ReNEWS
WIN! A LUXURY HOTEL BREAK P12
FOR ALL YOUR SHANKS MUNICIPAL NEWS AND VIEWS
WHAT’S INSIDE…
December 2015
GETTING INTO THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT
P4
’CHUTE STARS Sharing is caring
P6
UNDERCOVER Inside S Kirkby
P9 POTTY POLLY Heard the bird?
● Simon’s Shanks
lessons help create the perfect festive pint – p3
CHEERS!
WE’RE NOT JUST ALL TALK The last year has seen major changes at our sites… thanks to you Almost 18 months ago, nearly nine out of 10 of you took time to complete the PULSE survey to say how you feel about Shanks, including your working environment and our company as a whole.
Over these past 18 months, teams on every site have been taking practical steps to put your requests into action. “What makes PULSE so effective is that teams are empowered to make changes locally, which gives a real sense of ownership,” said Mark Cowan, Head of HR. By giving an honest and accurate insight into how you feel as a Shanks employee, PULSE revealed we scored just below average on engagement across the group, so we are giving you more of
a voice and improving communication across the business. “Given that all teams across the division have made their own improvements and changes, we’ve seen some great progress in a short space of time and we’re hoping for even more improvement going forward.”
and operations staff, committed teams have addressed key areas of improvement. Don’t just take Mark’s word for it though. Sites from Argyll and Bute to ELWA, London, have told us first hand how the PULSE results have had a direct impact on things for them, from improved welfare facilities to employee recognition.
IMPROVEMENT From implementing site safety visits to ensuring you get home safe, and daily meetings between maintenance teams
Turn to page 5 to see some of the changes made since the last PULSE survey and don’t forget to have your say from 11 January.
AFTER
BEFORE
The new improved facilities at Dalinlongart
2 ❙ December 2015
THEY ARE THE CHAMPIONS! We’re always looking for stories about the people who make Shanks what it is, so our new panel of Communications Champions is about to make it even easier. Got a story about a hobby, best practice or new development at your site? Contact your Champion and we’ll do the rest.
ARGYLL AND BUTE Gail Orr, gail.orr@shanks.co.uk
CANADA Chris O’Toole, cotoole@orgaworld.ca
CUMBRIA CAPITAL PROJECTS Colin Walker, Alison Mpouki, alison.mpouki@shanks.co.uk colin.walker@shanks.co.uk
DERBY Emma Ray, emma.ray@shanks.co.uk
DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY Dave Cheetham, david. cheetham@shanks.co.uk
ENGINEERING Steve Bullock, steve.bullock@shanks.co.uk
HR FINANCE Claire Stackpoole, claire. Sophia Kibirige, sophia.kibirige@shanks.co.uk stackpoole@shanks.co.uk
ICT Simon Betts, simon.betts@shanks.co.uk
LEGAL Louise Thompson, louise. thompson@shanks.co.uk
PROCUREMENT Lauren Smith, lauren.smith@shanks.co.uk
COMPLIANCE Lucille Stanley, lucille. stanley@shanks.co.uk
RESOURCE AND RECOVERY Heidi Brown, heidi.brown@shanks.co.uk
WAKEFIELD Sally Hurn, sally.hurn@shanks.co.uk
Did you know?
70%
RECYCLING TARGET FOR MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE BY 2030 The European Commission has plans to boost the recycling of domestic waste by a further 20% over the next 15 years.
Our new Canadian biofuel facility will revolutionise the way Surrey deals with its household waste
BDR Abi Cox, abigail.cox@shanks.co.uk
ELWA Gurjeet Kaur-Assi, gurjeet. kaur-assi@shanks.co.uk
FIRST, LARGEST AND THE BEST Transforming waste like never before Construction of Surrey’s biofuel facility – described as the ‘first and largest of its kind’ – is well under way and is set to completely change the way the British Columbian city deals with household waste. The site will play a major part in Surrey’s Rethink Waste programme to transform organic waste from households into compost and biomethane, which is compressed into the natural gas grid. “The city collects waste from around 100,000 homes,” said Project Manager Ryan Lauzon. “Of the organic waste collected, over 70% will be processed to create
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biogas. The leftover 30% will be used as a fresh source of carbon for the composting process.” Up to 50 contractors have been on-site to complete the underground foundations, and once the facility is up and running, we expect to produce 30,000-plus tonnes of organic compost and supply enough natural gas to fuel the collection trucks and new district energy system. FIRSTS FOR CITY “The Surrey site will be the first facility in our province to process organic waste from the municipality. It’s the first time a city has gauged the opportunity to upgrade waste
disposal to a process that allows it to gain a product: biomethane,” said Ryan. With a target to divert 70% of waste from landfill, the new Orgaworld site in Surrey will be a sure way of enabling the city to reach this goal.
Editor: Jim Levack; Editorial Assistant: Emily Craft; Sub Editor: Kate Feasey; Senior Art Editor: Emma Bramwell; Production Manager: Jo Malby. SUMMERSAULT COMMUNICATIONS LTD, VICTORIA COURT, 8 DORMER PLACE, LEAMINGTON SPA, WARWICKSHIRE CV32 5AE. WWW.SUMMERSAULT.CO.UK
A QUICK UPDATE FROM PETER WELCOME…
… to Issue 7 of ReNEWS. It’s been a busy first half of the financial year, with build programmes progressing well at Derby in the UK and Surrey in Canada. We’re also close to reaching Full Service at Wakefield following a short delay due to the insolvency of a major contractor. Our project and operational teams have been working exceptionally hard to minimise the impact of the delay and I’m really excited to be operating one of the most sophisticated waste-to-product facilities in the UK. Meet some of the team later in this edition. The next PULSE survey launches on 11 January and I’m looking forward to understanding how you are feeling and what we can do to improve further. Keep reading to see the
P6
great things we have done as a result of the last PULSE survey. On Homesafe I’m pleased we are doing well in terms of safety, but there’s always room to improve. Close call reporting has dramatically increased to 1,543 reported to the end of September, which is great and is a first step in reducing incidents. We will now focus on the close-out of these and what we can learn from them. Please keep safety in mind to ensure we all get home safely at the end of each working day. As the festive period approaches, I want to take this opportunity to wish you a very Merry Christmas and PETER a Happy New Year. EGLINTON
December 2015 ❙ 3
IT’S CHEERS ALL ROUND FOR CIDER-MAKING FAMILY
SIMON’S SCRUMPY SUCCESS Cider-making hobby turned thriving small business is apple of Simon’s eye For Simon Bailes, an average week involves 1,800 miles of travel between his home and our sites in Dumfries and Galloway. So you might think there’d be little or no time for a tasty hobby turned business venture. However, when he’s not on the road from Bedford, there is no rest for our Interim Contract Director, who spends his downtime producing his own cider – using 25 tonnes of apples a year. Before starting back at Shanks, he even found time to launch his own business venture, Franklin’s Cider, buying the apples from Cambridge and fermenting them in a barn rented from a local Bedfordshire farmer. FESTIVALS “I’ve been making my own cider for the past five years,” Simon said. “This started with a few big jars at home and escalated into something much bigger. Now I supply a range of different ciders to local pubs, shops and beer festivals.” Simon’s cider production is a real family affair too, with his wife and children on hand to help bottle it up and apply the labels as things get
busy towards Christmas. Simon added: “I am selling about 1,000 bottles a month at the moment and am learning something new every day. “There’s a demand for real products – your average big-brand cider will contain around 35% of apple juice; mine contains 100% apple juice with no preservatives.” SKILLS Simon believes his experience in Shanks operations has given him the skills to manage a small business, from forecasting budgets to gauging logistics. “The process is really simple, but it’s the little tweaks that make all the difference,” he said.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT FRANKLIN’S CIDER
VISIT IT
Simon’s website is www.franklinscider.co.uk
Beth Baxter
Glynn Humphries
Mark Ash
Steve Moore
FEEDBACK CRUCIAL TO MAKE US BETTER
There’s a demand for real products – your average big-brand cider will contain around 35% apple juice; mine contains 100%… with no preservatives
Customer focus is one of our key IMPACT values, so when some of our biggest customers gave us their feedback, we listened to help raise our game. Beth Baxter, BDR Manager, Mark Ash, Managing Director at ELWA, Glynn Humphries from Wakefield Council and Steve Moore from the Environment Agency gave us a range of feedback and praise where it was due. “All the ELWA sites are very good operationally,” said Mark Ash. But with East London borough Newham facing a potential 50% cut in government funding, Mark said getting best value for
money was a priority. “Almost 92% of our budget goes on the Shanks contract, so I’d love them to go above and beyond to deliver value added service.” COMMUNITY Beth Baxter hopes BDR will be a great neighbour and she added: “Our contract is an innovative move from the councils. There’s a really positive culture at BDR and strong commitment to the community.” Glynn Humphries revealed some of the challenges between the council and contractors: “At times it’s felt like being in a boxing ring, but we want to
celebrate the successes and look at the road going forward.” Steve Moore recognised Shanks’s aspiration to be the leading wasteto-product company and suggested engaging differently with our stakeholders to achieve this. “I’d like to know more about Shanks’s long-term strategy by coming along to board meetings. Better transparency would improve our partnership,” he said. Peter Eglinton said: “Our focus is on becoming the best at what we do, so we’ll use the feedback to work towards being an even stronger strategic partner with all our customers.”
“ALL BUSINESSES MAKE MISTAKES. . . 4 ❙ December 2015
… but only the best ones learn from them”
Whether you’re an admin aficionado or a weighbridge wonder, we want colleagues across the business to pool their knowledge to help make new site launches even more efficient. The Go Live project will put together a professional hit squad of troubleshooters to be parachuted into new sites to offer guidance that will ensure the process runs as smoothly as possible. ELWA managers Gary James and Gurjeet Kaur-Assi are the brains behind the idea. Performance Reporting Manager Gary said: “The business is growing so quickly that training has to be more streamlined.
News in brief SMOOTH OPERATORS
In one of its biggest operations to date, Jenkins Lane has had its biofilter medias replaced, after seven years in action. Jim Yeowell, Lifecycle and Improvements Team Leader, said the team have worked diligently to keep things running smoothly. “We’ve had to close part of the site, appoint three traffic controllers and stagger truck arrival times,” he said.
This is a great way of passing on firsthand experience to avoid pitfalls and to allow colleagues to be as prepared as possible for their launch date.” WISDOM Gary added: “New sites shouldn’t be left to their own devices. We are lucky to have hundreds of skilled staff at Shanks, so not only will volunteers have the chance to pass on their wisdom, but they can benefit from picking up new skills and practices that could work well at their sites.” Gurjeet, Business Support Manager, said: “Although each PFI contract is different, a lot of the processes are very similar. The more people we
have on-board the better.” Lessons learned from delays at BDR have already helped save weeks of time at Wakefield. Nigel Catling, our Capital Infrastructure Director, said: “During commissioning of BDR we had an issue with the Veterinary Service concerning animal by-products, which took several months to resolve. “That knowledge was shared, so we knew what to do this time and that element was been signed off at Wakefield much more quickly.” He added: “In every complex project we deliver, there are lessons to be learned as we move from construction to
commissioning. All businesses make mistakes, but only the best ones learn from them. Also, what worked five years ago might not now, so we have to constantly assess how we operate.”
ARE YOU INTERESTED IN GETTING ON-BOARD?
SIGN UP
Fill in the Go Live application form on ConnectUs to become a start-up hero
SOS – SPOT ON SHANKS Colleagues at BDR went beyond their usual call of duty to dispose of nine full skips of waste created by none other than Nick Knowles and BBC’s DIY SOS team. The programme’s renovation experts pitched up at Rotherham to change the life of Terry Guest, a 36-year-old disabled man and close relative of BDR colleague Alison Stones. “My cousin Terry is just 36 and had his whole life ahead of him, but last year he suffered a massive brain haemorrhage, which caused him to have a stroke. We were told to fear the worst and that he would probably be unable to walk or talk ever again,” Alison said. The DIY SOS team dedicated nine days to building Terry a self-contained
annexe at the back of his sister Tracey’s house to help speed up his recovery and regain his independence. GENEROSITY Alison explained: “The programme relies on the generosity of the local community as they do the project for free. I asked Senior Operations Manager Danny Tadd if we could help and it was agreed we’d get rid of the waste for free.” As well as building the annexe, the team also adapted Tracey’s house so that Terry can rejoin family life. “At the moment Terry is recovering steadily in a nursing home, but that’s no place for a young man,” Alison added. “This build will completely change his life.”
(above) Terry Guest with sister Tracey and his BDR colleague cousin Alison Stones; (right) Alison with the DIY SOS team
At the moment Terry is recovering steadily in a nursing home, but that’s no place for a young man… this build will completely change his life
Did you know?
CHEERS TO THE NEXT 25 YEARS Our BDR colleagues celebrated full service in style with a recycled ReNEWS fashion show. The models got into the party spirit by putting the face of BDR cover star Nick Smith in some compromising positions for their completed outfits. Abi Cox, Community Education Liaison Officer, said: “Every single colleague has made full service possible.”
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MAX DAILY TONNAGE OF WASTE TO THE GASIFIER The machinery at Derby’s Sinfin Lane treatment facility is so large, our contractors are having to build the walls around it. They are waiting on a turbine to come from Brazil after installing an 80-tonne boiler and three hoppers, which will sort up to 432 tonnes of waste into the gasifiers every day. The site is scheduled to open in 2017.
December 2015 ❙ 5
CHECK YOUR PULSE ON 11 JANUARY
WE’RE LISTENING
5
Here are just a few of the great changes made since you had your say in the last PULSE survey
BEFORE SITE ARGYLL AND BUTE “Facilities at Dalinlongart YOU SAID Landfill and Compost site were completely unsatisfactory. The internal ceiling had collapsed in the changing area and there was water leaking into the weighbridge cabin.” ● “There was miscommunication between our Lochgilphead colleagues who booked drivers and site managers who met them face to face. This led to missed collections due to unlogged driver holidays or vehicle maintenance.” “We’ve had replacement YOU weighbridge and welfare DID cabins installed, with new lockers, changing area, toilet, canteen facility and furniture. Everyone is delighted, it’s much cleaner.” ● “We’ve also got a brand-new manager’s office for Dalinlongart’s Area Operations and Recycling Manager Eddie Wheeler.” ● “Now he’s got a dedicated office space with better connectivity, Eddie makes weekly operations calls to head office to manage driver availability. Bookings are a lot more efficient now.” Gail Orr, Contract Operations Manager at Argyll and Bute
TEAM MAINTENANCE “We had really poor YOU communication between ID SA operations and maintenance teams. There was an ‘us and them’ mentality and even though both teams had the same goals, each had different ways of reaching them.” “Senior operations YOU managers have taken on DID the maintenance team too. This has created unity and shared objectives across the site.” ● “We’ve launched Shanks Production System at Jenkins Lane, a bespoke system taking live data and pinpointing issues affecting performance. We hold daily meetings allowing issues to be picked up a lot faster.” ● “Our response times are quicker, which is brilliant. It’s a much better environment to work in. The daily 10-minute catch-ups are a real lifeline.” ● “Staff on different shifts can see the issues raised, key messages and general info on a message board, so they’re all informed.” Lee Goodfellow, MBT and Weighbridge Manager at Jenkins Lane
SITE DERBY “We needed to improve YOU communication within the SAID Derby contract to make us more agile.” “We had an incident where YOU an offtaker had a sudden DID unexpected problem and couldn’t open their site. We had a backlog of lorries filled with waste ready to deliver, with nowhere to go.” ● “The Derby team jumped on the phones calling other offtakers to see if they could help by taking extra loads and called our transport partners to re-route the flow of the lorries.” “This was an excellent example of improved communication and damage limitation within the team. By minimising waste going to landfill, we protected our monthly result and demonstrated excellent team alignment.” Will Spurr, Contracts Director at Derby
TEAM ELWA HWRC SITES “The facilities haven’t YOU changed since we took over SAID the ELWA contract in 2002, so they’re in poor condition.” “Chigwell Road and YOU Frizlands Lane HWRCs are DID getting new Portakabins and offices to make sites safer.” ● “We’re excited as we currently have only one toilet for 11 colleagues.” John Maara, Site Supervisor at Chigwell Road
LOOK OUT FOR THE PULSE SURVEY ON 11 JANUARY
SPEAK OUT
Employees of teams who achieve a 100% response rate will have the chance to win three iPad minis. All entries are anonymous.
& THERE’S MORE
● Dumfries and Galloway have launched additional health and safety training across sites and introduced quarterly site inspections to refresh the culture and mindset of employees. The team have noted a new culture of transparency and openness. ● The Cumbria team at Hespin Wood have demonstrated great commitment to improving communication and employee recognition with teams across their site, pioneered the SPS programme and are also proud of having the first Employee of the Quarter winner, Brian Francis. ● Elstow staff will soon be chipping in to help with renovations at their transfer station by painting and decorating.
STRONGER TOGETHER! From novice to Team GB in 15 months, and Peter’s still learning When an ankle injury forced one of the Shanks team to find a new way of keeping fit, he and his family had little idea what a life-changing event it would turn out to be. Within 15 months of the injury he had taken up cycling, been told he was quite good at it, joined a club and qualified for the Great Britain team in his age group at the World Championships. Despite his rapid progress, our Group CEO Peter Dilnot insists his success is as much about teamwork and hard work as it is about any natural ability. “I started doing rides for fun and raising money for charity, and someone said I should join a club and train with them,” he said. Always eager for a challenge, Peter signed up to a local bike club near his Suffolk home and – often disappearing at the crack of dawn to hit the road – hasn’t looked back since.
His single-minded dedication took him to the UCI World Cycling Tour Final at Aalborg in Denmark, after which he vowed ‘never again’. VALUABLE “There were ex-Olympians and former professional riders, and we were averaging 24mph until my chain came off about halfway through the race and I was left behind. I got back on and eventually came 150th out of 200. I crossed the line and told myself I would never do that again,” he said. “Now I’m starting to think I might.” Peter’s cycling obsession has also taught him some valuable lessons he says are as relevant on two wheels as they are in what we do every day. “When I joined the club I started riding in a peloton – a group of riders – and it really moved me on. When you
cycle at 20mph, you have 20mph worth of wind resistance, but in a peloton you take your turn to be protected,” he said. “When it’s your turn to be shielded you can go fast with less effort, which reinforced my view that we are far more effective working together and operating as a team.” Peter covered 103 miles in the race and admitted his heart rate was ‘skyhigh’ as he initially kept pace with the main peloton. “It was hard work, so I’m glad I trained well for it. You don’t get anything back without hard work and the more you put in, the more you get back, so the early mornings and intensive eight-week training programme definitely stood me in good stead.” So will he try to qualify again next year? “We’ll see. I love cycling for the fun, so I’d never say never.”
minutes with… Greg Walton ELWA Contract Director
Q
When did you join Shanks?
In July 2000 as a landfill chemist. After little over a year I transferred into the graduate trainee scheme and started working in the Northern Area logistics business.
Q
What does your new Director of ELWA role entail?
As well as day-to-day operations, I’m spending far more time on client and stakeholder management, planning and forecasting, and providing direction for my operations team.
Q
How do you unwind?
Q
What’s your favourite book and CD?
Q
What motto do you try to live by?
Q
Three dinner guests?
With my partner and two-year-old son. Watching him learn and develop is a pleasure and has softened my outlook. I also cycle to offload pressure, meet friends and stay fit.
The Gruffalo (the only book I’ve got the time to read) and Johnny Cash, Led Zeppelin, Kings of Leon or Nirvana.
Work hard, stay true to yourself and treat others how you expect to be treated.
Micky Flanagan, Dave Brailsford (Team Sky Manager) for motivation and any of the inspirational MSF nurses in Ebola-hit areas.
Images: Shutterstock/Mr Pics
AFTER
6 ❙ December 2015
MEET THE AGENTS ON A MISSION TO NAME PHIL MANK ROLE AUTOCLAVE OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR FACILITY WASTE TREATMENT PLANT “Watching the different facilities come online is like watching the site come to life. When I first started, the place was a shell. “The autoclave is like a big pressure cooker. We load 20 tonnes of organic waste at a time and cook it at 160 degrees under pressure. A conveyer belt from the waste reception hall brings in things that will rot down, such as old food, vegetables and paper. The steam vessel rotates and cooks the waste for 25 minutes to prepare it for the AD plant. The heat helps speed up the decomposition process. “From start to finish this process takes about 90 minutes and goes on for 16 hours a day. We plan to take in around six loads a day. During the day I will monitor the temperatures and pressures in the autoclave and make sure there are no leaks. This technology is really unique and is new to the industry. Despite its massive size, the autoclave is really quiet.“
NAME RAJ KATARI ROLE BIOCHEMIST LABORATORY MANAGER FACILITY ANAEROBIC DIGESTION (AD) PLANT
NAME LES LAND ROLE TEAM LEADER FACILITY RESIDUAL WASTE RECEPTION HALL “We’re the first port of call for household waste. I oversee three SCADA operators and a multiskilled operative. We take in about 250 tonnes of household waste every day from the Wakefield district. The waste is transferred on to a conveyor, where machinery separates out recyclable materials before the organic waste is passed
WASTE TREATMENT PLANT
ANAEROBIC DIGESTION PLANT
“We monitor the microbes that live in the digestate. Get the balance right and they produce biogas that’s filtered into a chiller, then to a booster where it’s compressed and used to produce 3MW per hour. The gas in turn powers two engines that run the site, with the rest going to the national grid. I make sure the microbes are not overfed or underfed to keep them happy and calculate how much digestate is fed to them on a daily and hourly basis – if the conditions for the bugs are wrong, the whole AD system will collapse.”
NAME MIKE PYGOTT ROLE HWRC SITE OPERATIVE FACILITY HOUSEHOLD WASTE RECYCLING CENTRE (HWRC) “The new HWRC is groundbreaking in its design because it’s split-level, with separate areas for the public and vehicles collecting waste, so there’s no longer a need to close the facility when exchanging full skips. The three of us check that customers have a residential waste permit and direct them to bays for each type of material. “Once word spreads I’m hoping we get 800 cars a day here. It’s a fantastic site that encourages reuse and recycling because we have more room to take recyclable items. Once the public sees it, I’m sure this will be the type of HWRC that others try to copy.”
HOUSEHOLD WASTE RECYCLING CENTRE
December 2015 ❙ 7
TO HIT FULL SERVICE AT WAKEFIELD on for further processing via the autoclave and AD plant, while RDF is bulked and taken to the Ferrybridge Multifuels facility. “We find all sorts, sometimes even bins that have fallen into the collection vehicles. An hourly walk round makes sure everything is ticking along and maintenance is arranged if any part of the sorting lines needs looking at. One of the big challenges is keeping the lines clean, so we have a team that come in every afternoon. “Most work is done from the control room, where we’re constantly monitoring everything. In full service, the lines will be running 21 hours a day, with three hours’ downtime for a deep clean.”
NAME PETE HAMMOND ROLE IN VESSEL COMPOST OPERATOR FACILITY COMPOSTING FACILITY RESIDUAL WASTE RECEPTION HALL COMPOSTING FACILITY
“Garden waste collected by the council is shredded and composted. We pick out larger bits by hand, but once the rest has been through the trommells, it goes into one of seven tunnels, each containing 160 tonnes, where moisture is removed creating 30 tonnes of leachate, which goes to the Effluent Treatment Plant. After two weeks in the tunnel, the compost is moved to a second for another two weeks for the same process and then on to a maturation pad, where it’s blown with air to dry it out even more. In six months we’ve created 11,000 tonnes of compost.”
THE NAME’S KIRKBY. SOUTH KIRKBY
MATERIALS RECYCLING FACILITY
EDUCATION CENTRE & OFFICES
NAME ROBERT FORBES ROLE TRANSPORT SUPERVISOR FACILITY EDUCATION CENTRE AND OFFICES “I manage the vehicles that come in and out. We have seven wagons, which hold up to 40 tonnes of waste, on the road seven days a week. We cater for 34 bring sites across the district, three transfer stations and four Household Waste Recycling Centres, making sure the vehicles are in the right place at the right time. As part of our contract, we make sure vehicles avoid residential areas.”
NAME JAKE HAMMOND ROLE MRF TEAM LEADER FACILITY MATERIALS RECYCLING FACILITY (MRF) “I worked in glass recycling before, so MRF technology was new to me. We process around 20 tonnes of recyclates an hour, which are loaded on to a conveyer for a series of machines to separate out the mixed recycling stream into its final products for resale. I oversee a team of around 24 people, four internal colleagues and 19 pickers who pull contaminants out of the dry recyclate to ensure a quality product. “Our optical sorters detect the density of items and extract reject materials. We adjust the screens according to the load coming in. Once the recycling is sorted, it’s put in receptacles according to material type.“
NAME JADE WILKES ROLE EDUCATION OFFICER FACILITY EDUCATION CENTRE AND OFFICES “I deliver educational outreach on waste and recycling for schools and community groups. My aim is to encourage sustainable behaviour, which will stay with children throughout their lifetimes. I’m excited about the opening of our new education centre, where I’ll be hosting workshops, including a tour of the education centre and a discussion of what happens at the South Kirkby site. My goal is to transform it into one of Wakefield’s top choices for school trips.”
Site Administrator Jill Tidswell shows off the new education centre
Like a giant reactor that could have been lifted straight from a James Bond set, our autoclave is the centrepiece of our new Superhub. The facility, the largest venture in the £750-million PFI partnership with Wakefield Council, features the kind of kit 007’s gadget guru Q would be proud of
JAMIE’S CLEAN SWEEP 8 ❙ December 2015
‘No fuss’ plant worker tidies up in latest bid to find our unsung, silent heroes
EMPLOYEE OF THE
QUARTER
When modest, hard-working commercial cleaner Jamie Baines found out he’d been named Employee of the Quarter he ‘wasn’t as thrilled as you might expect’. His line manager John Stanbridge knew what his jack-of-all-trades colleague’s reaction would be to the accolade, but went ahead and nominated him anyway. “If the award is designed to recognise those people who go about their job with the minimum of fuss but with maximum efficiency, then Jamie is a deserving winner,” said John.
“Jamie is such a modest guy who goes about his work without me even needing to ask him.” Father-of-four Jamie has always been a stalwart at our Sowerby Woods Mechanical Biological Treatment plant in Barrow and John knew he was a worthy winner. ‘CLEANEST SITE’ “Jamie does such a great job that everyone who comes here says it’s the cleanest site in the company,” John said. “The beauty is that Jamie is the kind of chap that just gets on with it without me having to issue orders. The other day he vacuumed the back of the shutter doors because he said it looked nice.” Jamie’s role involves cleaning the machinery and plant, refinement areas and telehandlers to ensure the day-today running of the Cumbria site is as smooth as possible. John continued: “When I told him he had won he wasn’t as thrilled as you
AWIAITNG IMAGE FROM JOHN STANBRIDGE -CONTACTED BY EMAIL AND MOB TWICEON OCTOBER 10, 9
DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO GOES ABOVE AND BEYOND?
NOMINATE
Fill in the form on ConnectUs or email joanne.keep@shanks.co.uk
And the award goes to…
Colleagues and volunteers unite in Ontario to create relaxing green spaces in the city
BLAZING A TRAIL An eager team from our London, Ontario facility in Canada got their hands dirty to support the local environment by planting hundreds of trees. Sixty volunteers from Catholic Central High School and the ReForest London team joined our colleagues at Dingman Park, south London, as part of an ambitious project to transform empty city spaces into green sanctuaries. “We are, and always have been, an
might expect because he likes to stay out of the limelight, but sometimes you have to take praise for the greater good.” Jamie was also recognised for ‘being a valued member of the team and for his commitment to keeping the site one of the cleanest in the business’. John added: “He will tackle any job to help out. No one has a bad word to say about him. Many people who visit the site remark on how clean it is and this is normally down to him. The only problem I have is that there is only one of him!” Jamie said: “It feels really good to be acknowledged in this way.”
environmental company,” said Sales Manager Chris O’Toole. “The ReForest London initiative aligns perfectly with our environmental ethos and since our Canadian headquarters is nearby, we wanted to assist in keeping the park well forested for years to come.”
DEVELOPMENT Helpers planted a whopping 350 native trees in the eight-hectare plot, which in time will be populated with
over 5,000 saplings and shrubs. Julie Ryan, Director of Programs at ReForest London, said: “This is a really amazing site that will eventually be home to a trail network and open-space facilities. The site connects to an environmentally significant area, which will promote great ecological development. “Many thanks for sponsoring this project – we couldn’t have done it without you!”
CONGRATULATIONS to the team at Surrey’s Biofuel facility who were nominated for the Best Waste, Energy or Water Project at the prestigious P3 Awards. Surrey was shortlisted by a panel of 70 judges, celebrating public/private partnership innovation across the USA, Latin America and Canada. Our colleagues travelled to New York for the ceremony in October. Kieron Parker, Municipal Sales and Marketing Director, said: “We didn’t win but it was great to get recognition for the hard work put in to the project so far.” SOUTH KIRKBY staff represented Shanks at this year’s Wakefield Pride Awards. Senior Operations Manager Craig Capper presented the Shanks-sponsored Behind the Scenes award to solicitor Philip Powell and the Wakefield Eastern Relief Road team. Sally Hurn, Project Co-ordinator, said: “It was great to see the passion and hard work that goes in to running the district.” ReNEWS received an award of excellence in the Best Newspaper category at this year’s Institute of Internal Communications Awards. Group Communications Manager Helen Kemp and PA Kirstie Slade attended the ceremony with ReNEWS Editors Emily and Jim, who were the first to hit the dance floor at the ceremony.
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS (left to right) Dawn, Janet and Ann
With Alzheimer ’s affecting more than one in six people over 80, we are all likely to be touched by the disease at one point in our lives. But for Dawn Coupe, the story is closer to home than for most. “My mum is 76 and has advanced Alzheimer’s,” she said. “I can’t do a lot to help her now, so I have spent the past two years trying to support those facing it in the future.” The Agresso Support Manager proved strength comes in numbers, joining
forces with colleagues Janet Randle and Ann Davis to complete the Alzheimer’s Society 10k Memory Walk. “I did it on my own last year and raised £850, but with Ann and Janet on-board, our total came to £2,049,” Dawn said. “This was thanks to the support and generosity of our Shanks colleagues, who we are very grateful to.” More than 1,000 walkers took part in the event at Bedford Priory Park, with an expected fundraising total of £78,000.
Dawn said: “We finished in just under two hours, but we could’ve done it quicker if we weren’t chatting so much! It was great to speak to people who know what I’m going through. Janet’s mum has dementia, so she understands the struggle. “The atmosphere on the day was lovely. My dad (right) was at the finishing line to cheer me on, which made a world of difference.”
d n u o F & t s Lo
Q. What’s red and green and turns the air blue? A. Polly the foul-mouthed parrot When a colourful visitor arrived at one of our Wakefield waste recycling centres, the team went out of their way to make him welcome. The red and green parrot had flown straight into the canopy at Glasshoughton HWRC, dazing himself. He stayed for a couple of days and the team fed him cereal and water until the unexpected visitor’s behaviour took a dramatic turn for the worse when he began targeting customers with some choice two-word expletives. “He started telling people to go away, although not quite as politely as that,” said Site Supervisor Kevin Hodgson.
“When the RSPCA officers came to take him away, he tried to escape, but they used a net, read the ring on his claw and contacted the owner.” WATCH OUT In Welbeck, Site Attendant Pete Dyas reunited an elderly customer with a watch he’d been given by his wife on their silver wedding anniversary. “The chap was upset because the watch had sentimental value, but we knew where he’d been tipping his green waste, so we identified the skip,” Pete said. “Next morning, I brought my metal
detector in and got a bleep. We dug out the green waste and there it was. “As I checked the perimeter fence, I also found a pretty grey and white cat that looked like she’d been hit by a car. She had to be put to sleep, but the owner was so relieved her cat was in good hands that she came in with a card and chocolates to thank us.”
December 2015 ❙ 9
DENBY DALE
Saviour Pete Dyas
KEY FINDS Our team at Denby Dale also rescued a man’s keys from green waste at the transfer station and recovered a lost wallet from a pile of domestic waste.
WELBECK
@ * # * *! #*
WHAT HAS BEEN LOST AND FOUND AT YOUR SITES?
SHARE IT
Let your local Communications Champion know – see page 2 GLASSHOUGHTON
BANISHING THOSE BAD DAY BLUES Conflict training will cool potential hot spots Thirty colleagues have been trained to identify and diffuse potentially tricky situations at our sites. Our teams at HWRC facilities in Wakefield were the first to sign up for the day-long Understanding Ourselves and Our Customers course. The sessions looked at diversity and how our prejudices can influence the way we treat people in our day-to-day lives. It aimed to: ● give delegates the skills and understanding to recognise diversity when delivering customer service ● show how we can adapt what we do to the differing needs of customers ● encourage colleagues to always behave fairly, professionally and efficiently with each other and their customers. Ria Findlay, HR Advisor, said: “We are dedicated to making sure our customers and members of the public enjoy visiting our sites, so to do that we have to look at ourselves first.”
HERE’S WHAT THE FIRST WAVE OF PARTICIPANTS THOUGHT
It was interesting to hear how prejudices can influence our behaviour, language and actions to customers without us even realising it. It helped me see that if someone is aggressive they may be having a bad day. TONY CHEESBROUGH, SITE SUPERVISOR, WELBECK
We all assess people at first sight, but the training taught me never to judge a book by its cover. Sometimes visitors aren’t too happy about waiting, so this training will hopefully help me keep them smiling. JILL TIDSWELL, SITE ADMINISTRATOR, SOUTH KIRKBY
(l-r) Ged Pearce, Household Waste Manager Derbyshire; Adam Smith, Household Waste Manager Derbyshire; Ian George, ELWA; Greg Walton, ELWA; Hana Bajerova, Materials Marketing
(MK); Craig Capper, Wakefield; Will Spurr, Derby (Chair); John Stanbridge, Cumbria; Nick Blake, Cumbria; Gail Orr, A&B; and Colin MacInnes, A&B. Camera: Becky Dykes, Wakefield
SEEING THE LIGHT Our recycling centres are a vital service for communities across the country and now HWRC managers from Scotland to London are joining together to share top tips and best practice. The HWRC Working Group, launched earlier this year, is the first of its kind to bring together the expertise of staff at the six PFI contracts operating HWRCs. Will Spurr, Chair of the group, said: “It’s really exciting to get an experienced cross-company team together round a table and to witness the enthusiasm and flow of ideas.” Following meetings in Derby and Wakefield, the super group’s next get-
together will be at ELWA, where they will be looking at ways of optimising safety, promoting innovation and improving training at all HWRCs. EXCELLENCE Will expects the group to bring performance improvement once business data has been collected and the meetings are fully under way. He added: “Just as importantly, we hope to identify equipment and design excellence on sites. “If that information is used even more widely, it will enhance the safety of our employees and the good service experienced by our millions of customers every year.”
10 ❙ December 2015
Discounts from us, for you
GARY GRABS A BARGAIN, AND YOU CAN TOO
MAKING MORE FROM... FOOD
Sweet-toothed colleagues join the Bake Off brigade LOVE FOOD, HATE WASTE EVENT IN WAKEFIELD Saturday shoppers got some glorious grub on the house when Shanks and Wakefield Council staff took to the streets to raise awareness of food waste. Lucky passers-by had their pick of chickpea curry or panzanella salad and little did they know that the delicious dishes were whipped up with food we would normally throw away. The nationwide initiative educates people on how to make more from leftovers, and the Educational Vehicle was on hand to give out recipe ideas and freebies. Sally Hurn, South Kirkby Project Coordinator, said: “The campaign is a great way to get people thinking more about their waste habits and how they can make the most of what’s in their fridge.”
HR & Payroll Administrator Gary Foote (below) has made some savvy savings with Shanks Fruitful. See how you can get in on the action.
Q
What is Shanks Fruitful?
It’s a site where employees get exclusive savings and offers. It gives you cashback on your purchases, a reloadable voucher like a gift card or instant vouchers emailed direct to you. You can also apply for Childcare Vouchers and the Cycle to Work Scheme through the site.
Q
What have you bought?
Q
How much have you saved?
Q
Is it just for high street shops?
I got cashback on my home insurance and I’ve used instant vouchers for a TV and to get a discount on a washing machine. The reloadable cards were great when doing DIY projects too.
Group CEO Peter Dilnot tucked in to Ian Hurst’s sweet creation, which was inspired by the arrival of his daughter Honey-Rose. The Senior Operations Manager at Jenkins Lane said: “My wife has become quite the baker since Honey-Rose came along.”
HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW? Green-fingered colleagues have offered up the best of their veg to feed those going hungry in their local area. Our head office in Milton Keynes held a pop-up market stall, selling home-grown and long-life goods that colleagues collected to support the Milton Keynes (MK) Food Bank. Fundraising fanatic Clare Molyneaux found inspiration for the scheme in her own backyard. “When I moved to my house, we
inherited a fantastic veg patch. For about six months of the year we’re virtually self-sustainable,” she said. “The idea struck me to bring together like-minded own-growers to put our gardens to good use.” From rhubarb to apple and chilli jelly, the bring-and-buy scheme was a big success. “Everyone was really generous and Peter Eglinton agreed to match our efforts on behalf of Shanks, so we raised £520,” Clare added.
Since registering, my total savings are nearly £700.
No, there are a massive amount of retailers included, with savings on mobile contracts, TV and broadband, hotels, food and drink, home insurance, utility bills and food shopping. There are offers for Groupon and Amazon too.
Q
How easy is it?
It’s now the first place I go. When I find something I want to buy, I always check through Fruitful to see if I can get a better deal. The instant vouchers are brilliant – you can have a voucher emailed to your mobile in minutes. All Shanks UK employees can register at shanksfruitful.co.uk
(l-r) Sophia Kibirige, Virginia Wyllie, Clare Molyneaux and Jo Keep with the MK Food Bank team
CAKE-TASTIC FUNDRAISER Staff at South Kirkby dug deep for Macmillan Cancer Support at their coffee morning, delving into 40 spectacular cake creations for a good cause. Fundraising duo Jill Tidswell and Suzanne Daykin said the cakes and on-site staff rose to the occasion: “We raised a phenomenal £517.58, compared to just under £200 last year,” said Site Administrator Jill. “I was absolutely thrilled, everyone was so generous.” Colleagues and contractors had plenty of choice, with masses of cakes baked, bought and donated. “Our colleague Miles Hopkinson’s wife works in a local bakery and she donated various cakes to our cause,” added Jill. As a keen supporter of Macmillan and local palliative care, Jill often organises fundraisers and volunteers her time as thanks for the great care her father received at Wakefield Hospice.
“It was such a busy day,” she said. “I’m not quite sure how I will beat my total next year – I have raised the bar now!”
MUSHROOM TO IMPROVE From fungi to compost, Nick has high hopes for new challenge Nick Pora used to own a family business with 275 employees growing 10 million pounds of mushrooms a year, but gave it all up to join Shanks. The father-of-four joined the family business straight from university in 1989 and helped to build it into a thriving enterprise. The firm, which provided 200,000 pounds of fungi a week at its peak, supplied wholesalers and restaurants across Ontario from its Ottawa headquarters and two warehouses in Montreal and Quebec City. As he edged towards 50, Nick increasingly felt the urge to change his
career. Earlier this year Nick and two of his sisters took the difficult decision to wind down the business his father had started nearly half a century earlier. REASSESSING Nick admitted: “It was a tough thing to do, but I was reassessing my life and needed a change.” After much soul-searching and wondering what career to follow, he found the answer on his doorstep. Nick, now manager at our Ottawa site, said: “Where I live, 10 minutes from the facility, they were establishing a green bin programme just as Orgaworld was being built. They were using the same
kind of technologies we’ve used in mushroom composting for the last 42 years, so I knew it was something I’d be able to bring knowledge to.” Nick has no doubts that he’s made the right move: “I wanted to be able to use my technical expertise and management skills to help create something of real quality that could help the environment, and that is what we do. “I am now dealing with regulatory agencies, customers and farmers rather than major retailers, with the aim of creating a compost of such good quality that it reflects how well we are running our business.”
Nick Pora uses skills picked up from his family mushroom business, to run the Ottawa organic waste treatment facility
December 2015 ❙ 11
News in brief
(l-r) Dave Cheetham, Senior Operations Manager at D&G, Kevin Bayliss, Chris Gibson and Mark Pagan, Annan Cricket Team Captain
Picture courtesy of Annadale Observer
KEY PLAYERS DROP IN ON BDR
‘KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK’
From a rubbish dump to a tidy recycling centre, our six-hitting Corsehill team are sweeping their old reputation to the boundary Site Supervisor Chris Gibson is no stranger to hard work, so when Shanks was looking for a trusted colleague to transform the Corsehill transfer station and HWRC, he was definitely the man for the job. “I have worked in waste management for 25 years. I was brought in to run Locharmoss, Dalbeattie and Stranraer before, to shake things up a bit, and I’ve been based at Corsehill for the last four years,” said Chris. Since taking over Corsehill, the HWRC troubleshooter has transformed the site, and the attitudes of the colleagues and local community using the facility. “I don’t like working in a
dirty environment. Our customers like it much more now. I tell people it’s not a rubbish tip, it’s a recycling centre.” REVAMP Before its revamp, waste was just dumped on the ground. Now it’s segregated into skips, with practically everything going to recycling. “The site is a lot cleaner, it’s swept regularly, litter picked, tidied up, we have a new secure fence to separate the transfer station from the HWRC and we had new portakabins put in,” Chris added. Local residents have flocked to the press to shout about the great improvements. ‘The site has vastly improved,’ said one customer. ‘The staff are great, keep up the good work
I don’t like working in a dirty environment. The customers coming in like it much more now. I tell people it’s not a rubbish tip, it’s a recycling centre
(l-r) Neil Poteous, Chris Gibson and Len Kempsell, three on-site staff at Corsehill
lads.’ Another praised the ‘helpful support of the staff’ saying ‘the access, layout and tidiness combine to provide a level of service much improved compared to recent years’. POSITIVE Regular visitors have even turned up with gifts to reward the colleagues for their pride in the job. “The public are really positive about what we’ve been doing; ladies have been bringing us in home-made cakes,” said Chris. The Middlesbrough expat struck up a friendship with the site’s landscape gardener, Kevin Bayliss, who shares a passion for keeping things in order, and a place of birth. “Kevin’s from my neck of the woods, it’s nice to have
him around,” said Chris. “He does a great job, so Dave Cheetham agreed to supply his cricket team (Annan) with a new kit. ” Dave, Senior Operations Manager, said: “Chris and Kevin have boosted our reputation within the local area. Chipping in for Annan’s cricket whites was our way of saying thanks.”
HAVE YOU RECEIVED ANY PUBLIC FEEDBACK?
SHARE IT
Let us know by email to helen.kemp@shanks.co.uk
Thirty VIPs from across the waste industry will be visiting BDR for the first time. The Chartered Institute of Waste Management (CIWM) will be hosted at Bolton Road for a showcase of the unique facility. “The professionals are made up of potential clients, so the stakes are high,” said Abi Cox.
THIRD SITE ROLLS OUT NEW SYSTEM Frog Island colleagues have found strength in numbers by collaborating across teams to beat targets. Frog Island BioMRF is the third site to roll-out the Shanks Production System, using data and daily meetings to boost performance in maintenance and operations.
CAN YOU RESTART A HEART? The South Kirkby team have been rolling their sleeves up for CPR refresher and defibrillator training. “I arranged some training to coincide with the existing Restart a Heart Campaign,” said Project Co-ordinator Sally Hurn. “Office staff were apprehensive about using the defibrillator in the education centre. Now the team have the confidence to respond quickly in a critical situation.”
SURPRISE, SURPRISE A computer glitch that sparked a surprise visit from health and safety watchdogs ended with a big thumbs up for one of our site teams. Two inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive arrived unannounced at Jenkins Lane after an administrative error at their offices. “Their routine visit was prompted by an error in their system, which suggested Jenkins Lane was a newly operational site,” said Lucille Stanley, QHSE Advisor. “After being told that the site has been operational for some time, they decided to go ahead with an
inspection anyway.” Just as well then that every aspect of health and safety on the site, from out-of-hours emergency contact details to risk assessment responsibilities, was right up-to-date. SATISFACTION The visit started with a site overview presentation and description of processes and roles within Shanks, before a mini audit of on-site safety management took place. The visit also covered site shift patterns, out-of-hours emergency contacts, agency staff turnover and an explanation of our health and safety
training across all levels. “The inspectors felt that all questions were well-answered and said the whole site appeared wellmanaged and well-supported from a health and safety compliance perspective. They said it was a positive visit,” said Lucille. The visitors also asked for further information on our management of occupational health, including our Occupational Health Policy, which we supplied them with to their complete satisfaction. Lucille added: “Overall it was a very positive visit. Well done to the operations teams.”
12 ❙ December 2015
WIN!
COMING SOON…
A luxury hotel break for two
STAR WARS: EPISODE VII – THE FORCE AWAKENS Cert: TBC (18.12.15) The Star Wars franchise is back! One of the most anticipated films of the year has been brought to life by J.J. Abrams. The next chapter is set 30 years after Return of the Jedi and will feature plenty of original cast members to delight protective fans, including Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher. FACT Filming began in April 2014 in Abu Dhabi and Iceland, and Chapter VII is set to break records, with profits likely to exceed $1 billion.
Get invigorated in the new year Set for an indulgent Christmas? Get away from it all with a one-night spa break for two at a choice of luxury hotels in the UK or Canada, depending on your location. Whether you choose a boutique getaway, historic hall or peaceful countryside retreat, each hotel boasts luxurious spa and leisure facilities. This package is valid for 10 months and includes spa access, a night in a stylish room and breakfast (dependent on choice). For your
chance to win, simply answer the question below: clue – the answer features in this issue.
Q
How many tonnes of compost has South Kirkby produced in the last six months?
DOCTOR WHO
BBC One (25.12.15)
All entries must be submitted by the closing date of 11 January 2016 – make sure you give us your name and contact details on your entry.
Christmas wouldn’t be the same without our favourite Doctor gracing the screen. This year’s no different, with Peter Capaldi (pictured left) taking the lead as Doctor Who in series nine’s Christmas Special. The episode will see the return of fellow time traveller Professor River Song, who’s to meet her husband’s new incarnation for the first time. FACT 8.2 million viewers tuned in to watch Doctor Who’s Christmas Special last year. The sci-fi thriller proved more popular than the Queen’s Christmas Message and Downton Abbey, according to viewing figures.
TEXT: 07860 021367 EMAIL: shanks@summersault.co.uk TERMS AND CONDITIONS The editor’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. ReNEWS reserves the right to change the prize without prior notice. The prize cannot be exchanged for cash.
SPOT THE DIFFERENCE – JUST FOR FUN! Put your observation skills to the test. Here are two pictures of Glen Ibbotson, BDR’s Anaerobic Digestion Plant Manager, in a fetching ReNEWS mankini. Glen debuted this daring number at an office party, but all is not as it seems. Can you spot the five differences between the two pictures?
THE THIRD QI BOOK OF GENERAL IGNORANCE £6.99 on Amazon
Answers: 1) Glasses missing 2) High-vis vest on newspaper, orange 3) Double doors missing 4) Button missing from shirt 5) Collar unbuttoned
Congratulations to cycling fanatic
and Engineering and Performance Director Keith Sinfield, who conquered the brutal Etape du Tour earlier this year. With 4,500m of climbing over 88 miles, you may think he’d be put off. But he’s signed up again for next year! More in the next edition of ReNEWS. Our interim results were in line with expectations, with the November
STOCKING FILLERS
…
This book features 180 questions from the BBC TV show’s General Ignorance round. The challenging questions are bound to outsmart any smug relative and provide great entertainment over the festive break.
report revealing the UK business grew revenues by 7% to £80.4m, but trading profit fell 16% to £4.2m. In Canada, trading profit grew by 8% to £1.4m. A royal visitor, the Lord Lieutenant of South Yorkshire Andrew Coombe, visited our BDR facility to officially open the site. The Queen’s official representative cut the ribbon on 13 November.
HAVE YOUR SAY
GAME OF THRONES (1-4)
Buy from £28 on eBay
Keen Game of Thrones fans will have to wait until 2016 for the Season 5 DVD, leaving plenty of time between Christmas and March to binge-watch 40 episodes of series 1 to 4.
LAST ISSUE’S WINNER!
Congratulations to Project Engineer Manager Stewart Love, who won himself a Fitbit chargeHR watch by correctly answering last issue’s competition question, quoting the BDR facility’s diversion rate at 96.5%.
GOT A STORY? Text or email us:
07860 021367
helen.kemp@shanks.co.uk
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