latest news
latest news
Where there’s muck there’s bronze for Billy
th his bron ze m edal
Billy is presented wier Pete r Ca mpbell.
by ge ne ra l m an ag
Cleaning team member Billy
Shepherd came to the rescue
to stop a terrible stink before
it could reach the noses of
customers at Mecca Bradford!
The sump for the dishwasher
and sinks in the club kitchen
became blocked and had stopped
working, resulting in a serious
flood – and stench. Billy, who
had just finished his morning
shift, rolled up his sleeves.
He mopped the flooded floor and
cleared out years of accumulated
muck and grime from the sump,
cleaning blocked pipework along the
way. He did such a good job that by
the time the plumber arrived, there
was nothing more to be done other
than certify that everything was fine.
As a result, the club kitchen and
café did not have to be closed and
Billy was presented with his welldeserved bronze Wow! badge.
lden girl
Go
C
arol Dyde’s calm and efficient actions when a ceiling collapsed
and water flooded in at Mecca Stevenage not only meant that
the club was able to open again the next day, but also led to the
operations manager winning her second gold Wow! badge.
As she prepared to go home after her afternoon shift, water began to pour
through the ceiling in the centre of the hall. She placed buckets to collect the
water but then the ceiling gave way.
Quick-thinking Carol turned off all the electrical equipment and called in
emergency roofers, electricians, a clean-up crew and the cash line engineer.
It was decided it would be unsafe to open the club that evening,
so she contacted all team members that were due on shift to
let them know and sent out emergency text and Facebook
messages to customers.
She stayed until 2am to ensure that all repairs
had been completed and was back at 8.30am
to clean the carpet that had been soaked by the flood.
Thanks to her actions, the club was up and running,
ready to welcome customers later that morning.
l Also celebrating winning a gold Wow! badge
is Pravesh Lochunah, a team leader at Mecca
Camden Town. Pravesh gave up his own time
to help repaint the bar area which has added
a real WOW factor for the club’s customers.
14 WOW! Issue 34 • January 2014
Ca ro l D
n ow g ot y d e ’s
T
g o l d Wo W O
w
ba dg e s. !
Info IS in safe
hands!
H
ow do you and your
customers know that it’s
safe to provide personal
information to Mecca?
That’s the job of the Information Security (IS) team.
Their task is to make sure that data is protected and not recorded, stored or
transmitted in a way that might allow it to fall into the wrong hands. They look
at how information across the business is treated, whether in paper form, stored
on a computer or even spoken out loud. These IS experts also help to ensure that
the right information is on hand when and where it’s needed.
Now they are on a mission to show how information security is not just about
computers and is the responsibility of everyone working in Mecca.
“When customers give us their personal details upon joining a club, or when
they type their credit card number into a Rank website, they rightly expect us
to do our best to keep their personal data safe, particularly when the details can
be used to steal their identity or money,” explained Julia Harris, IS director.
“The IS team wants everyone to work together to ensure that customers can
trust us to obey the law and to look after their information diligently.”
They are particularly looking forward to spending more time with Mecca team
members in 2014 as they roll out an information security awareness programme.
This includes workshops that should be fun (honestly!) and informative.
Meet the tea m…
Julia Harris – director of IS
Julia has worked in IS for
more than 25 years. She
holds responsibility for the
security of all the information
held by the Rank Group, not only
where that data is held on technology
but with the wider implications that
working in the organisation requires.
Julia is responsible for writing and
communicating policies for information
protection, liaises with senior leaders
to ensure that accountability and
responsibility for security is effective.
She is a respected name throughout
the IS world and is noted for her
ability to think outside the box.
Killian Faughnan – IS analyst
Killian is a recent addition to
the team. He comes from
a consulting background
where he was a penetration
tester (a hacker to you and
me) and a security solutions
architect. His role is to provide
guidance and advice during new
projects to help ensure that both Rank
and its customers are protected as
far as is possible, and to work with
developers, engineers, managers and
end-users to create and implement
future security standards.
Liam O’Shea – IS analyst
Liam started with Rank
in 2006 on the Helpdesk
before moving to the
network team as a junior
engineer. He joined the IS team
in November 2013, bringing a sound
technical knowledge of networking
technologies as well as a number of
years of personal experience of the
Rank business. When not at work
Liam likes to spend time socialising
with friends and family or relaxing
with a movie or catching up on the
latest TV show or computer games.
Neil Brackenridge
– IS consultant
Neil has been contracted
in to help deliver the
security improvement
programme, which should do
exactly what it says on the tin. He
has worked in IT for nearly 20 years
in the public, private and charity
sectors. He has tried his hand at
many different roles, but IS has
been at the core of all his work
and has developed into a passion.
Neil likes to sail and has his own
boat in Brighton marina. He is also
a runner and is hoping to complete
the Brighton half marathon in April.
Life in leftovers!
The Rank Group is seizing the
initiative in recycling food waste
and helping to contribute to
a cleaner planet.
As part of its bid to divert 85
per cent of waste from going to
landfill by June 2015, a new way
of dealing with all those leftovers,
kitchen waste and unwanted
food is being rolled out across all
Mecca and Grosvenor clubs.
Clubs in Scotland are showing
the way to comply with a new
law brought in by the Scottish
Government on 1 January to support
its Zero Waste Plan. The rest of
Rank’s estate across the country will
soon follow the Scottish example.
New kitchen caddy bins have
been provided, along with dedicated
food waste collection bins outside.
And no cheating – checks will be
made by the local authorities!
Rank’s waste contractor Biffa
will also provide monthly reports
on each site’s performance and
the quantities collected.
Once food waste is separated, the
only items that should be in general
waste are polystyrene and blue
paper roll. All food waste collected is
recycled at a special plant that uses
a natural biological process to break
it down into a biogas to be used for
renewable energy. A valuable crop
fertiliser is also produced.
“We are already recycling glass
bottles, cardboard, plastics and tin
cans so I‘m confident we will reach
the 85 per cent target as long as all
clubs comply,” said senior purchasing
manager Graham Pugh. “Get ready
– it’s coming to your club soon!”
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January 2014 • Issue 34 WOW! 15