Electrical Contracting News (ECN) August 2017 | Page 7

INDUSTRY NEWS ROGUE BUILDER PROSECUTED FOR MISUSING NICEIC LOGO A rogue builder, who falsely claimed to be NICEIC registered, faces a possible jail sentence after deceiving customers out of thousands of pounds. Umran Suleman, from Blackburn, pleaded guilty to 17 charges under trading standards regulations, some in his own name and some in the name of U & A Drylining Limited. Suleman was committed on bail to Preston Crown Court to be sentenced. District Judge, Michael Hopkinson, who heard the case, said he had no doubt the offences merited a custodial sentence. ‘The public deserve protection from people like you,’ he warned. ‘You used the logos of regulatory bodies to mislead the public as to the tradesmen working for you.’ Nick McNamara, prosecuting for Lancashire Trading Standards, revealed how Suleman had used the NICEIC and Gas Safe logos on his invoices, yet inquiries showed that neither of the regulatory authorities had ever heard of Suleman or his company. Trading Standards investigators also found Suleman’s van, which bore the Gas Safe and NICEIC logos, as well as the Lancashire County Council Trader Standards scheme logo. Emma Clancy, CEO of Certsure which operates the NICEIC brand, commented, ‘The NICEIC name is associated with quality and we will work with the appropriate authorities to protect those contractors who are legitimately registered with us and have the quality of their work assessed on a regular basis.’ FIRE AND SECURITY INDUSTRY AWARDS OPEN TO NOMINATIONS The fi re, emergency and security industry is being urged to nominate outstanding individuals, who have changed the sector for the better, at this year’s FSA awards. There are two awards, which will be presented at the IFSEC security and fi re excellence awards event, on 22 November in London. The Peter Greenwood Security Award recognises individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the security systems industry. Last year’s winner was Andy Gilmore of AAI Security for 25 years’ work upholding technical standards. The Ian Marsh Fire Award recognises individuals who demonstrate enthusiasm and selfl ess concern for the fi re and emergency systems industry. Last year’s winner was Chris Watts of Wavelength Associates, notably for his commitment to emergency lighting. Head of the FSA, Steve Martin, commented, ‘The FSA is delighted to announce that nominations are open for our sector leading awards and we urge anyone involved in fire, emergency and security to put forward outstanding individuals.’ LEADING BUSINESSES WIN TOP INDUSTRY AWARDS Eight top performing businesses from across the engineering and electrotechnical services industry have scooped honours at this year’s ECA annual awards, held at the London Hilton Bankside. The awards took place during the ECA’s gala dinner, supported by headline sponsors Ledvance and Electrium. TV personality and comedian, Hugh Dennis, presented the awards to the winning ECA organisations. With a turnover over £20 million, large contractor of the year was won by Imtech Engineering Services Central. The contractor of the year with a turnover of up to £20 million was William Coates, while the contractor with a turnover of up to £5m was named as Bowers Projects. Contractor of the year with a turnover of under £1m was Combined Electricals. The ECIC sponsored an award for best client and contractor partnership, which was presented to A Archer Electrical, while the innovation in contracting award was presented to Haste. Best health and safety initiative award was won by SES Engineering Services while the excellence in training and development award saw another success for Imtech Engineering Services Central. Awards adjudicator and ECA director of member services, Helen Atkinson, commented, ‘Many congratulations to these eight ECA businesses that beat major competition to deservedly win this year’s ECA annual awards.’ Eight ECA businesses beat major competition to win this year’s ECA annual awards. TV personality and comedian, Hugh Dennis, presented the awards to the winning ECA organisations. Average net circulation Ist January 2016 to 30th June 2016: 10,016 The editor and publishers do not necessarily agree with the views expressed by contributors nor do they accept responsibility for any errors in the transmission of the subject matter in this publication. In all matters the editor’s decision is fi nal. Editorial contributions to ECN are welcomed, and the editor reserves the right to alter or abridge text prior to the publication. 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