Good afternoon,

Yesterday’s engagement session was all about the essential but nerve-racking process of interview preparation. I spent several hours with students from Bede Sixth Form College in Billingham, who were working hard to make a great first impression and demonstrate their range of skills and competencies in mock interviews.

Speaking from my personal point of view, there were several young people who would have fitted into our Project Pipeline team very well. Top marks to the college for arranging this valuable experience and the students for seizing the opportunity.

Best regards

Karen Alexander                                              

Farrans’ Community Business Partner

Good morning,

We’ll be installing temporary traffic lights on the A6072 near Shildon on Monday 19 February 2024.  This is so we can carry out preparatory work on this section of the road, ahead of the installation of the new pipeline which will eventually cross the road at this point.

We’ll be installing two-way traffic lights to keep road users, as well as our construction team safe, and we expect to be finished within 2 weeks.

We’ll be working as quickly and as safely as possible and thank people for their patience while this essential work is happening. 

If you’d like to speak to a member of our project team, you can telephone our customer contact centre on 0345 717 1100 or tweet us on @nwater_care and we will be very happy to help you.

Kind regards

Karen Alexander

Farrans’ Community Business Partner

Good morning,

Despite the difficult weather conditions in recent weeks, our excavation work at both the East and West shafts has been continuing well. We dig out one metre at a time and reinforce the walls with concrete segments which fit together and form a ring one metre high. We have only approximately 2 metres left to dig in both shafts. I took the  photograph below peering carefully into the West Shaft which is currently 30 metres deep.

Our construction team ‘ride’ in cages hoisted by a crane to reach the bottom of the shaft several times a day.  I also tried out one of the cages for size last week (and I was very glad it was stationary at the time!).

Once both shafts are complete, the next stage will involve drilling a tunnel to connect the two, so that the new water pipeline can be taken across the River Tees. I’ll be bringing you updates about that exciting milestone in the near future.

Karen Alexander                                              

Farrans’ Community Business Partner

Good afternoon,

In recognition of National Apprenticeship Week, I’d like to share with you a recent interview I carried out with one of the excellent apprentices based on Project Pipeline: County Durham and Tees Valley – Ryan Crawford.

Can you introduce yourself, please?

My name is Ryan and I’m 24 years old. I am an Apprentice Civil Engineer at Farrans Construction and have been with Farrans since 2019. I am currently completing an IEng (Incorporated Engineer) degree-level apprenticeship. 

What made you want to go into an apprenticeship?

At a young age, I always wanted to “build stuff”. My father is an engineer, so it was a natural choice for me to follow this career path. I attended a work experience placement with Farrans at the Twelve Quays Bridge project in Liverpool, this sparked my interest in working full-time with Farrans. 

What were the entry requirements for your apprenticeship?  

Farrans helped sign me up for a degree apprenticeship with a university, which did require UCAS points. In my experience, the process was simple and straightforward. I applied to John Moores University and was accepted. 
 

In brief, what does the role entail?
My job role on Project Pipeline today involves overseeing the pipelaying and welding gangs, setting out, taking readings of center points to check levels and elevation, and making sure equipment is working.  I also prepare and upload quality paperwork (‘as builts’) to Aconex. Previously on the same contract, I was involved with the pre-construction drainage and the preparation of pipeline routes.

What aspect of your job do you enjoy most?

Working with a team who are great to get along with, as well as being very respectful. Also ‘setting out’ – it’s really interesting to see how people approach this job in different ways, so you learn how to do things more efficiently.

What do you find most challenging in your apprenticeship?

Travel can sometimes be a chore; also, it’s tricky to balance the demands of the job with uni work.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 
Hopefully progressing through the ranks in Farrans and being promoted. 

What advice would you give to others thinking about following this career path?  

Always strive for what you want to do in life, and always put in your all. Work hard and be punctual – this shows you’re enthusiastic and it can create more opportunities for you in the future. My motto is “Being early is to be on time, being on time is to be late, and being late is unforgivable”.

Any last thoughts?
It’s mind-blowing to see a project like Twelve Quays in Liverpool finished – knowing what the place looked like before it was there, then seeing it fully constructed; being able to walk on it, drive on it, and knowing I was part of the team building it.

Karen Alexander                                              

Farrans’ Community Business Partner

Good afternoon,

We’re continuing with our preparation work along the pipeline route, and we’ve arranged two short-term road closures in conjunction with Durham County Council in the coming weeks.

The first of these will take place from Monday 5^th February to approximately Sunday 11^th February 2024 on the B6279 to the west of Ingleton.

The second road closure will take place from Monday 12^th February 2024 to approximately Monday 19^th February 2024 on the road between the B6279, to the west of Ingleton, and Hilton.

With all construction projects, unexpected delays can sometimes occur. However, we will not start the second of these two closures before the first one is finished.

Please be assured that we’re working closely with our partners to do all we can to minimise any disruption for you and your community throughout the work.  We’ll be working as quickly and as safely as possible and thank people for their patience while this essential work is happening. 

Typical working hours will be between 7.30am – 6.00pm, Monday to Friday and 8.00am – 2.00pm on a Saturday.

We’ll be placing roadside signage at the road closure points to clearly signpost the diversion routes.

If you’d like to speak to a member of our project team, you can telephone our customer contact centre on 0345 717 1100 or tweet us on @nwater_care and we will be very happy to help you.

Kind regards

Karen Alexander

Farrans’ Community Business Partner

Good afternoon,

I spent this morning with some very bright pupils from Years 5 and 6 of two rural primary schools – Evenwood and St Michael’s. I delivered a STEM workshop to two groups where they had to imagine they’d survived a Zombie Apocalypse and, if they drank contaminated water, they’d turn into zombies!

They were tasked with designing and building water filters, which we then tested using the deadly green “zombie water”.  Their designs were excellent and, you'll be happy to know, everyone survived!

As well as learning about the importance of planning and designing a product, creativity and teamwork, they also found out about the new water pipeline being built close to their homes.

Kind regards

Karen Alexander

Farrans’ Community Business Partner

Good morning,

I spent Tuesday morning doing one of my favourite things, working with small children! My workshop at Ingleton Primary School was about safety and we talked about how to avoid accidents and the role of a first aider. We learned how to ‘read’ some important signs and we looked at some of the big pieces of plant we use on the job.  Their minds are so receptive at this early age, so the lessons will probably stay with them for years to come.

I also talked to them about the important new pipeline we were building, that would bring fresh, clean water into their homes. One of our compounds and pipe storage areas is very close to their school at Ingleton, so they were keen to know more about that we were doing. I left each of them with their very own hi-viz tabard, which they all wore with pride.

Kind regards

Karen Alexander

Farrans’ Community Business Partner

Good afternoon,

Last week, I was given my first glimpse down one of our huge shafts that we are sinking either side of the river Tees just outside of Cotherstone in the Tees Valley. I definitely wouldn’t recommend it to anyone afraid of heights!  You can see my feet in the picture where I’m standing at the edge of the East Shaft (safely surrounded by barriers, I may add) looking down a 41m drop – holding tightly onto my camera.

Below me are two men – one operating a huge machine called a ‘breaker’, chipping away at hard, grey sandstone; the other is a Banksman, supervising the operation. Both of the men and the machine are carefully lowered into position at the start of their shift.  All three (men plus machine) are brought up again for tea breaks and lunch. Because of the hardness rock, it is currently taking them about a week to excavate roughly a metre of material.

Ultimately, we will be pouring concrete into the shafts to create a solid base. Once it’s finished, it will measure 45m from the top to the concrete floor.  Not far to go now!

Kind regards

Karen Alexander

Farrans’ Community Business Partner

Good afternoon,

What’s better to do on a rainy Wednesday than drive around our country lanes and look for blue pipes in fields? I spent an interesting couple of hours this week with Farrans’ Works Manager, Eddie Baker, who drove me along the pipeline route to show me the progress we’ve been making.

The fourth and final cargo of pipes is shortly going to be leaving Turkey and our final consignment should be arriving by the end of January 2024.

So far, we’ve installed around 2.5km of pipe, starting from Whorley Service Reservoir roughly at the mid-point, with two pipe-laying gangs working outwards in both directions, towards Shildon to the northeast and Lartington to the west.

If you’re travelling around the area, you’ll be able to see some of the pipes which have been placed into position, or ‘strung out’, along the route. These are then welded together in twos and threes on the bank of the pipe trench, before being lowered into the trench, where the doubles and triples are then welded together.

Kind regards

Karen Alexander

Farrans’ Community Business Partner

Good afternoon,

I spent today working in partnership with one of our subcontractors, Sunbelt Rentals, who kindly hosted a student visit at their Stockton Regional Operations Centre.

Six students from South West Durham Training came along for the morning, to get a close-up view of the hire sector. Sunbelt staff James Ellis and Phil Wickham explained the huge range of jobs available in their company and the role it plays in supporting the construction and engineering sector across the world. I talked about Project Pipeline and the work Farrans was delivering on behalf of Northumbrian Water. We discussed career routes into work including apprenticeships, plus the importance of employability skills. They were a great bunch of students and a credit to their college.

The visit was rounded off with a tour of Sunbelt’s yard, followed by a lunch of takeaway pizzas and ample time for questions and discussion. Their tutor told us afterwards that the visit was “a real eye-opener” for them.

Kind regards

Karen Alexander

Farrans Community Business Partner