Morrison US Newsletter 0311

‘BeinG a Good corporate citizen’ is a phrase which is often linked to going ‘green’ but it actually encompasses a

whole lot more.Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is

an approach to doing business which not only takes into account a company’s impact on the environment but also in relations with employees, suppliers and the communities it operates in.

Many of our clients have developed their own policies and working practices surrounding CSR and Morrison Utility Services is often asked about its approach to being a good corporate citizen.

In order to be proactive and shape CSR within our business, we have begun working with Business in the Community (BITC), a business-led charity with around 850 member

companies. With its advice and guidance we will look to define what responsible business practice means for Morrison Utility Services and put a strategy in place to develop our approach further in the years to come.

Tim Sargent, our Business Development Director, says:

“Joining BITC is an important first step, one of many, in the development of our approach to CSR. Our aim is to be a responsible business which is closely aligned to our clients’ needs.

The challenge for us is to develop a strategy which works for our business and adds value to what we do every day rather than CSR being an added luxury. I believe that by laying the groundwork in this way we will actually be able to drive business performance; often the right thing to do is the best thing to do.” n

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Utility ServicesMORRISON

UK Power networKs has awarded Morrison Utility Services a contract which is worth up to £750 million over a potential period of 15 years. The Groundworks Management contract will provide fault response, network enhancement and connections services for the electrical distribution network in the East of England. It will prioritise innovative ways of working using technology which improves the planning and scheduling of projects in order to deliver excellent customer service.

In addition, we have also successfully retained our contract for refurbishing and building grid and primary substations for UK Power Networks. This programme of work is valued at £100 million over five years. Morrison Utility Services provides full, ‘turnkey’, design and project management services for schemes offering both electrical and civil engineering expertise.

Basil Scarsella, Chief Executive Offi cer for UK Power Networks, comments:

“We are looking forward to continuing our longstanding and successful relationship with Morrison Utility Services. The company plays an important role in helping us maintain a safe and reliable power supply for more than three million customers across the East of England.”

Charles Morrison, Chief Executive, Morrison Utility Services, says:

“In the current economy a growing order book provides us with real opportunities to invest in the future of the business. It is essential that we continue to develop our people and our systems to ensure we can be innovative and respond positively to our clients’ needs driving year on year effi ciencies.

I am delighted to continue our successful relationship with UK Power Networks with these two significant, long-term contract awards for Extra High Voltage services and Groundworks Management. They demonstrate our competitiveness and recognise our reputation for safety and service delivery. We look forward to supporting UK Power Networks’ new owners and senior management team in helping them meet future challenges and we will be working closely with them through a significant step-change in the delivery of performance across the company’s investment programme.” n

COMPANY AND EMPLOYEE NEWS

NEW YEAR, NEW CLIENT, CONTINUING RELATIONSHIP ISSUE 1 2011

(L– R); Morrison Utility Services’ Jim Arnold, Charles Morrison and Pat Carolan and UK Power Networks’ Pat Brooks, Basil Scarsella and Bob Lane hold the signed contract charter which sets out three key performance targets for the new Groundworks contract

NOT FOR MUGGLES morrison UtiLitY serVices in partnership with National Grid is replacing the gas main within the famous Cloisters of Westminster Abbey. The hallowed grounds found fame in the Harry Potter fi lm franchise as one of the sets for Harry’s beloved Hogwarts. The gas main supplies ornate gas lamps suspended throughout the Cloisters which the Abbey wants to preserve for future generations.

National Grid Head of London Gas Distribution, Phil Clarke comments:

“It is a privilege to be working in such a significant landmark and we do feel a great responsibility to ensure everything is returned just as it was. Our experience of

working in London where unearthing amazing archaeological fi nds are all in a day’s work will stand us in good stead for the challenges which lie ahead here.”

Our work in the Cloisters is part of a larger planned project to replace gas mains around Westminster Abbey itself. Earlier in the year work was completed outside the main entrance before moving into Dean’s Yard which is part of the Abbey’s grounds. As the Abbey is the venue for the Royal Wedding on 29th April, National Grid was tasked with ensuring all mains replacement work was completed on schedule well ahead of the big day. n

MORRISON UTILITY SERVICES JOINS BUSINESS IN THE COMMUNITY

DIVISIONAL NEWS

2 • MORRISON utILIty SERVIcES NEWS • ISSUE 1 2011


DIVISIONAL NEWS

weLcome to the fi rst edition of our newsletter for 2011. At the start of the year our teams have responded well despite one of the harshest winters since 1963. I’m delighted to report that following a rigorous tender process we have been successful in retaining the Provision of Groundwork contract we have with UK Power Networks in the East of England. This is a signifi cant agreement for potentially the next 15 years and we look forward to continuing our working relationship with UK Power Networks. I would like personally to thank Jim Arnold, Pat Carolan and the rest of the Contracts Team (including our dedicated Bid Team) for their consistent hard work over many years which has given us the opportunity to secure this contract once again.

I would like to draw your attention to the Going the Extra Mile Award article featured on page 12. These awards are very close to my heart and I’m delighted that they are now a regular event. I would encourage all of you to put your ‘thinking caps’ on and nominate an employee who, within the every day pressures of the job, continues to outperform and ‘go the extra mile’.

Finally as we reach our fi nancial year-end we can refl ect on the progress of the business despite the continued uncertainty in the economy. Together I hope we can continue to build on our relationships with key clients as well as winning new business. It’s a busy time but going on past experience I’m sure we’ll all rise to meet the challenges ahead.

Once again, my personal thanks to everyone for your continued personal contribution. n


Charles Morrison, Chief Executive

mESSAGE FROm CHARLES mORRISON

WELCOmE ON BOARDJoanna smart Joined the Insurance team based at Stevenage as a Claims Manager on 10th January. Prior to joining Morrison Utility Services Jo has had 20 years experience as a senior claims handler within the internal insurance division at Whitbread Group plc handling all forms of commercial claims with signifi cant delegated authority. Jo will assume day to day operational management of the claims function of the department, reporting directly to Insurance & Risk Manager David Saunders.

Ben morriLL Joined us on the 17th January as a Commercial Assistant based at Stevenage having worked previously for Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions. Reporting to Group Commercial Director Jim Winnicott, Ben will focus on commercial pressure points across the business and assist with overall commercial support including central cost saving initiatives and audit functions.

We’re sure you will join us in wishing Jo and Ben well and give them every assistance as they fi nd their way around the business. n

Joanna Smart Ben Morrill

HAS YOUR DRIVING LICENCE BEEN REVOKED?DRIVING LICENCE REGULATION CHANGES ALL UK DRIVERSSummary of changeThe DVLA has recently changed their interpretation of the law, reference the recording of penalty points on driving licences within a specifi c timeframe. � Up until 7th November 2010 drivers had 12 months to surrender

their licence to the DVLA and have penalty points added. � From 7th November 2010 this has now been reduced to 28 days.

Impact of this change� If a driver does not surrender his or her licence within the 28 day time frame their licence is revoked and they no

longer have a driving licence.� Without a valid driving licence drivers are not insured to drive any vehicle. Most vehicle insurance policies

(including MUS’s) do not provide cover for unlicenced drivers.� Police offi cers can seize vehicles driven by individuals whose licences have been revoked and some Police

forces have crushed seized vehicles in these circumstances.

Action you can take� Ensure your driving licence has the correct address on it, so any motoring offence notifi cations are sent to your

address. If you are guilty of the offence, send your licence away within 28 days and you will be complying with the new regulations.

For an explanation of the DVLA Notice of changes in full please refer to the Viva home page. n

NORTH TEAm CHANGESwith eFFect From 1st April 2011 John Coyne (Executive Director for the North Area) made some signifi cant changes to his operational management structure within the North area team. Driving these changes has been the formation of the new Extra High Voltage business unit managed by Dave Tong (read more on this on page 5) and two new joint ventures with Spanish company Agbar (ice pigging) and US company Pipe Restoration Technologies (lead service pipe lining). Each of these new business areas came on stream at the beginning of the new fi nancial year meaning John could take the opportunity to restructure his operational team.

Ged Shannon will become Operations Director taking over day to day operational responsibility for the Scottish Power Period Contract based at Bellshill near Motherwell as well as Yorkshire Water and CE Electric UK, Ged reports to John. He will be supported by three Operational Managers: Dave Marcroft (Yorkshire Water), Martin Graham (CE Electric UK) and Denis O’Reilly (Scottish Power Energy Networks).

John says: “I see this move as a strengthening of the operational team in the North as well as giving us the impetus to kick on with these important joint venture opportunities with major international partners. Ged will have the support of the strong operational team which is already in place in Scotland with Tony Adams continuing his role as Contracts Manager and Terry Hall as Commercial Manager on the Scottish Power Period Contract.”

At the same time the Commercial team in the North has also restructured with Commercial Director, Norrie Forbes realigning responsibilities. Simon Greetham becomes Commercial Manager responsible for all North water contracts and Darren Greenall is Commercial Manager responsible for all North electric contracts. n

Ged Shannon

DIVISIONAL NEWS

ISSUE 1 2011 • MORRISON utILIty SERVIcES NEWS • 3


cuStOMERUtility ServicesMORRISON

arctic weather conditions created chaos across the UK during December and January in what some say was the coldest winter since 1963.

Thousands of homes across the UK were affected by heavy snowfall causing power cuts, often because of falling trees on power lines and ice weighing down cables. Emergency gas maintenance and service call outs were frequent as well as burst water mains when the big thaw came.

Many of our teams were on standby or ‘call out’ and responded magnificently well over this busy period. On the National Grid East Coalition contract, Contract Director, Martin Atkins was asked to supply staff, equipment and teams to assist National Grid with an unprecedented level of gas escapes due to the rapid thaw. The first call came on New Year’s Eve and many of our staff gave up their own celebrations working through this period to support National Grid through this testing time.

On the Southern Gas Networks contract (SGN) at Charing we supplied 13 teams as back up support and supervision to North and West Kent and the Central London areas mostly relaying services after cut offs and replacing damaged and broken mains. Southern Gas Networks have thanked us for our support which helped rapidly resolve the situation.

At SGN in Greenwich we responded by supplying six full time teams to assist with emergency gas repairs. In addition to these teams we also supplied an additional 15 teams from the beginning of December to the end of January 2011 assisting SGN with the back log of work.

The SGN New Connections and Emergency Metering Services (EMS) contract based at St Mary Cray in Kent assisted with the emergency workload which increased by 33%. To help accommodate this we provided an additional four teams for leakage repair together with another additional 12 EMS engineers between the Christmas and New Year period.

Meanwhile our teams in the North of the country were severely hit by the adverse weather conditions and we assisted our client CE Electric UK with emergency repair work which nearly doubled in volume as a result of the thaw leading up to Christmas and the New Year.

Works were completed throughout the day and night across all areas and whilst none of the teams were actually on call at this point, many responded well and came in to help, giving up their last weekend before Christmas.

We provided a watertight performance for our client Yorkshire Water. Operational teams were at full resource from the beginning of December through to the end of January. During that time we repaired 1416 burst mains, on average completing 36 bursts per day with a high of 75 completed in one day. This mammoth team effort saw the input of colleagues from sister contracts which provided an additional 118 gang days, with other Service Partners collectively providing a further 36 gang days.

CEO Charles Morrison said, “It’s impossible to name all those deserving recognition over this period but I would like to pay tribute to the hours they worked, the resulting impact on their family Christmas and their heroic operational effort to maintain customers’ supplies. Your professionalism emphasises your commitment to delivering exceptional service to our clients and their customers.”

As well as thanks from our clients we have also received numerous letters and emails from the public thanking staff for their supreme efforts. A selection of extracts can be found below.

“Please pass my thanks on behalf of Yorkshire Water to Iain and Rob for repairing two bust mains on New Years Eve in Thirsk. Neither was on call but came out to do the high priority repairs that were causing major problems.” Iain Bardon and Rob Stockell – Ripon

“This is a note to say a special and heart felt thank you especially to the team who really worked hard in the cold rain and wind to reinstall our gas supply. They all played their part and without all of them I am sure that we would not have had our gas supply. The team worked all day and late into the evening, very professionally, efficiently and with very good grace considering they were freezing cold and wet, their main aim was to get all four flats reconnected, despite several obstacles, and they did very successfully. Please pass on our thanks to them.” John Bolton and Brett Jennings – St Mary Cray

“I would like to praise the team currently relaying the gas main in my area. I am disabled, and yesterday, they cleared all the snow from the path to my front door, which was very much appreciated, and helpful.” Jim Morris, Mick Willis and Andy Willis – Charing

“Following a gas leak which I reported in December the lady who I spoke to assured me that an engineer would be with me within the hour and he was! Your engineer John was humorous and cheery. He found the leak and fixed it very quickly. Thank you very much. I have a disabled son and feared the worse in these weather conditions but I am very grateful for what he did.” John Robinson – St Mary Cray

“I would like to commend two of your workforce George and Tony who undertook work at my

property. I really must say I was very impressed with what they accomplished given the adverse weather conditions whilst remaining pleasant and polite throughout. Jody Wilden visited my property just prior to completion to inspect the work and make sure I was happy. I found him to be very helpful and polite and I would also like to add that considering theweather conditions my garden was left very clean and tidy.” Jody Wilden, George Church and Tony Mallett – Harold Wood

“Following the gas mains replacement you are undertaking in Whitstable, Kent. I would like to thank Lucas and his two colleagues. They were very professional, efficient and polite resulting in minimum disruption to residents despite the poor weather conditions. Please convey our appreciation and give them a well deserved pat on the back.” Lucas Maylock, Matt Hunter and Barteck Fladro – Charing

“I wanted to write to let you know that the new street lights in Holyrood Close are giving us so much more light (especially illuminating the walkways) than the existing lamps. This helps make it safer for road users and gives the residents more confidence during the darker evenings. I would also like to commend the workmen’s reliability who have turned up every morning in the cold weather to complete the works.” Mick Marshall and Ryan Leeder – Risby

“I would like to express my appreciation to the two men who replaced the gas mains in my road. During the duration of the works there was minimum disruption, area’s were kept clean and tidy, despite the horrendous weather conditions. Please pass my thanks and appreciation on to all concerned.” Nick Anslow and Stuart Harding – Charing

“I wanted to pass on thanks to the engineers working on the fault repair at my property. The engineers kept me updated with information and worked through terrible weather conditions.” Shaun Hickling, Darren Cutler and Richard Boulter – Normanton

“We would like to praise your team renewing our gas mains. They have worked hard in terrible weather and have all remained polite and informative.”

“Your team of Matt, Mark and Rob are conscientious, loyal, polite, helpful and always on time. They work very giving hard and give 110% even in sub zero temperatures. In short they are a great bunch of lads.” Terry Ockenden, Mark Venni, Rob Brammer and Matt Gaskin – West Horndon. n

GOING THE DISTANCE FOR OUR CLIENTS OVER THE COLD SNAPPicture supplied by Phil Shanahan

TEAmS GET IN ON THE ACT FOR CUSTOmER SERVICE ExCELLENCEdramanon is a specialist training company Morrison Utility Services is working with to deliver customer service training. Interactive sessions have been developed to tie in with our suite of tool box talks. The Dramanon team delivers a day full of laughter, real life scenarios and observational feedback which ensures teams understand their role in delivering a first class customer experience on site.

In the sessions delivered so far, role play has been used in which actors portray the customer and operative on site. Feedback indicates this has been extremely effective in bringing to life the issues in a way that people can relate to. In particular the actors’ accuracy in portraying the role and skills required have struck a chord with teams attending the training. Actors perform scenes initially to demonstrate an example of poor customer service and teams are

encouraged to delve into the issues surrounding the negative feelings created by both parties and the impact and repercussions for the company.

In total 300 people have attended the training so far including our Customer Service and Connections colleagues from Yorkshire Water and CE Electric UK. Each were so impressed with the engaging style and effectiveness of the training that they are now looking to develop training of their own using Dramanon.

Dan Rhodes, Regional Customer Service Manager for Morrison Utility Services, says:

“This is the first batch of sessions we have undertaken using this new, unique style of training and the feedback from our teams and our clients has been excellent. We will continue to develop these sessions and include many more of our teams from right across the country.” n

Stop press…Morrison Utility Services is hosting an Institute of Customer Service forum on 19th May at Leeds United, Elland Road. Exploring the ‘Raising the Bar’ initiative and its impact on customer service within the company, Dan Rhodes will host the session which is open to all ICS members and non-members.


INNOVAtION Utility ServicesMORRISON

Innovate to Improve £1000 Award

since the LaUnch of the Innovate to Improve (i2i) programme in July last year the Business Improvement Team has received over 240 ideas from fi eld operations and office based staff. Many of our staff have discovered that all you need is an idea which ticks one or more of the business drivers below and they can be on their way towards an initial cash award.

Business drivers• Safety improvement• Improve customer / client satisfaction• Reduce cost / Increase profi t /

Improve cashfl ow• Business growth• Reduce environmental impact• Improve company image• Improving employee experience

These business drivers are directly related to our Vision and Values which underpin our business.

The i2i programme is built on fi ve simple stages designed to fi nd and implement the best of your ideas. The fi ve steps are:1. Identify – Invites staff to complete a

simple suggestion slip on-line or on paper.

2. Incubate – A panel review each idea and apply a few simple business tests to see if the idea has potential. The originator of ideas which get to stage 2 will receive £25.

3. Invest – Assign a senior sponsor to the idea and make time, resource and money available to develop the idea further.

4. Implement – Make use of the idea or innovation within our business and with the right ideas market them externally

5. Interrogate – This is the review stage that refi nes or develops the successfully implemented ideas further and gathers lessons for other emerging ideas. The first innovation to progress to

stage 4 is from David Messruther, a Trainee Commissioning Engineer working on the South West Electricity Alliance. As part of his training, working alongside our experienced electrical substation commissioning engineers, David noticed that the substation commissioning process frequently incorporated a number of complex calculations which are calculated manually.

In his own time David began to build a set of calculation engines with the aim of installing them on the Commissioning Engineer’s laptops. Once the calculation

engine (now known as C-Toolz) was ready to be used, David trialled C-Toolz with his supervising engineers. Following this, certain modifications, developments and testing was introduced during the Incubation and Investment stages.

C-Toolz is now a comprehensive suite of calculation tools which primarily aids the reduction in the time needed for certain elements of the commissioning process resulting in an increase in productivity, a reduction of costs and ensuring greater accuracy of critical data.

We will now be able to implement this solution on other suitable contracts and will be able to offer it to existing and future clients on work involving electrical substation commissioning, thus demonstrating our commitment to share innovation and best practice with our Clients.

To mark the benefit of David’s innovation he has been awarded the sum of £1000. Over the coming months we will be working hard to assist other innovations to progress as far as i2i Stage 4 and will provide updates as appropriate.

If your idea supports one or more of the business drivers above, the Business Improvement Team would like to hear from you. To register a new innovation please print a paper i2i Form from the Innovation Pages on VIVA, or log directly into the i2i Portal – also on VIVA just look for the i2i logo above. n

INNOVATION – TAPPING INTO LOCAL BEST PRACTICE

whiLe the i2i innovate to improve programme successfully searches for and develops new ideas from our staff, it is clear that innovation has played a key role in our contracts to date.

Local excellenceAcross the business we actively look for ways to develop and improve and add value for clients. Focussing on each client’s needs this naturally leads to local areas of excellence where bespoke solutions have been created. These are a fantastic source of ideas which could be developed and adopted nationally as a recent example from two of our water contracts shows.

All of our water company clients seek to provide a consistent, high quality service with the minimum of interruption to customers’ water supplies. This can prove a challenge when faced with signifi cant programme of investment to replace in an ageing infrastructure.

Applied innovationHelping clients rise to meet this challenge Morrison Utility Services has jointly developed innovative solutions and our work with Yorkshire Water is a good example. ‘Line stop’ or ‘bag off technology’, has been used for many years in the gas sector, a range of specialist tools and line stop applications have been developed by the Yorkshire Water team which are now used to enable ‘live working’ on the water network.

The Hydrant Wizard works by tapping into the water pipe and inserting a specially designed infl atable bag it is possible to stop the fl ow of water even under high pressure. The key feature of this innovation is the ability to isolate sections of the water network quickly meaning only a minimum number of customer properties are affected for a short period of time. The invention gained industry acclaim when it was honoured both by the SBWWI Water Dragons and the Water Industry Achievement Awards.

Sharing best practiceAt a recent site demonstration in Camberwell in South London, representatives from Thames Water and the Morrison Utility Services/Galliford Try Joint Venture (MGJV) both saw at fi rst hand how effective this line stop approach can be. Seeing the value of the innovation, MGJV Contract Manager Dave Tann has ordered a number of line stop service kits which will be deployed immediately on the Thames Water Networks Contract.

Andy Hunt, Head of Innovation, Morrison Utility Services, says:

“This was a real opportunity to take an innovation which was home-grown for Yorkshire Water and convert it into a piece of national best practise. This is where innovation comes alive and we will continue to discover and harness these pockets of excellence and link them together for the benefi t of the company.” n

L-R Tom Murray, Andy Hunt, David Messruther and National Grid Commissioning Manager Peter Bateman.


cONtRAct SPOtLIGHtUtility ServicesMORRISON

morrison UtLiLitY serVices has created a new Extra High Voltage (EHV) business unit which will serve the business across the UK. Targeting business in the EHV sector, the new unit will look to build on our successful work on behalf of clients such as National Grid, UK Power Networks, CE Electric UK, Scottish Power Energy Networks and ABB amongst others.

The term ‘EHV’ applies to work on electrical infrastructure which carries power at 66kV and above. Morrison Utility Services has built a reputation in this arena offering

‘turnkey’ services – designing, building and commissioning for clients requiring substations, cable installations, connections to the transmission and distribution network and connections to renewable power sources such wind farms.

The unit will contain specialist skills and knowledge in the form of senior authorised engineers, jointers, linesmen and others who work across the complete voltage range from LV to 400kV. Four projects are already underway which including work to enhance the distribution network and enable the connection of Teesbay Windfarm to the grid outside Redcar. Further tendering is underway with potential new clients RWE Npower and Scottish and Southern Renewables.

Contracts Director, Dave Tong pictured left leads the new unit reporting to Jim Arnold, Dave comments:“As Government and energy generators lead the climate change agenda and place more and more emphasis on renewable

power, this sector is set to grow at an increasingly rapid pace. It is clear that we have some very relevant expertise to offer the industry and by specifi cally tasking the EHV unit to develop our services and showcase the expertise we have, Morrison Utility Services will be in contention to help shape the UK’s power infrastructure of the future. It’s an exciting opportunity and one which we can make a positive, enduring contribution to.”South West Electricity AllianceIn 2010 National Grid set out its Blueprint for the future in which it outlined its commitment to deliver its new operating model with a National Grid person leading each alliance. As a result, from the 1st March a new Alliance Manager has been appointed to the South West Electricity Alliance. Paul Green joins from National Grid’s Liquefi ed Natural Gas operation and brings with him nearly 30-years utility industry experience – primarily within the Gas Transmission side of the business. n

EHV BUSINESS UNIT ESTABLISHED

ALL COMPLETED AHEAD OF SCHEDULE

as Part oF the Western Gas Alliance, Morrison Utility Services has recently completed a high profi le project in the Temple Meads area of Bristol. 500m of 400mm MDPE was replaced by open cut on part of the Inner City Ring Road leading into the busy Bristol Temple Meads railway station.

Bristol Temple Meads railway station (pictured above right) is the oldest and largest railway station in Bristol and is an important interchange hub for public transport in Bristol.

The station opened on 31 August 1840 as the western terminus of the Great Western Railway from London Paddington station. The whole railway including Temple Meads was the fi rst one designed by the prolifi c British engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

As the demand for public transport grew, and to accommodate the increasing number of trains, the station was expanded in the 1870s by Francis Fox; and again in the 1930s by P E Culverhouse. Brunel’s terminus is no longer part of the operational. It housed the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum, which closed in 2008. The historical significance of the station is great and the majority of the site is Grade 1 listed.

Morrison Utility Services Performance Manager Colin Langdon and Wales & West Utilities Project Offi cer Neil Murphy designed the project so that all of the 500m was inserted by either dead insertion of an old abandoned main or by using the large diameter “live dead” technique. This enabled the works to minimise traffi c disruption and the work was completed six weeks ahead of the original schedule thanks to the hard work and diligence of Morrison Utility Services Mains layer Bob Beezer and Morrison Utility Services Operations Offi cer Mark Power.

Wales & West Utilities Deputy Operations Manager Paul Breakey said “This is a great success for the Western Gas Alliance in a major part of Bristol. It’s forward thinking and co-operation like this that drives the Alliance to achieve its goals.”

Morrison Utility Services Programme Manager Rob Vallender said, “The whole team involved with this project have worked to a consistently high standard throughout, using the best available techniques, ensuring it was completed as rapidly as possible, causing minimum disruption for the community, whilst securing a safe environment for the employees and the general public. All those involved are a credit to Morrison Utility Services and the Wales & West Utilities Western Gas Alliance.” n

ten dma manaGers have been issued with specially designed rugged laptops which it is hoped will speed up communication between site and offi ce. The managers who all work for the Morrison Galliford Try Joint Venture (MGJV) for Thames Water will need some time getting to know their new gadget companions but colleagues on the contract are already seeing the benefi ts.

Dave Tann, Construction Manager explains:“We were well aware that a signifi cant amount of non-

productive time was being spent by Managers, Agents and Supervisors travelling to and from the offi ce in order to collect work, download photos from a digital camera, manage emails and update and edit ISIS our work management system. Due to our South London location at Deptford traffi c and travelling time is a major factor for managers going about their duties”

The rugged laptop solution was identifi ed by Business Process and Systems Manager Rob Marshall and Street Works Performance Manager Kevin Weatherill in a project which started back in February last year. The Motion F5v rugged laptop was the eventual winner in a beauty parade of potential devices which each had different functionality and benefi ts.

Kevin Weatherill explains:“We wanted a mobile solution which was easy to use on site

but was robust and gave enough functionality to really make a difference to how these fi eld managers worked. We quickly realised that Smartphones or PDAs just were not going to cut it for this reason. As a result we carefully researched alternative hardware and identifi ed six potential devices. Following desktop

research and testing of each device, two were selected from the list for fi eld testing. We worked with two agents on the contract: Tobie MacWilliam and Anthony Lane to undertake a fi eld test on the two devices. They each put them through extensive testing using ISIS, emails and other specifi c offi ce systems. The Motion F5v turned out to be the outright winner and we we’re satisfi ed that we have identifi ed by far the best solution. We are very confi dent that this process is transferable and could be applied to any contract with a mobile working requirement.”

The Motion F5v rugged laptop offers 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity and includes a built in camera and video. This enables real time information to be updated on our work management system Isis. All photographs taken using the laptop can also be attached whilst the manager is out in the fi eld, these can then be viewed in the offi ce in real time.

Whilst it is still early days for the Motion F5v, initial feedback suggests that the solution is achieving exactly what it set out to do.

Dave Tann continues:“Now that rugged laptops have been introduced site staff

can now spend considerably more time on sites ensuring they are managed safely and productivity is managed more effi ciently. Increased presence on site by managers has also allowed communication with both the customer and the local authorities to fl ow.”

DMA Manager, Anthony Lane comments:“The laptops are really easy to use. So far I have found it

comes into its own when I am closing a job down. I can take photographs and record measurements on site and input them straight into ISIS. Where as before I would have put it all down on paper and transfer it onto the system back in the offi ce, this way there’s no delay and no potential for losing information! It’s diffi cult to say but I expect that just by using the laptop on site I am saving around two hour’s worth of driving each day, over a week that’s getting on for a 16 hours of travelling easily and who knows how many tonnes of CO2 emissions a year!”

And fi nally… praise indeedA Morrison Utility Services team, part of MGJV, has come in for high praise from Transport for London for their fl exible approach to working. Anthony Lane (see above), James Ruff, Pete Murty, Jim Chalker and Kevin Stace were all recently praised for their approach to work on Thames Water’s Victorian Mains Replacement programme.

Mark Wilson, South East Area Manager, Transport for London (TFL), says:

“We at TFL and in particular myself, appreciate your cooperation in this matter and your continued assistance in achieving the tight deadlines for this project.

As we are all aware, VMR across London sometimes gets bad press but the planning and implementation of the projects that are under your direct control are a testament to you, and go to show the benefi ts of a close working relationship with TFL and other stats companies.” n

LAPTOPS GET RUGGED TO HANDLE LIFE ON THE ROAD

DIVISIONAL NEWS



tHANKS A MILLION

Thanks a Million • Thanks a Million • Thanks a Million • Thanks a Million • Thanks a M

Charles Morrison, Chief Executive

“We have lived and traded on this narrow street since 1984. We have on several occasions had the road closed for various repairs including the last gas main replacement in 1985. My wife and I would like it put on record, and fed back to the team who are still working here now, that they have been helpful and courteous at all times. Of course it is always inconvenient when the road has to be dug up and closed, but this team have gone out of their way to try and reduce that inconvenience. They are, in short, excellent ambassadors for Morrison Utility Services.”Many congratulations to Ronnie Whitcombe, Team Leader Paul Whitcombe, General Operative, Damian Whitcombe, Team Leader, Larry Deanne and General Operative, Les Deanne based at the Exeter depot for their excellent customer service skills.


“Thank you for your reply to my email. I came back on Wednesday evening to find the boards removed, the hole filled in and what seems to be new grass seed on top. Thank you very much for chasing up this matter for me. It’s so nice to receive a prompt and efficient service from a company and I was very impressed that I received a personal reply from both yourself and Lisa.” Excellent customer service praise goes to Kelly Monger and Lisa MacInnes based at the Stevenage offi ce.

“I wish to commend your two workmen, James and Craig. The street lamp outside my property had not been working for months and despite several phone calls to the local council nothing had to date been done. This morning your team arrived and did everything possible to connect the light which is now working perfectly. They were polite, helpful and maintained our access at all times. In short excellent employees and an excellent job at last, many thanks.”Brilliant customer praise goes to James Grieves and Craig Dean based at the Hemel depot.

“ “

Great customer praise goes to Greenwich based

team Andy Kear, Andy Rouse, Luke Lanza, Kieran

Watts, Matt Aristidou, Jamie Clarke and their

Supervisor Nick Bater.

“I should just like to express our thanks on how the road works and road crossing were carried out on Groby Road. Traffi c Management was excellent and the cones pulled back on time, so that there were no unnecessary hold ups to traffic. You will be pleased to hear that we didn’t have one complaint.”Excellent praise received from Leicester

Council praising Excavation gang Andy Deeley Civils Supervisor’s John Roe and Ricky Pittaway based at the Lutterworth depot for a tricky job executed very professionally.

“I’m delighted with the incredibly high standards of customer service being achieved by everyone.

Receiving such high praise from members of the public together with clients is testament

to you all reinforcing that you are doing a fi rst class job. Keep up the good work.”

“I would like to complement your

team renewing the gas mains in our

road. The boys are polite, considerate,

make very little mess and allow

access at all times. Please pass on

thanks for great workmanship from

my neighbours as well as myself and

pass my thanks on to Fred who is

your Agent for the area.”

Positive customer praise goes to Agent

Fred Morris, Multi Skilled Team Leader

Ben Godfrey, Multi Skilled Operative,

Sam Furnieux and Operative Steve

Spenser based at Charing for leaving

this particular customer with such a

positive impression of the company.

“I’m writing to let you know how impressed I’ve been with the works being carried out in my street. The men have been efficient, polite and helpful especially at school times when they have seen us safely across the road. Well done Morrison Utility Services workers, what a nice change in today’s society.”

Lovely customer praise goes to

Dave Bell, Mark Ryder, Mark Kirk,

Alan Henderson, Jason Pearce and

Martin Richardson based at the

Leeds depot.

“I am writing to tell you about the two workmen who attended our premises this morning. I am extremely impressed with their customer service skills, and with their very kind and caring attitude, considering that both houses have experienced much diffi culty in trying to get our driveways completed. Although they were only contracted to complete work at my property, my neighbour had been promised that his hole would be reinstated at the same time, these guys took it upon themselves to get both jobs completed and achieve true customer service.”

Fantastic praise from a very impressed member of the public goes to Senior Reinstatement Agent Jim Ramshaw, Reinstatement team Nick Curry and Ray Buck based at the Harold Wood Depot, for their impressive attitude and customer service skills.

“I am writing to thank you for your consideration when replacing the water mains at Eddlethorpe and Thornthorpe. Residents have appreciated the roads only being closed for the minimum amount of time and the lack of mess made. You were also very good in contacting me to warn us of the impending work.”Excellent praise received from Burythorpe Parish Council praising the team of Ian Harrison and John Phelan based at the Normanton depot.

“I wanted to inform you that I was very impressed with the manner with which the gas mains replacement work was carried out. Your staff were well mannered and we were kept well informed with any inconvenience kept to a minimum. Please pass on my thanks to all the team.”

Excellent customer praise goes to

Exeter based Team Leader Martin

Quinn, Mates Steve Barlow and

John Quinn and Directional Drillers

Steve Burke and Neil King.

“I wanted to thank Jason and h

is team for

being helpful and polite. They assiste

d me across the

road when I required it and have be

en very kind and

considerate. Please pass this on to

their Manager as

it is extremely rare for workmen to

help out in this

way, I really did appreciate it.”

I would like to commend the tea

m on site

today. They were very polite, helpful

, clean and tidy.

I couldn’t have asked for a better

team.”

“I would like to

thank the team who visited

my property today with regard to

the gas mains

replacement. They were very polite, h

elpful, clean and

tidy. I couldn’t have wished for a

nicer group of

lads. Please pass on my thanks to

all concerned.”

Excellent customer praise three times over received

from a very happy member of the public goes to

Exeter based Operations Supervisor Mike Toogood,

Team Leader Jason Miller, Servicelayer Alan Bailey,

Multi Skilled Operative Ben Paver and Mate Ryan

McDiamid.

“I wanted to thank all concerned in rectifying my concerns. Your team arrived and did all that regulations would permit to tidy up the connections so as not to cause me unnecessary worry. I should like to draw your attention to the fact that Mr Spillings and his crew, Colin and Frank, have been most helpful and assisted me in a very courteous way which I think is most commendable and I should like this fact to be conveyed to your senior staff.” Well done goes to Agent Shaun Spillings, Colin Absalom, Frank Kilgannon Snr and Frank Kilgannon Jnr based at Hitchin from a very satisfi ed customer.

“I would just like to take this opportunity to express my thanks for the kind and courteous service given to us by one of your engineers. He arrived to investigate a suspected gas leak at the next door property and as a matter of course checked our supply at the same time. Although he gave us the all clear he changed our regulator as a precautionary measure as it was of a type known to cause problems. After checking everything was ok he relit our boiler and checked our appliances were operating correctly then gave us advice on our meter which is of an older type. This is great service. Please pass on utmost thanks to the engineer concerned.”

Great customer praise goes to Gordon Ferrett based at the Epsom site for excellent customer service well done.

“I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank you and your team for getting our Phase 2 development all up and running with services not only for our show home opening but for all of our Legal’s prior to Christmas. Once again thank you.” Praise received from David Wilson Homes Contracts Manager, Ivan Towson commending Project Manager Zoe Saunders based at the Lutterworth depot for her efforts in bringing this project to a successful conclusion.

“For several weeks you have undertaken a fairly large gas works project involving extensive trenching work and the use of temporary traffic lights. The team have been thoroughly professional and worked in an efficient manner. They have kept the area clean, which as a car driver I appreciate but also sometimes make short journeys on a motorcycle where I really appreciate the road surface being left in good condition. Other organisations could learn from your example and your staff are a credit to the company well done.”Fantastic customer praise goes to Charing depot based Supervisor Jimmy Morris Team Leader Dickie Leitch and Operative Del Phillpot.

“I would just like to say thanks to the two lads who changed my broken stop tap. From the minute they arrived to the time they left they were very professional in every thing they did, they even reinstated the path far better than it was before excellent job. Thanks again.”

Well done to Bob Crossan and team mate Paul Townsend based at the Normanton depot.

DIVISIONAL NEWS



tHANKS A MILLION

“I would like to compliment the way in which Russell has

dealt with me and my neighbours during the replacement of the

gas mains in our street. He has been communicative, patient and

good humoured. We very much appreciated his help through a

diffi cult time.”

“Morrison Utility Services are marvellous. All the men working

on this project are helpful and polite despite working in some

appalling weather conditions. Russell is outstanding whilst

dealing with members of the public, remaining calm and good

natured. As well as overseeing his team he also acts as a good PR

man for yourselves which we really appreciated.”

Positive praise from some very impressed members of the

public goes to Russell Parsons based at the Bristol offi ce for

outstanding customer service.

“Just a quick note to thank you for your

help on this, everyone I’d spoken to before

had passed the buck until you took ownership.

If you have any appraisals or if this can be

passed to someone, you deserve recognition

for your help. Apologies for the grovelling tone

but recognition in this case is certainly due.”

Excellent Customer praise goes to CMR

Manager Neil Smith based at Redhill from a

very happy member of the public.

Thanks a Million • Thanks a Million • Thanks a Million • Thanks a Million • Thanks a M


“I wanted to let you know what a pleasure it has been having such a nice team of workers in our area. They have been polite, informative and the health and safety together with tidiness on site has been of the highest standard. Please

pass on my thanks to all concerned.”

“I wanted to compliment your employees working on replacing the water pipes in my street. They cannot be faulted as they have worked effi ciently and to a high health and safety standard. They are always polite and tidy. They have kept disruption to a minimum and so on behalf of myself and my neighbours we think these guys are a credit to your company please pass on our thanks for a job well done.”

Congratulations once again to Ivan Poole and

Stuart Hall based at the Normanton site who

have now received numerous letters praising

them for their great customer service skills and

attention to detail.

“I would like to commend the team working on the lead water pipe replacement work in Calverley Lane. I found all members of the team polite, courteous and very aware of safety issues. They were happy to answer any questions I had and worked conscientiously at all times. The disruption was kept to a minimum and it’s hard pressed to tell they were ever here in the fi rst place. Please pass on my thanks to the team.”Congratulations and well done once again goes to Andy Carven, Brian Softley, Chris Potts and Paul Foster based at the Normanton depot.

“I would like to let you know how very impressed I’ve been with your team. They have been very courteous, tidy, and helpful and kept any disruption to an absolute minimum.”“Just a few lines to let you know how pleased I was with your team of Mark, Matt and Rob who carried out the recent gas mains replacement in my road. They are nice lads and all very hard workers.”“May I take this opportunity to thank your team for installing a new gas main and connection to my property. Mark and Rob worked tirelessly to get the work completed, never complaining if things had to be moved and always courteous.”“We would just like to say how satisfi ed we were with all the operatives we spoke to during the works; they were approachable, polite and certainly worked hard. We are pleased to say that everything has been completed to our satisfaction.”

More outstanding customer praise received from various residents in Biggleswade once again complementing Supervisor Terry Ockenden, Mark Venni, Rob Brammer and Matt Gaskin based at the West Horndon site on their fi rst class customer service skills. Well done and keep up the good work!

“Following the leaking valve in my back garden and the obvious disruption it caused. I’m delighted to report that your team worked extremely hard in terrible conditions to put it all right again. They were kind and courteous and I was kept constantly informed of progress. Over the week I got to know many of your staff and whilst hard to pick out individuals, Jason, Mark, Neil, John, Ian and Ryan were all exceptional and each played their own part in rectifying the situation. Please pass my heartfelt gratitude on to all involved for the sterling work they did.”

Superb customer praise goes to Jason Young, Chris Raper, Steve Knowles, Rob Bryson, Mark Varah, Neil Hotchin, Ian Harrison, John Phelan and Ryan Judge based at Leeds.

“I would like to commend Reuben who personally dropped the cheque off to us this morning. He managed our situation expertly with care and consideration. My wife and I appreciate the time and effort he put in to this. Please pass on our thanks.”

“We wanted to say how impressed the residents of Howgill and nearby have been with the help and thoughtfulness of your team presently laying the water mains. I can particularly commend Reuben, who has managed these issues with sympathetic understanding and speed. It’s a pleasure to write a letter like this and I hope you will pass on these thoughts to the appropriate quarters.”

Great praise goes to from two separate individuals praising Customer Services Technician, Reuben Horner based at the Leeds offi ce.

“I wish to commend your team working

in New Dover Road, Canterbury opposite St

Christopher’s School who I found to be very polite

and courteous to the parents and children as and

when they had to cross the road. They have kept us

updated with the progress of the works and have

endeavoured to keep the disruption to an absolute

minimum. I would particularly like to draw

your attention to the young man who operated

the traffi c control system; he always appeared

to be very mindful of the needs of residents as

they gained access to and from their properties.”

Excellent customer feedback received from

The Master at St Christopher’s School praising

Shane Gilbert and Dave Lewis based at the

Charing depot.

“Please can you pass my thanks on to the team working at Totnes, in Devon they are doing a good job. They are clean, tidy, very polite and courteous.”

Excellent praise goes to Supervisor Tony Ham, Team leader Ben Partrick, Mates Andy Lonergan and Toby Frohlic based at the Exeter depot.

“Following a gas leak I had at my property I have nothing but the highest praise for your member of staff J ason who so r t e d t h e p r o b l e m o u t so effi ciently.”

Kind words from a very happy customer go to Jason Bushby based at the Epsom Depot.

“Following the gas mains replacement in our road I wanted to feedback to you how impressed I was with the team working in this area. Steve and his team were at all times courteous, informative and even offered to carry in my shopping when I couldn’t access my driveway! We all too often complain about British workmen, but I have to say that Steve and his boys were exemplary! They repaired any damage with no fuss – and made a very neat job. Thank you for minimising the disruption – but a bigger thank you for sending us such a pleasant taskforce.”

Positive praise from a very impressed customer goes to Team Leader Steve Reno, Labourer Tony Sodden, Agent Phil Goddard and Senior Agent Glen Davis based at the Mitcham depot.

“Just a quick note to thank you and your team for all your efforts.

Everyone involved was really helpful and respectful of our property.

Removing these power lines certainly makes us feel a lot safer.”

“Cheers Darren another fine job and satisfied customer. I’ll pass it on to the linesmen.”Positive praise received from both the customer and our client UK Power Networks goes to Project Manager Darren Russell based at Arlesey and Dig Team Barry Darby, Paul Shaw, Adam Went and Noel Clark based at Risby.

“I really must let you know that I have been really impressed with Nick and his team who have toiled continuously in some fairly nasty weather to complete the gas mains replacement. They have gone out of their way not to inconvenience residents and at one stage had to clear a large amount of snow away before they could start the day job. Please pass my thanks on to all concerned. I am extremely grateful.”Excellent praise and well done goes to Team Leader Nick Stevens and Mates Eddie Stevens and Mark Marsden based at the Charing depot.

“I wanted to say thank you to the team that worked outside my house. They did a lovely job and were kind and considerate. They worked efficiently in all types of weather. People are only too happy to complain but never prepared to say thank you which is why I wanted to make a point of letting you know.” Great customer praise goes to Team Leader Pete Skopijack and his team mates John and Steve Martin based at the Bristol depot.

“I felt I wanted to put in a word of praise for the gang of men who did the work in the Gordon Road area of Leckhampton, Cheltenham. They were always very polite and helpful, and did their best to cause the residents as little inconvenience as possible.”Excellent praise goes to Steve Worrall, Dave Radford and Matthew Bate based at the Gloucester depot for a job well done.

“Please pass my gratitude on to your employees Geoffrey and Trevor “They attended my property to sort out a problem and were absolutely great and a credit to the company”.A pat on the back goes to Geoffrey Thomas and Trevor Joy based at the Kennington Depot.

“I was very impressed with the professionalism shown by your workmen Jon when he recently attended a gas emergency at my property.”

Well done to Jon Edmonston based at the Epsom depot for dealing with the job so effi ciently.

“I wanted to complement your team. They

have been helpful, communicative and hard

working throughout this arduous and messy work.

My own gas supply was reconnected to plan

earlier this week and the fi tters who did this

were also excellent.”

Great praise for a job well done goes to Team

Leader Dave Litchenstein and Operatives

Richie Steele and Jamie Delord based at the

Gloucester depot.

“I would like to compliment the way in which Russell has

dealt with me and my neighbours during the replacement of the

gas mains in our street. He has been communicative, patient and

good humoured. We very much appreciated his help through a

diffi cult time.”

“Morrison Utility Services are marvellous. All the men working

on this project are helpful and polite despite working in some

appalling weather conditions. Russell is outstanding whilst

dealing with members of the public, remaining calm and good

natured. As well as overseeing his team he also acts as a good PR

man for yourselves which we really appreciated.”

Positive praise from some very impressed members of the

public goes to Russell Parsons based at the Bristol offi ce for

outstanding customer service.

Excellent feedback received from Chapel Royal, St James Palace for a

high profi le gas project we undertook on behalf of National Grid working

on Pall Mall in Central London.

Particular praise goes to Joe Gilfi nnan, Trevor Woodham, Ian Young

and their teams based at West Horndon who went out of their way to

ensure the works were carried out effi ciently, professionally and with

minimum disruption.

“I would like to praise John Hooper and his team. They are so polite and hard working, and really go out of their way to help people especially with elderly residents in the street. They even turned down a cup of tea to fi nish the work.”

Lovely customer praise goes to Team Leader John Hooper, Mates Paul Biggs and Mike Crawley and Operation Offi cer Bob Poole based at the Exeter depot.

“I would like to compliment the three men involved in the gas mains renewal work in Sunningale Avenue, Kent. During what has been a diffi cult job, they have all remained extremely helpful, polite and cooperative keeping any inconvenience to a minimum. Please pass my thanks on to all three.”

Fantastic customer praise does to Greenwich based Team Leader Steve Hawkes, Lee Speller, Aaron Martin and Agent, Nick Bater for a job well done.

DIVISIONAL NEWS



cONtRAct SPOtLIGHt Utility ServicesMORRISON

in decemBer 2010 Morrison Utility Services’ UK Power Networks Major Projects team completed the construction of its largest project to date. South of Bedford, the ‘grid’ substation was an entirely new build on green-fi eld land. The project, part of a larger upgrade to the electricity infrastructure in the area, presented some unique challenges to the team. Thankfully these were successfully overcome and the substation was handed over on time and on budget to a satisfi ed UK Power Networks client.

Grid substations are the fi rst point in the distribution chain in delivering power to us. Typically they serve a large area and transform high-voltage electricity taken from the National Grid network and redistribute it via the District Network Operators (DNO’s) to smaller, primary substations. These primary substations in

turn feed secondary substations which enable power, at a low enough voltage, to enter homes and businesses.

Bedford and its localities has historically been served by one single grid substation and an upgrade to the network in the Bedford area was urgently required. Without enhancing the network infrastructure the risk to supply under certain fault conditions was considered unacceptable for customers.

The South Bedford Grid Substation was the fi rst project built entirely using a UK Power Networks-harmonised design scheme and the fi rst grid site within UK Power Networks to utilise new fibre optic technologies. An Integrated Delivery Team (IDT) was set up under the leadership of UK Power Networks’ project manager Martin Field to drive the development to its successful conclusion.

Before the construction of the substation could go ahead, a variety of enabling works were required which formed a much larger, £25 million project for UK Power Networks. Chiefl y this consisted of restringing the 132kV overhead line which would feed the site. A signifi cant project in itself, the distance over which the towers were restrung covered some 28.5km. Over 43km of fi bre optic cable was wrapped around the new lines to enable data to fl ow along this part of the network. Repair and maintenance work was also carried out on the towers themselves which required repainting and the legs resetting. In order to feed the grid substation, new 132kV cables were laid along a 2.7km route passing under roads and farm land leading to the substation site. This element of the work required not only detailed technical planning but a well-considered approach to managing the impact on the local community and extensive negotiations with landowners.

In both cases, the work was undertaken by principle contractors Babcock Networks Ltd and Carillion Utility Services but the challenge for Morrison Utility Services as leading contractor was coordinating this highly complex work with the development of the new substation. This was especially critical due to the nature of the testing required prior to powering up this new part of the network, i.e. the new substation and cables. Certain elements of the testing involved importing a test rig from Europe. Given the required lead time to secure the test rig, some six months before, the test date remains a fi xed target throughout development which cannot be missed. As a result, the pressures of co-ordinating works beyond the company’s direct control were significant. This was managed via a variety of ways including

constant schedule reviews involving all contractors and highly-effective communication among the contracting teams.

To enable the overall scheme to run to time, to budget and without confl ict between principle contractors, Morrison Utility Services’ Paul Ashworth was appointed by UK Power Networks as the overall co-ordinating project manager. Paul comments:

“As the overall project coordinator my job was to oversee each principle contractor and all subcontractors and keep them on schedule with a huge range of tasks. I kicked off the global programme from which all tasks were linked back to the South Bedford Grid substation. In order to keep things on track, co-ordination and progress meetings were held regularly to ensure that all issues could be resolved with minimal time, expense, and delays.”

The electrical engineering project manager, John Boughey, co-ordinated the electrical works overseeing and communicating numerous tasks to enable a major refurbishment of the high-voltage network running through the site. This included co-ordinating the cable laying, cable diversions, issuing of electrical safety documentation and coordination between the senior 132kV SAP and senior Morrison Utility Services Commissioning Engineer for the differing works and contractors.

There were no lost-time occurrences or injuries throughout the life of the project, some 64,545 project working hours. Safety was paramount and was managed by the site manager Martin Pulsford and his assisting safety colleagues.

Martin Field, UK Power Networks’ Project Manager worked side by side with the Morrison Utility Services team throughout the project. He says:

“The success of this project was all down to meticulous planning, devising contingencies and constant reviewing and tweaking of the plan. Factoring in the larger infrastructure upgrade which had a massive impact on the progress of the substation build was no easy task but Paul and his team managed it very successfully. Their safety record with no lost time incidents is proof of their attention to detail and a pride in their work which was demonstrated day in day out.” n

ON TImE, ON BUDGET AND ON THE GRID

USKmOUTH – SECURING THE ENERGY SUPPLY FOR SOUTH WALES COmmUNITIESin soUth waLes, Electricity Alliance South West (SWA) has a major construction project underway to connect Severn Power’s 800MW Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) power station to the existing 275kV transmission system at Uskmouth, in Newport, South Wales. Uskmouth’s 275kV substation is an outdoor Air Insulation Switchgear (AIS) substation. The 132kV substation is an indoor Air Insulation Switchgear (AIS) with a double bar arrangement.

The work SWA is carrying out is for the installation and commissioning of an 11 bay 275kV Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS) substation, 8 High Voltage (HV) cable circuits, a 132kV Series Reactor and protection changes on 8 circuits.

As part of this scheme, remote end protection and control work is required at the 275kV substations at Cardiff East, Whitson, Aberthaw and Tremorfa. At Whitson and Tremorfa, 275kV new additional primary plant Current Transformers (CTs) and Voltage Transformers (VTs) are to be installed.

All the work relating to this 275kV GIS substation development required careful co-ordination. Multiple stakeholders are involved in this project such as Alpha Steel and Celsa Steel who are on customer choice connections, causing the project team

some challenges. Works were planned to minimise disruption to Alpha Steel by aligning with all of their annual shutdowns, and Celsa Steelworks have had their plant downtime reduced from 8 weeks to 4 by the use of temporary protection, night working and a complex staging of outages.

The project team encountered a number of environmental challenges along the way, the local birds playing their part too! On the opposite bank of the River Usk, there is a habitat used by over-wintering birds which constrains work over the winter months. A visual and acoustic bird screen has been erected and restrictions placed on the type, scale and timings of our work.

Morrison Utility Services Contracts Director, Dave Tong said, “It is fair to say that this is a technically complicated site, and the scope of the work covered most aspects encountered in a transmission system design, construction and commissioning project, but through liaison with all stakeholders the connection of the 800MW Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) to Uskmouth was successfully delivered ahead of schedule and has provided a rewarding, and great platform to learn from for our future projects.” n

EARLY DAYS DEVELOPMENT ZONE AT USKMOUTH

CURRENT VIEW TODAY AT USKMOUTH

DIVISIONAL NEWS



morrison PLant & Fleet Services (MPFS) achieved a signifi cant safety milestone during January 2011. They have now completed a full three years and worked in excess of half million man-hours since their last reportable incident.

Director of Plant & Fleet Services, Jeremy Harrison, said: “This is an excellent achievement and my thanks go to the entire MPFS team. We have invested heavily in time and in improving our safety processes, training

and auditing during this period and the results support this approach. However, just one shortcut can undo all of the excellent work to date. Our priority must always be our employees’ and the public’s safety and we must all remain fully committed and vigilant in ensuring that we maintain this performance moving forward.”

To celebrate the achievement, MPFS held a karting evening for those in the South and a bowling evening in the North. n


SHEQ

SAFETY mILESTONE

L to R – Alan Giddings, Steve Cowie Jnr and Stephen Cowie Snr enjoying the karting event.

Morrison Utility Services is well-known throughout the industry for having a very good safety record.It has always been a key value driving the business that the safety of employees and members of the public should be at the heart of our work.The latest safety statistics (see diagram) indicate the level of reported accidents for the year to date throughout Morrison Utility Services.These numbers are carefully monitored to ensure that safety is always taken extremely seriously in the work place.

injury trends Financial Year to date


1415

15

23

12

15

5

6

57

28

1

INJURY TRENDSsaFetY:

mORRIS AND SONSay take great care when excavating, read and use the utility drawings, take time to use the cable locator and mark up all apparatus, then fi nally excavate with caution.

this monthLY award scheme recognises an individual or team who have received special thanks or a consistently high number of commendations from customers, clients and members of the public. These letters of praise feature in this newsletter each quarter and are circulated to Senior Managers.

Each member of a winning team receives a £50 Tesco voucher and a commemorative Morrison Utility Services torch to be presented at monthly team briefi ngs.

A more in depth explanation of each month’s successful individual or team together with a testimonial can be found on the VIVA home page.

Congratulations to all the winners below so far. Please keep up the good work. Remember how we conduct ourselves and behave at work has a wider impact on the company’s reputation and external communications. n

CUSTOmER SERVICE TEAm OF THE mONTH AWARD

MONtH WINNERS cONtRAct

January Shane Gilbert and Dave Lewis Charing (SGN)February Mike Toogood, Jason Miller, Alan Bailey, Exeter (Wales & West Utilities) Ben Paver and Ryan McDiamid March Steve Reno, Tony Sodden, Phil Goddard Mitcham (SGN) and Glen Davis

Illustrations courtesy of Century 21 Projects



morrison UtiLitY serVices Apprenticeship scheme is flourishing with two recently appointed apprentices on the National Grid East Coalition contract, six apprentices working on the Southern Water Emergency Works contract, two on the Wales and West Western Gas Alliance contract, two on the South West Alliance contract and one on the Southern Gas Networks contract.

Morrison Utility Services News caught up with some of the apprentices to fi nd out what led them to starting an apprenticeship and what they hope to achieve.

MUS News: “So, how did you become a Morrison Utility Services Apprentice?”Tom Nelson (National Grid East Coalition contract): “I did a spell of work experience with National Grid which I really enjoyed. It helped me to realise what working in the gas industry involved and I really wanted to see if I could fi nd an apprenticeship.”Aaron Milward (3rd year apprentice on the Southern Water contract): “I was already working for the business and was put forward to join the scheme by my Managers – Mark Barber and Chris Stone.” Ryan Dyer (3rd year apprentice on the Southern Water contract): “I was actually already on an apprenticeship scheme and found out about the Morrison Utility Services scheme through the college I was attending.”Kieren Shipp (National Grid East Coalition contract): “Like Tom (Nelson), I also did a period of work experience at National Grid and my brother has recently completed his apprenticeship.”Tom Ingram (3rd year apprentice on the Southern Water contract): “I initially found out about apprenticeships through my school careers services.”TN: “As it happened, the Morrison Utility Services scheme was just getting underway so I applied and was successful.”TI: “In a similar way to Ryan, I actually started my apprenticeship with another company and transferred to the Morrison Utility Services scheme after seeing more about it at college.”AM: “At 26, I was a unique candidate as I was a fair bit older than the usual apprentice, but it was too good an opportunity to pass up.”

RD: “I had left school, but wanted to learn and earn at the same time.”

MUS: What does it mean for you to be an apprentice?AM: “It means I can continue to work, learn a trade and gain recognised qualifi cations.”RD: “I’m thrown into the real world of work and it’s not just about college. After the course I’m qualifi ed, I know the technical stuff and I also have the practical experience.”TI: “The apprenticeship provides a good steady job that has enabled me to work with my hands. I enjoy building the good working relationships with my colleagues and I enjoy the banter I get from them.”

MUS: And the future?AM: “I enjoy being on site so I want to qualify and stay in the industry in an on site role.”RD: “In the next fi ve years I’d like to be a Supervisor with maybe a view to move onto Operations Manager by the time I’m in my 30’s.”TI: “I’d like to be a Supervisor in the next fi ve years.”TN: “I hope that my time as an apprentice will give me a good, well-rounded experience.”KS: “I am looking to become a fully qualifi ed main layer and hopefully become a Team Leader. After that maybe management, who knows?”

Our apprentices are working during a time of substantial development in the skills and training arena. The UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has recently published their “Skills for Sustainable Growth” outlining the Government’s Strategy for national skills development over the coming years. John Hayes, Secretary of State for Further Education and Lifelong Learning said “apprenticeships will be at the heart of the system we build, supported by a system of valued qualifi cation”.

For Morrison Utility Services, the Government’s strategy gives us greater support to access the right skills that are needed to effi ciently run the business, through means such as apprenticeships.

For our employees, it means we can provide a range of apprenticeships that cover many aspects of the business across our key business areas, all of which will help strengthen the credentials of our staff and therefore the business. n

SHEQ

YOU’RE HIRED...

If you are, or know anyone who may be interested in one of our Apprenticeship Schemes, then please contact the Apprenticeship Scheme co-ordinating team at [email protected].

Minimum entry requirements are English and Maths GCSE (or equivalent) at grade D or above, plus one other subject. Applicants will need to demonstrate a willingness to learn, be hardworking and enthusiastic and enjoy working as part of a team.

Tom Nelson

Aaron Milward

Ryan Dyer

Kieren Shipp

Tom Ingram

STREET WISE - STREET WORKS RE-ASSESSmENT PROCESSto renew YoUr Street Works card after April 2011 will now require both Supervisors and Operatives to complete an open book exam consisting of 10 questions per unit held.

This is a fundamental change to the 18 year old Streetworks scheme, which has previously required applicants to merely complete a new application form.

To add some confusion to the renewal process, the new exam rule will only apply to anyone with a permanent home address in England given the way that legislation is now organised across the four home nations.

There is an opportunity available for those whose cards expire in the immediate six months beyond 6th April 2011, in other words for Supervisor and Operative cards that expire up to 5th September, they can APPLY now, in practical terms, by the middle of March to renew their registration with SWQR under the existing scheme rules. It is this opportunity that Morrison Utility Services want to maximise and avoid the need to re-assess such early expiring cards.

For any Supervisor or Operative card that expires after 5th September 2011, they will be unable to renew under the current rules and will have to go through the new re-assessment process, as will anyone who misses the deadline described above, which may well mean new starters into the business.

Further briefi ngs and notes will be cascaded out through the business as soon as it comes available but all card holders can minimise the initial impact of the re-assessment scheme by applying for a card renewal for those that expire between April and August 2011.

So if your card expires during this time please ensure you contact your local training administrator or any of the Skills Development Team based at Arlesey below. n

Tom Brisbane: 07736 091573National Grid East CoalitionCentral NetworksUK Power Networks

Jo Wilkins: 077257 82358Southern WaterWestern Gas AllianceNational Grid SW AllianceThames Water

Glen Tymon: 07736 800111Yorkshire WaterScottish Power Energy NetworksCE Electric UKEHV contracts

Gay Scallan: 07775 703333Arlesey & StevenageSouthern Gas NetworksTHINK POWER

sacha PateL and Seamus Kennedy from the South West Electricity Alliance are the stars of two short fi lms commissioned by the National Skills Academy for Power. Sacha and Seamus feature as examples of the future of the power industry in an initiative launched to encourage more young people to consider engineering as one of the many careers in the power sector. Called Think Power the website bearing its name was launched to much acclaim recently and both Sacha and Seamus represent Morrison Utility Services on it. Although probably a daunting task, both turned in star performances showing early fl air for what is likely to be a long and illustrious career in the spotlight.Sacha and Seamus can both be seen on the Think Power website: www. thinkpowersector.co.uk n



PEOPLE & cOMMuNIty

What was your fi rst job?I worked as an assistant to a Sales Manager at an Agricultural Company. I loved the job and the people, but left to go travelling around Thailand, Australia and New Zealand. What’s your dream job and why?A Quality Control Manager at a Cocktail Bar located on the beach in a beautiful tropical country. Why? I like Cocktails and I like the beach.

If you could invite three people to dinner who would they be and why?Michael Palin so I could quiz him about his travels. Jamie Oliver to cook the meal and Peter Kay to entertain.

What was your favourite TV show when you were growing up?I loved Super Ted, I used to get close to the television screen to try and hear the magic words.

What are you currently listening to on your ipod / CD player?Red Hot Chilli Peppers Greatest Hits. It was a bit of an anthem when I was travelling and listening to it brings back good memories.

Where would your dream holiday destination be?I would like to hire a luxury Winnebago and travel the USA with my boyfriend and not forgetting my dog Poppy.

Who would you like to jump out of your birthday cake and why?My Sister, Brother in Law and eight month old niece. They live in Australia so I don’t get to see them much it would be the best surprise ever.

If you had a super power what would it be?I would have the power to fl y, no more M25 for me!!

What food or drink could you not live without?For food it would be a traditional roast dinner cooked by my mum. For drink although I don’t drink them on a daily basis I wouldn’t like to think of life without Cosmopolitans!

Who would play you in a fi lm of your life?Renee Zellweger, I thought she was great in Bridget Jones and scarily found some similarities!

What was your fi rst job?

Trainee Chef.

What’s your dream job and why?

Lead singer in a band –

I love to be centre of attention.

If you could invite three people to

dinner who would they be and why?

Christopher Biggins, David Beckham and

Amanda Holden. David for the football talk,

and Amanda and Christopher for a laugh.

What was your favourite TV show

when you were growing up?

I never had a T.V!

What are you currently listening

to on your ipod / CD player?

Rumour / Eagles.

Where would your dream holiday

destination be?

Australia – would love to see the

Great Barrier Reef.

Who would you like to jump out of

your birthday cake and why?

Marilyn Monroe – She was lovely!

If you had a super power what

would it be?

Super Hearing – so I could eavesdrop

and get all the gossip.

What food or drink could

you not live without?

Tea.

Who would play you

in a fi lm of your life?

Steve Martin.

treVor Jordan Process enGineer

nationaL Grid connections

north London

sLoUGh oFFice

the interroGation!

reBecca JonesProJect manaGer

UK Power networKs

haroLd wood

QUicK-thinKinG Lee Semmence, a Service Layer on the National Grid East Coalition contract, sprang in to action recently to help a passer-by in a North London street.

Lee who was working in the road at the time noticed the gentleman had been taken ill and another good Samaritan was trying to administer CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation).

Lee takes up the story:“I could see that the person trying to

resuscitate the gentleman was not doing the chest compressions right. It is really important that your hands are in the right place on the chest if it is going to work. So I went over and offered to take over using the fi rst aid training we are given. I managed to bring the gentleman back only to lose him again; this happened three times in total before the ambulance came.”

The paramedics who arrived on scene praised Lee for taking control, Lee continues:

“Apparently if I hadn’t have kept going, the gentleman wouldn’t have survived. I was really glad to hear those sirens I can tell you! n

LIFE SAVER LEE

Lee is commended for his courageous actions by Charles Morrison in the shadow of Westminster Abbey in London.

FANCY BEING INTERROGATED?If you would like to take part in the interrogation please email

[email protected] any participants will be dealt with on a fi rst come fi rst serve basis.

REMEMBER you can only nominate yourself, emails suggesting other employees will not be considered.

LENDING A HANDstaFF From morrison Utility Services and Southern Water together with local businesses gave up their time in January and got involved in a community based project for Chestnut Tree House Children’s Hospice.

The house itself already benefi ts from beautiful gardens and the aim of the project was to improve the drainage system and help create a fi sh pond and wildlife area for the children to enjoy within this area of already outstanding beauty.

Chestnut Tree House is the only children’s hospice in Sussex and cares for children and young adults from 0-19 years of age with progressive life-limiting and life-threatening illnesses from all over the county. It offers support for the whole family including psychological support, care in bereavement therapy, end of life and respite care and sibling support.

Hospice Director of Children’s Services Linda Perry said, “Thank you to everyone who got involved. This was a massive job that needed to be done urgently and we couldn’t have managed it without the help of these companies. Their support has saved us a huge amount of money, which can now be spent on supporting the life-limited children and their families.”

Civil Operations Manager Brian Buckle said, “It was a very rewarding day, a real team effort with our client Southern Water and a fantastic opportunity to give something back to the community. With Spring on the way I hope the residents of Chestnut Tree House will be able to make the most of the new area in the summer months ahead.” n

Chestnut Tree House’s Corporate Fundraising Manager with Darren Fairbrass (Morrison Utility Services) and Kevin Buck (Southern Water) next to the completed reed bed and pond.

The reed bed area before the work.

dUrinG the FestiVe period Morrison Utility Services staff working on the National Grid East Coalition contract based at Hitchin together with National Grid colleagues rallied together for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Raffl e tickets were sold and Construction Offi cer Dave Smith was announced the winner and became the proud recipient of a Christmas Hamper.

National Grid Construction Operations Engineer, Dilbir Chana said, “Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is the most common disabling neurological condition affecting young adults. Around 100,000 people in the UK have MS. A grand total of £108 was raised altogether and my thanks go to everyone that took part and contributed towards this worthwhile cause.”

John Mills, Morrison Utility Services SHE Manager based in London working on the East Coalition contract with National Grid organised two annual charity fund raising events. The World’s Biggest Coffee Morning is Macmillan Cancer Support’s biggest fundraising event and was supported with the help of Nicky Breen and Chrissie Brown at Ipswich with Keely King and Samantha Parker in London and Hitchin. Many thanks to all concerned with everybody enjoying the yummy cakes and coffee. The

event raised £678.94 contributing towards the grand total as it currently stands of £7,991,938

The annual charity golf day took place at Southwold Golf Club in aid of Cancer Research UK. Morrison Utility Services together with National Grid staff swung into action and raised an outstanding amount of £2,220.00. John said, “Cancer Research UK is the world’s leading charity dedicated to beating cancer through research and continues to save millions of lives by discovering new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer. My sincere thanks go to everyone who helped to support the events and for their kind and generous donations.” n

CHARITY ALL THE WAY

DIVISIONAL NEWS



DEATH IN SERVICEDAVID ORBELL – 1956 – 2010it is with great sadness that we bring you news of the death of David Orbell, a Gas Engineer Service Layer who worked on the National Grid East Coalition contract based at Hitchin.David had worked for the company for three years, and passed away on the evening of the 11th December after battling with a Cancer related illness for sometime. Operations Manager, Chris Quayle said, “David was well liked and respected and will be sorely missed by all those who worked with him. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with his widow Diana and family at this difficult time.” n

PEOPLE & cOMMuNIty

new arriVaLsconGratULations to aLL the Mums and Dads below and a warm welcome to all the new additions to the family.Invoice Clerk Marjorie Thompson based at Redhill and her partner Mike became proud parents for the second time, on Saturday 13th November. Daisy May came into the world weighing 7lbs 6ozs, and is a little sister for Felix. Both Mother and baby are well.Administrator Karen Scott based at Bellshill and her partner Rod are celebrating the safe arrival of a baby girl. Evie was born on Friday 14th January at 8.46am weighing 8lbs 7oz. Both Mother and baby are doing well.

Printed on recYcLed PaPer

SOWING THE SEEDS IN THE SNOW an orchard wiLL spring in to bloom thanks to the fruitful efforts of a group of youngsters. Pupils from Stanley St Peters CE Primary School in Wakefield braved the sub zero conditions back in December along with Morrison Utility Services volunteers to plant apple, pear and plum trees. In the spring the orchard will blossom and grow by the school’s outdoor classroom area.

Outdoor Learning Co-ordinator Matthew Vickers said, “Children need to be able to explore the outdoor environment and have real experiences of growing things. We would like to thank Morrison Utility Services for such an engaging resource which we feel will help make gardening for our children an enjoyable and positive learning experience.”

Safety Quality Manager Jason Young said, “We were delighted to get involved in this community based project. It’s been a pleasure to help and I hope all the pupils enjoy the orchard for many years to come.” n

WE WANt tO HEAR FROM yOu. cALL uS NOW ON 01438 743744 WItH yOuR StORIES!

Publishing team: Lucie cox, Lisa macinnes and Kelly monger. Published by morrison house, Primett road, stevenage. sG1 3ee

Teachers, Volunteers and Pupils battle the snow to plant the orchard.


GOING THE EXTRA MILE AWARDS 2011

Once a year we look to all of you to get your thinking caps on and nominate a Morrison Utility Services individual or team

for the “Going the Extra Mile” Awards.The award is given to up to fi ve employees a year, who have made

a signifi cant contribution to the performance of the business via work with our clients, their customers and other stakeholders.

Each winner will receive £500 and a coveted ‘Going the Extra Mile’ award. In addition the nominator of a successful “Going the Extra Mile” award recipient, will also receive £100 towards

a charity of their choice.

Award winning examples include: -• Customer Care – An act or working practice that may have

resulted in a number of letters of congratulation or appreciation from members of the public or a client.

• Safety – An act or working practice showing awareness and commitment to our safety culture in all working practices.

• Environment – An act or working practice which has improved our environmental performance or minimised the environmental impact of our operations.

• Innovation – Development of a technology or working procedure, which has resulted in the business gaining competitive/fi nancial advantage.

Please contact Lisa MacInnes (01438 847265) for a nomination form. Simply supply some initial details of the nominee and their achievement and return the form by 30th June to: [email protected] or post to Lisa MacInnes at Stevenage head offi ce.

The award is in remembrance of Ian Allardyce.The “going the extra mile” ethos comes from the pride Ian demonstrated in the business and his willingness

to help others beyond expectation.

the new morrison Utility Services website has now gone live. Designed by agency TAG and managed by the Marketing and PR team in-house at Stevenage, the site is at the front of our online presence.Visit the site for the latest breaking news and up-to-date information about Morrison Utility Services – www.morrisonus.com. n

NEW MORRISON UTILITY SERVICES WEBSITE GOES LIVE

Morrison US Newsletter 0311

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