WIN! £100 - Interserve

Transcription

APRIL 2015
ISSUE 02
FOR THE
PEOPLE AT
FOOD
THAT’S
FIRST
CLASS
PAGES 8-9
WATER
FOR LIFE
PAGE 4
WIN! £100
HAVING A BALL
PAGE 5
IN VOUCHERS BY TELLING US HOW
YOU AIM TO BE ACCIDENT FREE!
TOMMY’S
ONE
OF MY
BOYS!
Praise from
Mrs Brown
telly star
Business
with a
capital
bee
Brendan O’Carroll
as award-winning
Mrs Brown
In the
headlines:
Tommy Grant
TOMMY Grant got the
shock of his life when
he tuned in to watch the
National TV Awards and
heard his name.
The 55-year-old security duty manager was gobsmacked when Mrs
Brown’s Boys star Brendan O’Carroll
gave him a personal mention during
his acceptance speech after winning
the Best Comedy Award.
Tommy, who works on the BBC contract at Pacific Quay in Glasgow, where
the show is filmed, was watching at home
with his wife when the actor paid tribute
to him.
Brendan told the celebrity audience:
“We’ve got a great lot of people behind
us, including Tommy the security man in
Glasgow. Without him, we couldn’t make
the show.”
HIT THE HEADLINES
Tommy made the headlines following
the name-check, with the news featuring in
Scotland’s Daily Record.
Actor Gary Hollywood, who plays hairdresser Dino in the show, told the newspaper that Tommy went “above and beyond
the call of duty” to make sure the cast
had everything they needed, from getting
parked in the right place to making sure
their passes were up to date.
Tommy, a big fan of the hit show, couldn’t
believe his luck when the Mrs Brown’s
Boys team came to film at Glasgow.
He told Focus: “The cast and crew are
very down to earth and appreciate the work
that we do.
“We always go the extra mile to help out
with everyone who walks through the doors
at Pacific Quay.
“I couldn’t believe it when Brendan mentioned me. It’s nice, but knowing Brendan
he has done this just to wind me up.”
PAGE 3
Page 2
April 2015
RESIDENTS in a London borough
are being recruited for local jobs
thanks to a new employer-led
Interserve programme.
Nineteen people in Southwark
have so far been offered jobs as
a result of the pilot scheme, with
more than 80 of the 100 residents
who have registered participating
in training or workshops.
Tony Sanders, managing
director of professional services
– Interserve Support Services,
said: “We have an on-going
dialogue with Southwark Council
because we run its facilities.
When we discovered that one of
its biggest challenges was getting
unemployed residents back to
work, we offered to help.
“We’ve taken a different
approach by looking at the
jobs we’ve got available as an
employer in London and providing
residents with the help and
training to get them.”
The project is led by Interserve
human resources programme
manager Syreeta Bayne.
Those taking part have had
opportunities to attend workshops
to see if they are suitable for
interviews for Interserve security
jobs.
Chris Jusu, security officer at
Knightsbridge Guarding, said:
“Getting this job has changed my
life. I started looking for a security
role after the printing firm I
worked for closed down, but never
even got an interview.
“I learned lots at Interserve’s
workshop. Within a few weeks of
being referred to the programme I
had been offered this job.”
W
Tony Sanders and
Peter John, leader
of Southwark
Council
Results cheer
A STRONG set of financial results for 2014
sent Interserve’s share
price rising more than
10 per cent, following
the announcement of
our annual figures in
February.
More than 50 City investors and analysts attended the results in London,
where chief executive Adrian Ringrose
and chief financial officer Tim Haywood
outlined how the business had performed in 2014.
The presentation was also watched
by hundreds of employees and
shareholders on a live webcast.
Among the highlights were more
than £4 billion of new business won in
2014; revenue growth of 33 per cent;
a rise of 35 per cent in total operating profit and – a note to cheer shareholders – a recommended increase of
seven per cent to the full-year dividend.
Investors were cheered not only by
the strong growth in 2014, but by the
promise of more to come, with a record
future workload of £8.1 billion, up 26
per cent year-on-year.
Following the presentation,
Adrian spent the day speaking to
City analysts and journalists, and
being interviewed for the likes of the
Financial Times, City AM and Reuters.
Adrian said: “2014 was a landmark
year for the business where we managed to deliver strong growth despite
challenging economic conditions in a
number of the markets we’re involved
in.
“We made two important acquisitions in Initial Facilities and the
Employment and Skills Group, which
have strengthened our presence in
outsourcing.
“Looking to the future, we are
encouraged by the growth potential
of the business and I’d like to thank
each and every one of our employees
for your efforts in helping make us the
success story we are today.”
Missed the webcast? You can catch up here www.interserve.com/investor-centre/financial-reports-and-results
Supporting National
Apprenticeship Week
"I’m learning loads of information in
all different areas; one day I could be
shadowing an estimator, the next day
I could be on site. Everyone is helping
me get some experience of different
construction disciplines so I can make
the right decision for my future.” – Harry,
17, studying advanced apprenticeship in
Construction and the Built Environment at
Leicester College.
Visit our SustainAbilities hub to read about
the experiences of apprentices from
across our business.
http://sustainabilities.interserve.com/
MEET
THE
BUSINESS
JOINED PURPLE FUTURES, OUR
INTERSERVE-LED PARTNERSHIP
PROVIDING PROBATION AND
REHABILITATION SERVICES FOR
THE GOVERNMENT
elcome to the spring edition
of Focus.
It’s already shaping up to
be a busy year as we build on last
year’s Herculean efforts - we added
over 20,000 people to the business,
grew revenue by a third and ended
2014 with a record future workload
in excess of £8 billion. The Annual
Report is hot off the press and our
results are summarised on this
page.
I’d like to pay tribute to the great
performance we all achieved in
2014 and to say a huge thank you
to everybody.
Just before Christmas we
bought another new company, the
JOINED AS PART
OF THE B&Q
COMMERCIAL
MOBILISATION
view
ADRIAN RINGROSE
third annual IEF Ball in Birmingham,
which - as well as being a cracking
night out - raised an extraordinary
£75,000 for good causes (see pages
8-9).
But there’s more to come –
we’ll soon be launching a global
fundraising scheme where we try to
‘travel’ around the world for the IEF.
You might already be taking
part in a marathon or organising to
swim, walk, run or cycle with your
colleagues. You can donate some or
all money raised to the IEF, which
will be given back to our local
communities through our grantgiving scheme. Keep an eye out
on MyInterserve and IRIS for more
Thank you for your
Herculean efforts
Employment and Skills Group (esg),
a leading provider of training and
apprenticeships. We now have the
expertise and capacity to deliver
over 11,000 apprenticeships for a
range of employers in the UK over
the next 12 months, and it’s a
great example of how businesses
can be a real force for good in
society.
A couple of years ago we
outlined our intention to grow this
area of our business - supporting
the Government providing public
services in the public interest.
The Interserve Employee
Foundation (IEF) is one of the best
examples of how big businesses
like ours can be about more
than just delivering profits for
shareholders. I was lucky enough
to join more than 700 people at the
information.
Finally, important news on our
2015 Recognition Awards scheme,
which is now live.
Line managers can recognise
excellent performance with our
two awards: Anytime awards,
which instantly reward team
members with a certificate and
small prize, and Annual awards,
which give colleagues the chance
to attend our Group annual awards
event in November and win up to
£2,000.
You don’t have to be a line
manager to nominate someone
today, simply let your team
member’s line manager know why
they deserve to be recognised.
Get nominating now – look at
MyInterserve and Iris to find out
more.
TELL US WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT
FOCUS AND YOU COULD WIN £50
Visit MyInterserve and take part in our reader survey to tell us what you think.
One name will be drawn at random to win a £50 shopping voucher.
130
WELCOME!
MORE NEW
EMPLOYEES
JOIN THE
INTERSERVE
GROUP
IN MY
New hope for London jobless
JOINED AS PART OF THE PANEUROPEAN SONY DEFENCE
CONTRACT
ARE SET TO JOIN AS PART
OF NEW INDUSTRIAL
CONTRACTS WITH EATON,
ALSTOM POWER & GRID,
PHILLIPS AND NISSAN
HAVE COME ON
BOARD THROUGH THE
DLR COMMERCIAL
CONTRACT
INTERSERVE ENGINEERING SERVICES CONGRATS!
ESTABLISHED: 1947
(previously known as HOW
Engineering Services)
EMPLOYEES: 408
Who are we?
We are recognised as one
of the UK’s top five building
services providers. We deliver
specialist engineering services
with a focus on long-term
partnerships and frameworks.
We are also market leaders
in health and education, with
a fantastic reputation for
delivering world-class facilities.
Where are we?
We have a headquarters in
Birmingham, with regional
hubs at Bristol, Manchester,
Leeds, Plymouth and London,
and expansion plans for East
Midlands, Cambridgeshire and
Scotland.
What do we do?
We are experts in off-site
manufacturing and modular
construction, utilising our
in-house design team to
provide intelligent solutions for
clients.
Our specialist engineering
services include design,
procurement, installation,
off-site manufacturing,
commissioning and on-going
aftercare. We also take
a proactive approach to
innovation and driving a low
carbon future by developing
services that reduce energy
consumption and bring
performance benefits to our
customers. As part of our
commitment to inspiring
tomorrow’s engineers, we
take pride in creating career
pathways with leading
education and training
providers and are proud of
our best-in-class approach to
apprenticeship programmes.
Our turnover
£91 million in 2013/14.
Our ambition
To be a top three UK
building services provider.
By becoming bigger, better
and stronger, we’re aiming to
increase our turnover to circa
£250 million by focussing on
the cross-selling of group-
wide services.
Our projects
Delivering life-changing
schemes that include the
UK’s first Proton Beam
Therapy Unit at The Christie
Hospital in Manchester and
maintaining services on
complex landmark projects
at the Old Bailey and Bank of
England is what sets us apart.
We have delivered pioneering
projects in the manufacturing
and commercial sectors for
Haribo, Jaguar Land Rover,
West Yorkshire Police and the
BBC. We are currently on-site
at the Birmingham Dental
Hospital delivering one of
the UK’s largest training and
skills facilities and building on
a decade of partnership with
the University of Birmingham
during construction of its new
indoor sports centre.
Our awards
• Finalist, Construction News
Specialist Awards: Building
Services Specialist of the Year.
• Finalist, H&V News Awards:
Building Services Project of
the Year – Jaguar Land Rover
Engine Manufacturing Centre
UK.
• Royal Society for the
Prevention of Accidents
(RoSPA) President’s Award
2013 and 2014. We are aiming
for top honours with a RoSPA
distinction award in 2016,
marking 15 consecutive
exemplar H&S performances.
WRITE TO US If you have a story for Focus, or want to submit a competition entry, email [email protected]
HERE ARE THE
LUCKY WINNERS OF
FOCUS DECEMBER’S
COMPETITIONS
Juliano Heinemann wins a
£100 Love2Shop voucher
FOCUS READERSHIP
SURVEY: Olwen Langford
wins a £50 Love2Shop
voucher
Focus Knowledge
Gill Caine wins a £50
Love2Shop voucher
Mrs I Boyle wins a £100
Love2Shop voucher
April 2015
Tomorrow, the
world for RMD
Kwikform
Page 3
Up on the roof:
Dolly Holguin,
right, with
Camilla Goddard
from Capital Bee
RMD Kwikform has kicked off 2015 with the
launch of a new UK enterprise.
The new business arm is offering a variety
of ground shoring systems and aims to
expand the range to global markets.
And RMD Kwikform has already set itself
apart from competitors by being the only UK
hire company to offer products that are Euro
Code compliant and CE approved.
The move will enable it to service the
complete requirements of customers, from
in-the-ground shoring to formwork and
falsework, providing the market with a single
supplier solution.
UK managing director Mike Follett said:
“This is a natural move for RMD Kwikform,
as the business has a solid reputation in
the construction industry for both product
innovation and engineering excellence.
“The shoring market is certainly in need
of a new player and we have the capital
investment behind us to deliver a top-tobottom solution for customers, all of which is
backed by specialist technical expertise.”
The new products are available now and it
is hoped that larger excavation systems will
be introduced later this year.
Glimpse of
the future
Factory 2050
THE public was given a unique look behind
the scenes of Interserve Construction projects
during Open Doors Weekend.
The annual event showcases the range of
career opportunities that construction offers,
as well as the wide range of skills that come
together to make buildings and infrastructure
part of everyday life.
The weekend, the result of a partnership
between four industry bodies, also aims to
demonstrate the importance of construction
to both the national and regional economies.
Interserve Construction opened the doors
of several of its sites including St Piers School
for Young Epilepsy in Surrey; Factory 2050 in
Sheffield; Glasgow Recycling and Renewable
Energy Centre; Boathouse 4 in Portsmouth
and the University of Wolverhampton
Business School, giving visitors a glimpse of
how the exciting projects are unfolding.
A new job in
Docklands
INTERSERVE has won a £32 million contract
for cleaning and security services for the
Docklands Light Railway (DLR) in London.
Carried out on behalf of KeolisAmey
Docklands, the contract will see Interserve
implement services across seven routes
and 45 depots, supporting the 278,000
passengers that use the metro everyday.
More than 130 people have (TUPE)
transferred to Interserve to manage the 24/7
operations, which will include station and
fleet cleaning; vegetation control; depot
security; events stewarding; security revenue
protection and barrier control.
Graham Thwaites, managing director for
transport at Interserve, said: “Our team will
utilise best practice, innovation and process
re-engineering to ensure services continue to
deliver a clean, safe and secure environment
for the DLR and the one million passengers
that use it every year.”
There’s a
real buzz
up on
our roof
DOLLY Holguin gets a real
buzz from going to work –
literally.
The Support Services employee’s passion for sustainability has led her to make
a new home for hundreds of bees amid the
expansive rooftop of Cannon Bridge House
in London, where Interserve
runs a Waste and Sustainability Program and Cleaning Services Management on behalf
of CBRE.
install two hives on the rooftop in April last year.
And after just four months, the bees had produced 54 jars of honey.
Dolly said that after distributing some of the harvest to the building’s tenants, around 30 jars were
then sold to raise money for the Oxfam Plan Bee
Project, which helps women beekeepers in Ethiopia
increase their production and ultimately generate
more money to support their families.
“It has been an amazing program so far and the
bees seem to have a really
good time,” said Dolly.
“Camilla is very dedicated to the bees.
“She checks on them
once a week during spring
and summer, then they spend most of winter
asleep.”
The initiative, together with the team’s successful recycling schemes, also helped Cannon Bridge
House earn the prestigious Chairman’s Cup for
Medium Sites and Facilities Management at the
City of London Clean City Awards earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Dolly has organised for beehives to
be installed around other buildings in the city.
The bees seem
to have a really
good time
Area manager Dolly established
the hives after hearing from a friend
about similar initiatives being set up
across the city.
“I thought the rooftop gardens would be perfect
for beehives and after looking at what other places
were doing, I decided to try and find a company that
could provide us with some bees,” she explained.
“I found a small company called Capital Bee and
invited them to see the building and the gardens.”
After impressing Capital Bee’s director Camilla
Goddard with the space, Dolly organised for her to
Camilla and
Dolly check on
the bees
BEE LUCKY, YOU
Dolly’s bees have buzzed
off onto the pages of Focus
and we need your help to
find them! One has landed
here, but there’ll be more
than a pot of honey waiting
for you if you can tell us
how many more have
escaped – you could win a
£50 Love2Shop voucher.
Simply email your answer
along with your details to
[email protected]
The closing date is May 8
and the winner will be the
first correct
answer drawn
at random.
Page 4
April 2015
Pupils give the
thumbs up to their
tasty new dishes
CLASSROOM COOK
S
n Larmenier’s Chock-A-
Block
n Chicken Wrap
n Queensway’s Sugar
and Spice
Cookie
n Woodland’s Mumbai
Meatballs
with Spicy Tomato Sa
uce and
Turmeric and Onion Ric
e
n Elmwood’s Funky Fru
it Sundae
S
D
Merger
I
K
F
E
H
C
R
E
T
MAS
boost for
PRIMARY school pupils are having their
culinary creations rolled out to dinner
halls across the country thanks to Eden
Foodservice.
The Classroom Cooks project gives
youngsters the chance to develop a
dish from scratch that will be served
on a national menu and delivered to
approximately 300 primary schools
under Eden’s contract.
The initiative allows the budding
chefs to play a key part in Eden’s
menu development process, while also
learning about the importance of
healthy eating and cooking.
DISHES ON THE MEN
U:
Rachael Venditti, development
n Dorset Road’s Chine
manager at Interserve Support
se Chicken
and Rice
Services, said: “We are continually
seeking ways to understand what
n St Peter’s Choc-OBerry
pupils like and want to eat.
Muffins
“We engaged with them in lots
n Mawnan’s Mexican
of different ways and wanted to
Quesadilla
take that further by giving them
n Whitleigh’s Wicked
Chicken
the opportunity to create dishes for
n Saville Park’s Spicy
other children.”
Shepherd’s Pie
So far, nine schools have
developed dishes through Classroom
Cooks, with three new meals set to hit
the menu this spring from schools in
Plymouth, Cornwall and Halifax.
Rachael explained the process began
with Eden nutritionists and chefs visiting
the participating schools to support
pupils in discussing what dishes they
would like to make and how they could
be prepared.
They then voted for their favourite.
She said the recipes were then
cooked for the pupils to taste and
evaluate, and they were also tasked with
naming the dishes.
“It has been quite surprising to see
what the pupils have come up with,”
said Rachael.
“There have been some real classic
dishes such as shepherd’s pie and a lot
more savoury dishes than we thought
there might be.”
n A Classroom Cooks cookbook has
now been launched to allow families to
create the recipes at home.
Bridge to future
RMD Kwikform is helping to make history in
the Far East.
The business is carrying out
works on the £6.5 billion Hong
Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.
Once completed in 2016 it will be one
of the world’s longest bridges at 29.6
kilometres.
The bridge will establish a new transport link between Hong Kong, Zhuhai
and Macau – the three major cities on the
Pearl River Delta in China.
RMD Kwikform is designing and providing specialist formwork and shoring
solutions on a key 12.9-kilometre section
of the bridge that will form the dual threelane Hong Kong Link Road.
Noel Kennedy, general manager
of RMD Kwikform Hong Kong, said
throughout the first 12 months of the project the team had to overcome challenges
presented by its ‘rolling’ design and construction method.
“Probably the most significant challenge has been the design of varying
solutions for the construction of numerous land piers and portal beams,” he
explained.
“By using 3D techniques, we have been
able to manipulate models to include a
large amount of standard equipment.
“However, due to the nature of the
project and its scale, there has been a significant requirement for bespoke elements
to be designed and fabricated.”
The team had to pull out all the stops
and work hard with the local supply chain
to deliver the tailored aspects.
Noel said: “Getting it right was crucial
and required us to go from design sign-off
to site delivery in just 12 weeks.
“RMD believes the key to success of
these projects is the principles and practices put in place at the start right through
the project chain, from initial design,
equipment sourcing, logistics, site support
and safety.
“It’s certainly going to be one of the
world’s greatest bridge projects and it’s
great to see products invented in the UK
used on its construction.”
The Hong KongZhuhai-Macau
Bridge takes shape
New record
at foodbank
Volunteers lend a hand:
(from left) Connor
Christie, Oliver Hollick,
Lisa Billingham, Nigel
Churchman, Nick Hirst,
Joanne Hollick
INTERSERVE has broken its Foodbank
Challenge record for the second year
running after collecting a staggering 1.6
tonnes of food.
The business donated 3,475 items
to Birmingham Central Foodbank – the
biggest donation it had ever received
from a single company.
It meant the organisation was able to
provide around 720 meals to families with
children.
As well as donating food, employees
also staged fundraising to buy other
items. Meanwhile, six employees gave
a day of their time to volunteer at the
Foodbank to deliver, sort, date and pack
the food ready for distribution.
training
INTERSERVE has welcomed 700
employees to the Group following
the acquisition of the Employment
and Skills Group (esg).
Esg is one of the UK’s largest private sector providers of
apprenticeships and employment
services for the government and
employers.
It manages an area of the
Government’s
Work
Programme in the West Midlands,
as well as providing vocational
training in three new Further Education colleges in Saudi Arabia
under the Kingdom’s Colleges of
Excellence programme.
The business has now been successfully merged with Interserve’s
existing skills and welfare enterprise Interserve Working Futures,
to become Interserve Learning
and Employment.
Interserve
Learning
and
Employment operates a wide
range of apprenticeship programmes, traineeships and workbased training and assessments.
Learners range in age from 16
to 65 – from school leavers to
people wanting to improve their
skills.
Some young people are recruited by us and matched to an
employer or vacancy, while others
are already employed and sign-up
for an apprenticeship to improve
their chances of promotion.
Kim Pattison, head of communications and public affairs at
esg, said: “We see the acquisition
as being a very positive development for both our employees and
our customers.
“The
pace
of
integration has been rapid, we are
sharing best practices and
our skills team is making excellent progress in promoting
apprenticeship opportunities to
our Interserve colleagues.
“Additionally, we have already
seen the benefits of combining
core corporate functions expertise,
such as IT, finance and human
resources, which in turn will be
felt by the learners and jobseekers
we’re helping.”
Have scissors,
will travel
Judy Li works as a
lead assessor for
apprenticeships
in hairdressing
and barbering.
A former salon
owner, she’s
got 10 years of training
experience.
“My job involves travelling
around salons in South
Yorkshire, mainly teaching
level 2 and 3 National
Vocational Qualifications
(NVQs) to apprentices. I really
enjoy helping people fulfil their
potential.
“It’s definitely not a 9-5 job
– I work quite a few evenings
to accommodate the needs of
different salons.
“Although I work on my own
most of the time, being part of
the wider hair team is brilliant.
I know I can contact my
manager or other members
of the team for help and I will
always get a response.”
April 2015
Step into our
virtual world,
clients told
COMPUTER game technology
is taking RMD Kwikform customers into another world.
The computer-aided design
(CAD) team is using augmented
and virtual reality techniques to
bring the business’ products and
concepts to life.
The team of five, based at the
UK head office in Aldridge, is
taking product drawings and animations to the next level by creat-
ing a virtual world for customers
to experience.
John Watson, divisional CAD
manager, explained: “We needed
quicker ways of presenting ideas
to the customer and gaming technology provided this.
“So we investigated the world
of gaming, which allows the user
control of their on-screen environment.
“The advantage here was the
ability to linger over a particular
element or zoom in, so if you are
selling the benefits of a system
you are able to highlight important aspects.”
John said changes were quick
and easy to achieve with the software, compared with traditional
rendering of animations, and this
spawned further avenues of interest in Virtual Reality (VR) and
Augmented Reality (AR).
“We were able to take the
gaming element one step further
and put it into the immersive
world of VR,” he said.
“We do that with a stereoscopic headset and the wearer
uses this and a game controller
to navigate their way through a
virtual world.”
One area where the technology is now being used is with
the development of products for
RMD Kwikform’s
new ground shoring
business.
“We’ve built a VR
world with trenches
and our ground shoring equipment that
allows people to walk
through the trench and
even look inside components to see their
workings,” said John.
Following the success of Virtual Reality, the team began to
look at how they could use Augmented Reality.
“AR creates a 3D computer
model on screen and combines
this with a real world background, something often now
seen on television news programmes,” explained John.
“The technology allows us to
create technical drawings and
computer models and put the
two together in front of our customer’s eyes, or we can simply
show the range of products in an
interactive way.
“We think this will really benefit our sales force when they
are explaining our products and
features to clients.”
The team is currently offering
AR through an iPad App and
a PC-based system, the latter
being developed in the Middle
East.
Page 5
The ancient remains of
two males, thought to
be soldiers, discovered
by a team of workers
from Support Services.
Pictures courtesy of York
Archaeological Trust
GRISLY PAST
UNEARTHED
A SUPPORT Services
team made a grisly
discovery when they
unearthed a mass grave
of ancient skeletons in
York.
The surprise find – which is said
to date back to the 1460s – occurred
while the team was carrying out a
£7 million project for client Northern Powergrid, which involved
replacing more than 6,500 metres of
underground cable to strengthen the
city’s electricity network.
Due to York being one of only four
designated UK areas of archaeological importance, the Interserve team and
power company worked in partnership
with City of York Council and York
Archaeology Trust, who had a team of
archaeologists present on site at all times.
Employees discovered the first of the
bones while working in an area known as
Knavesmire, sparking a larger excavation
by the Trust’s experts.
Weeks of painstaking
excavation in two deep
trenches revealed
the remains of 12
skeletons that were
identified as male
and mostly aged
between 25 and 40 at the time of their
death. Evidence suggests they were Lancastrian soldiers.
Dave Aspden of York Archaeological
Trust said: “The Knavesmire was the
site of York’s Tyburn, where convicted
criminals were executed right up to 1802.
“The men may have been captured in
battle and brought to York for execution.
“It was possibly in the aftermath of the
Battle of Towton during the Wars of the
Roses, with the remains hastily buried
near the gallows.”
Andrew Robinson, senior quantity
surveyor at Interserve
Industrial Services,
Power Division, said
the team had supported the delivery
of many key network
projects as one of
Northern Powergrid’s
contractors.
He told Focus: “Undoubtedly this is
our most interesting one to date and
we’re proud to have been part of this
special archaeological find.”
The skeletons have been handed to
York Archaeological Trust to protect and
preserve.
They may have
been brought
for execution
FLUSHING THE LOO IS A PRIVILEGE
Roger Full
discovers what
life is like without
proper access to
fresh water during
a trip to Uganda
ROGER FULL will never take flushing
the toilet for granted again.
After returning from a life-changing
trip to Uganda, the Interserve
Construction commercial manager
knows what a privilege it is to access
fresh water everyday.
Led by international charity
WaterAid, the week-long trip aimed
to demonstrate how its funds were
being used, coinciding with the United
Nation’s World Toilet Day initiative.
Roger was invited to attend by client
South West Water, which supports
WaterAid as a charity partner.
“We visited villages where they
were walking up to 10 kilometres a day
each way to retrieve fresh water,” said
Roger. “Then we went to those that had
received help from WaterAid where they
were only walking a kilometre or two.
“There are a lot of farming
communities there and a lot of cattle,
so it’s not just important to have water
for the villagers, but also their animals.”
The trip also took Roger on an
emotional visit to two slums in
Kampala.
“It was really quite horrible to see
children playing in sewerage and
happily doing so because they don’t
know any different.
“There was also a lot of racketeering
going on where people had installed
pumps and were charging a fortune for
others to access the water.”
Roger explained WaterAid had helped
introduce a number of initiatives to
communities such as a pay as you
go system for water, and had carried
out vital sanitation and drainage
improvements.
“We learnt that one in five of the
world’s population are without a safe
water source, while one in 10 are
without proper sanitation,” he added.
Since returning from Uganda, Roger
has shared his experiences through
presentations to his colleagues and
employees at South West Water, as
well as local primary schools and
community groups.
“It’s important to pass the
information on and encourage people
in our company and in my local
community to raise money for this.”
WOMEN WHO MAKE
IT HAPPEN
Page 6
April 2015
Last month, International Women’s Day 2015
celebrated the theme of ‘Make it Happen’. To
mark the worldwide event, Focus caught up with
four employees to find out how they made it
happen in their careers.
I enjoy the
pressure
NAME
Lianne Lawson
JOB TITLE
Site manager at Interserve
Construction and
director for Interserve
Employee Foundation.
Lianne currently works
as a site manager on the
new Advanced Manufacturing Research
Centre – Factory 2050 in Sheffield.
NAME
Alma Podador
Lufernez
JOB TITLE
Yard manager,
RMD Kwikform
Philippines, Southern
Region
What was your first role with
Interserve? I joined in 2007 as a trainee
engineer halfway through my Construction
Management Degree at Leeds Metropolitan
University. I started working with Interserve
on the Leeds Building Schools for the Future
projects, alongside completing my degree.
What was your
first role with Interserve?
Working in yard administration.
How did you progress your career
to your current role? After working in
How did you progress your career
to your current role? Through the
the different areas of yard administration,
an opportunity arose for the position of
supervisor and I was asked if I would
like to take it on. I was pleased that the
management believed I could do it and
trusted in me. Last year I moved into the
newly created yard manager role.
Facing challenges and learning from
them, as well as hard work and dedication,
are some of the key elements to achieving
success.
technical side of construction and constantly
gaining experience from those around me.
I moved from a trainee to an engineer and
slowly started taking on more managerial
responsibilities until I had the opportunity to
run my first project, which was BBC Radio
York. Throughout this time, I was completing
my degree. I also won Student of the Year and
an Interserve Training Trust Award.
What have been the biggest
challenges you’ve faced in your
career? Handling different people who
NAME
Tania M.D. Alkhalidi
JOB TITLE
Design manager
at Khansaheb
Interiors,
Dubai
work in the yard is one of the them, but
I have learnt from it. Also dealing with
concerned managers and clients when
solving issues related to logistics can be
challenging.
What are the biggest rewards
you personally get out of your
role? I enjoy the pressure of the role and
overcoming the challenges. It is rewarding
to feel trusted by the company and to be
recognised for doing a good job.
What advice would you give to
other women who want to ‘make
it happen’ in their careers? Value
yourself and don’t limit yourself. Consider
your job a challenge everyday and keep
growing and proving to yourself that you
can handle the responsibility.
If you weren’t a yard manager what
would you be doing now? I would
still be doing a professional job because
that’s what I have always dreamed of. My
ambition has always been to work in a
stable job and support my family.
Interserve? Joinery draftsperson
How did you progress your career to
your current role? My first project involved
a lot more than shop drawings. We were fitting
out a villa for one of Dubai’s prominent families
and the construction manager would take me
to site with him.
He realised I had more potential, so he allowed
me to attend meetings on my own, coordinate
with our procurement team and manage the
site team alongside doing shop drawings on
my own after just three months.
As Khansaheb Joinery grew, we employed
more draftsmen and I finally became a design
manager. I’m curious by nature: I question my
managers and try to find solutions.
NAME
Julie Gordon
JOB TITLE
Managing director,
First Security Group,
Lancaster Cleaning and
Support
Services, The
Perception and
Knightsbridge.
Interserve? This is my first role – I joined as
part of the Initial Facilities acquisition.
How did you progress your career to
your current role? I originally trained as
a caterer before taking on a trainee manager
role with a contract caterer. Our clients were
We are great motivators
and communicators
The key part to my progression was, and
still is, to listen to those around me. The years
of experience and knowledge of construction
among people on sites is priceless. Working
hard and putting that into practice, along
with training and support from my senior
management, has led me to my current job.
rewarding part of being a site manager is the
ability to bring a team of different trades and
backgrounds together to work towards creating
a beautiful new building.
What have been the biggest challenges
you’ve faced in your career? There have
a willingness to listen and learn, being open to
new ideas and initiatives and getting involved at
any given opportunity has helped me progress.
Create a good network of people that have
trust and a belief in you and you in them. I also
believe that women are great communicators
and motivators, and when coming into a male
dominated world it is important to not lose
those aspects.
been a few hurdles to jump during my time
in construction, the main ones being my age,
experience and occasionally my gender. Asking
a tradesman to change his way of working for
safety or quality reasons usually resulted in:
“I’ve been doing it this way for 30 years”. But
being tactful, and sensitively getting them to
understand why I was asking, always resulted
in a positive transformation.
What are the biggest rewards you
personally get out of your role? The best
part of being in construction is working with
diverse people on lots of different projects and
the constant changing environment. The most
What advice would you give to other
women who want to ‘make it happen’
in their careers? I found that perseverance,
If you weren’t a site manager what
would you be doing now? Prior to my
Construction Management Degree, I considered
a course in Architectural Engineering, inspired
slightly by my older brother who is an
architect. I think I was destined for a career in
construction!
Be curious and hungry to learn
career? Definitely motivating my
subordinates. Many are just happy having an
8am-5pm desk job where they can get on with
their work with little interaction with others.
Being a draftsperson is not a simple position,
in my opinion the drawing room is possibly
the most important office in any construction/
engineering company. The information needs
to be accurate to avoid problems or financial
losses. I have to find ways of motivating the
team, developing their weaknesses and making
their day more exciting as it can get stressful.
personally get out of your role? Seeing
the end result of a project I’ve been handling.
Most projects take between six months to a
year to complete and we face a lot of problems,
challenges and delays. You need patience to
keep going. Standing in the middle of a hotel
lobby or a restaurant after completion gives me
great pride. You can’t help but think “Wow! We
made this happen.”
What advice would you give to
other women who want to ‘make
it happen’ in their careers? Act like a
man, think like a woman. Every job is different
but being in an ‘all male’ work environment
in the Middle East is not easy for a woman.
But just because we are the minority does
not mean we cannot do the job just as good.
Don’t settle for anything if it’s not convincing.
Question things until you’re completely
satisfied and be curious and hungry to learn
something new. And most importantly, enjoy
your job.
If you weren’t a design manager
what would you be doing now? As
a teenager, I had many interests. I loved
travelling, did a lot of DIY at home, and had
an interest in forensic science, photography,
geology and archeology. If I didn’t make it
into the construction industry, I’d probably be
travelling around the world, exploring every
nook and corner. Two years ago I started
scuba diving and I’m now working on my dive
master course.
Think big and challenge the norm
large City organisations and I undertook tasks
from merchandising and stock control, to front
of house. I later joined a small catering and
cleaning company, which provided a boutique
service for companies and completed a HR
degree while I was there.
I then joined Outsourced Client Solutions and
worked on a contract for the Victoria & Albert
Museum in London – the first organisation of its
kind to outsource.
Ten years ago I joined Knightsbridge when it
was a small security company delivering highend services in London.
We built the company based on service and
it was sold to Initial Facilities in 2010. It was
acquired by Interserve last May.
I’ve had lots of experience around relationship
management, working in the professional
services sector and understanding the focus
around governance and compliance. The role
I do today draws on all those experiences and
skills.
career? Getting people to innovate and
embrace change. Our industry has a tendency
to resist new ways of working.
personally get out of your role? People
development is the biggest for me. It is very
rewarding to see people fulfill their potential and
achieve their professional goals.
What advice would you give to other
women who want to ‘make it happen’
in their careers? Have a clear direction of
where you want to be: don’t set your own
limits and don’t let other people set them either.
Think big; challenge the norm; always ask
questions.
If you weren’t a managing
director what would you be doing
now? I would own a restaurant. I am into food,
but I also think owning a restaurant is about
serving great food in a great atmosphere.
Catherine Ward, Group HR director, shares how she became the only female member of Interserve’s executive board on our SustainAbilities blog at sustainabilities.interserve.com
April 2015
AN ARTIST IN US ALL
Khansaheb employee
Siraj with artist Lora;
above, the pair’s
finished artwork
K
hansaheb employees in Dubai have
been using art to share their personal
stories as part of a unique project.
‘Restart The Art’ is a collaboration
between construction workers and United Arab
Emirates-based artists that aims to prove there is
an artist in everyone.
Led by Dubai-based social innovators The
[sameness] Project, the initiative connected 25
employees from Khansaheb, Interserve’s associate construction business in Dubai, with 25 local
artists and each was asked to complete an artwork
inspired by three questions: What is your dream
in life? What is your greatest pain? What is your
greatest joy?
The artists were then tasked with developing a
piece that showcased both of the artworks together, which would be used to transform two labourers’ buses
into moving
works of art.
Duncan
John Payne,
group sustainability manager for Khansaheb, said: “All our
employees have enjoyed being involved in the
project immensely and all have participated with
great enthusiasm.
“They have loved the opportunity to express
themselves through art and the interaction with
local artists.
“It’s a chance for employees in every role and
department to see their ‘sameness’ quality; they
are all human, with the same dreams in life and
the same challenges.
“Our sustainability plan really has put in place a
framework to facilitate this and many other initiatives that Khansaheb is now engaged with.”
The artworks were showcased on the buses during Dubai Art Week in March.
Our employees
have loved this
opportunity
Page 7
WINNERS’
CORNER
MEDICAL MARVEL
A new medical education facility built by
Interserve Construction has scooped a
host of awards.
The £19.4 million Research, Innovation,
Learning and Development Centre
(RILD Centre) was constructed for joint
clients the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS
Foundation Trust and the University of
Exeter at Wonford, where it provides
four levels of facilities.
Opening last year, the modern
development has since attracted
acclaim from a number of organisations.
The centre was named Commercial
Project of the Year with a value over £5
million at the Michelmores and Western
Morning News Awards 2014; Building of
the Year at the Building Forum for Devon
and Cornwall; Bronze Award Winner at
the Considerate Constructors National
Site Awards 2014, and was shortlisted
in both the Project of the Year and
Integration and Collaborative Working
categories at the CIOB South West Built
Environment Awards 2014.
HISTORY IN STONE
To find out more visit www.restarttheart.com
PLANNING
approval has now been
given for the site of
Interserve’s new UK
hub in Birmingham.
The currently disused block
near Birmingham Airport will
be demolished to make way for
a modern, ecologically-sympathetic building, making use of all
the latest technology.
Subject to site purchase approval,
which we hope to achieve later this
month, the building will open in early
2018.
Our new UK hub will offer 1,400
employees modern and flexible ways
of working in an inspirational building at the heart of UK Central, one of
Europe’s largest regional regeneration
areas.
Interserve will be joining neighbours Jaguar Land Rover, the NEC
and new Resorts World developments
in the UK Central project, which will
benefit from good transport links,
including the airport and Birmingham
International railway station.
While not all of Interserve’s
offices will relocate to the new site,
five major offices in the Midlands
Green hub’s
green light
– George Road in Erdington; Intersection House in West Bromwich;
Ebony House in Dudley; the National Service Centre in Redditch and
RMD Kwikform in Aldridge – will be
included in the move.
OPPORTUNITIES
Interserve chief financial officer
Tim Haywood said: “This will be an
inspirational place to work for our
employees, and a showcase of our
capabilities to our customers, investors and our future workforce.
“We have been a part of the economic landscape of the West Mid-
It will be an
inspiring
place for our
employees
lands for many years and this building
signals our long term commitment to
its future.
“This building makes sense. By
consolidating five buildings in the
region into one, we can create a more
closely knit group of people and allow
our teams to work better together,
while reducing our impact on the
environment.
“It will also benefit those office
workers who aren’t relocating, as
they’ll enjoy the consistent standards
and better working practices that will
develop as part of the journey to our
new UK hub.”
While the project is still in its early
stages, there will be many opportunities for people to get involved as
it progresses, with a series of road
shows and events set to take place
between now and 2018.
Leading role to protect and develop cleaners
INTERSERVE is among
the founding members of
a new scheme to protect
and promote the welfare
and development of people
working in the cleaning
industry.
It is one of 16 companies
operating in the contract
cleaning sector which
has signed-up to the
Responsible Cleaner
Scheme (RCS).
The scheme is part
of a wider programme
of activities Interserve is
involved with that aim
to drive professionalism
in the cleaning industry,
explained Scott Hill, human
resources director of
Interserve Support Services
– Commercial.
He said: “The RCS
consists of commitments
designed to protect and
promote the welfare and
development of employees,
to ensure their experience
and capabilities are
recognised and developed,
and to encourage
cultural change to really
professionalise the industry.
“It seeks to make it clear
to employees about what
they should expect during
their employment and
promotes cleaning as an
attractive career in a sector
in which employers operate
to an agreed standard.
“It’s a very visible way of
Interserve demonstrating its
commitment to supporting
employees.”
The scheme aligns
closely to another
programme Scott has
been working on with the
Equality and Human Rights
Commission to improve
employment practices in
the industry.
It is acting on
recommendations made
in a report called The
Invisible Workforce, which
was published by the
commission last year.
Scott explained that
bringing this programme
and the RCS together is
essential to providing clarity
and simplicity for everybody
working in the cleaning
sector and will result in
positive cultural change,
which will impact the whole
of the industry in the UK.
Award-winning Advocates Close in
Edinburgh
An innovative development of several
historic buildings in Edinburgh –
some of which date back to the 17th
Century – has earned two highly
prestigious awards. Advocates Close,
the restoration of a narrow backstreet
in the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town,
has won the RIAS Andrew Doolan Best
Building in Scotland Award – which is
dubbed the UK’s richest architectural
prize. Meanwhile, the £8 million project
was also crowned Development of
the Year - Commercial Buildings at
the 2014 Scottish Property Awards.
The works comprised structural
alterations, elements of a new build
and roof extensions to create a mixed
development of three restaurants, two
office units, 17 serviced apartments
and 11 other apartments. During the
project, the team overcame a number
of challenges associated with the site
being located in a confined and busy
tourist area.
GOLDEN GLOW
Eden Foodservice has become one of
the UK’s first catering providers to be
awarded the Gold for Life Catering Mark
by the Soil Association.
Eden, which is part of Interserve,
received the recognition for its school
meal provision at 116 primary schools
across Cornwall and Bristol following a
rigorous audit to ensure its menus met
the highest standards of traceability,
provenance and freshness.
To achieve the standard, the company
had to commit to a 15 per cent spend on
organic produce and a further five per
cent on free-range supplies.
The award comes after the company
achieved the Silver Catering Mark
across all of its 353 primary schools last
year.
Meanwhile, Interserve’s Autograph
catering team has achieved the Soil
Association’s Bronze Food for Life
Catering Mark for the 1,000 customers
it serves through a contract with the
Department of Education.
Page 8
April 2015
April 2015
Interserve Employee Foundation news round-up
IEF BALL
SPONSORS
The IEF has a Facebook page to share details of its activities: www.facebook.com/Interserveemployeefoundation
CHARITY FEAST!
Belly dancers
perform
Let’s travel the world
GO THE distance for charity: help us
collectively swim, walk, run or cycle
around the world.
Over the next 12 months we’re asking everyone to go the distance for the Interserve
Employee Foundation (IEF) or a local charity by
collectively travelling the 24,902-mile circumference of the globe.
Get your colleagues together and organise a
swimming, walking, running or cycling event –
or go it alone by taking part in a local marathon.
There are no restrictions on what you choose
to do, just get moving!
CHOOSE YOUR ACTIVITY
Search for local charitable sporting events in
your local area on the internet, or ask your team
what events they take part in. The community
and charity forum on MyInterserve will be regularly updated with planned employee events
you can take part in.
GET YOUR TEAMS INVOLVED
Inspire others to ‘do the right thing’
and help us reach our goal. Put a poster up in your office to encourage colleagues to take part. You can download
the poster template at MyInterserve.
Bhangra dance group Nachda
Sansaar
CHAIR RAISES
LOTS OF CASH
IEF Ambassador of the Yea
r Jane
Davidson with Tony San
ders, IEF
chairman and managing
director professional services div
ision
Palestine
school aid
EMPLOYEES in Dubai are reaching
out to children living in the conflict
zone of Gaza.
Thirty team members from Khansaheb, our associate construction business in Dubai, have given their time
to assemble education kits that are
distributed to youngsters studying at
United Nations schools.
Led by charity Dubai Cares, the
Rebuild Palestine. Start with Education campaign will see 50,000 children
receive the school kits, which include
a backpack, notebooks, sketchbooks,
a geometry kit, calculator and a pencil
case of stationary.
Bulb planters’
world record
INTERSERVE volunteers have sprung
into action to help break a world record.
They joined 850 members of the
community in Birmingham to plant
a staggering 4,250 narcissus bulbs –
scooping the Guinness World Record
for the most people planting flower
bulbs simultaneously.
The bulbs were planted around the
edge of the lake at Brookvale Park,
which is opposite Interserve Construction’s George Road head office.
Volunteers helped to marshal the
event, which aimed to create a 350metre memorial garden to mark the centenary of the start of World War One.
is, Maggie Dixon,
From left: Adrian Ringrose, Vicci Jarv
her Key and Isa
Heat
ik,
Raychel Conway, Leah Shaf
Buencamino
FROM the moment guests
arrived at the Interserve
Employee Foundation Anniversary (IEF) Ball, they could have
been forgiven for thinking they
had taken a wrong turn on the
M6 and ended up in Delhi!
Thumping drums, Bhangra dancers, henna
tattooists and belly dancers were all rubbing shoulders with more than 700 Interserve
employees, suppliers, sponsors and friends for
a memorable night of eastern promise . . . in
Birmingham!
As the guests were ushered to their tables in the
giant ballroom, Masters of Ceremonies Tony Sanders and Leah Shafik got proceedings underway with
short films looking back at many of the great community projects supported by the IEF throughout
An impressive
£75,000 was raised
for IEF grants
2014, as well as highlighting major fundraising
schemes such as the London-Paris bike ride.
Special presentations were made to Jane Davidson
from Construction for IEF Ambassador of the Year,
and to Vicci Jarvis from Developments for the IEF
Outstanding Contribution Award.
DANCE ROUTINE
The guests then tucked into a three-course meal
and were entertained between courses by Bhangra
dancers from the Nachda Sansaar group, who managed to entice a decent crowd of volunteers to join
them in an energetic dance routine.
Among those strutting their stuff were chief
executive Adrian Ringrose and chief financial officer
Tim Haywood, who impressed the crowd with their
moves.
The most important part of the evening – the fundraising – got a huge boost with the auction of two
brand new cars.
Gupreet Bansal and Joe Spavin from Regional
Construction in Castleford drove off with a Vauxhall
Corsa, while Andy Watkinson – one of the many
non-Interserve employees at the event – successfully
bid for the Renault Clio.
The bids, together with donations from the raffle
and other auction prizes, helped to raise an impressive £75,000. The funds will be used for the next
round of grants from the IEF, which will be going to
projects in Slough, Birmingham, Berkshire and the
United Arab Emirates.
Plans are already underway for next year’s Anniversary Ball, which will be held on 18 March in
Birmingham.
Take a day (or two) to give something back
VOLUNTEERING through
Interserve has just got
easier!
Employees across the
group can now use the new
volunteering registration tool on
MyInterserve to log their activity.
Whenever an employee gives
a day of their time through our
employee volunteering scheme,
they can register it on the tool
– which features a leader board
tallying up volunteering activity
across the Group.
What is Give a Day of Your
Time?
Employees can request up to
two days leave each year to
support a community project or
charitable initiative. The scheme
is open to everyone companywide, including salaried and
hourly paid colleagues.
What can I do?
Page 9
Your time can go towards
supporting any number of
initiatives, including bake sales,
marathons/sports fundraisers,
mentoring and coaching
activities and urban renewal
projects. Stuck
for ideas? Find
out how our
employees have
used their time
to make a real
difference by
checking out the
IEF Facebook
page: www.facebook.com/
Interserveemployeefoundation
How do I give a day?
It’s simple! Download and
complete the Give a Day of
Your Time application
form available on
MyInterserve. Once
your line manager
has approved the
form, email it to
info.foundation@
interserve.com. After
you’ve completed your
activity don’t forget to register it
on MyInterserve.
GET YOUR KIT
Look the part in branded t-shirts, available
in sizes S, M and L. Email info.foundation@
interserve.com with the number and size of
shirts you require.
REGISTER YOUR DISTANCE
TRAVELLED
Email
[email protected]
your total distance travelled, or the combined
distance of your team, after the event has taken
place. Don’t forget to include a photograph of
the event so we can share your story in Good
News Friday, Focus and on Facebook.
MAKE YOUR DONATION
We’re asking for a minimum of 10 per cent of
all money raised to go towards the IEF. Donations can be made on the IEF Virgin money
giving site. See MyInterserve for information.
WHAT IS THE IEF?
The IEF encourages employees to give
back to the communities where we live
and work through our employee volunteering scheme and employee grant
giving. To find our more about the IEF,
visit MyInterserve.
The Quirkis chair
A JOINERY team in the Middle East
has showcased its creative skills to
help deliver safe drinking water to
communities.
The team from Khansaheb,
Interserve’s associate construction
business in Dubai, joined forces with
interior design company the Bluehaus
Group to take part in a charity initiative
led by not-for-profit organisation Surge.
They were tasked with developing a
custom-designed chair that represented
the theme of providing safe drinking
water for everyone, to be auctioned at
Surge’s Design, Dine, Donate charity
event.
The Khansaheb team constructed the
Quirkis chair, designed by Bluehaus’
Tony Archibold, using sustainable
materials. It depicts how a tree’s roots
draw water from below to sustain life
above.
Eight chairs were auctioned at the
gala event in Dubai, raising around
£45,000 for water projects in India, Haiti
and the Dominican Republic.
The Quirkis chair also scooped the
Judge’s Choice and the People’s
Choice awards on the night.
KIDZ MEANZ FUNDZ
BIDDING for a lunch date with senior
management and a sponsored beard dye were
some of the creative ways employees from
Interserve Learning and Employment raised
£5,000 for a children’s charity.
The business challenged its 14 branches
to raise as much money as possible for Kidz
Aware – a self-funded organisation that
provides services to more than 500 families
from deprived communities in West Yorkshire.
Daniel Singh, Interserve Learning and
Employment project manager, explained: “We
first came across Kidz Aware in 2012. They
were on the brink of closure following funding
cuts from the local council and we pledged
to offer as much support as possible to
safeguard the charity.”
The latest fundraising effort saw employees
run initiatives such as a car park auction, a
sponsored day’s silence and a Christmas
raffle.
After employees raised a total of £5,000,
the business unit then matched the figure,
providing a total of £10,000.
Together with the fundraising drives,
members of the team also give a day of their
time to the charity and in return the charity
provides work placements to Interserve
Learning and Employment customers,
providing them with the skills and experience
they require to move into employment.
Page 10
April 2015
Hat that
hits the
nail on
the head
In 2014, employees put their thinking
caps on for Interserve’s very first Big
Ideas Hunt, a group-wide search for
innovations and concepts that focused
on encouraging better communication; improving
tools and processes and better caring for the
environment. From more than 400 ideas, 20
finalists were drawn and their ideas were shared
Using drone
cameras for building
inspections
MICHAEL OWEN
(SUPPORT SERVICES)
Idea:
Embrace drone camera technology to
increase the effectiveness of periodic
inspections of high level building
fabric.
Progress
Steve: “We’ve appointed a project
lead, Stephen Samuels (Support
Services), to help develop this idea.
He has done a review of the whole
of Interserve to see where we are
using drone technology, also known
on MyInterserve for colleagues to vote on. The
ideas with the most votes attended Interserve’s
debut annual awards event and the top five won
£2,000 each. Each of the top ideas has now been
appointed to a member of the Innovation Steering
Board to be progressed through the business.
Focus spoke to Steve Dannan, head of innovation,
to find out how they are getting on.
An example of an Unmanned
Automated Vehicle, also
known as a drone
as Unmanned Automated Vehicles
(UAV), around the business, which has
revealed it’s already being utilised by
some divisions.
For example, the technology is being
looked at by our security business
where guards are doing perimeter
inspections around sites.
Automating manual services is
going to be a huge focus for both our
Construction and Support Services
businesses in the coming years and
this technology can play a big part in
that.
We are currently supporting Stephen
as he researches the relevant
legislation and training. Stephen will
then work with a team of people from
around the Group and look to develop
an operating model for the whole
business to adhere to that is safe and
provides both quality and productivity
benefits.”
NO HOODIES
Pedestrian gate for
secure working area on
construction
Electricity from paving
Idea:
Fences are used to close off construction work
areas and a pedestrian ‘hoop’ is placed in the
fence line to allow for access into the site, meaning
there is a gap in the secure working area. The idea
is to design a pedestrian gate to be fitted to the
hoop barrier to ensure each work area is closed off
and secure, making the sites safer places to work.
Progress
Steve: “This technology was brought to our attention
by Rhys. It is an amazing concept but is one that has
huge capital costs, so we need a project with a long
life to develop a working concept that will pay back the
investment.
To that end, we are looking at how it could be
incorporated into our new UK hub in Birmingham. When
we get to the more detailed designs of how we want to
demonstrate our innovation to customers at the hub, this is
something that could be a good fit.”
MATTHEW STOWE (CONSTRUCTION)
Progress
Steve: “A prototype of the gate has been developed
and 15 are now in place at two of our construction
sites. They are definitely improving safety at the
sites, as they are preventing people from walking
into areas they shouldn’t.
We can’t mass produce them so we are now
talking to the manufacturer of the red fencing we
use to see if the gate can be incorporated into
a new design for them to produce, as there is a
definite need for this in the industry.
We are looking at how we can take it from being
an innovative solution on one or two sites to
something that is regarded as best practice within
our construction business.”
rian
The new pedest e
gate in us
by Interserve
Construction
RHYS JONES (CONSTRUCTION)
Idea:
Install paving on walkways that converts kinetic energy to
electric for powering lights.
Interactive map/tool of
Interserve’s contracts in the UK
SYREETA BAYNE (SUPPORT
SERVICES)
Idea:
Create an interactive model
of the ‘Where we are’ map,
enabling employees to select
a country and zoom in to see
a colour tool of the different
areas of Interserve’s business
that operate in that country.
Progress
Steve: “We’ve linked Syreeta
up with Darryn Warner, our
Group Head of IT, and they
are currently exploring the
best way to progress this
project. There are already a
couple of other similar projects
being developed for more
specific purposes, so we
EMPLOYEES on the London
Underground are ahead of the
health and safety game thanks
to their new custom-made hats.
The 1,600-strong team,
which operates the cleaning
services contract on the network, are sporting specially
designed hats that not only
keep their heads warm, but
also vitally allow them to hear
when trains are approaching.
The Hear Safe Hats were
developed by the account’s
management and Transport
Quality, Safety, Health and
Environmental teams.
Jason Bicknell, who was
account director at the time,
explained: “It is crucial that our
employees on the Underground
have all their senses about them
while working.
know the technology is readily
available, it’s more about how
we capture and manage the
information about the
1,000s
of sites that we operate on.
The idea is to create a
map where you can click on
an area and it will give you
the details of where we are
working and what work we
are doing. We can also link
this to other things like timelapse photography to show
the progress of a building in
construction.
We have thousands of sites
that we operate across the
UK, so it’ll be a big project, but
we hope to deliver a proof of
concept in the next three to six
months.”
Uniform Waste
Points (1)
“They are not allowed to
wear hoodies or earphones,
as they can cause hearing loss
and obscure vision, something
that prevents them hearing and
seeing clearly when a train is
coming.
“But we started to hear from
health and safety inspectors
that people were pulling hats
over their ears on the platforms
late at night, which raised genuine concerns over hearing loss.
“This was a health and safety risk because some of these
ANGELA LOCK
(SUPPORT SERVICES)
Recycling
PPE (2)
HANNAH LAST
(CONSTRUCTION)
Idea 1:
Introduce a simple Uniform
Waste Point at each site where
employees can dispose of worn
out company clothing in an
environmentally responsible way.
Idea 2:
Consider how Interserve deals
with its used Personal Protective
Equipment (PPE) and explore
opportunities for it to be
de-branded and sent to third
world countries, helping to reduce
the company’s carbon footprint.
Progress
Steve: “We have combined
these two ideas together and are
currently exploring which of our
items are recyclable and which are
reusable. We have
discovered we already recycle
items such as our plastic hard
hats.
Because of the logistics of
collecting the uniform and PPE
from our many sites, we would
need to work with a third party
that specialises in recycling this
type of thing. This is something
that Eric Hanford (Site Services) is
exploring for us.”
LOOK OUT for Interserve’s Big Ideas Hunt 2015. Is your team thinking outside the box to solve problems or deliver great
projects? Tell us about it! Tweet your story using the #IngenuityAtWork hashtag. Don’t forget to tag in @InterserveNews so we can re-tweet you!
Chargehand Ivelina
Dimitrova wears the new
Hear Safe Hat
employees are cleaning right up
to the platform edge and need
to be aware of their surroundings. But they also work in very
cold conditions in the winter.”
The idea was to create a hat
with a section of perforation
covering the ears, so their hearing wasn’t compromised.
They approached Greenhams, a company that supplies
Interserve with Personal Protective Equipment, with the
concept and the supplier helped
develop it with their safety
wear manufacturer.
“After tweaking the product
a bit, we now have a hat that
has a perforated section that
lines up with your ears,” said
Jason.
“It’s quite unique and
we’ve had it branded with the
Interserve logo.”
Jason said the hats were now
being considered for employees working in warehouses on
the Exterion Media contract,
for which he is now account
director, as they needed to be
able to listen out for moving
forklifts in their seven regional
boarding centres.
April 2015
Page 11
TRACEY HUMPHREY is one of six community matrons working at Interserve
Healthcare. Taking on the role in December 2013 with 18 years of nursing
experience under her belt, Tracey oversees five healthcare branches in Tees
Valley, Harrogate, Liverpool, Leeds and Colchester. Here she tells Focus
editor Lisa Higginson about her job and the work of Interserve Healthcare
No two
days the
same for
matron
Tell us about your role
My job is to oversee the branch and make sure
it and our service users are clinically safe and
ensure we are complying with Care Quality
Commission regulations. I work closely with
the regional operations managers, who oversee
the operational side of the branches, the Service
Care managers, who liaise face-to-face with the
commissioners (CCGs) and help implement any
new packages. Each branch has a branch nurse,
whom I also supervise, support
and develop.
held every three months in Birmingham. I have
to do a presentation at these and we also invite
external speakers from the industry to come and
talk. It’s a good way to get all the branch nurses
and clinical team together, sharing ideas and
good practice.
n Attending highly complex case meetings for
any of our existing clients, where problems
both operationally and clinically may arise or
have arisen. These meetings enable us to look
closely at the problems
or issues and we discuss how these can be
addressed. From this
discussion a plan of
action to address these
problems or issues is
then put in place.
n Leading on clinical
strategy Work Streams,
which focus on making processes more
efficient and, more importantly, safe. I have
recently been looking at how the on-call system
can be improved and this year I am leading the
dementia and end of life care Work Stream. This
will involve looking at the National Institute for
Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines
and seeing how we can incorporate them into
Interserve Healthcare, so that we are doing the
I pride myself
on knowing
we’re doing
the job right
What does your average
day look like?
No two days are ever alike for
me. There are many elements to
my role, which include:
n Carrying out documentation
audits on our client care plans.
n Attending Multi-disciplinary
Team meetings with nurses, doctors, physiotherapists, occupational therapists,
dieticians, consultants and families to discuss
what a client’s needs are and ensure they are
being met, or how we can implement/meet them
if it’s a new package. If there are any issues,
these are highlighted at the meeting and then an
action plan is developed to address them.
n Attending Clinical Nurse Forums, which are
Tracey with colleague Adam Newton
Caregiver of
the Month
Caregiver of the Month
is Interserve Healthcare’s
reward and recognition
initiative, which honours
the outstanding work of
care staff and nurses.
Each branch can
nominate someone to
receive the award each
month.
Tracey says: “The
award really does make
a difference as people
appreciate they have been
put forward for it and it’s
very good for morale.”
best for our dementia and end of life patients.
We are also looking at developing a specialised
end of life care plan.
n Conducting training in areas such as medication, care plan and risk assessment for branch
nurses and carrying out Train the Trainer sessions.
n Being on-call to answer any clinical queries
from clients or carers or their families. I am oncall from 5pm-8am for one week in every five.
What do you enjoy most about
your role?
I love my job. It’s a really varied role, but one
of my favourite parts is developing branch
nurses and training them. I get satisfaction from
knowing they are doing a good job and that the
branches and our clients are safe. Although I
am not as hands-on as I used to be, I still pride
myself on knowing that we are doing the job
right and that makes my job worthwhile.
What have been some of the
challenges you’ve faced in your role?
My role has changed considerably since I first
started. The role used to be called senior nurse
and it was a lot different to what it is now. The
main challenge during the past year has been getting to grips with the changes and getting other
employees to understand what it is I do.
INTERSERVE
HEALTHCARE
THE FACTS:
S
n In 2012, Interserve acquired
Advantage Healthcare, a leading
UK provider of healthcare at
home services, and formed
Interserve Healthcare.
n Interserve Healthcare delivers
specialist healthcare services to
clients in their own homes and
in healthcare establishments
throughout the UK.
n There are 26 Interserve
Healthcare-operated branches
across the UK, which work
with Clinical Commissioning
Groups, Social Services, private
and NHS hospitals, nursing
homes and learning disability
establishments, as well as
delivering care to private clients
in their own homes.
n Interserve Healthcare employs
4,000 frontline employees
Harrogate branch manager
Janet Hamer meets with
Tracey
Page 12
HEALTH & SAFETY GOOD PRACTICE
April 2015
HEALTH & SAFETY
DID YOU KNOW?
Driving our
aim to be accident free
Someone is injured at work everyday. Ask
yourself: “Have I done enough
to prevent an accident?”
NEIL’S IDEA
GOES GLOBAL
Neil Hawkins with
the AED at the RMD
Kwikform global
head office in
Aldridge
BOX
AUTOMATED EXTERNAL
DEFIBRILATORS (AEDS)
n AEDs are portable electronic
LIFE-SAVING equipment
has
been
provided at 73 RMD
Kwikform sites around
the world thanks
to an employee-led
initiative.
Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) – which diagnose and treat life-threatening
irregular heartbeats that can lead
to heart attacks – have been
installed at branches in 18 countries.
And it’s all thanks to employee
Neil Hawkins who presented the idea
to the business following a personal
experience.
Divisional technical services manager Neil witnessed a heart attack at
his local sailing club and stepped in
to help resuscitate the patient before
he was taken to hospital, where he
sadly passed away.
Neil explained: “It was from that
incident that I felt
I wanted to do
something to ensure
something
good
came out of him
passing away.
“I felt strongly
that a defibrillator
would have assisted in the resuscitation, so I personally lobbied the club
to buy one.
“I then focused on my workplace
and convinced RMD Kwikform to
install a unit at the global
head office in Aldridge.”
Neil also organised for 30 people to
be trained to use the AED, as well as
the site’s first aiders.
He then submitted a proposal to the
global RMD conference in Australia,
suggesting all RMD Kwikform operating countries considered funding
an AED unit at
every branch.
“The
idea
received a vote
of confidence
from all RMD
Kwikform senior managers,”
said Neil. “And, following a discussion led by finance director Peter
Davis, the overall cost to the business
of £87,169 was invested from a costneutral pricing incentive that arose
Heart attacks
can happen to
anyone
from one of the other ideas at the
conference.”
Together with the help of Ian Taylor, RMD Kwikform quality manager, Neil also launched the Education
for Life campaign, which aims to
promote the importance of defibrillators to schools, resulting in another
unit being installed in an Aldridge
school.
“People have a misconception that
it’s only older people that have heart
attacks, but it can happen to anyone,”
he said.
“The AEDs are effectively used in
cases of sudden cardiac arrest, which
is common among young people.”
Neil highlighted that the initiative supported the Knowledge
and Social Capitals, which form part
of the Interserve SustainAbilities
Plan.
devices that automatically
diagnose life-threatening
irregular heartbeats (cardiac
arrhythmia) and treat them
through defibrillation
n Defibrillation is the
application of electrical therapy
that stops an arrhythmia,
allowing the heart to
re-establish an effective rhythm
n AEDs use electrode pads that
are applied to the bare chest
of a patient to examine the
electrical output from the heart.
If the device determines that
a shock is warranted, it will
instruct the operator to press a
button to administer one
n AEDs give simple audio and
visual commands that enable
them to be used by people
even if they have not been
trained or are a first aider
OUTSTANDING SOLAR SUPERSTARS
Adyard employees
receive their health
and safety awards
at the Shams Solar
Power Station
?
SafeT msgs
str8 2 yr
mob ph
TOP TIPS FOR KEEPING ACCIDENT FREE:
EMPLOYEES working on one of
the largest solar power plants in the
world have been honoured for their
health and safety practices.
The team from Adyard,
Interserve’s oil and gas services
business in the United Arab
Emirates, was recognised while
working at the Shams Solar Power
Station in Abu Dhabi – which
covers an area equivalent to the size
of 285 football pitches.
The Maintenance Services team
has been carrying out modification
and improvement works on the
plant’s steam superheaters during
its first major shutdown since
commissioning.
Shams Power Company
presented the team with the
Contractor of the Week award in
recognition of its outstanding safety
performance.
Adyard general manager Barry
King travelled to the site to
congratulate the employees on their
success.
Visit Facebook.com/InterservePLC for more stories about how we bring better to life
A FORWARD-THINKING operations manager is using
text messages to help keep his Support Services team safe.
Juliano Heinemann, who manages the night operations
on the JP Morgan cleaning services contract, is using
mobile phones to communicate important health and safety
information to employees.
And the initiative earned him a £100 Love2Shop voucher after he shared the idea on the MyInterserve ‘accident
free’ forum.
As well as discussing any issues or updates face-to-face,
Juliano ensures his team also receive text messages so they
have a written record to refer to.
He said: “We used to write things on pieces of paper, but
they would often get lost.
“Nowadays everyone carries a mobile phone and people
tend to check it more than anything else, so it’s the right
channel
for
communicating
with them.
“Written
information is
also more effective than just
telling someone
something.”
Juliano, who
has worked at
Interserve for
eight years, said he was able to inform the team of any
hazards such as flooding, damage to ceilings, broken glass
or power cuts via text and the messages were sent to everyone, even if they were not working in the affected area.
“It’s very important that they are aware of any immediate risk in the area,” he said.
“I have 36 people in the team and it would be impossible
to call every one of them each time.
“They have really got used to receiving messages now
and I always say to ring me if they are unsure about anything.”
As well as texting with health and safety information,
Juliano also uses the method to inform employees about
meetings and Toolbox Talks.
“We discuss health and safety issues at the Toolbox Talks,
but you shouldn’t wait for meetings as I think the team needs
to be made aware of things as soon as possible,” he added.
n Work safely at all times and be alert
n Don’t take shortcuts or put anyone at risk
n Follow your training when using equipment
April 2015
Page 13
n Always wear the right protective clothing
n Report any accident or customer complaint
immediately to your line manager
n If you believe something is unsafe stop
and seek advice from your manager
Green AND
safe – Qatar
crew is best
People check
their phones
more than
anything
n Do you know someone who is passionate
about keeping their
team members safe?
Nominate them today
for a health and safety
award and they’ll
receive a shopping
voucher, certificate
and pin badge. Visit
MyInterserve for more
information.
WIN £100
Tell us how you aim
to be accident free
EMPLOYEES working
on a ground-breaking
development in the
Middle East have
scooped two top
health, safety and
environment awards.
The team from Gulf Contracting Co. (GCC), Interserve’s
associate construction business
in Qatar, has been recognised
for its outstanding health and
safety performance during work
on site at Lusail City – the single
largest development underway
in the Gulf State.
GCC, which is delivering the
Marina Com 11 commercial
tower, received both the 2014
Lusail Safety Champion and
2014 Environmental Champion
awards from the main developer
of the Lusail City project.
Tony Fernandes, GCC HSE
manager, was delighted to
receive the recognition.
He said: “It’s down to a concerted and dedicated effort by the
entire project team. This includes
the GCC site team led by Daxesh
Dani, senior project manager,
and Nagoor Selvam, Com 11
Project HSE manager, the consultants, GHD, all our subcontractors, suppliers and the client.
“Everyone has bought into
the overriding HSE principles
applied across GCC – Visible
Felt Leadership and Make Safety
Personal.”
PRINCIPLES
John Michell, GCC contracts
manager, echoed Tony’s sentiments and reinforced that the
only way to ultimately succeed
was to obtain unqualified “buyin” to these principles.
The 38sq km Lusail City will
house more than 200,000 residents and encompass 19 districts
that are to offer new residential,
commercial, hospitality and retail
opportunities.
WHETHER IT’S coming up with a
new idea to keep your workmates
safe, completing a risk assessment
or spreading the health and safety
message through training and
campaigning, we want to hear from you.
Share your health and safety story
on MyInterserve’s ‘accident free’ forum
and you could win a £100 Love2Shop
voucher. Don’t forget to include a
contact email address or telephone
number so we can get in touch.
The GCC team celebrates
its award wins at the
Lusail City site; below, the
Marina COM 11 tower
Page 14
April 2015
CLIMBING THE LADDER
I was a brickie and
I’m proud of it
From bricklayer to UK Operations
Director for Regional Building,
RICHARD ELLIS has cemented a
career in construction. He tells Focus
how hard work, supportive mentors
and asking questions helped him.
What was your first role in the construction industry? I started my career after
leaving school at 16 and joined a Bristol-based
construction company as an apprentice bricklayer.
The company sponsored me to go to college on
block release to work towards a City & Guilds
Craft and Advanced Craft qualification in brickwork.
I had a moped to get me to work and I remember the journeys during winter were awful, as the
bike always seemed to break down in the rain on
top of one of the many hills! The ability to combine theory and practical skills with the wealth of
experience and knowledge gained on site really
inspired me and I look back on it with very fond
memories.
How did your career progress from
there? I worked on interesting and varied projects, mainly in the South West and Wales. The
company I joined as an apprentice was supportive
and I was fortunate to work with knowledgeable
people who took time to mentor me.
I worked hard on site and at college, and was
fortunate that opportunities arose within the company to remain at college and study for a further
four years towards an ONC and HNC BTEC in
Building Studies. This meant I was also offered
the chance to diversify into a supervisory role,
from trade foreman to site manager.
The company then offered to sponsor me
through university part-time to do an Honours
Degree in Construction Management. I was
delighted, but somewhat nervous given the hard
work and study that lay ahead.
When the company restructured, I had the
chance to join a specialist part of the business
that designed, built and managed large semiconductor and pharmaceutical projects. I learnt a
huge amount working in this sector. It involved
working in Europe, as well as in the UK, and
I began working as a
project manager.
I later joined a
medium-sized Devon
and Cornwall-based
construction company
in 2001/2 as a senior
project manager. I
remained there for eight
years, during which
time I was promoted to
divisional manager.
I was approached to
join Interserve in 2009,
as the incumbent director and construction manager were both retiring after around 30 years’
service.
It was a terrific opportunity to join such a wellrespected large company and I started as associate
director for the South West Regional Building
Business based in Exeter.
I had initial reservations about joining a large
PLC, but the people and culture within Interserve
have been terrific and refreshing.
In January 2014, I took up the mantle of UK
operations director for Regional Building, which
is an absolute privilege as I get to meet and
work with teams from around the UK and see
the diverse nature of high quality projects and
services we are delivering. I remain proud of my
bricklaying trade background and believe it has
ple you meet, the places you visit and the chance
to play a part in creating a better built and social
environment legacy.
Over the past 12 years, I’ve also been able
to work with colleagues, clients and third party
organisations to create, develop and enhance
employability skills for young people through
various initiatives and commitments.
I’ve also been able to continue my own
development and training through the likes of
Interserve’s Trusted Partner Programme (TPP).
From the TPP course, colleagues and I created
an innovation programme with the support of
our CEO and executive directors, and I’m now a
member of the innovation steering group.
Richard Ellis on site at
Walsall College Business
and Sports Hub; below, a
young Richard learns his
craft as an apprentice
bricklayer
What is your least favourite thing
about working in construction?
Sometimes the industry has a habit of reinventing
the wheel to a certain extent, which can be frustrating, so the challenge is to find innovative or better
ways to improve and overcome this.
Is there anything you wish you had
been told about working in the construction industry before you started?
Probably just how important it is to be inquisitive
and interested and to ask questions – including the
‘dumb’ ones – as the people you work with offer a
vast library of knowledge and experience, no matter where you are in your career.
been instrumental in
keeping my feet on
the ground and provided a solid foundation for my career.
And how can I forget cycling from London to
Paris in three days last year as part of a 60-plus
strong Interserve team for charity – having not
cycled for more than 25 years it was a huge challenge but so rewarding!
What have been some of the challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The industry by its very nature provides day-today challenges, which I think are certainly part of
the attraction as no two days are the same.
One of the biggest challenges is that there
is only so much information and knowledge
you can gain from a textbook, college or university.
You must be prepared to ask questions and
soak up as much knowledge and experience as
possible from those around you.
Another challenge in my development has
been learning to let go, delegate a little and
empower others to take more responsibility,
which can be mutually rewarding but not an easy
thing to do at first.
What have been some of the highlights of your career? I’ve had a number
that continue to motivate me such as becoming
qualified as a bricklayer and going to university
while working full-time and gaining an Honours
Degree, as well as the projects I’ve worked on and
the people I’ve worked with.
Joining Interserve and being asked to take on
my current role were highlights too.
I was also awarded the gold medal by the Chartered Institute of Building at the Construction
Manager of the Year Awards in 2006.
What have been some of the big
opportunities that construction has
offered you? In addition to the terrific career
opportunities, it offers diversity through the peo-
What advice would you give to someone considering a career in the construction industry? Many people don’t
realise quite how many exciting careers there are
within the industry.
Therefore my advice would be to make sure
you ask the right questions and get to know what
type of career might be available to you with the
relevant training and qualifications.
When I was at school the only option in the
construction industry provided by the careers
officer was being a builder! There are so many
options, including traditional trades like bricklaying, carpentry or plumbing, as well as management and technical.
Make contact with a construction company
and see if you can get some work experience or a
work placement first.
STEPPING UP THE
CAREER LADDER
With the business expanding as we win
new work, Interserve is a great place
to progress your career. Follow these
simple steps to start climbing the ladder
today:
n Talk to your line manager about the
career you want and the qualifications
you’ll need to get there.
n Seek out people who can offer advice
and guidance.
n Find out what opportunities are
available to you or visit www.interserve.
com/careers/search-and-apply to search
for jobs in your area.
RECOGNISING GREAT WORK
RECOGNISE OUTSTANDING
PERFORMANCE TODAY
Interserve’s recognition
scheme is now live, with two
types of awards open for line
managers to recognise excellent
performance in their
teams.
n Anytime awards - given
anytime during the year, these
awards allow managers to
instantly recognise great work
with a certificate and small prize
n Annual awards - given
once a year at divisional and
Group level, the best nominees
will be shortlisted to attend the
Group annual awards event in
November, where attendees
could win up to £2,000
Not a line manager?
Let your team member’s line
manager know why you think
they deserve to be
recognised.
Get nominating now!
Visit MyInterserve or Iris to find
our more and complete the
nomination
form, or
scan this
QR code
on your
smart
phone’s
QR code
reader.
BBC starring roles
INTERSERVE has launched
a joint awards initiative with
the BBC in a bid to recognise
outstanding performance given
by colleagues working on the
facilities management
contract.
The first of the quarterly
accolades attracted more than
100 nominations, with each entry
being judged against Interserve’s
four values.
The winning colleagues were
Rory Williams, New Broadcasting
House; Helen Keaney,
Media Village; Nia Thomas,
MediaCityUK and David Beer,
Cardiff.
The team awards went to
New Broadcasting House for its
work in managing change and
handling issues, and Glasgow
Pacific Quay for its part in
hosting the Commonwealth
Games and Scottish
Independence Referendum.
BRENT’S AT
THE DOUBLE
A DEPUTY operations
manager is celebrating a
double award win after
delivering a major project.
Brent Duncan, who works on the
Nissan contract in Sunderland, was
crowned a finalist in the 2014 annual
awards and has also scooped an award
for living the Bring
better
to
life
value.
The accolade forms
part of Interserve’s
recognition scheme,
which
allows
line managers to
instantly honour team
members for excellent
performance. It also
recognises employees
TRAINING TRUST AWARDS
Nominations are now being taken for the
Training Trust Awards, which recognise
employees across the Group who have
made a significant effort to pursue personal
training opportunities and objectives
that are of benefit to their careers, their
organisation and its employees.
who champion an accident free culture.
Brent (pictured left) was recognised for
managing a project at the Nissan site, which
involved handling the new modular offices
for the Interserve team from the original
sourcing of suppliers, design and planning,
to the final construction.
Neil Gray, operations manager, said:
“Brent’s devotion to the project, including
many long days and late nights, is what
made the new buildings
possible.”
Guy Bruce, Industrial
managing
director,
said: “Brent has truly
demonstrated
the
actions and behaviours
we at Interserve aspire
to.
“He is living the
values and putting the
customer at the heart of
what we do.”
Managers must nominate deserving
team members by early summer, with
winners notified shortly after.
The awards ceremony takes place at
Welbeck the Defence Sixth Form College
in Loughborough on October 29.
Email [email protected]
for an application form.
April 2015
Page 15
Cleaning
op trio on
the right
track
THE SPOTLIGHT has
shone on a trio of
cleaning operatives
in recognition of their
outstanding work.
Dave Brown,
Francis Joly and
Brenda Wharmby
– who work on the
transport contracts in
Commercial – were
honoured for their
achievements that
reflect the company’s
four values: Bring
better to life; Take
pride in what you do;
Do the right thing;
Everyone has a voice.
Dave, who works at
East Midlands Trains
Training Academy,
was recognised for his
outstanding service
and standards, while
Francis, who works
at Derby Station,
was honoured for
demonstrating
outstanding customer
service.
Brenda received
her award for going
the extra mile at
Chesterfield Station,
where she has been
splitting shifts and
returning to work
at 9pm, as well as
working through the
night to clean areas
she cannot get to
during the day.
A place of learning
A PARTNERSHIP between Interserve and the
University of Sussex has been crowned a
‘centre of excellence’ by a leading cleaning
industry body.
The British Institute of Cleaning Science
(BICSc) has awarded the status to
Sussex Estates and Facilities LLP (SEF) in
recognition of the best practice training it is
providing to cleaning operatives.
Since forming in January 2014 when the
university appointed Interserve to deliver
facilities management across its estate, SEF
has provided 135 members of the cleaning
and housekeeping team with extensive
training to achieve the BICSc bronze level
Licence-to-Practice qualification.
Silver level training is now underway for
all employees who undertake a customerfacing role.
Brian Talbot, managing director for civil
government at Interserve, said: “As a
‘centre of excellence’ our partnership with
the university is now nationally recognised
as an example of best practice in the
cleaning industry. It’s fantastic to see the
hard work of our teams recognised.”
ONE DOWN,
TWO TO GO
HAMID GHADRY – the champion trainer
ME & MY
TEAM
What’s the best thing about
working at Sussex Estates and
Facilities LLP?
Working for an employer
that values its employees
and training, and developing
teams so that they can face
any challenge and deliver high
quality services.
Tell us about your role
It is considered as added
value to the contract services
we provide to our client. I and
the assessing team undertake
all the BICSc national
training, assessment and
accreditations. I also oversee
the compliance, audits and
KPI reports.
Leading the training programme at SEF is BICSc Champion Hamid
Ghadry. He is the only person in the country to have completed
the study of all 43 skill suites after the recent update of the
qualifications to CPSS version 2.0 back in August 2014. Hamid
leads the BICSc assessing team of seven at SEF.
Describe your average day?
Most days I get in early so I can
answer emails and be ready
for the daily team meeting and
operations coverage. I meet the
employees to find out how they
are getting on with the tasks
and issues as they arise, and I
work to address any problems.
I also meet clients and
customers and deal with their
requests. Planning ahead and
preparing what needs to be
done helps manage the team
and operations better.
How would you describe your
approach to the job?
I’m always pleasant towards
employees and approachable.
I take my job seriously and am
passionate and enthusiastic
towards my work and
responsibilities.
What are your team’s priorities?
To provide excellent service
and make a difference
for service users. Happy
customers continue using our
services and this keeps us in
our jobs! Also, that feelgood
factor when the satisfied
customers are enjoying the
high quality services provided.
Any management tips?
Care for your teams and
support them. A happy team is
a productive team.
On a personal level, what’s
your tip for building a team
member’s confidence?
Respond to all issues as soon
as possible and leave nothing
unanswered or undealt with.
When the team sees that
you are approachable and
responsible, they follow suit.
Hamid has been awarded
a John Butler Endowed
Scholarship to study at the
University of Northampton.
“When I found out about
this qualification I was
intrigued.
“I discussed it with
my line manager Mark
Stimpson and he offered
to sponsor me and the
other BICSc assessors to
undertake the course.
“To our delight we were
successful in securing the
funds and a place on the
programme, which began
in September.
We all chose to study
the full three modules and
have all just passed the
first one. The course takes
a year to complete”
Page 16
April 2015
STAR
SITE
SITE: Exterion Media, Glasgow
NO. OF EMPLOYEES ON SITE: 4
CONTRACT: In June 2014
Interserve won a sevenyear contract to become the
outsourcing partner for Exterion
Media – a leading provider of
outdoor advertising and media
space for major organisations
such as London Underground, Sky,
Coca Cola and EMI. Interserve is
responsible for management and
delivery of advertising media. The
warehouse teams ‘fix’ printed
media vinyl onto boards and collate
posters, before they are collected
and installed by a team of ‘fixers’,
who post the media onto buses
and at transport stations across
the country. The team currently
prepares and posts around 95 per
cent of all adverts on buses in
Great Britain.
The teams also oversee cleaning,
maintenance, electrical and
property and waste management
services to Exterion’s seven
warehouses.
Stevie Brodie, warehouse manager
– Glasgow; Len Lavelle, fulfilment
manager - North and Will Banner,
business improvement manager –
Transport explain why Exterion’s
Glasgow warehouse is a Star Site…
LEAN
Will: “LEAN is the use of tools and methods
designed to eliminate waste and remove nonvalue adding activities to achieve sustainable
business improvements.
“We have used the Glasgow team, who
do the job every day, as our experts. They
provide answers and deliver innovative solutions to areas that need improving. Stevie
has driven this at Glasgow and recently
completed the training to become a LEAN
champion for the Exterion contract. This
means he has become a LEAN ambassador
across the business and has a responsibility
to help other sites achieve similar results.”
In each issue Focus will highlight
a Star Site. Here we turn the
spotlight on Exterion Media’s
Glasgow warehouse.
Health and Safety
Len: “We’ve always done everything as
safely as we could, but there wasn’t much
time given to improving practices. So when
the LEAN team came on board it was an
opportunity for us to sit down and see how
we could change things.”
Stevie: “One example of the improvements to health and safety has been reducing the knife usage by 75 per cent to 25 per
cent, which we’ve done by changing the
point where we cut the vinyl.
“We’ve also reduced the height of the
racking and added markers on our forklifts
and the shelving, so people don’t stack
things too high.
“Our next step is to add another roller
onto the end of the machine that puts the
vinyl onto boards, so the finished product
will be pushed straight onto the pallets
instead of someone having to reach through
the laminator to nudge it off.”
Innovation
Stevie: “We have introduced bespoke pallets for the fixers to collect that contain
exactly what they need for the job. Each
section is clearly marked, so it’s all ready
for them to pick up, which increases efficiency.”
WIN !
0
0
1
£
Will: “We have also gone live with a
new system of issuing work orders to our
fixers on a brand new piece of software
called POSTracker, which allows the fixers to instantly log the work they’ve done
on site. It’s a real step change to how they
were working before and it allows them to
invoice more accurately and report as close
to real-time as possible.”
Living the Values
Len: “The majority of our workers are long-standing and they all
take pride in what they do. We are all working together towards getting a better site.”
Stevie: “In terms of Everyone has a
voice, with LEAN we feel like we can suggest things and people will listen and take
it on board. We’re not frightened to go and
try something and if it doesn’t work then at
least we have tried.”
Will: “The passion and pride that Stevie
has for the warehouse is a great example
of Bring better to life. There have been
improvements every time I have visited and
they have been driven by Stevie and Len.
“The Exterion senior management team
has even visited the Glasgow site recently
to learn about the improvements they have
made.”
SPOT THE DIFFERENCE
acebook.com/InterservePLC
@InterserveNews
linkedin.com/company/interserve
That’s a perk really
worth having
FROM West End theatre tickets to household appliances,
Sam Hunter is saving money at every opportunity with
MyInterserve Perks.
The senior quantity surveyor – Infrastructure has been
using the money-saving tool since last November and has
already saved more than £150.
During Christmas, Sam used MyInterserve Perks to buy
gifts for her family – saving £52 on a £200
Red Letter Day experience and a further
£50 on a gift experience of a meal and top
price tickets for Charlie and the Chocolate
Factory.
She also recently saved around £40 on
the purchase of a new fridge freezer.
Sam said: “Whenever I do internet
shopping I always check the MyInterserve
site to see if there are any WOWpoints
offered or if there are any additional discounts if I shopped
through there. The search engine is really good.”
Sam said the Wow Weeks were also a great incentive.
“I shop quite frequently at Marks and Spencer, so just
by going through MyInterserve I get WOWpoints I wouldn’t
have received otherwise. It’s a really good way to get a bit
of extra cashback with no additional effort.”
With MyInterserve Perks being user-friendly, Sam said it
was a quick and easy way to save money.
“I needed a new fridge freezer, and by going through the
Home and Garden section I found the Hotpoint offer.
“At the time it enabled me to purchase direct through the
Privilege Club, where you get an automatic saving of 15 per
cent, and I received an additional seven per cent discount
for being an Interserve employee.”
WOWWEEK
ARE YOU ON
MYINTERSERVE?
MyInterserve is your onestop-shop for learning
about our business, getting
involved in conversations
and accessing exclusive
discounts from thousands
of high street retailers,
restaurants, travel
companies and attractions.
WHAT’S ON
MYINTERSERVE?
Use MyInterserve to:
n Take part in competitions
and win high street vouchers
n Chat to each other and
the business, share photos
and stories on our forums
n Learn about our business,
our values and how to keep
safe at work
n Save money with
exclusive employee perks,
including high street stores,
supermarkets, holiday and
hotel bookings
n Keep updated with news
from across the business
WHAT ARE
WOWPOINTS?
WOWpoints is an online
currency that you can earn
when shopping online
through MyInterserve Perks.
Every WOWpoint you
earn is worth 1p, so 100
WOWpoints = £1
WHAT CAN I DO WITH
WOWPOINTS?
WOWpoints work like
cash. You can redeem your
WOWpoints in a number of
ways through MyInterserve
Perks, including:
BENEFITSBOX
MY INTERSERVE
PERKS
MYINTERSERVE
PERKS: THE STATS
£219,587 spent by
MyInterserve is accessible
to all our employees from
your Smartphone and
PCs. Register at www.
myinterserve.com with your
employee number, which
is located on your payslip,
to save! Having issues
registering?
Email myinterserve@
interserve.com
On MyInterserve you’ll find
MyInterserve Perks; your
one-stop-shop for employee
savings and discounts.
youtube.com/InterservePlc
www.interserve.com AND DON’T FORGET
TO VISIT www.myinterserve.com
During WOWweek, certain
deals are discounted heavily
for one week only. Make
sure you take advantage
of these fantastic offers add MyInterserve to your
‘favourites’ on your mobile
phone or PC today.
n Shopping
cards
Redeem
your
WOWpoints
for discounted shopping
cards at top retailers
n Pay with WOWpoints
Choose to pay with
WOWpoints when
you shop online
at a WOWpoints
merchant and MyInterserve
Perks
n Transfer to bank
Transfer your
WOWpoints straight
to your bank account
HOW TO ACCESS
We’ve got £100 of Love2Shop vouchers as
a prize in our Spot the Difference
competition. All you have to do is study
these two photographs. We’ve made FIVE
differences in the lower picture. Once
you’ve found them, mark them on the
picture, or list them on an email, and send
them by following the instructions at the
bottom of the page. Closing date is May 8.
The winner will be the sender of the first
correct entry drawn at random.
FOLLOW US
I’ve saved £150!
Enjoy exclusive access
to the best offers, helping
you save on everything
from grocery shopping to
restaurants and holidays.
employees on MyInterserve
Perks
£9,195 saved by
employees through
MyInterserve Perks
447,809 WOWpoints
earned by employees on
MyInterserve Perks
138,705 WOWpoints
burned my employees on
MyInterserve Perks
IF YOU HAVE A STORY FOR FOCUS, OR WANT TO SUBMIT A COMPETITION ENTRY, EMAIL [email protected] OR WRITE TO SARAH ARCHER, INTERSERVE, RUSCOMBE PARK, TWYFORD, READING RG10 9JU

WIN! £100 - Interserve

Transcription

Similar documents

PDF

METRODOME LEISURE COMPLEX BARNSLEY WIN

View Profile - Insomnia Events

2013 Annual Report

stall this

Presentazione dei “Corporate Art Awards”

Welcome to Intelli-Trak™

Print Excellence Awards Arizona – Sponsorship Opportunities

Business Outreach

Oakland Press - Kyyba Kidz Foundation