What's your professional experience in timber?
My first qualification was structural engineering; I followed that with a PhD in timber engineering. My PhD thesis was on connections of plywood box beams - a more practical topic than many!
That naturally pointed me towards the timber industry and consulting - which I've been doing for more years that I'll admit to.
How do you find the general level of knowledge about timber among design professionals?
It's actually very low. Most architects, engineers and building designers cover at least some aspects of wood in undergraduate courses, but like many things, if you're not regularly using the information, you tend to forget it. People get familiar with a material and that's what they tend to use and reuse.
What's the most common response to Lunch & Learn presentations?
More please! Once we've done a presentation, people usually want us to come back and cover some of the other topics. The hardest thing is getting the first one off the ground. Building professionals are used to salespeople doing the hard sell on a particular product. I think they are delighted to find that we are 'telling, not selling' and it's all useful generic information.
There are currently ten Lunch & Learn topics - what are the most popular?
Wood Basics is probably number one - a refresher course for most people. Finishes & Coatings and Design for Durability are also common choices - then Inspirational Projects is always enjoyed - there are some brilliant structures in the presentation.
(See the full list of Tutorial presentations here)
So people choose one presentation - how long does it take?
We can present one at a time - and that usually takes 45 minutes to an hour. However a lot of people prefer to book two at once and we can usually cover the main information in 75-90 minutes or so.
What type of audiences do you present to?
They range from a single firm to a professional group. It's better with a larger audience, it seems to encourage more interaction. So far I've presented mainly to architects and building designers - it would be great to talk to more engineers - some of the topics are spot on for them.
I've done regional presentations too. It's just a mater of getting a large enough audience together.
Are people interested in continuing professional development (CPD) points?
In Victoria, not usually because as I understand it, CPD is not compulsory, yet. In states where it's mandatory, I think it's more of a motivator.
Thanks Alastair, is there anything you'd like to add?
Only to say that most people are surprised to find out how much they enjoy the presentations - our feedback has been 100% positive! Wood is such a versatile material and new engineered timber products are creating a huge range of opportunities. When we talk about innovations like CLT (cross laminated timber), or show some of the inspirational projects, it's amazing how many people say, "Wow, I've a job that I could use more wood in..."
For more information or to enquire about a WoodSolutions Tutorial, please follow this link.