New GA chairman Paul de Backker seeks cooperation and deepening

After years of chairmanship by Piet van Veelen, Paul de Backker of Siemens Nederland has taken over the hammer. And that in turbulent times in which the coronavirus has virtually every industry in its grip. We spoke with the new GA chairman.

By: Dimitri Reijerman

Paul de Backker is driven; his mission statement for the Building Automation sector is rock solid: “I strive for a broadening of the association, through more members and further cooperation with other parties. These can be other associations that are active in the sector, such as KNX Nederland. But also with the TVVL. But these can also be MKB-Nederland or Techniek Nederland. These are the most important steps that we must take in the coming years.”

He continues: “We want to show more of a face to the outside world with GA. But that is only possible if you have a group of members who endorse that and have an interest in it.”

Corona crisis and building automation

The corona pandemic and its economic impact can be an additional driver for even closer cooperation, De Backker believes: “Corona is having a huge impact. The built volume is taking a huge hit. Residentially, everything is already being done to keep housing construction at the desired level of 70,000 to 90,000 homes to be built per year. Part of our association also earns its living in this business.”

“Utility construction will be a completely different story,” says the new chairman. “In healthcare, there will still be investments in buildings to make them safe and expand them. Think of elderly care. But the expectation is that office buildings will get a whole new life. Offices will become much more of a place to meet each other, and the old normal of five days at the office will often no longer be achieved. Redesigning those buildings in terms of function and installations is feasible. So I expect a sharp decline for new construction, but an increase in demand for renovation and adaptation.”

Corona also has an impact on the much-desired sustainability of buildings, says De Backker: “A number of the existing ventilation strategies are currently not done. At the moment, as much outside air as possible has to be brought in. Health now comes before energy efficiency, something you can see now. We have to look for the best solution within the possibilities that exist.”

A shift can also be seen among building operators: “Sustainability, such as through the use of solar energy or geothermal energy, seems to be taking a back seat. The primary focus of building owners is on 'how do I keep it rentable, liveable and how do I ensure it is safe'.”

Importance of ventilation

The GA sector can play an important role in rewriting ventilation strategies: “We are currently working with other parties to clarify how safe ventilation is possible. Management systems and monitoring of air quality are important aspects in this. Here you are talking about a collaboration between the building automation discipline and the heating and air-conditioning side of a building. It is important that we find each other in solutions that benefit the market and the users of the buildings. De Backker is quite positive about the meetings with members during the corona period: “A number of FHI events have been cancelled, that is true. We were able to hold a GA meeting in a hybrid format: partly with attendees and partly online, about fifty-fifty. That went well and we received good responses. Bits Bricks & Behaviour in November is a complete week that has already been fully booked and is in the process of being prepared. That will be a completely virtual experience. The willingness to participate looks good. And with the FHI building in Leusden we are also working on organizing small face-to-face events.”

Looking to the future, the new GA chairman sees many challenges ahead: “We need to look more at the networks and security. Remote access to the installations has enormous potential, but of course it has to be secure. Without the risk of hacking. More generally: monitoring a healthy living environment in a building remains extremely important. So we will constantly keep our finger on the pulse of the built environment.”