All in a day’s work
Andy Newton joined Fastflow as a Mainslayer in May 1999 on a four week trial.
Next month he will complete 15 years of service. Here he sheds some light on what
he’s been getting up to: “I have worked in the utilities industry since leaving school,
training on gas mains at the age of 15 and working all over the country.
“I have loved my 30 years of employment and still enjoy coming to work every day.
I hope that I ha ve given my employers a fair day’s work and earned a good
reputation for what I do.
“With Fastflow I have carried out a variety of functions including trunk mains
cleaning, epoxy resin lining, pipe bursting and open cut main laying. There have
been lots of changes and I have worked with many managers and colleagues - one
of the most interesting being Eric Burn, who left in 2010, aged 74.
He constantly surprised me with tales of his epic bike rides. I know he is still
working and riding his bike and hope I’m as fit as him when I reach his age!
“I am married to Deborah and have four grown up children. In my spare time I love
walking my German Pointer, Henry and indulging my greatest interest - collecting
paintings. I am a huge admirer of the artist Doug Hyde and believe I have the
biggest collection of his works in the North East.
“My big challenge for this year is to finally take and pass my driving test, so fingers
crossed I will be able to produce my driving license for Tom Sainthouse - at last!
That might keep him happy!
Under new government pension
legislation we must enrol ‘eligible
workers’ into a pension scheme.
We have chosen to use the People’s
Pension. The process is being
introduced in stages. Our original
enrolment date was February 1st but we have postponed this
until May 1st. Full details will be provided directly to all affected
employees before then.
Staying light on
our feet
In our efforts to minimise our environmental impact, we
recently began trials of Lightfoot - a system that monitors
and guides safe and efficient driving.
It offers:
• A permanent in-cab driver training system
• Fuel savings by improving driver behaviour
• ‘At a glance’ reporting and ranking of drivers
• In-cab audible warnings to encourage efficient and safe
driving.
Reports, which show when warnings are ignored, detail
how well a vehicle has been driven and rank drivers in a
‘league table’ to reveal who are the safest and most
efficient.
The benefits of Lightfoot include:
• Fewer accidents and safer drivers
• More than 10% fuel and carbon emissions savings
• Less wear and tear on vehicles.
Faster flowing
WaterAid
We’ve had a long association with the charity WaterAid - one of
the most respected organisations working to improve water,
sanitation and hygiene for the world’s poorest communities.
Fastflow employees have taken part in sponsored cycle trips,
walks, mountain climbs and the Great North Run. Neil
Armstrong has also taken a personal lead in developing a
partnership with WaterAid to sponsor projects in Nepal.
Why?
•
Around 700,000 children die every year from diarrhoea
caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation - that's almost
2,000 a day.
•
Around one in ten of the world's population - 768 million
people – don’t have access to safe water.
WaterAid has made a real difference to people’s lives but
there’s still a lot to do and that is why we want to increase our
giving. The first thing we plan is to make a £20 donation every
time we issue one of our ‘ACE’ awards - presented to teams
who attract positive feedback from customers or clients.
Secondly, we have formed a team to come up with fresh ideas
for fundraising. Initial ideas include prize draws, raffles and
events to mark special occasions such as Easter, Halloween,
Christmas etc.
A simple, low cost action would be to join the WaterAid lottery.
You can donate as little as £1 a month, directly from your pay
and win up to £300.
Contact Rob Angus if you
want to join the lottery or
have fundraising ideas.