Morrison Utility Services (MUS), the UK’s largest dedicated utility service provider, and a part of M Group Services, has welcomed bespoke sanitising stations to its Alliance contract with Wales & West Utilities. 

Barrier bins, which are part of the welfare units present across the business, provide operational teams with an onsite collection point for waste and recyclable materials.

Engineering Plastic Supplies Ltd, who design and manufacture and the barrier bins, worked with MUS Head of Operational change James Hatt to redesign the bins into sanitising stations. The modification was first introduced during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic to provide MUS operatives with access to the equipment they need to keep themselves safe.

James said: “I was thinking about our approach to welfare provisions across our contracts and how we could improve them without incurring great costs or increasing our site footprint. The units were initially introduced across our Alliance team working with Wales & West Utilities and these small innovative changes have made an immediate and significant difference during this challenging time.”

Andy Godfrey, Wales & West Utilities Finance and Commercial Manager, said: “Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic we have been focused on keeping our colleagues and customers safe. Now, as our work gradually increases to pre-lockdown levels, we’re taking extra steps to keep people safe, including wearing facemasks and eye protection if we need to enter our customers’ homes. These sanitising stations will help keep those working on our behalf and our customers safe.”

Following the success of the sanitising stations, the units are now being trialled across Morrison Utility Services’ Cadent contract and more broadly across the business.

The units are made from medical grade plastic, meaning each unit can be washed and cleaned to maintain high levels of hygiene. Each unit also contains removable inserts to divide the stations into two, four or six separate sections.

A spokesperson from Engineering Plastic Supplies Ltd commented: “As COVID-19 became prevalent within the UK, we reacted as quickly as we could to redesign our barrier bin as sanitising stations for operational sites. We understood how important it was for Morrison Utility Services to provide key workers with the facilities to maintain high levels of hygiene, so they could continue to ensure customers supplies were not interrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Morrison Utility Services are carrying out a major programme of gas main replacement and associated works across Wales and the South West of England for Wales & West Utilities.

This involves the feasibility, design, programme management and delivery of 3500km of mains replacement (440km per year) with approximately 40,000 customer gas connections each year. The work not only keeps the gas flowing safely today, it also prepares the gas network to play its part in a green energy future.