Renews issue 4 by Sonder

ReNEWS

WIN!

A CANON CAMERA P12

FOR ALL YOUR SHANKS UK NEWS AND VIEWS

TIGER WOODS AND THE SHANKS LINK Sarah shares her golfing secret – P4

March 2015

MAKING SAFETY OUR FRONT-LINE PRIORITY Leading the way – P5

Nick Smith gets to grips with his gyr-saker

STRONGER TOGETHER

THE BIRD MAN OF BDR

From facility boss to falconer, Nick’s career and hobby are really taking off: full story P3

The devastating fire at Frog Island last year did not affect our landfill diversion rate because of our teams’ ‘absolutely fantastic’ work. Despite being without some lines and the entire refinement area for 12 weeks, the business maintained a 74% landfill diversion rate for our client ELWA. And while it was the hard work and dedication of our front-line people at Frog Island and Jenkins Lane that pulled us through, the support behind the scenes did not go unnoticed. Everyone across the business pulled together in a show of strength and unity. Our landfill diversion rate was unaffected, further strengthening our relationship with ELWA. Greg Walton, Project General Manager, said: “The expertise of our people meant we played a critical part in directing fire crews to key areas at the right times.” FLEXIBLE “Their decision-making probably saved the extra two lines and millions of pounds in rebuilding costs. Within three months we were accepting contract waste again and maintaining our diversion rate. “Great people make a great business and the fire showed we have plenty of great people. We have a lot of knowledge, pride and great resilience, and the fire taught us a lot about ourselves as a business, as well as some lessons for the future.” Tony Burnett, ELWA PFI Director, said: “We needed everyone to pull together and be flexible to get the site back on its feet. The team were absolutely fantastic, everyone did what was asked of them. “We had great support from across the business, including QHSE, Insurance, Legal, Communications, Maintenance, Finance and HR, which showed we have quality expertise covering just about everything we need to know.”

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2 ❙ March 2015

PETER’S BLOG IMPRESSING THE EXPERTS

With BDR and Wakefield due to enter full service in July and September, this will be an exciting year for us. I recently showed the Wakefield facility to our investors, analysts and banks at our UK Capital Markets Day, and to the press at a recent media day. While the facility is not yet finished, it was exciting for them to see the passion of our team and to understand the sheer size, scale and capability of our facility.

INSPIRATIONAL REFURB

It’s great to hear that the Pulse action planning sessions are going well, and exciting to see teams developing plans to improve how we work together. On the theme of working together, phase one of the Dunedin House office refurbishment is now complete, with the entire UK head office team based on the top floor. The refurbished office is a far more inspirational place to work and I am looking forward to seeing increased levels of collaboration. The team are now working hard to finish the downstairs area, where the Group head office team will be based. Look out for the next ReNEWS for a glimpse of the new office.

TEAMWORK WORKS As you’ll see in this edition, two lines at Frog Island are now working well and we are producing good volumes of RDF. We hope to have Line 3 next month. The speed of recovery has impressed the entire business and is a testament to the team involved.

LOOK OUT FOR EACH OTHER

In the last edition, I reported that the UK business was performing well against our ﬁnancial targets and the latest ﬁgures show that is continuing. I am also pleased that we managed to divert 94% of waste at our Derby HWRCs in December, which is a fantastic achievement. But when it comes to safety, we are facing a challenge to meet targets – safety is always our top priority, so please continue to report unsafe behaviours and always look out for each other.

PETER EGLINTON

HAVE YOUR SAY

Text or email your story to us on:

07860 021367

shanks@summersault.co.uk

FRIENDLY TALK SAVES MONEY Contact sharing chat ends with cash and space solution to a heavyweight problem When a giant piece of equipment finally outgrew its usefulness, one of our teams faced the dilemma of how to get rid of it. At 100 tonnes and 60 metres long, the huge Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) at Frog Island was taking up a lot of potentially useful space. Worse than that, our agreement with ELWA meant that we would have to fork out for the cost of removing it. Several scrap dealers in east London weren’t interested and a third asked for £150,000 to come and take the equipment away. POSITIVE The kit was once used to separate recyclates from domestic waste, but was decommissioned a year ago as newer, more efficient technology was introduced. “We had a problem because we’d agreed with our client that we would pay for its removal and give them any proceeds,” said ELWA Contract Director Tony Burnett. But the old adage that two heads are better than one and a working visit to Holland turned a negative into a big positive. Tony explained: “I was chatting to Louis Sciarli, one of our regional directors over there, and he told me he’d have a chat with some of his contacts. “After a week or so he came back and said he’d found a business that would dismantle it and take it for free, and give us €40,000 for it.” RELATIONSHIP Louis visited Frog Island to liaise with ELWA, oversee the removal and ensure any cross border health and safety issues were handled swiftly. As a result, the MRF was gone

From rubble to room… it took just three weeks to make the extra space and money

I rang our client and they were delighted. By working collaboratively, it meant we not only saved a lot of money, but also strengthened the relationship within three weeks, leaving a large area for the Frog Island team to use. “I rang our client and they were delighted. By working collaboratively, it meant we not only saved a lot of money, but also strengthened the relationship with our client,” said Tony. He believes that ConnectUs could pave the way for greater collaboration within the business, and added: “If I’m faced with a problem, I will ask for views from people on how we should address it. “If there’s an idea worth pursuing or some best practice happening elsewhere in the UK or across the Shanks Group, then we should be sharing it.”

GOT AN EXAMPLE OF COLLABORATION BETWEEN SITES?

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(l-r) Tony Burnett and Louis Sciarli worked together

This newspaper is produced by

Let us know by email: helen.kemp@shanks.co.uk

OUR PROJECT EVERGREEN TO REVOLUTIONISE DATA AT SHANKS A new system set to simplify the way we work across the business is in development as part of Project Evergreen. The Project team are reviewing a solution to demonstrate the capabilities of our data by working with our systems and the business to improve on how our data is reported. Currently, reporting methods are often manual, meaning we have no way of combining the data strands to provide one version of the truth. The project is in its very early stages, but will result in a business intelligence platform for turning data into knowledge. The team have been trialling software by looking at how much it costs the business to produce waste through our bio-MRF plants at Frog Island and Jenkins Lane. INTUITIVE Project Manager Rebekah Hartley has said the team have been able to pull in data from four systems across the business so far and by looking at data collectively, we will be able to gauge more accurate overviews of our operations. “The vision is to provide an intuitive solution that can tell us a story about our data. It will help build a bigger picture and analyse trends to see what is working and what is not.”

Editor: Jim Levack, Sub Editor: Kate Feasey, Senior Art Editor: Emma Bramwell, Production Manager: Jo Malby. VICTORIA COURT, 8 DORMER PLACE, LEAMINGTON SPA, WARWICKSHIRE CV32 5AE. WWW.SUMMERSAULT.CO.UK

March 2015 ❙ 3

WHEN NICK LEAVES WORK AFTER SHIFT…

IT’S PREY TIME!

One man, his dogs, birds and nature in perfect harmony After a hectic day at work or taxiing his teenage triplets about, Nick Smith’s idea of relaxation is a stroll on the moors with his dogs. Nothing unusual there, but it’s his other choice of companion that adds a little spice to the daily walk. Our MBT Manager gets away from it all with two amazing birds of prey at his home on the outskirts of Sheﬃeld. He’s been practising the medieval art of falconry for 20 years and after starting with a buzzard and then moving on to Harris hawks, now has a gyr-saker (hybrid) and peregrine falcon. NATURAL Nick said: “There’s something incredibly primal about being out with the dog and the falcon. It’s just me and nature. I am allowing the bird and the dog to work together, so I feel I’m supporting a natural interaction at its most basic.” Nick, who has owned a number of other hawks before moving up the scale to falcons, added: “There is just something about these birds that utterly mesmerises me. Their eyes are like deep black pools, so when you see what they are capable of doing, it really is something to behold.

“The average peregrine falcon weighs close to a couple of pounds and is capable of speeds approaching 200mph in a vertical stoop or drop, when it swoops on its prey. They have the most incredible eyesight and can spot a potential meal a great distance away. It’s amazing.” The initial outlay is the most expensive part of the hobby, with the best gyrfalcons costing in excess of £5,000. SOLITUDE Nick said: “You can either free loft them where they are in large cages, or tether them. But you have to get the balance right to get the best out of them. Ideally, you should ﬂy them every day, but you need daylight and the right weather. “We’ve been busy at work getting the BDR facility in Manvers ready to start receiving waste, so I haven’t had as much time as usual, but once the recruitment and commissioning is over, they’ll get much more attention.” Nick has 16-year-old triplets, two boys and a girl, and admits that the solitude of the moorland around his rural home is often very welcome: “Sometimes a quiet walk with the dog and a bird can be more appealing than staying in!”

Feathery factﬁle ■ Peregrine falcons catch their prey, usually smaller birds or bats, in mid-air. ■ They are equally at home in the city, but prefer the countryside’s wide open spaces. ■ They breed for life. ■ Peregrines have been used in falconry for centuries. ■ The gyr-saker is a cross-breed falcon hailing from Norway and arid Asia.

Look before you book, the Shanks Fruitful website (left) could save you pounds

GET BEACH-WISE If it’s nearly time to book a holiday or give the house a facelift, then just wait a moment or two. The Shanks Fruitful website has a host of money-saving oﬀers and Deals of the Week that could save you a small fortune. Managing Director Peter Eglinton is a big fan of the site and regularly takes advantage of the exclusive oﬀers. Recent offers have included downloadable money-off vouchers and reloadable cards saving up to 12.5% at many of the big-name DIY chains. Homebase, Wickes and B&Q are just

a few of the companies signed up to the scheme, run by Reward Gateway. You can also save money on your weekly shop at Asda or family holiday at Thomas Cook.

UPDATED Jo Keep, HR Services Manager, said: “The site has recently been updated, making it more compatible with mobile smart devices, as well as laptops, and there are some great deals. “In addition to the DIY retailers, there are also some great deals available at Debenhams and Cineworld.”

She added: “One colleague has already saved himself a lot of money by buying a television and printer at Currys through the scheme.”

VISIT IT

http://shanks.rewardgateway. co.uk/ExternalHelpSupport

4 ❙ March 2015

AROUND THE GROUP

BIG CANADIAN CONTRACT WIN Shanks has won an exciting new 25-year contract with the City of Surrey in Canada. Situated on the west coast of the country, near Vancouver, Surrey is the most rapidly growing city in the region. Shanks will build a 90,000-tonne dry anaerobic digestion and composting facility to process residual kitchen and garden waste from Surrey. The process will create a renewable fuel, which can then be used to power the city’s waste trucks. Once the facility is operational, Surrey will have the first closedloop fully integrated organics waste management system in North America. Shanks will design, build and operate the world-class facility using advanced technology from our existing facilities in Canada and the Netherlands in a great example of cross-divisional teamwork. Our Organics and UK Municipal teams worked in unison to share best practice and knowledge to win the project. We now look forward to working with the City of Surrey to develop and ﬁnalise our plans ahead of the facility becoming operational in late 2016.

NEW DEAL SET TO BOOST CAPACITY An agreement to acquire a hazardous waste treatment facility in the Netherlands has just been signed by our Dutch operation. The six-hectare site in Farmsum, in the northern Dutch province of Groningen, has been bought for €3.75 million. A former production facility of Rohm and Haas, it consists of land and highquality operational assets, including water and waste storage tanks, a production hall and distillation tower. The site, which will oﬀer additional treatment capacity for materials extracted during the industrial cleaning process, also hosts laboratories, oﬃces, warehousing and railway access, with indoor loading for trucks and trains, as well as a further three undeveloped hectares of land. There are also permits for a wide range of activities.

Sarah has trained Dubai Tiger in new disciplines

THE HORSE WHISPERER When she’s not monitoring data, you’ll find Sarah riding high in the saddle on a thoroughbred with a fascinating sporting past

What do one of the world’s greatest golfers, an Arab sheikh and a Shanks employee have in common? A $1.8 million racehorse that didn’t quite make the grade, but is now enjoying a wonderful new lease of life in a diﬀerent arena. The stunning Dubai Tiger was a product of the world-famous Godolphin stable owned by Sheikh Mohammed, and named after world number-one golfer Tiger Woods. He is one of Sarah Hudgins’ five retired racehorses that might have faced an uncertain future if it wasn’t for her devotion to the animals. LUCKY The lucky former-racers, end up in farmers’ fields or as competition horses, but most are destined for the Continental meat market. Tiger’s life changed following a string of races where he failed to make

What are your favourite qualities in your colleagues?

Somebody prepared to work for the good of the team and the business, and who appreciates what others do. Someone who is responsible, accessible and respectful.

Your idea of happiness?

Spending time with family and friends, having fun with my lovely

It was one of the best days of my life and made all the hard work worthwhile. I love my job, but being with my horses is the most relaxing thing in the world the grade. The eight-year-old was released by the Sheikh’s United Arab Emirates-based stable. His Highness’s loss was Sarah’s gain, as she saw something in the unwanted horse and snapped him up when he came up for sale in Newmarket. Since then Sarah, who works with the Derby Finance team as an administrator, monitoring waste data, has worked tirelessly to give Dubai Tiger a new lease of life.

“The racing industry is cut-throat, so if a horse doesn’t live up to the hype, it will be sold on. I take them and train them up for dressage, showjumping and horseball – like polo without the mallet – and I love doing it,” she said. “I went to look at him and fell in love straightaway. A lot of the former

racehorses don’t like open spaces and have to be taught manners and it can be a slow process.” RELAXING After years of hard work, Sarah’s patience paid oﬀ when Tiger was placed eighth in the Windsor Horse Show Retraining of Racehorses event, ahead of many of the professional stables. She said: “It was one of the best days of my life and made all the hard work worthwhile. I love my job, but being with my horses is the most relaxing thing in the world.”

HAVE YOU GOT AN UNUSUAL HOBBY OR PASTIME?

SHARE IT

Tiger Woods (second from left) meets his namesake and Sheikh Mohammed (far left)

Let us know by email to helen.kemp@shanks.co.uk

minutes with… Kirstie Slade, PA to the directors

little boy, going on nice holidays and enjoying days out.

Tell us something that your colleagues don’t know about you.

I’m very musical. Not many people know this, but I can play the clarinet, violin (badly!), I played the cello for eight years, the piano and I’d really love to learn to play the saxophone – I might do this when I find some free time!

What is the best and worst part of your job?

As sad as it sounds, I love my job. I enjoy coming to work every day, and I enjoy working with the people around me. I like to think I’m a bit like Mary Poppins – I organise people, make sure they are where they are meant to be and

generally look after people. Plus, I’m a bit of a control freak, so the job suits me perfectly! The worst part is things that are outside my control, but that’s just the nature of the job. However, I stick to the motto: ‘don’t try to control the uncontrollables’, as advised by another Shanks PA!

QZumba, vodka & coke,

How do you relax?

partying and shopping (sponsored by Next!), though probably not all at the same time!

Your favourite motto?

Don’t wait until tomorrow – live your life TODAY!

If you had a secret power, what would it be?

The ability to change anything, at anytime. The ability to read people’s minds. To be able to help my son overpower his rare genetic condition. (We offered Kirstie one, but she wanted three!)

Your three guests for a perfect dinner party and why?

Karren Brady because she’s an inspirational woman. Confident, clever and

hopefully could give me some good business tips. Daniel Craig – do I need an explanation from a woman’s point of view?! Gary Barlow as he’s successful, but so down to earth. I’ve heard he’s doing wedding singing now, so I might renew my vows just so I can get him to come along!

Your dream holiday destination?

I would go back to New York, preferably when it’s snowing. I love everything about it: the fast pace of life; the weather; and of course, the shopping!

March 2015 ❙ 5

LEADING THE (SAFE) WAY

Mike and Kez welcomed the feedback from colleagues as they took a tour of Elstow

Honesty key as employees and senior managers unite to address health and safety A scheme that encourages people at our sites to give their honest feedback on crucial health and safety issues is gathering pace. UK PFI Director Mike Turner joined Kez Grimley, Head of Systems Compliance, on a factfinding visit to our Elstow facility in Bedfordshire. The tour of the plant was part of the Compliance Department’s Safety Leadership scheme, which has been up and running for a year now. “It’s all about trying to build a strong relationship

between our employees at the front line and the Leadership team, where everyone feels there is an open forum to discuss safety issues,” explained Kez. EDUCATING “It’s vitally important that senior managers understand the reality of issues affecting the safety of our employees, and this is a great way for them to see it at close hand,” she added. During his tour, Mike chatted with everyone, from drivers to

the operatives who work inside the picking cabin, listening to the good and the bad feedback about their jobs and ﬁnding out about the site’s safety culture. Kez said: “We have tried to stop health and safety being all about finger-wagging and lecturing, and instead made it more about educating all our people and listening to their concerns.” VIGILANT “Visits from managers used to be seen as quite uncomfortable, but now we’re keen to show we’re listening and discussing issues because safety has to be a two-way process. That is the only way we can work as a team to improve our safety culture.” The change in attitude has led to

DESIGN PRIZE IN SAFE HANDS An overhaul of Shanks’ UK health and safety branding has been given an eye-catching kick-start by a ReNEWS competition winner. HWRC Operative Barry Heptinstall designed the logo and strapline that will form the basis of our safety communications in the future. Barry, who works at our Fitzwilliam site in Wakefield, won an iPad mini for his entry in the UK-wide competition. His artwork has been passed to a design agency for them to add the finishing touches and build upon his original concept. He said: “I played around with the company name and got other words coming off it. Vertically it read

SHANKS, but from each initial I added the words Shanks, tHink, Act, aNd, Keep, Safe. “I wanted people to think of health and safety when they thought of Shanks and wanted to keep it simple.” Kez Grimley, Head of Systems Compliance, said: “Barry captured perfectly the tone of what we wanted to get across to people. We had some really great ideas from across the UK, so thanks to everyone who entered. “The design agency is now working on shaping his entry into a format that can be used on all of our messaging when the UK Compliance department launches the safety rebrand in April.”

Barry (left) collects his iPad from Dave Leatham, QHSE Adviser Wakefield and BDR

heightened awareness of the importance of safety performance, with an increase in close-call reporting numbers and a reduction in incidents overall. However, there have been a number of recent serious incidents that are associated with behaviour and Kez insists complacency is the enemy. “The second people think they have health and safety cracked is the time something comes along to bite them, so it is really about everyone being vigilant all the time,” she said.

On the latest tour, Mike asked the weighbridge to reinforce the need for third-party vehicles to drive more slowly on-site and was quick to praise individuals for doing things right. POSITIVE He said: “It was a very useful experience and helped me see where we need to invest to create the perfect QHSE environment at Elstow. The atmosphere there was incredibly positive and people were receptive to what we are doing.”

Legal Louise’s dream job As the first trainee solicitor to be taken on by the company, Louise Thompson is something of a pioneer. She is also living proof that it pays to persist in the pursuit of extra training if you want to follow your dream. After joining the head oﬃce Legal team on maternity cover as a legal advisor, she is now almost halfway towards becoming a fully fledged solicitor. “I was the ﬁrst person to be taken on as a trainee solicitor, so that’s quite an honour,” she said. “It represents a big risk on the part of Shanks because we are quite a small team, but it shows how the business is prepared to invest in people.” WATERTIGHT Louise works alongside the three other legal team members to make sure contracts are all legally watertight. Louise, who moved to England from Cork in Ireland after completing her degree, said: “The job is all about reducing the risk to the company. No day is ever the same because our work is so varied. “I am on a two-year training

Louise Thompson says extra training is the way forward programme, so I should qualify in July 2016. I am so thrilled to be working in such a fabulous team and determined to repay the faith the company has shown in me.” She acknowledged the support of her amazing line manager Jo Lewis (Legal Services Manager). “She has really pushed me and helped with my personal development, so I owe her so much,” added Louise.

6 ❙ March 2015

WHEN THE CHIPS WERE DOWN: HOW

PHOENIX FROM THE FLAMES As fire engulfed Frog Island early one August morning, few could have known that the blaze would mark a watershed in the modern history of Shanks. The hours, weeks and months that followed showed individuals pulling together to form a resilient and determined team that refused to recognise the word ‘can’t’ When Terry Rogers scanned his control room monitors and spotted a thick fug of grey smoke clouding his view, he switched to autopilot. Within nine seconds he knew something was seriously wrong, as flames tore through the waste in Line 1’s pit. “Something had caught fire in the shredder, so I closed everything down, started the alarms and shouted for the fire brigade,” he said. “My main concern was to get everyone out of the area, alert the weighbridge and liaise with the fire brigade when they arrived.” Emergency crews stayed for the best part of the week, as the lengthy operation to ensure the fire was completely out continued. After an exhausting day liaising with the fire crews, Terry went home… just before the fire caught hold once more just after 4pm. “I rang in and a mate told me ‘Can’t talk now, we’re losing it’,” he said, as the fire spread from the end of Line 1 into the refinement building. “Over the week, there were 35 different vehicles

on-site and the fantastic Salvation Army helpers. It was like something out of Thunderbirds. If it wasn’t for the Thames, we’d have lost everything because of the sheer volume of water needed.” Dave Marlow, Lifecycle and Improvements Team Leader, has been at Frog Island since the plant was commissioned and said the blaze ‘was like part of me was dying’. “I know the place inside out, so rushed back from Jenkins Lane to share some of my knowledge with the fire brigade,” he said. As smoke billowed out of the BIOMRF, sending thick palls high over east London, he and his team

There’s a lot of shared knowledge. When the chips were down, everyone pulled together and we saw a whole new side to people we’d worked with

TERRY ROGERS

began doing a lot of small things that made a big difference and ultimately saved Lines 2 and 3. “There’s a lot of shared knowledge, so, working as a team, we drilled down into the small elements and began telling the fire brigade what to do strategically. When the chips were down, everyone pulled together and we saw a whole new side to people we’d worked with.” ASTONISHING With the fire out, the task of ensuring ‘business as usual’ for our ELWA client began, and once again the rapid response of the front-line team was astonishing. Brian Marston, Control Room Operator at Jenkins Lane, said: “There was a real Blitz spirit with everyone determined to help. We took an extra 200 tonnes of waste a day, so it was a difficult balancing act space-wise, but we knew we had to do it to help the business. “We kept the process running and kept spillages down. It was like we were doing our bit for the cause and we were chuffed that our diversion rates weren’t

affected by such a major event.” Petrit Nikoci, a Charge Hand in the devastated refinement area, was on holiday at the time of the fire and feared the worst: “A friend sent me footage and I thought my job had gone, but when I got back, management’s determination to get us back up and running was amazing. “When I asked if I had a future, I was told ‘we will rebuild and be even stronger’. We have and we are.” Incredibly, Petrit and the team ensured Lines 1 and 2 were operating just 12 weeks after the blaze. Much of the credit for that goes to Technical Manager Marcos Otero-Vega, who satisfied the Environment Agency that the open doors would not mean flies and odour, and that unrefined waste could still be exported as RDF. He said: “Thanks to everyone’s efforts, we were ready to resume operations after a few weeks. “The fact that we could answer the Environment Agency’s questions was down to the dedication of not just everyone here, but also the support of departments across the whole business.”

March 2015 ❙ 7

OW WE TRIUMPHED OVER ADVERSITY

There was a real Blitz spirit with everyone determined to help… we kept the process running and kept spillages down. We were doing our bit for the cause and we were chuffed that our diversion rates weren’t affected by such a major event MARCOS OTERO-VEGA

The front line: The guys from Frog Island and Jenkins Lane worked to ensure our service was unaffected by the blaze

PETRIT NIKOCI

BRIAN MARSTON

DAVE MARLOW

10 8 ❙ March 2015

HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE COMPANY?

THINGS YOU (PROBABLY) DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT SHANKS

Since its birth almost a century and a half ago, Shanks has been at the forefront of engineering and innovation. A great deal has changed since 1880 To this day, Shanks remains a pioneering business, but we’ve evolved to lead the field in turning waste into products. So how well do you know the history of the business?

The business was founded in 1880 by Scottish entrepreneur Guy Shanks to capitalise on the end of the railway-building revolution. It became Shanks and McEwan when he established links with steel industry businessman Andrew McEwan shortly afterwards.

Guy Shanks was so determined to celebrate the position of his resident engineers that he awarded each one a Rolls-Royce. He handed out eight before the war.

including the building of King George V Docks in Glasgow and the extension of Bristol’s famous Temple Meads railway station, built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

Shanks became a public limited company on London’s Stock Exchange in 1988

Other big projects worked on by our predecessors included the March Marshalling yards near Cambridge, the Blackwall Bridge in London, the A74(M) Kirkpatrick Flemming to Gretna section and the Clatteringshaws Dam, 8km west of New Galloway.

‘Shanks and McEwan is regarded by many as a star performer in a dynamic and blossoming £5-billion market. For garbage, you see, is no longer garbage. It is a rich-quality product churned out of one end of every life cycle as unerringly as consumables are poured in at the other’ – newspaper report from 1991.

WE’RE ALWAYS MOVING FORWARD

In 1944 Guy Shanks died without an heir and the company came very close to extinction until his young nephew, Alex Shanks, stepped in to take the ﬁrm forward until his death in 1976.

The business cemented its reputation with a string of projects in the 1920s and 30s, Engineering feats, such as Bristol’s Temple Meads station extension, were rewarded with a Rolls-Royce

The 21st century Shanks

Just after taking over as new chairman in 1981, Peter Runciman said: ‘The company was doing a lot of things not very well. The only part of the business that seemed to have long-term prospects was waste management, but that was only a tiny part of the company.’

Former professional rugby star Gordon Waddell became Shanks’ chairman in 1992, after a glittering career as a ﬂy half and a business career in

2000 – TODAY ■ 2001 – We begin bidding for local authority contracts. ■ 2002 – Partnership starts with East London Waste Authority (ELWA) on building two facilities at Frog Island and Jenkins Lane. ■ 2004 – Landfill and Landfill Gas Power Divisions sold to Waste Recycling Group. ■ 2005 – Most of the underperforming UK hazardous waste business is sold for £28 million. ■ 2010 – Greater focus on long-term contracts treating municipal waste under the government-backed Private Finance Initiative (PFI). ■ Now – Shanks continues to be a key player in PFI initiatives, where the private sector invests in recycling plants in return for long-term local authority contracts. South Africa. Like his father Herbert, he played for Scotland, the Barbarians and the British Lions – the only recorded case of a father and son doing so.

The waste management side of the business started to flourish in the 1970s, overshadowing the civil engineering and quarrying operations. This was to be the start of a new direction for the business.

The company floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1988 and early 90s government legislation, forcing utility companies to stop landfill and seek alternative fuel sources and energy suppliers, took Shanks to another level.

In 2009, Shanks looked at alternatives to landfill by moving into using waste to create fuel and generate green energy.

NATALIE STUNNED BY CHARITY RESPONSE A heartbreaking television advert proved the inspiration to help vulnerable children for one of our caring colleagues. Natalie Miller, a Senior Maintenance Administrator at Frog Island, was so moved by the plight of disadvantaged children in the run-up to Christmas that she decided to act. ASTONISHED After launching her own charity toy appeal on the back of This Morning’s Crises at Christmas Appeal, she was astonished by the generosity of Shanks’ colleagues, family and friends. She is now planning to extend the campaign to Easter because of the

overwhelming response. Natalie said: “The advert really touched me. One woman was so poor she could just about feed her children, but not herself. She said she used to hope her children wouldn’t ﬁnish their dinners so that she could eat the scraps.” DONATIONS Natalie asked for donations of any unwanted items, old or new, that could be given to local charities. She said: “I didn’t think I would get much of a response, as I had left it so late, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. “All my colleagues, friends, family, even contractors I work for, have donated mountains of stuﬀ. I had about four car

People’s generosity has seen donations turning up day and night at Natalie’s house

loads. I wasn’t getting home until 9pm most nights after doing collections and people were turning up at my house until about 11 at night.”

GESTURES Natalie said the support she received has encouraged her to keep going. “I want to try to get local businesses to donate Easter eggs now,” she said. “There are so many less fortunate people out there and little gestures like this go a long way and make such a diﬀerence to them.”

PLASTIC FANTASTIC

More sign up to gain An impressive 91% of Shanks employees were signed up to one of our company pension arrangements at the start of this year. That’s compared to 33% only a year ago, when two-thirds of the total workforce had not taken up the opportunity to participate. By January this year, total membership had risen to 91%, with 52% having joined the new Shanks workplace (auto-enrolment) scheme. This scheme is administered by The People’s Pension and the contribution rates are currently 1% from the employee and 1% from Shanks. However, these rates are scheduled to increase from October 2017 in line with legislation. BENEFIT Beneﬁciaries of members of the autoenrolment scheme, along with those of non-pension members, may also benefit from a discretional deathin-service benefit up to a current maximum of £4,500. Shanks also operates the Shanks Group Pension Plan, provided through Standard Life, which again is open to all employees. The contribution rates here are 5% from the employee and 6% from Shanks. Members of this plan also have the beneﬁt of life cover of four times their basic salary.

Next time you throw your bottle of pop in the rubbish, be prepared for it to turn up in your house a second or third time MIXED RECYCLABLES ARRIVE AT ELSTOW AND ARE DROPPED IN THE MRF

THEY ARE LOADED ON TO A CONVEYOR BELT

THE PLASTIC BOTTLES ARE REMOVED BY THE PICKING CABIN TEAM BY HAND

THEY END UP AS MILK OR LEMONADE BOTTLES, FLEECES AND CAN EVEN BE TURNED INTO GRANULES FOR BLOW MOULDING INTO AN ARRAY OF PLASTIC PARTS

THE BOTTLES ARE LOADED ON TO A COLLECTION VEHICLE FOR AN END PROCESSOR

A day in the life of… Without Sean and his team of pickers, there’s a good chance we’d see the price of our daily newspaper soar. Tissues, toilet paper and a host of other recycled items we take for granted all appear on supermarket shelves thanks to our nimble-ﬁngered Cabin Leader. That’s because 53-year-old Sean and his 11-strong team are responsible for sifting through and collating tonnes of rubbish every week. They handle a staggering 40 tonnes of mixed recycling that comes through the weighbridge and into the Materials Recycling Facility at our Elstow facility in Bedfordshire each week. “Once the material drops on to the conveyor belt, it’s our job to sort the paper from the plastic and the aluminium cans,” said Sean. “Once we’ve picked the paper oﬀ, it falls into a chute and then into a trailer and from there to the transfer hall, from where lorries take it to the paper mills.” A magnet at the end of the belt collects all loose steel, so cans have to be removed first and dropped into a separate area ready for baling.

THE BOTTLES ARE MOVED TO THE BALER, WHERE THEY ARE BALED INTO 410-KILO BALES

WHEN WE GET ENOUGH BOTTLES, THE MATERIAL MANAGEMENT TEAM FIND THE BEST PRICE FOR THEM FROM THE END PROCESSORS

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT HR SERVICES

Sean Phillips, Cabin Leader, Elstow

March 2015 ❙ 9

Sean and the team chat football as they sift their way through the waste

SEAN’S WEEKLY PICK

0.5 1.5 1 6-7 1

TONNES OF CARDBOARD TONNES OF STEEL CANS

TONNE OF ALUMINIUM CANS

Sean said: “All the paper we salvage goes to paper mills and could end up back in our hands as a newspaper or book later in its life.” Sean admits it’s quite demanding work, but says the teamwork and camaraderie make it rewarding. He added: “I used to work as a parcel

delivery driver until I joined Shanks in 1999 and it could get quite lonely. Now we have a bit of banter and a laugh as we do our job, talking about football and other stuff. I’m a Liverpool fan, so there’s deﬁnitely been a lot to talk about recently.” So what’s the worst thing about the

job? “I reckon it has got to be ﬁnding things that shouldn’t be there. A lot of people put food in with the plastic, electrical goods, frying pans and cutlery, and clothing and quilts. “It would be great if people think about that when they put the recycling out. It would make our lives a lot easier.”

TONNES OF PAPER TONNE OF PLASTIC

10 ❙ March 2015

GET FIT FOR ‘15

T LIST

FI LAUREN’S

Ditch the scales – our fitness guru’s advice to colleagues Lauren Smith has some advice for colleagues who have already ditched their New Year resolution to lose weight and get fit: don’t rely on your scales. Our very own fitness professional knows exactly what she is talking about. She was once a 16-stone, 30-a-day smoker, who craved fast food. COMFORTABLE Five years later and the 27-year-old Assistant Procurement Manager is fighting fit and is now qualified as a personal trainer and exercise specialist. She said: “I’ve lost weight, but couldn’t tell you how much I weigh now because I’ve chucked my scales out. The main aim is to feel more comfortable in yourself. “A lot of people, especially women, focus on their weight, but you can become more toned just by doing weight work.” Lauren’s wake-up call came when her dad plucked up the courage to ask her if she was happy with her weight and how she felt. “I knew it must have been hard for him to raise the subject, so I decided to do something about it. Now I have my self-

esteem back and have supported a GP referral scheme, where I helped people with high blood pressure and stress issues at my local gym,” she said. “It’s made me happier, more eﬃcient at work and above all, healthier.”

ng you enjoy. 1. Do somethi plan your sed foods and es oc pr id vo A 2. to fa il). epare, prepare meals (fa il to pr with to keep ne to exercise 3. Find someo up motivation. s. lf realistic goal lose weight 4. Set yourse you’re trying to if es al sc ur solely on yo e severely 5. Don’t rely n unless you ar ow r ei th on ss (they are pointle ur ts, measure yo overweight). dy measuremen bo ur yo ke ta to u want be clothes, 6. Use your than fat, do yo e or m s gh ei w . Muscle fat percentage ler? es – running lighter or smal you want curv if s nd ie fr ur weights are yo Radcliffe). 7. Women – n (think Paula tio ni ﬁ de u yo ve alone will not gi an l ch ges. 8. Make smal s myth … and a ﬁtnes , they will n with weights ai tr en om w ‘If become bulky.’ have . Women don’t This is not true muscle like required to build the testosterone l amounts ga in exceptiona t no ill w d an e men ey eat excessiv way, unless th of weight this plus!). lories (4,000 amounts of ca

Leaving weight in her wake. Lauren is also a keen wakeboarding fan

“IF IT MOVES THEN WE’RE WATCHING IT” How the Maintenance team keep the Shanks wheels turning As Shanks’ people up and down the country head to work each day to start their shift, there’s a general acceptance that everything will be running as normal. So spare a thought for our maintenance engineers around the UK who work round the clock to keep the waste moving. Dan Carr is one of three regional maintenance managers responsible for making sure that the machinery never stops unless it’s meant to. He is supported by teams at three sites across Cumbria, and Dumfries and Galloway, who are constantly looking for trouble. “We work that way to make sure we minimise the possibility of breakdowns. It’s very much a group eﬀort, and I rely on my teams daily,” he said. “We implement planned maintenance

analysing Condition-based monitoring data supplied by contractors carrying out thermal imaging and vibration checks on our equipment to provide in-depth knowledge on the health and status of the assets. The information is then used to predict possible failures and to rectify them before they occur.

and carry out general engineering maintenance tasks with the overall aim of making sure plant availability is at its maximum.” With his opposite numbers Chris Maher at ELWA and newly appointed Peter Jackman at BDR, the trio are constantly sharing best practice. PERFORMANCE He said: “Each MBT is a £40-million piece of equipment that handles 75,000 tonnes of waste a year and creates around 30,000 tonnes of Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF), so every component has to be maintained if we are to meet performance ﬁgures, meaning the work is pretty much constant.” The teams have recently started

Dan Carr

SHARED Dan said: “We discuss issues to make sure anything we’ve learned is shared because the machinery is common around the country. We may be able to reduce potential downtime. We look after the cranes, shredders, conveyors, magnets and trommels. Basically, if it moves, we’re watching it.”

Fingers stay on the Pulse The Pulse action planning sessions are up and running, and already coming up with exciting new ideas. Some of the suggestions so far have included: ■ ‘buddy days’ to help people understand each others’ roles better, break down ‘silos’, and promote personal improvement and training ■ improvements to welfare facilities, paid for by the company, but with labour being undertaken by our teams – a joint effort that demonstrates great engagement! ■ creating more time by being less reactive to emails, possibly by turning the email system off for parts of the day to allow focus on more productive tasks ■ avoiding copying unnecessary recipients into emails, and using ConnectUs and its instant messaging system more effectively ■ better face-to-face collaboration – the UK Leadership Team are going to attempt a week of restricted email use between themselves and will instead use ConnectUs to share documents, as well as increase face-to-face communication.

FUELLING THE FUTURE How our MBT facilities are helping to power 160,000 family homes as part of a new initiative A Shanks initiative to supply a multifuel facility, with 200,000 tonnes of Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) each year, launched this month. As part of a joint venture between Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) and Wheelabrator Technologies, we are delivering the batches to a £300 million multifuel facility in West Yorkshire. The fuel will come from our Mechanical Biological Treatment facilities in BDR, Cumbria and our processing centre in Wakeﬁeld. GREEN ENERGY The RDF will then be processed to generate green electricity, which will be supplied back to the National Grid. In total, the facility has capacity to process 600,000 tonnes of RDF each year and boasts a 12,000-tonne fuel storage bunker, the largest in Western Europe. It will also be capable of generating 90MWh of electricity, enough to power around 160,000 homes. Peter Eglinton, Managing Director

RIGOROUS After passing his military aptitude tests, Adam signed up for the Royal Engineers and following rigorous training, embarked on a two-decade tour of the world’s danger zones. His first tour was three years in Northern Ireland in 1990, where he manned the vehicle checkpoints, and helped with building and maintenance of the bases.

WHAT YOU THINK

We’re always trying to make ReNEWS better, so thank you for taking time to ﬁll in the recent survey How much of ReNEWS do you usually read?

52% ALL OF IT 38% MOST OF IT

Does ReNEWS make you feel more connected with colleagues across the UK?

94% YES

Does reading ReNEWS make Does ReNEWS improve your you feel proud to work at understanding of the business? Shanks UK? YES YES

94%

90%

Which stories do you enjoy most?

How do you rate ReNEWS overall? (1 = poor, 5 = BUSINESS NEWS excellent) SITE PROFILES 3 –

36% 27% 36% COLLEAGUE

(l-r) Nick Smith, Danny Tadd and Mark Allen from the BDR team at Ferrybridge

of Shanks UK Municipal Division, said: “This is an exciting time for Shanks. As a waste processor focused on avoiding landﬁll, we are proud to deliver the ﬁrst fuel to be turned into green energy at Ferrybridge. By creating high-quality fuels, not only are we able to make more from waste, but we are also helping

MY NEW ADVENTURE After spending more than half his life in the army, Adam Davies was ready for a new challenge. And while our ELWA Night Manager doesn’t have to dodge bullets or explosive devices in his role, he insists it’s no less interesting than his military tours of duty. With 24 years of Royal Engineers’ service under his belt, he was ready for a change and jumped at the chance of a job as Bio-MRF Manager at Frog Island. Armed with engineering and organisational skills from his military career, he is relishing the daily demands of keeping the Frog Island and Jenkins Lane sites up and running.

March 2015 ❙ 11

Service in Gibraltar and Croatia followed, but it was his work in Kenya that ﬁrst made him think twice about how he could use his skills at the end of his army career. “We were building schools for really underprivileged villages and doing a lot of work to help build up communities. It was so rewarding,” he said. “I guess that’s why Shanks was so appealing because we work for the public and understand our role in the communities we serve. From there Adam was posted to Canada, before heading to Kuwait and Iraq via Germany and Northern Ireland. A brief spell in Iraq and then it was on to Afghanistan. “It was an exciting adventure and the army taught me an incredible amount about managing situations, which is invaluable in my job at Shanks.”

PROFILES

to meet the green energy needs of our customers under long-term agreements.” The Ferrybridge Multifuel Facility has created more than 500 construction jobs and involved many local companies. As a result of the construction phase, the local economy will beneﬁt from around £10 million of additional business.

5% 4 – 56% 5 – 38%

Congratulations to Gayle Harrison for filling in the survey and winning the extra two days’ holiday

DON’T FORGET

ReNEWS is only as good as the stories in it, so make sure you share your business successes, personal triumphs, hobbies and innovation sensations with us.

07860 021367

helen.kemp@ shanks.co.uk

We’re doubling up to hit Zero Waste targets One of our facilities in Scotland is to double in size as part of a joint venture. Along with partner Paragon Eﬃciencies, we are expanding the Energen Biogas Anaerobic Digestion (AD) facility in Cumbernauld. When the works are completed in April 2015, the plant will become Scotland’s largest AD facility. The plant treats organic waste from local authorities, retail and food waste producers by maximising the amount of recyclable material recovered from food waste. Once the £5 million expansion is complete, the facility will be able to process more than 100,000 tonnes of food waste each year, generating up to 4.8MW of renewable electricity

every hour. Approximately 1800m3 of biogas per hour will be used to produce the electricity, which is exported to the National Grid to support approximately 50,000 local people by supplying electricity to around 12,000 homes each year. ZERO WASTE Shanks will work closely with design experts Paragon to jointly plan and build the expansion. The new-look Cumbernauld plant, which has been operating since 2011, will be able to process the anticipated increase in food waste produced when a new initiative called Zero Waste Scotland comes into eﬀect on 1 January 2016.

TAKE A BREAK

12 ❙ March 2015

WIN!

JUST FOR FUN!

6 81

SOLUTION

NEW RELEASES AT THE CINEMA

GOOD READ

AT THE CINEMA

THE GUNMAN

THE VOICES

Love action and high-octane drama? If the answer’s yes, then holster up and sink your trigger finger into The Gunman. The tale follows an international spy, who must clear his name and expose his former organisation in the hope that he will be able to free himself from their reach. From the director of Taken and starring big-screen heavyweights Sean Penn, Idris Elba and Ray Winstone, the gun-slinging action has quality riddled through it.

If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to turn a charming chap into a cold-blooded killer, then The Voices offers a theory you won’t yet have considered. Affable Jerry couldn’t seem further from a murderer. Or at least until he unwittingly earns that unwanted tag, with a little help from his talking pets. But there’s more to it than that. Ryan Reynolds puts in a great performance, alongside Anna Kendrick and Gemma Arterton.

Released: 20 March

THE ASSASSIN BY CLIVE CUSSLER Published: 12 March

When competitors of oil magnate John D. Rockefeller start getting picked off by a mystery sniper, private detective Isaac Bell’s investigation into the tycoon’s monopoly becomes much more precarious. And when Bell’s key witness in his investigation is killed, the Van Dorn super sleuth pulls in the help of his best detectives to help shed some light on the frightening situation.

07860 021367 Y SA R U O Y E V HA

GOT A STORY? Text or email us:

shanks@summersault.co.uk

This newspaper is printed on improved newsprint, which comes from sustainable forest growth. When you have finished with your copy, please pass it on to a colleague or recycle it. It is also available in UK Communications Community on ConnectUs.

8 5

Take a break and try our sudoku puzzle. Simply fill in the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains the numbers one to nine only once. There’s no prize as such, just the satisfaction of knowing you’ve cracked it (the solution is on the right if you need any help!).

6 3

TEXT: 07860 021367 EMAIL: shanks@summersault.co.uk

Shanks operates a confidential telephone and web-based ‘whistleblowing’ reporting service – Speak Up. The service provides an independent third party for employees to report actual or suspected fraud/unethical behaviour in the workplace. If you see something – say something. TELEPHONE: 0808 100 5689 ■ SHANKS ACCESS CODE: 74265 ■ WEB: WWW.INTOUCHFEEDBACK.COM/SHANKS

Q. In what year was Shanks founded by entrepreneur Guy Shanks?

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.

SPEAK UP

Q. What percentage landfill diversion rate did we hit, despite the fire at Frog Island?

Robert Barr, Maintenance Supervisor at Dumfries and Galloway, won a £150 gift card for saying that 700 people applied for jobs with Shanks and our Tour of Britain target mileage is 1,001. Chris Byrne, UK Plant and Vehicle Manager, is running the Milton Keynes half marathon for Cancer Research UK and a charity for children of wounded soldiers on 8 March. He also made more from waste by donating our old handsfree devices to Help for Heroes and raising £3,000 for the charity.

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Pocket-size with a powerful x12 zoom

Click into spring and capture the summer holidays in style with a Wi-Fi connectible HD camera in ReNEWS’s latest competition. To have a chance of winning, answer the two simple questions to the right and text or email your answers to us, along with your contact details, and we’ll draw the winner from the correct entries. The answers all appear in this edition of the newspaper. Closing date is 24 April and we’ll draw the winner at the end of April.

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