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The magazine of the Defence Support Group

DIGESTJune/Ju ly 2014

DIGEST points of contactEditor: Hannah Jukes-JonesPhone: 94480 3871/01952 673871Email: [email protected]: DSG Corporate Communications, Building B15, Donnington,

Telford, Shropshire, TF2 8JT

Editorial BoardBrian Griffiths Abbeywood 93523 0159Julie Clay Ashchurch 94249 4411Roz Cronin Bovington 94374 3909Colin Tinkler Catterick 94731 2211Karen Emery Colchester/Aldershot/Longmoor 94660 6893Kelly Shipley Donnington/Bicester 94480 2578Rosemary Murphy-Paul Kinnegar 94914 3768Nicola Thorpe Land Supply 94480 3907Carol Hanna Sealand 95541 7216Teresa Evans Stafford 95551 5173Arlene Hamilton Stirling 94741 8370Kathy Tuck Warminster/Sennybridge 94381 3233

Editor’sintroWelcome to the Juneissue of Digest in whichwe report on what’s beenhappening across thebusiness.

On page 3 staff at DSG Bovingtonshare news of a memorial which wasdedicated recently and on pages 4 and5 Steve Faulkner provides Digest withan update from DSG Bastion.

On page 6, Geraint Spearing, ChiefExecutive (Designate) of DSG’sElectronic and Components Business(ECBU) gives an update on thechanges as the ECBU moves towardsTrading Agency status.

In other pages, Mike Robinson fromCatterick outlines how the BS2Development Programme is expandinghis business knowledge andexperiences, DSG Donnington hostswork experience children from localschools and Bovington successfullydelivers Panther vehicles.

The round up of events across thecountry features on pages 18 and 19and you can win National Garden giftvouchers to the value of £200 in ourcompetition on page 20.

I would like to thank you all forcontributing to this edition. Digest is akey tool for successfullycommunicating news and personalachievements. Please continue to sendin your stories.

contents

Contents

Designed by: Isabel Butcher - email: [email protected] Help For Heroes bear at a

recent fund raising event

03 Talking point / Bovington workshop memorial dedicated

04 News from DSG Bastion

06 Future of DSG - Update

07 The Future ECBU Project

08 BS2 Development programme update

09 Land Supply Procurement Compliance team

10 Poster

12 Panther ready to pounce

13 DSG hosts children on work experience

14 Three of the best

15 Battle of Britain fly-past for H4H

16 Re-let programme secures Land Rover spares supply

17 Roof work completed at Warminster workshop / Nelson Pratt trophy box commissioned

18 Across the country

20 Competition time

2DIGEST June/July 2014 www.dsg.mod.uk

news

In my Talking Point inthe last edition of Digest,I explained about MOD’splans that would allowDSG’s Electronics andComponents BusinessUnit (ECBU), along withthe activities undertaken atDSG Stafford, to beginshadow trading. This wouldenable this part of DSG’s business,which was no longer part of the sale process, to become astandalone MOD Trading Fund from 1 April 2015.

However, this has since changed and now, subject to all thenecessary Ministerial and legislative approvals, the plans arethat the ECBU will operate as an innovative trading agency ofMOD from 1 April 2015 once the DSG Trading Fund Order iswound up. This will not affect the way ECBU currentlyoperates and employees will see very little, if any, changes intheir daily activities and routines.

Work is now well underway to develop the trading agencymodel that will let ECBU continue trading with MOD andindustry customers so it can make a case for Trading Fundstatus in the future. Achieving a successful separation fromthe rest of DSG within the timeframe remains no lesschallenging for the team.

As for the rest of DSG, the sale process is advancing with anumber of bidders following an intensive round of initialnegotiations taking place last month. It is clear there isstrong, credible and motivated market interest in DSG andthe initial bids are currently under review by the MOD saleteam in London.

Naturally, these activities will affect all DSG’s employees andhave not gone unnoticed by local MPs. I have met with anumber of MPs who have DSG sites in their constituencies inrecent weeks to update them on the sale and separationactivities currently underway. In this edition of Digest, wecover the visit to DSG Stirling by the local MP, the Rt HonAnne McGuire, who made time to tour the workshop andmeet with the local Trade Union representatives during hervisit.

I am happy to answer any of your questions on these, or anyother, matters at the next round of Corporate Briefings,which start on 2 June.

Best wishes,

Archie HughesChief Executive

Talking point

”

BovingtonWorkshopMemorialDedicated“

3www.dsg.mod.uk June/July 2014 DIGEST

From left Dave Marsh and Rob Chapman at the memorial

DSG Bovington dedicated a memorial recently toremember those employees who have sadly died inservice since 1993.

‘The Bovington Workshop Memorial’ is a 5ft by 4ftfreestanding piece of Portland stone with a cut face and anatural back. Portland stone naturally lends itself to thistype of structure and is used in many WWI and WWIImemorials throughout the world.

A suitable location was required, which was bothaccessible for family and friends as well as work colleagues.The team selected three locations outside the Bovingtonperimeter fence and Babcock donated time to survey theareas for suitability and prepare the selected location forthe placing of the stone. Selected from a local quarry, thestone weighed 2.5 tonnes and therefore required a stablefoundation. Once delivered and placed on the preparedsite, the stone required cleaning with a bleach wash andsanded gently to achieve a beautiful finish.

The final layout of the memorial features a main plaquereading simply ‘The Bovington Workshop Memorial’ andindividual plaques for each of the 24 employees lost since1993 when 18 Base Workshop became ABRO. Terry Owenfitted these to the stone, and his skills ensured the stonedid not split during this key stage in the process.

Once complete, the Garrison Chaplain, Tony Dalton,performed a dedication service for over 100 employeesduring which Bryan Reed, Head of Operating Unit, read ashort lesson.

DSG Bastion

Steve Faulkner, General Manager atDSG Bastion, brings us the latestupdate from Camp Bastion:

Steve tells Digest, “The EquipmentSustainability System RegenerationCapability (ESS RC) programme ceased atthe end of May with the completion of thelast regenerated platform. The projectstarted in April 2010, over four years agoand during this time 2,123 platforms wereregenerated, 11,069 equipments calibratedand 717 pieces of B.ISTAR repaired.Additionally, a multitude of ‘ad hoc’ taskswere completed on a wide variety ofequipments.

“477 DSG employees of all grades, tradesand experiences have deployed toAfghanistan in support of the ESS RCproject. Tour lengths have varied from fourto sixteen months, with many completingmore than one tour. During June all thosedirectly involved in the project will returnhome, leaving just 22 ESS RC staff in Theatreuntil the end of September providingdiscrete capabilities such as ADR testing,B.ISTAR and Cat320 generator repair.Additionally the 20 staff employed in theEquipment Redeployment Hub Forward(ERHF) will continue to operate from Camp

Bastion, until it moves to an alternativelocation later in the year.

“The regeneration project was set up todeliver improved equipment availability tooperational commanders, improvedequipment reliability, assurance on state andconfiguration of platforms every two years,In Theatre deployed level 4 equipmentsupport capability; B.ISTAR, ECM screeningand calibration, reduced pressure on the AirLine of Communication, significant costavoidance and value for defence.

IMPROVED EQUIPMENTAVAILABILITY TO OPERATIONALCOMMANDERS“All platforms processed through theRegeneration programme demonstratedsignificant increases in equipmentavailability.”JFSp(A) Operations Analysts

IMPROVED EQUIPMENTRELIABILITY“There has been a definite improvement inequipment reliability with tired equipmentbeing replaced with regeneratedequipment.”Maj Tolley (ESS RC MCMO)

ASSURANCE ON STATE ANDCONFIGURATION OF PLATFORMSEVERY TWO YEARS“The improved state and configurationcontrol of all platforms that undergoRegeneration has added to the informationgathered by the Theatre Equipment SupportGroup (Th ES Gp), which is fed back to theIntegrated Project teams in the UK.”Successive Theatre Equipment FleetManagers

IN THEATRE DEPLOYED LEVEL 4EQUIPMENT SUPPORTCAPABILITY – B.ISTAR, ECMSCREENING AND CALIBRATION“This has been a significant success ensuringvital equipment is kept In Theatre andavailable to protect our troops on theground.” Lt Col Kohler (ESS RC SO1)

REDUCED PRESSURE ON THE AIRLINE OF COMMUNICATION(ALOC)“The volume of platforms being regenerated,including the B.ISTAR equipments hasensured the ALOC has been utilised formovement of personnel and key materiel.The additional burden of having to movemajor platforms would have imposed a

News from DSG Bastion


DSG Bastion

Everyone involved

in this project from

those deploying to

those back home

supporting them, I

offer you all my

gratitude and thanks

for your invaluable

contribution and acting

as true ambassadors

for DSG.

”

“


substantial constraint on the ALOC, with anundoubted impact on troop and materielmovements, which in turn would have hadan impact on the overall mission.”Col Colin McLean (Comd EC –JFSp(A)15)

PLANNED COST AVOIDANCE OF£15M PER ANNUMAchieved year one - £32.MAchieved year two - £59.4MAchieved year three - £57.6M

VALUE FOR DEFENCECompleting Regeneration In Theatreachieves a saving of £120K per head, basedon manpower costs on operations whencompared to those charged in the UK

“DSG’s reputation is significantly enhancedparticularly with those In Theatre.

“The continued reduction in DSG’sfootprint within the Th ES Gp technicalcompound in Camp Bastion will see theForce Protection Wing moving in, bringingwith them their impressive array of militaryhardware and personnel. This will furtherincrease the already high level of integrationbetween DSG staff and our military hosts.

“The pasts few months have seen everincreasing restrictions placed on movementswithin the camp, tightened curfews andheightened security measures. Additionally,as we move closer to the closure of thecamp, more and more facilities are removedand the remaining amenities are centralisingin preparation for the final departure.Whilst the camp itself remains roughly thesize of Reading, large amounts of openspaces are appearing within the perimeterfence.

“In late May, Stuart Owen and Ed Hollowayorganised a ‘Hog Roast’ and Neil McCollorganised a quiz to celebrate the end of theRegeneration project. The evening was ahuge success and the presence of ‘GuardianAngels’ from 2 Close Support Battalion,REME who were tasked with providingperimeter security to protect us whilstenjoying our evening, did not dampen ourspirits.

Steve concludes by saying, “This will be thelast of the Camp Bastion updates. The endof the project, the associated reductions instaff and the move to expeditionary statusfor the campaign will mean there is less tofeed back. It just remains for me to say ahuge thank you to all those whovolunteered to deploy, for their selfless

personal sacrifice, their efforts whilst InTheatre and for making this project anundoubted success. To those in the discretecapability and the ERHF teams who arestaying on, we wish you well and hope youhave a continued safe tour. To the UKSupport team, led by Ian Cole, we thank youfor your trusted support, effort and oftenrelentless and tireless determination tomake sure we received the best possiblesupport from afar. ”

Archie Hughes, DSG’s Chief Executive addshis own thanks by saying, “Everyone involvedin this project from those deploying tothose back home supporting them, I offeryou all my gratitude and thanks for yourinvaluable contribution and acting as trueambassadors for DSG.”


future of DSG

Future ofDSG - UpdateIn this article Mark Crabtree,Assistant Head of the BusinessStrategy and Governance teamprovides Digest with an update ofthe sale of DSG. Mark says, “As wewrote the last article we wereputting the final touches to theInvitation To Negotiate for the saleof DSG, which was issued toselected bidders on 28 March.

There has since been an intensive set ofinitial negotiations with the bidders, andat the moment we are preparing for thenext round of negotiations. Biddershave also been allowed a site visit, andsome of you may have seen them asthey were being shown aroundDonnington.

“The Invitation To Negotiate wasgenerally well received by bidders, andwe are pleased with the level of interest.Bidders clearly see DSG as having ahealthy future. We are approaching thesummer with a degree of optimism.

“At the same time as all this, workcontinues to put us in a position toseparate DSG from MOD next year.The work here covers a multitude ofareas, things like aligning separation ofthe DSG Land business from the ECBU;IT; Estates; and the future relationshipwith MOD. Work has of course beengoing on in these areas for some time,with the involvement from peopleacross DSG and Defence, and willcontinue through to the time when thewinning company takes over thebusiness, and probably even beyondthen. The work is structured so that

DSG can continue to play a part, led byDSG Board members. We recognisethat in many areas, the people whoknow best what needs to be done toensure a smooth separation andtransition are people in DSG.

“Key to all this is, without doubt, whathappens to the workforce – you - at thepoint of transfer. You should all havereceived, as a result of the Invitation ToNegotiate going out, a letter sayingwhether under our current assumptionsyou would, in the technical terminology,be “affected” or “assigned”. We are stillat an early stage of the sale process, sothe letter represents our currentanalysis of who will fall into whichcategory, based on the present situationand the project’s current intentions andassumptions.

“Just to repeat what the letter said,“affected” means you are in a part ofthe organisation that is not transferringand so we don’t expect you will transferto the new employer; “assigned” meanswe think you are carrying out a job that may be transferred to a newemployer and therefore you would betransferred with it.

“You will hear a lot more from us onthis issue as the sale progresses, but themain point for you to take away is that ifyou are “assigned” you are protected bythe Transfer of Undertaking Protectionof Employment (TUPE) regulations. Theregulations provide you as employee’srights when transferring to the newemployer, in particular that you transferwith your existing employment terms

and conditions. The new employer takesover all rights and obligations arisingfrom your existing contracts - otherthan criminal liabilities. And nor can thenew employer “pick and choose” whichof the employees they wish to transfer.They take all of the staff who at the dateof the transfer are designated as“assigned”. TUPE also prevents thebuyer from making staff redundantsimply by virtue of the transfer.

“The TUPE regulations also include arequirement to inform and wherenecessary consult the workforcerepresentatives about the transfer. Wewould consult with you anyway as amatter of policy, not just because theregulations tell us to, we will do thatconsultation in conjunction with thewinning bidder. To qualify even toreceive the Invitation To Negotiate,bidders had to demonstrate to us thatthey had successfully transferred peopleunder TUPE before. To make sure this isa priority for bidders, we have askedthem to explain, as part of their bid,how they will communicate with you,and how they will manage the transfer.And they know that as part of theevaluation we will be marking them onhow good their plans are to do that. “

Mark concludes by saying, “The focus ofour activity with the bidders now will benegotiating and talking to them over thesummer to get the best bids we can. Asever, though, I’ll finish by saying that wecontinue to engage with the DSG TradeUnions, and will carry on keeping you upto date with as much information as wecan through these updates.”

CONTACT DETAILS DSG SALE TEAM

Mark Crabtree: [email protected] Obhiozele: [email protected]


future ECBU

The ‘FutureECBU’ProjectThis month we hear from theChief Executive (Designate) ofDSG’s Electronics andComponents Business Unit(ECBU), Geraint Spearing, and hewill share his thoughts on thefuture of the business at Sealandand Stafford.

Geraint says, “You are all aware fromthe recent DSG Chief Executive’s notethat MOD decided to retain the ECBUin public sector ownership and thatwork continues to separate thisbusiness from the remaining DSGbusinesses that are subject to sale.

“Subject to all the necessary approvals,we plan to take ECBU forward as aninnovative ‘trading agency’ from 1 April2015 once the current DSG TradingFund Order is wound up in Parliament.This move allows ECBU to consolidateour current customer base and widenour service offering for both existingand new customers.

“The innovative business model shouldnot affect the way ECBU currentlyoperates and most will see very littlechange in their daily activities androutines though work continues onhow the business model will operate.Additionally, our position as a MODAgency provides much to be optimisticabout. ECBU is already a trusted

service supplier thatworks in closepartnership with bothits MOD customers andindustry to deliversupport to the UKmilitary and help meetoperational needs.

Budgetary pressures inMOD will continue withthe need to delivermore with less andECBU’s pedigree ofefficiency and provenbenefit generationthrough innovation positions uswell to help MOD achieve value forDefence and meet these fundingconstraints. I aim to engage widelywith key stakeholders in developingand communicating a new strategicvision and aims for the post-DSGAgency as part of the 2015 ECBUCorporate Strategic Plan.

Geraint concludes by saying, “Iremain fully committed to keepingour employees and the TradesUnions fully informed on all mattersrelating to the future of ECBU andthe decisions taken on the variousaspects of separation from DSG asplans for the new Agency matureover the coming months.”

Subject to all the

necessary approvals,

we plan to take

ECBU forward as an

innovative ‘trading

agency’ from 1 April

2015 once the

current DSG Trading

Fund Order is wound

up in Parliament.

“

”

CONTACT DETAILS FUTURE ECBU PROJECT TEAM

Siân Walters: [email protected] Dean: [email protected]

Geraint Spearing Chief Executive (Designate) ECBU

The October issue of Digestreported on the progress of theBusiness Stream 2 (BS2)Development Position programme,which is part of the business-widepeople development programmeendorsed by DSG’s Chief Executive,Archie Hughes.

The programme is now in its secondyear and here Mike Robinson, Productionmanager at Catterick, tells Digest of hisexperiences after securing a place on theprogramme.

Mike tells Digest, “My career began as anMOD Mechanical apprentice in 1983when DSG Catterick was known as 31Command Workshop REME. Interestedin all things mechanical, thisapprenticeship along with the engineeringqualifications was a fantastic opportunity.Since then I have predominantly workedat Catterick carrying out various roles asa Vehicle mechanic, a Repair Unitmanager and more recently Productionmanager.

“Being involved mainlyin production led meto appreciate that the

BS2 Development programme was agood opportunity for me to gain anunderstanding of other areas of thebusiness and also to network so when Iwas presented with an opportunity tojoin the programme I jumped at thechance.

“The networking started immediatelywith an induction day at Ashchurch forthose on the programme where we metour mentors and had an opportunity tomeet the BS2 Senior Management team.Wayne Barker, Head of Ashchurchvolunteered to be my mentor. Havingnever met Wayne other than a few briefvisits to Catterick whilst he was on theBS2 Senior Management Reviews, I tookthe opportunity to embrace hisexperience and wider knowledge of thebusiness.

“The programme enables each individualand their mentor to decide how far theywant to push their development and I amtaking the opportunity to gain a betterunderstanding of Technical

services at Bovington andcontinue with my financialdevelopment at

Ashchurch. This will take me into thesummer months when I will looktowards my development in other areasof the business including Commercial,Facilities, Compliance, Planning, SupplyChain and HR. Overall, there is a fairamount of commitment required tocover all of these topics.

“As part of my development I wasoffered the opportunity to lead a projectfor Colchester and Catterick bringing inMAN SV HXP Side Load activity to bothsites. This is a good opportunity todevelop my project management skills aswell as putting into practice some of theskills I have already learnt since the startof my development.”

Mike concludes, “My goal is to have abetter understanding of how the variousaspects of the business operate as well asmaking some good connections to thosepeople who throughout my future careercan offer the support and help that we allneed from time to time. If anyone is

thinking of joining the BS2Development programme, I highly

recommend it.”

BS2

BS2 DevelopmentProgramme update


Pictured L-R; Ian Hotchkiss, Head of SiteStirling and Catterick Operating Units and

Mike Robinson, Catterick Production manager

LSBU


Jim Ayres

Head of

Procurement

Compliance

Equipment

Operations

Commercial

& Customer

Management

Systems

& Support

Supply

chain performance

Consumable

Operations

Corporate

Procurement/

WSPT

Ian Wright

Head of LSBU

Keith Norris

Strategy Director

Land Supply ProcurementCompliance team

The last issue of Digest featured afocus on the Land Supply EquipmentOperations team, in this issue JimAyres, Head of ProcurementCompliance explains the backgroundand role of the ProcurementCompliance team.

Jim explains, “Within the DSGLand Supply Business Unit(LSBU) there is approximately60 procurement staff placing amix of competitive and non-competitive supply andservice contracts covering250,000 NATO StockNumbers with around 250suppliers. As a result of external audits anddevelopments in the European Union andMOD procurement regulations, policy andprocesses, LSBU created the ProcurementCompliance team, which ensures that LSBUProcurement teams are equipped with theknowledge they require to place compliantcontracts. With this in mind, theprocurement compliance function leads ondeveloping and delivering briefing sessions,the internal structured review process, theGateway review process, databasedevelopment, audit reviews andprogrammes, standardised contracting,sharing best practice and focal point for

transparency and statistical returns.

“The development of briefing and trainingsessions ensures the improvement of keyareas such as file administration and recordkeeping together with the mandated use ofthe Contracted Administration Checklistfor all files. All requirements over £10,000are subject to the Purchase Review Group,which is a structured review process forcontractual compliance. As well as thesealready stringent compliance measures, theteam implemented a Gateway ReviewProcess, which ensures that at least twoindividuals are satisfied with the content ofdocuments at key stages of the

procurement process right up to thecontract award.

All procurement employees at Pay Band1and 2 have monthly targets of file auditsusing the standardised internalprocurement audit Terms of Reference andLSBU has developed a sophisticated

database locally to captureaudit findings, identify issuesand highlight specific trainingrequirements forprocurement staff. Thefindings of these audits arereviewed regularly by theLSBU Senior Managementteam to ensure corrective

action is undertaken and to review thetraining required to develop and improveskills within the procurement teams”.

Jim concludes, “By embracing the conceptof Standardised Contracting, LSBUcontinues to demonstrate its compliancewith MOD policies and procedures and thishas resulted in the delivery of a moreconsistent approach. The sharing of bestpractice and learning from experienceactively assesses the need for localinstructions where central guidance eitherfails to meet requirements or consideredtoo major procurement specific.”

Jackie Duce

Senior Procurement

Manager

Compliance and

Development

Liz Hunt

Procurement

Compliance

Support Manager

Sam Jones

Procurement

Compliance

Support Officer

Ian Woolley

Procurement

Compliance

Support Officer

Spitfire andHurricane Mark 11

Cpl John Smith © Crown Copyright

The Panther team

news

Panther readyto pounce


This has been an

example of what

can be achieved

when all

stakeholders work

together and

maintain an active

interest in the

required outcome.

“

”

In response to an urgent request, DSGBovington staff recently delivered 35PANTHER Theatre Entry Standardvehicles to Army Headquarters (ArmyHQ) to meet the Lead Armoured TaskForce requirements.

The vehicles were returned from Theatreexactly as the user units had finished withthem and lay in store for a while beforearriving at DSG Bovington in a poorcondition. Bovington then inspected andrepaired them before their issue back to DSGAshchurch for further modification and thenstorage.

DSG Bovington staff joined the PANTHERrepair team and the project successfullybecame a collaboration between DSG, ArmyHQ, DE&S Armoured Vehicle Platforms (AVP)and BAE Land Systems with the conditionsfor this collaboration set from the beginning.Bovington took the project lead, holdingweekly internal meetings and monthly widerstakeholder meetings, highlighting any issuesaffecting the project with the aim of reachingcommonly agreed resolutions. This ensuredeach party knew exactly what they wererequired to do in order to meet thechallenging timescale. A risk register alsoenabled all stakeholders to concentrate onactions and mitigations to avoid unnecessarydelays.

The proactive role of the AVP PANTHERteam ensured the delivery of special tools andtest equipment when the first vehicles arrivedto be inspected aided by the BAE SystemsField Support Representatives. During thistime, Business Stream 2 (BS2) engineeringdepartments converted the existing Bill ofMateriel and route to accommodate the newassets. As experience and confidence grew,the phases of inspections and repairsincreased momentum.

BS2 procurement engaged directly with both

AVP and BAE Land Systems to plan, procureand deliver the spares based on previousexperience and maturing spares lists. Allscheduled maintenance spares were loadedand ordered early, leaving the respectiveteams to work on specific spares. BS2engineering alongside AVP Project team andBAE Systems devised some unique repairsolutions for spares that would not meet thedeadline. The hard work of all team membershad a positive outcome on the whole projectand ensured delivery of the last vehicle to thecustomer on time.

Colonel David Casey, Assistant Director,Equipment Programmes and Resources said,“This has been an example of what can beachieved when all stakeholders work togetherand maintain an active interest in the requiredoutcome.”

Front row L-R; Bryan Reed, Head of Site Bovington; Keith Voysey, Project manager PantherRegeneration; Major Trevor Bowman, Army HQ CFS SO2; Major Bernie McClean,

DSG Bovington MCMO; Duncan Bratt, FLCA Account manager.Photograph courtesy of Jim Robertson Photography.

During April, a number of children onwork experience placements from twoTelford schools, the Charlton Schooland the Phoenix Academy, visited DSGDonnington. Ben Udall from theCharlton School tells Digest about hisexperiences.

Ben said, “My work experience placement atDSG Donnington was the perfectopportunity for me to see life in the realworld. I started my two week placement inC32 workshop and was quite nervous aboutwhat to expect when I got there. It felt likestarting secondary school all over again. Ididn’t have much to worry about. BarryPotts, Training Supervisor and Paul Biddulph,

Apprentice Master met meand introduced me to Ben

Howson andGareth Hopton

both Year 3apprenticeswho weregoing to helpme with mywork project.

They were allfantastic and I felt

at home veryquickly.

“During the week I learnt a variety of skills,which included forming threads and using adye, folding, sand blasting, using an anvil andchisel and spray painting, all skills I used tocomplete two projects; a vintage car and amoney box. The vintage car was morechallenging but I was able to complete itquickly leaving me two days to make themoney box.

“My second week was spent in the LandSupply Business Unit to gain experience inadministration. I worked on the mainreception desk, learnt interview techniques,spent time in facilities and gained anunderstanding of communication in theMarketing department. A number of insighttours enabled me to visit the Light Weaponsdepartment, the museum and the vehiclerepair facilities and I was lucky enough to ridein a Warrior with all of the other workexperience children.

“Overall, my placement at DSG was a greatexperience. I gained a real insight intoengineering and administration as well asseeing what interesting work is carried out at

DSG Donnington repairing and maintainingmilitary vehicles. Being able to experiencetravelling in a Warrior has opened my eyes tothe small, uncomfortable conditions thatArmy personnel endure and I would like tothank everyone who spent time with me.”

news


Ben Udallwith thecar and

moneybox he built

DSG hosts childrenon work experience

Pictured L-R; Ashley Jones, Jemma Hamlet, Ben Udall and Charley Wright on the Warrior

Jemma Hamlet tries on a helmet

three of the best

Three of the best

Paul Amos, Pews/Progressor Training Uplift Fleet, Bovington

Paul Amos is the PEWS/Progressor for the Training Uplift Fleet at Bovington. Paul joined DSG in 2000working on the shop floor and progressed through various team leader roles before taking up hiscurrent post in January this year following a six month tour in Bastion as a Progressor.

If you were a type of animal what would you be and why? I would like to be a White Tiger because they are myfavourite animal. I've been fascinated by tigers since my childhood. They are stunningly beautiful creatures and ofcourse very rare.

The most extravagant things I ever bought were… my wife's engagement, wedding and eternity rings.

If I could go back in time, I would tell my 10 year old self… to pay more attention at school. I am sure I could have achieved far more if I hadgot my head down.

If I can, I always try to avoid… arguments. I don't like confrontation and I don’t like to waste my time arguing.

I would like to be remembered as… a great father, husband, son, brother and friend.

Cathie Guy, Planning support, Warminster

Cathie joined DSG in 2003 as PA to the General Manager at Warminster. From 2006, Cathie workedpart-time as Training support, until beginning her current Planning support position in 2010 providingtrusted advice to all customers both civilian and military.

The first thing I bought with my first pay was… clothes. I worked part-time at weekends from the age of 16 andthought it magnificent that I could buy my own clothes. Earning £1.87 per hour though, I was never the height offashion!!!

If I were immortal for a day, I would… take a trip into space on Richard Branson’s Galactic spacecraft. As a child, Idreamt of being an astronaut.

My greatest fear is… failing anything or anyone. I will work my socks off for a bit of praise.

The songs on the sound track of my life are… because… ‘Dancing Queen’ by Abba – because I love dancing and I’m always one of the firston the dance floor - I have no shame!!!

‘When you love someone’ by Bryan Adams because this reminds me of my family.

‘Top Gun’ theme tune because I’m always on a mission to achieve something whether it is advising a customer, picking the children up fromschool or helping my husband with the family business.

Even though I know I shouldn’t, I can’t help… eating chocolate and lots of it. I am a chocolate happy person and one of those really luckypeople who doesn’t put weight on easily.

Donnie Leitch,Vehicle technician, Colchester

Donnie joined 36 District workshop in August 1988 on a two year Youth Training Scheme. He thentook an apprenticeship, becoming a fully qualified Vehicle technician three years later. He has workedin most areas of the workshop at DSG Colchester and is currently Team leader for the HEBE Project,which will convert battlefield ambulances to high capacity double cab pick-ups. HEBE gets its namefrom the Greek goddess of youth.

If you could go back in time, who would you like to meet?… I would love to meet Barry Sheene. He was the lastBritish MotoGP champion and as a motorbike enthusiast ("nut"), I admire his achievements.

What is the scariest thing you have ever done?… working in BATUS (British Army Training Unit Suffield), Canada for three months. Untilthen I'd never been abroad on my own before or apart from my wife and family.

The book I am reading now is… I don't really read books, but I do sometimes buy a motorbike magazine but generally I tend to Googlemost things.

The worst gift I have ever received is … chinese restaurant vouchers as a birthday present from my parents......as a joke!

If I could stay a certain age forever, I would choose... because… I don't mind what age I am as long as I'm healthy, along with my wife and twochildren now aged 18 and 15. That's all that matters.


Visitors to an annual Help for Heroesfund raising day were treated to a Battleof Britain memorial fly past by aHurricane.

The historic aircraft flew over the event heldat the Plough Inn, Wellington in Telfordcompleting three loops to acknowledge thefund raising efforts of the crowds below.

The event, supported by DSG Donnington, isin its fourth year and began after a local manwas seriously injured whilst on tour inAfghanistan.

DSG Donnington supports the event eachyear and supplied a CVR(T) Sultan vehicle.The Donnington Sultan is one of the lastpetrol variants in existence and restoredrecently in the Donnington workshop forpromotional displays highlighting thecraftsmanship of staff at the site. MervynDavies from the DSG IT departmentcoordinated the supply of six bouncy castlesand Rachael Norton from Corporate HRarranged for the Help for Heroes bear to visitDSG Donnington and the main event tocollect donations.

Hosted by Shropshire Radio, the 3000 strong

crowd were treated to an extensive array ofmilitary vehicles, BBQ, stalls, a raffle with afirst prize of £3,000 and local bands TheZoobs, Major Look, Soul City 7 and Enigmawho all played into the night.

John Roberts, Head of DSG Donnington sitesaid, “The Help for Heroes day has continuedto grow and this year was no exception. Thegenerosity of all who supported the eventraised over £21,000, which is outstanding forsuch a small town. I would like to thank all ofthe DSG employees who gave their own timeto make it a great success.”

Battle of Britainfly-past for H4H event

news


Battle of Britain Hurricane; Cpl John Smith © Crown Copyright

The H4H bear

Local band The Zoobs

The DSG Donnington CVR(t) Sultan

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DSG’s Land Supply Business Unit(LSBU) and Defence Equipment andSupport (DE&S) recently appointedTVS Supply Chain Solutions as themain supplier for Land Rover spareparts following a re-let programme.Neil Harris, DSG’s Supply ChainPerformance manager explains toDigest how the re-let programmebegan.

Neil explains, “Jaguar Land Rover was themain supplier of Land Rover parts to DSGsince 2006, meeting a total of 8345 orderssupplying spares to meet Front LineCommands and DSG workshop demandssupporting the Land Rover fleets. Thiscontract ended at the beginning of 2014 andto ensure a continued supply we began are-let programme in 2012.

“The key objectives of the programme wereto engage with industry, encourage innovationand gain leverage through the use of publicand private sector expertise. The mainchallenges were to ensure the continuedavailability of the high specification LandRover fleet through to 2030 and meet thequality standards of spare parts to maintainsafety, performance and reliability whileconforming to current Original EquipmentManufacturer (OEM) specifications, whichincludes design changes to maintain vehicleconfiguration and continued high levels ofavailability.

“The four-year contract was advertised andsplit into four areas; safety critical partssourced from a Land Rover approved supplier,OEM parts obtained from suppliers otherthan Land Rover approved sources, supply toDSG workshops and supply to British Forces

South Atlantic Islands (BFSAI).”

In total, DSG received and evaluatedcommercially and technically in strictaccordance with the evaluation process, sixcompliant bids.

DSG LSBU Procurement staff and the DE&SOperational Support Vehicles Programme(OSVP) Project team carried out commercial,technical and consensus evaluations, whileDSG workshops and AWARD softwareapplied weightings. TVS Supply ChainSolutions achieved the highest score and wasannounced as the winning bidder inNovember last year.

Neil continues, “TVS demonstrated throughperformance against similar contracts forspares and support of armoured vehicles thatthey have the capability to deliver a qualityservice. During the bid process, TVS alsoidentified a number of added value proposalsthat have the potential to introduce significantinnovation to the support of the MOD LandRover fleet including the implementation of a

Vehicle Managed Inventory (VMI) solution.

“Following the contract award, DSG LSBUhas taken the lead on the transition from theservice previously provided by Jaguar LandRover to the new contract with TVS, withparticular emphasis on the requirements ofDSG workshops. Jaguar Land Rover isalready working with TVS to ensurecontinuity of supply and will ensure theeffective and efficient supply of spares to DSGby providing a Parts Supply agreement.”

Re-let programmesecures Land Roverspares supply

TVS

demonstrated

through

performance

against similar

contracts for spares

and support of

armoured vehicles

that they have the

capability to deliver

a quality

service.

“

”

news


DSG Warminster successfullycompleted roof work to building 4Aworkshop recently at the site.

Routine building maintenance highlightedthe corrosion of roof fixings to theworkshop roof weakening connectionsbetween the roof sheets. Thereplacement of roof fixings, roof lights andrainwater goods was the most costeffective solution that would eliminate therisk posed by the corroded fixings, wouldsignificantly extend the roof life andimprove natural lighting and thermalinsulation.

Safety was paramount during thescheduled work with speciallyconstructed safety and debris netsinstalled to ensure that roof workers andDSG employees were safe. The projectwas completed on time and with verylittle disruption to workshop operationsand the new roof lights have significantlyimproved the natural light reducing theneed for high-energy lighting.

Damon Rawlings, Facilities managerWarminster commented, “The new rooflights have brightened up the workshopsignificantly. The cooperation and help

received from DSG staff was exemplarythroughout the whole project withoutwhich there is no doubt that the projectwould not have run as smoothly as it did.”

Nelson Pratt trophy boxcommissioned

Roof work completed atWarminster workshop

The workshop following the completed roof work

DSG Bovington had the exciting prospect of being able to help theBritish Army Snowboarding team out recently. The challenge was toprovide a box for use in transporting the Nelson Pratt trophy,commissioned to recognise the achievements of the most improvedmember of the team.

Colonel Richard Bennett, Assistant Director Equipment Ops Army HQ toldDSG a little about the trophy and its importance to the team. Colonel Bennettsaid, “The trophy was commissioned in memory of Nelson Pratt, a former GreatBritain Slopestyle snowboarding champion who was employed as an ArmySnowboarding coach for six years prior to his tragic death in 2012. Nelson wasa farmer from Grateley near Andover, whose friendship with the Armysnowboarding community had deepened over the years, coaching the Army teamannually in preparation for the Inter-Services Championships, and numerousArmy riders at events in the UK and Austria leading up to the ArmyChampionships.

“A measure of his standing in the national snowboarding circuit was that in 2012shortly before his death he was invited to coach Jenny Jones, who won a bronzemedal in the Slopestyle Olympic event at Sochi this year. The trophy was carvedby renowned sculptor, Ian Brennan, and is presented annually to the BestNewcomer of the Army Championships. This year it was awarded to LanceCorporal Ryan Wootton of the Queen's Royal Lancers.”

The polished mahogany trophy box was completed in the Bovington carpentersshop by Simon Jeanes, Rod Thompson and coordinated by Phil Berry.

Pictures L-R Jason Spicer and Colonel Richard Bennett


across the country

Highland FlingPhil Kent, Facilities manager at DSG Colchesterrecently completed the Highland Fling ultramarathon; a grueling 53 mile hill race that takes placeon the West Highland Way at Loch Lomond inScotland attracting over 800 competitors.

This is the second year that Phil competed in this race andalthough he finished in a quicker time than last year, Phil isconvinced that he can do it faster. If he is successful in gaininga place in next year's event, Phil will need to concentrate histraining in a more hilly area than Essex and hopes to seeWillie Nairns, a previous competitor from DSG Stirling, onthe start line.

Phil Kent with fellow competitor Amy Beggs

Across the cDSG employees run halfmarathons for charityJohn Evans, HR support at DSG Stafford and Paul Withers, SpecialistInstructional Officer based at DSG Ashchurch both completed halfmarathons recently for charity.

John took part in the Stafford half marathon in aid of Asthma UK raising £240.00 forthe charity. This was John’s first half marathon and he was delighted to complete it inone hour 53 minutes. He is continuing to run with his local club, the Rising BrookRunners, whilst looking out for future events in which to compete.

Paul ran the Shakespeare half marathon managing to raise over £200 for a localShakespeare hospice. A keen runner, Paul completed the race in one hour 46minutes. Paul is now training hard for his third Mud Runner Oblivion event in June.

Well done boys from everyone in DSG.

John EvansPaul Withers pictured far left


across the country

SportsReliefshenanigansStaff at DSG’s Land Supply Business Unit atDonnington recently organised some Sports Relieffun and games in support of the UK wide event.

Staff paid £1 to come to work dressed in sports gear, had theopportunity to guess the weight of the sports bag loaded withvarious sports items and enter a raffle and sports quiz. Thewhole event raised £332.

NowzadfundraisingDonna Matthews from DSGDonnington recently started anew fund raising campaign forNowzad dogs, a charity whichrescues stray and abandonedanimals in Afghanistan andwhich operates the only officialanimal shelter located nearKabul.

Donna is asking for donations of anyused stamps, old coins and unwantedbras to help raise vital funds for theanimal charity. Donna will accept alltypes of used stamps from anywherearound the world including everydayfirst and second class together withold coins and notes that are nolonger in circulation. She will alsoaccept bras of all types including newor worn.

You can send items to DonnaMatthews, Building C3, DSGDonnington and all funds raised willgo directly to the running of theNowzad shelter in Afghanistan.

MP Visits DSGStirling ForBusiness Update

Pictured L-R Archie Hughes, DSG Chief Executive; Rt Hon Anne McGuire MP for Stirling

Local Stirling MP, Rt Hon Anne McGuire, visited DSG Stirlingrecently to meet with DSG’s Chief Executive, get an update onthe sale programme, as well as learning more about DSG’s plansfor the future.

Mrs McGuire has a long and established interest in the work undertaken atthe site. She used the visit in order to meet with the Trade Unions as wellas tour the facilities and see at first hand the work undertaken by theemployees. She left greatly impressed with everything she saw andwelcomed the opportunity for a full update on the future of the site.

ountry

Please send all your entries in to the Editor by Tuesday 1 July 2014.

E-mail: Hannah Jukes-JonesIntranet: Click on the link on the dsg.net homepage

Fax: 94480 3867 / 01952 673867Post: DSG Corporate Communications, Building B15, Donnington,

Telford, Shropshire, TF2 8JT

ENTRY FORM

Name:

Business Unit/Department:

Telephone Number:

RULES OF ENTRY

Only one entry per person will be accepted.

The winner of last month’s competition and winning a Kindle Fire is JillBlundell from LSBU Donnington.

The correct answers were:

1. Jenny Jones 2. 43. Target shooting/Rifle shooting 4. The Skeleton5. Russia 6. Teemu Selanne

CO

MP

ET

IT

IO

N

For this month’s competition TVS Supply Chain Solutions haskindly donated National Garden gift vouchers to the value of £200.All you have to do to win is answer the following questions relatingto the Wimbledon Tennis Championship correctly. Good luck!

1. Who won the Gentleman’ Singles title against Novak Djokovic in 2013?

2. Who won the Ladies’ Singles title against Sabine Lisicki in 2013?

3. Rufus a Harris Hawk flies over the courts every morning during the championships to deter which other bird from roosting?

4. At Wimbledon 2013 caterers served 112,000 punnets of which popular fruit with over 7,000 litres of dairy cream?

5. Aorangi Terrace was until recently affectionately known as Henman Hill. What is its new name?

6. What is the championship playing height of the grass on the centre court?

The closing date for the competition is Tuesday 1 July 2014.

competition


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