AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING LONDON MIDLAND FLEET IMPROVEMENT
The engineering team behind massive improvements to the performance of London Midland’s Class 323 fleet has been recognised with an award.
Fleet performance has improved by 66% since August 2005 and the team leader, depot manager Rob Watts, was honoured for ‘outstanding leadership’ at a Gold Awards ceremony for London Midland staff.
Steve Banaghan, managing director of London Midland said: “Rob has led a small but dedicated team from the front, regularly attending the depot at nights and outside of working hours to ensure that everything remain on course.
“He also ensures that the trains are cleaned to the highest standards and that the service is provided safely. Current levels of reliability are well beyond any level that was considered feasible even a year ago.”
Also singled out for their leadership qualities were:
- Daliah Manners, shift controller at Euston, for her organisation skills particularly under pressure. “During service disruption, Daliah is worth her weight in gold,” said Steve Banaghan. “Her ability to monitor late running services, organise train crews, liaise with signalling staff and give instruction and director to others around her is second to none.”
- Daniel Shears, a driver instructor from Worcester, who has produced high quality training packages for class 153 units at Wolverhampton and Bletchley depots; for all Snow Hill lines drivers and managers and a re-signalling brief at Leamington which avoided any delay or cancellations to services. “A lot of this was produced in his own time using his own PC,” said Steve Banaghan. “He will always go that extra mile.”
A total of 16 awards in six categories were handed out at the Gold Awards – the first held by the company since it took over the London Midland franchise last November - recognising staff contributions from caring for passengers with injuries and helping passengers travelling alone, to keeping the network running smoothly, improving technical performance and helping improve the company’s environmental impact.Mr Banaghan said: “It might seem a bit odd for awards based on what individual colleagues have achieved, but the common factor that comes through all of the nominations is team work. This really is an industry where everybody relies on everybody else to deliver a high quality service.”
The full list of recipients is:
Outstanding service
- Winner – KerryAnn Rice, station assistant, Tamworth (helping a nervous elderly passenger travelling alone)
- Highly commended – Robert Strickland/Nick Smith, senior conductors, Worcester (caring response to a passenger who was injured boarding a train)
Outstanding contribution
- Winner – Gary Vining, RPI Milton Keynes (anti-smoking action which led to a major police series of cannabis arrests)
- Highly commended – Nawab Zada, on-train cleaner (paying for station flower displays out of his own pocket)
- Sarah Barrett/Jayne Latta, buyer and uniform co-ordinator (management and introduction of new uniforms)
Outstanding leadership
- Winner – Rob Watts and Class 323 Engineering Team
- Highly commended – Daliah Manners, shift controller, Euston, and Daniel Shears, driver, Worcester
Safety and environmental performance
- Winner – Mark Grazier, station assistant, Cradley Heath (quick thinking to stop services after a platform accident involving a wheelchair)
- Highly commended – Simon Moran, driver manager, New Street (hands-on freeing of brakes to get train moving again after an incident)
Working in partnership
- Winner – Jonathan Wood, delivery manager, Stratford upon Avon (working with police to help 10,000 people move smoothly from the station to the Global Gathering music festival)
- Highly commended – Warwickshire County Council (Quality Rail Partnership that has delivered more than £200,000 of improvements)
Managing Director’s special award
- Winner – London Midland Control team (keeping the network running smoothly)
- Winner – Nigel Atkins, senior conductor, Snow Hill lines (professional response to a fatal accident)
