Category: In The Community

Severfield lend expertise to support local gym

Posted on by helent

Michaela Lindridge, Severfield Head of Environmental, Social and Governance, with Dougie Pomfret, who manages Fit 4 Life gym.

A volunteer from Severfield, one of our Key Delivery Partners, gave her support to a West Cumbrian fitness firm which aims to enhance its ability to evaluate and demonstrate its social impact.

Fit 4 Life, which has gyms in Maryport, Workington and Whitehaven, looks to improve the health and well-being of all local people. It especially aims to help those with, or at risk of developing, chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease, diabetes or a stroke.

It posted on the Timebank platform Together for Good asking for guidance to strengthen their evaluation systems and better communicate the value of their work.

Responding, Michaela Lindridge, Head of Environmental, Social and Governance for Severfield, provided tailored support. She undertook an initial consultation to understand Fit 4 Life’s needs and then visited their main centre in Maryport.

The session included a presentation on Social Value Frameworks, plus a discussion on the importance of data capture and reporting, and the development of a customised internal reporting system.

Giving Back

Michaela said: “Giving back to organisations is deeply rooted in me, as I started my career in the charity and not-for-profit sector. To use my skills to support Fit 4 Life at this critical time is not even a question.

“Seeing them embrace the knowledge I’ve shared, and thrive, is a feeling like no other. I’m honoured to help Dougie and his team in their incredible mission.”

Dougie Pomfret, who manages Fit 4 Life, added: “We asked for help with evidencing our social value to strengthen funding applications and our ability to tender for NHS projects.

“Michaela introduced us to tools and methods we hadn’t considered, and her expertise has already made a huge difference.

“This will help us ensure the long-term sustainability of our organisation and continue to improve the health and wellbeing of the people we serve.”

Please see the latest volunteering opportunities available through Timebank using Together For Good.

Volunteers spark STEM passion in primary pupils

Posted on by helent

Balfour Beatty Kilpatrick (BBK) volunteers have helped to inspire the next generation of nuclear workers at a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths (STEM) event.

Three volunteers from Balfour Beatty Kilpatrick stood at a STEM event with their company banner.

Patrick Connolly, Emily Jones, Jack Stockdale, and Nathan Lucock took part in a two-day engagement event at Whitehaven Academy with 400 primary school pupils aged six to nine.

The event, organised by Cumbria Primary Business Partnership, aimed to ignite early interest in STEM careers, through hands-on learning and innovative activities.

Interactive workshops were designed to captivate young minds. The BBK team led an introduction to magnetism, where they acted as a magnet, attracting or repelling co-hosts to demonstrate magnetic properties. Children were split into groups to explore the science of magnets.

One group tested the magnetic properties of various materials, while the other learned about electro-magnetism and experimented with triggering magnetic reactions.

Armed with worksheets, the students documented their findings, honing both their curiosity and scientific inquiry skills.

The workshops emphasised practical learning, and gave the children a chance to see science in action and discover that STEM can be a fun and rewarding field.

Lasting Impression

The event not only inspired the young participants, but also left a lasting impression on the BBK volunteers. Apprentices Emily and Jack excelled, using the opportunity to develop leadership skills and boost their confidence.

Patrick praised the event as a ‘STEM baptism of fire’ and highlighted the collaborative spirit. He encouraged more colleagues to join future events.

The BBK volunteers said:

“This initiative strengthens ties between local businesses and the community, and offers pupils a glimpse into potential career paths.

“The children’s enthusiasm, and the team’s eagerness to participate, also signal a bright future for this collaboration.

“With such efforts, more young people may realise their passion for STEM, and it can open doors to exciting career opportunities and strengthen the local workforce.”

PPP to support West Cumbrian Inclusion event for a second year

Posted on by Ursula Hutchinson

On Saturday, 3 August, our team will head to Whitehaven Harbour to celebrate Pride at the Harbourside for a second year.

The event, which is organised by Proud and Diverse Cumbria, took place for the first-time last year in September. It featured a vibrant parade, diverse stalls, entertaining performances, delicious food vendors, and exciting fairground rides, all while promoting diversity and inclusivity.

With a successful inaugural year, this year’s event promises a great opportunity to bring businesses and the local community together to celebrate all things inclusion!

On the day, PPP is looking forward to contributing to the event and, of course, having a great time! So, if you’re considering attending, we promise it will be a day filled with fun and learning.

To familiarise yourself with who we are as a partnership, we’ve compiled some resources to help share our story and the practices we adopt to create an inclusive environment.

You can view some of our latest case studies from our interns on the programme below:

Social Impact team lands two awards in one successful night

Posted on by Ursula Hutchinson

It was double delight for our Social Impact team as their hard work and dedication was recognised at two glitzy awards ceremonies in London on Tuesday (2 July) night.

Presented just hours apart, the first acknowledgement was from charity Chapter One at its Partner, Volunteer and School Recognition Event.

Receiving the prestigious Special Recognition Award, PPP was awarded the honour for our employees’ and supply chain’s outstanding commitment to helping primary school age children in our local community develop their reading skills. This would not be possible without the efforts of a growing army of volunteers from PPP, Sellafield Ltd and the supply chain who have provided over 550 hours to Cumbrian pupils on a one-to-one basis every week to provide reading support at the time when they need it the most.

Next was the New Civil Engineer Awards (NCE), where PPP won the Environmental, Social and Governance Leader accolade.

This award recognised those who have demonstrated an innovative approach to environmental and sustainability issues and improving social value.

As part of our application, PPP successfully demonstrated its credentials by focusing on our intern programme and the incredible level of volunteering that takes place across the partnership.

The judges said our entry ‘demonstrated a clear, place-based approach to transforming environmental and social outcomes for a local community, underpinned by a series of robust roadmaps and frameworks that ensured this is strategically prioritised through governance’.

In particular, the judges were impressed by the efforts to publish a strong, quantitative assessment framework for measuring social impact transformation, in what they said ‘bucked the wider industry trend of claiming that these benefits are hard to measure’.

Peter Musk, Head of Change and Transformation, and Cat McChesney-Davies, Social Impact Lead, represented PPP in London.

Peter said:

“We are deeply honoured to receive these awards and they’re incredible recognition for our team, including our supply chain. At PPP, we truly believe in giving back to the community we serve and in supporting future generations.

“To be recognised by Chapter One shows our teams’ dedication to such an amazing initiative and reflects our values and commitment to making a positive impact on the next generation. We are extremely proud to contribute to Chapter One and the educational journey of local schoolchildren and look to do even more in the coming years.

“To win the NCE award for our environmental and sustainability work was equally as proud a moment for us because a huge amount of work has been put into developing our strategy in line with Sellafield Social Impact Multiplied (SiX) and our approach to sustainability.

“There was seriously strong competition and we’ve demonstrated our position as leading the way.”

 

BEPPS2 take time out to celebrate World Environment Day

Posted on by Ursula Hutchinson

Colleagues on BEPPS2 took time out last week to focus on World Environment Day and how what we do today can affect future generations.

Sarah Dickie, SHE Advisor, created a presentation shown to all site-based personnel, focussing on UN sustainability goals, the impact on the environment globally and locally due to environmental changes.

A short session on the BEPPS2 spills procedure and basic spills training such as source, pathway and receptor, was conducted. This culminated in an on-site spills kit exercise with the on-site team.

Christopher Clark, SHE Manager for BEPPS2, said:

“We reflected on how we can influence future generations to improve and protect the environment and how we can make personal environmental pledges to do our bit for our world and the environment, this included some practical examples.

“Overall the session was really well received by our teams and we have had some really positive feedback through observation cards and the QR code.”

MEWP Standard is raising the bar

Posted on by Ursula Hutchinson

Bringing everyone home safely is a key objective across Major Projects at Sellafield – and the new Mobile Elevated Work Platforms (MEWP) standard launched by the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Hub, aims to do just that.

A Major Projects MEWP Co-Ordinators Engagement Day was held at Whitehaven Golf Club to bring together the Hub, PDD and PPP leaders, the supply chain and key MEWP suppliers.

The aim was to assess the new standard and see how it is being received and applied across the projects.

Within the construction industry, there are three times the amount of incidents involving Mobile Elevated Work Platforms (MEWP) compared to any other industry.

And we want to get ahead of that curve and ensure that everyone working with a MEWP is Knowingly Safe and the new standard will help ensure that.

By combining how we co-ordinate MEWP work, how we manage it through plans and procedures and then utilising the best technology available we hope to ensure that we can complete high risk work activities safely.

Following a fatality involving a MEWP during the construction of Everton FC’s new stadium, Jack Tomlinson (PPP EHS Improvement Manager), Karl Hine (Severfield EHS Lead) and Mark Atkinson (SRP Snr EHS Advisor) were asked to develop a spoke to work on MEWP management.

The spoke looked at best practice across the main Key Delivery Partners (KDPs) supply chain partners and the wider construction industry to come up with what is now the Sellafield Project Delivery Directorate (PDD) MEWP Standard.

The new standard looks at improved safety measures, using technology, a project specific MEWP management plan, increased operative competency and introduces new roles for supply chain MEWP Co-ordinator and project MEWP co-ordinators.

Duncan Elliott, Head of PPP, said:

“We want to give everyone a working environment to do the right things to make us Knowingly Safe and get the wider industry into a better place.

“It is about wanting to lead the industry but also there is a strong moral pull. In 2024 people are still being killed in the construction industry and that is unforgivable. We want to do something about that.”

Jack Tomlinson, PPP EHS Improvement Manager & MEWP Spoke Lead, said:

“Many people will remember the Government campaign about car seatbelts ‘clunk click, every trip’, launched at the time it was acceptable not to wear seatbelts.

“However because of targeted campaigns and technology, the use of seatbelts hit the ‘tipping point’ and now it is clearly unacceptable not to use seatbelts.

“We have used this approach to MEWPs. The technology is available and we must use it to bolster safe working practices during this high hazard task. I am exceptionally proud of the MEWP spoke’s work on this and it’s inspiring to see the leap we have made.”

Steve Harnwell, PPP Delivery Director for construction projects, added:

“We do a lot of work at height and part of that is using these MEWP platforms which, in itself, while safer, does present danger.

“This standard is to bring the best practice, best machines, best features in using technology with people to make people safer.

“That’s about being Knowingly Safe so people turn up at work and leave as they have arrived, back to their families.”