flyer is available for download here.

Venue: Rm 259, Dublin Institute of Technology, Bolton St.
Date: Tuesday, 24 April, 2012
Time: Reception 18:00, Lecture 18:30

A flyer for the event can be downloaded here.

Summary: Our Institution was founded for members to share knowledge and learn from each other: that need remains today. Over the last half century there has been an explosion of structural information, more complex codes, phenomenal analytical power and an ability to understand the forces nature imposes on structures to a degree hereto unimaginable. But all that information has to be collated and disseminated to successive generations. What are the challenges and how do we do it?

The Speaker:Dr Allan Mann has been involved in truly unique international structural engineering projects over the course of his career. Highlights include:

• Rides for the Singapore Sentosa theme park
• Beijing wheel (208 m high: successor to London Eye)
• Belchatow Power Station Poland (180 m high concrete cooling tower)
• Wembley International Stadium
• London Eye: working as technical advisor on design and construction
• NIREX (underground nuclear repository)
• Royal Opera House construction
• THORP nuclear reprocessing facility
• Chin Shan Off Gas Stack (150m)

Venue: Rm 281, Dublin Institute of Technology, Bolton St.
Date: Thursday, 8 March, 2012
Time: Reception 18:00, Lecture 18:30

The back cover information is:

Concrete is an integral part of twenty-first century structural engineering and an understanding of how to analyse and design concrete structures is a vital element in the subject. With Eurocodes having replaced European national standards it’s important to get to know the new codes which, for most countries, are more complex than before. Newly revised to Eurocode 2, this second edition retains the original’s emphasis on qualitative understanding of the overall behaviour of concrete structures.

A unique feature of the new edition is a whole chapter on case studies. This provides a unique insight into the way a structure is put together and the alternative structural schemes that are considered in the early stages of design. The concept has been used very successfully in a Problem Based Learning environment at University College Dublin. Groups of students are assigned case study problems, and after a few days they present their solutions to expert judges who give feedback on the practicalities of their chosen solutions. This highlight of the undergraduate experience teaches the students communication as well as design skills.

This book provides civil and structural engineering students and graduates with complete coverage of the analysis and design of reinforced and prestressed concrete structures. Great emphasis is placed on developing a qualitative understanding of the overall behaviour of structures and on bringing together all the strands in the design process – load paths, developing a structural scheme, preliminary sizing, analysis and detailed design.

Eugene OBrien is Professor of Civil Engineering at University College Dublin.
Andrew Dixon is Director of Downes Associates Consulting Civil & Structural Engineers.
Emma Sheils is employed by Roughan & O’Donovan, a Civil and Structural Engineering Consultancy and is a former Postdoctoral Research Fellow of University College Dublin.

Further information is available at the publisher’s website here. It can be inspected at Amazon.co.uk here.

On Wednesday, 22 February, The Institution of Structural Engineers (Republic of Ireland Branch) in association with the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University College Cork will host a Graduate Evening. Recent graduates undertaking postgraduate research and graduates working across a range of engineering firms will give brief presentations sharing their experiences since graduating.

The aim of the evening is to provide an insight for students and other members of the structural engineering fraternity into what it is like for Graduate Engineers working with Consultants today and show the opportunities that are available for research. It is intended that the evening will be relatively informal and there will be ample time for questions and discussion. The speakers will be:

• Daniel Goulding (CIT) – Bord Gáis
• Alan Leen (UCC) – ARUP
• David Hodge (CIT) – CIT (Post Grad)
• James Browne (UCC) – UCC (Post Grad)
• Michael Minehane (CIT) – RPS

Venue: Room G10, University College Cork
Date: Wednesday, 22 February 2012
Time: 18:30

Click here to download a flyer to publicize the event.

Contact:

• Dr Vikram Pakrashi 021 4903862 V.Pakrashi[at]ucc.ie
• Donogh Coleman 021 4326312