On board

Issue 1
September 2016

From the
cockpit
Welcome to the first edition of On board,
the MCS newsletter which will bring
you news and information from your
colleagues across our business.
Every quarter On board will deliver
updates on some of the most important
projects underway in each area of
our Business Units, including safety,
commercial and business development,
fleet and engineering, finance and human
resources. It will also feature news and
information from other Babcock divisions.
On board will be delivered direct to your
in-box and, if youre already a Picasso
user, you will be able to download it
from Connect. We will also distribute
hard copies through all our main sites so
customers, visitors, regulators and other
key stakeholders can keep up to speed
with the latest Babcock MCS news.
Bill Tame
Chief Executive
International

Brand new name,

becoming Babcock

Offshore Australia
starts operations
for ConocoPhillips

Improving
Health&Safety

New appointments

Being Babcock
Becoming Babcock is more than just adopting the name. Its about being true
to the guiding principles that have seen the company grow into one of the most
successful and respected engineering support services organisations.

respect

people and value their diversity

always strive to

deliver

build great

relationships

being

based on trust

babcock

thrive on

complexity

challenge

ourselves and each other

never compromise on

health
and safety

trust

our people to deliver

safeguard customers

reputations

We are relied upon to manage projects critical to everything from

power generation to defence, or to saving lives in hostile environments.
Bill Tame, Chief Executive International Division,
said: Babcocks 35,000 skilled staff design, build,
manage, operate and maintain complex assets that
are vital to our customers. Our revenue of over
4.8 billion in 2016 and order book of circa 20
billion shows how we are performing in these tasks.
But maintaining this position means working
not only to the very best of our abilities as teams
and individuals, but also working as Babcock, to

the principles that have seen us gain the trust

and respect of some of the most demanding
customers in the world. As Babcock we are relied
upon to manage projects critical to everything
from power generation to defence, or to saving
lives in hostile environments.
Being Babcock means following these
principles and being proud to perform and
trusted to deliver.

Helga Pelez, New HR

director at INAER Spain
Helga has an extensive
experience in talent and
organisational development,
team effectiveness, training
programmes and leadership
development. Since 2012, she has worked for
Goodyear Iberia as HR and Internal
Communications Director for Spain and Portugal.
She started her career in HR consultancy at
PricewaterhouseCoopers Spain and during five
years she helped to build and manage the new
Learning & Knowledge Management branch of
business. In 2005 she joined Pfizer where she
held various positions and became Talent and
Organization Capability Lead for Emerging
Markets at Pfizer Europe. She moved in 2010
to everis, a Spanish Multinational Consultancy
Firm, as Director of Corporate University
& Organisational Development.
Commercial Lead for
Humanitarian and
Disaster Relief customers
Matthias Richardt will support the
MCS Commercial team where he
will lead work with Humanitarian
and Disaster Relief customers and
development projects.
Matthias, who has a degree in International
Studies and Diplomacy, comes from the recently
acquired HeliAviation business in Germany and
brings with him extensive experience and
understanding of humanitarian missions.
Matthias main objectives are strengthening
and deepening Babcocks work with existing
customers while developing new long-term
relationships with key organisations including
the UN, Red Cross and other NGOs. He will be
the MCS Commercial lead for these customers

from now on. Matthias reports to the HeliAviation

Commercial Director.
Fabio Quadrini joins MCS
in the newly created role
of Head of Transformation.
Fabio joined Babcock in 2013
in the Support Services Division,
where he was Director Major
Bids, and more recently Acting
Director of Corporate Development. Fabio has
served on the SSD board since March 2015.
Fabio will bring dedicated leadership and
focus to the Avanti Programme to deliver the
transformation and alignment of our operational
processes and systems across all geographies and
the roll out of RAMCO, the IT platform on which
we will base that complex and important process
of engineering and operational change.
New Head of Search&Rescue
of Babcock MCS
Antonio Martinez has been
appointed as Head of Search
& Rescue after a period
working as Fleet Manager
within Babcock MCS,
a responsibility which he will still carry out
until a suitable candidate fills that position.
As Head of Search & Rescue, he will
improve relations with customers and seek
new opportunities for growth in this
market on selected geographies. Antonio
will also manage some development projects.
His extensive career as Commercial Manager
in INAER provides him with the experience
needed to develop his new role. Antonio has
been a part of the Babcock team for several
years, first in INAER Spain and from 2014,
linked to the Business Development area
of Babcock MCS.

Brand new name

Current challenges

respect
people and value
their diversity

Thanks to the collaboration of our teams in the UK, France,

Portugal and Australia, the transition to Babcock has been
completed successfully in these four countries.
Rebranding is more than just adopting
a new logo. Becoming Babcock means
engaging fully with the Babcock values
and demonstrating to our customers,
and potential customers, that we are
trusted to deliver.
Becoming Babcock underlines our
stability and demonstrates that we
have the resources of a strong
FTSE-100 company, but it does not
signal any changes at all to our
day-to-day operations. Our people,
capabilities, high levels of customer
service and absolute focus on safety
remain the same.
We can call on the wider Babcock
group to support and enhance our
operational and service capabilities.
Babcock always invests in innovation
to maintain its market-leading
position, We are now a business which
is 34,000 people strong with an

unrivalled range of specialist skills,

expertise and commitment and a
readiness to share knowledge and
best practice for the benefit of all.
Becoming Babcock means becoming
more competitive, efficient, effective and
stable. It makes us more attractive to
current and potential customers and will
help us secure new and existing contracts.
Why a single brand?
A natural step after the Babcock
acquisition
The Babcock brand has a strong
heritage in the UK
It improves the international profile
of the Babcock brand across countries
where MCS operates
It will help us align our internal culture
It will let us make the most of being
part of Babcock and help us deliver
for our customers

Recognition of MCS globally

does not reflect combined
capabilities of OpCos
Difficult to describe
relationships between
OpCos, MCS and Group
especially in bids when we
present complex internal
commercial structures
Which brand do MCS
use when targeting new
geography?
Inefficient leverage of market
position when OpCos and BIG
are both in the same market.
Lack of identification with
Babcock internally limits
ability to embed the culture
and values.

Benefits of brand change

Whos next?

Under one brand, combined

capabilities represent greater
sources of differentiation
Simpler story that enables
everyone to explain MCS
to external stakeholders
Clearer approach to brand
in new geographies
encourages better internal
co-operation and alignment
Single brand for activities
in all countries where
OpCos and BIG want to
grow supports international
country strategies
Higher levels of employee
engagement and greater
cohesion around the culture
and values

The firefighting
season is at its peak
MCS Operating Companies have been preparing for this new
season with even more effective aircraft and crews, so they
are able to face the fire optimally.
Picture the scene: under the intense
glare of the sun a flame suddenly
flickers into life beside a pine tree.
The tinder-dry conditions and the
scale of 30 30km/h wind; more than
30 degrees temperature and less than
30 per cent humidity mean that
soon it has grown into a fully-fledged
forest fire.
The firefighters are soon on the
scene but simply cannot contain it.
They work non-stop for days but the
conditions make it impossible to
extinguish the flames which get
ever closer to surrounding them.

But then a specialist helicopter

appears overhead and at the right
moment the bambi bucket it carries
is released. It douses the flames and
gives the team on the ground the
sudden advantage and the opportunity
to beat the fire back and finally
extinguish the blaze.

MCS operating companies

deliver more than 6,200 fire
fighting operations in Spain,
Italy, Portugal and Australia
Once the fire is out the helicopter
continues its work, cooling the area
with more drops from the bambi bucket
and ensuring the fire cant re-ignite.
It sounds dramatic, but at
certain times of year its a regular
part of life for MCS in parts of Spain,
Italy, Portugal and Australia where
last season crews carried out more
than 6,200 fire fighting operations on
behalf of regional governments and
authorities something they have done
for the last 45 years.
And although MCS crews have done
it for years, they continue to learn and
build their experience, training to ensure

In figures
Spain

Italy

57
aircraft

More than

1,900

Portugal

19

fixed wing aircraft

More than

3,200

operations in 2015

operations in 2015

4,300

7,800

flight hours

flight hours

the complex human, technical and

organisational factors are addressed
at every unique and mission-critical
firefighting operation.

helicopters
More than

800

operations in 2015

604

flight hours

Copyright: Alfredo La Marca

The superscooper proves its worth all over Europe

The iconic CL145 also known as the
superscooper for its ability to scoop
up and release massive amounts of
water has been fighting fires all
across Europe this summer.
The Italian aircraft, which have
been operated by INAER Aviation
Italia since 2011 are used for direct
initial attack, the first action in
fighting fires, releasing massive
amounts of water onto the blaze.
They have been active in Cyprus,
Corsica and Portugal where the
worst wildfires in recent memory
charred vast areas and killed four
people in August.
The aircraft are the subject of a
European project called Buffer-It

which aims to make the very most of

forest fire fighting resources. This means
a CL145 can be rapidly deployed
throughout Europe between 15th June
and 15th September as a buffer
capability of the European Emergency
Response Capacity, co-financed by the
EU, to provide rapid response in dealing
with extraordinary disasters.
The Italian fire-fighting fleet has a key
role in extinguishing blazes all over
Europe with 19 Canadair CL 145s in
operation with INAER the largest fleet
of its type anywhere in the world.
Since June 15 under the Buffer-It
programme INAER has flown more
than 80 hours and released more than
1.3 million litres of water.

The Canadair CL-415

An amphibious water bomber
Powered by Pratt & Whitney engines
Crewed by two pilots
Capable of scooping up 6,137
litres of water in 12 seconds
Capable of scooping from water
just 1,341 metres long by 90 metres
wide and 2 metres deep
Water is usually dropped from around
30 to 35 metres above treetop level
Typical drop speed is 110 knots
making it highly accurate
It can fight fires without damaging
property or injuring people on
the ground
It is in active duty across Europe
and in the USA

build great

relationships
based on trust

Australia to start oil and gas

operations for ConocoPhillips
Babcock Offshore Services Australasia has
been awarded a contract to provide
helicopter support to the ConocoPhillips
Barossa/Caldita drilling campaign.
The work, which will start late 2016 /
early 2017, will operate with two Sikorsky
S92 aircraft based in Darwin. These
aircraft will be transferred from
operations with Chevron in the far North
West of Australia when two Leonardo
(formerly AgustaWestland) AW139s take
over that role later this year.
John Boag, MD for Babcock Offshore
Australasia, said: We have worked with
ConocoPhillips previously, they were very
pleased with our service and were great
to work with. The award of this contract
is thanks to our professional conduct and
performance. For those of you who
worked on that contact, this contract
is thanks to you. This is an exceptional
win for us. At a time when the oil and
gas industry is in a slump this new
contract allows us to bring new aircraft

into our fleet and will be the first contract

operated out of our new facility in Darwin.
Since we started operations we have

strived to set a new standard in customer

service in offshore helicopter operations
in Australia. Those of you who have been
with us since day one know how hard we
have worked at this. These efforts are
now paying off, well done!
Babcock Offshore Services Australasia
is also providing helicopter support
services for Chevrons petroleum
developments.
The five-year contract, which started
on the 1st July 2016, uses aircraft based
on Barrow Island which is 150km from
Karratha in the far North West of Australia.
The work will be carried out from
January 2017 with two Leonardo AW139
helicopters available on a 24 hour per
day, 7 day per week basis and includes
scheduled and unscheduled crew change,
SAR and medevac with a dedicated
down-the-wireman as part of the contract.

Picture shows an S-92

operating in Australia

Cross-Divisional Oil
and Gas Workshop with
Marine & Technology
At the end of June, Babcock MCSs Oil and Gas team hosted
a workshop focusing on collaboration and delivery.
In order to efficiently address global
markets such as O&G it is critical that
Babcock as a group encourages
collaboration between various
commercial teams. With this in mind
Marine and Technology Division
commercial teams joined MCS for
a session on potential synergies
between their activities and innovative
joint MCS/M&T offerings that could be
unique to Babcock.
As Babcock is trusted to deliver
it was important not to just focus on
selling but also on delivering. MCS
Offshore UK and Inaer Italy gave a
very detailed presentation of the
specific challenges they are facing in
different environments. In Aberdeen
the passenger experience is critical
due to the very competitive

environment, however in Africa a

robust logistic support is paramount
to ensure seamless customer
operations in very remote bases.
In order to be briefed on market
trends and its newest range
of certifications and products,
Babcock MCS also invited four
Airbus Helicopters representatives
to present for an hour.
Guillaume Guehenneux, Head of
Oil & Gas: The workshop was a great
opportunity to make contacts and
share information. At the end of the
sessions, it was clear that, within
Babcock divisions, MCS operating
companies but also with OEM,
collaboration is key to grow our
business and to ensure customer
satisfaction in the long run.

News in brief

Staverton teams complete high-tech

upgrade to Norwegian Police aircraft
Teams at Staverton have completed a major piece of work to
enhance the capabilities of the Norwegian Police helicopter.
The aircraft an EC135 has been
operating for Norwegian Police out of
Oslo for several years. Now thanks to
the work done by Babcock Design and
Completions staff and engineers it will
have a greater capability to monitor
and support Police operations

keeping criminals on the back foot.

Director of Design and Completions,
Jeremy Liber, said: Our experience with
Police Scotland and the National Police
Air Service (NPAS) means weve got great
experience in this type of work. Our
brief was to design and execute some

significant changes to the aircraft, reducing

its operational weight by as much as 50kg
while enhancing its capability.
We fitted a new monitor for the
forward observer to replace an old unit
and a folding 5" monitor for the pilot to
improve his situational awareness. We
removed the large mission pod from the
aircraft belly and the high skid landing
gear and put the aircraft onto medium

thrive on

complexity
skids. This meant re-housing all of the
equipment that was mounted inside
the mission pod. The challenge was
to make all these changes in a safe
and ergonomic fashion, improving
the way the crew and observers work
when airborne. The aircraft is back in
Oslo and reports from the crews are
really positive. Its given the airframe
a new lease of life.

INAER renews
the contract with
Spanish Tax Agency
until 2018
INAER has renewed a contract
with the Spanish Tax Agency
(AEAT) which will see them
continue to crack down
on offenders with the help
of six helicopters.
The aircraft are used to deal
with issues such as smuggling, tax
avoidance and money laundering.
Renewing this important
contract sees us continue a
successful client relationship
which has existed for more
than 30 years.

Special mention
for the Heli Aviation
team in Juba

Picture shows the

team with Norwegian
police pilots as they
prepare to fly the
aircraft back home
to begin active duties

A special mention is due to

members of the Heli Aviation
crew in Juba who were forced to
suddenly evacuate their base in
South Sudan when the country
was lurched back into civil war.
Many lives were lost in the
fighting but the HeliAviation
crew, led by Michael Tomaschek,
showed leadership, calmness and
professionalism in safely manging
a challenging situation.

News in brief

Babcock takes delivery

of new S-92 helicopters
Babcock has taken delivery of two brand new Sikorsky S-92
helicopters with a little help from one of the largest aircraft
in the world.
The S-92s, the first of four new aircraft
of this type to join the fleet, made the
journey from the US manufacturers
Philadelphia plant to Prestwick airport
inside a massive Antonov transporter
aircraft. The size of the Antonov
means it isnt cleared for landing at
Aberdeen, and Prestwick is the nearest
airport that can accommodate it.
From Prestwick the aircraft were
transported by road to Babcocks
Aberdeen hangars.
Michelle Handforth, Managing

Director of Babcock Mission Critical

Services Offshore, said: These two
new aircraft are a key part of our
plan to ensure we continue to deliver
world-class services to all our customers.
We are growing our fleet and
investing in the latest technology
to give our customers the best and
safest possible service. These new
members of our fleet have already
been joined by additional aircraft
which together are boosting our
capability even further.

INAER Spain continues to provide HEMS services for SESCAM

INAER Spain has been awarded
a new contract which will see it
continue to provide a state of the
art HEMS operation to the health
care service of the Spanish Castilla
La Mancha region- known as SESCAM.
Under the contract INAER Spain will
continue to provide round-the-clock
emergency cover with four helicopters
from Toledo, Albacete, Cuenca and
Ciudad Real.
Jos Luis Moreno, Commercial
Director at INAER Spain, said: INAER
has been operating this service for
more than 15 years, since it started
helicopter operations. This new
contract will see us continue to work
with this customer for another four
years. The contract also allows for

an additional two years

of extension.
We will be introducing
two new Airbus EC-145
T2 and 2 new EC-135 T3
to this service, both of
which will be fully
certified for operations
with night vision goggles.
SESCAM has developed
an extensive network of
225 helipads throughout
the region, meaning we
can cover the whole
territory day and night.
The new aircraft will
mean improved comfort for patients and
extra room on board will make it easier
for medical teams to work during flights.

We are all looking forward to

continuing the development of this
critical service over the next few years.

crew comprises a team of four search and

rescue experts, specialised in trapped
victims under rubble after a natural
disaster. The use of night vision goggles
and the training and qualification of the
pilots of INAER Aviation Italia, have
allowed the helicopters to work day and

night thanks to the continuous visual

contact of land references that is not
possible in conventional night flight.
Night Vision goggles, first used by the
military, amplify ambient light from the
moon and stars to give pilots the visibility
they need for operating in the hours of
darkness, including using unlit landing
sites. They provide a real boost in
capability and are just one example of
how we have developed this important
service over the last 30 years.
The helicopter service in Como has
gone from strength to strength and
today, 30 years since it was first launched,
it is pioneering the use of night vision
goggles for civilian flights on a state
of the art AW139 aircraft.

Earthquake in Italy
The first AW139 HEMS helicopter
equipped with night vision
goggles technology helped
in the search tasks.

We are growing our fleet and investing in

the latest technology to give our customers the
best and safest possible service.
The first of the new aircraft are rolled out of
the Antonov transporter aircraft at Prestwick

On the night of August 24, the

Elisoccorso helicopter carried out a
mission in Rieti to transport medical
crews to the region of Lombardia, to
the areas where the earthquake struck.
The AW139 operated by INAER Aviation
Italia landed in total darkness at the
airport of Lazio thanks to the use of NVG
(night vision goggles), placed on the
helmets of the pilots that provide HEMS
service in Como, the first night operation
of the country.
In addition to the pilots, the helicopter

New aircraft are a team effort

Bringing an aircraft type into a new role is always complex and
challenging, but bringing two new aircraft into service for the highly
specialist task of North Sea Search and Rescue (SAR) as an urgent
requirement needed all the skills and commitment of the Babcock
MCS Offshore team and beyond.
When all operations on AS332L2 aircraft
were suspended following the tragic
accident in Norway the Babcock team in
Aberdeen immediately set about finding
alternative aircraft to provide the North
Sea Oil and Gas SAR service.
Initially we re-roled an AW139 from
crew-change into an enhanced medevac
aircraft, said SAR Manager Mike Deakin.
This wasnt simply removing seats and
changing the layout, it was an entire
redevelopment of the cabin interior and
the re-write of all our Standard Operating
Procedures . This was overseen and
approved by the regulators who also
came and inspected the aircraft to
ensure it met their high standards.
As this happened a training

programme was also swung into place

to convert 12 SAR pilots from AS332L2
to AW139 capability and a worldwide
search began for the right aircraft to
provide the SAR service.
We needed the right aircraft for this
highly specialist and critical role, said
Head of Continuing Airworthiness, Mike
Doyle. After scouring the industry we
found two AW139 helicopters in
Romania which fitted the bill, with the
right capabilities which include full ice
protection and winch capability and
low flight hours. The first task was to
bring the aircraft to the UK and a careful
and well-planned operation saw them
transported 3,000 km by road in just
one week.

Once at Babcocks Norwich

maintenance facility the process of
transferring them to the UKs aircraft
register began. Meanwhile Babcocks
experienced AW139 engineers started
preparing them for North Sea SAR
operations. Mike said; We began work
fitting both aircraft with the required SAR
equipment, including the Goodrich hoist
as well as powerful Trakkabeam
searchlights.
The technical team also began work
on the design and manufacture of a
bespoke Sea-Tray to keep sea water out of
the airframe during winching operations.
The crews helmets also needed to be
modified for use in the new aircraft.
Preparing the aircraft is just part of
the story however, preparing the crews
is essential too.
Babcock SAR Manager, Mike Deakin,
said: Our SAR teams have huge
experience gathered over a decade of
North Sea operations and our basic
principles of total commitment and utter
professionalism remain the same no
matter what aircraft were flying but we
needed to adopt our working methods to
the new aircraft. This means completely
re-writing our SAR operations manuals
and ensuring SAR role training is in place
for the Technical Aircrew and pilots.
With that work underway our focus
now is on training, covering all manner
of situations and testing our performance
in all types of conditions. There is no
margin for error in SAR, and our teams
are proud to offer the right skills,
experience and equipment that make
us trusted to deliver.
We have also used this work as
an opportunity to review our clinical
equipment and our drugs. We plan on

launching a number of new pieces of

equipment as part of this programme.
This project has been a true example
of collaboration, involving not just people
from various parts of MCS from Logistics
to Engineering, Commercial and Flight
Operations but also from INAER and
the wider Babcock International Group.
For example our training team is working
The Babcock guiding principles
are more than a set of goals, they
actively set out how business is
conducted by everyone across
the Babcock International Group.
CEO of Babcock MCS in Northern
Europe, David Plester, said: The new
SAR aircraft are a great example of
how the Babcock principles guide
our performance.
Thriving on complexity; trusted
to deliver; challenging ourselves
and each other are just three areas

with INAER in Spain who are helping

improve our understanding of the
new aircrafts capabilities.
By using all the capabilities available
to us and by drawing on the skills of
professionals across Babcock we will
complete a 12 month project in around
12 weeks, with no compromise on safety
or quality a remarkable achievement.
where it is clear that we absolutely
live to these principles. By delivering
these aircraft, customising them
for their task and crewing them
with dedicated and highly skilled
individuals we can provide a genuinely
world-class service.
Whats more we can do it to
the highest levels of safety and
quality, delivering a service that
our people and our customers can
depend on in the most challenging
of circumstances.

Developing LEAN facilities across MCS

never compromise on

health
and safety

Nine hangars in five countries have been refurbished as part of the

programme to make our shop floors the safest place to work.
Over the past six months, LEAN
implementation has been ongoing
in MCS Operating Companies bringing
significant improvements to the way
engineering and maintenance work
is managed and scheduled. The
programme is part of a long-term
strategy which aims to share best
practice across the business while
also bringing improvements to
the shop floor.
New task cards, refurbishment
in the hangar, equipment
identification, 6s housekeeping, shift
KPIs, man hour reduction and Health
& Safety focus are some of the
improvements reached by the
maintenance team in Spain, France,
Italy, Portugal and the UK.
Dave White, Head of Engineering
and Maintenance Continuous
Improvement said: The LEAN
programme will help us to share
best practice and develop common
standards across all our sites.

No matter which facility you visit, in which

country, you should always see the same
standard of work, the same design of
workplaces and the same organisation
of benches and tooling. This approach
will help us to develop our capabilities
and it will also ensure we show our
customers and our regulators that we
are committed to maintaining the same
dedication to world-class performance
and safety everywhere.
The four key areas where the
LEAN programme will really
make a difference are:
Workplace layout how our
engineering facilities are organised
Process confirmation a daily
housekeeping and compliance check
Start of shift knowing where you
are against your plan and your
hours taken
Weekly audits Maintenance managers
will run these regularly to keep the
programme on-track

Around 110 people trained

on Lean Awareness
Dave White continued: Whist these
improvement initiatives are ongoing its
important we establish a network of LEAN
improvers who are correctly trained that
can then teach others the LEAN tools and
techniques.
The training consists of one day
classroom based training, discussing and
learning from practical examples of LEAN
implementation. This training material is
currently under review with Cardiff
University for being endorsed under the
LCS System (Lean Company system).
All facilities within MCS will have at least
two LEAN Yellow belt trainers, who will
then continue onto major cost reduction
projects and standardisation. The next
stage of the lean training will be a three
day course for Green belt training, which
includes a cost reduction project and
implementation, then once successful,
can embark onto Black Belt training.

Best practices
Trip Hazards Elimination
Walkways limited access to working areas
Blue Covers being placed on shelving
More staging being ordered
Chemical cabinets layout more robust
Vending machines for consumables
Warehouse being operational &
remove logistics parts off Hanger
floor into one place & staff

AVANTI, the foundation

of our future development
Avanti is a programme set up to achieve measurable business
benefit through the implementation of common best practice
engineering processes, a unified IT platform and the creation
of a more coherent global business.
Ramco is the chosen IT platform, and
will be implemented with data sharing
functionality across maintenance and
engineering, including CAMO,
maintenance planning and execution,
logistics, warehousing and purchasing
and also has a significant impact
on finance.
Following some key changes in the
management of the project, now is
the right time to ensure the project
organisation is fit for purpose to push

ahead with the programme, and the user

community is fully engaged in the final
stages of development and roll out
planning. The team has been restructured
to build on the good work carried out to
date, and to prepare for this exciting new
phase of the project.
The first step will be forming a design
group (TDG) that will guide the technical
aspects of the programme to ensure
it is fit for purpose for the end users.
A thorough design review will be

Congratulations

to the finalists!

always strive to

deliver

launched which will be conducted by

the TDG with substantial involvement
of technical leads from the OpCos,
and will validate the suitability of
the design so far, and conclude
outstanding design for the future.
That will guide the final stages of
development of the solution and roll
out in the coming months.
Once completed a speedier roll
out can begin with the certainty that
the system is fit for purpose and will
support the business on its journey
to excellence.
The Avanti Programme is here to
build the solid foundations upon which
the future of MCS will be cemented.

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MCS People
Five minutes with Christiana Ringe, Executive Assistant
What do you do?
Im the Executive Assistant to Bill
Tame and Andrea Cicero, for whom
I facilitate meetings and meeting
agendas. For example, the monthly
Executive Board meetings and
meetings with our customers
and OEMs in order to continually
improve MCSs business relationships.
I am also the Office Manager
of the London office and manage
the support team.
The support team is primarily

responsible for diary management,

booking travel, managing conferences
and events and processing expenses
for the MCS management team.
What skills/qualifications
do you need for the role?
The schedules and priorities of the
management team can shift and change
quite quickly so being flexible and having
good logistical problem solving skills are
vital for my role as Executive Assistant.
Being enthusiastic and having a

positive approach are also helpful in

order to support the team through
both its challenges and successes.
How does what you do
contribute towards MCS goals?
My hope is that by making tasks
such as business travel and complex
meetings schedules as smooth
and easy as possible I can help
the management team achieve
their goals.
Whats a typical day?
There is no such thing, which is one
of the reasons I love my job! I meet
and work with people from all around
the world every day, which makes
every day different and interesting.

Introducing the Support

Team: Yasmina El Khattabi
and Lauren Geddes
Yasmina El Khattabi joined MCS
Headquarters team earlier this year.
She was formally an Events Manager
and has a Bachelor of Applied Foreign
Languages, specialised in English and
Spanish and a two year technical
degree specialised in Business
Administration. Yasmina supports the
Finance, Business Development and
Communications teams.

Lauren Geddes joined the MCS

team in April. Lauren was formally
a Project Operation Assistant
at Alliance Trust Savings and
has a BSc (Hons) in Business
Management from the University
of Dundee. Lauren supports David
Lindgren and the Safety team
and also manages the London
front-office.

What accomplishment are you

most proud of?
Building a happy, helpful and effective
support team. Currently, there are
three of us in the team. Lauren has
joined MCS recently and Yasmina at
the beginning of the year.
I am also very proud of our new
London office which I was responsible
for pulling together. It was a challenge
I enjoyed and I look forward to
welcoming my MCS colleagues who
have not yet been to London, to our
offices at Wigmore Street.
Whats the most challenging
part of your job?
Creating space in diaries, where there
isnt any!

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BIG NEWS: News from the other Divisions

New fleet of fire appliances gets Royal seal of approval
London Fire Brigades (LFB) new
fleet of vehicles has been given
the Royal seal of approval following
a recent visit by Prince Charles and
LFB Commissioner, Ron Dobson.
Babcock was awarded a 21-year
contract in 2014 to manage and
maintain LFBs vehicle and equipment
fleet. As part of that contract, it is
responsible for the design and
delivery of the new state-of-the-art

fire appliances. It has worked closely

with LFB on the new design and has
commissioned Cumnock-based
manufacturer, Emergency One UK
Ltd (E1), to build them. The new
appliances have been designed with
several major technical changes. Babcock
has long term contracts to manage and
maintain London Fire Brigades fleet
of vehicles and equipment and design
and deliver training for its firefighters.

Babcock Presented with Queens Award Double

Babcock LGE Process has been
presented with two Queens Awards
for Enterprise by the Lord Lieutenant
of Edinburgh, on behalf of Her Majesty
The Queen, at a reception held at its
Edinburgh offices.

Training support to the Royal Navy

The awards for outstanding business

achievement in the fields of International
Trade, acknowledging the companys
world market leading performance in the
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) sector, and
an Innovation award for its Vent Gas

Cooler (VGC) technology, make

Babcock part of a select group of
only six companies to receive a
double accolade in this years awards.
The Queens Awards, only given
to businesses that can demonstrate
the highest level of excellence, mark
a major achievement and highlight
the success of our business model
that supports an active UK-wide SME
supply chain.
Edinburghs Lord Lieutenant
Donald Wilson said: Babcock LGE is
recognised for its remarkable success
building international ties and for
market leading innovation and is one
of just six businesses to receive two
accolades in the Queens Awards for
Enterprise 2016.
The Babcock team receives
Queens Awards for Enterprise
Awards from Edinburghs Lord
Lieutenant Donald Wilson

The Fleet Outsourced Activities Project

(FOAP) contract is delivering training
and training support services to the
Royal Navy. It is a second generation
contract, so was designed for efficiency
and continuous improvement from
the word go.
The Royal Navy trusted Babcock with the
scope to modernise service delivery, giving
us the freedom to implement new ways of

working. As such, we transformed the

training quality system and centralised
administrative services in the first three
months, achieving efficiency targets
significantly ahead of schedule.
By the end of its first year FOAP had
bedded in its new operating model
and was delivering effectively,
consequently developing a strong
reputation in the customer community.

Contract win to ensure availability and

sustainability of Navys medium calibre guns
Marine & Technology Divisions Defence
Systems Technology Business and BAE
Systems have jointly won a five-year
contract to deliver a greatly enhanced
total gun support service package to
the Royal Navys MCG weapon system,
with the potential for the contract to
extend an additional five years.
As the current in-service support
provider for the Navys MCGs, Babcock have
teamed up with the guns designer, BAE
Systems, to provide an enhanced complex

equipment support service that will

increase reliability and functionality,
and reduce obsolescence risk.

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