Page 5 - Hive 28 March 2019

EXCELLENCE THROUGH OUR PEOPLE, PROCESS AND PERFORMANCE

FOREWORD FROM

GARY WORRALL

“I would like to begin by offering my thanks to Last but not least our Cardiff Business Unit has continued to hold its own and
everyone, who despite the difficulties experienced still remains very much a flagship Business Unit in the group having built its
in closing out the last of two legacy projects, have reputation off the back of its ability to provide engineering solutions coupled
with its ethos of direct operative delivery.
continued to resolutely stick with the task and positively
contribute to what I trust will be a successful outcome. In using this opportunity to take a look at the construction industry as a
A sure test of loyalty, resilience and professionalism. whole, the pessimists amongst us may say that against a backdrop of
uncertainty brought about by the dreaded Brexit fiasco and the consequential
Equally important for me is to thank those of you who and opportunistic poor behaviour displayed by thankfully a small minority of
have contributed to the great success elsewhere in the customers the future is not as bright as one would hope. I vehemently disagree
business, many of whom are mentioned elsewhere and firmly believe there will always be a need for specialist engineering
businesses such as Lorne Stewart, albeit it must be recognised that every
in this first edition of HIVE. business must modernise and adapt to the customer’s needs.

IN SUMMARY With this in mind and as difficult as it may be to break the mould and
As a result of the sheer hard work and commitment by our SHEQ Department fundamentally change the culture and style of a business, even more so when
and Regional Operating Teams to Safety, Health, Environmental and Quality best it has historically been very successful, in order to modernise and lay the
practice the Lorne Stewart Group achieved the ultimate success in all three foundations for a new business that is equipped to meet the changing demands
major ISO Standards viz. 9001 Quality, 14001 Environment and 18001 Health of today’s customer is by no stretch of the imagination going to be an easy task.
and Safety without any non-conformities.
Nevertheless whilst as painful and as frustrating it may be it is essential if
This year our focus will be that of achieving the highest possible RoSPA Safety success, prosperity and sustainability are the objectives.
Award for the first time in the Group’s history. In addition to this we will be
looking at behavioural safety and culture. This will include topics such as mental With this said the time has come for the change programme, talked about so 3
health and wellbeing. often, to be delivered. The key objectives for 2019 will simply be to focus on the
basics of good practice and in doing so recognise and bridge any skill gap that
From an operational perspective our Northern Business Units in Leigh and becomes evident with comprehensive and meaningful training. You have my
Wynyard have continued to grow stronger and have successfully demonstrated assurance that throughout 2019 this will happen and visibility of change will be
their ability to operate in the design and build sector of complex and challenging instantly recognisable.
projects both small and large alike.
On this note, we now operate a ‘strict bid’ selectivity policy which has resulted
Following a strategic review back in 2017 our Leeds Business Unit, which in carrying forward a healthy order book. These well selected projects match
trades as Rotary Building Services, began to differentiate its offering by our values and those of our customers’ along with our skillset offering. A clear
focussing on infrastructure and energy markets which has resulted in securing marker for this has been the fact that our all-important customer retention ratio
unprecedented levels of business in these sectors, the latest of which is a large is now close to 97%.
energy centre in Edinburgh.
On the same theme, our sales pipeline remains very strong and would suggest
Our South Eastern Business Units in London, Colchester and Southampton, that we can begin to focus on new opportunities and controlled growth both in
whilst having experienced a reduction in sales due to the delayed new sectors and in regional locations that would strategically fit and strengthen
commencement of several projects and as mentioned above the difficult task our coverage throughout the UK.
of closing out legacy projects now find themselves in a position whereby they
have solid order books on which they can build from their respective positions I can only but once again thank you all for your ongoing support and I look
for the future. forward to working with you all in making this business one to be proud of
throughout 2019.”
As for Central and the South West Business Units it is pleasing to convey that
as part of a turnaround plan to focus quality and operational delivery, both Gary Worrall
Birmingham and Plymouth have been successful in this objective and have been CEO, Lorne Stewart Engineering
recognised by their respective customers for doing just that. Moreover and as a
result of this both are now on the cusp of securing new contracts for numerous
projects that will take them through 2019 and beyond.