The year so far…
I’m pleased to say that we’ve had a mostly positive year so far.
We’ve hit all our financial targets and secured a major 4-year Framework for Highways England in the South West (old Area 2), whilst existing contracts have been ramped up or extended. In March we also recorded our busiest ever month to date, with more than 17,300 shifts worked.
We now have a secure workload over the coming years and, as a result, we’re launching a major recruitment drive and giving you the chance to earn up to £750 for new employees you refer (more details on page four).
The roll-out of Project Midvale (our new Enterprise Resource Planning System) has advanced, having gone live in six depots and due to be rolled out across the rest by the end of September. There’s a first-hand account of how the system has been working on page five.
However well we are doing though, it’s vital to remember that safety is our business. Up until recently we had clocked more than 3 million man hours without a single RIDDOR. Sadly, however, one of our Operatives, Roger Carr, broke his shoulder falling into a coning well in July.
Having visited him personally, I’m pleased to say that he is on the mend and on behalf of everyone at Chevron, we wish him all the best for a speedy recovery. We have since set up a working group to look into and trial solutions to try to prevent this type of accident occurring in the future.
We must never get complacent as far as safety is concerned. And I cannot stress enough how much it means to me that everyone stays safe and injury free so they can return home to their families and friends at the end of each shift.
We’ve achieved a lot so far this year and I would like to thank everyone for their ongoing efforts in making sure that Chevron stays at the forefront of our industry.
As always, if you have any comments, or items you would like to see included in the newsletter, please get in touch.
Tim Cockayne Managing Director
NEW STARTERS
We are delighted to welcome the following new starters to the company:
Brian Lowe as TM Foreman
Nicholas Thomas as TM Foreman
TRAINEES
As part of our continued investment in the future of Chevron, the following recruits have recently joined the company as TM Trainees.
Courtney Athay
Daniel Frost
Jamie Booker
Kevin Fortune
Robert Smith
Iosefe Radredre
James Dutton
Abbs Paul
Christian Price
Timoci Kabuta
Daniel White
HGV TEST PASSES
Congratulations to Adrian Briggs (Manchester) and Kearan Ibbotson (MSM) on passing their HGV tests.
AWARDS
Chevron in ‘1000 Companies to Inspire Europe 2017’ list
We’re delighted to have been identified as one of the top performing companies in Europe by the London Stock Exchange.
Due to be published in September, the 1000 Companies to Inspire Europe report will be a celebration of the fastestgrowing small and medium sized businesses across the 28 countries of the European Union.
To be included in the list, Chevron needed to show consistent turnover growth over the past three years and significantly outperform its industry peers.
Tim Cockayne, MD of Chevron, commented: “This achievement is testament to the hard work and dedication of all our employees who’ve contributed to Chevron’s success over the years.”
Chevron at Industry ‘Oscars’
For another year running, our work has been recognised at the CIHT awards. We attended the prestigious awards’ dinner and ceremony in June where we were highly commended in two categories:
Safety Award for our involvement in the production of Traffic Management Training Videos with Kier in Area 3.
Collaboration Award for our creation of a ‘one team approach’ to collaborative TM delivery within Area 9, alongside Kier and our supply chain partners.
NOTICES
Retirements
After 20 years at the helm, Chevron’s founder and Chairman Kim Yates and fellow Director Martin Pollard have retired. It goes without saying that they have been instrumental in the success of Chevron over the years and we wouldn’t be the company we are today without them. On behalf of everyone at Chevron we would like to thank them for all their hard work and dedication over the years. Both Kim and Martin are highly regarded industry leaders and will be greatly missed, both as work colleagues and friends. Another long-standing member of the team, Ray Russell (Merstham), is retiring after 20 years’ service. He is joined by John Forman (Newport) who has been with Chevron since 2008. We wish them all every happiness in their retirements.
Kim Yates
Martin Pollard
Ray Russell
John Forman
Chris parties at the Palace
National Health and Safety Manager, Christopher Rowley, had a royal appointment recently when he represented Chevron at an event at Buckingham Palace.
The royal tea party, which took place in the palace gardens, was to mark the centenary of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).
More than 3,500 guests, including RoSPA members and supporters, attended
the event, whilst HRH The Duke of York represented Her Majesty the Queen, RoSPA’s Patron. The Duke met and spoke to a variety of guests, including accident victims and their families.
Chevron Traffic Management has been a member of RoSPA for a number of years and has won six consecutive Gold Awards for excellence in occupational health and safety.
Read up and win!
£150 worth of shopping vouchers are up for grabs if you can answer this question using our pensions article on page ten.
In 2019 Chevron will be contributing towards pensions more than ever, with monthly contributions increasing by?
A. Double B. Treble C. Quadruple
Please send your entries to lisa@chevrontm.com. Three people picked at random will each win a £50 Love2Shop shopping Voucher
Helping kids play out
Chevron has helped parents close a city centre road and reclaim the streets for their children as part of their first Playing Out session.
As part of the event, Chevron donated traffic signs and cones to the organisers, who live on Pulteney Grove in Bath.
The idea is already very popular in other cities and gives youngsters the chance to play safely near home in something of a throwback to a bygone era.
The children were able to enjoy a range of games and activities, including racing their scooters up and down the street, as well as playing hopscotch and jump rope.
“The local council granted us a temporary road closure for a couple of hours per month so that our children can play in the street where we live” said organiser, Clair Titley.
“We have been really fortunate to have all the road signs we need donated to us by Chevron and we’re planning to share these with other streets that might want to start their own Playing Out sessions.”
NOTICES
Charge your glasses
Congratulations to Paul Jones (Manchester), who tied to knot recently with his fiancée, Alison, and to Mike Twigg and his partner Vicki, who celebrated the birth of their baby daughter Maggie Alice on 16th July, weighing 8lb 4oz. Best wishes to you all.
CLIENT INBOX
A27 Area 3 Narrow lane emergency works
A very well done to the Thatcham Team who installed an emergency narrow lane scheme in Area 3 on the A27/ M27/M275 after having only 8 hours’ notice from midday last Friday!!! A member of the public damaged a bridge parapet after an RTC and, due to the location, varioguard barrier had to be installed ASAP to prevent a further incident.”
Chris Davis
Traffic Management Operations Manager, Area 3 ASC
Another great success for Area 3. To turn this around in such a short space of time, due to the nature of the repair and the location, is a credit to you and your teams. Well done”
Alison and Paul
Maggie Alice
Tim Cockayne, MD, with Daniella Radice of Bristol charity Playing Out and the Mayor of Bath
CONTRACTS
Contract updates
We’ve secured a major TM contract as part of the South West Asset led construction works framework for TM in the North (old Area 2). This contract started in July and is valued at £2m-£4m annually until 2021.
We have also been asked by Highways England to support the contract for the South (old Area 1) after they failed to appoint another TM contractor.
In April, we started work on a new contract for M6 Smart Motorways (junctions 2-4) and, if we perform well, we could secure the contract for the main works, valued at around £6m.
Work in Area 7 has ramped up and our contract in Area 10 has been commissioned by Highways England until April 2019.
Areas 3 and 9 for Kier Strategic Highways are ongoing until 2018 and 2019 respectively. Both contracts are extendable by a further three years, so it is vital that we deliver collaboratively with Kier to secure these extensions.
We are also in the process of bidding for several other contracts, including the M4 (junctions 3-12).
New and ongoing contracts mean that we need to recruit between 50-100 Operatives and Foremen over the next few years.
As part of this new recruitment drive, we’ve relaunched our employee referral scheme so that any member of staff referring a new starter, who successfully completes their probationary period, will receive a ‘thank you’ payment of up to £750
It’s simple and easy. For more information, speak to your supervisor/manager or email lisa@chevrontm.com (T&C’s apply).
INNOVATION
Project Midvale update
David Martin, Operations Manager (Northern Region), explains the impact that Chevron’s new ERP system is having around the business.
The impact of the Midvale system is slowly, but surely, being felt around the business as paperwork mountains reduce. Improved access to multiple data fields/reports and the visibility of all scheduled works, with resource allocations, makes Chevron feel like a one single company, as opposed to eight separate entities floating around in their own imagined Chevron universe.
The Midvale system is bringing us all together and aligning our common goals, with all ‘live’ parties now able to feedback on all the positives and negatives, so that the system can be upgraded, amended and improved to suit all our individual and collective system needs.
Midvale has and will continue to develop the business at a depot level, due to its ability to schedule resource from across the country at the click of a mouse.
It will also ensure that no staff (employed or agency) are ever put to work with incorrect, or expired qualifications. This is driving the improvement of forward planning tasks and giving us greater piece of mind in knowing that all staff are correctly qualified before setting a boot onsite.
Midvale has the power for changing the Company from depot level up and across the business in ways that we have yet to even imagine. The system is there to be developed and improved by each and every user for the greater good of all other system users.
The system is keeping us head and shoulders above our competitors and will continue to do so now and a long way into the distant future.
Midvale is NOW and is the future! What we do in the NOW shapes our futures and the future is looking bright.
Monthly Safety & Innovation Awards
The winners of the H&S Award since our last issue are:
February – Lewis Ansell, TM Foreman (Tring), whose quick thinking averted a potentially serious incident on the M25 when a vehicle became stranded in a live lane.
March – Daniel Hancox, IPV Foreman (Newport), who alerted the Police and RCC when a pedestrian was spotted walking down the motorway slip road on the M42.
April – John McGowan, Business Improvement Assessor, who alerted the emergency services after witnessing a mini bus crash in Area 10. John, who is an experienced TM Supervisor and qualified First Aider, pulled over onto the hard shoulder and conducted a dynamic risk assessment, before safely crossing the carriageway to help the injured passengers and administering life-saving first aid to save a man’s life.
Safety is our business and these are great examples to illustrate this and remind us that everyone has a duty to ensure that they and their colleagues get home safely to their families and loved ones.
Well done all!
Remember the monthly prize is £100 and the annual prize is £1000.
Caption competition
Congratulations to Phil Smith (Operative, Manchester), who wins a £100 Love2Shop voucher after coming up with the winning caption for last issue’s photo.
May – Kelly Coupland (Tring), whose expertise of the road booking industry and continued hard work ensures that Chevron and its clients can deliver schemes on time and to the highest of safety standards.
June – Martin Derrick and Ian Boyd, Operatives (Finedon), who came to the assistance of a female motorist and her three small children on the M1 after they broke down and had a three hour wait for their vehicle to be recovered.
“Why such the long face big man? Midvale training is over now!”
H&S Report
July 2017
July 17: 2 (1 RIDDOR and 1 LTI)
June 17: 0
May 17: 0
April 17: 1 (LTI)
March 17: 0
February 17: 1 (LTI)
January 17: 0
The three Lost Time Injuries this year have been a result of Slips, Trips and Falls and Manual Handling incidents.
Observations Top 5 2017
1. Taper Strikes
2. Longitudinal/Hard shoulder strikes
3. Public entering closures
4. Poor planning
5. Contractors not following safety rules
Safety Sam
A summary of the types of injuries incurred in 2017
Eight arm/hand injuries
Five leg/ankle/foot injuries
Four back injuries
Two torso injuries
One eye injury
WILDLIFE
Snake Alert
During the recent hot weather one of our TM Foremen was bitten by, what we believe, was a grass snake.
The Foreman was working a night-shift and was lifting a redundant TM sign plate that had been lying on the verge for some time in the hot weather. As he lifted it, he was bitten on the lower leg by a snake.
The Foreman dismissed the bite at first and carried on working; it was only until a few hours later that he realised the wound was bleeding. He received first aid treatment on site and later, hospital treatment with antibiotics to counter any possible infection from the bite.
2017 Performance
Before our RIDDOR Accident in July 2017, we’d gone more than 3 million man hours without an accident, which is a remarkable achievement. Key industry indicators, such as Accident Incident Rate, remain low and ahead of the rest of the industry, and our Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate continues to improve from previous years. But, this doesn’t tell the whole story.
Already this year we’ve 48 accident/ incidents. Luckily none of these have resulted in serious injuries or lost time, but in a handful of cases had the potential for being very serious. These are just some of the categories of incidents we’ve had:
15 - Slips, Trips and Falls / Fall from Height incidents
10 - Manual Handling Incidents
7 - Instances of Endangering the Public/ Road Users/Workforce
We pride ourselves within Chevron of being ‘In safe hands’. This means we have to be on top of our game 24/7, never switching off. Often the accidents/incidents occur not at the time of most danger, but when we’re doing tasks that are second nature, when we’ve switched off and gone into auto-pilot.
How many times have you driven somewhere and then thought that you couldn’t remember some of the journey? That’s exactly what happens when we do regular tasks that we’ve done hundreds of time before; we switch off and that’s when accidents occur. Next time you’re doing one of these types of tasks, think it through, be aware of what is around you, and be in the moment.
Safety first
Snakes are cold-blooded animals and with the recent hot weather, seek shade to cool down. This often means they will be found under signs, etc., left on the verge.
If you come across any snake… LEAVE IT ALONE and report it. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO HANDLE IT, even if you are certain it is not venomous! IF YOU DO GET BITTEN, seek immediate medical help.
PENSIONS
Pensions update
There have been some major pension changes recently, so we asked Mark Redman, Financial Planner and Director of Gould Financial Planning, our workplace pension provider, to bring us up to speed.
Death benefits
There has been a favourable change to death benefits on private pensions. If you die before age 75, your dependants can receive your pension tax-free. If you die after age 75, your dependants will pay tax on any withdrawal from your pension at their marginal rate. The withdrawal will be treated like any other income.
If you have a Chevron workplace pension, you’ll receive your latest valuation statement shortly. Attached to this statement, will be a Legal & General Nomination of Death Benefit form. This nomination allows you to specify who is to receive your pension on your death. If you don’t complete one of these forms, Legal & General will look for guidance from the administrators of your estate.
Contribution levels
At present, the law requires that the combined Employer and Employee minimum contributions amount to 2% of your pensionable pay, with the Employer providing a minimum of 1%. In April 2018, this minimum level rises to 5%, with the Employer providing a minimum of 2%, and April 2019 sees a further rise to a combined 8% contribution level, with the Employer providing a minimum of 3%. This means that, within the next two years, Chevron’s regular monthly contributions into your pension scheme will treble.
Pension Freedom rules
You may wish to increase your own contributions earlier than the legislation requires and this is easy to do. You can email Sadie Leadbetter (Sadie. leadbetter@kilsbywilliams. com), who supports Chevron on payroll matters, confirming your new contribution level.
Releasing monies from your pension has become more flexible. Rather than purchasing a guaranteed income source to fund your retirement, you can decide to deplete your pension fund at a level to suit your requirements. If you’re aged 55 and over, you can withdraw 25% from your pension tax-free as a lump sum, with the remainder taxed at your highest marginal rate at the time. However, you should always get professional advice before taking benefits from your pension fund.
If you would like further information, please contact Mark on 01633 653189 or email Mark.Redman@kilsbywilliams.com
Getting to know… JoHudson
Receptionist (Head Office)
What do you like best about working at Chevron?
I think we have a great team at HQ. Working on reception I meet and greet everyone, either in person or on the telephone. It’s a great way to get to know other Chevron employees, our suppliers and clients.
Choose three celebrities to join you for a dinner party?
I really quite enjoy grumpy humour so my first choice would be Jack Dee, my second would be Janet Street-Porter and last, but not least, Gerard Butler for the eye candy.
What three things would you want if you were shipwrecked on a desert Island?
My hounds of course! A case of the finest red wine, a good book, or maybe Gerard Butler?!
Favourite Movie?
I love the old classics. A favourite of mine is Doctor Zhivago with Omar Sharif and Julie Christie.
Favourite food?
Sunday roast, or Italian pasta with chicken, prawns and a creamy white wine sauce… delicious!
Favourite Books?
Any of Martina Cole’s bestsellers. She writes gritty crime novels about London’s gangster underworld. I also find Jilly Cooper’s novels very entertaining!
What do you enjoy doing most in your spare time?
Dog walking, joining my other half and friends at dinner parties, pottering about in the garden, and reading.
CONTACT US
If you have any news stories, want further information on any subject or have any queries, please contact our Business Development Manager, Lisa Killinger.
Chevron Traffic Management, 3 Thame Business Park, Wenman Road, Thame, Oxon, OX9 3XA
01844 354666
Lisa@chevrontm.com
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DEPOT FOCUS: THATCHAM
We’ve come a long way
Since its move from Romsey, the Thatcham depot hasn’t looked back, as Operations Manager Mike Fenner, explains.
Back in the Romsey days, the old yard was small with tricky access. After gaining the Area 3 contract, it was clearly unfit for the 100 operatives that the contract required. So, in June 2015 Chevron invested in a new yard and Chevron Thatcham was formed.
As well as helping to grow the business, the new yard has improved working conditions, which has raised morale for the whole team. We’ve even gained our own sign workshop so we can make and produce our own signs onsite for our clients’ needs, with most works these days requiring site specific signage.
Team work
Thanks to a great team of supervisors, office staff and gangs on the road, we’re delivering well over 100 TM staff to contracts on a daily basis.
The depot has been servicing the Area 3 contract and the ALR BBV M4 works. These contracts don’t look like stopping any time soon, and we are also kept busy with other smaller one-off jobs across the South East of England.
New technology
At the start of the year we welcomed the launch of the new Midvale ERP system. This changed all of our office working, with job packs being made on Workforce and available to site crews on a tablet system.
Thatcham fact file:
Location: Based near Newbury in Berkshire, the depot is within easy reach of the M4, M3 and A34.
Team: More than 40 permanent Operatives and 60 Sub-Contractor staff.
Equipment: 8 x IPV’s and 1 x 7.5 tonne and 12 x 3.5 tonne pick-ups.
The change has been well received and the system continues to grow and evolve, ensuring that Chevron maintains its industry leading position.
The future
I believe we have an outstanding team working here in Area 3, with everybody pulling together to deliver first-class crews and closures 24-hrs a day 7-days a week.
We work hard to maintain close working relationships with our clients and it’s our aim to grow the depot and become the best that we can be. There’s still much to do, but we’re looking forward to an even bigger and brighter future here in Area 3.