WET News

6 WET NEWS MAY 2019 | wwtonline.co.uk A cross the industry, many companies are making efforts to not only cut down on health and safety incidents but to improve the overall wellbeing and mental health of their staff. Beyond the obvious human advantages, bringing about improvements in these areas can reap far-reaching rewards: a happy, healthy workforce is far more likely to be a focused, productive and loyal workforce. As part of its AMP6 wastewater network maintenance framework contract with Thames Water, independent drainage and utility specialist Lanes Group has introduced a host of new innovations that are now driving remarkable improvements throughout the business. ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT Health, safety and wellbeing has long been a focus for Lanes Group and its efforts have attracted plenty of attention in recent years. In 2014, Lanes won two awards for its Essential Standards workplace guide and IGLOO GETS INTERACTIVE In early 2017, Lanes Group sought to enhance its induction process by investing in an Igloo: a 360° projection theatre that can provide a taste of real-world working environments. The theatre has been jointly funded with Thames Water, which also uses it for training and presentations. "It makes learning much more immersive," James Brewer, Lanes Group's learning and development specialist, says. "Where you've got your standard induction in a classroom, we can break it up by coming into the Igloo to watch a video briefing on health and safety, for example, or we can run presentations through it. We can then have a discussion. "Rather than just looking at photographs, you can imagine you're standing in the street with the other trainees – it brings it to life and keeps them engaged." Up to 15 people can undertake training inside the theatre at any one time, and Brewer adds: "It's saved money as well. Rather than sending people out to a location, we can do the training in-house and it makes it much easier to have conversations." At the start of this year, Lanes opted to take things to the next level, pioneering the world's first 'mixed virtual reality' Igloo by integrating an Oculus Rift headset with the software controlling the projection system so that people can take a wand into the space and interact with the screen as part of training games. "Because you don't have to wear a headset, it's not insular," Brewer says. "You can have multiple people in the Igloo at once going through a training scenario, or game, as we call it." The training games are set in a VR world called Thames Town and feature residential, rural, high street and industrial settings, with more in the works. In the initial demo game, trainees are shown text conversations with a customer to establish the reasons for a visit to a house, then given multiple tasks, such as checking for faults with their equipment, taking photos of the worksite, and selecting the correct equipment to clear a drain blockage. "The company that designed it has made it look, sound and feel like a game to encourage the people who use it, and to make it feel familiar for them," he adds. "We can also pause the training game and talk the teams through why they need to do things, ask questions about why they made the decisions they did and give them guidance." The original Igloo was a major investment for Lanes and Thames Water. Pioneering this new technology, which involved working with both Igloo and game designer Myriad, has added to the cost. "We felt the business case was strong enough," Brierley says. "The feedback has shown that immersing people in different environments sets the scene for going out into the real world. "If you can welcome someone into your organisation to the best possible standard, they feel valued, they feel they have a purpose, and they will go out and perform, showing loyalty and, above all, staying safe." provide the necessary training and education. On a more immediate level, Drive for £5! sees field workers rewarded financially every time their performance is rated 5/5 by a customer. The company has also teamed up with Perkbox to give workers access to an app that provides shopping vouchers, while a tie-up with Via Vita Health led to the 'WellMe' programme, which gives staff the chance to achieve their personal healthy living targets, such as weight loss or giving up smoking. As part of that, chefs have come in to stage healthy cooking demonstrations, while there have been events ranging from ballroom dancing and taekwondo to cleaning up woodlands with local Wildlife Trusts. Messages promoting the importance of work-life balance are screened in the office and people are rewarded if they cycle to work. Staff are also offered free personal medical assessments, while the company will offer IN FOCUS HEALTH, SAFETY & WELLBEING funding for up to six physio sessions for injuries suffered outside of work. Building on the wider efforts to boost wellbeing, Lanes Group has taken specific steps to reduce absences related to sickness, bringing about major improvements from January 2018 onwards. "We're one of the only organisations on the planet that measures IFR – illness frequency rate," Brierley says. "We measure lost time as lost time." An occupational health support programme was introduced in late 2017 that means any member of staff calling in sick will receive a call within two hours to determine whether a home visit is required. "That used to be two weeks," he says. "The quicker you intervene, the quicker you can provide the support needed to allow people to return to work." Around the same time, the company decided to bring in the 'duvet days' concept, which allows staff to call in up to an hour before their shi¢ starts and – providing their manager has sufficient cover – take up to three days off. "This has been around in the United States for quite some time and it's been a big, big success," Brierley says. "Our sickness rate has absolutely plummeted from about six days per full-time employee per annum to about 1.8. Our illness frequency rate is 267 days in total per month, down 35 per cent on what it was this time last year." NET GAIN Lanes continues to seek new ways to drive improvements. Its most recent innovations have ranged from using actors to simulate testing scenarios as part of the management training protocol to the introduction of a new NeverAlone app, which requires lone workers to regularly check in and can raise an alarm if the inclinometer in the phone "A GP I spoke to about a colleague's care plan for depression said he was amazed at the support Lanes gives its employees. He said he had never come across anything like it before" Kelly Hansford, wellbeing practitioner indicates the person is lying on the floor. "We innovate wherever we can on anything we can deliver," Brierley says. "For us, it starts with safety. The innovation in health and safety has been driven by deciding to do something completely different. We needed a fresh look at it and the results have been phenomenal. "We said we would have zero very unhappy people and the wellbeing app tells us we're nearly there – down from 12 or 13 per cent to less than 1 per cent. We said we would have 365 days without a lost-time incident – we've just completed a period where we were just short of 5 million hours without a lost-time incident. And at the end of 2018, our AFR was zero." The wider benefits have also been significant. For one thing, the company has seen a 57 per cent reduction in staff attrition, resulting in a £1 million annual saving on recruitment and training costs. "We were bringing people through the door and losing the same amount," Brierley says. "We were industrialising our training in terms of this constant churn. How do you retain knowledge, customer service, safety-focused culture and world-class service delivery when it's always new people? You can't do it. We're managing the sewer network for London. It's complicated, it's hard, it's busy. "If we select people who are a good fit for the business, we owe it to them to give them absolutely everything they need to stay with us for their entire career. Recently, our loyalty's been shooting to the moon." Customer satisfaction scores have improved throughout the years, too. "You can see tangible results in reducing complaints," he says. "If our teams are happy, they're more productive and more customer-focused. It all just links together." Workers are encouraged to contribute ideas to improve health and safety

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