Taking Care Of You Exciting Changes To The Sales Team SHEQ Update OpX: Your Depot’s 5S Journey New Modular Division INSIDE THIS ISSUE THE BIGGER SUMMER ‘23 BRAND NEW WOLVERHAMPTON DEPOT NOW OPEN FOR BUSINESS! SEE PAGES 6 & 7 >>> NIXON HIRE INTERNAL NEWSLETTER CAT 22 Ver 5 (12/22)
INTRODUCTION 2 WELCOME TO THE SUMMER ‘23 EDITION OF THE BIGGER PICTURE! The first half of 2023 has been a tricky one, with challenges such as intense pricing pressure, an increase in repair costs and large numbers of workshop orders to overcome. Nevertheless, I am always one to stay positive and I am happy to say that the future looks bright for the remaining quarters of the year! To help us remain competitive, at the start of the year we introduced a dynamic pricing campaign - to support our customers and encourage loyalty to Nixon Hire. We also decided to expedite the sale of equipment - to minimise the amount of equipment on hold, ensure our fleet remains efficient and bring more money into the business. Our hard work and commitment to striving for excellence does not go unnoticed and I was delighted to learn that we were shortlisted in the category of ‘Large Rental Company Of The Year’ at the 2023 European Rental Awards. Unfortunately we didn’t win this time but I am extremely proud to have been nominated and shortlisted which is a massive achievement in itself. We know how important our staff are to our success, which is why we have recently rolled out a confidential employee survey. Thank you to everyone for their contributions, your honest feedback is essential. The People & Culture Team will be in touch soon regarding any plans we will be putting in place to help us keep Nixon Hire a healthy and happy place to work. One major project for 2023 is the hotly anticipated opening of our new Wolverhampton Depot, our first flagship Depot for renewables. It is fantastic to have a presence in the West Midlands which opens up a much larger coverage area - bringing with it significant new opportunities that we are determined to capitalise on. It has been great to see all teams pull together to help us get back on track and build momentum for the second half of the year. I am confident that with the strategies we have in place we are in a position to grow and secure our status as one of the most trusted site equipment hire companies in the UK. Graham Nixon Chief Executive Officer INSIDE THIS ISSUE... Marketing 3 Human Resources 4-5 New Depot 6-7 Sales Team 8-9 SHEQ 10-11 OpX 12-17 New Modular Division 18-19 Hire Desk 20-21 Accommodation & Welfare 22 Sales Division 23 Learning & Development 24-25 Aberdeen Depot 26 In Other News 27 If you have any ideas for content that you would like to see in the next edition of the newsletter, please contact [email protected] THIS NEWSLETTER IS FOR INTERNAL CIRCULATION ONLY. MARKETING 3 THE ALL NEW NIXONHIRE.COM IS HERE! The Marketing Team are so excited that the new Nixon Hire website is live and being enjoyed by the rest of the business and our customers! Our new and improved website features a whole range of updates, with the main goal being to create a cleaner, more user-friendly website for all – to ultimately result in more enquires, more hires and more return visits. This is only the first phase of our ambitious plans for nixonhire.com. Further developments include incorporating more functionality from Hire Connect and expanding the My Online Account area to allow for a far more interactive, informative and transactional online experience for our customers. Exciting times ahead! If you have any feedback or suggestions for the future development of the website please let us know as we’d be happy to hear your ideas! Further information: Carren Sheldon, Marketing Manager SUPPORTING OUR SALES TEAM Recently we have been supporting the Sales Team by creating bespoke site setup drawings, layouts and design mock-ups for customer proposals - in a bid to win bigger contracts and increase customer spend. It’s been great to see setups and designs come to life on customer sites whose business we have subsequently won! We are keen to create more case studies to share on our website and across our social media channels. They are a great way for us to showcase what we can offer! To do this we need information about notable sites which are using our kit and as many photos and videos as we can get! So if you are out and about either personally or professionally and see our kit please share media on Yammer, our Facebook Community Group or email to [email protected] – thank you in advance! WE NEED YOU! Site Set Up A Site Set Up B Site Set Up C
YOUR MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AIDERS Every working day, two construction workers take their own life. We must educate everyone in our industry to recognise the signs and symptoms of colleagues who are suffering from stress, anxiety or depression and start the conversation to assist in their recovery. To help take care of our employees, we have recently trained even more members of staff to be dedicated Mental Health First Aiders and now have 13 people in place across several of our Depots. These people are: Thomas Pirie Bob Burrows Lee Gillham Caroline Ramsay Nicola Palmer Neil Caddle Rob Marks Kerry Thackray Michelle Oliver Rachael Raven Nathan Carr Laura Harwood Meghan Wilson HUMAN RESOURCES 4 THE INTRODUCTION OF HIND’S HIKES Headed up by CSO Health Advocate Dan Hind, this initiative has been introduced to help improve the mental and physical health and wellbeing of our staff. On the first Sunday of every month a walk is arranged and communicated to employees, with an open invitation to anybody who wants to come along! So far the walks have been great successes and have taken in the coast, country parks and waterfalls. June’s walk was an 8 mile challenge along Hadrian’s Wall taking in Sycamore Gap and the Roman Forts of Housesteads and Vindolanda! DEPOT STAFF STATS Every month we send out Depot HR statistics covering recruitment, new starters, leavers and absences to give Depot Managers an idea of how their Depots are performing against the average and each other. We ranked all Depots across the measured statistics and awarded three £50 vouchers as prizes to our top performing Depots: Further information: Rachael Raven, Human Resources Manager TAKING CARE OF YOU As a supporter of the Lighthouse Club Charity, our employees also have access to their confidential helpline: Again, we have seen plenty of employees celebrating decades of hard work at Nixon Hire - thank you to you all for your commitment and dedication! MILESTONE LONG SERVICE AWARDS 10 YEARS: Craig Heeps Carren Sheldon Louise Tinsley Ruth Crawford Grant Kelly Jamie Gilbert Paul Major 20 YEARS: Michael McDonald Garry Morris MAKING OUR HR POLICIES WORK FOR YOU We have been working hard to make some of our HR policies more user-friendly. You can view them all within the HR Department section on the Nixon Network under ‘Policies’. However, if you have any specific questions feel free to contact us to help with your query personally. Last year our average turnover rate reduced by 8% and our absence reduced by 5% compared to 2021. 1ST PLACE ABERDEEN 2ND PLACE WARRINGTON 3RD PLACE HIGHLANDS ARMED FORCES COVENANT We have signed up to the Armed Forces Covenant. This pledges that as a company we acknowledge and understand that those who serve or who have served in the armed forces, and their families, should be treated with fairness and respect in the communities, economy and society they serve with their lives. Details of our pledge can be found on noticeboards around all Depots. As part of our commitment, we will be reviewing the recruitment practices, HR policies, advocacy and increased support we are able to provide. This will be achieved and maintained through our participation in the Defence Employer Recognition Award Scheme. Congratulations to our Nixon Hire Hero Award winners so far for 2023! The nomination form is always available on the Nixon Network so make sure you put forward anyone you believe has gone above and beyond to do something special, meaningful or impactful for you or the business. MORE NIXON HIRE HEROES As Mental Health First Aiders, they are equipped with: • An in-depth understanding of mental health and the factors that can affect wellbeing • Practical skills to spot the triggers and signs of mental health issues • Confidence to step in, reassure and support a person in distress • Enhanced interpersonal skills such as nonjudgemental listening • Knowledge to help someone recover their health by guiding them to further support – whether that’s self-help resources, through our EAP, the NHS, or a mix
WELCOME TO WOLVERHAMPTON We are delighted that our brand new Wolverhampton Depot is now open, after a lengthy search to find the perfect spot for our West Midlands hub! This is an exciting strategic Depot for the business and will enhance our coverage across the Midlands – offering all products apart from large plant. The site, which stands at just under five acres, comprises of concrete standing, a large workshop, separate paint shop and welfare facilities. NEW DEPOT 6 OUR NEW DEPOT IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS! Wolverhampton will be our first flagship Depot for renewables, focusing on our fantastic range of solar powered and eco-friendly products – including eco site accommodation, eco welfare facilities and renewable power. This eco ethos will also be continued throughout the Depot itself. We are even looking into potentially installing solar panels on buildings to help power the site’s operations! OUR FIRST FLAGSHIP DEPOT FOR RENEWABLES Andy Homer and the wider Nixon Hire team have been hard at work over the last few months getting the Depot ready to welcome customers and showcase our full fleet offering at the Innovation Open Day we are hosting in mid July. GETTING CUSTOMER READY This has included carrying out health and safety audits, getting communication systems in place, arranging electrics and painting office and workshop buildings. It has been great to see the transformation happen in such a short period of time – well done team! Further information: Rob Hopton, Wolverhampton Depot Manager MEET THE TEAM Rob Hopton Depot Manager Recruitment has been very successful, with some great new starters in place and more joining the company soon. This has enabled Wolverhampton to hit the ground running and be ready for growth as operations expand. “As a team we will work collaboratively to understand our customers needs, allowing us to deliver quality equipment and service first time, every time.” Rob Hopton Rob has worked in an operational capacity within the plant and tool hire industry for over 10 years, specialising in access and power generation. As Depot Manager, Rob is looking forward to ensuring we are delivering a first class service to both new and existing clients in this expanded area.
SALES TEAM 8 EXCITING CHANGES TO THE SALES TEAM NEW SALES MANAGERS Mark, Gary and Scott bring a wealth of knowledge, with almost 50 years’ experience within the hire industry between them. They will lead their BDM teams, providing the support they need to hit their sales targets. MARK WILLIAMS ENGLAND SOUTH GARY BODYCOTE ENGLAND NORTH JON ATHERTON MAJOR PROJECTS MANAGER (ENGLAND NORTH) DAN CHRISTMAS MAJOR PROJECTS MANAGER (ENGLAND SOUTH) PAUL CORSON MAJOR PROJECTS MANAGER (SCOTLAND) JAINE O’DELL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER (FILM & LEISURE) We have created these specialist roles to be better placed to meet increasing customer demands. In an increasingly competitive marketplace where adapting to bespoke requirements and forming relationships is key, these new positions allow us to give our biggest customers the focus they need. NEW SPECIALISTS In March we held our first Innovation Open Days at Bedford Depot which were a huge success! They were a great opportunity for our Sales Team to meet current and potential customers, demonstrate our cutting-edge products and explain exactly how our products can help them meet their ever more ambitious carbon emission reduction targets. The team did a great job setting up an impressive amount of equipment including stacked accommodation units, welfare units, solar hybrid generators, solar smart frames and a solar welfarevan! We plan to host more events like this across our nationwide Depot network so watch this space! BEDFORD INNOVATION DAY Further information: Paul Corten, Group Sales Director A FOCUS ON RENEWABLE POWER Covering Northern England and Scotland, in his new role Nigel will be supporting all BDMs for customers currently using generators in any capacity as well as finding new customers for this product. He will be demonstrating how our battery storage units, solar hybrid generators and other renewable products are the better choice, allowing our clients to considerably reduce their carbon footprint and site costs when compared to running a standard diesel generator 24 hours a day. He will also be finding new business in this sector - customers who are likely to want to adopt a full turnkey solution for their sites which will include our full renewable range and low energy consumption accommodation - to add long-term benefits and help reduce their environmental impact on projects. NIGEL TYREMAN TECHNICAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANGER – RENEWABLE POWER SCOTT HOLMES SCOTLAND “Our goal is to make sure customers don’t just hire one thing from us, they hire everything from us. With our well connected Depot network and trusted rehire partners there is no reason why we can’t be a true one stop shop!” Paul Corten
NEW STEERING GROUPS Further information: Anthony Livermore, SHEQ Director SHEQ UPDATE SHEQ 10 “SHEQ is a big focus for Nixon Hire and something which we want our customers to know about. Towards the end of 2023 we will be applying for some external health and safety awards so fingers crossed and watch this space!” Anthony Livermore FURTHER ACCREDITATION SUCCESS We have now had final confirmation from NQA (our external auditors) that due to our IMS Quality Management System being embedded throughout the company, they are happy to approve and certify that all Depots individually now hold the ISO 45001 (health & safety) accreditation without any further auditing or visits. This is a fantastic achievement and further evidences the great work that we all do around safety, health, environmental and quality across the Depot network. Hats off to Michelle Oliver who worked extremely hard on this project and her determination to get it over the line certainly paid off! A NEW MEMBER OF THE TEAM We were delighted to welcome our new Health & Safety Advisor Nathan Carr to the team earlier this year. Nathan’s initial focus is to manage the day-to-day health and safety matters within the company, with additional objectives of further embedding processes and procedures, reducing accidents and incidents and our risk management profile. His aim is to become an active member of the team in and around the Depot network so please welcome him and give him support where and when it is needed. We have introduced a new Carbon Reduction and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) Steering Group to support, direct and drive Nixon Hire’s Carbon Reduction 2035 Project and ESG Project forward. The first meeting was held in February and further information of exciting projects will be available soon. Our Energy Steering Group is now active and meeting regularly, to establish key departmental KPIs, objectives and drivers linking to the Carbon Reduction Road Map and ESG strategy. Our carbon calculator is now live, with a baseline figure which will be compared to yearly data moving forward. The ESG and carbon strategy and roadmap will soon be available to view on the Nixon Network and company website - if anyone would like to be involved in these projects please contact Anthony Livermore, SHEQ Director. HELPING SHAPE THE FUTURE OF THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY SHEQ Director Anthony Livermore is now an active member of the MPBA Sustainability Committee, which supports the industry and its members to act more responsibly in terms of sustainability, ESG and carbon reduction. He is also part of the national ‘Temp Accommodation Stakeholder Community Group’ along with other members from companies such as ALGECO, GAP, Costain, Kier, Wernick, SISK and Balfour Beatty. The purpose of the group is to standardise the industry in several areas and also to drive and support carbon reduction in the UK. As a result of this we now have active working partnerships on ESG and carbon reduction with JN Bentley, Amco Giffen and HSS. It is great to see companies working together to have a positive impact on our planet.
OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE
TIPS “WHEN IN DOUBT, MOVE IT OUT.” Workbenches and workbench cupboards Shelves Workshop floors Oil storage areas Cleaning bays Paint shops Waste bins and skips Storage areas Yards Canteens Drying rooms PLACES TO SORT A good, thorough sort of your work area and depot will create space for you to work and will pave the way to the next stage of 5S implementation. DEPOT STRUCTURE ASSET PERFECTION Identify and remove all: • Rubbish – boxes, packaging, rags • Old/obsolete; Equipment Materials Parts • Personal items • Excessive spares… put them back in the stores • Old PPE … Anything that isn’t needed LET’S SORT! 5S RED TAG Item Located Identified by Date General Information What type of item is it? Equipment Machine Parts Tools Raw Materials Finished Goods Stationary Item Other Why is item being tagged? No longer needed Defective Obsolete Extra Other Follow The Red Tag process for equipment and unused obsolete parts. Depot standards audit to start in Q3, driving each Depot towards the first OpX accreditation. DEPOT STANDARDS : YOUR DEPOT’S 5S JOURNEY ASSET AVAILABILITY INBOUND CHECKS 3 More technical checks to detect issues earlier 3 Minimise workload from further on in process 3 Form dedicated, skilled teams to complete inbounds INBOUND CLEAN 3 Clean all equipment on return to Depot 3 Minimise deterioration of equipment, furniture and accessories from being stored dirty/sodden in water CHANGE IS COMING! We want to improve the way we do things - the way kit flows into and through a Depot, which task are assigned to which people - all to make the process QUICKER, BETTER, and more AUTOMATED! SERVICING STRUCTURE 3 Full structure to comply more with manufacturer servicing QUICKER CHECKS 3 More concise checks 3 Focus on asset perfection SORT Our OpX journey begins with 5S! Allowing the Depot teams to get organised and prepared for any changes that need to be made in the Depot to achieve our OpX objectives. The OpX committee meet every 4 weeks to discuss: If you want to highlight any of the above from your OpX journey for discussion email [email protected] OPX COMMITTEE 3 Progress 3 Projects 3 Barriers 3 Maximise skill set 3 Remove admin tasks for those in skilled roles 3 Standardise Depot structure 60% AVAILABILITY WE WANT TO SAY YES TO 60% OF HIRES WITH MINIMAL FUSS. Ask your Depot Manager to see your Depot 5S Sort Plan for guidance. First round of asset perfection audits completed by our Divisional Managers. These scores will allow us to measure improvements and award future Depot accreditations. 123 ASSET PERFECTION AUDITS COMPLETED Figures published 16.06.2023 93% AVERAGE SCORE Bins Drums Old parts Batteries Aerosols
“A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING AND EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE.” "SEE AND FEEL PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVE." Further information: Susan Wright, Head of Continuous Improvement LETS GET ORGANISED AND... ‘SET’!! After each area is free from all of the items that are not required, it’s now time to set everything that is required! TO MINIMISE TRANSPORTATION • Do you need to bring equipment from one location to another to use it? TO MINIMISE MOTION • Do you have to walk to a different area to get tools, part or materials regularly to do your job? • Do you have to walk to a different area to dispose of waste which causes build up? TO MINIMISE DELAYS • Do you have the tools, parts and materials accessible that you use daily? ‘SET’ OF QUESTIONS Proactively and continuously clean all work areas as part of your working day to keep work areas running smoothly. STANDARDISE SUSTAIN IF YOU HAVEN’T RECEIVED AN INTRODUCTION TO OPX PLEASE SPEAK TO YOUR DEPOT OR DEPARTMENT MANAGER. MY IDEA IS A PLATFORM TO MAKE SUGGESTIONS AND SHARE IDEAS TO ENHANCE DEPOT OPERATIONS AND ULTIMATELY THE SUCCESS OF NIXON HIRE. We want to hear about any ideas which could: Send them to: [email protected] If a suggestion is implemented, you’ll receive a reward in recognition for your idea! SET OpX Bronze will be awarded through Depot Audits where it is evident sort, set and shine are in practice - with: 3 ALL WORK AREAS CLUTTER FREE 3 ALL WORK AREAS TIDY AND ORGANISED 3 CLEAR WORKSHOP FLOORS 3 MAXIMISED WALL SPACE FOR STORAGE 3 MAXIMISED DEAD SPACE USAGE 3 SAFE, OPERABLE DEPOTS DEPOT STANDARDS SHINE ACCREDITATION Create standardised procedures and schedules of what tasks need to be done, when and by whom, so 5S becomes routine. Don’t let go of all the hard work. Live and breath 5S, keep it fresh and always train your new team members on procedures and processes. INTRODUCING • Save time • Improve process • Improve productivity • Cut costs • Create a greater place to work
NEW MODULAR DIVISION 18 A NEW DIVISION DEDICATED TO MODULAR At the end of March we announced the launch of our new Modular Buildings Division, focusing on creating unique temporary buildings for our customers. Although modular buildings is a product we have offered customers previously, we have now entered into a joint venture with TF Jackson, a well established company which imports modular buildings into the UK, who we will now work closely with to be their hire front. This allows us to offer customers immediate turnaround compared to our competitors who can only offer a minimum six week turnaround and gives us the freedom to set far more competitive rates - giving us huge competitor advantage which we intend to fully capitalise on! Further information: Steven Sykes Modular Buildings Division Manager THE KEY PLAYERS To ensure this new division is as profitable as it can be we have appointed two experienced members of the Nixon Hire team to head it up and run the day-to-day operations: Steven Sykes Divisional Manager Steven has worked closely with Tracey Hazelton within the Accommodation and Welfare Division for many years and more recently took on the role of Site Project Manager, where he was the lead appointed person for the safe installation of hundreds of major setups nationwide. He knows the product inside and out and already has great relationships with our customers so is in a great position to really drive this new division forward. Joining Nixon Hire in 2018 on the Hire Desk, by 2022 Sarah was working solely on modular building projects, expanding her knowledge and experience through working directly with suppliers, site managers and installation crews. In her new role as Modular Specialist, Sarah is looking to hit the ground running and get stuck into the bigger volume of upcoming projects that we are now able to supply! Sarah Jones Modular Specialist SUCCESS STORIES We have been supplying long-standing customers EKFB with a full compound to accommodate staff, visitors and operatives with full welfare facilities – which will be running for a minimum of 52 weeks. The compound includes five large buildings comprising of open plan offices, canteens, shower facilities, changing facilities, meeting rooms and more! A setup comprising of an all-inone building to accommodate classrooms, bespoke induction rooms and first aid cabins – all high spec and providing the exact facilities the customer needs. This site went in at the end of last year and will run for two years. By the end of April we already had large confirmed orders for customers including JN Bentley and Anglian Water to the value of over £250k and sales agreed to the value of almost £45k! We are really excited about this new division, which represents a huge opportunity for us. Designed and built to the customer’s exact requirements, the possibilities are endless with modular buildings - which means the possibilities of target customers are also endless! THESE EKFB & GE SITES ALONE WILL BRING IN OVER £326K FOR THEIR MINIMUM HIRE PERIODS!
HIRE DESK 20 MEET OUR NEW LOOK REGIONAL TEAMS There have been lots of changes on the Hire Desk recently, so we’d like to take this opportunity to introduce everyone to our new look teams and their Managers! INCREASED SUPPORT FOR THE HIRE DESK Further information: Kayla Newton, Customer Excellence Director The main focus of the Hire Desk remains to deliver customer excellence at all times. To help us achieve this goal we have introduced the new role of Quality Assurance Coach. Rachael Waters was appointed to this role in May, with her objective being to help deliver continuous improvements throughout the Central Desk. This is an exciting opportunity to conduct audits on all customer touchpoints and live calls. This appointment will help us drive performance and invest in our people, processes and systems - to deliver customer excellence to our all-important customers. Rachael will also help embed and drive our NPS score throughout all major customer touchpoints. England South England North Scotland Managed Accounts Throughout 2023 we have made significant developments to Hire Connect to allow it to become our main Hire System. Version 1.0 has successfully been completed and signed off and is now considered a polished system which is multifunctional. A huge thank you to our Systems and Applications Manager, David Balmer and our Marketing Team for their continuous investment in the delivery of this. HIRE CONNECT VERSION 1.0 IS COMPLETE! What is Hire Connect Version 1.0? The Central Desk can now take full ownership of all customer enquiries and processes within one area of Hire Connect. They can: • See a full list of bespoke customer pricing for all products • Provide full quotations for rehire products • Provide quotations for all Nixon Hire products, complete with specifications and visuals • Identify associated upsell products • Process a hire • Log a breakdown • Generate off-hires • Take cash payments As with all new systems, we are invested in continuously improving and adding to functionality. Hire Connect 1.1 is well on its way so watch this space! New developments will include a sales dashboard and pipeline, new confirmation documents for our customers and exchanges! WHAT’S NEXT FOR HIRE CONNECT?
“In May all solar mobile welfare units were powered purely by solar and battery! We are thrilled to offer our customers unrivalled welfare facilities which run silent and emission free!” Tracey Hazelton FANTASTIC SALES FIGURES FOR 2023 Further information: Calin Beak, Sales Supervisor The Sales Division has had a fantastic first half of 2023, generating circa £6.5 million in revenue, with a profit of circa £2 million on disposal! This has really helped us ease the difficult trading start to the year we have experienced with plant hires and has allowed us to dispose of assets which were not adding any value to the fleet. SALES DIVISION 23 IMPRESSIVE PRODUCT PERFORMANCE Further information: Tracey Hazelton, Accommodation & Welfare Division Manager Our solar mobile welfare units have been flying out on hire since the product was launched into the fleet and have already produced some impressive stats. One unit which was on a JN Bentley site in Huddersfield in February saved an impressive £469 in fuel costs and generated 54kWh of solar energy in the month when compared with a standard 22ft welfare unit – the equivalent of planting 43 trees for a year! SITE ACCOMMODATION & WELFARE FACILITIES 22 As set out in The Good Kit Guide, we have a comprehensive ready for hire process before any site equipment goes out on hire and that includes site accommodation and welfare units. How our products are looked after once they go out on hire is going to be a focus of our OpX strategy as it develops – so we can ensure customers are equipped with the knowledge they need to get the most out of our equipment and improve their shelf life. FIRST CLASS AFTER CARE SHOW ME THE MONEY! 0% 0% 41% 59% 0 kWh 0 kWh 0.50 kWh 0.72 kWh LAST 24H 0% 0% 46% 54% 0 kWh 0 kWh 17.47 kWh 20.17 kWh LAST 30 DAYS 0% 0% 43% 57% 0 kWh 0 kWh 4.03 kWh 5.28 kWh LAST 7 DAYS 0% 2% 43% 37% 0 kWh 4.90 kWh 120.04 kWh 72.58 kWh LAST 365 DAYS Recorded data for all solar mobile welfare units running in May 2023: Key: From Solar From Battery From Generator From Grid Due to market pressures we expedited the sale of plant equipment. So far this year we have sold 675 assets totalling £5.8 million, against a budget of 306 assets and £1.9 million revenue - generating a profit on disposal of £1.8 million! Euro Auction are selling over 7,000 assets every six weeks. With so much equipment being sold prices can fall but actually they have been in line with expectation – with the large plant sales year to date only 0.2% away from our anticipated prices. LARGE PLANT RESIDUALS HOLDING STRONG We have also rebuilt a relationship with Britcab who have purchased circa 60 ex hire fleet accommodation units from us in May alone. We also have Simpsons and Edinburgh Palette who are purchasing units from us. This is really positive news and is a great way for us to keep our hire fleet more profitable. BIG VALUE ORDERS FOR THE TEAM £66,845 £38,430 £25,026 CALIN’S LARGEST VALUE ORDER YTD 32FT OFFICES & TOILET BLOCK FOR TULLOCH DEVELOPMENTS KARINA’S LARGEST VALUE ORDER YTD CONTAINERS FOR I&H BROWN LIMITED BRAD’S LARGEST VALUE ORDER YTD GENERATORS FOR SCOTTISH BORDER COUNCIL Asset Perfection OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE We will soon have units on location in Derbyshire for the filming of Mission Impossible 8. Jaine has been invited to be based there a few times a week which is an amazing opportunity for us! The large setup shown below in the Nottinghamshire countryside is for a new film based on the play Hedda Gabler.
We have been delighted to give our employees access to a range of fully funded ESF courses across the last few months. These courses, funded by the European Social Fund are designed to provide workers with the skills needed to improve their employment and career options. So far 50 staff members have taken advantage of this fantastic opportunity! The following courses have been attended: Leading Teams & Managing Performance Problem Solving & Making Informed Decisions Managing Conflict & Negotiation Understanding Your Customers & Telephone Techniques Mental Health First Aid Project Management Fundamentals The ESF funding will finish at the end of September, however we are hoping for a new funding opportunity with the Prosperity Fund which will offer us another opportunity to further develop our staff. FUNDING SUCCESS Further information: Marie Butler, Learning & Development Manager INVESTING IN OUR PEOPLE LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT 24 “Feedback from the ESF courses has been fantastic – very useful topics and courses engaging, delivered by personable tutors. Attendees have felt that they have taken a lot away from the courses and feel confident in implementing their learning into daily working tasks.” Marie Butler At the end of February, we submitted a bid to CITB for a leadership and management grant and were thrilled to be successful in our quest! We secured £50k funding to run our own bespoke, fully accredited Leadership & Management Course for up to 56 attendees. Such a great benefit to our business. In partnership with Jimmy Forster of Lean6Services Ltd, we devised a five day learning programme, which includes essential learning to support our OpX journey! The programme will focus on ‘Developing Leaders’ and ‘Leadership & Management’, offering a BQF accredited Lean Practitioner qualification. The first of the Developing Leaders courses started in May, and we are already receiving some great feedback! From the beginning of 2023 to date we have seen over 300 staff members attend some form of training course! SUCCESSFUL APPRENTICESHIPS We currently have the following employees approaching End Point Assessment (EPA) for Land-based Engineer Apprenticeships and would like to wish them the best of luck: Aaron Kinson (Newcastle) – Level 2 Charlie Naylor (Nottingham) – Level 2 Michael Dixon (Newcastle) – Level 2 Thomas Lattimer (Stockton) – Level 2 David Gray (Newcastle) – Level 3 We also have some new apprentices just starting out on their learning journey so we would like to wish them happy learning! Matthew Fisher (CSO) – Information Communications Technician - Level 3 Douglas Grant (Newcastle) – Team Leader or Supervisor – Level 3 Kristian Watson (Newcastle) – Land-based Service Engineer – Level 2 Adam Smith (CSO) – Data Technician – Level 3 5S TRAINING March saw the final cohort of 5S training delivered to our Depot network, with 60 staff members in total receiving training. The 5S programme aims to improve productivity through maintaining an orderly workplace by sorting, setting, shining, standardising and sustaining. This is another successful programme where staff are already implementing their learnings. We had great course feedback from our staff again. Gordon Hamilton (aka Flash!) recently received an unannounced audit from National Plant while delivering an NPORS Lorry Loader Course in Bedford. The auditor checked the standard of the delivery of training and learner profiles, including test requirements. We are delighted to say this was another successful audit which Gordon passed with flying colours! FLASH, AH-AH!
ABERDEEN DEPOT 26 SPOTLIGHT ON ABERDEEN DEPOT Kenny Stephen, Manager at our Aberdeen Depot shares some insights into how the team at Aberdeen work together to ensure the best experience for our customers, as well as how he creates a positive working environment... How do you think Aberdeen Depot has changed over the years? Aberdeen Depot has changed massively in my five years at Nixon Hire, largely due to the fact that we no longer offer large plant. I believe we are an incredibly strong team, the best we have ever had in Aberdeen and we’re proud to supply a very high standard of kit to our customers. How do Aberdeen Depot work as a team to provide customers with the best experience? We are in regular contact with each other and this means that we can work together to change our plans at a moments notice to make sure hires go out as soon as possible for our customers. We also hold Toolbox Talk meetings every morning to discuss the wants and needs of the business – arranging any vehicle loading on an evening before the Depot closes and planning deliveries the following morning. What do you think drives employee performance and how do you motivate your staff to be the best they can be? I believe it’s the passion that myself and Amy show – it rubs off on the rest of the guys. They also know that we will always support them and assist where we can, as they do for us. We may not always have the answers on our own, but as a team we do. I made a promise to the guys at the Depot when I started, that I would stay and help make Aberdeen a real flagship site for Nixon Hire in Scotland. How do you ensure employees feel like a valued member of the team? We make sure we praise the team when they have done a good job and always communicate to them what is happening within the business. The team know that if they don’t perform that I will always be open and honest with them. What do you think we need to focus on as a business to ensure success in Scotland? For Aberdeen, it’s definitely a highly motivated BDM to help build up the Depot, as I believe there are opportunities we are missing out on in the North East of Scotland. If we had this we could really make a bigger name for Nixon Hire across Aberdeen and the surrounding areas. Further information: Kenny Stephen, Aberdeen Depot Manager “I believe we are an incredibly strong team, the best we have ever had in Aberdeen” Kenny Stephen CONFIDENTIAL EMPLOYEE SURVEY – RESULTS COMING SOON! In May we launched our company wide confidential ‘Your Say’ employee survey, designed to capture your honest views on what you think it is like to work at Nixon Hire. By using external provider WorkBuzz, we could guarantee any answers given were 100% confidential. A shout out to the following teams for achieving 100% completion: Aberdeen (within 2 days of survey opening!) Highlands Glasgow Nottingham Finance SHEQ & Commercial/Insurance IT & Systems People & Culture IN OTHER NEWS 27 THE TOTAL RESPONSE RATE WAS 74%, WITH SEVERAL TEAMS ACHIEVING 100% WHICH WAS GREAT TO SEE! We really appreciate the contributions of everyone who took part and look forward to sharing the results with you soon. We will also be communicating the plans we are going to put in place, to make the improvements we need to make to ensure Nixon Hire remains a company people are proud to work for. LOOKING THE PART We have recently signed off new uniforms for customer facing staff in CSO and for those working in our Depots - to ensure we project a strong brand image and have suitable, compliant clothing to carry out our duties. The new uniform is in the process of being rolled out, with updated Uniform Guidelines soon to be issued. Please take the time to read through this document and if you have any issues or questions please speak to your Line Manager. The appearance of our employees reflects the image of our company and has a significant impact on the way we are viewed by our customers, colleagues, suppliers and the general public - we hope you like our new look!
WE ARE DELIGHTED TO ANNOUNCE AN UPDATE TO OUR REFER A FRIEND SCHEME! For more information email: [email protected] Any employee who refers someone for an interview, who is appointed and successfully passes their probation period will receive £250 (or £300 if you refer ex armed forces personnel) as a thank you! RECEIVE £300 FOR REFERRING EX ARMED FORCES PERSONNEL