The group managing director of building services hygiene contractor Swiftclean, Gary Nicholls, has been elected chairman of the HVCA Ventilation Hygiene Group branch.
He returns to chair the group, having held the position from 2003-2004. He takes over from Nigel Edwards-Hughes.

The HVCA Ventilation Hygiene Group branch was established in 1996 and Nicholls was a founding member. During his membership Nicholls developed the HVCA's specifications and guides for best practice. He has also helped develop three separate ventilation hygiene guidance documents for BSRIA, CIBSE and the HVCA.

Gary Nicholls said: 'Despite the credit crunch, there is little evidence of a downturn in the workload of ventilation and water system hygiene specialists. It is up to us, as a group, to ensure that people remain aware of the health and safety implications of poorly managed systems, as well as the new laws covering fire, health and safety offenses and corporate manslaughter.'

Nicholls' knowledge on kitchen grease extract cleanliness has been used by legal teams where he has acted as an expert witness during claims disputes over insurance/warrantee compliance, in relation to kitchen extract fires. Nicholls recently got involved in helping the HVCA to comment on a Draft European Standard regarding cleanliness of ventilation.