BUILDING SERVICES ENGINEER DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Building services engineers design, install and maintain the services that are needed to allow the building to do what it's designed to. These services include heating, lighting, power and supply, lifts and escalators, health and safety, acoustics and security.  
There is a growing emphasis on sustainability and building services engineers are at the cutting-edge of designing, developing and managing new technologies that help to reduce the carbon emissions of a building.
While the role increasingly demands a multidisciplinary approach, some building services engineers choose to specialise in a certain area, such as:

• electrical engineering;
• facade engineering;
• mechanical engineering;
• public health;
• sustainable and renewable energy.   

Typical work activities

The role of a building services engineer can vary depending on the specialist area of work and employer. In general though, tasks can include:

• negotiating and developing project contracts and agreeing these with clients if working in consultancy, and putting out tenders;
• commissioning, organising and assessing the work of contractors;  
• working with detailed diagrams, plans and drawings;
• using specialist computer-aided design (CAD) software and other resources to design the systems required for the project;
• managing and forecasting spend, using whole life cycle costing techniques, ensuring that work is kept to budget;
• designing site-specific equipment as required;
• overseeing and supervising the installation of building systems and specifying maintenance and operating procedures;
• monitoring building systems and processes;
• making decisions about expired systems equipment and the appropriate location of new equipment;
• liaising closely with other professionals, including structural engineers, builders, architects and surveyors, and in-house project teams;
• attending a range of project group and technical meetings;
• ensuring that the design and maintenance of building systems meets legislative and health and safety requirements;
• advising clients and architects on energy use and conservation in a range of buildings and sites, aiming to minimise the environmental impact and reduce the carbon footprint;
• working on a variety of projects within a short period of time.