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The Topic: Workforce Planning UTILITY WEEK | 4TH - 10TH AUGUST 2017 | 11 Provider: I accept that you qualify as a vulnerable consumer Local authority: We ATTEST that this person is on a housing benefit Consumer: I claim that I am on a housing benefit and less able to pay my bills GUIDING STARS At the Utility Week Stars Awards 2017 a group of senior utilities lead- ers were named as Gu Stars. This recognition was given to individuals identified by their peers as exemplary role models for young people and for their willingness to invest time in mentoring, increasing sec- tor inclusiveness and improving sector image. They were: Tony Cocker, former chief executive, Eon UK; Alan Sutherland, chief executive, Wics; Mark Horsley, chief executive, Northern Gas Networks; Cathryn Ross, chief executive, Ofwat; Peter Simpson, chief executive, Anglian Water; Heidi Mottram, chief execu- tive, Northumbrian Water; Paul Spence, director of strategy and corporate affairs, EDF Energy; Juliet Davenport, chief executive, Good Energy. "To deliver our responsibilities safely and effectively at a sustain- able cost, takes an exceptionally skilled and substantial workforce, the sustainability of which is un- der pressure." • Tony Cocker, former chair, Energy & Utilities Skills Partnership, and former Eon UK CEO HEALTH & SAFETY INITIATIVE UK Power Networks One key strand to UKPN's Stay Safe initiative was appoint- ing "safety coaches" within the organisation as "agents of change", and to ensure there is always positive peer pressure to be safe. One of these coaches is trainee manager Lee Perkins. He suffered 28 per cent burns aer a switchgear fault in 2004 and uses this experience to be a per- suasive safety envoy, mentoring and coaching colleagues with his unique insight. UKPN also provided staff with facts about the human mind that relate directly to our ability to work safely, such as: • 99.7 per cent of decisions are driven by the subconscious. • Habits are formed a er we perform a task 21 times. • We day dream for approxi- mately ten minutes per hour. It was noted that falling into "autopilot" mode can result in slips, trips and falls (the most common types of injuries). Stay Safe uses psycho- logical training to ensure staff understand what is happen- ing and what they can do to make a difference. The highest- risk employees were trained first, and many volunteered to become frontline coaches. The results show the impact that a complete rethink on the approach to health and safety can have. Employee Lost Time Incident performance plunged from 32 in 2009 to three in 2016. All 5,600 UKPN staff were trained; with 709 made front- line coaches, 82 organisational coaches and nine advanced organisational coaches. The latest figures (2015) show that UKPN's safety record is now the best in the business, with the lowest injury rate per employee amongst UK electricity distributors. RISING STAR AWARD Chris Mallon, SP Energy Networks Since October, Chris Mallon, project co-ordinator at SPEN, has led all delivery activity relat- ing to the new connections on the motorway programme. At just 21, his job involves moving the old cables to allow the new motorway to be built, lighting the traffic diversion routes and lighting the entire stretch of new and improved motorway with 144 new electric- ity supplies. This involves 6,840m of high- voltage and 20,040m of low- voltage cables. Working with his client, Transport Scotland, he ensures that the timetable for work lines up, both with SPEN and its numerous service provid- ers and suppliers. This project is worth over £500 million and is expected to be completed this summer. Under Mallon's leadership, SPEN is currently delivering hundreds of connections to the motorway upgrade in a deal worth £4 million. His rise to this position of responsibility has been rapid. Mallon joined SPEN as an engi- neer apprentice when he was 18, turning down a university place to study electrical power engineering. During his appren- ticeship, he built up experience working on low and high-voltage networks as well as taking own- ership for a number of projects. In June 2016 Mallon secured a post with the Lanarkshire District connections team and shortly aerwards, an experienced project manager announced his plan to retire. He "immediately indicated" he was keen to take on a greater role in the delivery of the project. Edward Mulholland, district general manager, and one of Chris's mangers, said: "It was an easy decision for us to let him take the lead – we knew enough of his skill and capabilities to have faith in his ability to excel." Another notable achievement in Mallon's career so far is his valued position as an ambas- sador for STEM subjects. He has been to a number of children and young people's science and careers fairs across Scotland to promote the importance of the industry. HEALTH & SAFETY INDIVIDUAL Jennifer Fitzgibbon, The AMK (Aecom, Murphy and Kier) Jennifer Fitzgibbon is the health, safety, environmental & quality adviser for the Deephams STW Upgrade Project. She is responsible for ensur- ing the team has the competen- cies necessary for delivery of the £250 million scheme. She deliv- ers inductions and toolbox talks for up to 100 staff at a time. Fitzgibbon chairs the subcon- tractor performance meetings, monitors non-conformances and is the cultural development pro- gramme champion. She has also been involved in developing initiatives includ- ing the "tethered tools" policy, making it mandatory for all staff using tools at height, within 4m of an open edge, or working over pedestrianised areas, to use tethered tools. She has also helped to imple- ment the ear validation system, ensuring earplugs are worn cor- rectly in noisy environments; traffic wands, to help marshal vehicles and pedestrians on site in darker conditions; and elec- tronic whistles to alert people to things being lied. 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Number of incidents 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Employees Contractors Total -91% from 2009 Lost Time Incident Performance