Energy, Wind Power, Decarbonisation, Hydrogen, Electrification, NetZero and Renewables – what do these words mean to you?

Quite rightly, the world is changing, from the UK government announcing huge funding calls and new net zero and energy targets, to David Attenborough encouraging us to ReWild following his new witness statement documentary – the world has a joint call to action that has never been seen before – to save our planet.

So where does industry feature in this? The answer you may have guessed is – heavily. The Humber emits more C02 than any other industrial cluster, and the area is one of the most vulnerable to climate change through flood risk.   The Humber economy and 1-10 jobs depend on these high emitting industries; therefore, it is imperative that these jobs are safeguarded though transformation of skills for the clean future.

Decarbonisation will lead to profound changes in the way industry uses energy, and networking and collaboration is key to meeting targets set by the UK Government.  CATCH have focused on two of the crucial elements of Decarbonisation, with the launch of two new networks – The Industrial Decarbonisation Network and a new Hydrogen network which will launch in 2021.

As part of these plans, CATCH have submitted a joint bid with the Humber LEP to accelerate the green recovery, including identifying opportunities for inward investment and those looking to diversify to take advantage of low carbon infrastructure. It will also support the UK leadership of decarbonisation technologies and the creation of local jobs and supply chains.

Our Call to Action – simply join us and become a part of our collective voice for decarbonising industry in the Humber region –  please contact Katie Hedges, Director of Low Carbon Strategy, CATCH, for an informal chat  – katie.hedges@catchuk.org

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12th November @11am

The presentation will discuss the successful and sustained implementation of a Lean Programme and how this is achieved by understanding that Lean is a bit more than just a few posters on the wall and some nicely painted walls and floors! The Lean Tools and Techniques need to be meshed with a change in mindset and behaviour

• We need to make sure that there is a compelling story for our workforce, that they understand the need to change

• They need to see the structures, processes and systems in place to support those changes

• They need the skills to support the change so they understand what to do and how to behave differently

• And they need to see all their Leaders act in a way that supports the programme

Lose any of these four and the likelihood is that the programme will fail.

The presentation will explore each of these areas with some real examples from the Lean World together with the speaker’s real life experience of introducing a major Improvement Programme into a leading Heavy Engineering Business.

To register please contact jill.mooney@catchuk.org

Equinor, together with eleven other companies and organisations, has submitted a joint proposal to create a low carbon cluster in the Humber, the UK’s largest and most carbon-intensive industrial region.

The application by the Zero Carbon Humber (ZCH) Partnership is a first step to creating the world’s first net zero industrial cluster by 2040 and will support clean growth in the north-east of England. The bid, announced today, for Phase Two funding from the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, builds on a successful application for Phase One funding which was announced in April.

The ZCH Partnership includes Equinor, Associated British Ports, British Steel, Centrica Storage Ltd, Drax Group, Mitsubishi, National Grid Ventures, px Group, SSE Thermal, Saltend Cogeneration Company Limited, Uniper, and the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Centre (AMRC).

“We are proud to be a leader of Zero Carbon Humber, partnering with a broad group of forward-looking companies. This proposal can bring tremendous benefits to the Humber region, protecting industries, creating jobs, promoting economic growth and reducing emissions. Our bid demonstrates the kind of ambitious action that is needed to for the UK to achieve its net zero carbon target by 2050,” says Al Cook, Equinor executive vice president and UK country manager.

Read more here.

Why is Mental Health so important to you?

We all have mental health; without good mental health we cannot perform to the best of our abilities. In my time in the film and TV industry I have met some wonderfully creative people. Unfortunately, the dynamics of that industry often takes its toll on the mental health of those that work in it. I lost a friend and a colleague to suicide. The engineer’s response is to do something to prevent a recurrence. Hence, I have researched mental health, stress and wellbeing in the workplace and trained to instruct managers how to have a positive impact on the mental health and wellbeing of their employees and colleagues.

All the studies show that organisations that protect and nurture the mental health of their employees and colleagues, outperform those that do not, in the long term. They create a sustainable and efficient culture where people work well in terms of efficiency and innovation.

How can you support an organisation in their development and implementation of a Mental Health Policy?

Initially, I can train managers to promote positive initiatives that help the mental health and wellbeing of their employees and colleagues.

Often the mental health of employees is seen as an HR issue. Hence there are very few improvements made and the mental health of employees is left out of the health and safety management systems. I can help organisations to embed mental health, stress and wellbeing into their health and safety management systems to ensure that they are complying with their duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and also how to carry out risk assessments for stress and mental health which are required under the Management of Health and Safety Regulations 1999. This all starts with a robust stress and mental health policy based on the specific activities of each part of the organisation.

Please tell us about why you became a CT Consultant?

I became a CATCH Technical Consultant because I believe that I have a wide range of skills that could help CATCH provide excellent service and support to their clients. I am a Chartered Chemical Engineer with a range of experience across different Industries and also roles. As well as 10+ years operational experience I have 20 years commercial experience dealing with procurement, sales and business improvement. CATCH has a great exposure to the process industries which will help with a symbiotic relationship.

How are you able to assist companies with their projects?

I bring a wealth of experience operationally and commercially. I am able to evaluate the requirements of the business and turn that into practical actions to deliver improvements to customer service, operational efficiency and also contract negotiation or interpretation as to the requirements. Over the years I have saved companies considerable amounts of money in procurement as well as securing business with a sustainable collaborative approach which brings benefits for the long term. I am also able to troubleshoot and recommend improvements ranging from health and safety, quality and operational issues.

Why is it important to have a full service CATCH Technical capability?

It is important for CATCH to be able to offer a suite of capabilities to their clients. Companies work in a variety of industries and have many different drivers and needs. Only with a full service can CATCH meet these needs. Drawing on experience and knowledge from a wide range of consultants will allow best practices from different areas to be used and cross fertilise other industries. It will allow CATCH to be creative with the solutions it offers. The solutions will be based in experience but will also be creative. Companies often need a wholistic approach with an understanding of their business not just an off the shelf offering. Having a full service will enable CATCH to fully understand their clients needs.

Why should a client use the Catch Technical Service?

A client of CATCH is accessing a great wealth of experience. The consultants have a collaborative approach and will work with the client to attain the best outcome for the client by understanding their business drivers and proposing a range of options to improve. This is performed in a collaborative manner using fully open communication and evidence/experience based solutions. This enables the client to assess the most appropriate way forward for them in the most cost effective manner.

Good Morning – please tell us a little about Maersk Training:
Over 40 years ago, Maersk Training was founded as the result of a human error. That error led to an accident that might have been prevented by better training. Since then, we have added several specialised training areas: Wind, Maritime, Survival, Safety & Security, People Skills, Crane Operation and Human Resource Services. We offer courses at Maersk Training facilities, client-side, online and even virtually. Today, we truly have a global footprint of training facilities, including 7 locations within the UK, which cover all key Oil & Gas, Renewable and Maritime locations.

What support and services can you offer companies in the region and beyond:
Our core business in the Humber region is supporting our wind energy clients with the safety and technical training that keep their technicians safe and job-ready. Safety skills fade is a real challenge for our clients, and it is vital that effective learning takes place and that knowledge is retained. Typically our most regular courses come from the suite of GWO (Global Wind Organisation) approved standards. However, it is also common for us to develop and deliver client-specific courses that relate directly to the environments and equipment that will be familiar to the learners. In addition to the safety and technical training course, Maersk Training is a global leader in the delivery of people skills, human factor and emergency response training. We have decades of experience of supporting with incident investigation and developing challenging programmes that promote safe and empowering behaviours. All of this is available to our customers across the Humber region and is not exclusively applicable to the offshore wind sector.

Why did you decide to base your business at CATCH:
As the preferred training provider for the wind farm owners, turbine manufacturers and local supply chain companies, there was a demand for us open a facility that allowed high-quality training within the Humber region, without the need for travel. Maersk Training in Humber was launched in September 2019, to provide a ‘close to home’ solution for our local wind energy clients. Working in partnership with the CATCH facility in Stallingborough, we were able to access the local infrastructure and supply contacts required, to allow us to design and build, a state of the art wind training facility while supporting local businesses. It was through the support of the local supply chain, and other stakeholders that Maersk Training was able to quickly begin delivering GWO accredited safety, survival and technical training to our clients, across the Humber region. The location also presented a solution for our clients based in the Midlands, and further down the South coast of England, reducing their travel costs. Everything that Maersk Training has achieved and continues to accomplish in the Humber region is thanks to the unique support that our local partners have given us.

For further information on GWO Training at Maersk Training in Humber, please contact the team on 0808 169 1100 or email UK@maersktraining.com

In this webinar, Geraint provided an overview of the work Catch and the Humber LEP have been doing recently in preparation for delivering the Humber Cluster Plan (HCP). The HCP will set out a route map to decarbonising the energy intensive industries such as steel, refining and chemicals within the Humber cluster. The HCP will be funded by the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) which is also funding several large scale deployment projects in the region alongside the Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre at Heriot Watt University which, in collaboration with other Universities, is tasked with developing and sharing new knowledge.

Decarbonisation will lead to profound changes in the way industry uses energy – using outputs from energy system models, Geraint showed how the UK energy system is anticipated to change over the next 30 years. He explained that the industrial sector is one of the most difficult to decarbonise and that this will drive investments into a set of technologies covering demand optimisation, energy efficiency, carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS), bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), Direct Air Capture with CCS (DACCS), bioenergy and hydrogen. Of these, two of the most crucial are CCS and hydrogen, especially given the need to address process feedstock emissions and emissions from internal industrial fuels.

Finally, Geraint provided an overview of the deployment initiatives underway in the Humber region including H2H Saltend, Humber Zero (Immingham), Keadby Clean power hub, British Steel Scunthorpe, Zero Carbon Humber and Green Hydrogen for Humber, followed by an overview of the next steps for the HCP project.

To view the recording please visit CATCH TV – https://youtu.be/-IHJM9H4IfU