Facts and figures
- We received five commendations from members of the public for our performance in 2007, two of these related to our environmental performance
- We reduced the time it takes us to investigate, resolve and close out noise complaints by over 50 per cent
- 23 sites were awarded with Beacon site status in 2007
Case studies
Communication works magic with the community
Maintaining a regular dialogue with the local community has been a major contributor to the successful progress of major improvement works at Stanmore station.
“It’s all about respecting other people’s point of view. We never forget how painful our work can be for everybody affected and take this seriously every step of the way.”
Chris Ball, Access Manager for Tube Lines’ Stations team.
A swifter response
Read in our case study how a Six Sigma project has cut the average time it takes us to close out noise complaints – and the importance of embedding noise control into our project management processes.
Short stories
- When Arsenal station was hit by graffiti vandals just before Christmas, one member of the public was so impressed that we cleaned up the mess within hours that they called our helpline to praise us for our swift response.
- We are undertaking a two-year project at Covent Garden that is seeing the ticket hall enlarged with extra ticket gates and a full modernisation of the station with enhanced security and better information for passengers. As well as liaising with residents, we have worked hard with London Underground to ensure that local businesses are kept informed of our plans and are satisfied that trade would not be impacted by our works.
- When Russell Square was identified as a particularly noise-sensitive site because of the proximity of residents to the station, we placed an additional full-time dedicated member of staff on site to minimise disruption to the community.
- Read the Noise section of this report to find out more about how we are innovating to keep noise and nuisance to a minimum.
A good neighbour
Tube Lines is playing an essential role both in keeping London moving and improving the capital’s Underground service for the future. Our three lines are among the busiest on the Underground network and are some of the most heavily used transport arteries in the UK.
However, due to the nature of our works, noise and disruption can be a concern for those who live near the tracks or close to the stations – particularly as most of our work to upgrade and maintain the system has to be carried out at night when there are no passenger trains in service. We address this with a combination of considerate working practices and proactive communication.
Engaging with communities
“We engage with local communities so that they understand the nature of our work, why it is being carried out and any potential disruption,” explains Sara Mohideen, Community Relations Manager. “We listen to their point of view and do all we can to ensure that any potential or actual problems are identified and resolved as quickly and amicably as possible.”
Communication is a key part of Tube Lines’ routine processes and regular activities. For example, we provide advance notice of extensive, planned engineering works and keep third parties including London Underground, central and local government, local politicians and business people fully informed about any potential nuisance as well as the benefits that our work will bring to the capital.
Liaison with local councils begins well before work starts, to agree methods to keep any disruption to a minimum and obtain Section 61 noise consents. Regular noise monitoring ensures that agreed standards are maintained.
We require all our contractors and employees to respect residents and their property. If appropriate, we host meetings with members of the community who will be affected by our work to share our plans and listen to their views. We also circulate regular updates on our works to local residents.
24-hour helpline
One tool that has proved very valuable in keeping lines of communication open in 2007 has been our 24-hour telephone helpline for members of the community who have questions or complaints about our activities. This service, which began in 2007, ensures that concerns about our works that are raised during the night can be addressed urgently and mitigation put in place.
Details of all calls are logged, which helps us to track progress in resolving issues, as well as identifying any long-term trends that need to be addressed.
Complaints
The complaints that we receive relate to a variety of issues including wildlife and vegetation, however, noise is probably the key concern for residents.
In 2007, we achieved a 10 per cent reduction in the number of noise complaints escalated to environmental health officers. “Our policy is to take every appropriate step to fix problems reported by residents, resident groups, civic societies, environmental health officers and other council officers as swiftly as we can. In 2007 we reduced the time it takes us to investigate, resolve and close out noise complaints by over 50 per cent.” says Sara.
However, the noise complaint rate (the number of complaints normalised by the amount of work hours conducted) increased in 2007 compared to 2006. This was partly due to the fact that a high proportion of our works during the year were carried out at highly sensitive locations including Arsenal, Goodge Street and Finchley Road. It is also due to the high proportion of post-construction snagging works carried out. “People in the community thought we had finished our work at the end of the main project but sometimes snagging is necessary, causing extra work,” Sara explains. “We have addressed this by improving our management of community expectations and communications.”
Early indications are that both the number of noise-related complaints and the noise complaint rate is significantly lower in the first few months of 2008 than in 2007.
Politicians’ praise
The fact that 23 Tube Lines sites have been awarded Beacon site status so far underlines the importance we place as a company on good citizenship. Based on the Considerate Contractors’ scheme, these awards demonstrate excellence in consideration for others, as well as other areas such as safety, environment, project management and living our values.
A number of MPs from all parties visited our projects during 2007 to present Beacon status awards to the teams on site.
Emily Thornberry, MP for Islington South and Finsbury, visited Old Street in her constituency to present the station upgrade team with its Beacon status award. “It’s easy to take the night workers at Old Street for granted – but the fact they are able to do their work with a minimum of disruption is testament to their professionalism,” she said. “The work they do is vital to bring the Tube up to 21st century standard – I very much value the work they are doing, and I was glad to have the chance to thank them on behalf of my constituents.”
