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This week there is a very real chance that Egon Von Bulow, who shot dead Surrey Constabulary’s PC John Schofield in 1974 and shot and injured two of his colleagues, may be released, as he has been cleared for release by the parole board.
Reacting to this news, Simon Reed, vice-chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, says:
Together with colleagues across the country we are absolutely horrified that Von Bulow is likely to be released from prison. PC Schofield was brutally slain by this monster who then attempted to murder the officer’s two colleagues, Sergeant Harley Findlay and Constable Ray Fullalove. Von Bulow was jailed for life three times over in 1975 and that should mean he spends the rest of his days behind bars.
It was not that long ago when the murderer of a police officer would have faced the death penalty. When the death penalty was abolished we were assured that anyone convicted of murdering a police officer would spend their life in prison. But if the criminal justice system can consider releasing someone as vile, vicious and unrepentant as Von Bulow then they will consider releasing anyone, and it makes a complete mockery of our justice system.
For a sense of justice, for the families and friends of PC Schofield and to ensure we send a message loud and clear to anyone holding a gun or knife when confronted by a police officer, Von Bulow must not be released and must stay imprisoned for the rest of his life.
We have received another report of mysterious low flying black aircraft, we reported other instances of these in the past, another was spotted yesterday near the Huddersfield on the Yorkshire and Lancashire border. It was described as being the size of a jumbo jet, matt black and hugging the hills at around one hundred feet from the ground.
One eye witness, who doesn’t want to be named, said she was convinced it was about to crash and pulled over on the hard shoulder of the motorway. She descibed it as a huge black craft, ” it was flying so low, much lower than i’m sure any aircraft would be allowed to fly, it was only feet above the hills and terrain, i was convinced it was about to crash, it wasn’t grey or green but pure matt black all over with no markings. It was totally weird.”
“It was a bright sunny day with clear blue sky and this should have made the colour more obvious but it was just pure black all over, i’m sure even the military are not allowed to fly that low over a populated area”.
A similar craft described as matt black and looking very much like a large cruise missile around the same area was spotted 12 months ago, Manchester air traffic control reported nothing on radar for that area.
If you have seen anything similar please contact our news section.
South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority has today (March 5) welcomed the end to the industrial dispute over work hours. Chairman Cllr Jim Andrews says the Fire Authority is now looking forward to working with the management, unions and workforce to maintain and build on the -professional first class service provided to communities across South Yorkshire.
He said: -In situations like this there are always lessons to be learnt. Rest assured the Fire Authority will work with all interested parties to ensure the challenges we face in the future are tackled together.
-We will continue to take into account the views of those who work within the Fire Service and most importantly those whom we serve, the members of public in South Yorkshire.
Cllr Andrews added: -All future public service funding will face dramatic cuts over the coming years and the county’s Fire Service will not be exempt from this position. The Authority is now working hard to look into how savings can be made to cope with this change, without affecting services to the public.
The move to an 11 hour day and 13 hour night shift pattern will enable additional safety critical training to be delivered to firefighters and provide capacity for greater community fire safety work to take place across the county.
In a country that boasts some seven hundred listed learned and professional societies, including over thirty bearing the prefix ‘Royal’, it is not likely to excite the attention of the general readership to learn that there is such a society committed to antiquarian clocks. However, it may well come as something of a surprise for them to know that there is an organisation in the United Kingdom that is devoted to the study of sundials, namely the British Sundial Society. It may be even more of a surprise to find that, to date, there are eighteen established national sundial societies, scattered around the globe, including one in Japan, as well as a fledgling organisation in New Zealand and embryo societies in Hungary, Pakistan and Poland.
How then can there be so much interest in what most people think of as a somewhat rare; but rather dull garden ornament, namely the common or garden horizontal sundial, mounted on a stone pedestal, situated on the lawn of a stately home? This instrument comprises a horizontal brass or bronze plate, delineated with hour-lines and engraved with numerals, featuring a perpendicular triangular device with a sloping edge, aligned with the polar axis of the earth, the shadow of which indicates the time. So, perhaps the answer lies in the history of this fascinating scientific instrument, the purpose of which was to regulate the household clocks and watches of the owner, and in the fact that there are many different classes and forms of sundial. These fall into two main categories, either fixed or portable. The latter are those which, nowadays, are to be found in the collections of museums and private individuals, which were once carried by travellers on their journeys from place to place, even at sea and around the world. The former are those which may be placed on a building, or a pillar, set up on a pedestal, or laid out on the ground.
The origins of the sundial go far back into antiquity; but the earliest to be found in Britain date from Saxon times, although evidence suggests that they were brought to this country by the Romans. These dials were of the vertical kind, finely sculptured and carved, although they were far from being precise and few examples remain extant today. Their function was principally religious, to determine the times of church services, as laid down by canon law. In the so-called ‘dark ages’ of the mediaeval period, this form of sundial degenerated into the rather crudely incised ‘scratch’ dial or mass dial, to be found on many historic churches scattered about the country. However, probably at sometime in the late 15th century, sundials of a more accurate nature were introduced into England. These had their origins in the scientific discoveries and inventions of outstanding Arabic astronomers, whereby the indicator or gnomon of the dial was inclined parallel to the polar axis of the earth, thus indicating equal hours, in the system which is in use throughout the world today.
In the reign of King Henry VIII, the so-called Art of Dialling, that is to say the design and construction of sundials, had taken root and was beginning to grow into a flourishing scientific art. At the suggestion of Sir Thomas Moore, Henry invited Nicholas Kratzer, the Bavarian diallist, to his court and appointed him to be the King’s Horologer. Kratzer was no doubt responsible for introducing multiple sundials into England, such sundials incorporating a surprisingly large number of smaller component dials in one large ornate edifice. Henry himself had a vertical sundial placed on the south-facing wall of Nonsuch Palace, as well as ordering some twenty of more horizontal sundials for his garden at Hampton Court! Sundials became fashionable, as well as having the practical function of indicating the time in sunny weather. By the late 17th century, this mathematical art had probably reached its zenith, when it was virtually a university subject and when every educated gentleman was expected to have an understanding of this discipline. Apart from those forms of sundial already mentioned
horizontal, vertical and multiple – the other principal classes include equinoctial dials, such as are aligned in the plane of the celestial equator, polar dials, aligned in the plane of the earth’s polar axis, and numerous ancillary groupings. Perhaps the most prolific was the vertical dial, or rather the vertical declining sundial, since most of this class were on walls that were not facing a cardinal point of the compass.
Sundials continued to be used for the purposes of regulating clocks and watches throughout the 18th century. Only in the 19th century, with the advent of the railways and the electric telegraph, did there popularity start to decline; but it was not until the early 20th century that they were finally eclipsed as a useful scientific instrument. Many were allowed to fall into disrepair, particularly vertical dials on walls, although common or garden horizontal sundials still retained their ornamental appeal. Remarkably, however, there was a European renaissance in this science of gnomonics or the mathematical art of dialling, such that, in 1989, the British Sundial Society was founded by a small group of enthusiasts. The Society quickly grew into the established organisation that it is today, with some five-hundred members.
The British Sundial Society welcomes all those who are interested in sundials or related matters, whether as professional sundial designers and makers, mathematicians, artists, sculptors, letter-carvers, amateurs in the field, or those who love the mottoes that are often found on dials. The Society’s objects include the advancement of public education in this scientific art, advising on the restoration of sundials and, mindful of our sundial heritage, the cataloguing of the existing dials throughout the British Isles. In addition to publishing an attractive Bulletin, it organises meetings and a major conference every year, which are interesting, enjoyable and friendly occasions. New members may judge for themselves as to whether our sundial heritage has really been lost!
The full feature will appear in the Spring 2010 edition of GPSJ.
Network Rail’s brand new car park at Birmingham International station has been shortlisted in the best new car park category of the British Car Parking Awards 2010. Up against three other entries, the winner will be announced at a ceremony in London on 12 March.
Jo Kaye, Network Rail’s route director, said: -This facility delivers more than just additional parking spaces. With the innovative architectural design, use of renewable power, a new parking payment system, full CCTV coverage and upgrade to the remaining ground level car parking, this is a state-of-the art parking facility dedicated to the rail users of Birmingham International station.
The six-storey car park was opened in late September last year, nearly four weeks ahead of schedule and provides an additional 835 parking spaces for people using the station. It is managed by Virgin Trains and is just one of 17 new or upgraded facilities being provided by Network Rail at Virgin managed stations on the west coast main line in a £90m project.
Anne Grant, Virgin Trains station manager at Birmingham International said: “The new car park is a much needed and welcomed addition to the station. Our customers tell us that provision of parking facilities is very important to them and now users of Birmingham International have a much needed facility.”
The project was delivered by Network Rail’s infrastructure investments team in Manchester and the work was contracted to Geoffrey Osborne Construction Ltd.
Already well respected as an innovative provider of project and change management training, pearcemayfield has added risk management to its range of training products.
The learning and development specialist company has been accredited through the APM Group to offer the Office of Government Commerce’s (OGC), Management of Risk (MOR) training, which can help an organisation sharpen up its risk management procedures.
pearcemayfield Head of Training, John Edmonds says: -Any project carries an element of risk and effective management can mean the difference between success and failure. That involves training a team, or individual, how to implement an effective framework throughout the lifetime of a project. The beauty of MOR is that it can also be applied outside of projects, both to programmes and to the organisation’s operational and strategic levels.
We are already accredited in PRINCE2, MSP, P3O and Change Management. The addition of MOR strengthens our portfolio.
One of the first organisations to experience pearcemayfield’s unique delivery of risk management training is global logistics company, DHL.
For further information on the range of training solutions from pearcemayfield, visit www.pearcemayfield.com or John’s blog: www.theopsimath.typepad.com
Rising energy costs and increasing awareness of environmental issues have created a growing demand for access to funding for green initiatives. The NHS is UK’s largest public sector emitter of carbon emissions, being responsible for a million tonnes of carbon a year costing an annual £500 million. Alastair Keir, Chief Executive of Salix Finance explains how NHS Trusts can lead by example in the bid to manage their emissions and fund projects.
Numerous legislation and targets such as The Climate Change Act, the Energy Performance in Buildings directive and Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme coming into force in April are putting NHS Trusts under considerable pressure to reduce their carbon footprint. The CRC alone will affect an estimated 180 NHS organisations with strict penalties for those that do not take bold steps to cut their emissions. The NHS Carbon reduction strategy also sets an ambition for the NHS to help drive change towards a low carbon society.
In short, there has been a shift in focus on making CO2 savings, taking it from the fringes into the heart of political and management attention. In this environment, Carbon reduction is now not something that is optional – it is a must.
But with all these tough targets how can NHS organisations translate them into reality, as targets, while essential, don’t bring about change on their own. Without proper management, the pressure to meet them can lead to short-termism and poor decision making, and without ring-fencing, budget cuts be diverted to other areas.
Although long term cost savings are easy to achieve, reducing CO2 emissions often requires targeted, carefully planned up front investment to put the right technology in place and guarantee long term benefits. Often, the simplest of measures can yield the best results such as better insulation or new heating systems, but an assessment should be undertaken to ensure that the most cost effective solution is identified, and implemented.
The government has recognised that setting targets needs to be supplemented with practical support. To assist NHS and other public sector organisations, it has made available interest free funding through Salix Finance to drive such efficiencies. In the last budget a £51.5millon loan fund was announced, building on an existing conditional grant programme that sees every pound invested many times over in energy efficiency schemes, as energy cost savings from one project are reinvested in another. Money is only allocated to projects that can meet sensible energy and cost effectiveness criteria in advance – so money is only saved, never wasted. And rigorous monitoring ensures that the focus is kept on ensuring that projects are completed in full and savings are achieved.
Frimley Park Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in Surrey has already taken advantage of the Salix funding. It focused on six key areas: reflective panels behind radiators, boiler replacement, low energy bulbs in residences and in street lighting. It has also replaced the old pumps to the boilers that heat the main building with direct drive pumps with inverters, so that the motors will only work on demand (the old technology meant that the boilers were working all the time and are therefore energy inefficient). This work is projected to achieve an overall saving to the Trust in excess of £300,000. The Trust is currently looking at replacing the fluorescent lighting tubes in corridors and non-clinical areas.
Kwan Cheng, Business and Performance Manager, at Frimley Park says: -The real advantage to the Salix funding was that the money was ring-fenced for energy efficiency initiatives. So any savings made are put back into the pot for more energy-saving projects. The support from Salix is more than just funding though; it offers a resource of expert advice when called upon. Through the regional meetings with other Salix fund holders, we have also been able to share good practice, experience and knowledge from other public sector organisations, which has proved to be invaluable.
The current economic climate means budgets are set to be tight for the foreseeable future and there are real economic benefits from cutting carbon emissions. Investment in properly implemented energy efficiency projects will reap long-term financial dividends that can’t be ignored. The £175 million total Salix Finance funding that is being allocated for energy saving projects will achieve £600 million lifetime cost savings and 3.5m tonnes of carbon savings.
Gateshead NHS Foundation Trust obtained funding from Salix Finance in March 2007 because it needed help with its drive to reduce energy consumption, carbon and costs.
Since then the Trust has increased in size and capacity with the additional building of the north east surgery centre comprising 60 beds, four operating theatres, a breast diagnostics treatment centre, and a 100 bed Jubilee building. Despite these extra facilities, the Trust has seen a 22% fall in consumption of Gas and a 7.5% fall in consumption of electricity.
With Salix funding, the Trust has been able to implement energy saving schemes that otherwise would have been difficult to get off the ground. Salix funding of £120,000 matched by an equivalent amount from the Trust itself has enabled the Trust to fund additional projects including the installation of lighting upgrades, point of use water heaters, zone controls and a steam boiler controller, which will enable total expected lifetime savings of £665,540. Over the lifetime of these technologies at least 5,607 tonnes of CO2 will be saved.
As this is a recycling fund, with the initial Salix investment being reinvested in further efficiency measures, the trust will enjoy savings over a potentially indefinite period.
For further information on how to access interest free funding for energy saving projects visit
www.salixfinance.co.uk
Public sector managers are living in challenging times when it comes to preventing data loss for their organisations. Compliance with security regulations has become a real headache for managers within the NHS, local and central government and other public sector bodies trying to manage their complexity whilst at the time battling with the ever growing pressure to reduce IT spending.
Council IT departments alone are under heavy pressure to reduce costs. The latest SOCITM IT Trends Report forecasts that capital spending will fall by 20 per cent in 2010, with central IT spend falling by eight per cent. This is the largest decrease since Socitm began producing the report in 1986.
But can we really afford to cut corners on data loss prevention? The answer is definitely not. It is now more critical than ever for public sector organisations to focus their attention on data security because not only is it their responsibility to ensure that sensitive information isn’t leaked to the outside world, but they will suffer heavy penalties for not doing so.
New powers, designed to deter personal data security breaches are expected to come into force on 6 April 2010. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) will be able to order organisations to pay up to £500,000 as a penalty for serious breaches of the Data Protection Act (DPA). A University Hospital NHS Trust recently found in breach of the DPA would have been given far more than a wrap on the knuckles after April this year, when an unencrypted laptop containing sensitive personal information was stolen from one of its vehicles.
This begs the question, why were so many records downloaded, unencrypted, onto laptops in the first place? Furthermore, since 2008, NHS organisations have been able to procure free encryption, as a result of a directive & bulk purchase of licenses by CfH, the agency responsible for the NHS National Programme for IT. The new Data Protection Act will be a real wake up call for organisations to more carefully examine their IT security strategy and take action.
There is added compliance pressure from other regulations, such as the official IT security standards set by the Government’s Code of Connection (CoCo), the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) which regulates the disclosure of communications data and access to electronic data, and the Freedom of Information Act 2005 which is diametrically opposed to the requirements of CoCo and RIPA.
There can be no shortcuts when it comes to protecting data and it is up to business managers within public sector and private organisations to understand and act on the risks involved rather than delegating the task to the IT department.
One of the major issues when faced with tackling data loss prevention is working out exactly where the data is that you need to protect. This is a huge task for many public sector organisations which have numerous departments with data saved on numerous servers on different types of platforms. Each department may have its own data which is accessed in various ways by office based or mobile workers. Furthermore, the shift towards closer integration and data sharing between public sector services has cast the net of access to data even further beyond the realms of the organisation that originally ‘owned’ the information.
So what steps can be taken to ensure that new and existing compliance is met and a high standard of data loss protection is in place?
1. Security Policy – Critically, a business manager needs to work with the IT department to ensure that there is a security policy in place that outlines the acceptable usage of data in and out of the organisation. There needs to be clear direction for each employee on their level of access to data and the level of usage, for example whether data can be downloaded onto USBs, laptops or whether data can be pasted into an email or accessed out of hours. Communication of the policy should become part of the induction process and most importantly regular workshops need to be held with employees to ensure that the users are educated in a positive way to avoid future transgressions.
2. External threat prevention – It is imperative to make sure that there is adequate malware protection and intrusion detection in place to prevent individuals outside the organisation trying to access any data.
3. Encryption – The security policy needs to enforce encryption if data is copied onto removable devices such as USBs, and CDs, or stored on laptops. Policy should also dictate who within the workforce can be permitted to copy or manipulate information outside of the realms of normal use.
4. Data classification – By discovering what data you have it is then possible to classify it by its content as being highly confidential, confidential or for everyday business use. A consultancy provider can help an organisation to classify their data and discover their data through specialist data discovery tools. Once data has been classified it is easier to apply data loss prevention policies for different types of users.
5. Identity and Access Management – Data security should be closely tied with an identity and access management solution which allows a business manager to set the rules on who has access to what data in the organisation. By setting specific rules, it will manage any changes in the workforce in relation to data access, e.g. if an employee leaves the organisation or changes role.
6. Consolidation – With various types of software and hardware required for effective data loss protection from both external and internal threats, it is often the case that an organisation may need to approach multiple suppliers. It can be more beneficial and cost effective to work with technology solution providers who can provide more objective recommendations and a better understanding of the public sector’s requirements.
Data loss prevention is unquestionable. In the face of compliance, budget cuts and multiple IT systems it can seem like data security is too big a mountain to climb. But by investing some time in your IT security strategy, consulting with technology solution providers who understand your constraints and ensuring that the whole organisation is on board with security policies it is certainly an achievable goal.
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Peter Wenham, who is an IA consultant and the Leader of the Crime & Security Forum of the Communications Management Association (CMA) gives the following tips to tackling data classification.
1. Understand what data you have – by holding well constructed workshops with senior management led by an external consultant experienced in Information Assurance (IA) matters.
2. Find out where the data is – managers of each department need to discuss with their staff where the organisation’s data is located, for example, on file servers, laptops, databases, email, or desktops, with a view to identifying duplications and copies (known or otherwise).
3. Identify the sensitivity of the data – whether it is public, protected, secret or top secret and decide who should have access to it.
4. Set standards across the organisation – by setting standard definitions of roles within the organisation it makes it possible to identify consistently the grading of your workforce and each individual’s access rights to data. For example, some employees may be able to access data, but not edit, others may be given no access at all.
5. Conduct a final gap analysis – to ensure that the new grading system of the workforce matches up with the existing access controls.
6. Work out a plan of action – whereby the IT department could look to tightening up its security strategy and senior management may need to provide a budget to enable the IT department to generate better data access controls.
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It is a worrying fact that the legislation covering eyesight requirements for driving was set in the 1930s, when driving conditions and cars themselves were radically different from today. At present the only prerequisite for any driver, even those who drive in the course of their work, is to be able to read a number-plate at a distance of 20.5 meters. All this is, however, about to change.
New legislation, passed in the EU Parliament in 2006, is set to be introduced to member states in 2011. The current proposal is that holders of commercial licences will have to have their eyes tested every 5 years, and holders of private licences will be tested every 10 to 15 years. Each member state has until 2013 to translate the directive into national law. This could have a big impact on individuals who drive in the course of their work and for their employers both in the Public and Private sectors.
Research* carried out by Specsavers Corporate Eyecare suggests that an update in the law is badly needed. A disturbing majority of 53% of employers said they were worried that some employees may be driving during the course of their work, when their eyesight is not good enough to do so.
It is interesting to discover just how seriously public sector employers and fleet managers take the issue of the eyesight of their driving staff. Most employers (84%) classed it as ‘very important’ that employees who drive during the course of their work have their eyes tested regularly. However, the vast majority of employers (60%) did not have a policy to test the eyesight of these employees. Of those who did have a policy to test their employees’ eyesight, only 13% did so on a regular annual basis.
There also seems to be a discrepancy between what fleet managers think should be the case and what actually happens in the workplace. The research revealed that 60% of employers had their own eyesight tested within the last 12 months but only 13% had a policy to do the same for their staff.
Whilst not every company always welcomes new EU directives, the research shows that nearly all employers (90%), believe legislation should be in place to ensure employees who drive during the course of their work have their eyes tested regularly. For the public sector, this is vitally important; not just because of the sheer numbers of people driving whilst at work but also with respect to the Corporate Manslaughter Act. The 2007 Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act places responsibility for fatal work-related injuries firmly on the shoulders of the employer. The Ministry of Justice states: -Courts will look at management systems and practices across the organisation, providing a more effective means for prosecuting the worst corporate failures to manage health and safety properly.” Essentially, juries will be able to decide if the death was a result of failed company systems. Companies found guilty of Corporate Manslaughter are open to an unlimited fine – something which no Public Sector company can afford to risk.
This, paired with the moral issue of caring for the safety of employees, has led some forward-thinking companies to already provide regular eyesight checks for their staff. Undertaking a full eyeexamination, at least every two years, with a fully qualified optician, can improve the chances of staying safe on the roads. Loss of vision is not always immediately noticeable; a gradual deterioration may not be picked up on by the individual. Similarly, someone with already borderline eyesight can easily slip into the category of vision that is not good enough for driving.
There are two important eyesight tests for those who drive: sight and field-of-view. Sight involves checking the distances over which a person can see. Field-of-view is concerned with their peripheral vision, vital for overtaking, approaching a junction, etc. If either of these is not adequate then driving ability will be seriously impaired.
Equally, full eye examinations are important in relation to general health. Conditions such as glaucoma, diabetes and high blood pressure can be detected during a thorough eye examination, so the benefits of good eyecare are far reaching.
Fleet managers need to take greater responsibility for their drivers’ eyesight. Whilst they would not consider letting a car onto the road without a valid MOT or the right insurance, it makes sense that they also ensure the driver is fit to be behind the wheel. It’s a good idea for this to form part of the HR policy and for regular checks to be made standard.
Far from being an extra expense, introducing eyesight tests can actually save an organisation money. One Hull-based company recently introduced eyesight testing as one of a number of measures in their extended duty-of-care programme and, as a result, their insurance company reduced their proposed premium increase by 9%.
The most important aspect in the safety of a car is arguably the driver. Whilst the government is working to improve safety, and individuals must play their part, it makes financial and moral sense for the employer to take control.
*Research undertaken on behalf of Specsavers Corporate Eyecare by Emedia in April 2008
For a full copy of the findings readers are invited to contact Specsavers Corporate Eyecare on 0115 933 0800 or corporateeyecare@uk.specsavers.com
Carbon emissions represent an increasing and potentially significant cost for private and public organisations. The case that carbon reduction and reporting systems can help organisations make significant reductions in their emissions and costs has been well made but there is a general expectation that UK public sector should be forging ahead and setting an example in meeting mandatory requirements. Yet according to Ram Ramachander, Chief Operating Officer at Greenstone Carbon Management, the public sector risks not meeting its carbon targets as it gets overloaded with bureaucracy and inadequate reporting systems.
Public sector organisations currently has a broad range of reporting requirements from the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme (formerly known as the Carbon Reduction Commitment) due to start in April 2010 , the Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate (SOGE) targets , and the Government’s own estate carbon neutrality 2012 targets to name but a few and each scheme will require a specific report for each stake holder.
Take the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme for example. The granularity of data required to report against this legislation will mean that public sector bodies will have to capture data at an individual site level on a regular basis, whereas today they may be capturing data at a high level, once a year. The data must also be accurate to ensure that they do not fall foul of the fines associated with inaccurate reporting, or the costs associated with inaccurate forecasting of future allowance requirements. Estimates show that the administrative costs of reporting against legislation could double if not treble over time.
With very little probability of funding for additional administrative resource over the next few years, public sector bodies face having to absorb the reporting burden within the existing teams. This has created a real threat of not meeting their targets. It is becoming clear that the public sector now needs to transition towards a more automated approach to carbon management.
Carbon reporting with the right tools
In the private sector, large global organisations that face growing legislative burdens are migrating from manual and spreadsheet based measurement and data gathering tools and processes to fully integrated Enterprise Carbon Management (ECM) tools. These tools remove a large portion of the data gathering and reporting burden, as well as giving sustainability practitioners the ability to model and manage reduction programmes. It is anticipated that the use of these solutions will increase five fold by 2011.
The larger public sector bodies such as the central Government departments and County Councils have already started examining the possibility of transitioning to such systems. The business case for the implementation of ECM software is very strong. Cost savings can be gained in reduced administration (including future staffing costs for meeting the CRC burden) and improved capabilities and capacity in carbon reduction programmes. In modelling the impact of such a deployment in one large department we were able to demonstrate FTE savings and increased carbon reductions – with a consequent ROI of less than 12 months.
Examples of current carbon emissions targets and associated reporting requirements:
Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate (SOGE) targets, which require the entire central government estate to reduce its carbon emissions by 30% by 2020. This information is reported to the OGC on a quarterly basis.
CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme, which requires all eligible public sector bodies to report their energy consumption and associated carbon emissions to the Environment Agency and, in future years, will require the purchase of carbon allowances on an annual basis.
Carbon Budgets to be issued by Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC)
Government estate carbon neutrality target by 2012
National Indicators 185 and 186 include a wide range of key performance indicators for carbon emissions covering both internal emissions and community wide emissions in local government.
A variety of department specific targets and requirements, for example: the Higher Education Funding Council requires Universities to commit to carbon reductions in their funding applications and the NHS Sustainability Unit drive to encourage Health Authorities to engage in carbon reduction programmes.
Readdressing the balance
In addition to these targets, sustainability teams regularly respond to ministerial and senior civil servant needs on an ad hoc basis. In our experience of working with the sustainability teams, they are highly committed and motivated individuals, focussed on meeting these targets and doing more to become exemplars in sustainability. Instead of spending their valuable time and experience on executing successful reduction programmes the sustainability teams are collecting data, managing complex spreadsheets and generating a broad range of reports to suit the needs of very different stakeholders.
Adopting a Shared Service approach to Enterprise Carbon Accounting
As public sector organisations start to migrate towards automation in this area, they need to consider the opportunity to procure these systems collaboratively as a possible shared service. This will also enable UK public sector to have a consistent way of measuring carbon across its various entities which will allow it to perform meaningful analysis at a macro level and benchmark performance of different organisations. This will give individual organisations the ability to manage and report their carbon as separate entities whilst allowing centralised organisations to receive reports, analyse and benchmark automatically. A shared service approach will meet the complex multiple stakeholders’ requirements and avoid a proliferation of incompatible solutions while at the same time allowing sustainability managers to get on with the business of reducing carbon rather than being held back by the burden of reporting.
Ram Ramachander is Chief Operating Officer at Greenstone Carbon Management. Ram has over 15 years experience in management consulting and business development within the IT and public sectors. Carbon Management Limited is a specialist carbon solutions company – based in London, United Kingdom. For further information please visit: www.greenstonecarbon.com
Public sector chief executives and managers believe they lack the skills needed to deliver services when funding cuts start impacting in 2010 and beyond, according to a survey, undertaken this month by Hays, the leading recruiting experts in public services.
Only 16% of managers said their organisations had the resources to manage a reduced budget in 2010, and even fewer junior staff (12%) thought that was the case. One fifth (20%) of junior staff don’t consider their organisation has a clear strategy in place to cope with the challenge of offering more services with fewer resources.
More than two-thirds of managers (69%) and junior staff (66%) polled believe that the private sector will have -an increasing role in helping the public sector meet its obligations. Over half of those polled (52%) agreed -completely or -to some extent that this was a positive development and that they should look to the private sector for leadership guidance. The majority of managers (63%) also agreed that they were now being encouraged to look outside the public sector for solutions to their management and delivery problems.
The Hays Public Services Leadership Survey, which was carried out across local and central government, the NHS and social housing sectors, found that whilst the majority (78%) of managers have a framework in place to identify competencies which will make them better leaders, over a third (35%) believe their leadership training programmes are ineffective or not available to them.
There was agreement over the qualities that a leader should possess: an ability to communicate, forward vision and integrity.
-We found that everyone knows what good leadership looks like, but there are gaps in the training needed to acquire those skills,†said Andy Robling, Public Services Director at Hays.
Robling said that conversations with public sector chief executives revealed unease about how they would be able to balance cuts and delivering services in the year ahead.
-There is a level of challenge which understandably no one is prepared for. This will require an unprecedented level of change to ensure the delivery of services remains economically viable in the future. However, it is clear from our survey and conversations that the public sector funding crisis means a much broader acceptance of the need to change and to do things that might have seemed unpalatable five years ago.
-Within some UK regions across the public sector, for example, emergency services, local government and the NHS are looking at ways to share services and collaborate more effectively, said Robling.
-More could be done across the country in anticipation of the cuts, particularly in terms of sharing best practice between sectors, which would give people in the public sector more experiences to draw upon. It really is a given that if you bring people in with different experiences they are more likely to see where efficiencies could be made. For example, the public sector needs to improve its redeployment of staff through more effective use of outplacement services.
Robling anticipates more outsourcing of recruitment across the public sector, particularly of permanent jobs, as the financial squeeze tightens. -Traditionally, permanent jobs have been kept in house with recruitment agencies used mainly to fill temporary posts. But what we’re seeing now is interest in agencies managing the complete recruitment process to support more effective workforce planning.
The Hays Public Services Leadership Survey was conducted in January 2010. It received over 1,200 responses from chief executives, managers and junior staff across the public sector; encompassing those working across central and local government, NHS and social housing nationwide.
For further information contact Andy Robling, Public Services Director at Hays, on 0117 927 5494 or visit
www.hays.co.uk/publicservices
RecycleBank, the company behind the UK’s first rewards for recycling scheme, continues to demonstrate its commitment to the UK with the appointment of managing director, Sue Igoe. A founding employee of the US-based company and a member of its executive management team, Sue will be responsible for leading the growth of RecycleBank’s popular environmental rewards programme in the UK.
Prior to taking up the position of UK MD, Sue held the position of vice president of marketing, where she was responsible for developing the RecycleBank brand on a global scale. During the early stages of the company, Sue also managed the technology, rewards, sales and marketing teams. RecycleBank has significantly increased recycling volumes across the US, where it services one million people across 25 states and has boosted recycling rates between 30 – 80 per cent.
Sue brings a great deal of experience to the role, having been involved in the launch of a number of successful new start-ups, including micro-venture capital fund, Agora Partnerships, and a thriving online men’s lifestyle magazine which was successfully sold to Playboy Enterprises.
Sue, who is relocating from New York to take up the newly created position, commented: -Sending waste to landfill has a negative impact on the quality of the air we breathe, the water we drink and the land around us. Reducing the quantity of waste sent to landfill is vitally important in improving and maintaining the natural environment.
-A high percentage of domestic household waste can easily be recycled, and is a great way to reduce landfill. At RecycleBank we’re working with councils to make recycling even easier, for both the householder and the council, and not to mention a great deal more rewarding.
-The scheme has proven incredibly successful throughout the US and we’re working with a number of councils in the UK to make the scheme available to as many households as possible.”
The RecycleBank scheme awards Points to households for recycling, which can then be viewed via an online account, and redeemed at both local and national retailers, restaurants and leisure facilities or even donated to charity. Over 68 per cent of the 6,500 households involved in the UK’s first RecycleBank scheme, in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, have activated their RecycleBank accounts, earning over 4.5m RecycleBank Points since the June 2009 launch.
The success of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead scheme resulted in the launch of a second RecycleBank scheme in October last year. Over 10,000 households in the Cheshire Borough of Halton are involved in the reward programme.
Bred from Kennel Club champions and bought from money raised by the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA), three Springer Spaniel puppies are to begin their training with Essex Police to sniff out drugs, live firearms and cash.
Inspector Louise Beattie, from Sandon dog section, said: -It is fantastic that money raised through criminal activity can be used in such a positive way. Once trained, these dogs will not only be excellent sniffer dogs but they will also act as a deterrent to criminals who know how fail-safe a fully-trained dog can be.
She continued: -These dogs will be part of our front-line team to fight crime and reduce criminal activity in Essex still further.
Gizmo, Oso and Dibley are 14 weeks’ old and are being trained at Sandon. The £2,000 needed for the puppies was agreed by Detective Inspector Paul Dibell, from Essex Police Financial Investigations Team, and has meant that for the first time money taken from criminals under the POCA has been used to buy police dogs.
Each of the puppies will undertake an intensive six-week training programme to hone their skills, with the expertise of Insp Louise Beattie, Sgt Neil Phimister and Pc Mark Watts, all from Sandon dog section, to bring them up to scratch.
If anyone has a springer spaniel puppy aged between eight weeks and 18 months old that is proving too much for family life, Essex police dog section is happy to discuss the prospects of re-homing as a working police dog.
For further information call the Essex Police non-emergency number 0300 333 4444 and ask for Insp Beattie.
Cheshire-based Ink Technologies UK Ltd (ITL) showed MP, Mark Hunter, how it has used government support to cut its costs, safeguard jobs and expand internationally.
The small business, based in Cheadle, Stockport, whose innovative inkjet inks are sold to digital printers worldwide, has worked with the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) North West at The Manufacturing Institute to boost productivity by 20% and double machine productivity.
Mark Hunter, Liberal Democrat MP for Cheadle and Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Leader, took a tour of the factory, employing 19 people, and heard how MAS has helped the company add £56,000 to its bottom line and safeguard jobs.
ITL exports 75% of its products. Its specialist inks are used in colourful pitch-side banners at many English Premiership football grounds, and are used by famous brands such as Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s, Nestle and Pirelli to code and mark their products.
Robin Titterington, Managing Director of Ink Technologies, said: -We have ambitions to double our turnover in the next three years and the help and advice of MAS has been invaluable in improving our business and creating the right platform for growth.
-They coached us in lean manufacturing techniques to ensure we work smarter and use our machinery more efficiently. I was sceptical at first, but the support was very practical and focused on our specific needs. It made our people realise we were serious about business improvement and encouraged them to get fully involved. We are now in a position where we are recruiting new people and two new starters have joined this week.
Mark Hunter MP said: -I like to visit local businesses on a regular basis to see what I can do to help. Ink Technologies are an important employer and their world class products are in demand across the globe.”
Adam Buckley, Head of Programmes for The Manufacturing Advisory Service, said: -Companies like ITL are a fantastic example of great British manufacturing. They are a shining example of excellence and it has been a privilege to work with them and contribute to their ongoing success story.
-Our manufacturing specialists helped the company implement new ways of working that mean they are their production is much faster, meaning that they can make to order and don’t have their cash tied up in finished stock sat on shelves waiting for customer orders to come in. On one key piece of machinery the changeovers used to take an entire day and now take 20 minutes. These sorts of improvements make a huge difference to performance and profitability.
ITL is developing its people through Manufacturing Institute programmes, such as LEAD, which develops leadership skills in growing small businesses.
Small and medium sized manufacturing businesses employing fewer than 250 people are eligible for a funded on-site manufacturing review. For further information, contact 0800 093 9077
Click to see the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) North West
TODAY, six men have been charged with conspiracy to defraud an East Lancashire company.
The six men aged 57, 57, 44, 43, 33 and 30 were charged today and have been bailed until the 22nd February 2010.
The men were charged as a result of a protracted investigation by Nelson CID following a complaint from Protec PLC which is a fire detection equipment company based in Nelson. The charges against the men also includes conspiracy to defraud another company, the Mandale Group, which is a property development company based in the North East of England.
DI Groombridge said, -We will always robustly investigate any allegation of fraud and in this case a fraud which had the potential to affect local commerce and local people. -Protec is a major local employer and at a time when the people of this town are struggling to keep jobs and businesses are fighting to fill order books I find this sort of criminality particularly distasteful. Fraud is not a victimless crime, we all suffer the consequences.
-Our investigations have resulted in six people being charged at this time but this is certainly not the end of the investigation and this may result in further charges in the future.
-The losses to the company were minimised by the decisive action taken internally and due to their collaboration with police, none of Protec’s clients have been affected.”
The Cardiac and Stroke Network in Lancashire and Cumbria has transformed the efficiency of its own operation using Lean methodologies and is now taking the principles of Lean into the clinical environment to help improve patient services.
By adopting Lean practices, the Network has dramatically reduced time spent on administrative tasks- releasing more time to spend on supporting frontline services and to increase its workload by more than double by assimilating stroke into its work programme for Lancashire and Cumbria.
As a frontline service improvement organisation, the Network was eager to learn more about the Lean methodologies that are driving change across healthcare and commissioned The Manufacturing Institute to help all Network staff improve their knowledge of Lean tools and techniques.
This began with Lean awareness training involving the entire Network team. Staff were introduced to the guiding principles and key tools of Lean during a practical workshop in which they mapped out a typical journey, or ‘value stream’, for a hypothetical patient reporting chest pain. The Manufacturing Institute introduced them to methods of measuring and evaluating the value adding steps in that process and those wasteful steps that added no value for the patient. Next they created a ‘future state map’ detailing an ideal Lean patient journey in which the non-value adding elements were removed.
To reinforce their knowledge and apply the benefits of Lean to their own organisation they then took part in a rapid improvement event to introduce the Lean principles of 5S good housekeeping into the Network. This involved de-cluttering the office in preparation for a move to new premises, involving clearing out 30 bin bags worth of unwanted rubbish. Visual management systems were established, such as a new system for booking of leave, to make useful information accessible to everybody.
The biggest change was introducing an electronic storage system, abandoning a paper-based system and the wasteful practice of keeping multiple documents. A library was electronically catalogued and a standard system of naming and storing all electronic files was achieved. As well as ensuring easier and open access to all documents and reference sources, this has also freed up vital office storage and desk space, with office drawers and filing cabinets a thing of the past.
Each member of staff now uses 25% less space which means that the Network was able to rent less space than would previously have been necessary when relocating its expanded team to new offices. The new Lean and tidy working practices mean that staff require smaller desks.
The functional layout also means that the space can be used more flexibly to accommodate hot desk working and full utilisation of desks when people are out of the office.
According to Sally Chisholm Network Director: -On first impression our office looked reasonably tidy, but we soon uncovered all the hidden waste and we were staggered by the amount of unnecessary historic paperwork we found. Everyone feels the benefit of working in a clutter-free environment and we work more efficiently so that back-office time is minimised and our advisers can be out in the field more- helping to improve patient services.
The Network has been applying its Lean knowledge and best practice whilst working with its member organisations. For example members of the Network Team worked with clinical and social care staff in one area for two days. This examined the patient pathway for stroke patients at a Lancashire Hospital. Working with a cross-functional team and involving executive leaders, the group started by creating a value stream map to highlight all the complex steps in the patient pathway – from admission to discharge. This visual map demonstrated a convoluted path for the patient – flagging up many wasted steps and, therefore, wasted time and cost built into the system.
Next stage was to develop a future state map in which the non-value added elements of the process were designed out to create a smoother, simpler patient pathway – putting patient care at the heart of the process. Network advisers are now supporting Lean champions from the hospital to make these changes.
Sally Chisholm said: -With the Network’s facilitation the group identified a number of simple changes that could be made immediately that would improve the quality of patient care. One of these was to minimise disruption to patients being admitted through A&E by involving expert ward staff in the initial diagnosis, saving some patients an unnecessary journey to the ward and saving both staff and patient time in undertaking a second stage diagnostic. By changing the pathway and focusing on the value added elements, significant improvements in patient care will be made- with the added benefit of delivering efficiencies.
-We are working with all Primary Care Trusts, social care departments and secondary care units across Lancashire and Cumbria and carrying the Lean message. We have led process mapping events at Royal Preston, Chorley, Royal Blackburn and Furness General Hospitals, which are helping to deliver efficiencies and improvements at these sites.
Staff at the Cardiac and Stroke Networks are specialists in service improvement, so they were able to quickly tune in to Lean methodologies. They have made enormous progress in their own lean journey and it is encouraging to see them spreading the message and developing others in using Lean principles to achieve quality and performance improvements.
The Manufacturing Institute has partnered blue-chip enterprises, healthcare and public sector organisations in the UK and Europe over the last 15 years and has helped all these different sectors to understand their individual needs. Their more recent work with more than 15 NHS Trusts is helping to transform the care given by hospitals such as Stockport NHS Foundation Trust; Blackpool Fylde and Wyre NHS Foundation Trust ; Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust; West Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust and Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust. More information about these Lean initiatives and others can be found at:
www.manufacturinginstitute.co.uk/healthcare
Here is a list of upcoming features in the GPSJ Journal, we are interested in editorial and comment from specialists in these fields and any interesting developments or news in those areas. We are happy to discuss advertising and promotion of your products & services within these features. All features have an extra circulation of journal’s sent directly to our readers in those fields along with an email news release.
Please note some or all of the features are subject to change so please check before sending in or writing articles.
Winter 2009-2010
Greener Buildings
Renewable Energy
Manual Handling
Waste Management
Temporary Buildings
Highways Safety & Maintenance
Spring 2010
IT Security
Data Protection
Interim Executives
Fleet Management
Social Services & Childcare
Terrorism & Security
Summer 2010
Estates Management
Paperless Office
Conference Facilities
Street Furniture
Accounts & Payroll
Environment & Climate
Autumn 2010
Architectural Services
Community Care
Risk Assesment
Policing & Security
Playground Equipment
Radio Communications
Winter 2010-2011
Energy Efficiency
Street Lighting
Corporate Manslaughter
Parking
Fire Prevention
Anti-Graffiti
Finnamore, the largest independent specialist healthcare consultancy has appointed clinicians Shirani Rajapaksa and Sam Shah to its consultancy team. London-based Rajapaksa and Shah will join Finnamore’s rapidly growing team of 59 consultants to further increase the company’s level of clinical expertise.
Shirani Rajapaksa, a medical registrar with specialist training in haematology and endocrinology, has worked as a clinician in various acute Trusts across the country, including United Bristol Healthcare Trust, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust. She joins the team as consultant and with a clinical advisory role.
Sam Shah was a clinician and is a health economist that has worked across the South East in general practice and developing primary care strategies for a number of organisations. He will now have a consultancy and advisory role on health improvement, performance improvement, clinical effectiveness, cost effectiveness and social marketing.
Managing director, John Deverill, said of the appointment: -Finnamore is developing an excellent reputation across the public and private health sector, and we believe that the key to our success is our strong combination of commercial and clinical expertise, which give our clients confidence in the deliverablity of our strategies.
Smarter printing is set to cut the County Council’s carbon footprint and save money. New machines are being brought in which will generate savings of £100,000 a year, reduce carbon emissions by 13 tonnes and reduce the number of devices by more than 80%.
The printers use less cartridges and energy and will also print double-sided, meaning less paper will be needed. They also use less power and recycle unused toner automatically.
This is part of the County Council’s pledge to reduce energy use and carbon emissions by 30% over the next five years.
Any of the older printers which can’t be re-used will be offered to schools and community projects.
Prof Mike Preston, County Council Cabinet Member for the Environment, said: “We are committed to reducing our own carbon emissions by 30,000 tonnes by 2014 – this is a huge amount but it’s these small changes that could make a big difference.
“It’s very important that large organisations look at practical ways, however small, to reduce their carbon footprint and we are proud to be leading the way in this.”
The new printers are being leased and introduced in phases over the next few years.
To find out more about Leicestershire County Council and the environment, please visit www.leics.gov.uk/environment .
Slough, United Kingdom 1st February, 2010: Bringing advanced networking and monitor technology to the hospitality, meeting and conference, public sector and educational sectors; LG is revealing the latest addition to its successful N+ range at ISE 2010 – a wireless multi-monitor solution that will be available from mid 2010 onwards.
LG’s innovative N+ Network Monitors’ technology supports up to 31 desktop LCD monitors connecting to a single computer. For a wide range of business sectors requiring a multi-display, networked computing solution, the N+ series offers a superior space-saving solution, as it doesn’t require each user/ viewer to have an individual desktop PC. The opportunities for educational, training and commercial operations are clear, and with the new wireless solution the challenges of hiding away wires safely, and finding multiple connection points are no more.
-LG became one of the top three providers of computer monitors worldwide at the start of last year, thanks to our focus on delivering monitors with excellent picture quality and features combined with solutions that resolve real-world challenges for our business and public sector customers. Those in the commercial training, hospitality and education sectors especially will immediately recognise the benefits of a wireless multi-monitor solution. Wired solutions can prove challenging in certain physical set-ups, situations or environments. Not only are they unsightly and messy, they can also prove hazardous and limit the positioning and placement of monitors. LG’s wireless solution delivers the same excellent picture quality, reliability and ease of use, without the issues that can sometimes come with a wired product, said Luc Grare, Director Business Solutions Europe, at LG Electronics.
The N+ software is able to divide a single computer’s resources into 30 independent sessions, plus a monitor for an administrator, so that all connected monitors can share the processing power of a single PC – maximising bandwidth to the fullest extent. Using one main PC to run all N+ Network Monitors also enables businesses to cut their energy costs by saving on the energy using multiple PCs would have required.
LG’s N+ Network Monitors can be installed in just a few minutes and reduce the amount of maintenance and IT support needed for a typical office or classroom environment where multiple computers are used. The N+ Series also offers USB ports for a keyboard and mouse, providing users with increased flexibility for placement and positioning and all of LG’s N+ Network Monitors render clear, crisp images and a 5-millisecond response rate. Additionally, this system offers customers straightforward management, including easy software and hardware set up, and central control support. The system can be secured and maintained by those with basic PC knowledge.
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