Linda Harrison is a Change Management Specialist working at Morrison Water Services, supporting the Northern and Welsh regional operations for the company. She has a wealth of experience – having dealt with the implementation of a plethora of complex change management programmes during her career.
In this article, Linda sheds light on the importance of change management within a company, providing examples of the latest project she’s engaged in – involving the implementation of technology platform FYLD.
Change management in any business is often perceived as a tough gig and like trying to navigate through a minefield. When it comes to the implementation of new technology through systems and platforms, this can be even more challenging.
However, when done well, through a carefully produced plan, making a transition to a new way of working can be effortless. There will always be several key process steps to go through. But visible leadership, thorough engagement and plenty of communication will always be at the core of any good change management programme.
Recently at Morrison Water Services, we implemented a proof-of-concept trial using FYLD’s AI safety and productivity platform on one of our Morrison Water Services North contracts contract. The project was so successful that we immediately rolled out the platform on our Capital Delivery and Repair and Maintenance gangs across our wider Morrison Water Services North contracts.
We are presently rolling out FYLD across our Welsh Water contracts, and as we are a truly collaborative business, we are also in discussion with colleagues in our Scottish Water business, Caledonia Water, for further implementation opportunities.
Through the use of FYLD at Morrison Water Services, we identified a unique approach to embed a model of ‘Smarter Supervision’, which is a critical factor in our long-term strategy for improved efficiency and effectiveness of our fieldwork operations. The enhanced visibility and data of fieldwork operations through the FYLD platform enables a targeted risk intervention approach where supervisors are able to better prioritise their time. This includes which sites they need to travel to, therefore removing an age-old problem of trying to visit multiple sites every day.
This project has been implemented through our change management division, which has a strong emphasis on workforce engagement. This ensures that new systems are thoroughly integrated into our day-to-day operations. FYLD has been the smoothest rollout I have ever experienced with a technology project. The support offered by the team at FYLD has been exceptional with every effort given to detailed planning of the rollout, ensuring employees are trained, and configuring the system to suit the Morrison Water Services application.
Based on our experience to date, Morrison Water Services has now set some significant but achievable goals for safety and productivity metrics:
FYLD’s collaborative environment means that field workers and remote operations managers are in constant communication with each other. Engineering managers can offer advice and make interventions into the Visual Risk Assessment (VRA) in real-time. Workers can evidence their work at any stage in the process, and the timeline view provides a transparent window into each field job. FYLD makes field work sites visible to everyone involved with the job.
By enabling real time feedback and intervention, making productivity measurable and improving job planning and the quality of risk assessments, FYLD is an invaluable tool for our operations. This success has led to a joint entry for the coveted RoSPA Health & Safety Initiative of the Year Award.
