SGNmail Issue 5

Issue 5 • March 2015

RIIO

How we’re doing on our output targets Find out on page 10-11

Onwards and ! n i w upwards!

An iPod nano How Craig made it from apprentice to manager P13 Also inside...

Listen to all your favourite tracks on the thinnest iPod ever made!

See page 20

The OCC team • A postcard from Coatbridge • Barnardo’s + much more!

Welcome

Welcome to issue 5

THE BIG UPDATE

...of your SGNmail

S

pring has nearly sprung and we’re all excited at the prospect of warmer days and lighter nights.

Of course, other parts of the business will just be happy to see the back ins Janice Coll of winter. Hats off to everyone who worked through the cold and damp to keep our customers connected and happy – the Burghfield story on page 8 is a perfect example of this.

On an entirely different note, have you heard of six degrees of separation? Not the Will Smith film, but the theory that everyone on the planet is six, or fewer, steps away from another.

Reading about the OCC, our performance, Evolve, and even the story of our cover feature Craig Beatson, shows how this applies to us at SGN. We’re all connected in some way; we all rely on other parts of the business to get our own jobs done and we’re all working towards the same goals and targets. That’s one SGN in action, and judging by the figures on pages 10-11, it’s one we can be proud of.

Tools of the trade It will soon be easier than ever to find and order tools, thanks to an online catalogue that’s due to go live later this year.

C

reated as part of a new initiative from the Tools and Equipment Committee, the online catalogue will ensure everyone can get the right tools for the job in a simple and quick way.

Head of Operations (South) Glenn Norman, who chairs the committee, explains how it all started: “Feedback from the Employee Engagement survey showed there were concerns over tools and equipment, so we set up the committee, which meets every other month to look at where and how we can improve.”

One of the first areas the committee G lenn No rm an looked to improve was the quality of work boots.

“The committee reviewed this and agreed to use a higher spec boot, which now lasts around a year,” said Glenn. “Not only has this made it a better experience for operations colleagues but it has also saved the company money.”

The committee’s next priority is to make sure the ladder systems we use are consistent across the business – and new ladders will be rolled out over the next four to six months.

If you have any issues or new ideas around tools and PPE, get in touch with your regional rep

Janice Collins Senior Internal Communications Manager

Get in touch!

We’d love to hear from you – here’s how you can contact us: By phone

0141 418 4053 Email your stories and pictures to

sgnmail@sgn.co.uk Post internally to

Internal Communications, SGN, 95 Kilbirnie Street, Glasgow G5 8JD

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SGNmail March 2015

In your mag this month...

Industry insider Spotlight on… OCC team The business

P4

Onwards and upwards

P13

P5

A postcard from… Coatbridge

P15

P6

Getting personal + Hidden talent

P16

Community corner

P18

SGN social network + Competition

P20

Feature: Peak performance P10 Going the extra mile

P12

Performance

A message from John Well done and congratulations are in order to colleagues across the business – our hard work has resulted in lower gas prices across our networks.

Oil prices are dominating the energy news – and of course they have a direct effect on wholesale gas prices, which in turn affects gas prices for homes and businesses.

And understandably it’s been high profile news that each of the Big Six suppliers has announced reductions.

What’s less well known is that we’ve published the prices our suppliers pay to transport their gas through our network, which typically makes up about 20% of a gas bill.

The very good news is that from 1 April this year, our prices

in Scotland will be going down by 2.2% – and in our southern network, our prices will remain flat. So for SGN, that’s an overall decrease of 0.6% across our networks.

This announcement is great for customers and reflects our good performance in the first year of RIIO (2013/14). It also means a very welcome £20 million will be returned to gas customers with our prices 1.7% lower than they might otherwise have been.

Well done – it’s your hard work that keeps our part of the energy bill down.

Also in January, we issued a bond to the City and raised £350 million in cash to help

fund our business. This was at an interest rate of 2.5%, almost an historic low, so it was perfect timing. Well done to our finance team. We’ve now raised a heady £1.1 billion of funding this financial year to ensure we can continue to operate our business through the current regulatory price control.

John Morea, CEO

Read on page 10-11 how we’re rising to the challenge of meeting our RIIO output targets

Here we take a look at our performance in the community up to the end of 2014.

W

hether it’s a match funded event or out on a CAP (Community Action Programme) day, our work rarely goes unnoticed, and is always appreciated. Pamela Goee, Head of Community said: “We have a great tradition of making a real difference in our communities and this year I’m looking for us to go even further.”

CAP number of participants

1,258

against same time last year

Total community contributions

£448,224

% of colleagues who used CAP day

against same time last year

34%

£40,024 £17,275 Into Action – matched funding

= against same time last year

Into Action kit for kids (number)

17

against same time last year

Barnardo’s fundraising

Barnardo’s cycle challenge raised

£8,OOO March 2015 SGNmail

3

Industry news

Industry T insider

The controversial practice will not take place north of the border for the foreseeable future.

A ROUND-UP OF WHAT’S GOING ON IN OUR INDUSTRY THIS MONTH

technique in national parks.

Meanwhile, the UK Government has recommended Holyrood be given full control over issues relating to fracking in Scotland – meaning that Westminster-made laws to allow companies to drill for gas under people’s homes without their permission will not apply north of the border.

The draft Scotland Bill, which the main UK political parties have pledged to make law after the General Election, also proposes that energy efficiency and fuel poverty policies are devolved to the Scottish Government.

he Scottish Government has announced an indefinite ban on fracking for shale gas until more is known about its long-term effects on the environment and public health.

The move follows a vote by Westminster MPs, who rejected a UK-wide suspension, but pledged a ban on the drilling

Scotland bans fracking Well Gas flows out

Water table

Water, sand and chemicals

Water, sand and chemicals injected into well

Shale

Fissures

Gas flows out

Shale Hydraulic fracturing

Fissures

‘More action needed’ on fuel poverty

Holyrood

MSPs admit that targets are likely to be missed.

The Scottish Government has been urged to step up efforts to tackle the country’s rising level of fuel poverty. A group of MSPs admitted it is unlikely to meet its target of eradicating the problem

by November 2016, and, with the latest figures for 2013 showing a 4% rise in affected households, Holyrood’s Energy Committee is asking for progress reports to be published every three months.

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SGNmail March 2015

‘Big Six’ cut gas prices Major suppliers pass on falls in wholesale costs.

The ‘Big Six’ energy suppliers have bowed to political pressure by dropping their household gas charges after a fall in wholesale costs. npower announced the biggest reduction, of 5.1%, saving its customers around £35 per year. Suppliers claimed that Labour’s pledge to freeze prices was one of the reasons they could not make further price cuts.

Spotlight on...

This month, we’re shining the spotlight on our Operations Control Centre

Smooth operations Arguably the ‘engine room’ of our day-to-day procedures, the Operations Control Centre (OCC) is responsible for the safe and efficient scheduling and dispatching of all our emergency, metering and repair work.

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he OCC team consists of 98 colleagues who liaise with operations professionals to help us meet one of our primary targets – attending 97% of gas escapes within an hour (for uncontrolled) or two hours (controlled).

Based in Portsmouth, the team relocated to a new Steve Mills office at Walton Park.

The move was a challenge, which every colleague rose to, as Engineering Support Manager Steve Mills explains: “It involved convincing the Health and Safety Executive that we could still safely dispatch emergency work should we lose the systems or office we work from.

“The result was a purpose-built disaster recovery office, which can be up and running in 20 minutes.”

n The OCC team in actio

Another significant development over the past few years has been the creation of Qton, an app that, for the first time ever, allows electronic dispatching of industrial and commercial metering.

The technology is managed by OCC’s Administration and Technical team, which is also responsible for operational resource allocation, theft of gas, failure to supply gas, metering queries, re-claims and metering flow issues. Steve says: “The app has revolutionised the way we work. It’s a real first for SGN that’s been made possible through our Evolve programme.”

The ‘engine room’

of SGN “The result was a purpose-built disaster recovery office, which can be up and running in 20 minutes.”

The OCC team consists of 98 colleagues who liaise with operations professionals to help us meet one of our primary targets – attending 97% of gas escapes within an hour (for uncontrolled) or two hours (controlled).

97%

Find out on page 18 how one of our OCC colleague is helping local unemployed people March 2015 SGNmail

5

business The

From L-R: Danny Sweeney, Euan McInnes, David Paver, Se an Sm ith, Lisa Taylor and Iain Stuar t.

Rules of engagement Tell us how you feel about working at SGN in our 2015 Employee Engagement survey, which launches in May.

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he Employee Engagement survey is one of the many ways we measure what’s going well at SGN, and what we can improve.

There was an outstanding 90% response rate to last year’s survey, and since then we’ve seen many changes occur across the business as a result of what you told us. Why not take a look at your team’s action plan in the employee engagement section of SGNnet? Here are a few examples of what’s going on:

Operations Control Centre (OCC) and Digitisation Steve Mills’ team wanted to find out about changes sooner rather than later. A full communications procedure is now in place, and it worked well when shift patterns and seating plans were altered. They also created a web-based forum where ideas can be shared and saved.

Danny Symes picking up the award

Read on page 5 about the work of our OCC team

Axis House, Edinburgh

Iain Stuart set up a forum to review the employee engagement action plan.

Colleagues created a newsletter to improve communications locally, and organised a sports tournament to bring office and field-based colleagues together.

Customer Services (CS)

Being split across different sites can be a challenge when trying to make improvements, but the CS team found a unique way to solve this problem by setting up an advisor council, which gives site buddies the opportunity to discuss their suggestions with managers.

Look out for more details of this year’s survey in next month’s SGNmail. If you’d like any employee engagement support, please email emma-jane.stewart@sgn.co.uk or call 0131 469 1724/07583 681370

Winning streak

O

ur trophy cabinet was bulging last year, as we picked up a bumper batch of awards, and our winning ways are continuing into 2015.

Our Turbo Expander project at St Mary Cray recently picked up the Power Generation and Transmission Award at the 2015 Rushlight Awards, which showcases the

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SGNmail March 2015

latest in sustainable innovation. We were also commended for our Robotics project in the Clean Environment Award.

Network Director Paul Denniff said: “Many congratulations to all the teams involved in both the Turbo Expander and our Robotics programme. We’ve invested heavily in making sustainability a huge part of our business.”

The business

Evolution and revolution Our Evolve Programme is keeping up with the technological revolution sweeping the business world by rolling out new devices and software across the company.

New tech com ing

E

volve is gathering pace. The project team is now contacting colleagues across SGN to let them know when they can expect to receive their new PC, laptop, tablet or toughbook.

Everyone will receive regular emails from the team in the run-up to an Evolve engineer swapping their current device for a new one – but we can all help to make the process run smoothly by taking simple steps to get ready for the move to Microsoft Office 2013 and Windows 7.

How you can help: • Housekeeping of your local C Drive – Move any locally stored files onto a shared drive • Hidden documents, favourites and shortcuts – Identify and clear out what you can (the Evolve engineer can help, but will have limited time) • Sensitive information in your C drive – Identify any sensitive information before your upgrade. An engineer will then extract it and reload it onto your new device

Will current documents work in Microsoft Office 2013?

As we roll out the new systems, there’s a small risk that current documents will not be compatible with MS 2013. We need everyone to make sure that any important MS documents (Access, Excel and Word) work in the new upgraded version.

Due to the sheer volume of documents out there, we need everyone to do their bit by checking their computers for critical documents and, where possible, fixing them in advance of receiving their upgrades.

The Evolve desktop support team will set up new devices

• USB encryption – The new devices will be encrypted so please consider any critical information on USB and move it to a shared area before you lose it.

in each business department, so colleagues can start to load, review and fix their documents where necessary.

As always, if you have any questions, please have a look at our FAQs on SGNnet. If your question still isn’t answered, you can also email the Evolve team at evolve@sgn.co.uk

Evolve so far

• Passwords – Make a note of any passwords you might have stored in your browser.

Your new machine won’t know them, so you could be locked out of your applications • Kensington lock – That’s the lock for your docking station. Make sure you have the key!

soon!

2,300 smartphones issued

email accounts migrated from Lotus Notes to Microsoft Outlook new desktops issued with Windows 7 March 2015 SGNmail

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The business

Engineers at work in Burghfield

New year, new challenge Damage to a pipeline gave some colleagues in the south one of their first big challenges of the new year.

A

ldershot and Reading colleagues were called into action when third party damage to a medium-pressure pipeline threatened supplies to 2,000 homes in the middle of January.

The presence of a nearby Atomic Weapons Establishment made the situation all the more difficult, particularly as they had to close one of the roads into the village of Burghfield.

Our engineers worked through the night to make the situation safe. A temporary repair was put in place the following day while customer service, admin and communications colleagues provided support on site.

The complicated task of fixing the damaged section of the pipeline continued for four more days.

John Mo rea on site (left)

Head of Operations (South) Glenn Norman explained: “It was rather hairy, but as usual the team on site did a superb job, working exceptionally hard in the wet and cold to complete our work to the highest standard.”

#socialsnippet Burghfield Community Facebook page were quick to post about the incident within an hour of the damage occurring.

Reports coming in…

James Lane closed by MOD after contractors crack gas pipe.

Explosions and Nuclear Warheads don’t mix. Suggest you all paint yourselves white with Tippex to reflect the flash :D Like • Share

Remarkable robotics CISBOT, our award-winning robotic technology, continues to impress.

D

epartment for Transport (DfT) officials saw CISBOT in action on a recent visit to our Peckham site.

The team of four was impressed with the technology, which reduces the need for road excavations, and means less disruption for the public.

Tracey McIntyre, Head of Operations (Replacement), who hosted the visit with Repair Team Manager for the London depot, Paul Gibbons, said: “It was 8

SGNmail March 2015

a brilliant meeting. They were hugely interested in hearing more about all our other efforts involving innovation to lessen the impact of our work on our customers.”

We’re the first company in the UK to use the technology.

In Peckham, CISBOT has helped us repair a twokilometre stretch of cast iron gas main, and it will soon be put to use again for projects in the south and in Scotland.

How it works Once CISBOT is in position, it expands its robotic arm to allow it to manoeuvre in any direction, until it finds the target joint. It then drills into the yarn within the joint and sealant is injected.

DfT visit

One SGN

One SGN – six months on We reflect on some of the highlights of the One SGN story so far.

S

ix months ago we started rolling out our new look.

‘One SGN’ was the hot topic at the Leadership Conference, and it was an exciting moment when we saw our first rebranded van.

k New loo e it webs

More changes have taken place since then with new stationery, an updated 10/10 card, and a fantastic new look for our website and social media channels.

We’re really starting to see a difference with new PPE, ID badges, customer leaflets and community campaigns.

We’re even getting used to introducing ourselves as SGN. And it doesn’t stop there. In the next few months we’ll start to see our new streetworks signage, rebranding of sites and more items for customers that will help get the message across that here at SGN, we’re leading the way in energy delivery.

We’re loving our new look!

Jenny Lee is one of our first engineers to be kitted out in new ladies’ PPE and workwear. Based at our Isle of Wight depot, Jenny is cross-flexed (meaning that she works both as an FCO and a Records Control Assistant) and recently became a New Connections Team Manager. She said: “Having ladies PPE makes a huge difference, not only in comfort and style, but I also feel much more confident and professional talking to customers – I look a lot smarter.

I especially love the fantastic look and feel of the new polo shirts. I really like our new brand, and the new tag line really helps to promote who we are and what we actually do.”

Jenny Lee, all kitted out

An ICE opportunity Are you: • Bright, positive and genuine?

• Passionate about communicating with others?

• Always looking for a creative approach to projects and initiatives?

• Keen to learn new skills?

If so, we need you!

Our Internal Communications and Engagement (ICE) team is looking for colleagues to join our Communications Champions network.

Want more?

For a full role description and details of how to apply, visit SGNnet or call Janet Lessells on 0141 418 4023

March 2015 SGNmail

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RIIO

March marks not only the end of the financial year, but also the conclusion of the second year of RIIO. Here we ask why it’s important to meet our output targets, and how we’re rising to the challenge.

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e agree our output targets when Ofgem sets price control periods.

Everything we do on a daily basis impacts these targets – regardless of our role in the company, or where we’re based in the country.

Andy Musgrave, Head of Network Strategy, regularly updates our Executive team to make sure we stay on track.

“We need to report accurately on our performance, which means we need to focus on continually improving our data quality. This is absolutely crucial to our success,” he says. “If we don’t meet our output targets, we risk being heavily fined. The consequences for our company would be significant, so we need to do all we can to avoid this. It’s really as simple as that.”

six Outputs AREAS

How we’re do of our primary ou Management of repairs Every repair that’s deferred past midnight is given a risk score. We’re measured on this cumulative score.

Residual repair risk Target Annual

10

Actual

To respond to all emergency gas escapes within one or two hours.

Uncontrolled gas escape within one hour

Target Annual

Actual

Nov 2014

Scotland

97%

98.7%

Southern

97%

98.5%

Scotland

97%

99.6%

Southern

97%

99.5%

Nov 2014

Scotland

2.46

1.726

Southern

17.69

7.598

SGNmail March 2015

Emergency response

controlled gas escape within TWO hourS

RIIO

1

2

3

Safety

Reliability and availability

Environmental impact

Targets include: • 97% emergency standard • Risk removed

Targets include: • Biomethane connections • Leakage

Targets include: • Maintaining supply • Asset health

4

5

Social obligations

Customer connections

Targets include: • Fuel poor connections • CO awareness

Targets include: • Standards of service

Read on page 3 what John Morea thinks of our RIIO performance in 2013/14

6

Customer service

Targets include: • Customer satisfaction • Stakeholder engagement • Complaints

oing on some utputs for this year MAINS REPLACEMENT As our mains replacement work progresses, the risk to our network is reduced. We’re measured on this level of risk each year – and have a maximum target to achieve.

GD1

incidents/ km/yr

We have a minimum target to deal with gas escapes within 12 hours.

PREVENT ESCAPE within 12 hours

Risk removed Target

Management of escapes within 12 hours

Actual

Target

Nov 2014

Annual

Actual

Nov 2014

Scotland

44,277

29,695

Scotland

60% 70.274%

Southern

137,287

70,546

Southern

60%

64.13% March 2015 SGNmail

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Going the extra mile

We’ve got tickets up for grabs to two brilliant events!

Defining excellence Since April 2014 we’ve given out 626 Ambassador Awards, worth a total of £17,610. Let’s look at some of the fantastic contributions our colleagues were recognised for.

Heather Blackburn, Administrator, acted on an email from Royal Mail regarding price changes to business envelopes. Realising the implications it had for her team, she solved the problem, and saved the business from a more expensive Royal Mail bill.

Andrew Macdonald, FCO, was given great feedback on his compliance with procedures and communication with customers, after he attended National Grid Metering sites with an auditor.

Ian Peebles, FCO, was nominated for excellent communication after he helped a vulnerable customer, and also for being a great example to others in the way he looked after his van, paperwork and equipment.

Remember... anyone can nominate a colleague for an Ambassador Award – simply go to ambassadorawards.co.uk

Did you know more4me is not just for shopping?

Earn 10% cashback on Groupon, where you can get involved in anything from spa days to golf lessons Save up to 41% at Alton Towers, 56% at Thorpe Park or 50% at Legoland Get discounted reloadable cards for cafes and restaurants such as Pizza Express or Costa.

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SGNmail March 2015

Hollywood offers Catch all the latest blockbuster movies for less.

You can get fantastic discounts at Cineworld cinemas, with adult 2D tickets costing just £5.50.

And you’re even entitled to a discount on your monthly payment for an Unlimited card!

TAKE THAT Join pop giants Take That at the SSE Hydro, Glasgow (30 April 2015).

Q

What year did Robbie Williams leave Take That?

A

1993

B

1995

C

1997

Enter via text

text HYDRO A, B SMS or C + your name to 07800 002464 Competition is for tickets only and is open between 5-19 March.

HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS Enjoy the spectacular Harlem Globetrotters at the SSE Arena, Wembley (18 April 2015).

Q

Harlem is an area in which US city?

A

Las Vegas

B

Detroit

C

New York

Enter via text

SMS text WEMBLEY A, B or C + your name to 07800 002464 Competition is for tickets only and is open between 5-19 March.

Our people

Putting People at the heart

Onwards and upwards Craig Beatson has come a long way since joining us six years ago. He started as an apprentice, and now he’s a Repair Team Manager. Here he explains how he managed his quick journey to the top.

I

n 2011, Craig completed his SGN apprenticeship, qualified as a GN03 craftsman, and picked up the award for Best Apprentice in Gas Network Operation.

“Following my apprenticeship, I went to work in Dunfermline depot leading a Connections team for a year, and then moved on to mains replacement for

almost a year and a half,” he says.

“It was tough, but rewarding, with standby at night and weekends and increasing responsibility.”

Craig came off the tools in 2014 to train as a manager. At first he was covering for other managers, but then, after a successful interview in August, he became a Repair Team Manager, responsible

for a team of 12 colleagues.

Craig adds: “I recommend to anyone looking to further their SGN career to keep trying and working hard. In November I was asked to mentor one of our apprentices, which is an amazing and exciting opportunity to guide someone in the same position I was in just a few years ago.”

“I recommend to anyone looking to further their SGN career to keep trying and working hard.”

Craig Beatson

March 2015 SGNmail

13

Be well

Join our club

Matt Ferguson

Colleagues are holding back on the HobNobs – instead they’re going bananas for healthy alternatives!

E

dinburgh and Poole are just two of the depots getting their five-a-day thanks to weekly fruit boxes provided by Fitclub.

“I think the fruit drop is an excellent idea and it will help encourage more of my colleagues to get their five-a-day,” says Matt Ferguson, Replacement Team Manager in Edinburgh.

Fitclub is nearly over for this year, but there’s still time to organise an activity before the end of the financial year on Tuesday 31 March.

To organise a fruit box delivery or other Fitclub activity, see SGNnet or call Jess Dunlop on 0141 418 4053

Step it up

Stub it out

Colleagues across the business are walking the walk.

No Smoking Day is on Wednesday 11 March and it’s the perfect time to kick the habit for good.

M

any colleagues are taking up our Walking Challenge to be fitter and healthier this spring. The event is now underway and some of our walking teams have already raked in some brilliant totals!

For all our walking challenge updates, keep an eye on SGNnet

T

his year’s No Smoking Day is all about encouraging smokers to be ‘Proud to be a Quitter’. We all know the reasons to stop smoking – the habit can cause all sorts of health problems, ranging from gum disease to increased risk of a stroke or lung cancer. With a pack of 20 cigarettes now around £8, smokers could also save an amazing £3,000 a year if they quit.

How to stop: • Get advice from a GP or pharmacist, and research online the best way to quit • Think about why you’re quitting and use a picture that motivates you (eg your kids) as your phone wallpaper • Set a date to get prepared and have stop smoking aids, like patches, at the ready • Buddy up with a friend, colleague or loved one to provide support for each other.

Remember w e provide stop smoking support as on e of our benefits, so check out SGNnet to see how we can help you

For more information about stopping smoking, see nosmokingday.org.uk 14

SGNmail March 2015

A postcard from…

A postcard from…

Coatbridge We’ve got the travel bug!

Continuing our grand tour visiting colleagues up and down the UK, this time we’re passing through Coatbridge in central Scotland.

What we’ve been up to!

We’re busy bees here at Coatbridge. Every year we carry out:

12,000

emergency jobs

800

service repairs

990

Coatbridge Connections team

Greetings from Coatbridge!

Things are going well here.

We’ve had a great year with a strong performance in safety, customer scores and financial performance.

Our Connections team have had the highest customer satisfac tion scores in our company for fou r months in a row – a fantasti c performance!

We welcomed three new apprentices to the depot in November, two of whom are called Jordan, which can be confusing… but along with Graham, they’ve settled in well.

John Morea visited us in January to see the improve ments we’ve made by bringing traffic managemen t in-house. It’ll save us more tha n £100k a year – he certainly seemed impress ed!

Looks like we’re going to be kept busy over the com ing year.

We’re working on a mains rep lacement programme with 8km of diversion works for the M8/M74 corridor upgrad e – and there’s never a dull mo ment with these high-profile projects.

That’s it for now, remember to stop by if you’re in the area – you’ll get a warm welcome and the kettle’s always on!

mains repairs

12,000 non-emergency jobs

250km mains surveyed

44.5km

policy mains abandonment

1,700

Coat tales!

Coatbridge was once known as the ‘Iron Burgh’, because of its many ironworks

Connections carried out in 2013/14

Coat bridge depot

Coat tales!

Comic book writer Mark Millar, whose works were made into the films Wanted, Kick Ass and The Kingsman is from Coatbridge

Coat tales!

Eighties pop band Hue and Cry hails from from Coatbridge

Coat tales!

Coatbridge hosts an annual St. Patrick’s Day Festival, which is the largest Irish celebration in Scotland

Coat tales!

Coatbridge is home to boxer Ricky Burns, a former WBO Lightweight and Super Featherweight Champion

Do you have a suggestion for our next postcard from...? Get in touch by emailing us at sgnmail@sgn.co.uk March 2015 SGNmail

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Hidden Talents talents HIDDEN TALENTS

Quick on the draw Kent-based Kimarni Molloy, who works in the admin team, has a secret passion – she loves creating fun and personalised cartoons for her colleagues!

I

Getting personal

“

used to doodle on pads and if I thought they were cool I’d put them on Facebook,” said Kimarni. “People started saying they wanted one, so in November 2014 I started offering cartoons to everyone.

“I really enjoy drawing and thinking of all the little bits I can add to make people smile or laugh.

The trick is to cram as much personal information as possible into the cartoon so all the little details start popping up the longer you look.”

From north to south – a round-up of the latest colleague happenings around SGN EDINBURGH Many people dream of playing at Scotland’s national stadium, Hampden Park, but for FCO Stephen Tulloch it’s a real possibility. He’s club captain of SPFL League 2 side Stephen Berwick Rangers and describes himself as a “committed central defender”. A great run of form in the cup has seen them reach the quarter finals of the Scottish Cup. Good luck Stephen, we hope you get to the final!

A fond farewell to George Collins, who retired in December after 38 years of service. Another colleague who will be bidding farewell this month is John Carty, after 40 years in the industry. We wish you both all the best and hope you enjoy your retirement.

Check out facebook.com/kimkartooni to see Kimarni’s cartoons. Here are a few fun examples she’s created for colleagues.

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SGNmail March 2015

Want to share your stories or celebrations?

Get in touch at sgnmail@sgn.co.uk

Tulloch

Getting personal

HORLEY Congratulations to Head of Accounts Receivable Trevor Woolston on turning 60 – a whole week before his much-younger wife Sylvia! His lovely team decorated the office with sixes and zeroes, but hopefully the cake and champagne made up for it!

Trevo r Woolston

DUNDEE

KENT

You might have seen in a recent blog that Group Head of Safety and Business Excellence Martin Manzi celebrated his silver wedding anniversary with wife Ann. What he was too modest to mention was that they’d used the occasion to raise an amazing £1,750 (£500 provided through Into Action) which has been divided between the charity Optimistic Sound and local care home Menzieshill House.

zi

Mart in Man

GLASGOW Four Glasgow colleagues went back to school to man a stall at Shawlands Academy’s career day.

Internal Communications Officer Waseem Hanif, a former pupil at the school, said: “The parents and pupils were attracted to our new branded banners and were very impressed by our apprenticeship programme. It’s nice to talk to people about what we do and give advice to young people in the same position that I was in not too long ago.”

Baigrie, From L-R: Waseem Hanif, Peter chran Paul McKevitt and Gary McEa

Kent replacement depot recently handed over a cheque for £967 to Kent Deaf Children’s Society. The depot’s Engagement and Community Group raised the superb sum by organising a sweepstake, raffle and barbecue.

ALDERSHOT Last month Aldershot depot welcomed ‘new starter’ Ray Gould – well, not quite!

Ray’s a familiar face, having been a resident in the Aldershot depot for the best part of eight years as part of Peter Webster’s management team.

What a lot of people don’t know is that Ray was an SSE employee and has only just joined team SGN! The day was celebrated with a buffet supplied

by Ray, and his Aldershot Ray Gou ld colleagues whipped up this little banner to welcome him officially!

WALTON PARK Good luck to Alex Charlton and Dudley Brook from the Operations Control Centre (OCC). With Alex’s best friend Pete Price, they are planning a 10,000-mile fundraising trip across America and a small section of Canada at the end of March.

They’re raising money for colleague John Sims, whose three-year old son Jack has cerebral palsy and requires an operation only available in the US. Colleagues at the OCC have already helped raise almost half of the £68,000 needed, with an impressive £11,000 raised in just 18 months.

Alex said: “The trip is coming totally out of our own pockets, but you can help by visiting justgiving.com/theamericanjob “There’s also a group on Facebook called The American Job where we’ll upload daily reports on how each day has gone, complete with a video diary.”

You can find out how the lads get on in our April issue and can donate directly to Jack’s first steps fund at justgiving.com/ Jacks-1st-step-fund

From L-R: Brother Charlie, Mum Amber, Jack and Dad Jo

Read on page 5 about the work of the OCC team

hn

March 2015 SGNmail

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Community corner

Working it out Helping our communities isn’t just about volunteering and fundraising, as Andrea Emmerson found when she spotted a great way to support a local charity by helping someone back into work.

W

hen Operations Control Support Manager, Andrea, was struggling to find new team members, she turned to her husband Jeff for advice.

“Jeff works for Radian Housing, which is a registered charity that not only deals with social housing, but helps people who are unemployed get back to work,” says Andrea.

“We contacted Radian and suggested some of the people they help might want to come to the Operations Control Centre (OCC) and find out about our team and SGN and mentioned that if they showed the right aptitude and attitude, they could be invited for an interview.”

energised and ready for whatever the day throws at me and go home happy.”

A learning curve Andrea feels that it’s not just May who’s benefited from the experience. She adds: “It’s been a learning curve for me. Sometimes you might discount someone for a role as you don’t think they have the right experience. But as long as someone has the right attitude, we can teach them the skills they need for the job.”

From L-R: Andrea Emm erson and May Anderson

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SGNmail March 2015

Quiet please!

We’re running a ‘silent auction’ for Barnardo’s.

Intrigued? It’s easy to take part. Simply text or email us with your bid – but make it a good one, as you won’t know what other people have bid until the auction is over.

So if you fancy a VIP experience at the Hydro, Wembley or a brand new Samsung Galaxy tablet, just bid by texting the info required to 07800 002 464 or emailing sgnnet@sgn.co.uk Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 10.1” 16GB Text ‘Tablet’ followed by your name and your bid Two tickets for Mrs Brown’s Boys, Saturday 4 April 2015 (Hydro) Text ‘Brown’ followed by your name and your bid Two tickets for Disney on Ice Live, Saturday 25 April 2015 (Wembley) Text ‘Disney’ followed by your name and your bid Two tickets for Kevin Bridges, Saturday 26 September 2015 (Hydro) Text ‘Bridges’ followed by your name and your bid

Energised and ready Radian Housing sent along May Anderson, who had been out of work for a couple of months. She impressed the team at the OCC so much that she was invited for an interview – and she was successful.

May says: “This is the best thing that’s happened to me – everyone has been so accepting and friendly. I come to work

For more info on our comm unity initiatives an d how you can get involved , visit SGNnet

Read on page 5 about the work of Andrea and her colleagues in the OCC team

Two tickets for Michael McIntyre, Saturday 24 October 2015 (Wembley) Text ‘McIntyre’ followed by your name and your bid

TXT & Win

Community corner

Sustaining our world Community action programme

Off the wall Colleagues got their hands dirty in an outdoor project for our charity partner Barnardo’s.

From L-R: Ian Alexander, Michael Thorburn, Callum Mackay, Andy Gibson, Diana Persina, Yvonne O’Donnell, Graham Loan, Lisa Warnock, Grant Richardson and Gary Stewart.

T

en colleagues from our Network Code and Re-engineering teams thoroughly enjoyed their CAP day helping our charity partner Barnardo’s. Working in the woodlands behind Falkirk’s Watling Lodge, which is built on top of the Antonine Wall, they helped create an outdoor learning space for young adults with alcohol and drug addictions. In a letter of thanks, Rebecca Mitchell from Barnardo’s said the charity was “overwhelmed” by what we achieved on the day. She added: “You went above and beyond the brief and not only cleared the site but completely transformed it.”

“You went above and beyond the brief and not only cleared the site but completely transformed it.”

Rebecca Mitchell, Barnado’s

Remember...

All employees are entitled to take part in a CAP day each year – so what are you waiting for?!

Go to SGNnet today or contact CAP Coordinator Julie Lowrey on 01689 881481 or email julie.lowrey@sgn.co.uk March 2015 SGNmail

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SGNSocialNETWORK

Thanks to social media, we can share our news and photos with our customers and stakeholders but also see what they have to say about us.

Next time you’re online, why not take a look at what we’ve been up to on Facebook and Twitter?

#SnowNewsDay

Follow us @SGNgas

#NightTimeNoise

During a spell of snowy weather SIU General Manager, Findlay McDonald, made the Corporate Comms team aware an empty LNG tanker had gone off the road near Aviemore and a TV crew were on site. Luckily the driver was not seriously injured.

We found this photo, tweeted by an STV reporter, and a shot of the tanker appeared on the news that night.

Bobby tweeted when it seemed that noisy work repeatedly started at night rather than during the day.

He really appreciated the call from Team Manager Ray Ingram to explain why we had to dig at that time. @bobbymules: @SGNgas thanks very much Ray for explaining the emergency repair work on our Dulwich street. Fast response!

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But sometimes the noise at night is avoidable… @Confucius0: @SGNgas are you doing any emergency work in SW19? One of your crew is on my road having a right old laugh and it’s twenty past 11 at night!

@NicolaMcAlley: Gas tanker off the road, A9 at Aviemore junction

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#CustomerSatisfaction Peter contacted us, concerned he wouldn’t be able to finish some driveway work before his pregnant wife’s due date. They needed an engineer to help locate the buried gas service to their house. The Plant Location and Solent depot team got things moving and Peter was tweeting his thanks 24 hours later. @PeterW0481: Great service from @SGNgas 2day, after my tweet last night engnr came this pm so driveway may b finished b4 baby arrives! Thx v much!

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win!

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Like us facebook.com/SGNgas

#TwitterHas TheAnswer Edinburgh Council’s travel team used Twitter to pass on this customer’s safety concern.

A quick site visit by Team Manager Graham Gifford confirmed it wasn’t a gas pipe and we passed it back to Edinburgh Council so they could deal with the pothole.

Although queries like this from the public would likely have reached us by phone or email, Twitter is often a quicker way for people to find the right company to deal with a query. @edin___haus: @edintravel Exposed gas pipe on forbes road at bruntsfield place not sure who deals with this

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GET EMAILING! Keep emailing sgnmail@sgn.co.uk about your achievements so we can include them on Facebook and Twitter.

How to enter d o P i An Simply match the song title to the artist or group. nano

Listen to your favourite tunes with the thinnest iPod ever made – a seventh generation iPod nano. You can even watch videos and track your daily fitness activity using Nike+.

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SGNmail March 2015

Post your entry to: Waseem Hanif, SGN, 95 Kilbirnie Street, Glasgow G5 8DG

Alternatively, you can email your answers to sgnmail@sgn.co.uk The deadline for entries is Tuesday 31 March. Please remember to include your name and location. Good luck!

1

Taylor Swift

A All Shook Up

2 Elvis Presley

B Lego House

3 Elton John

C Shake It Off

4 Ed Sheeran

D Tiny Dancer