Max Abrahamson lecture on Construction Law

We were greatly honoured that Max Abrahamson eminent Construction Lawyer across the English speaking world kindly agreed to give us a lecture on 'Getting the Best from the Public Works Contract and Conditions of Engagement'. The lecture was chaired by Ciarán Fahy Chairman of the Engineers Ireland Disputes Resolution Board and podcast also.

Max commenced the practice of advising on construction contracts in the 1950s and is the author of the standard English textbook on Construction Law which we all studied at college in the 70s 80s and 90s. He is an active consultant in McCann Fitzgerald one of the largest and most successful firms of solicitors in Dublin. He is also an Honorary Fellow of Engineers Ireland.

Pictured before the lecture in the President's Room were Ciarán Fahy Chairman of Engineers Ireland Disputes Resolution Board, Max Abrahamson Lawyer and Honorary Fellow Engineers Ireland and PJ Rudden President of Engineers Ireland

There was a record attendance well beyond the capacity of the Lecture Theatre and many dozens also joined from another room and by podcast. Many professions attended in person or remotely including engineers, architects, surveyors and lawyers.

Max reflected on his career and on the many challenges faced in balancing the construction contract risks fairly between Employers, Engineers and Contractors. He commented on the pros and cons of the 'lump sum fixed price' contracts embedded in the new Government Form of Contracts in recent years.

After thanking Max for his unique contribution to Engineers Ireland over many decades I asked him 'When is a lump sum contract not a lump sum? Does the lump sum still hold if the project scope alters?' His reply was classic 'A lump sum is of course a lump sum unless you happen to have a very good lawyer!'

Thank you Max for an interesting and inspiring lecture appreciated by a record attendance in Engineers Ireland.

Civic Welcome to Carlow

On a visit to Carlow last week I was honoured with a Civic Welcome in Carlow Town Hall by the Council Chairman Tom O’Neill MCC on behalf of the Carlow Local Authorities. I was visiting Carlow on a very busy round of engagements organised by Carlow County Council Director John Carley on behalf of the South East Region of Engineers Ireland. I also unveiled a monument in the town to former Trinity Professor of Biomedicine Samuel Houghton a native of Carlow town. I also did interviews with Carlow local radio in both English and Irish. My primary objective in coming to Carlow was to support Carlow County Council, Carlow IT and local industry all of whom are working in partnership to create local jobs.

Carlow Town Council Chairman Cllr Tom O’Neill MCC making presentation to PJ Rudden on behalf on the Carlow Local Authorities in Carlow Town Hall. Also in attendance from left to right Tom Barry Carlow County Manager, Damien Owens Registrar Engineers Ireland, Cllr Jennifer Murnane O’Connor MCC, Brian O’Leary Associate RPS, John Carley Director of Environment Carlow County Council, Dan McInerney Director of Transportation, Cllr Eileen Brophy, Aisling Buckley Resident Engineer RPS, Dr Norman McMillan Secretary National Science and Engineering Commemorative Plaques Committee, Mrs McMillan, Deputy Pat Deering TD, Joe Towey Wills Bros Contractors, Charles Wills of Wills Bros Contractors, Sean Laffey Senior Engineer Carlow County Council, Gavin O’Donovan Associate RPS and Kevin Power Director RPS.

The morning started with a visit to the new Merck Sharp & Dohme plant. I was accompanied by Damien Owens Registrar of Engineers Ireland and John Carley Director of Environment and Water Services in Carlow County Council. We were greeted by the General Manager Bryan Murray and brought on a tour of the plant by Kevin Dempsey Environment Health and Safety Manager. It is a very impressive state of the art manufacturing facility for vaccines against a range of human medical conditions.



Visiting Merck Sharp & Dohme Left to Right Sean Laffey Senior Engineer Carlow County Council, PJ Rudden President of Engineers Ireland, John Carley Director of Services, Carlow County Council, Damien Owens Registrar Engineers Ireland and Kevin Dempsey Manager Merck Sharp & Dohme

We then proceeded to Carlow IT to be greeted by the Head of Engineering David Denieffe who conducted a tour of the school assisted by Edwin Landzaad Head of Built Environment Department and Eugene Carbery Head of Electronic, Mechanical and Aerospace Department which included a visit to the Aeronautical Research Centre. The Student Centre also houses an extremely impressive range of sporting and leisure facilities for students. Carlow IT is hoping to join with Waterford IT to form a South East Technological University. It was the first IT in Ireland to get accreditation of its Engineering course from Engineers Ireland.

In the Aerospace Department of Carlow IT David Denieffe Head of Engineering Carlow IT,

Roddy McNamee Lecturer in Aviation, John Carley Director of Carlow County Council,

PJ Rudden President of Engineers Ireland and Damien Owens Registrar Engineers Ireland.

Then we proceeded to the Town Centre to unveil the relocated Houghton monument in the presence of the Town Council Chairman Councillor Tom O’Neill MCC. Reverend Samuel Houghton (1821-1897) was born in Burrin Street Carlow and distinguished himself firstly as a student of mathematics and science. He was a Fellow of Trinity College at the age of 23 and Professor of Geology at the age of 30. He then worked in the biomedical field and became “the father of modern biomechanics” according to the current Provost of Trinity Professor Patrick Prendergast.



After unveiling the Houghton Monument left to right
PJ Rudden, John Carley, Council Chairman Tom O’Neill and Dr Norman McMillan

Then onto the Town Hall for a Civic Welcome from the Carlow Local Authorities by Town Council Chairman Tom O’Neill MCC and County Manager Tom Barry. Local Carlow TD Pat Deering was also present together with Councillors Eileen Brophy and Jennifer Murnane O’Connor. Also attending were staff from Carlow Town Council, Carlow County Council, Wills Bros Contractors and RPS Consulting Engineers. I was presented with a beautiful ceramic depiction of the roman arch and gate entrance to Oak Park Agricultural Research Centre in Carlow.

In my response to the Council Chairman, I congratulated the Carlow Local Authorities for their forward planning vision which continues to facilitate new large scale high tech industrial development like Merck Sharp and Dohme together with new infrastructure like Carlow Main Drainage both of which are a huge investment to assist future economic growth and jobs for Carlow Town and County.

After lunch, we visited Carlow Main Drainage and Flood Relief Project which is nearing completion. It was designed by RPS to prevent a severe flood in 2008 from recurring in the town. The August 2008 flood caused the River Barrow to burst its banks and to flood parts of Carlow Town Centre to a depth of 2 metres. Some 100 people had to be evacuated from their homes.  This €20million Flood Relief project was built by Wills Bros Contractors, Foxford, Co. Mayo involving reconstruction of the river channel with new training walls and the creation of new parks and amenities over many of the storm interceptor sewers.

Viewing the new flood protection measures along the River Barrow as part of Carlow Main Drainage – PJ Rudden, Charles Wills, Kevin Power and John Carley

Finally John Carley and I were invited by Sean Laffey Senior Engineer to visit the very impressive VISUAL Arts Centre built by Carlow Town Council under Sean’s supervision. It is a hugely impressive building surfaced entirely in glass in the grounds of St. Patrick's College with modern theatre and display facilities. There I had the pleasure of meeting sculptor artist Eileen McDonagh whose stone works were on display. Eileen’s exhibition ‘Lithosphere – New and Retrospective Works’ is to be opened next Sunday 5^th February at 3.30pm by Sinead Dowling Carlow Arts Officer. (Art lovers of Carlow and surrounding counties please take note!)

I had spent a very busy day from daybreak to dusk in Carlow Town – by far my busiest day of my year as President to date. It was a very enjoyable and memorable visit among the industrious resilient people of Carlow who continue to develop and grow their town in the face of recessionary pressures. I wish Carlow Local Authorities well in the years ahead. My sincere thanks to John Carley and the Carlow Local Authorities.

Sculptor Eileen McDonagh amongst her granite stone pieces

at VISUAL Arts Centre in Carlow



Gaming Computing Excitement in Athlone IT

Last week I was pleased to visit the new Engineering School at Athlone IT. I was met on arrival by the Head of the Engineering School Austin Hanley. The tour of the School was conducted by Fergal Sweeney Head of Dept of Civil, Construction and Mineral Engineering, Joe Lawless Head of Dept of Mechanical Engineering and Marcus Rahilly Head of Dept of Electronics Computer and Software Engineering.

Athlone IT is the Third Level College of the Midlands Spatial Hub (Athlone Mullingar and Tullamore) and has close links with local industry. A new state of the art Engineering and Informatics Building opened in 2010. The new 11,000 square metre facility is a landmark on campus having won the RIAI award for Best Educational Building in 2010. The Engineering College has classrooms wired for both way remote transmission for teaching purposes.

Athlone IT Engineering and Informatics Building

The Midlands Innovation and Research Centre was established by Athlone IT as a converging hub for innovation, research and enterprise in the Midlands. They are now recruiting for the next Midlands & West Enterprise Programme (MWEP). An example of this local entrepreneurship supported by MWEP is Ann Marie Durkin's company Shasta developing unique and innovative baby products. Ann Marie says 'The MWEP greatly assisted Shasta by structured training and support in the key commercial elements of setting up and running a successful business while AIT has provided the research capability to develop our products from concept to successful commercialisation.' (http://www.ait.ie/)

Among the niche courses offered by the Engineering School in Athlone IT are a series of BSc Hons degrees in Software Engineering, in Software Design (Game Development), in Computer Network Management & Cloud Infrastructure and in Software Design (Web Development). In my view these courses are critical to our economic survival in Ireland when we hear from ICT Ireland that there are currently some 3000 vacancies for software engineers in Ireland which we are unable to fill. The Athlone IT initiative is therefore leading to real job creation.

Engineers Ireland has a real interest in Computing Engineering and have recently strengthened our Computing Division under the chairmanship of our Past President and leading innovation entrepreneur Dr Chris Horn.

One of the major growth areas in computing is in Gaming where product design requires an depth knowledge of statistical and probabilistic mathematics. This is also an area of real interest to Engineers Ireland. For that reason we included it in our recent TV advertising Campaign for Chartered Engineer 'Will You Come With Me ..... Bringing Dreams to Life for You and Me' where we show software engineers in the gaming industry.

I was intrigued during my visit to Athlone IT to have been shown some gaming devices by Dr Mark Daly - 'hexbug nanos' - these are robotic creatures that react to sound and touch - constantly changing direction in random pattern. Also I was introduced to the ‘Finch robot’ designed for computer science education with light, temperature and obstacle sensors.

Dr Mark Daly Athlone IT demonstrates the operation of a Hexbug Nano

and a Finch robot (white colour on the table) to PJ Rudden

I left Athlone IT with the sense that they are at the cutting edge of Enterprise and Job Creation which augers well for the Midlands Region going forward. I understood that the School are also exploring the possibilities of forming “research clusters” with Northern and Western ITs in the Border Midlands and West (BMW) Region.

Engineers Ireland Annual Ball 2012

Some 600 people attended the Annual Engineers Ball in the Burlington Hotel last Friday night. It was a real celebration of the importance of the industry to the Irish Economy in terms of domestic employment and export of engineering services overseas.

Annual Engineers Ireland Ball Burlington Hotel 13^th January 2012

In my short address of welcome (see speech below) I spoke of the challenges to the Irish Economy. I committed Engineers Ireland to help recreate 'an efficient dynamic better regulated economy. We know that as a country we have to change the way we do things. The Irish Engineering profession is both able and willing to change and develop, indeed to help engineer that change and to assist our national recovery in whatever way we can'.

I noted the recent statement from IDA Ireland that 47% of new foreign direct investment (FDI) jobs in 2011 require engineering and science skills including computing.



Professor Padraic O’Donoghue Chairman West Region, PJ Rudden President, John Power Director General



I urged support from our members and companies for two important events in 2012 - Engineers Week 2012 (Feb 27^th to Mar 4^th) and our Annual Conference in Belfast (April 26^th/27^th).

The theme of this year's Engineers Week is 'Connecting our Lives' where engineers will visit second level schools to show the importance of Maths and Science to Engineering.

The theme of the Annual Conference is 'Engineering Enterprise in Times of Change' which will coincide with the Titanic Centenary celebrations in April 2012 in Belfast.

Dermot Dungan Chairman Electrical & Electronic Division, Deirdre Jordan,

Marie Dungan, John Jordan Chairman Midland Region

Companies who were present at the Annual Engineers Ball included CRH, ESB, Bord Gais, Shell, Sisk, Mercury, Irishenco, Roadbridge, Murphy, Irish Cement,  Shannon LNG, Amey, Cold Chon, Colfix, Ecocem, Hegarty, Roadstone Wood, Farrans, Celtic Anglian, Wills, Arup, Roughan & O'Donovan, O'Connor Sutton Cronin, Fitzsimons Doyle, Daire Byrne, Malone O'Regan, Clifton Scannell Emerson, Quigg Golden and RPS.

The organisation, decor, food and music at the Annual Ball this year was the best ever. Great credit is due to Shirley McDonald, Debbie O'Sullivan and Rosanne O'Leary of the Engineers Ireland staff for their organisational skills and of course to Domhnall Blair a member of our Council and Executive for his ever skilful Master of Ceremonies role.

____________________________________________________________________

Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen

It is my honour as President of Engineers Ireland to welcome you all and in particular Engineers Irelands guests to this year's Ball.

We have just finished one challenging year as a profession. In 2012 we face new challenges as the Irish economy struggles to recover from a Euro Crisis and other recession difficulties. We know that as a country we have to change the way we do things.

The Irish Engineering profession is both able and willing to change and develop, indeed to help engineer that change and to assist our national recovery in whatever way we can. We again commit ourselves to help create an efficient dynamic and better regulated economy. We will continue to promote the brand of Chartered Engineer greatly helped I can say by the much praised TV and Radio advertising campaign now underway.

We will not overcome our challenges tonight but we will celebrate another year of Excellence in Engineering. I will say no more as this is a not a night for speeches but for celebration - at our Annual Ball in the company of our family friends and colleagues many of whom we only meet here annually and long may those friendships remain.

My thanks to the staff of Engineers Ireland for the tremendous organisation that went into this event especially Shirley McDonald. Debbie O'Sullivan and Roseanne O'Leary and of course for Domhnall Blair’s advice and support and to the Burlington as our venue once again.

Finally I strongly urge your active support for two particular events during 2012 – Engineers Week at the end of February when we showcase the importance of Engineering, Science, Technology and Maths. You might bear in mind that according to the IDA last week that almost half (47%) of all foreign direct investment jobs last year were in Engineering Technology which is Computing and Science. Secondly I want to highlight our Annual Conference in Belfast at the end of April during the Titanic Centenary celebrations. We hope as many of you as possible will travel to be with our Northern Region colleagues to share in the new beginnings that is the modern Northern Ireland.

I wish you all a very Happy New Year and an even happier night ahead.

Thank You and have a great night. Gura Maith aghaibh.

PJ Rudden

13^th January 2012

New Year at the Giants Causeway

I wish all readers a successful 2012. Despite the ongoing euro crisis hopefully this year will see better news on the economy.

Unfortunately much of the positive progress we made as a country in the early part of 2011 was eroded in the last quarter by the confidence crisis in the euro zone. Nevertheless Irish exports remain strong (mostly from our own engineering sector i.e. computing, pharma, biomedical) and our balance of payments continue to improve. Our unemployment rate unfortunately remains at 14 -15% as we strive to even stabilise it in the years going forward.

In the break between Christmas and New Year I found myself in Northern Ireland for a few days on the North Antrim coast. The weather was stormy wet and cold - even snowy at times but didn't deter us from either a tour of the Causeway Coast or the Glens of Antrim. I had never before visited the Giant's Causeway beside Bushmills town and Distillery. It was quite a sight in the winter storms.

The Atlantic Coast waves at the Causeway were so high and so vociferous that they sent the sea foam flying inland on the raging wind. It lay on the ground like blobs of snow for many minutes after it fell.

The almost vertical pencils of basalt rock were formed according to local legend by giant Finn McCool needing to battle with another giant in Scotland and built the causeway to give him pedestrian access across the sea. A very futuristic new underground Visitor Centre designed by Heneghan Peng Architects is currently under construction and due to open in summer 2012. The Giant's Causeway is the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Northern Ireland.

At the Giants Causeway

The whole experience apart from the weather reminded me of the Mizen Head Bridge in West Cork which I visited last August at the other extreme end of the country. The narrow path access arrangements are similar on both sites though the landscape is very different. The Mizen Head Bridge is man made of course across a spectacular Atlantic gorge while the Giants Causeway is a geological formation from the Ice Age. There is also a famous pedestrian 'rope bridge' at Carrig-a-rede over the Atlantic further eastwards along the Antrim Coast towards Ballycastle town. This footbridge was actually closed due to the high winds on the day.

We passed through the town of Ballycastle famous for its 'Auld Lammas Fair' each summer and then south through Cushendun and Cushendall before turning inland again through the green Glens of Antrim towards Ballymena and Toome across the northern shores of Lough Neagh. It is truly lovely countryside even in the depths of winter. I can only imagine how much nicer it is in the summertime.

A very interesting fact I noticed is that while the Atlantic Ocean was battering off the North Antrim coast, at the same time the Irish Sea was very calm off the East Antrim coast reminding us the Irish Sea is a mere 'calm shallow pond' relative to the Atlantic in technical terms. This fact also helps to inform our approach in terms of harvesting our ocean resources for future export.

All this reminds me too of our 2012 Annual Conference in Europa Belfast next April 26^th and 27^th in the centenary year of the Titanic Story. All the TV channels this Christmas were starting to remind us that all roads this April will lead to Belfast. Cork Port is also commemorating the first and indeed last visit of the Titanic to Cobh before its fateful voyage across the Atlantic in April 1912.

Our conference theme will be 'Engineering Enterprise in times of change'. It will deal with the linked themes of Manufacturing, Marine and Energy building on Belfast's great engineering traditions and playing to the city's regenerative strengths around the Titanic Quarter – once the Harland and Wolff Shipyard where the Titanic was built. There’s an iconic new Titanic Signature Building which is really a Visitor / Interpretative Centre due to open in April 2012. There’s a very impressive preview of it on ‘Titanic Stories’ website.

New Visitor Centre open April 2012 under construction
in Titanic Quarter in Belfast Harbour

So it’s a message of hope as we head into the 2012 New Year. Let us play to our strengths in the engineering profession seeking out and developing new enterprise and research that leads to jobs. We engineers need to help shape the future - as if we stand idly by or fail to adapt to changing times - then events will inevitably shape us.

Happy New Year!