Alan Cooke IEng ACIBSE MIRHACE
CASE STUDY
Education and qualifications: Diploma in Environmental
Engineering. City & Guilds Technicians Certificate in Heating,
Ventilation and Air Conditioning;
Which institutions are you a member of? Associate Member of
the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE);
Member of the Institute of Refrigeration, Heating and Air
Conditioning Engineers in New Zealand (IRHACE)
Current job title: Principle Engineer
Company: Cooke Consulting
Length in current job: 8 years
Approximately how many people are employed by your
company? One, I’m a self-employed Consultant Engineer
Where are you based? Dunedin, South Island of New Zealand
Please describe your current role:
In 2006 I formed Cooke Consulting with the sole purpose of
providing a personal engineering consultancy to clients that
required a solid technically based design and project
management service. I provide services design, project
management and installation observation expertise in HVAC,
plumbing, medical gases and energy management to a select
client base.
My main client is a health board that uses my expertise for
the more specialised areas of hospital services such as
oncology (involving process cooling systems and HVAC
work), bunkers and linear accelerators, operating theatres
and various specialist care suites. I also undertake work in
the commercial sector including offices, medical centres,
facilities buildings and, on occasion, residential work of a
more specialist nature
Please provide a brief outline of your career:
Over my 45 year career, I have learnt so much about people
and engineering whilst having a lot of fun. I began as a
trainee engineer at NIFES a Manchester based consultancy
in 1968, where I decided to formalise my learning by studying
for a Diploma in Environmental Engineering. I then spent the
next seven years with Hall and Kay Engineering Ltd where I
was promoted from a design engineer to increasingly senior
positions to become a special projects engineer.
In 1981 I decided to emigrate to New Zealand, where I
became a project manager for the services on the Dunedin
Hospital ward block. Unbeknown to me at the time, this
introduction to the healthcare sector was to be the catalyst for
developing my future expertise and career.
Two years later, I took a Building Services Divisional Manager
position at Naylor Love, where I managed three specialist
divisions, including building services, for almost 20 years.
When the specialist divisions were put up for sale, following a
strategic decision to focus exclusively on construction, I
purchased the building services division and sheet metal
fabrication shop. I formed Atmos Engineering Ltd and spent
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the next five years expanding the company into Christchurch &
Central Otago.
In 2006, a Christchurch company was struggling to recruit for a
building services installation contract for a new prison and so
opted to purchase my company’s expertise and resources. After
successfully managing the prison contract through to
completion, I left Atmos Engineering in the capable hands of the
existing management and formed Cooke Consulting, where I
am working to grow into more than a one man operation.
Have you worked on any unusual or high profile projects?
As a contractor completion of the Christchurch Art Gallery
HVAC services was particularly satisfying project. It was the
largest project I ever completed.
As a Consultant I have just successfully completed the new
Neonatal Intensive Care Wing at the Dunedin Hospital which is
a complex HVAC, Plumbing & Medical Gases project. I have
designed an innovative heating system for a large castle style
property, built on an island in the middle of a manmade lake.
The design used a ‘lake water to low temperature hot water
heat pump’ to enable the lake water to provide the primary
energy source for the under floor and radiator heating systems.
I worked closely with the architect to reduce the initial heat loss
by 60% from initial concept to final design. This was a
satisfying project that was great to see from start to finish.
In 1996 I was selected to be an industry representative on the
panel of Professional Engineers and Businessmen, seconded
by the government to rewrite the way we teach Engineering in
NZ. This was personally very rewarding as the panel managed
to align the way in which academic institutions teach services
engineering, to be more integrated within industry and the way
businesses operate.
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CASE STUDY
What attracted to you to become registered as an IEng?
I appreciated very early in my career as a trainee engineer
that, to be recognised as a professional within my field, I
would need professional registration. IEng, combined with
ACIBSE, has allowed me to be regarded as a specialist in my
field as it demonstrates that I have a combination of
experience and academic qualifications.
How did you become registered as an IEng?
Having been fortunate in my early career to have great
mentors, I ensured that I had the required underpinning
technical knowledge before applying it in as many facets of
building services engineering that I could, including pipe and
ductwork installation. I was always keen to take on the
‘problem jobs’ as these presented a greater challenge and I
learned a lot from rectifying mistakes. This provided me with a
practical and cultural experience. Once I felt I had achieved
the right level of experience I successfully applied for an
upgrade from EngTech to IEng.
How has professional registration as an IEng benefitted
your career?
As a manager and a contractor, professional registration has
demonstrated to clients and consultants that I have sound
technical knowledge in my specialist area. Now as a
Consultant Engineer, it allows me to gain access to potential
clients more easily and to perform work where professional
registration is necessary. More recently it has enabled me to
act as a referee for an engineer who was applying for
professional registration to IPENZ (Institute of Professional
Engineers NZ).
What advice would you give someone considering
professional registration as an IEng?
Holding the IEng title says “I have a combination of
experience and technical knowledge in my field”. It allows
others to recognise that you have studied and gained
experience in a particular branch of engineering and is
recognised internationally.
Do you hold any other academic/professional
qualifications?
I have studied many modules through the NZ Institute of
Management, such as four quadrant leadership and executive
management skills. I am qualified as a registered assessor
and moderator for training in heating ventilation and air
conditioning. I recently gained a B Tech in medical gases
systems.
What are your future goals?
Although I am 61, I have no plans to retire. Next year I will be
applying for Registered Engineer status with IPENZ and will
continue to expand my knowledge in building services
engineering through CPD & CIBSE.
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One of my mentors said to me many years ago that “by the
time we retire we have enough knowledge to do this job
properly”. So I think I will work on and perfect some more of
my designs. Building Services Engineering is such a vast
subject that I believe it may take many lifetimes to achieve all
that is possible. There’s always something new and that is
what makes life interesting.
What is your employer’s attitude towards professional
registration?
My employers have always had an encouraging and positive
attitude towards professional registration. That is why I
selected them and why they selected me. A successful
working relationship grows when both parties receive a
benefit from each other.
Were they supportive while you were working towards
professional registration as an IEng?
All of my employers have been very supportive of
professional development and registration. Financially, my
employers supported my registration by paying the
associated fees, travel and accommodation expenses and
providing leave as required. In addition, they offered mentors
from their specialist staff to support me with specific
management and technical roles. This support was one of the
main reasons why I chose to work for them.
How does your employer benefit from you being
professionally registered as an IEng?
Professional registration benefits the employer because it
provides them with the confidence that their engineering
employees have experience and academic ability.
Professional registration is a marketable commodity to clients
and sets those employers that support it apart from those that
don’t.
Alan Cooke IEng ACIBSE MIRHACE
Registered: 1980
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