Why vertical transportation (VT)?
As a boy, I was always into cars and originally wanted to be a car mechanic. My Dad suggested I get a trade and apply for an apprenticeship locally. I applied to a local garage and a couple of factories around my then hometown of Northampton, in the UK, and one of the bigger employers was Express Lifts who manufactured lifts.
I got an apprenticeship with them and the mix of engineering, manufacturing and construction works that I experienced during my early years provided a depth of experiences and variety that hooked me.
Here I am, 40 something years later, still checking out lifts and escalators wherever I go.
What do you do outside of work that helps fuel your creativity and commitment to engineering?
As with many colleagues and acquaintances in the industry, I happily accept the monicker of ‘lift geek’, which basically means I spend a good chunk of my spare time casually looking at lifts, escalators and all things VT, especially when I’m travelling to new places where I might happen across something unusual.
The VT industry is capable of producing amazing solutions and I’m proud to have been involved in my fair share of landmark buildings with unique VT solutions.
There’s a depth of material out there just waiting for me to rock up to, learn from and take away ideas to apply on my own projects.
Which engineer has taught you the most?
In my first consulting role, I was fortunate to be employed as a replacement for Richard Peters who was, at the time, embarking on a new journey with his lift simulation software Elevate™. This resulted in me getting an early introduction to Elevate and lift system design from Richard himself, a bit like having song writing lessons from John Lennon before he was a famous Beatle. That grounding in lift traffic analysis and system design is the basis of my continued interest in the subject and I’m privileged to continue our relationship to this day.
What professional relationships do you value the most?
After 40 years in the industry, I’ve developed relationships with many clients, design team members and contractors, all of which are hugely important in giving me the opportunities to do what I do.
However, I think the most rewarding relationships in terms of my career have come through my involvement with the CIBSE Lifts Group and through contacts I made studying a Masters of Science in Lift Engineering at the University of Northampton in the UK.
Over the years, I’ve learned, and continue to learn, so much from people like Richard Peters, Lutfi Al‑Sharif, David Cooper and of course Dr Gina Barney. Sadly, Gina passed away recently and will be a big loss to the industry and the wider engineering community for her work at CIBSE.
What are you most proud of?
The one thing I am particularly proud of in my career, is my long involvement in the CIBSE Guide D (Transportation in buildings) publication.
Again, I have Gina Barney to thank for that. Back in 1999, she ‘invited’ me to take over authorship of Chapter 5 and anyone who knew Gina will appreciate I was not about to decline. I am proud to have got through the 2000 edition and retained authorship of Chapter 5 for each edition since then, under Gina’s guidance.
We had an early kick-off meeting for the forthcoming 2025 edition in April this year at Gina’s insistence, so she could ensure we were going to be on track in her absence. The 2025 edition will be very much a tribute to Gina and I’m sure the whole steering committee will be working hard to do her proud. I know I will.
What does Making Spaces Work mean to you?
Our purpose Making Spaces Work seems really appropriate to me from a VT point of view. Prior to 1853, when Elisha Graves Otis invented his safety device, tall buildings simply didn’t work because people couldn’t, or at least wouldn’t, occupy taller buildings where they had to climb stairs to get up them.
So, lifts really are needed to make spaces work and I regularly remind my colleagues that VT people really are the most important of all the building services.
Tell us something that not many people know about you.
I’m a twin. I’m the youngest of 5 children and our Mum, god bless her, was apparently shocked to learn that her fourth child would be coming along with her fifth. My twin brother, Les, did his apprenticeship at Express Lifts with me and we both worked there for almost 20 years, until the factory closed in 1997.
