ON TRACK
Edition 2 July 2015
South Wales Mainline Electrification Building a better railway for a better Wales Welcome to the latest edition of the GWRM-Wales project team newsletter. The team has worked incredibly hard to make sure we installed the first piles in June and we now have OLE foundations in both English and Welsh soil! It has been a challenging time for the whole team but we are pulling together to face-up to this massive, high-profile task. The postponement of some other projects in the UK electrification programme brings increased focus,responsibility and attention onto us, We are a high performing team and we are confident that we can deliver our programme of works safely and successfully. In addition to the first piles, some other key achievements include: Compounds and worksites have been established at Bristol East, Patchway, Pilning, East Usk, Bishton, Whitewall and Farm Road. Activity with local schools has begun in Monmouthshire raising project awareness and site safety.
A number of public meetings across Monmouthshire and Newport have taken place to liaise face to face with communities. The challenges will continue for the rest of 2015 - site activities will ramp-up, the team will expand and we are now mobilising our new offices in Port Talbot and Godfrey Road, Newport. This team-scale and geographical separation will bring its own challenges and we must continue to work together and communicate so we deliver safely and effectively. At all times, if you see any activity or process which is unsafe or can be improved, please tell someone.
Thank you for your enthusiasm and hard work to date, Together we will deliver this programme
Project News ABC Employee Referral Scheme
We are pleased to report that many of you have taken advantage of the ABC Employee Referral Scheme, putting forward former colleagues and friends for positions here in Newport. We have had approximately 26 referrals and have so far employed 7 of these candidates. If you know of anyone who would be suitable for any of the vacancies still available, please pass on their details to us – Siwan Rees or Georgia Harvey Referral forms can be found on the ABC Way and once completed, sent over to georgia.harvey@abcel.co.uk
In June ABC Electrification were pleased to support the ‘National Women in Engineering Day’ which is an annual event dedicated to raising the profile and celebrating the achievements of women in engineering. In Wales an evening lecture was organised by ICE Wales Cymru and CIWM where women in senior positions gave presentations on wind
energy, waste management and nuclear energy. Keynote speaker was Julie James AM Deputy Minister for Skills and Technology.
Construction Excellence Awards Celtic Manner
We were proud to be the main sponsors of The CEW Awards this year. The event took place at the Celtic Manor in Newport. Attended by over 500 people the event was a great success showcasing excellence within the Welsh Construction Industry. Our Sponsored Award ‘Project of The Year’ went to Penarth Learning Community.
Schools Update
“It’s really exciting for us to have a real time project for our art enrichment week, it help the pupils to put their work into practice and leads to a higher quality of work, thanks for
Community Relations Team School Briefing Update During June 2015, The community relations team briefed approximately 1000 pupils from Caldicot Comprehensive on the South Wales mainline electrification scheme. They were briefed on the electrification project, how it will impact on their local area, the benefits it will bring and importantly Compound site safety. A number of bridges will be affected in the communities as they are reconstructed, with Farm Road bridge beginning in July 2015.
this opportunity’ Justine Goulding Art Teacher Caldicot Comprehensive.
The Team also joined Undy’s School Fete Promoting skipping as part of Costains Healthy Heart Month. During July Yrs 9 and 10 will be producing posters using Photoshop as part of the schools Art Enrichment Programme for the Compound set up on Farm Road Caldicot. A site visit to view the poster is planned for September.
Don’t forgot ABC’s Healthy Heart Day Friday 13th July
Starlite Award In July the Bristol East Depot was presented with the first STAR award.The STAR awards programme recognises and rewards Principal Contractor construction sites, and compounds that meet NR’s expectations and thus demonstrate good health, safety and environmental risk control. Jim Bolton said ,’This is down to the hard work and commitment of everyone on the team and they rightly deserve this recognition. The challenge is to maintain this level of performance as each compound is mobilised.’
Volunteering Opportunity Can you spare some time to support a local charity on Friday 4th September? As part of the GWRM sustainability commitment to ‘Make a lasting positive contribution to our neighbours and the communities we serve’ we have organised a volunteering opportunity at a local charity. St David’s Church Community Project is located in a house on Bettws estate which is just 2 miles away from the office. It’s a local charity that provides services and activities in an area of high depravation. They offer a food bank, advice and support services as well as organising well attended fayres and fetes. We have liaised with the St David’s Project to set up a volunteering day redecorating their much used Church Community House, at Tone Close, Bettws. Through our volunteering strategy we have been able to offer the church project a day’s commitment to upgrade their house. They have requested that we decorate the ground floor of their community building as they have limited resources and are unable to carry out the decorating. This opportunity to everyone on the project and individual companies will also have volunteering policies that allow employees to undertake such initiatives. So if you can spare a day or a half day* from your busy schedules for this worthy cause please let Carol van den Berg know by FRIDAY 22nd AUGUST. Further information for participants will follow. Let’s make a difference to communities that need a hand. ALL EQUIPMENT, CAKE AND REFRESHMENTS WILL BE PROVIDED ON THE DAY WHERE REQUIRED TRANSPORT CAN ALSO BE ARRANGED
Charity News The ABC Charity Golf Day took place on Thursday 24th June and was attended by over a dozen of our partners. The event raised over £1500
ABC staff took part in the Alun Griffiths Charity Cricket Match at Newport International Sports Village
W2E Cycle Challenge Rob Fancourt Said “After 357.9-miles, 3 very long hot days, 6-punctures, 1-tyre change, and a Lord Mayor’s Procession blocking our route we reached the finish line. The team successfully negotiated the mountains of West Wales, Brecon Beacons, and the Cotswolds leaving a long a gruelling run across to East Anglia to a finish on the East Coast.” The event raised over £6000 Three ABC staff members, Chris Davies, Andrew Davies and Martin Faulkner took part in the Spartan Race