corporate responsibility achievement report 2011

Corporate ResponsibilityAchievement Report 2011

2 | CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY

Corporate ResponsibilityAchievement Report 2011

ContentsMission >>>MWH is Building a Better World.

Our mission is to build a better world and this single purpose underpins the company’s culture and ethos and drives our people to deliver innovative, cost effective and sustainable solutions that are best for the client, the environment and local communities and also contribute to making the world a better place.

Corporate Responsibility

“ To work in partnership with stakeholders towards a sustainable future, to behave responsibly and continually improve in all activities with our employees, local communities and the environment.”

pg. 5

pg. 8

pg. 9

pg. 11

Mission Statement 2

Introduction 3

Employees – Health and Safety

4

Employees – Human Resources

6

Environment 8

Community 10

Stakeholders 12

Corporate Responsibility Management

14

Your role 15

ACHIEVEMENT REPORT 2011 | 3

MWH has a track record of over 160 years providing its expertise and world-class engineering consultancy across water, energy, waste and environment sectors.

Sustainability, scarcity of resources, reuse and recycling are subjects which are key in solving problems relating to water, waste, energy and infrastructure. Our work is based on a balanced vision and desire to stay at the forefront of new developments: in our approach, innovation has to serve actual purpose.

We harness our local strength and link it to a worldwide network. We serve our clients as a local firm and as a global organisation, combining international technology, regional knowledge and local skills in a worldwide network, operating with over 7,000 employees located in 197 offices in 38 countries across six continents.

In the UK, with over 2,000 employees, we provide three business platforms to deliver the full MWH capability.

MWH Treatment (Constructors)

• Programme Management and Delivery

• Outline and Detailed Design

• Design and Build

• Construction

• Project and Construction Management

• Commissioning

• Data Collection

• Operations

MWH Business Solutions Group

• Programme Management

• Project Management

• Asset Planning

• Strategic Planning

• Management Consulting

MWH Engineering and Technical Services

• Technical Advisory Services

• Engineering and Planning

• Optioneering, Outline and Detailed Design

• Environmental Management

• Planning and Permitting

• Numeric Modelling

About MWH


Continually improving health and safety performance is central to everything we do. Improvement can only be achieved through change and we constantly seek new innovations internally but also, crucially, with our client, supply chain and partners.

British Safety Council International Safety AwardOur commitment to health and safety standards is recognised by the presentation of the prestigious International Safety Award from the British Safety Council.

Health and Safety Conference

Communication of health and safety is paramount to ensure we all continue to work to the highest standards. Over 300 MWH employees and supply chain representatives attended our annual health and safety conference. The event provided interactive sessions and real life scenarios focussed on invigorating worker engagement and safety leadership.

SafeStart

SafeStart is an ongoing initiative to further embed and improve health and safety performance. SafeStart is our health and safety brand enabling us to successfully improve our health and safety communication and culture. SafeStart is about raising the profile of health and safety and better communicating the need to ensure we all make time to plan for safety. SafeStart is about encouraging employee engagement and involvement in every aspect of health and safety across all areas, activities and disciplines within our business. It is about empowering our people to be involved in shaping and improving our safety performance and culture. We must all ensure health and safety is of the highest standard so we can all go home at the end of every day.

Employees (Health and Safety)


Exceeding Health and Safety Targets We achieved a Reportable Accident Frequency Rate of 0.13 against a target of 0.2. The All Accident Frequency Rate was 1.81 against a target of 3. MWH had exceeded both safety targets.

RoSPA SuccessMWH received a Gold Award which acknowledges a very high level of performance, demonstrating well developed occupational health and safety management systems and culture, outstanding control of risk and very low levels of error, harm and loss.

Improve ItFollowing on from feedback at the health and safety conference it was decided that ‘Near Miss’ cards should be replaced by ‘Improve It’ cards. The ‘Improve It’ cards allow feedback and improvement suggestions to be recorded, not just near misses.

Communications Training Our supervisors attended a series of training sessions based on behavioural role play to ensure all communications are consistent and effective between supervisors and workforce.

Employees (Human Resources)

We provide all our employees with a safe and healthy working

environment and strive to respect employees’ needs and

expectations with regard to their rights, wellbeing, training and

development requirements.

Corporate Induction Day

In November 2011 MWH launched a new half day induction event for new recruits. Thirty-two employees attended the event which was hosted by the Human Resources Department and allowed new starters to meet and network. Presentations included a greeting from the Managing Director and covered human resources, environmental aspects of our work, communications, learning and development. MWH core values were explored and interactive sessions made the day enjoyable and educational.

Investors in People

In June 2011 MWH had its third Investors in People post recognition review since we were originally recognised in December 2001. The assessors “were satisfied beyond any doubt” that MWH continued to meet the requirements of the standard and 17 areas of strength were identified which included focussed staff, corporate responsibility, teamwork, motivation and management support.


MWH – My ChoiceMWH has teamed up with CS Financial Solutions Limited to provide employee benefits. The My Choice service allows the employee to choose the benefits, manage them on line and provide access to savings on everyday items from home entertainment to holidays. The additional employee benefits include a holiday purchase scheme, additional life cover, dental insurance, charitable giving, carbon offsetting, gym membership, cycle to work, child care vouchers and an online rewards scheme.

ACHIEVEMENT REPORT 2011 | 7 ACHIEVEMENT REPORT 2011 | 7

Recruited Exceptional Numbers of Staff

2011 has been a busy year in recruitment and MWH continues to provide employment opportunities for local people. Over the past 12 months the company has recruited exceptional numbers of staff with 178 in total (62 permanent and 116 contract).

We have also continued to promote our recruitment referral scheme by rewarding our current employees for introducing friends and family to the company. The referral scheme has proved very successful in providing high quality candidates while reducing the cost of agency fees to the business.

Increased Apprenticeship Numbers

The MWH Apprentice Scheme has historically been very successful in delivering well-rounded young engineers to the business that often develop into established middle managers and beyond. At present we have 12 apprentices in our system, consisting of Mechanical, Electrical and Construction apprentices, with plans to increase this number.

Our four year apprenticeship consists of a year of off-the-job training at Rochdale Training Association followed by a three year rotation within the various departments within MWH whilst working towards an NVQ level 3 in Engineering Leadership. Apprentices attend college one day per week throughout the four years working towards an ONC/HNC in Engineering. Our apprentice rotation scheme is designed to help gain experience in all areas of the company such as design, project management and construction. The apprentice scheme is managed day to day by our Apprentice Co-ordinator with additional Human Resources support. Each apprentice has a personal training plan and departmental mentors and objectives are assigned.

Occupational Health Nurse

Rochdale Occupational Health Service has been working with MWH for many years and provides an on-site occupational nurse. In addition to the pre-employment health screening, other services include workstation assessments, vision screening and advice on minor injuries and illness. Health checks are available for all employees including blood pressure, cholesterol and eye sight tests. Additional support is available in relation to diet, stress management and smoking cessation.

Investors in People

In June 2011 MWH had its third Investors in People post recognition review since we were originally recognised in December 2001. The assessors “were satisfied beyond any doubt” that MWH continued to meet the requirements of the standard and 17 areas of strength were identified which included focussed staff, corporate responsibility, teamwork, motivation and management support.


Environment

Care of the environment

is central to our business.

Wherever we work we aim to

improve the environment and

seek solutions to minimise the

impact of all our activities. We

actively support initiatives that

provide long term sustainable

solutions for the environment as

a whole.

Waste MinimisationMWH exceeded its 2011 target to divert 92% from landfill by managing to divert 94%. This was achieved by segregating waste on site to aid recovery and ensuring that excavated soil and aggregates were removed off our sites for reuse or recycling.

Waste Recycling StationsMWH has set up waste recycling stations throughout the @one Alliance (for Anglian Water) and MWH construction sites for

Severn Trent Water and Cambridge Water. These stations allow for the segregation of cardboard, paper, plastics, wood, wooden pallets and metal to enable cost-effective recycling. Since September, when the scheme was established, over 47 tonnes have been recycled.

Denton Lodge Bronze Considerate Constructors Award

Denton Lodge Water Treatment Works construction site was successful in winning a Bronze Considerate Constructors Award. An arboricultural survey was undertaken with root and branch protection applied to the surrounding trees. Operatives were informed of the protection measures through the site induction. Debris netting was fixed to the boundary fencing to protect local residents from dust and debris and to act as a visual barrier. The energy usage of the site compound was monitored and the site lighting used Passive Infrared (PIR) motion sensors. Hardcore from the temporary road and topsoil were reused within the site construction.

The CCS Auditor was impressed with the ‘high regard for the environment, safety and the lives of the residents living next to the site.’

Rehousing BadgersAt the MWH construction site, Clay Mills STW, an existing badger sett was located in the middle of the proposed construction area. The MWH Project Team engaged environmental consultants Middlemarch to develop the strategy to relocate the badgers including building an artificial sett outside the site boundary.


Working in a Protected Conservation Area

A site at Denge Water Treatment Works has had many environmental issues to take into consideration during demolition and construction. The site is located within a Special Area of Conservation and a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Great crested newts are present in the surrounding area so an amphibian exclusion fence was put in place. The ground consisted of shingle which had to be protected by using boardwalks for pedestrian routes and a detailed Traffic Management Plan was implemented. Environmental noise monitoring was required during demolition and an ecologist was present to undertake a watching brief to monitor bird flight responses during noisy activities.

Carbon Footprint Our carbon footprint has been calculated for 2010/11 and MWH has been accredited to Achilles CEMARS (Certified Emissions Measurement and Reduction Scheme) for the third year running. This audit ensures compliance with the International Standard (ISO14064-1) on quantifying and reporting greenhouse gas emissions and removals.

To entice the badgers 400 metres to the new sett the team used a trail of food to encourage nightly foraging in the direction of

the new sett. This was undertaken on a gradual basis using half bricks spread with peanut butter and turned upside down as badgers like to snuffle with their snouts. The original badger sett has now been closed under licence from Natural England.

Carbon Offsetting through Employee Benefits

Climate change is one of the biggest and most urgent threats faced by humanity. Its impact is likely to be far reaching in the UK and throughout the world. MWH has given all its employees the opportunity to ‘offset’ remaining ‘unavoidable’ emissions by giving a donation to support a project that makes an equivalent greenhouse gas saving on the employee’s behalf. PURE, the Clean Planet Trust, is a registered charity dedicated to providing a simple way for all of us to reduce our carbon footprint. The donations assist with energy efficiency projects in India, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Brazil and Turkey.

Community

Bamford Water Treatment Works - Considerate Constructors SuccessBamford Water Treatment Works, in North Derbyshire, is Severn Trent Water Limited’s third largest treatment works. The Bamford Scheme is a joint design-build venture with Vinci Construction UK including the construction of a new contact tank, valve house, lime plant, DAF plant and large bore transfer pipelines.Consideration to the local community was a major factor throughout the works and the Project Team were committed to minimising the impact of the construction. The Bamford WTW project has proved to be very successful with industry recognition from the Considerate Constructor’s Scheme (CCS). This shows the Bamford team’s commitment to establishing and maintaining the highest of standards.

The access road to the site was steep and narrow and passed many residential properties. A detailed Traffic Management

Plan was implemented to minimise impact on the character of the road and protect a well-established hedgerow and mature trees. A Residents Charter, introduced during the Enabling Works contract, detailed rules to mitigate potential effects on the immediate site surroundings. This included the provision of a vehicle escort system with restriction on delivery times. A permanent acoustic barrier was constructed to minimise the effects on the local residents during construction of the contact tank and weekly noise measurements were taken. Regular progress update bulletins were issued to residents and businesses which detailed the current stage of the works, upcoming works and early notification of disruptive activities including advance notice of any road closures or potential increase in traffic movements. A Compliments and Complaints Log was in place throughout the project. One resident of Saltergate Lane provided very positive feedback, “In my experience, all the marshalls and drivers have shown exemplary consideration and are managing what must be a very difficult situation extremely well”.

MWH is committed to minimising the impact of construction activities to

surrounding communities and to providing longer term benefit through

interaction with local communities.



Charitable Donations

Dress Down DaysMWH holds a dress down day every month and raises money for a

variety of charities requested by employees. In 2011 £1,474.00 was raised and the charities supported included The British Lung Foundation, WaterAid, Breast Cancer Campaign and Genes for Jeans Day. A Cake Break was also held to support the Multiple Sclerosis Society – competition was fierce for the best cake award!

Primary School Presentations

A primary school in Stirling, close to an MWH regional office, was visited in March 2011 to take part in the school’s ‘ECO Week’. A talk was held on water pollution and water and wastewater treatment. The pupils got to see samples of clean and dirty water and even played dress up where a few pupils got to wear high visibility jackets and hard hats. It was a tough audience with interesting questions asked!

The Vinci-MWH Alliance took part in the Bamford Primary School Science Week. The Head Teacher commented that “The support from Vinci / MWH made the science week a real success and made it infinitely more interesting for the children.” A donation of £250 was also given to purchase additional resources and equipment.

Donation to Local Primary School

When working at Doveridge Sewage Treatment Works an incentive scheme was developed to benefit the local village primary school. Subcontractors were encouraged to hand over a pound for every near miss raised and this was matched by MWH. The outcome was a £500 cheque to the primary school to purchase books, which they were pleased to receive.

Electric Vehicles

In August, MWH had the opportunity of testing an electric Ford Transit Connect van. The van was used for two weeks by the Products & Spares Department, in the North West. We are closely working with our fleet provider as technology is continuing to develop in this area.

Health and Safety Conference – Supplier Stalls

During the Health & Safety conference in June, a number of our key supply chain partners were in attendance to create a “Suppliers’ Market”. This provided an opportunity for staff to discuss safe working practices with the experts in their field, as well as the opportunity to see live demonstrations. The market included “stalls” on scaffolding, temporary works, PPE, site signage, confined spaces, plant and tools, and electrical installations.

Stakeholders

We aim to align ourselves with our clients’ requirements to ensure their objectives are achieved. We provide cost-effective solutions and work with suppliers that share our values of fair and ethical procurement policies and sustainable practices.

Design Change Control / Rework – Feedback MWH were instrumental in the @one Alliance in developing a means of accurately monitoring design change / rework at the start of AMP5. It was initially trialled to establish a means to identify the cost and frequency of design re-work. Using the newly created Design Change procedures a feedback system was put into place to monitor and analyse performance and to quickly close out any non-conformances and identify areas for improvement. A Continuous Improvement Feedback Notice is issued, where required, which provides a formal route to bring back into the team timely feedback which is acted upon to ensure real-time improvements in design output. This has now been rolled out throughout the @one Alliance.

Fleet ImprovementsSince introducing our new Fleet Policy and provider, GE Capital Solutions Ltd, the average CO2 rating across our fleet has reduced from 154 to 118 g/km, a reduction of 24%. The operating cost of the fleet has consequently reduced due to the selection of “green” car manufacturers offering, for example, improved fuel economy, higher residual values and, therefore, a lower whole-life cost.


Anglian Water - @one Alliance H&S Passport MWH assisted in the contribution towards the @one Alliance zero Accident Frequency Rate target. Over 2,300 passports were issued to people that successfully attended a two-day induction, including 1,200 supplier representatives from over 140 companies. The induction, developed by the Alliance, focuses on behavioural safety, rather than “rules”, and environmental management.

Supplier Assessments

During 2011, 135 suppliers and subcontractors, both new and existing, were identified to undergo a formal, auditable assessment to identify whether they have the appropriate systems, processes and experience to undertake work on behalf of MWH. This detailed evaluation focuses on areas such as previous experience, insurance, health and safety, quality control, environmental management, design capability and financial status. A further 100 have been targeted for re-assessment during 2012.

Business Improvement Course

Over 60 employees from all functions and regions of the business have completed the Business Improvement training and gained an NVQ Level 2 qualification. The training has also been extended across the supply chain. Four individuals have completed the higher Level 3 NVQ training enabling MWH to facilitate learning from the courses internally. These same people are now equipped to lead and manage Business Improvement projects. The personal development process used by MWH encourages the course attendees to use these newly acquired skills in their ‘day jobs’ and gives them the opportunity to work within key strategic projects. MWH Chairs Severn Trent Water’s ‘Procurement Working Group’ The group, started in August 2011, consists of the seven STW AMP5 Tier One contractors and Severn Trent Water working in collaboration to deliver efficiencies and develop standard products. To date there have been a number of procurement savings that include the advance procurement of rebar through monitoring market trends, reduced rate for ductile iron pipework and increasing discounts based on level of spend with the MCC supplier. By working collaboratively the Procurement Working Group are also looking at working with other members of the supply chain to deliver efficiencies across chemical dosing, screens handling and other units.



The Corporate Responsibility (CR) management teams for 2012 are the CR Strategic Steering Group (SSG) and the CR Forum. The CR SSG meet on a quarterly basis to discuss items such as CR development within the organisation, feedback from the CR Forum, resource planning, approval of new initiatives and publicity.

The CR Forum meets on a quarterly basis and consists of senior managers representing the organisation and each of the key CR areas of Employees, Stakeholders, Environment and Community. The CR Forum also has an open door session at the beginning of each meeting. This is to encourage employees to make suggestions for new initiatives and to provide any feedback.

Corporate Responsibility Management for 2012

What can you do?

Corporate Responsibility affects us all no matter what job role we have. Every action we take will have an impact in one way or another. For example, did you recycle any junk mail this morning? (think waste management), how did you travel to work, did you car share or take a bus? (think reducing your carbon footprint), do you do volunteer work, help improve the environment or visit local schools? (think community involvement). These are just some examples of where you can make a difference.

There are two things that we want you to do:1 We want you to share your thoughts and ideas2 We want you to shout about your achievements

Many of the initiatives could have a direct impact upon your working environment, your working practices or even on a personal level with volunteering activities. You have a chance to voice your opinion and help drive Corporate Responsibility forward. Join one of the forum meetings, email or just pick up the phone and speak to a member of the Corporate Responsibility team.

Future Initiatives

Employees

• Establishment of the ‘Career Path’ training programme for all MWH employees.

Environment

• To divert 95% of our construction waste from landfill.

Community

• To develop MWH Community Strategy.

Stakeholders

• Create closer links and additional framework agreements with our key suppliers to achieve our clients’ needs.


MWH Treatment LtdGregge HouseGregge StreetHeywoodLancs, OL10 2DX

MWHRegistered Office Terriers House 201 Amersham Road High Wycombe, HP13 5AJ

corporate responsibility achievement report 2011

Documents

safety standards

safety lea

safety performance

employees health

mwh employees

annual health

local communities

local skills