Chris Kane's monthly Workplace newsletter - May

Well, Spring has arrived and I hope that everyone enjoyed the beautiful weather of the last few days. Now that we're into our second month it seems that there is still a lot going on and crafting this monthly note is turning into quite a big task but hopefully it will give you some idea of all the activities that we get involved in. For my part, I have recently finished working on our annual performance review which took place with Mark Thompson last week, and I will write some more on this for the next report. I'm also putting the finishing touches to the One Workplace initiative.

We hope you approve of the new system of sending the monthly messages out as a link to this blog. I plan to make the blog a site of information about what's going on in Workplace as well as a tool to start a dialogue so feel free to leave a comment! See link at the bottom of this post for full instructions.

W1 News
The construction of the brand new extension to BBC's Broadcasting House in Portland Place, Central London, is taking shape. These latest views of the BBC's state-of-the-art media centre, which will be the iconic new home for the BBC's national and international journalism, give a clear sense of the design and volume of the building. This is a view of the Newsroom, with its impressive 2.8 metre high beams.

Below is a second picture is looking into the Cyclorama which will form the backdrop for All Souls Church. It also shows the first few floors of the Egton Bridge link across Langham Street.

Radio York/Scarborough relocation
The project scope was to fit out the new space leased by BBC Workplace. This involved decommissioning the existing site, constructing a studio, apparatus and news room areas including associated infrastructure to the agreed design.

The BBC Project team, BBW & Romec teams worked closely together and actively sought cost effective solutions e.g. reducing wastage on studio acoustic wall covering, suggesting alternative products with reduced manufacture lead times. This contributed to the project being delivered on time, in budget & the quality of workmanship being commented on by the architect: "The project was delivered with our colleagues Romec & demonstrates the success that can be achieved when all teams (BBC, BBW & Romec) combine."

Welcome to Oxford Road
With the first London to Salford moves taking place within the next few weeks, BBW has been working with Alan Bainbridge, Portfolio Director North, to come up with some innovative ways of making newcomers feel more welcome.

On each floor there are displays with a contact list with information on where people should gather in the event of an emergency. A handout will be available for visitors which includes key contact numbers and enquiry details. This is the start of a programme of initiatives for the Oxford Road building.

Energy
R22 phase out project has started with a trail site at BBC Southampton. R22 is in line with the BBC environmental policy on air conditioning replacement. This is now complete within time and budget.

Catering
BBC Bristol has retained its 5 star food hygiene rating. This accolade was awarded last year by Bristol City Council who decided that the award could be retained for this year too.

After a series of catering changes over the last few months, BBC Birmingham at the Mailbox is now receiving a full revamp of its facilities. These works took place from 24th to 26th April.

Zero subsidy on catering is now in operation in canteens throughout the English Regions.

Vision Week
Vision Week is an annual Johnson Controls event taking place between May 11 - 15. Its theme is 'sharpen your customer focus' and there is a range of events planned across the week to deliver this message.

White City 1 Refresh Project Update
Work on White City 1 front lifts has been completed and they have been reopened. Work on the back lifts is now underway

All White City 1 vending and printing hubs have been completed

Back to the Floor
Hellen Martin, Communications Manager, spent two half days with the FM team at TV Centre in April. "I found it a really useful experience to find out more about what the FM managers do day-to-day. We walked around different parts of the building - inside and outside - that they are responsible for and I saw aspects of it in a different light. Thanks to Gary Pyle, Andrew White, Isabel Vaz, Anwar Khan and Giovanni D'Onofrio for making me feel welcome and giving their time and patiently answering my questions. I now have a better understanding of what their jobs entail and some of the issues that they deal with."

Awards
Customer Service Awards:
David Ford for TVC power testing (nominated by Malcolm Allen)
"David is a respected member of the engineering team who is a very dedicated, conscientious person. Recently a very high profile power failure test involving many staff had been organised to test both North and South ring mains. On the days leading up to this test date David took on the task of managing the installation of uninterruptible power supply cables. He worked for long hours, making the decision to attend site overnight on several occasions to ensure the work was carried out to a satisfaction. This work was critical to ensure that many BBC broadcast systems continued to work while the power was interrupted during the tests."

TVC Fabric Team for snow clearance (nominated by Malcolm Allen):
"At the beginning of February, the TVC Fabric team (Colin Henderson, Pat Ellis, Richard O'Connor, John Levelle, Michael Foram, Ramesh Hirani, Daniel Mogoi, Pavin Bhudia, Dariusz Karwasingski, Mahesh Pisavadia, Paul Jones) worked tirelessly clearing away the heavy snow to maintain safe access & egress to the site for pedestrians and motorists. They worked in the early hours until the light was failing without complaining, even though, for most, it was not their job to do so. Their good work was commented on by many staff and allowed the BBC to continue with business as usual."

Long Service Awards;
Ray Tappin has completed 40 years' service; Carole Sterling (30 years); John Stapleton, Chris Collins and MIck Brown (25 years); and Colin Henderson (20 years).

Congratulations to all!

Customer Seminar
Johnson Controls Consulting is hosting a seminar on Thursday, May 21, to be held at Tower 1, Royal Pavilion, Aldershot. It's an opportunity for key customers to have an honest and open session with like minded professionals from a range of industry sectors. They will be discussing their experiences of flexible working.

A number of organisations are invited to take part in a facilitated day, with broad subject experts, academic expertise and workplace professionals who have relevant experience and understand the issues that may be faced. The day's agenda offers an opportunity to take part in a range of discussion based open sessions; with the aim of achieving objectives through facilitated workshops and honest debate.

The Car's the Star
Colin Henderson, Fabric Manager, TVC, is an MG Sports car enthusiast who recently took part in the MG Heritage Festival (April 24/25). MGs, new and old, including rare vintage and pre-war MGs were featured at the event which was held at Royal Windsor in Berkshire.

Rod on the ascent
You will hopefully have seen my previous post about Rod's forthcoming trip to climb Denali. Check out the full info here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/spacesandplaces/2009/05/one_workplace_rod_hoggs_climb.shtml

To pledge support to Rod and his efforts for Children In Need visit his site: https://www.mycharitypage.com/RodneyHogg/

It's not a Snicker, It's a Marathon!
Again, you will hopefully have seen my blogpost about our superfit staff members who have recently undergone tests of fitness and endurance. See the post here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/spacesandplaces/2009/04/our_workplace_marathon_people.shtml

Praise for Workplace staff
• The One Show broadcast an hour-long special on Wednesday, April 22 using part of the Network outside the Broadcast Centre. Jane Zurakowski, Production Manager of The One Show, part of Vision Productions, sent her thanks to Auriol Bullough, W12 Workplace Strategist; Ian Davis-Workplace; Nick Whatcott, Safety Advisor; and Jon Ling, Safety Manager: "Just wanted to thank you all for making yesterday's event happen. It was a huge success. Thanks for all your help."

• Michael Carrington, Controller of CBeebies, sent this to Giovanni D'Onfrio (TVC FM) and Dette Marsh (CL FM): "I want to thank you personally for all the effort you put in to the BBC Children's Festival last week. With your help, the event was smooth, enjoyable and really worked well. Please pass on my gratitude to Anwar Khan too. Thanks again for all your hard work."

• Sent to Zina Craker (WC receptionist), Andy Membury (WC receptionist), Sandra Wright (MC floor Manager) and Margaret from Clare Lockhart, Producer/Director for BBC Television: "Just a note to say thank you to you and your teams for helping us out with the young participants of the 'Is the BBC for me?' scheme last week. You were incredibly helpful and supportive and we couldn't have done it without you!"

• Sent to Adrian Wyer (CL FM) & Tina Samuels, Broadcasting House from Serena Brown, P.A. to Anthony Wall, Series Editor of Arena: "Just a note to say thank you to you, Tina and all the team for looking after us so well over our sojourn at Grafton House."

• Sent to Elstree Catering team from Lee Underwood, Holby City: "I just wanted to say thank you for organising the catering for the cast meeting for us - it all went without a hitch! I haven't arranged one before, so I am very grateful to all involved that it ran so smoothly."

• The Bush House team received a customer service award following the facilitation of the sound desk trials.This note was sent to Jane Gange, Senior Facilities Manager, from John Sullivan, W1 Project: "May I take this opportunity to thank all the BBC Workplace staff involved in making this evaluation go smoothly. Everyone was so helpful and friendly and nothing seemed to be too much trouble. It was noted by all the suppliers as well and it was great to be able to give such a good impression of the BBC."

• Sent to Pam Hart, Facilities Assistant, Elstree from Susan Mather, Line Producer, EastEnders: "I just wanted to thank you all for you assistance in setting up for Mark Thompson and the Finance Committee's visit yesterday. It all went very smoothly and was a very successful meeting. You all contributed and helped me enormously in creating a smooth running operation."

STAFF NEWS
New Starters
 - Rebecca Carruthers, Cluster Services Director for Media Village & West London Outer Premises
 - Jamie Stingmore, Chef at TVC

Moves & Changes
 - John Pickles has moved to Operations from the Workplace Finance team to work with Anne Branigan, Commercial Performance Manager, for 6 months. He is handling commercial issues, particularly in respect of consultants and freelancers and also aspects of the BBW and JCI contracts. John is also be the contact for FOI questions whilst Julie van der Woude, Business Operations Manager, is on maternity leave.
 - Olga Liddle, CAD Technician has returned from maternity leave
 - David Landers, Central Projects has joined the BBC Account based Projects team as a Project Manager in Media Village

Leavers
 - Mike Truman, Technical Operations Director; Nik Smith, Operations Director will provide temporary cover to this position
 - Ann Marie Sutton, Central Supply Chain Manager
 - Rachael Phillips, Foyer Manager for Aramark at Television Centre

Love & Marriage
 - Nisha Jani, Communications Co-ordinator, and Alice Wynne are getting hitched in a civil
 partnership ceremony on May 30th
 - David Foster, Project Services Manager is getting married in Budapest at the end
of May

Well, as with previous months there's such a lot to publicise - I'm sure you will agree that Workplace is one very busy operation! Would be great to hear from you on any topic so please do create a profile on bbc.co.uk/blogs and get commenting! Full instructions on this previous post: https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/spacesandplaces/2009/04/so_what_am_i_going_to_focus_on.shtml

Look forward to hearing from you,

Chris