WINNER & FINALISTS 2010
 

We would like to congratulate all of our winners and finalists that took part in the 2010 awards and helped to make the event a huge success.

 

Environment award

Winner: Drax Power - towards a low carbon economy, whilst delivering reliable supplies of electricity

Drax embarked on biomass co-firing by simply mixing a small amount of biomass with coal before it was pulverised. From there an R&D programme has seen progressive increases and Drax Power is now investing in biomass firing to a level not seen anywhere else in the world. The company now has an equivalent 500MW of biomass capacity and it has cut emissions from the site by 12 per cent. his was an innovative project and it resulted in “massive reductions” in carbon dioxide emissions, the judges said.

Shortlist:

• Drax Power - towards a low carbon economy, whilst delivering reliable supplies of electricity
• Severn Trent Water - Stoke Bardolph Energy Crop Digestion
• Southern Water - Water Design Challenge
• United Utilities - The Helvellyn Gill Prescribed Flow Project
• Yorkshire Water Services - A SSSI of Relief from Yorkshire Water
   

Supply chain excellence

Winner: Aquatrine Supplier Association - Exceeding government sustainability targets

The grouping of Kelda Water Services Defence, C2C and Veolia Water met MOD targets to reduce water use on its estate by more than 25 per cent. It went beyond leakage tracking to undertake water audits and work with other suppliers to improve water efficiency. The judges praised this project for bringing together diverse partners. It built strong relationships and the collaboration brought results more than a decade ahead of schedule.

Highly commended:

Drax Power - introducing sustainability standards to the biomass supply chain

Shortlist:

• Aquatrine Supplier Association - Exceeding government sustainability targets
• Drax Power - introducing sustainability standards to the biomass supply chain
• Severn Trent Water - Disinfection Failsafe
• Thames Water - Capital Supply Chain Transformation
• UK Power Networks - London 2012 Infrastructure Delivery

Marketing initiative of the year

Winner: Thames Water - ‘bin it - don’t block it’ campaign

The company aimed to take a fresh approach to an old problem, and achieved major coverage across the media, including contacts with established TV programmes, new media, and live action coverage of work in the sewers. The judges saw this as a “creative” and “well thought out” campaign that resulted in “great coverage”

Highly commended:

Southern Water - Fighting the FOG

Shortlist:

• EDF Energy - Team Green Britain
• Southern Water - Fighting the FOG
• Thames Water - ‘bin it - don’t block it’ campaign
• Wessex Water - Launch of sustainable business GENeco

 

Training award

Winner: British Gas - Underpinning Knowledge Testing Programme

 British Gas wanted to move safety on from a single “driving test” to give engineers a real understanding of their safety performance. Instead, it developed a programme delivered direct to engineers laptops that would assess underpinning safety knowledge in a constantly changing environment. The responses also gave line managers a deeper understanding of the safety performance of their teams. Judges praised the fact that the project was based on a business need, and it brought “clearly identified benefits”.

Shortlist:

• Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions - Achieving Project Excellence (APEX)
• British Gas - Underpinning Knowledge Testing Programme
• G4S Utility Services - Meter Worker Training

IT initiative of the year

Winner: Yorkshire Water - architects of our own success - reservoir safety

The project delivered an innovative IT system that would support compliance while improving efficiency. The solution has delivered a technical framework of many subsequent asset management initiatives. “There are real benefits in this solution”, said the judges. It demonstrated staff reduction, but with no reduction in safety performance.

Shortlist:

• Avanade - MAAXXIO
• Morrison Utility Services - ISIS Work Management System
• Yorkshire Water - architects of our own success - reservoir safety
• Yorkshire Water Services - YorBill and YorCore - Keeping Customer Service Flowing
   

Utility Company of the Year

Winner: Wales and West Utilities

A very strong shortlist for this award saw intense discussions among the judges. The winner was seen as making a strong impression from a standing start when it took over gas networks from a longstanding incumbent. The company had successfully rationalised a raft of different computer systems – without adversely affecting customers - and has built strong forward-looking teams throughout the business.

Shortlist:

• Anglian Water Group
• Centrica
• Wales & West Utilities
• Yorkshire Water

Customer care

Winner: Loop Customer Management - Yorkshire Water Contact Centre

The company trained its staff so they could respond to any call coming into the contact centre, and simplified access for customers to just one number. They cut down on “press one” options, instead steering calls to a real person. The result was that a majority of calls were resolved on the first call. Resolution on the first call more than doubled to 86 per cent for water and 82 per cent for wastewater, and hit 98 per cent for billing inquiries. This was a “clear winner”, leading to a big improvement in one-call resolution. This project “could be a model others pay attention to”, said the judges.

Shortlist:

• Loop Customer Management - Yorkshire Water Contact Centre
• Phoenix Supply - Customer Care Pledge
• Scotia Gas Networks - Voice of our customers
• Scottish Water - Customer Service Training Phase II

Team of the year

Winner: Thames Water - Operations Management Centre Programme Team

Thames Water moved 500 people from 24 locations to a single new centre, and recruited and trained 100 new staff, in just five months. As well as the functional requirements of the move, it was necessary to capture, document and standardise over 400 processes, and to ensure that field and service teams understood the operations and relationships with the new centre. Judges noted that there were big logistical impacts from this project that affected staff as well as customers. It brought high customer benefits, and resulted in happy employees too.

Shortlist:

• Morrison Utility Services - Borough High Street Blueprint
• Northern Ireland Water - Rural Wastewater Investment Programme
• Scotia Gas Networks - SGN Emergency Response Team
• Severn Trent Water - Disinfection Failsafe
• Thames Water - Operations Management Centre Programme Team

Community initiative of the year
 

Winner: EDF Energy & Citizen’s Advice Bureau Devon and Cornwall Energy Project

The company leveraged an existing relationship with CAB. It seconded a customer centre manager to the CAB to help set up a telephone advice service. In the second phase advisors throughout Devon and Cornwall were trained to provide advice on energy debt and fuel poverty. The service now provides more expert advice and serves 2000 additional clients annually. The judges praised the company for working with CAB, saying it made it easy for the community to access information. The project “obviously had a real impact in helping those in need”.

Shortlist:

• Dwr Cymru Welsh Water - Prestatyn Flooding Investigation Drop-in Process
• EDF Energy & Citizen’s Advice Bureau - Devon and Cornwall Energy Project
• National Grid - Global SpirIT
• Northern Gas Networks - PlaySafe/StaySafe
• Southern Water - Charity Begins at Work - Our Volunteer Army

Capital project management

Winner: Thames Water - Coldharbour Lane Foul Sewer Flooding Alleviation Scheme
 

The company and its partners alleviated flooding at 3,500 properties in Brixton. The project was completed on time and under budget, although it required planning approval for two pumping stations and involved large tunnelling efforts beneath busy streets full of services. The judges said this was a difficult project well completed. Success factors included delivery at 12.5 per cent below budget.

Shortlist:

• Electricity Alliance East - Grendon - Staythorpe 400kV OHL
• Thames Water - Coldharbour Lane Foul Sewer Flooding Alleviation Scheme
• Thames Water - Stoke Newington Ring Main Extension
• UK Power Networks - London 2012 Infrastructure Delivery