Pulse

Edition UK

ISSUE 4

Welcome to the fourth issue of our UK Pulse, the newsletter designed to bring you stories and achievements from our UK operations.

It has been another season of success in our UK business. We kicked off the year with two significant contracts awards from Talisman Sinopec Energy UK (TSEUK) and Chevron North Sea Limited. The TSEUK award is our first win in 2014 and testament to the relationship we have developed with this key customer over the last ten years. Our Chevron win is also a major coup, and the second award we have received from Chevron North Sea Limited in the past eight months.

As 2013 drew to a close, our UK team restructured and we welcomed Sulzer Wood aboard. In this issue, we catch up with Murray Wilson to find out why this new partnership makes sense.

Our community support has reached a new high as we hit a £50,000 milestone for our UCAN appeal, thanks to so many of you going the extra mile. Read about the 65 runners who will complete the Baker Hughes 10k, the 35 cyclists who are limbering up for the Ride the North challenge and the 100 elite, who will complete the Tough Mudder event. Funds have also been bolstered by initiatives such as Pennies for Promise, and our North Sea Health initiative.

Thirteen might be unlucky for some, but when it comes to awards, it’s actually our lucky number. We’ve been short-listed for 13 awards and ranked as winner in a further two. Jane Richardson, Hugh Pelham, Andrew Dalgarno, the Kilimanjaro team, our Vine Trust volunteers and Mehran Fard, along with the PD+ team, have done us proud in the Living our Values Awards. Industry-wide we have five finalists in the Oil and Gas Safety Awards and three finalists in the cHeRries HR Awards. Our Pulse production team won outstanding communications in the Hedgehog Awards and Robin Watson came out on top at the Institute of Directors Award when he was acknowledged as one of Scotland’s top company directors.

In this issue, you can also read about the achievements of our UK convergence team, unravel the mystery person in our new feature ‘who am I’ and learn about our Safety Cocoon, which aims to ensure that everyone, everywhere, every day – safe home.

I hope you like this issue.

[email protected]

Are you doing exceptional work in the community or smashing safety milestones? Is your team doing something slicker, quicker or more effectively for the client? Are you leading the field in your industry, pushing boundaries, making your peers stand up and take notice or continually raising the bar? Send your stories, ideas and images to [email protected]

The Oil and Gas Industry Safety Awards aspire to keep safety at the top of our agenda by honouring the exceptional contributions made to offshore safety. Jointly organised by Oil & Gas UK and Step Change in Safety, the annual awards underline the importance those involved in our industry place on safety. They celebrate the leaders, teams and individuals who work tirelessly towards the goal of making the UK’s offshore oil and gas industry the safest in the world.

The awards provide a platform to search for top safety performers across eight categories. This year, Wood Group PSN has five finalists across three categories.

Award for Safety LeadershipThis category looks for an inspirational leader who motivates and engages their team to work safely. Tom Gilchrist, our business stream 3 director has been shortlisted in this category.

A well-respected leader, Tom is committed to both occupational and process safety performance. Tom has spearheaded a variety of initiatives to improve safety culture, led his team to award winning success and dedicates his time to industry bodies to realise a step change in safety performance.

Award for Preventative Safety ActionFinalists in this category are sharp, quick-thinking individuals who have challenged a situation and successfully intervened to prevent a potential incident. Helen Bowie, lead HSE advisor, and Derek Smith, one of our riggers on the Talisman Sinopec contract have both been shortlisted.

Helen Bowie has been instrumental in reducing the number of eye injuries on one of our projects. The number of eye injuries had been a cause for concern but they reduced when Helen implemented a new and improved type of safety goggle and the behavioural training that went along with them. Derek Smith averted a potential helicopter incident when he noticed oil loss was emanating from an engine while passengers were being loaded. He confidently brought it to the attention of the pilot and his supervisor and the result was the helicopter was grounded until an engine change could be carried out.

Award for the Most Promising IndividualAwarded to an up-and-coming person with potential, the winner in this category will be the person who, in the judge’s eyes, has shown great enthusiasm for offshore safety, actively embracing safety culture.

Mike Bucheggar, one of our lead mechanical technicians on the Talisman Sinopec contract and Steven Farquhar, one of our HSE advisors, have both been shortlisted. During his short time as HSE advisor, Steven has organised and facilitated numerous safety initiatives, which are considered best practice across the industry and replicated by other organisations. Mike joined Tartan as an OPITO apprentice in April 2010 and quickly progressed to his current role as 5th week lead mechanical technician. He was nominated for proactively seeking personal development whilst promoting safety and environmental initiatives during his day to day work.

Congratulations to Tom, Helen, Derek, Mike and Steven on being shortlisted in these prestigious awards. Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on Wednesday 30 April at the AECC in Aberdeen. We wish you all well.

UK Safety & Assurance

OUR SAFETY QUINTET

Provision and management of portable plant and equipment across our North Sea operations has been consolidated into one unified subcontract thanks to the efforts of our UK supply chain team.

Aberdeen headquartered ATR Equipment Solutions has been awarded the three-year contract, worth in excess of £12 million (US$18 million) per year. The group operates throughout the North Sea and UKCS, Norway and the Caspian region, and employs over 400 people.

“We have been reviewing provision of plant and equipment across our North Sea business with a view to consolidating a number of fragmented contracts for some time now,” says Cameron Marshall, our global supply chain manager. “ATR has been one of our key suppliers and impressed us with their approach to HSEQ and their customer focus.”

Having one consolidated subcontract in place for all plant and equipment management services means our construction teams across all projects in the UK use the same provider for plant and equipment, consumables and hand tools. Ongoing product review and evaluation will drive standardisation of equipment, improve product quality, encourage innovative solutions and promote cost reductions.

To find out how our supply chain team could help you, contact [email protected].

UK North Sea Innovation

CONSOLIDATING CONTRACTS IN THE NORTH SEA

SAFETY COCOON

Our current safety performance is unacceptable. Since 2010, five Wood Group PSN employees have lost their lives at work. This is a devastating fact. Robin Watson gives us an update.

We have a duty to protect people from harm; safety improvement needs to be driven by us. That is why we have developed the Safety Cocoon. The Safety Cocoon is the foundation of our approach to protecting our people. It is designed to focus on improving behaviours and personal awareness. It shifts the focus to protect the individual where they are most at risk – at the work site. The Safety Cocoon is our minimum standard.

If we carry on as we are, we will continue to hurt people. Every single person who works for Wood Group PSN has a personal responsibility to choose to step into the Safety Cocoon, because lives depend in it. We can no longer accept the consequence of non-compliance. If our staff and contractors do not comply with our rules they choose not to work for us. It’s that simple.

The Safety Cocoon includes four elements:

1. Aristos 2. Hazard Awareness3. Life Saving Rules4. Behavioural Standards

Each element of the Safety Cocoon acts as a protective layer around people, and the more layers we can build up around each person, the less chance of harm. Each layer is designed to focus on improving behaviours and personal awareness and will be accompanied by a range of support material including training courses, presentation packs, rules and guidance.

This is not optional, for anyone. We each need to adopt and embed the Cocoon into our business. The company has a responsibility to keep your working environment safe; we all have a personal responsibility to keep ourselves and each other safe.

Speak to your line manager to find out more about the Safety Cocoon.

[email protected]


Bill Mair on the Beatrice Platform.

ROBIN WATSON’S WORLD-CLASS ACHIEVEMENT

Our CEO, Robin Watson, has been acknowledged as one of Scotland’s top company directors. Robin was awarded the Scotland Director of the Year in a business worth over £35 million by the Institute of Directors (IoD) at a ceremony at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Glasgow in March.

IoD Scotland executive director David Watt said: “Robin has built the group into a genuine world player with successful results. Growth has been secured in a planned and systematic way in an industry known for volatility and risk – which is quite simply a world class achievement thanks to his all-round leadership skills.”

UK Glasgow People

ONE WAY OR ANOTHER

You may have recieved this newsletter by email or to your home address, but there are alternative ways to get connected. If you would prefer to receive this newsletter via a personal email, please send your email address and employee ID number to the communications team at [email protected]

The newsletter will also be available online atwww.wgpsn.com/ThePulse/UK%20pulse/Issue4.pdf

Want to find out more about what’s going on across the whole of WGPSN? Visit www.wgpsn.com/subscribe to subscribe to our global Pulse weekly email newsletter.

DON'T BE TRASHY

On 1 January 2014, new regulations came into force meaning all businesses have an obligation to understand what happens to the waste they create and ensure it is properly segregated.

Our Real Estate Services (RES) team looked at the challenge as an opportunity to go beyond legislation requirements and get all our people thinking about waste and the environment. This kick started with a food waste recycling trial at Trafalgar House in Aberdeen.

The RES team installed new signage and food waste bins in Trafalgar House. After two months, the team was delighted to discover that recycling had increased from 32% to 62%. The trial proved to be such a success that RES is in the process of rolling the initiative out across all our offices.

Recycling is not only good for the environment and our community; it also brings a financial saving to the business, as landfill tax increases every year.

Look out for updated recycling facilities coming your way soon and remember – don’t be trashy, recycle!

In keeping with the spirit of all things green and clean, we have formed a “WGPSN Green Team” to find solutions to common environmental issues, share best practices and find new ways to live our Social Responsibility Core Value.

If you want to get involved with the Green Team please contact Steve Ewers: [email protected]

UK Social Responsibility

#BAREFACEDSELFIE

Makeup free faces have been all over social media sites recently in aid of Cancer Research. The #barefacedselfie campaign raised over £2 million in 48 hours, with women going makeup free, and some gentlemen even donning makeup for the cause.

On our Total project, four ladies decided to take the challenge one step further and spent a whole week as bare faced beauties. Sarah Collie, Sarah Sherlock, Jamie-Leigh Flannagan and Louise Ridley ditched their makeup bags for seven days - including a work’s night out! – and raised an incredible £2260 for Cancer Research.

Well done ladies! You look fab!

Aberdeen UK Social Responsibility

Robin Watson takes home his certificate.

CHECK YOUR PULSE

We took your global Pulse to the awards... and we won! Wood Group’s Pulse team has been recognised for outstanding communications.

We always knew we were onto a winner with the new and improved Pulse, but our peers think so too and have awarded us a Golden Hedgehog for our efforts.

Wood Group’s Pulse team has been recognised for excellence and outstanding communications for the Pulse by The Golden Hedgehog PR Awards - the world’s spikiest communication awards!

These awards are held annually and organised by PRmoment.com, an online magazine for the PR sector with more than 25,000 readers. The Pulse won the Internal Communications Campaign of the Year award.

This is a great achievement for our team of more than 20 people who were involved in the planning and inception of The Pulse. Drawing on experience from our global communication, SharePoint, design and IT teams, we had just eight weeks from concept to launch. This included selecting the email tool to use, designing the templates for the email and the article pages, and identifying the process for creating and approving content. And of course, we had to ensure there was content ready to go in the first issue!

UK Manchester People

For each issue, we have to research and write stories, source images, and sometimes script and produce videos. There’s always something to do, but it’s important to make sure that we keep people up to date with what is going on in the business.

If you are a regular reader of the Pulse, you will know that after the launch we weren’t resting on our laurels and letting it plod along. We conducted research into how it was being received after six months and made changes to make it more user-friendly and easier to manage. We introduced a new online site that gives access to all the issues and archives each article by Core Value. This new site also allows for an easy to print version, great for using offshore or in workshops where there is limited computer access.

We are constantly reviewing the Pulse and looking for ideas to further improve it; there are always new tools and techniques available. If you have suggestions for how you would like to see the Pulse develop please get in touch.

Carolyn Smith, director of corporate communications, said: “It’s fantastic that our work is being recognised alongside that of our peers in the PR and communication industry. Each member of our global team has worked extremely hard to make the Pulse such a success. The implementation of the Pulse is truly a team effort.”

The winners were announced at an awards ceremony in Manchester, England.

Kirsty Simpson (WGPSN) and Sarah Massie (WGMS) pick up the prize in Manchester.

WHO AM I?

Ever wondered what gets each of us out of bed in the morning, where you’ll find your colleagues after hours and what truly makes them tick? In each issue of the Pulse we’re getting up close and personal with a different member of the UK team, see if you can guess who we’re profiling in this issue.

The Pulse: If you could choose any three people (dead or alive) to invite to a fantasy dinner party, who would they be?Lee Evans, Nelson Mandela and Alan Sugar.

What three words would your colleagues use to describe you? Trustworthy, professional and fun.

If you weren’t doing this job, what would you be doing? I would love to set up and run a professional rugby team in the North East of Scotland and support it with a rugby academy. At the weekend you can usually find me coaching kids rugby and spending time with my family.

If you could turn back time and give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be? My Dad used to tell me, my brother and sister that: “Life is not a dress rehearsal. You only get one chance, so go out and enjoy it”. That has been a bit of a family mantra ever since!

If you could choose your own theme song, what would it be? Don’t give up by Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel.

Where is your favourite place in the world? Hong Kong - The best rugby 7’s party to be found anywhere in the world!

If you could trade places with any person for a week, who would it be? A cabinet minister to see how it works first hand and find out if meetings are serious affairs or reflect the image portrayed by spitting image!

What does your job at WGPSN involve? Asset operations for a number of UKCS clients up to and including duty holdership.

Best bits about the job? Variety, no two days ever turn out as you plan or are the same.

Worst bits? The volume of email associated with the jobs can get you down sometimes but we all learn to develop our own coping mechanisms.

What has been the highlight of your career to date? Being promoted to my current role, 28 years after starting in the oil and gas business as an offshore instrument technician.

Turn to page 14 to find out who this is in the UK operations team.

If you would like to see yourself in the Pulse, or nominate a colleague for this regular feature, email: [email protected].

UK People

The finalists in the 7th annual cHeRries awards, recognising and rewarding excellence in HR, training and recruitment in the North East of Scotland, have been announced.

Our Strategic Resourcing team has been shortlisted as a finalist for the Finders Keepers Recruitment & Retention Award for our success in establishing initiatives to identify and retain talent we already have, and implementing new ways to recruit and retain new talent that reduced lead time and cost and improved our employer brand.

Claire Yule has been shortlisted for the Outstanding HR Director Award for her ability to enthusiastically lead others to accomplish truly amazing feats; her team are committed, focussed and aim to deliver exceptional levels of service at all times.

Wood Group’s Emerging Talent Team is also shortlisted for the Extraordinary Team Initiative Award.

Congratulations to all our finalists. The winners in each category will be announced at the black tie awards ceremony to be held at the Aberdeen Exhibition & Conference Centre on Thursday 5th June.

OUR CHERRIES FINALISTS!Scotland North East People

SUMMER BALL SET TO GIVE CHARITIES A BOOST

Our business stream 5 charity committee is preparing to welcome summer to Aberdeen in style. Organised to raise money for our UCAN and Vine Trust Appeal, this summer ball scheduled for Friday, 30 May is one not to miss.

Tickets cost £65 per person for the event at the Aberdeen Beach Ballroom, or tables of ten are available to book. Come along and be treated to an arrival drink at 6.30pm followed by a succulent three course meal with wine. Entertainment will be provided on the evening by ‘The Picts’, one of Scotland’s best ceilidh and concert bands.

To reserve your tickets and / or table contact: [email protected]

UK Aberdeen Social Responsibility

A PERFECT FITUK Innovation

In January this year, the UK government announced the last round of armed forced redundancies, ending uncertainty and removing a final 1500 people from our Army, Royal Navy and RAF. Although provided with a robust settlement package by the Military of Defence (MOD), those affected still face an uncertain future, looking for new lives and new employment.

So what do ex-armed forces personnel have to offer a new employer? Not only are they often multi-skilled, but personal qualities developed by the military system are of great as well. Traits such as a can-do attitude, decisiveness, integrity, flexibility, team-work, mentoring, and leadership skills are all part of the military training. Many military trades specialists are exceptionally well trained and multi-skilled, with the ability to fix almost anything when it breaks down in the field.

Through our Re-Engineer programme, we have been recruiting and training ex-armed forces personnel since 2006. Mark Middleton, one of our new trainee instrument technicians who came to us from the RAF says “I choose Wood Group as I heard from previous successful Re-Engineer transition workmates that the company ran an exceptional programme for forces technicians to transfer their skills into the offshore industry…The whole process was swift. In my case from CV to acceptance took about five weeks.” Over the past two years, 35 instrument, electrical and mechanical technicians have been through the programme and are now working in our operations & maintenance function in on and

offshore roles. In May this year, a further 32 former armed forces personnel and Merchant Navy graduates will complete their initial training and start their jobs with us. This year, for the first time, and in partnership with the ECITB (Engineering & Construction Industry Training Board), a number of Merchant Navy Re-Engineer recruits are being trained in a pilot programme as production technicians.

“We offer each of our Re-Engineer recruits a comprehensive eight week, discipline specific, training programme, accredited by industry, trade and educational award agencies,” says Gordon Macfarlane, our Re-Engineer lead. “All Re-Engineer recruits are competent technicians in their own right and have completed a relevant apprenticeship, or achieved the appropriate qualification and all have vast practical experience. What we do is provide the industry specific training, making them ready for an offshore environment.”

With many of our ex-forces candidates serving for at least ten years in the armed forces, this programme provides the opportunity to become familiar with terminology and processes associated with a new industry. Ruairi Ferguson, one of our new Production Re-Engineer trainees had this to say about the programme so far: “Having come from a Merchant Navy engineering background Re-Engineer has set us up perfectly for the transition to the oil and gas industry as the systems are all very similar on the boats and the platforms. The training centre has been good and we are looking forward to getting offshore and gaining more practical experience.”

32 of our re-engineer candidates begin their training.

FOCUS ON: SULZER WOOD

As 2013 drew to a close, our UK team restructured and we welcomed Sulzer Wood aboard. The Pulse caught up with Murray Wilson, general manager, to find out more.

Can you tell us more about Sulzer Wood?We’re a 50:50 joint venture between Sulzer Pumps UK Ltd and Wood Group PLC. We’re Aberdeen born and bred and just celebrated our 20th birthday. We have just shy of 100 people in the team and operate a dedicated 60,000 square foot facility in Ellon incorporating a strip down/ inspection, clean build fitting and fully equipped machine shop.

We also operate a client stock warehouse at Whitecairns and have a dedicated pump training school in Ellon. Our core business is the maintenance, repair and upgrading of all makes of pumps, however through the wider Sulzer rotating equipment services network, we also support high and low voltage electric motors, compressors and steam turbines. Our client portfolio includes well-known names such as Apache, BP, Enquest, Talisman and Total.

What part do you play in the oil and gas industry?Pumping equipment plays a vital role in the oil production process. For example, high-pressure seawater injection pumps are used to improve oil extraction and multistage main oil line pumps allow the oil produced to be exported from platform to shore. Our over-riding aim is to ensure equipment is always available which helps our clients to enhance their production efficiency. We are able to work on all makes and types of pumping equipment and offer a 24/7 response to our customers.

In many cases, we find that pumps and their support systems are no longer matched to their duty or process requirements as production now varies significantly from original design specifications. This can result in reliability problems as the units are often running outside their optimum operating envelope. We have a solid track record in providing technical solutions to these kinds of issues. In addition, our hydraulic design expertise ensures we can engineer tailored solutions that can be directly retrofitted to

UK Relationships

existing installations. As part of this process, we can incorporate the latest technology to extend operating life.

We offer a range of client support contracts models from reactive repairs to preventative healthcare contracts. Our ‘healthcare’ model allows us to work in closer partnership with operators to analyse equipment performance and prevent failure in service. A key aspect of this model is our involvement in assessing client inventory and ensuring we can conduct quick pump turnarounds using available stock.

What are some of your best bits in the last 20 years? In 2014, we celebrated four years lost time incident (LTI) free and received top marks in our 2014 FPAL health and safety audit. Our business has grown at an average of around 10% per year over the last five years and our facilities and service offerings continue to expand.

Our experienced people are fundamental to the success of our business and we place huge emphasis on their training and competency. This has led to us being the first pump service company to achieve OPITO accreditation for our competency management system.

What are the benefits of this new relationship? As the North Sea industry continues to change, production diminishes and costs rise, our customers are looking for service organisations to demonstrate value, reduce costs and maximise production efficiency. A more efficient “joined up” approach offering a total operating, engineering and maintenance solution makes commercial sense. This coupled with novel contracting models based around equipment availability, benefits us all. No other oilfield services organisation is able to offer this breadth of scope in the North Sea.

We are excited to be part of WGPSN and we are already working closely with the UK team to pursue various business prospects.

For more information on Sulzer Wood email:[email protected]

COLLABORATION IS KEY

Working together as one Wood Group allows us to offer our customers a full suite of services.

At the beginning of this year, managers from across Wood Group gathered in Aberdeen to discuss how a collaborative approach to business could benefit not only each other, but also a key shared client: Talisman Sinopec Energy UK (TSEUK).

From the four corners of Aberdeen and beyond, WGPSN, WGIM, OGIS, Sulzer Wood and WG ODL gathered to share their thoughts and discover where opportunities for partnership lay. Jim Beveridge – WGPSN TSEUK contract business manager and a member of the TSEUK steering group, kicked off the session by sharing his thoughts on the potential we have to gain being part of a global business like Wood Group, and how we could use that expertise collaboratively to support our customer.

Jim told the Pulse: “Being able to provide a service to Talisman Sinopec that demonstrates our complete group skill set and establishes collaboration as standard business practice, allows us to offer an enhanced service to our customer. I am confident the relationships we started to build at the first session will develop into useful partnerships in the future.”

Every division showcased their skill sets and tools, with one of the key potentials coming from WGIM. Demonstrating that Nexus, their online system used to track repair orders could also be used throughout the group as an all-in-one topside & subsea, integrity management database, the team offered the first opportunity for working together. Benefits of using Nexus proactively throughout the divisions include: quick and efficient tracking for the status of assets, as well as the potential to alert users of emerging issues before there is an impact on safety or production. Sulzer Wood’s subsea simulation water test bed along with their wealth of knowledge around pump maintenance and retrofit solutions also presented an opportunity for future partnership.

Following on from this first session there are already plans in place to organise lunch and learns to drill deeper into the specifics of all the services and solutions discussed on the day.

At the session we discussed the part WGPSN could play in ensuring cross divisional engagement through key stakeholders within the TSEUK business. Speaking to the Pulse, Dave Sedge, WGPSN OMS contract manager and initiator of the meeting told us: “The day allowed us to discover opportunities where we can create cross-Wood Group teamwork, in turn supporting our customer by providing a unified seamless service. Sharing our knowledge and expertise throughout the business benefits everyone, and it was great to see that in action.”

Felt to be a truly successful day by all, there is no denying that collaboration within Wood Group is key to success.

Global Relationships

WE DELIVERED

In the last edition of the UK Pulse, you may remember we told you about UK Convergence, the first part of the WGPSN global Orbis project, where the complex structure of processes, entities and systems we use across our business are beingsimplified.

UK Convergence standardised the back office systems and processes that we operate, simplified business operations and removed activities that do not add value. It provided the basis for culturally moving to a one way for customers, suppliers and staff. The ‘go live’ date for UK Convergence was Saturday 26th April 2014.

”UK Convergence was broken down into four main areas of focus,’ says Laura McCracken, UK Convergence Business Lead. ‘These are HR and payroll, finance, supply chain and the transaction centre. Those impacted were sent emails to advise them of what was changing and when, and those who required it were given training. We also set up a number of Super Users who were familiar with the systems before the go-live date, and who could help those using systems for the first time. We also have an iShare site containing a number of help documents.”

Here are a few key points:

Human resources and payroll• The majority of staff are now employed under a single WGPSN legal entity• Payrolls have largely been consolidated, from 13 to three • Employee information is held and entered into a single HR system - Gateway

Supply chain• Corporate procurement is through a single system – Oracle• Contracts from the heritage organisations have been transferred to WGPSN• A single supplier list holds all supplier information

Finance• Client contracts have been novated to WGPSN• Financial management and reporting is through Oracle• UK staff enter time through a single time writing solution – MPower• Sales invoices are issued from a single entity – WGPSN• Labour is posted using actual rates

Transaction centre• UK onshore expense claims are made through a single system - Global Expense• UK purchase invoices are managed through Azolve using workflow approval

We would like to take this chance to thank you for your involvement and patience in the UK Convergence Project. If you have any questions or concerns, speak to your line manager, visit our new iShare site: wgpsn.woodgroup.net/Orbis/default.aspx, speak to a Super User, or email the Orbis team directly at [email protected].

UK Innovation

As the evenings get lighter and the weather brightens up, it can only mean one thing for 31 of our people – time to get on their bikes.

Our Ride the North team spans cyclists of all levels – from speed racers to those who are looking for their next big challenge – and on August 29, they will all be at the starting line in Inverness geared up and ready to cycle 165 miles to Aberdeen.

The challenge is over two days and showcases Scotland’s spectacular scenery with some fun downhill’s and tough uphill’s thrown in.

Julie Thomson from the UK proposals team is a newcomer to the event.

“Going to watch everyone cross the finish line last year inspired me to take part. Everyone I spoke to that day raved about what a great achievement it was and how much fun they had along the way, even though they found it difficult at times. When the communication came out, my ‘so-called’ friend signed a group of us up and the reality of cycling 170 miles hit me. I had to decide to wimp out or take the bull by the horns and get on with it – I’ve chosen the latter!”

RIDE THE NORTHUK North East Social Responsibility

UCAN CYCLE FROM NIGG TO ABERDEEN

When our Ride the North places filled up in a matter hours, cycling enthusiasts in business stream 3 decided to set up their own equivalent 170 mile, two day cycle with a competitive edge. The team aims to raise £25,000 for our UCAN and Vine Trust appeals.

Running on 20 and 21 June, the race invites each contract within the BS3 to enter four bikes. Cyclists can be from onshore or offshore teams with the option of splitting the distance between four cyclists or riding the whole course. Day one will see the cyclists begin at the Nigg oil terminal south of Tain, taking the ferry across the Cromarty Firth and then cycle on to Inverness, and concluding in Elgin. Day two then follows the typical Ride the North route where cyclists leave Elgin and weave their way back to Aberdeen via Castle Fraser.

Guy Logan, business improvement manager for BS3, explained his motivation for taking part.

“The advanced technology UCAN will be able to bring to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary will be a huge benefit to both men and woman in the North East undergoing keyhole surgery. Having friends who have suffered with tumours in the past, I truly know the benefit this will bring.

”Getting more collaboration between the onshore and offshore teams throughout our business stream was also great motivation. We’re all looking forward to getting our competitive hats on, limbering up and having some fun. A number of our team members have also used their Flexible Benefits package to purchase new bikes for the occasion which is great.”

The team is working with our clients and has commitment from Nexen, Premier Oil, Dana, Ithaca, Centrica and Teekay to fund-match monies raised with the winning team getting fund-matched by WGPSN.

www.wgpsn.com/niggtoaberdeen

UK North East Social Responsibility

ARE YOU A GOOD SPORT?

As part of our commitment to get to know each other better, the WGMS and WGPSN social clubs have merged to form one team. This means that you’ll receive even more activities at a subsidised rate.

The new team has wasted no time filling the calendar with a list of exciting events. From trips to the Perth Races, options to attend beer school and places at Nick Nairn’s cook school, there really is something for everyone.

Most recently the team brought music back into the workplace when they delighted 16 employees with a series of free guitar lessons. Alix Macdonald, business acquisition analyst, was pleased to be on the short-list for lessons.

“I’ve been considering guitar lessons since I rescued my dads’ old guitar from the skip a couple of months ago and when the email came round about the sports and social I took it as a sign! I’ll definitely be continuing lessons after these come to an end although I’m not sure my neighbours will thank me for it!”

For a full update on what is available, how to sign up for events and who the committee members are please visit the Aberdeen Social Club page on iShare.


Guy Logan gets pedalling.

On 23 April, nearly 30 volunteers gave up the comfort of their own beds to spend the night sleeping rough, raising £13,600 for Aberdeen Cyrenians. Rachel Runcie, creative design advisor, explains why she gave up her beauty sleep to help raise money for this important cause.

The Pulse: Why did you get involved?Rachel: Aberdeen Cyrenians is a local charity that helps those people who are homeless, at risk of homelessness or affected by homelessness in any way. The charity listens to their difficulties, understand their needs, share their burden, provide professional care and strive to identify permanent solutions.

I attended the introductory session in January for the sleep out and felt particularly compelled to get involved after hearing a service user’s story.

The Pulse: How was the experience of sleeping rough?Rachel: I found it difficult, cold and tiring. I was keeping my fingers crossed that it wouldn’t rain...unfortunately we weren’t that lucky. However, with the support of the others taking part, it was a lot of fun too.

The Pulse: Why are you glad you were involved in the sleep out?Rachel: One night on the streets was nothing compared with those who do it for nights on end. I’m proud to have taken part in an event which not only raises money, but also awareness and understanding of an issue which some people still believe does not exist in Aberdeen.

uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/notsleepingbeauties

UCAN RUN FOR VINE TRUST

Each year we enter a team of runners into the Baker Hughes 10K and this year is no different with 65 of our people getting involved. The 10K is a great way to kick start your fitness whether this is a huge challenge, or you are working your way towards something bigger.

Dawn Morrison, travel co-ordinator is getting involved for the first time as part of her fundraising for Vine Trust.

“I am heading off to Tanzania this November, helping to build houses and children’s centres for Vine Trust and I thought the Baker Hughes 10K would be an ideal way to kick-start my fundraising as well as give me a good excuse to get in shape for my summer holidays!

“I’ve never run a 10K before, and I’m a little nervous, but it’s for a great cause and I’m determined to do it. My trip to Tanzania means I will get first-hand experience helping people who do not have the things in life that we take for granted. I’d like to make a difference.”

You can sponsor Dawn here: www.wgpsn.com/dawn


NIGG TEAM CELEBRATE 12 YEARS LTI FREE!

Our team working on the Nigg Oil terminal, a site located close to Nigg village on the Cromarty Firth, recently marked a tremendous safety milestone achieving 12 years operation without a single lost work day.

Tom Gilchrist, business stream 3 operations director, praised the team. “This achievement is testament to the excellent safety culture of everyone involved with the terminals operation. Well done to everyone for this fantastic achievement - keep up the great work!”

UK Nigg Safety & Assurance

OIL AND GAS COMMUNITY PAY TRIBUTE TO STEVE WALTON

At the annual Offshore Achievement Awards (OAA), a posthumous significant achievement honour was given for Steve Walton in recognition of his contribution to safety in the oil and gas industry.

Steve was one of our longest serving employees who sadly passed away last year. He joined Wood Group in 1989, working for more than 20 years as a materials controller and safety representative. In his time with the company, he was regularly recognised for his role in developing and championing safety offshore. He was also a key member in the industry’s Step Change in Safety leadership team.

Talking about Steve’s contribution to safety, Dave Stewart, WGPSN UK managing director said:

“Steve was a great guy and a very active and inspirational safety representative. He was hugely respected by everyone at Wood Group and all those who had the privilege of working with him, especially his offshore family.

”No one is more deserving of this award than Steve and his legacy will continue in this industry for a long time to come. He positively influenced us all.”

The award ceremony, now in its 28th year, recognises exceptional performance in safety with individuals and teams throughout the industry. Steve’s widow, Anne Marie, was present on the evening to collect the award.


You may have heard the story about Van Halen demanding a bowl of M&Ms in their dressing rooms when they were on tour – with all the brown sweets removed. This may have confirmed your belief that rock stars are demanding and perhaps a little bit spoilt.

In his autobiography, Crazy from the Heat, Van Halen’s original frontman, David Lee Roth explained that this demand to remove all the brown M&M’s was not about pampering. It was about compliance. It was a clever safety strategy.

Van Halen took productions to a new level, pulling up at venues with nine trucks full of gear instead of the standard three. There were many technical errors with venues unable to take the enormity of the show; girders that couldn’t support the weight of their gear, flooring that would sink in, and doors that weren’t big enough to move the gear through.

There was so much equipment, so many people to make the show work, that the technical contract was enormous.

So when David went backstage, if he saw a brown M&M in the bowl, warning bells would ring...it was time to check the whole set up. If the venue hosts hadn’t read that part of the contract what else could they have overlooked? Sometimes the problem would ruin the show, sometimes it could be life threatening.

Van Halen used M&Ms as an indication that something may be wrong. We could learn some lessons from these rock stars. If we pay attention to the small things, then we can have more assurance that the bigger things are also taken care of.

In WGPSN, we start each of our meetings with a safety moment. Do you have a favourite safety moment you would like to share? If you do, get in touch at [email protected] and it could be in the next Pulse.

Global Safety & Assurance

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE SAFETY MOMENT

UCAN CAMPAIGN RECEIVES £50,000 BOOST

In 2013, we selected UCAN as our signature charity to help bring the most advanced technology for Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS or keyhole surgery) to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. Since then we’ve been motivated, moved and inspired by the fundraising efforts of our UK team. The Pulse brings you a snapshot of some of the highlights to date.

Fundraising heroes We have 65 runners from our 10K team all committed to raising funds for UCAN. Our Ride the North event similarly has almost half of the team of 31 pledging their funds to the charity and almost 50 people are completing Tough Mudder for this important cause.

Pennies for promisesOver 400 employees have now enrolled in our Pennies for Promise initiative, putting their small change to good use and helping bolster our fundraising target. This initiative means that with fund-matching, each month approximately £800 is going directly to UCAN.

The maximum you are ever likely to donate in one month is 99p, so it really is only pennies. But those pennies add up – if every UK onshore employee signs up, we could be donating up to £10,000 each year!

If the penny hasn’t dropped for you yet, simply email [email protected], giving agreement for


your pennies to be deducted from future payslips.

Note: This initiative is being piloted in the UK and is currently only open for UK PAYE employees.

Offshore initiative Our North Sea health initiative aims to raise money for charity while promoting a healthy lifestyle. By reducing the levy currently supporting the sale of cigarettes, we are able to make this donation direct to UCAN and support employees with options to help stop smoking.

UCAN help in 2014 It’s been a great start to the year but we still need your help to ensure we pull on the strength of the network and help UCAN reach its target. There are several ways you can get involved in 2014:

• Become a communications champion • Organise an event • Set up volunteering opportunities • Participate in an event – fundraise!• Make a donation• Support a colleague• Sign up for Pennies for Promise

To get involved email: [email protected]

IN THE NEWS

We’ve scooped two significant contracts so far this year from Talisman Sinopec Energy UK (TSEUK) and Chevron. The Pulse brings you the latest.

UK Relationships

SECOND CONTRACT SCOOPED FROM CHEVRON!

Quick on the heels of the Talisman win, we picked up a one year operations and maintenance contract extension from Chevron North Sea Limited. Robbie Fraser, WGPSN’s Chevron business manager shared the significance of this win:

“This is the second award we have received from Chevron North Sea Limited in the past six months. Services will be provided to the Captain and Alba fields, including the Captain floating production storage offloading (FPSO), the Captain wellhead and production platform and the Alba North platform. In November, we received a one year extension to provide engineering and construction to the same fields.

”We have a long-term relationship with Chevron which dates back to 1993, when we were first awarded the topsides support services contract for the production facilities in the Alba, Captain and Erskine fields. Receiving this extension, on the back of an extension to our engineering and construction services contract, gives us a great platform to maintain our long term relationship with such an important international client. It also enables us to retain approximately 100 positions offshore in the UK.”

TEN YEARS AND COUNTING“The TSEUK award is our first win in 2014. It’s a five-year contract, with options for two additional two-year extensions, valued at $500 million USD (£300 million GBP)”, explains Jim Beveridge, WGPSN’s Talisman Sinopec business manager.

“We have worked with this key client for 10 years and this award is testament to the relationship we have developed. Our Talisman Sinopec Energy UK project now employs 1,300 personnel onshore and offshore, making it one of the largest projects in our global portfolio. Securing this contract is a great outcome and a fantastic way to start 2014, the WGPSN and TSEUK partnership certainly has a bright future ahead!”

With at least another five years on the horizon for the UK’s biggest contract, the Pulse took the opportunity to catch up with one of its longest-serving employees.

“14 lbs heavier and some grey hairs as well, I can’t believe it’s been almost 10 years! My physical changes aside, both companies have evolved drastically over this period; an evolution which I am confident is for the better and will allow us to face the many challenges that the North Sea will throw up.”

Aerial view of the Captain wellhead and production platform.

The Fulmar platform.

Under the scope, we’ll be providing engineering and modification services to TSEUK’s 12 sites - Arbroath, Auk, Bleo Holm, Buchan, Claymore, Clyde, Fulmar, Montrose, Piper, Saltire, Tartan, and the Flotta onshore oil terminal in Orkney- the contract will enable us to retain approximately 550 jobs both onshore and offshore in the UK.”

Colin Bannerman, head of structural design

ON YER BIKE

Operation Zenith launched for its fifth and final year at the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service base in Aberdeen on Friday, 14 March. Ian Cooper, Neil Robertson and Derek Donald from our HSEQ team got on their bikes to help support this important initiative. The Pulse got an update.

“We have been the main sponsor of the Grampian Police – Operation Zenith Motorcycle Safety Campaign for a number of years”, says Ian. “Motorcyclists account for one of the largest single groups of road fatalities and serious accidents every year across Scotland, so it’s an important initiative to get involved with.”

Running through the summer months, Operation Zenith aims to cut road deaths by concentrating on motorcyclists caught speeding, carrying out dangerous manoeuvers, and riding unsafely in Grampian. The scheme encourages motorcyclists to be aware of their own safety and to think about advanced training to improve their skills.

UK Aberdeen Safety & Assurance

Neil Robertson, WGPSN HSE advisor on the Hummingbird project, was part of the team that established this initiative when he worked for Grampian Police. Talking about the scheme, he said he was fortunate to be instrumental in setting up this initiative and pleased to see the benefits this has brought in reducing deaths and serious injuries. “The last four years of Operation Zenith have seen a steady reduction in the number of injury collisions involving motorcycles in Grampian and the campaign looks set to reach its target of a 15% reduction since 2009. The parallels between this initiative and our industry, and its alignment with our Core Values, makes our involvement all the more important.”

“As a regular user of both motorbikes and cars”, adds Ian, “it is obvious a minority of people on the road still behave unsafely. As a company, supporting our people to ensure they act responsibly on the road is a part of how we help ensure that everyone, everywhere, every day - safe home.”

Tom Gilchrist with children Grant, Robyn and Rikki outside Murrayfield after Grant’s first home cap for Scotland against Australia.

Answer: Tom Gilchrist, operations director, Business Stream 3.

WHO AM I?UK People

ARCHIE HIGH 10

Wood Group management services has kicked off its ‘Archie High 10’ appeal to raise £200,000 and help upgrade Royal Aberdeen’s children’s hospital. The Pulse caught up with Neil Pickering, WGPSN’s representative on the fundraising committee to get the latest on the project.

The Pulse: What does it all mean and why are we involved?Neil: We first supported ARCHIE with their original appeal to build the new Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital (RACH) more than 10 years ago and sponsored the sensory room which is still popular and in use today. More recently, people have been taking part in gardening at the Young Person’s Department at Cornhill to help improve the outdoor space there.

The Pulse: How will the hospital be improved? Neil: The new campaign will upgrade the hospital after 10 years of use and treating over 1 million sick children. ARCHIE has identified 10 steps in a child’s visit that can be improved to help make their stay less daunting and reach their goal of being a world class hospital for today and tomorrow’s sick children. You can view a video about the appeal at www.wgpsn.com/archie. Wood Group has pledged to support two of those steps; step one ‘A Warm Welcome’ and step nine ‘Fresh Air’.

Step one, ‘A Warm Welcome,’ will involve improving the reception area, repainting it and making it more brightly coloured and


interesting for the children. It will also develop an area in the atrium where musicians and other performers can put on shows for the children. This is something that currently happens when people make visits to the hospital but it is cramped and poorly equipped. Making a better space will hopefully encourage more people to perform and give the children something to look forward to.

The ‘Fresh Air’ step will transform the area outside RACH with wild flower beds, giant topiary animals and upgraded outdoor play spaces. Like the reception area, these will be updated to be more brightly coloured and interesting to children. This is the first thing that children see when they arrive at the hospital so it is important it is welcoming.

The Pulse: How can people support this campaign? Neil: Each of these projects has been estimated at £100,000 and we have pledged support for both over the next two years. While the committee will be asking people to get their fundraising hats on, we aren’t just looking for cash. We can also raise the money with ‘in-kind’ support and volunteer our expertise in lots of areas that will help reduce the required costs.

For more information on the appeal, contact Neil on email: [email protected]

Visual of the new hospital garden area.

LIVING OUR VALUES - MEET OUR UK FINALISTS

The Core Values awards are now closed, but we can still tell you about some of the heroes in our business that were uncovered when the submissions flooded in.

Safety & AssuranceJane Richardson, of Wood Group PSN in the UK, was shortlisted for her work as part of a team responsible for improving offshore performance on the TAQA contract. Jane has developed training materials and facilitated workshops for more than 350 personnel. She has recognised the diversity of the workforce and worked effectively with the client as well as the onshore and offshore teams.

Financial responsibility Hugh Pelham led the Pyeroy management team to making a difficult decision when dealing with a client. The client wanted to dismiss some valid expenditure owed to Pyeroy to increase their profitability with their own client. Using the Financial Responsibility Core Value wording of expecting to receive ‘fair reward’, the team was able to initiate an arbitration process which led to them being awarded all the costs.

Andrew Dalgarno, corporate finance manager for Wood Group PSN in Aberdeen, recognised that improvements could be made to preparing the financial statements. Andrew identified financial statement preparation software ‘K-Trinity’ which automates a significant portion of the statement preparation, reducing the manual element by 80%.

Social responsibility Kilimanjaro team, Aberdeen Some of our strategic resourcing and HR team climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, in June 2013 as part of our pledge to raise money for a Maggie’s Cancer centre in Aberdeen. The group of eight trekkers; Steve Cobban, Laurie Samuel, Shaun Smith, Nicola Robertson, Helen Strachan, Karen Paterson, Lesley de Jager and Janine Sydenham, set out to raise £34k from the trek to go towards the total for Maggie’s. After the trek, Laura Creaney helped arrange a black tie dinner to increase the funding total. The trek and dinner raised just over £50k, 20% of the WGPSN total.

UK People

Vine Trust volunteersIn November, a group of volunteers headed out to Tanzania as part of Wood Group PSN’s support of Vine Trust. From the moment the team landed in Tanzania, it was evident the group of people pulled together were Core Values champions. The group; Yasmin Graham, Graeme Wilson, Josh Bradbury, Alex McAulay, Wendy McNeill, Angela Baillie, Stacey Will, Eilidh O’Carroll, Pawel Kuncewicz and Kirsty Simpson were praised by the trip organisers at Vine Trust who said; “their work ethic, integration with the local communities, attitude, team spirit and sense of respect was a real credit to Wood Group”.

IntegrityMehran Fard demonstrated the Integrity Core Value when he questioned the scope of work with a client. Mehran, along with the PD+ team, truly embodied the Integrity Core Value when they highlighted to a client that the work they had awarded was not recommended at this time and should be completed during a later phase, even though this phase may not be awarded to Wood Group PSN. The client was preparing for decommissioning of the platform and had planned to have all unnecessary equipment removed to make the process as easy as possible. One system included in was the gas conditioning system, used to remove the water content in gas. The assumption was that as the turbines on board the platform would be fuelled by imported gas after cessation of production, that there was no need for the conditioning equipment.

Our Core Values are so much more than corporate speak. These are real examples of how we are positively enhancing the way we work and just some of stories that show how our UK team is putting the values into action.

STOP PRESS!The core value winners were announced today and we are pleased to say our Vine Trust volunteers, Jane Richardson and Mehran Fard, along with the PD+ team, won in their categories – well done! Each winner receives a £500 ($800) donation to a charity or community of their choice.

Jane Richardson

Andrew Dalgarno

Kilimanjaro team

Vine Trust volunteers

Mehran Fard

Hugh Pelham

THE WOOD GROUP WAY…OR THE HIGHWAY

Integrity, as you are of course aware, is one of our Core Values – it is represented by the purple triangle in our new logo. It’s right up there with Safety and Assurance, but talked about a little less often in the UK. That’s because we are fortunate; we live and work in a culture where corruption and bribery are not normally part of our everyday life.

But we are a part of a global company, and we should be aware of the risks we could face when doing business globally. We often employ the services of commercial (or third party) intermediaries such as sales representatives, distributors, freight forwarders, customs brokers, or visa processors to act on our behalf overseas. When we employ these intermediaries, we are responsible for the actions they carry out on our behalf.

Most of the 2013 enforcement actions under anti-corruption legislations against oil and gas industry companies involved third-party (or commercial) intermediaries. One notable example of this was the fine of $153 million imposed by the US authorities against Weatherford, for the corrupt actions of its freight forwarding agents and distributors.

We need to be vigilant. We need to ensure we have the appropriate processes and policies in place for you to follow to avoid Wood Group falling foul of corrupt intermediaries. We recently rolled out a Commercial Intermediaries Policy, replacing the previous Agent Agreement Policy, which sets out the different risk categories of Commercial Intermediaries, levels of due diligence and approval steps to be taken prior to appointment. Additional steps to monitor the highest risk intermediaries following appointment are also required.

“We already routinely complete anti-corruption questionnaires from our major customers in which they ask what level of due diligence we put our agents and sub-contractors through,” says Judith Akinosho, Group Compliance Counsel in Aberdeen. “This policy further allows us to demonstrate our commitment to only dealing with reputable, qualified representatives who believe in and understand the importance of our Integrity Core Value. If you are in sales, marketing, business development, logistics, contracts, supply chain or functional support, you want to read this policy in detail.”

We will work closely with the relevant functions to ensure our existing intermediaries are in line with the new requirements. Find out more about the new policy and read the guidance notes on the Group’s Business Ethics pages on iShare:www.woodgroup.net/policies/Pages/IntegrityDocuments.aspx

Global Integrity

IT'S TIME TO GET TOUGH

This year, for the first time ever, we are entering a team of 100 of our people into Tough Mudder, a 12 mile obstacle course outside of Edinburgh. In previous years, various offices and projects have entered individually, but the 2014 team pulls all of our Tough Mudders together from Aberdeen, Glasgow, Hull, Runcorn, Pyeroy to make us the biggest corporate team in the running.

Tough Mudder isn’t about winning a race or getting a trophy – it’s about teamwork and making it through the ice bath and electric shocks together. Tough Mudders never leave a man behind.

Kris Gibson, trainee structural designer, is a seasoned Tough Mudder:

“Part of the Tough Mudder philosophy is to start as a team and finish as a team… it’s all about team work! There’s a great sense of camaraderie about the event and working together to complete the event as a team just makes it that much better than doing it yourself.”

Of course, we wouldn’t ask our people to get down and dirty if it wasn’t for a good cause. Our chosen charities for the year are UCAN and Vine Trust and Kris is determined to help:

“With a team this size, we can make a considerable contribution to the fundraising targets for UCAN and Vine Trust. The Glasgow office is fundraising for Vine Trust to support the volunteers signed up to go to Tanzania this year. Being able to support their fundraising efforts is a great way to get involved with the project.”

You can sponsor Kris here: www.wgpsn.com/kris


Kris Gibson (back right) along with the team last year.

JUBILEE HOPE

With 863 miles to go, the Jubilee Hope is well on its way to its final destination in Lake Victoria, Tanzania.

The ship is expected to arrive in Mombasa, Kenya, at the end of April where a team of our engineers from the Hummingbird and Beatrice assets will be meeting the ship and start work removing the wheelhouse from the top of the boat and splitting it into two parts. This will reduce the height of the vessel allowing it to go under power lines and bridges on route to Lake Victoria.

Neil Mungo, Beatrice field offshore installation manager, is one of the team heading down:

“I was a marine engineer officer in the Merchant Navy for over 17 years and during my time at sea, I witnessed a lot of poverty and hardship. As we were never in one place for a substantial amount of time, there wasn’t a lot I could do to help. When I saw the story in the Pulse about Jubilee Hope I was intrigued and wanted to get involved. It is clear to me how significant this project is and what a positive impact it will have on millions of lives over the years.”

Once dismantled, Jubilee Hope will be loaded onto the back of two trucks and travel 500 miles overland to Kisumu, Kenya. This is one of the largest ports on Lake Victoria, and is the final leg of this ship’s journey to Mwanza, Tanzania. A second team of engineers will be travelling to Kisumu to put the boat back together again and prepare it for its new purpose at Mwanza. If you are interested in being part of this team, please contact James McDaid, [email protected]

Jubilee Hope will then begin its new life as a floating hospital on Lake Victoria where it will see 100,000 people a year who currently have no access to basic healthcare.

Scott Malcolm, deck foreman on the Hummingbird FPSO, will be joining Neil along with Steve Honeyman and Andy McWatt on their adventure to Kenya:

“I am looking forward to the whole experience; meeting the team, travelling to a new place, and most of all, doing something that is going to save lives in the future.”

Vine Trust are calling for support in helping Jubilee Hope make it to its final destination. You can sponsor a mile of its journey by visitng secure.vinetrust.org/products/donations

Global Social Responsibility

ONE BRICK AT A TIME

When our first volunteer team went over to Tanzania in November last year, they spent some of their time making bricks. In Tanzania this is no easy task as it is all done manually, including mixing cement with shovels and making each brick individually.

The team made a record number of bricks, 270, and with the community pitching in over the past few months, the second children’s centre at Kimushuku has begun to take shape.

The first children’s centre at Kimushuku is intended for 25 children, but squeezes in 32 girls, with a further six boys housed in a church office around the corner. Once the new centre is completed, these children, along with many others, will have a safe place to sleep at night.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania maintains the children’s centres along with the welfare of the children. It has partnered with another organisation on the ground, the Rafiki charity, that ensures any child living in the children’s centre is supported through primary and secondary education.

Global Social Responsibility

Our first 2014 group of volunteers travels to Tanzania at the end of April and will be there for two weeks working with the community to build homes for vulnerable children and families. Keep checking the website, www.wgvinetrust.com, for updates on their experience.

The remaining 2014 work parties are almost full with only five places left on our August trip. We’ve got trips running through 2015 that are filling up fast too, so if you are interested in getting involved, download your work party application from wgvinetrust.com/volunteer and email it to [email protected]

Second home in progress.

The Jubilee hope leaving Glasgow.

Pulse UK is written, edited and produced in house by WGPSN UK communications team.Submissions and feedback are welcome and can be sent to: [email protected]

A WALK TO REMEMBER

Fundraising is well underway for the Vine Trust with activities and events happening all over the world! In the UK, one team has chosen to walk the West Highland Way in aid of the cause. Lisa Ferrol tells us more…

“I have been involved in our Vine Trust initiative from the beginning as part of the volunteer selection committee. I wanted to do something different to raise money for the project, and the incredible people we are helping, and I roped some of my colleagues into doing the West Highland Way with me.

”The West Highland Way will be challenging, but as I’m walking, I will have time to think about why I’m doing it and who I’m doing it for. In our business, we have hundreds of graduates that are fortunate enough to not only have a basic education, but a university degree to boot. In Tanzania, only 32% of girls go to school, with less than 30% of boys and girls continuing through secondary education.

”Although Vine Trust focuses on healthcare and housing, the charity partners with local organisations that ensure children in the Vine Trust children centres are cared for and educated.

“On 25 May, six colleagues and I will don our walking boots and set off on our 96-mile journey through glorious Scotland. We have been training collaboratively and individually and I can’t wait for this adventure.

”We need all of you behind us as we take on this challenge.”

Follow the team’s adventure on Twitter: @lolaferrola #VTWHW14

Support the team’s cause by checking out MyDonate: www.wgpsn.com/highland

UK Highlands Social Responsibility

Glencoe on the West Highland Way.

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