The past few weeks have vanished in a haze. So what’s new I hear you say? But it’s all good as we are now mid way between the two biggest exhibitions in the world for the boating industry – METS and IBEX. I recently attended IBEX in Tampa alongside our USA Regional Director, James Renn. It is a big event and we met some fascinating people and potential future members of the Institute. I won’t be at METS this year, so will miss the chance to catch up with colleagues and industry friends this time round.
My reason for missing METS is simple. I will be part of the IIMS UAE Branch’s celebrations taking place on 20th November onboard the QE2, now permanently moored in Dubai. It promises to be a great event and a high turn out is expected to mark this event. Perhaps I will meet you there?
I am particularly grateful to IIMS Vice President, Geoff Waddington, for his assistance in putting together an open letter to the yacht and boat manufacturing industry on the subject of latent defects. This is a serious and concerning topic. Since its recent publication via the various IIMS social media channels and online news portals, a number of supportive comments have been received. I will let you make up your own mind on its contents!
IIMS is launching its first WhatsApp group, this one exclusively for UK based canal narrowboat surveyors. I hope over the coming months we can develop this platform further with the launch of a number of specialist interest surveying groups around the globe. If you are an IIMS member and would like to suggest the theme of a group in your area, please email Holly Trinder at HQ.
The IIMS head office team has been in the spotlight this month. We had a very successful overnight team building event, which left a few of the team wet but euphoric as a result. And those in the team who had not been on a survey as part of their induction have now done so. Getting the team to understand the basics of the work as surveyor does is vitally important and as well as a training function, it is also a fun thing to do.
I am just putting the finishing touches to the December Report magazine, edition 89. Keep an eye out for what looks like a cracking publication, which will be published on 1 December.
IIMS has created a Main Safety Briefing Database in excel format which is now available and can be downloaded. It is a mine of valuable information that has been produced for your benefit. I would encourage you to access and download a copy for future reference. Download and save the document as a valuable reference point.
And finally, thanks to those dozen or so surveyors who joined me at the recent Inland Waterways Group event in Stanstead Abbotts, Essex. After a morning of crawling over a collection of boats, some good and very bad, in the morning, we headed off for an afternoon of classroom training. The day happened to coincide with Past President Jeffrey Casciani-Wood’s 89th birthday. A cake duly appeared, and I kept my promise to sing Happy Birthday in Welsh as per his instruction. Fortunately, no recordings exist!
Survey well.
Mike Schwarz
Chief Executive Officer
