J Browne Network News 2018/19

NETWORK 

CONNECTING US TOGETHER 

WINTER 2018/19 

IN THIS ISSUE: 

/// Business Update.............................. 2 

/// Projects............................................. 10 

/// BrownE Points................................. 4 

/// Director’s Q&A................................. 13 

/// Safety, Health & Wellbeing............ 6 

/// JBDS.................................................. 14 

CAPITAL DELIVERY TEAM 

We are pleased to announce the arrival of our new Capital Delivery 

Team. This group have been working together for the last 20 years 

primarily on water utilities in the South East of England, and are 

now looking to grow this workstream within J Browne. 

They have a long track record of delivery large clean and waste water infrastructure and 

non-infrastructure projects for clients including Thames Water, Affinity Water and large 

capital projects including Thames Tideway Tunnel and Crossrail. 

PROJECT PROFILE 

AFFINITY WATER 

– RUNLEYWOOD 

ABSTRACTION 

BOREHOLE 

The team includes Capital Delivery Director Martin Murphy, Contracts Manager Steve 

Edwards, Senior Project Manager Paul Quinlan and Project Quantity Surveyor Michele 

Queenan. They have a wealth of expertise in trunk main installation, first time sewerage 

schemes, sewer and pipeline diversions, shaft sinking for construction of pumping stations, 

storage tanks, manhole/access chambers, working shafts for tunnelling, headings, sewer 

repair & strengthening works. 

They has been successfully delivering technically demanding projects in a safe and efficient 

manner, offering both design and build, and build only solutions to the sector. The 

team are already delivering with under pressure connections to a 15” trunk main for a 

development site in Southall for Affinity Water. 

They are also starting to work for Eight2o and SMB on their trunk mains programme 

in the western provinces area, firstly looking at enabling works packages in advance of 

the main pipeline installation works. In this first project they stripped off the topsoil and 

almost immediately uncovered evidence of Roman settlement, including a burial site. 

Working closely with the archaeologists and the SMD project delivery team, the J Browne 

team were able to support the historical dig very effectively without impacting the overall 

delivery programme for the Trunk Main. The main works were reprogrammed to avoid 

cost and time impact to the client. A great example of the type of collaborative approach 

that J Browne is renowned for. 

The skills and capability brought by the team complement the wider offerings of J Browne, 

and will add greatly to our expanding portfolio of services. I’m sure you will join me in 

welcoming them to our business. 

The team consists of (left to right): Paul Quinlan – Senior Project Manager, Michele 

Queenan – Project Q.S, Martin Murphy – Operations Director and Steve Edwards 

– Contracts Manager. 

J Browne are installing a new 230m 

deep Abstraction Borehole on behalf 

of Affinity Water. The works are 

continuing with the drill phases 

now complete having reached the 

230m drill completion milestone met 

last week. To reach this depth the 

diameter of the drill was reduced to 

drill through the clay. Steel casings 

were installed to continue on the 

24 hour drilling operation down to 

the Greensands, the underground 

water source. 

Paul Quinlan and the team are 

delivering well on this challenging 

project, whilst maintaining an 

excellent relationship with the local 

residents throughout this heavy civil 

engineering phase. 

070_Browne_Newsletter 12.indd 1 14/01/2019 10:40

BUSINESS UPDATE 

Paul McMahon 

Managing Director 

As we are a little over mid-way through the regulatory cycle, the last year as expected has been a year 

of consolidation. Although there have been plenty of issues to deal with, there have also been lots 

of good things happening in the business as well, as we develop both existing and new sectors. 

The group is expecting to deliver about £65m of turnover this year. 

Our mains replacement section has been 

powering ahead, with 45km having 

been delivered in the last year, and we 

are looking to increase this in the 18/19, 

working in the Swindon, Reading, High 

Wycombe and London regions. Barry, 

Duncan, Martin, Terri and the team are 

delivering industry leading performance in 

this competitive market place. 

JBDS has been relaunched with a new 

branding and an increased web presence, 

advising clients of our wide solutions 

capability in the developer services market. 

The offering has been received very well in 

the sector. Pat Kavanagh and JBDS offers 

a fantastic service to developers to aid 

developers to overcome the perennial issues 

and delays around multi utility connections. 

J Browne welcomed a new team into 

the business to deliver the more complex 

infrastructure and non-infrastructure 

projects, particularly on trunk mains, 

trunk sewers, large distribution mains and 

sewers, large pumping stations, and on 

above ground assets. Martin Murphy, 

Steve Edwards and the team come with 

bags of experience and capability. We are 

delighted to have them join the business, 

and they are fitting in very well to the their 

new surroundings. 

We had a significant extension to our TW 

Reservoir Maintenance Framework to 2020, 

and we also secured a place on the SEW 

Reservoir Maintenance framework for the 

next 5 years. In Thames Water we have held 

this contract since 1991, and to have our 

clients take up this maximum extension is a 

great credit to the team. Tim Noonan, who 

has worked on this contract for most of 

those years has finally decided to retire, and 

although sad to see him go, we wish him all 

the best in his retirement. He deserves a bit 

of decent time off. 

There has been no let up on innovation. 

We continue to apply ourselves, to 

improving how we work in the field and 

how we support field operations. We 

have developed our over-air technological 

applications to reduce the preparation 

of paper packs and forms, and to reduce 

NEW RECRUITMENT REFERRAL SCHEME 

Our business is built on strength of our relationships and, as such, we value 

recommendations very highly. If you know of any friends, family or other colleagues 

that may be interested in our vacancies, you can make a recruitment referral. If your 

nomination is successful, you could receive a recruitment referral payment. 

Who is better to make a recruitment recommendation to the Company other than 

our own employees who work here! 

To recommend a candidate please complete a Recruitment Referral Application 

Form and send it to HR along with the applicant’s CV. Suitable candidates will be 

invited for interview with the recruiting manager. 

Keep an eye on our website for vacancies or contact HR if you would like any 

further information on any specific roles. You can also send in speculative CVs. We 

will be happy to receive and retain these for future opportunities that may occur. 

If your nomination is successful, the following payments will apply: 

• £500 for management job roles (grade D and above) 

• £300 for supervisory level job roles (grade C) 

• £300 for admin/support roles (grade A and B) 

• £300 for directly employed working gang 

wasted transportation costs. In the last 

few months Louisa, Jon and their team 

have introduced e-gang packs, and 

improved the preconstruction electronic 

information packs we provide. We have also 

introduced simple applications around the 

management of welfare, incident reporting 

and safety observations. We are looking to 

expand these applications to improve the 

quality of communications and how we 

provide information. All to make working 

life better and easier. 

We look forward to a good year ahead 

and most importantly look forward to 

continuing to deliver safely and effectively 

for our customers this year. 

Best Wishes for the year ahead 

Paul McMahon 

REFILL LONDON 

J Browne’s head 

office has joined 

Refill London, the 

scheme that offers 

people free tap 

water refills as part 

of the Mayor of 

London’s plans to 

reduce single use 

plastic bottles in 

the capital. 

The Mayor is keen 

for Londoners 

to adopt small 

changes that 

can have a big 

environmental impact – like refilling 

bottles and cups with tap water, 

instead of needlessly buying new 

single-use ones. 

Did you know the average Londoner 

uses 175 single use plastic bottles 

a year – and only half of them 

get recycled! 

In total, some 7.7 billion plastic bottles 

are bought across the UK each year, 

resulting in substantial amounts of 

single use plastic waste. 

2 


THE FRONTLINE 

J Browne Supervisor Wayne Blaney has been 

chosen to identify and promote the 

characteristics of good supervisors in the 

Thames Water business through a poster 

and social media campaign. 

Wayne and five other supervisors from both our client 

Thames Water and supply chain partners were handpicked as 

exceptional supervisors who could inspire the next generation 

and promote the vital role within the Thames Water business. 

The group who included supervisors and managers from Thames 

Water, Clancy, Barhale and SMB were involved in a series of 

interviews and group discussions hosted by Joe Hall Head of 

Safety Capital Delivery Office to tease out the attributes of good 

supervisors and site leadership. All the group were responsible 

for diverse work streams but all shared excellent leadership 

qualities such as being good communicators, ensuring 

they had the respect of their teams, taking responsibility for the 

health safety and well being of their people and taking pride in 

their work. 

Wayne featured in December’s issue of The Source magazine 

and will also be featuring on a series of poster 

all over the TWU estate from the launch in December. 

Wayne is expecting a ‘small bit of banter’ from his teams and 

colleagues post launch! Well done Wayne, we are all very proud 

to have you representing us. 

ALL IN A DAY’S WORK 

Steven Moore and his team Adrian Marin, 

Alexandru-Daniel Tala and Filip Romeo had a day 

to remember on Friday 23rd November 2018 

helping the London Fire Brigade and local resident 

get a potentially devasting fire under control by 

an innovative use of the Thames Water mains 

network and some quick thinking by the team. 

The team who work for J Browne on Eight2O’s Mains Replacement 

Programme in North East London arrived for work in Hillside 

Avenue Redbridge at the start of what should have been a busy 

day replacing leaking pipes for Thames Water’s customers 

Steven recalled hearing a resident calling out for help as a fire had 

broken out in their property. The team reacted quickly to assist 

the owner and to help control the fire by setting up a temporary 

bypass pipe off the existing hydrant point on the 

water main providing water to douse the flames and contain the 

incident until the London Fire Brigade arrived. They also provided 

LFB staff with practical help on their arrival and handed over the 

incident professionally and calmly having taken measures to ensure 

the continuity of the water supply. 

What Steven and his team of did that day can only be described 

as heroic and probably saved the property from destruction and 

averted serious consequences for the owner’s family, all of whom 

were all within the property at the time of the fire. 

Steven and his team were visited the next day by Woodford Branch 

of London Fire Brigade who commended them for their efforts and 

expressed gratitude for their quick thinking. We are very proud 

of the team’s actions on the day and they have been awarded a 

BrownE Points recognition award for Customer Champion as a 

small token of our thanks. Steven and the team are back installing 

water mains but can be relied on to don their super hero capes at a 

moment’s notice! 

3 


Back in February, J Browne’s launched their new recognition and reward 

scheme “BrownE Points”. This is a reward scheme whereby any employee 

can nominate a fellow colleague for an award, with winners being 

selected quarterly. 

We had a great response with some impressive reasons for the nominations. There were a few suspicious 

entries, Jeremy, I’m sorry but you can’t nominate yourself! The challenge of picking the winners was 

down to our Board of Directors. 

It was an extremely 

difficult task to pick the 

winners from the group of 

impressive nominees put 

forward. The commitment 

demonstrated our staff to 

going the extra mile for 

our colleagues and our 

customers is something 

we as a business are very 

proud of. Well done to all. 

Paul McMahon 

We want employees, managers 

and clients to scan the QR code 

to nominate individuals who have 

demonstrated excellent performance. 

We look forward each quarter 

to celebrating and recognising 

the success and contribution of 

our employees. 

The three Award categories are: 

CUSTOMER 

CHAMPION 

AWARD 

VALUED 

PEOPLE 

AWARD 

HEALTH 

& SAFETY 

LEADER 

AWARD 

Contribution 

towards excellent 

customer service 

Contribution 

towards outstanding 

quality of work, 

supporting 

colleagues or going 

the extra mile 

Contribution to 

health and safety, 

identifying nearmisses, 

making sure 

work is conducted in 

a safe environment 

MARCH WINNERS 

CUSTOMER 

CHAMPION 

AWARD 

Customer Champion 

Catherine Hull, Planning 

Manager at the Slough 

Customer Service Centre 

VALUED 

PEOPLE 

AWARD 

Valued People 

Wayne Blaney, 

Supervisor on our 

WNS contract 

HEALTH 

& SAFETY 

LEADER 

AWARD 

Health & Safety Leader 

Marius & Gabriel Tiru, 

Operational Gang on 

our WNS contract 

Reason: A commendation email was 

received from Thames Water for the 

impressive way Catherine dealt with a 

highly emotional and stressed customer. 

Catherine remained calm, professional 

and highly effective so that the works 

were completed speedily. 

Reason: Wayne was the worthy winner 

of this award in recognition of his helpful 

attitude and willingness to go the extra mile 

in supporting colleagues and clients. 

Reason: Marius and Gabriel received a 

green card when audited on site by our 

client Lanes. The auditor commented that 

it was an ‘impeccable site’. This award 

was in recognition of the high health 

and safety standards that they both 

constantly achieve on site. 

4 


JUNE WINNERS 

CUSTOMER 

CHAMPION 

AWARD 


Steve Smith, 

Supervisor on our TW 

Reservoir contract 

VALUED 

PEOPLE 

AWARD 

Valued People 

Ade Kelani, Ellie Marriott 

& Terry Beeston 

HEALTH 

& SAFETY 

LEADER 

AWARD 


Mentor Hamdia, Bledar 

Brahimi and Artan Zefi 

Reason: Steve Smith received two 

commendation emails, one from James 

Townsend TW Production Manager 

and the other from Craig Diment TW 

Reservoir Engineer on the help and 

assistance provided by the team. 

Reason: Ade, Ellie and Terry were awarded 

this award for the rapid response and calm 

way they dealt with an emergency medical 

situation in Head Office. 

Reason: Mentor and team received this 

award following great feedback received 

from Thames Water SHEQ Advisor 

Godfrey Kiarie when auditing his site on 

the WNS contract. 

SEPTEMBER WINNERS 

CUSTOMER 

CHAMPION 

AWARD 


Vebi Azemi 

& Fatos Kameri 

VALUED 

PEOPLE 

AWARD 

Valued People 

Helen McIntyre 

HEALTH 

& SAFETY 

LEADER 

AWARD 


Mark Fogarty 

& Flamur Haxiha 

Reason: Vebi & Fatos went above and 

beyond their duty in assisting a customer 

who had fallen over and broken her arm. 

DECEMBER WINNERS 

Reason: Helen was recognised for 

her management of head office 

refurbishment ensuring disruption was 

kept to a minimum. 

Reason: Mark & Flamur received 

great feedback when audited on site 

by the client. “Great audit, a true asset 

to J Browne” Kris Taylor Lanes 

SHEQ Manager. 

CUSTOMER 

CHAMPION 

AWARD 


Steven Moore 

& Team 

VALUED 

PEOPLE 

AWARD 

Valued People 

Eoin Murray 

HEALTH 

& SAFETY 

LEADER 

AWARD 


George Simonian 

Reason: The Team assisted a customer 

in preventing a fire spreading through a 

property by setting up a temporary pipe off 

the water main to help put out the fire. 

Reason: Eoin performed outstandingly 

in the management of the Runleywood 

project. Its management has been 

recognised as first class in external audits. 

Reason: George reported the most 

observations in the quarter using the 

new mobile app See It Sort It Report It. 

5 


SAFETY, HEALTH & WELLBEING 

RAISING AWARENESS AND 

IMPROVING MENTAL HEALTH 

IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY 

We are delighted to announce that J Browne has joined Mates 

in Mind, a registered charity that provides a framework to raise 

awareness, address the stigma of poor mental health 

and improve positive mental wellbeing for 

UK construction. 

According to a survey of 3,400 construction 

workers by Randstad, 34% of respondents 

have experienced a mental health 

condition in the past year. Furthermore, 

two thirds said they did not feel there are 

sufficient outlets to discuss mental health 

conditions. We recognise that the stigma 

often associated with poor mental health 

can often be perceived as difficult as the 

experience itself. Even though many of 

us will experience stress, depression or 

anxiety at some point in our lives, we may 

often be afraid to talk about it or to seek 

help and support. 

As a supporter of Mates in Mind, we 

want to demonstrate our commitment to 

improving the health and wellbeing of our 

workforce. Mates in Mind helps us take an 

important step towards breaking the silence 

and stigma that can surround mental 

wellbeing in society and in particular, in 

the construction industry. We are joining 

numerous other construction companies 

in Supporting Mates in Mind, helping to 

improve the mental health and wellbeing of 

our people. 

Mates in Mind is being delivered to the UK 

construction industry in support of the 

J Browne is 

committed to 

supporting 

Mates in Mind. 

No one should feel 

stigmatised by mental health 

issues in our industry. This positive 

initiative will hopefully raise 

awareness of how to get help 

when needed to get back to a 

good place in life. 

Paul McMahon, Managing Director 

Health in Construction Leadership Group 

and in partnership with various industry 

and mental health charities. 

As a Supporter of Mates in Mind, we also 

gain access to support and communication 

materials, as well as a range of awareness 

and training programmes – helping us to 

take a joined up approach to improving 

mental health and wellbeing. 

If you or someone you know needs support, 

urgent help or would just like someone to 

talk to, talk to someone you trust, at work 

or outside about what upsets you 

or makes you feel stressed. There are a 

variety of confidential and supporting 

services available: 

• J Browne’s Employee Assisted Programme 

Health Assured Call: 0800 030 5182 

• Construction Industry Helpline 

Call: 0345 605 1956 

• Samaritans Call: 116 123 

• Mind Infoline Call: 0300 123 3393 

(or text 86463) 

• Workplace mental health support service 

Call: 0300 456 8114 

• Campaign Against Living Miserably 

(CALM) Call: 0800 58 58 58 

• Prevention of Young Suicide (Papyrus) 

Call: 0800 068 41 41 

NEW EAP 

In February we were delighted to roll 

out our new Employee Assistance 

Programme that we have partnered 

with Health Assured to provide on 

our behalf. 

What is an Employee Assistance 

Programme (EAP)? 

Sometimes is can be difficult to 

balance the pressures of work with the 

needs of home life. We recognise help 

is sometimes needed to deal with the 

challenges you may face in life, both 

practical and emotional. 

An EAP is an online and telephone 

confidential service designed to help 

you, and your family members, deal 

with the challenges of everyday life. 

Our EAP service provides a complete 

support network that offers expert 

advice and compassionate guidance 

24 hours per day, 7 days a week, 365 

days a year. 

The EAP is open to all employees 

including those employed through our 

supply chain & those working on our JV’s. 

What can I use this service for? 

The type of advice or support that 

you can expect includes: 

• Family issues 

• Medical information 

• Alcohol or drug issues 

• Gambling issues 

• Legal information 

• Housing concerns 

• Consumer issues 

• Financial information 

• Childcare advice 

• Domestic abuse 

• Tax information 

• Stress and anxiety 

• Retirement 

To find 

out more 

please visit: 

www.healthassuredeap.com 

To gain access you will need to login: 

Username: JBC Password: EAP 

Or call Health Assured in the strictest 

confidence on 0800 030 5182 

6 


#WHERESRUTH 

Emergencies and disasters can strike anywhere and at any time. Operatives may be 

required to deal with an emergency when it is least expected and proper planning 

before an emergency is necessary to respond effectively. 

To ensure the effectiveness of emergency 

preparedness & planning, J Browne are 

undertaking regular exercises out on 

operational sites. This involves setting a 

scenario where the teams must rescue an 

injured person. A 30kg rescue dummy was 

procured from Ruth Lee Ltd so it could be 

used as a training aid during these exercises. 

Ruth, as she is now known by many 

operational gangs, is 1.8 metres tall and is 

similar to manikins used by the emergency 

services when they practice rescue drills. 

Emergency exercises have so far been 

undertaken on several of our contracts. The 

emergency drills have been well received 

by the gangs, who have participated and 

contributed in a positive manner. 

The gangs are briefed before the exercise 

begins, which simulates a potential scenario 

and the teams must recover Ruth, typically 

from the bottom of a shaft, and position in 

a place of safety at ground level. This then 

allows for more comfortable administration 

of first aid treatment until the emergency 

services arrive on site. 

The purpose of carrying out these drills is 

to ensure that all operatives, that may have 

to recover an injured person on site, are 

confident and familiar with the rescue plan 

and equipment used. The drills encourage 

team work and good communication. 

There are many lessons learnt from the 

exercises undertaken, which allows better 

planning of the works and site set up. 

However, the main positive from doing 

the exercises are that the teams feel more 

confident to deal with an emergency if it 

arose out on site. 

Undertaking these drills at regular 

frequencies is imperative to the 

safe recovery of an injured person. 

The regular drills allow the teams 

to practice the rescue plans seen 

in their project documentation. 

Operatives have been briefed 

on emergency plans but having 

to perform such tasks in the 

event of a rescue throws in many 

more unexpected dynamics. The 

operatives must consider the injury 

sustained to the person being 

recovered, phoning the emergency 

services and working as a team. The 

feedback given by the teams at the 

end of the exercise is imperative 

to the organisation continuing to 

learn and develop more efficient 

planning of both the works and 

emergency preparedness. 

Jon Ireland, SHEQ Manager 

TRANSITION OF ISO 9001 & ISO 14001 

TOWARDS 2015 STANDARDS 

In recent months J Browne has undergone 

the external transition audits from ISO 

9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004 to 2015 

standards. The company were successful 

in this transition process and have been 

accredited by BMTrada. 

ISO 9001:2015 & ISO14001:2015 

are the international standards that 

specifies requirements for a quality and 

environmental management system. J 

Browne use the standards to demonstrate 

our ability to consistently provide products 

and services that meet customer and 

regulatory requirements. 

The standards were revised in 2015 and 

organisations had a 3-year transition 

to remodel their systems to suit the 

requirements. Compliance with the 

revised standards not only demonstrates 

J Browne’s 

commitment to 

quality assurance 

and environmental management, but it 

is expected by many Clients in today’s 

world that their supply chain is able to 

demonstrate how they manage these 

disciplines. 

To ensure that the above standards 

are maintained and working within 

the company, a robust internal audit 

programme is implemented by the SHEQ 

Team. In addition, external audits are 

undertaken by BMTrada on a phased plan 

which gives the company confidence that 

the operational management systems in 

place are effective and efficient. 

During 2019 we are also looking to move 

our ISO 18001 standard to ISO 45001. 

J BROWNE HAVE NOW 

REGISTERED OUR 

DEFIBRILLATORS 

WITH HEARTSAFE 

HeartSafe AED Locator encourages the 

awareness of defibrillators by offering 

a website map where businesses 

who own a defibrillator, and wish to 

offer them for public use, can register 

them. Any person wishing to know 

the whereabouts of an AED can simply 

enter the post code and the nearest 

defibrillator will be displayed on the 

map. To find 

the location of 

your nearest 

defibrillator log 

on to www. 

heartsafe. 

org.uk/AED- 

Locations. 

7 


SAFETY, HEALTH & WELLBEING 

THE STOP THINK INITIATIVE – 

MANAGING CHANGE ON SITE 

In June we commenced roll out of our latest safety 

initiative SLAM. SLAM stands for Stop, Look, Assess 

and Manage and is a tool that can be used by 

every operative. 

We all work in dynamic environments where the risks associated with 

our work activities and work environment require us to react to changing 

circumstances to ensure ours’ and others’ safety. 

jbconstruction.co.uk 

There has been a trend in lost time incidents linked to changes in the work 

environment or to planned work practices. This initiative is intended to raise 

awareness on the effect of change in the work environment, and the need 

to regularly reassess. 

Remember... 

In changing environments, you need situational awareness to enable you to 

react appropriately to keep yourself and others safe. 

S Stop 

task and ask: 

L 

A 

Before every task, stop 

for long enough to think 

about what you’re about 

to do. Think through the 

Look 

Take a look around you before and 

during the task. Identify all the potential 

hazards present at each step of the task. 

Assess 

• Has the task changed? 

• Are there any changes 

to the working area 

or working method? 

Assess the situation, take a few minutes to think 

through what control measures are required? Complete 

your Point of Work Risk Assessment. If change occurs 

during your task revisit your POWRA and reassess the 

risks and the subsequent new control measures required. 

To improve situational 

awareness amongst our 

workforce, we have introduced 

the SLAM initiative. SLAM 

is a tool to be used by every 

operative before every task, 

during the task and after the 

task regardless of size 

or complexity. 

The SLAM technique has been 

has been incorporated into our 

Point of Work Risk Assessment 

to remind our workforce of the 

need to stop and think. 

Training in applying the 

SLAM technique is continuing 

across business. 

M 

Manage 

Manage the risks if you can as the job goes on, 

anticipate and control risk before the problem 

emerges. Remember escalate to your supervisor 

if you can’t manage the risks. Re-brief the team 

when change occurs. Complete the task safely. 

LOW 

MEDIUM 

HIGH 

RISK 

8 

...when work starts or changes 


LAUNCH OF NEW H&S TACTICAL APPS 

It is essential that all incidents related to our work activity, including hazard observations, 

near misses, injuries, service strikes, vehicle collisions and environmental incidents are reported 

by the quickest available means and at the first opportunity. 

This is to ensure they are properly addressed and measures are 

taken to prevent their re-occurrence. To make this process quicker 

and easier for everyone involved J Browne are delighted to 

introduce two new apps for use across the business. 

The See It Sort It Report It App will replace the current paper 

based Hazard/Near Miss Reporting Card. The app enables safety 

observations to be reported electronically, allowing data to be 

collected and actioned in real time with photographs to support 

the safety observation. The app automatically notifies the SHEQ 

Team every time a hazard is reported, enabling the team to 

check whether the hazard has been dealt with on site or requires 

actioning and closing out by a Supervisor. If a hazard has not been 

dealt with on site and requires closing out, an action is raised by 

the SHEQ Administrator to the relevant Supervisor enabling the 

action to be tracked to closure. 

The Incident Reporting App enables real time reporting of all 

incident on site including near misses, injuries, service strikes, 

vehicle collisions and environmental incidents. 

ROSPA AWARD 

J Browne have been awarded a 

prestigious RoSPA award in recognition 

of our practices and achievements in 

helping our staff get home safely at the 

end of the working day. 

We achieved a Silver in the 

internationally-renowned RoSPA Health 

and Safety Awards, the longest-running 

industry awards scheme in the UK. The 

RoSPA Awards scheme, which receives 

entries from organisations around 

the world, recognises achievement in 

health and safety management systems, 

including practices such as leadership 

and workforce involvement. 

Managing Director, Paul McMahon said: 

“We are delighted that our commitment 

to health, safety and wellbeing, though 

the continuous development of our 

people, processes, working practices and 

technology is being recognised in this 

way by RoSPA. We will keep driving for 

a safe and healthy environment for all 

those involved in, and affected by, 

our works.” 

Julia Small, RoSPA’s head of 

qualifications, awards and events, 

said: “The RoSPA Awards are the most 

highly-respected in the health and 

safety arena, with almost 2,000 entrants 

every year, and allow organisations 

to prove excellence in the workplace, 

demonstrating a commitment to the 

wellbeing of not only employees but 

all those who interact with it.” 

9 


PROJECTS 

Barry Jones 

Director of Operations 

As you can see from the project update page we are very busy 

completing a large variety of works. What really impresses and 

amazes me in equal measure is the wealth of skills and ability 

the team have across J Browne delivering a quality job. 

This coupled with multiple commendations in this period 

from client and customers supports some of our best SIM 

scores achieved to date and demonstrates achievement 

of our core values. 

Barry Jones 

Director of Operations 

PRIVATE PUMPING STATIONS 

J Browne was awarded the project of 

upgrading existing private pumping 

station and to carry out a programme 

of full intrusive survey and following 

construction activities on existing private 

pumping station in North London & 

Thames Valley Region. 

The scope of works included: 

• Survey of 345 no. private pumping 

station sites 

• Construction of new kiosk plinth 

approximately 1200mm x 550mm x 

150mm either in customer front & 

rear garden 

• Replacement /installation of new 

kiosk to house in pump control 

panel & telemetry 

• Replace existing manhole cover 

with new EJ cover to provide fall 

protection grid 

• Carry out first time full intrusive survey 

on existing private pumping station 

• Form hard standing around wet well 

cover and in front of existing/new kiosk 

• Installation of a penstock on the outlet 

pipe of the proposed manhole directly 

upstream of the wet well 

• Commission existing pumping station 

• Upgrade existing electrical 

installation to current 17th Edition 

Electrical Regulations 

Challenges included communicating 

well with effected customers and 

ensuring they were happy at all stages 

of the survey and construction process; 

maintaining access/egress for customers 

and minimizing disruption while 

working in customer properties. 

We provided all MEICA design and 

construction inputs through our in house 

MEICA contractor Enisca Browne. 

As well as delivering a safe and highquality 

job on site, we also provide design 

advice, job scoping, budgeting and value 

engineering. We conducted joint scoping 

visits with TW staff and are on call 24/7 

to ensure that any operational issues that 

would interfere with customers were dealt 

with promptly. 

NON-DETERIORATION PROJECT, DIDCOT & SANDHURST WWTW 

The non-deterioration project involved a 

range of process modifications at 10 No. 

Thames Water sites to meet tightening 

consent parameters for ammonia and 

phosphorus. The revised consents came 

into effect on 31st March 2018. 

J Browne were awarded works at Didcot 

and Sandhurst Waste Water Treatment 

Works to complete the installation of 

ferric storage and dosing plant, tertiary 

treatment, picket fence thickener, duct 

runs, walk ways, sludge holding tanks, 

and bunded chemical delivery areas. 

this element of works to allow for the 

installation of the drive shaft. The photos 

show the steel fixing and cone forma, 

complete with the finished item. 

Project Delivery – Paul Parker (CM), 

Eamon Donohoe (PM). 

Formation of the picket fence thickener 

was interesting as it required the 

fabrication of a cone at a 17.5 angle. 

Tolerances were extremely tight on 

10 


WASTE NETWORK SERVICES 

McGuinness, Joel Kavanagh, Vebi Azemi, 

Fatos Kameri, all assisted in the end to end 

delivery of the job. A great team effort 

drawing on key skills from all involved. 

Supervisor Sean Conway has since 

received client praise for the works at the 

property and commended the team on a 

job well done. 

A quick “Well Done” to the Manhole 

Cover and Reinstatement Department. 

Daily focus from the management 

team (planning, traffic management 

and operations) as well the delivery 

team is starting to reward us with 

quantities nearing our weekly target. 

Let’s keep pushing. 

A recent project undertaken on our WNS 

contract at Kitchener Road required 

the diversion of an existing sewer and 

installation of three new manholes. This 

involved construction of a shaft, heading 

of 12mtrs in length and a section of open 

cut. Whilst this type of work is essentially 

“business as usual/our bread and butter” 

it was made more challenging given the 

works were in the rear garden and access 

was only through the property. 

Daily sheeting of the property to allow 

the removal and replacement of some 

50m 3 of spoil and backfill as well as 

handling manhole sections and covers 

without damage or complaint from the 

homeowner was a key achievement. 

Notwithstanding the safe efficient works 

completed by the team, given the manual 

handling involved, the team size was 

increased to ensure task rotation. 

All works were completed to an 

extremely high standard in particular 

the rebuilding and rendering of a wall 

as well as patio replacement. 

Team on Site – Dennis Francis, Ardjet 

Berisha, Pat Sullivan, Defrim Oruci, Bill 

RESERVOIRS – WADDON AND COPPERMILLS CONTACT TANKS 

James Townsend (Production Manager for 

Coppermills, Lea Valley and New River) 

and Craig Diment (South London Reservoir 

Engineer) commended the Thames Water 

Reservoir Team on the overall delivery of 

our works at both sites to ensure that the 

contact tanks were put back into service. 

Well done in particular to Steve Smith 

who was mentioned in the update by 

both James and Craig. 

MAINS REPLACEMENT WITH TW (SMB) 

The mains replacement team are full 

steam ahead . The team have completed 

six work packages with 45km laid. They 

are currently working on package 41 in 

the Thames Valley, and more recently 

have started works in North London with 

packages in Redbridge, Waltham Forest, 

Harringey and Camden covering 29km . 

10km to date have been completed on 

these packages. 

Whilst we have achieved the challenging 

meterage targets focus remains on safety 

with an extremely low strike ratio across 

the programme and a commitment to 

quality demonstrated by continued joint 

compliance via the ControlPoint system. 

Well done to the delivery team – Martin 

Hague, John Chandler, Jamie Doherty, 

Paul Hague, Adem Dervish, Bryan Dodds 

and the team. 

11 


NORTH MYMMS WTW ACCESS BRIDGE 

J Browne were required 

to design and construct a 

strengthened concrete access 

bridge, to allow access to the 

site for increased vehicle loads 

of up to 40 tons. 

The bridge had been widened in the 

early 1980’s using a traditional concrete 

beam and deck system, and then 

the adjacent existing bridgedeck was 

overlaid with 250mm of reinforced 

concrete to match the height of the 

new side. The existing original overlaid 

bridgedeck had failed structural tests, 

which meant that vehicle access to the 

site and 2 residential houses had to be 

reduced to 14-ton gross vehicle weight. 

Working with our designer partners 

Robert Walpole and Partners, we 

designed a methodology to strengthen 

the bridge, whilst keeping access to the 

site and the residential houses always, 

without disruption. 

EA consent was obtained prior to work 

commencing due to the watercourse. 

Consent was also obtained from Cadent 

Gas due to the proximity of a 200mm 

dia high pressure gas main. 

A scaffold was installed to the underside 

of the bridge with debris netting . 

This was used to minimise the risk 

of construction debris entering the 

watercourse. A silt screen was also 

installed downstream of the works to 

trap any silt or debris from polluting 

the watercourse. 

Works on the failed overlaid deck 

were undertaken first. The 250mm 

concrete overlay was cut through using 

a specialist concrete cutting contractor. 

This was then broken out, leaving the 

original concrete deck in place. New 

stainless-steel reinforcement was laid 

over the deck to form the new bridge 

deck and shutters were installed. The 

concrete was poured to a new depth of 

350mm. The access ramps were then 

broke out and re-profiled, along with 

new curbs and drainage. 

Once the deck had cured, works were 

moved over to the other side where 

the deck was overlaid with 100mm 

of reinforced concrete to match the 

adjacent new deck. Access ramps, curbs 

and drainage were re-profiled in line with 

the other side. 

To finish off the works, new vehicle crash 

barriers were installed. 

The works were completed 2 weeks’ 

ahead of programme, which then 

allowed the client to start a major 

scheme on the site which had 

been put on hold until the bridge 

was strengthened. 

NATIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE WEEK 

National Customer Service Week in October was a week long 

opportunity to raise awareness about customer service and the 

importance it plays in everyone role. The week was made up of 

five different daily themes which were designed to help ensure 

customer priorities were understood in every part of our business. 

There was also a day dedicated to recognising and rewarding our 

customer service heroes who make a real difference at J Browne. 

Colleagues were encouraged to nominate individuals who have 

demonstrated excellent customer service. Congratulations to 

all that were nominated, especially the winner Joanna Barry. Jo 

is a great ambassador for the Company and has exceptional 

customer service skills. Her level headed approach gives the 

customer confidence in our ability to deliver work effectively, 

ensuring quick resolution and clear expectations set. Jo has a 

great work ethic which is to be highly commended. Well done Jo. 

12 


DIRECTORS Q&A 

STATISTICS 

NAME: Paul McMahon 

Paul, your 5 minutes start now: 

1. What’s the best thing that happened 

to you last week? I went abroad for a 

few days to see my daughter compete at 

Irish Dancing. 

2. Have you ever been on the tools and 

if so how long ago was it? During 

a couple of summer holidays from 

university, I worked as a labourer on 

construction sites. I can’t say that I was 

very good though. 

3. What is your car of dreams? A Bugatti. 

4. Who will win what first, Arsenal the 

premiership or Clare the McCarthy 

Cup? Arsenal for the premiership at 

the start of summer 19 and Clare to 

follow with the All Ireland at the end of 

the summer. 

5. What is your favourite type of music? 

I am a bit mixed up when it comes to 

music. Whatever I am listening to 

at the time. 

6.As a child, what did you want to be 

when you grew up? A footballer, and 

didn’t that work out well for me. 

7. What movie title best describes your 

life? The Quiet Man. 

8. What was your first job? Helping 

out in the family post office and 

telephone exchange. 

9. What fad/trend do you hope comes 

back? Combat trousers. 

10. If you could have dinner with 

anyone in the world, who would 

you choose? Ranulf Fiennes. He would 

have some great stories. 

11. What is your spirit animal, and 

why? There is no way I can come up 

with an answer for this one. 

JOB TITLE: Managing Director 

HEIGHT: 5’ 7” 

EYE COLOUR: Green 

NICKNAME: Googs 

12. Would a month without your 

mobile phone be heaven or hell? 

Hell for me, Heaven for my family. 

13. If you could turn any activity into 

an Olympic sport, what would you 

have a good chance at winning a 

medal for? Getting out in cricket in the 

shortest time. 

14. What is you most annoying habit? 

Working late. 

15. What is something you think 

everyone should do at least once 

in their lives? Watch Ireland win the 

6 nations or the World Cup. 

CAREER 

FAIR – 

OASIS 

ACADEMY, 

ENFIELD 

We were delighted to get involved in a career fair at our local 

school, The Oasis Academy, on Thursday 26th April. When we 

say local, we mean 50 yards away and it was great to see at first 

hand the brilliant facilities at the school. 

It was a great privilege to meet some 

of the fantastic young people who are 

working hard and making big decisions 

about their future careers. We met a 

large proportion of the 951 students who 

were very enthusiastic, welcoming and 

confident. They all had the opportunity 

to visit the fair in their year groups and 

the event was split over 3 sessions in the 

morning and 2 in the afternoon. We were 

joined by organisations such as the NHS, 

the Fire Brigade, a local barber, fellow 

contractors Volker Fitzpatrick and Ryanair 

just to mention a few. 

Our team for this event were Jeremy 

Browne, Chairman, Jane Shelvey, Head 

of HR, Duncan Groombridge, Contracts 

Manager and Helen McIntyre, Business 

Development. We were also joined by 

David Yates from one of our supply chain 

partners, Control Point, who brought 

some electrofusion equipment along to 

allow the students to physically carry out 

an element of work we carry out every 

day on our various mains replacement 

projects. A big thanks to David for 

supporting the event. 

Head of HR, Jane Shelvey was very 

impressed with the calibre of candidates 

she met and was particularly encouraged 

by the amount of female interest 

in engineering; 

I think it’s brilliant that we have 

such a bright, talented group of 

girls who are now considering 

a career in engineering and 

construction, it’s just what our 

Company and industry needs to 

get the right skills for the future 

of the UK construction industry. 

Jane Shelvey 

It was great to see the students taking 

an interest and asking some very good 

questions, which kept all of us on our 

toes! We were very grateful to The Oasis 

Academy for the opportunity and a very 

nice school lunch which brought us all 

back a few years! 

Well done team, another 

successful event. 

13 


A BRAND DESIGN AND REFRESH 

FOR J BROWNE DEVELOPER SERVICES 

After a long and thorough process of identifying their core values 

and identity, J Browne Developer Services arrived at what they feel 

is a new, independent and modern company brand. 

JBDS will have the flexibility and unique approach to serve 

its existing and new customers to the highest standards. 

JBDS will become known as the premier player within the 

infrastructure and construction enabling services arena. 

JBDS was formed in 2014 as a separate Limited Company. 

Already a successful Division within the J Browne Group 

of Companies, it was decided to create a new separate 

company to grow and develop a unique skillset to fully 

engage in solving the many complex infrastructure 

problems that face the sector. JBDS remains a subsidiary 

company within the Group and enjoys the strong financial 

and operational support of a large well-established Parent 

company. In 2018, this business adopted a new striking 

image that will become a familiar sight within the sector. 

JBDS customers will see a separate, vibrant image 

while undertaking these projects and feel that this 

will encourage the business to grow and take on its 

own identity. 

Their image, website, brochures and marketing material 

will further communicate to customers what JBDS stand 

for and the services which are offered. 

JBDS will assist Developers, Professional Services and 

Main Contractors in a better, responsive manner, offering 

additional services throughout the Construction and 

Infrastructure enabling sectors. 

Existing customers will see no impact on the day-to-day 

operations. As always, JBDS will strive to offer a bespoke, 

thorough service and solve the complex. 

ONE NINE ELMS PHASE 3 DRAINAGE 

JBDS were appointed to undertake Phase 

3 drainage works at One Nine Elms. 

The project involved construction of 

two petrol interceptors at 6m deep, the 

installation of 140m of 525mm dia storm 

water sewer and 125mm dia foul water 

sewer, the construction of 1800mm dia 

ancillary manholes at depths ranging 

from 5m to 6.5m deep in tidal ground. In 

addition to JBDS liaising with the client, 

they also had to liaise with the client’s 

consulting team, Phase Two drainage 

contractor, the main contractor, the 

third party land owner, Thames Water, 

local council and demolition contractor. 

JBDS had the arduous tasks of getting all 

parties into one integrated team. 

Mobilisation commenced with a 

140m full timber hoarding line 

erected to contain our works and a 

full welfare compound set up. JBDS 

programmed two deep drainage teams 

to start downstream on site at the two 

connection manholes. 

Due to unforeseen 

delays experienced, 

JBDS worked 12 hour 

shifts 7 days per week 

for a large section of 

the project so they 

could meet the target 

programme of 12 

weeks (from the 

advised 17 

week programme). 

JBDS and the client’s 

project team came 

up with a value 

engineering solution 

where 35m of 5m 

deep open cut and construction of two 

manholes were omitted. This offered 

a major cost saving to the project. The 

works were completed within budget 

and within time. 

14 


LONDON DOCK MULTI UTILITY WORKS 

JBDS were contracted by our repeat 

client St George Central London, to assist 

them with multi utility works. The project 

involved excavation of 130m of trench 

for multi utilities including 8 way ducts, 

chambers, installation of district heating, 

50m of BT ducting and chambers, clean 

water works, HV steel duct runs and a 

connection at a HV substation. 

The JBDS team took approximately 18 

weeks to undertaken phase 1, originally 

planned to take 10 weeks with two gangs, 

but due to design problems with the 

district heating mechanical contractor the 

works were undertaken with one gang. 

100m of 8 way ducting, district heating 

pipe work and a gas connection were 

completed as well as 50m of trenching for 

BT ducting. Additionally JBDS rectified and 

made good a private sewer connection 

which was filled with cooking fat. 

Furthermore JBDS replaced the York stone 

paving to the front of the SGCL marketing 

suite and placed all cobbled sets back in 

Pennington Street which had been broken 

out within our multi utility trench, 

a condition set by the local authority. 

On behalf of the client JBDS liaised with 

the client’s gas contractor, mechanical 

district heating contractor, the London 

Borough of Tower Hamlets, TFL’s cycle 

station located on Pennington Street and 

other contractors and local businesses 

needing access into their premises during 

the works. 

Phase 2 works were extremely slow as the 

last section of the works were within the 

main site entrance and were extremely 

logistically challenging. Part of these works 

also consisted of civils rectification works 

to get the HV cables located within the site 

through the capping beam of the floor slab 

using shaft excavations and core drilling. 

NORAL WAY FOUL & STORM SEWER WORKS 

JBDS delivered a large drainage scheme 

for Thames Water Developer Services on 

behalf of Bellway Homes in Banbury. 

The project involved constructing 550m 

of parallel 225mm dia foul drainage 

and 525mm dia storm water pipeline 

with associated manholes. JBDS were 

responsible for all pre construction survey 

value engineering and traffic management 

planning and in depth programming with 

Oxfordshire County Council and the main 

developer Bellway Homes. 

Trial holes were undertaken to ascertain 

the risk of groundwater and to survey if 

the ground had pockets of rock as this area 

historically has rock within its make up. 

The majority of the work was carried 

out in a dual trench set up, using open 

cut methodology with drag boxes, 

with an average depth of 1.5m for the 

foul and 2.2m for the storm drainage. 

22no. 1200mm dia manholes were also 

constructed along the route. 

Approximately 25% of the works was 

delivered through agricultural land. This 

involved a full environmental assessment 

and liaison with Natural England to ensure 

that the works did not affect the local 

environment and careful backfilling and 

reinstatement to ensure the land was 

not damaged. 

The work on the public highway in Noral 

Way was phased to ensure disruption 

to local businesses and residents was 

minimised and full traffic management 

set up which included 4 way lights in 

line with the various phases agreed with 

Oxford County Council, Thames Water 

and Bellway Homes. 

All traffic management was carried out 

by our in-house TM business BTMS which 

gave us the certainty of delivery. 

The project was completed on time and 

under the contract sum with no health 

and safety incidents. 

Challenges encountered included: 

• Constraints with noticing 

• Groundwater management 

• Phasing of the 4 way roundabout 

• Liaising with multiple third parties 

and land owners 

All these challenges were overcome with 

good collaboration with our client team 

and developers Bellway Homes. 

The project was completed on time and 

within budget. 

15 


LONDON 

MARATHON 

Steve Edwards and his daughter Amber 

were lucky enough to run the London 

Marathon this year. Having endured a 

long winter of training in the rain and 

snow they ended up running in the 

hottest London Marathon on record! 

Steve and Amber decided to run for 

Anthony Nolan, who save the lives of 

people with blood cancer and blood 

disorders. Steve’s niece was diagnosed 

with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma aged 18, 

and though she was lucky enough to 

beat it without a stem cell transplant, 

the thought of losing someone you 

love because a donor couldn’t be found 

spurred them on. 

Due to the overwhelming generosity 

of friends, family and colleagues they 

managed to raise £5,385, enough 

to add 134 (and a half!) new donors 

onto the Anthony Nolan register. 

It was a great experience, 

especially the atmosphere on 

the day with people lining the 

streets to cheer us on. I feel 

very privileged to have had this 

opportunity, but no, I didn’t enter 

the ballot for 2019. 

Steve Edwards 

MARCH FOR MEN 

On 16th June, 

Jeremy and 28 

willing volunteers 

took part in the 

London March for 

Men at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in 

Stratford in aid of Prostate Cancer. 

MACMILLAN COFFEE MORNING 

We had a successful & very enjoyable MacMillan Coffee 

Morning on the 28th September with a large range of tasty 

treats created by our amateur bakers. The event was very 

well supported by the cake loving J Browne Head Office and 

site-based staff. Over 40 of our staff contributed with the 

Company matching fund raising. The grand total raised for 

the day was £768. Thanks to all bakers and staff that took 

part, we can’t wait for the next one! 

This was a team effort from the staff at 

J Browne showing support for one of our 

own. The team dusted off their trainers to 

walk/run up to 10km! 

Some got a bit competitive (Lisa & Barry) 

and some just strived to achieve the almost 

impossible (Terry B sub 50 minute 10km). 

A big thanks to all the team who raised 

over £6,000 which was matched by the 

Company, so the effort resulted in £12,000 

being raised for Prostate Cancer UK. 

JBDS RACE FOR SEPSIS 

JBDS ride Gran Fondo to raise awareness of 

Sepsis in the UK. 

On the 3rd June 2018, the team at JBDS consisting of Jeremy 

Browne, Patrick Kavanagh, Francis Heslin, Colin Holland and 

Barbara Kavanagh participated in the Cambridge Gran Fondo 80 

Mile Cycle race to raise awareness of Sepsis in the UK. The team 

raced under the banner, “Team Paula” in memory of the sudden 

death of Paula Noble, a dear friend of Patrick who passed away 

suddenly last May due to Sepsis. Sepsis is blood poisoning when 

the body attacks its own organs and tissues and it is a condition 

that currently affects more than 250,000 people every year 

in the UK. The team has raised 95% of their targeted £10k 

for the charity, Sepsis Trust. 

@JBrowneGroup 

jbconstruction.co.uk 

/// Head Office 

Meelin House 

Unit 2 

Pavilion Business Centre 

6 Kinetic Crescent 

Enfield EN3 7FJ 

T: 020 3300 0033 

F: 020 3300 0073 

/// CBUL 

c/o Southern Water 

Southern House 

Yeoman Road 

Worthing 

West Sussex 

BN13 3NX 

/// Enisca Browne 

c/o South East Water 

Rocfort Road 

Snodland 

Kent ME6 5AH 

/// JBC Reading 

Depot (West) 

Unit 4D 

Beenham Grange Park 

Grange Lane 

Beenham 

Berkshire 

RG7 5PX 

/// JBC Lea Bridge 

Depot (East) 

c/o Thames Water Depot 

Lea Bridge Road 

Hackney 

E5 9RJ 

/// JBC Long Reach 

Depot (South) 

c/o Thames Water Depot 

Marsh Street 

Dartford 

DA1 5PP

J Browne Network News 2018/19

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