LONDON UNDERGROUND
London could simply not operate without its Tube network. Despite the economic downturn, London remains one of the most important financial centres for financial and business services in the world.
The city is set to grow and prosper in the future, with 1.3 million extra people and around 750,000 new jobs forecasted over the next 20 years.
The impact of the predicted growth will mean that there will be increased demand for public transport and combined with LU’s Tube upgrade programme will affect the number and type of staff that LU and its supply chain need to employ.
“Our continuous resourcing, skills and employment strategy is important to LU for two main reasons. As an employer, London Underground has access to London’s highly qualified skills base but, along with its suppliers, it also has to compete with other successful companies and global infrastructure projects that value skilled workers highly and reward them accordingly.
“Secondly, LU is an organisation committed to supporting London’s local communities and promoting equal life chances for all through its recruitment practices and training
opportunities and those offered by its supply chain.”
Patricia Holdgate is head of resourcing & workforce planning at London Underground
L Plumb jobs on LU
ondon Underground has recently announced a huge maintenance
programme to stations across the network. It is only a framework agreement at the moment, but if the investment goes ahead it will cost £300 million.
Of this, £25 million will be spent on plumbing in the refurbished staff facilities at stations, which is great news for the plumbing industry.
It is an ideal opportunity to showcase the work that we do both in terms of its quality and the importance of controls and energy saving measures.
There are some crucial factors, however, that London Underground should be aware of. These are, principally, the issue of correct system specification, design and installation to ensure that installations are efficient in their use of energy and water and are also safe to use.
The use of registered professionals should ensure that these issues are addressed. In addition, it is important that any systems are professionally maintained to ensure their continued efficient performance and safety.
Water and energy conservation are currently high on the political agenda, the result being changes in legislation to encourage the installation of plumbing and heating systems that are more efficient in their use of water and energy.
This has stimulated development of renewable and sustainable technologies which, in turn, has led to the development of schemes such as the CIPHE
Oct/Nov 10 Blane Judd
GreenPlumb scheme which encourages plumbing and heating professionals to further develop their skills and knowledge to enable them to specify, design and install plumbing and heating systems which incorporate sustainable technologies and solutions.
The investment programme could be an ideal opportunity for London Underground to utilise the most modern, environmentally-friendly plumbing which could include micro generation and renewable technologies for the generation of heat and power along with water efficient solutions such as rainwater harvesting, for a sustainable approach WC flushing.
Such significant expenditure on plumbing should provide welcome work for the plumbing industry but it is paramount that London Underground ensures that it uses registered professionals to carry out the work.
One of our main roles as the chartered institute responsible for the plumbing and heating engineering industry is to hold the voluntary registers for plumbing and heating professionals. To register as a registered plumber or a registered heating professional,
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installers have to meet required levels of technical and practical competencies and commit to undertake continuing professional development throughout their career.
For any organisation like London Underground, with tens of millions of pounds at stake, there is an onus on and responsibility for making sure that things are done right, efficiently and at the right cost first time.
An investment of £25 million into improving plumbing across London Underground lines will provide an excellent opportunity for the industry to showcase its work across the capital and play a vital part in keeping workers and members of the public safe whilst protecting the environment and saving energy.
Blane Judd is chief executive and secretary of The Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering
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