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National Grid has energised a new substation in Barking, East London, to help power homes, businesses and rail services – including those forming part of the Barking Riverside regeneration of an area formerly occupied by a coal power station.

National Grid worked with its principal contractor Murphy to build the substation and transfer existing circuits and connections to the new facility, ensuring no interruption to supplies.

The new 132kV indoor substation connects the local grid operator UK Power Networks (UKPN) to National Grid’s high voltage transmission network, delivering electricity for distribution to 20,000 homes in the area.

Local low carbon transport services are also supported by National Grid’s new substation, with power delivered to a nearby Network Rail feeder station to support electrified train routes.

The substation replaces a previous 132kV facility that was built on an adjacent site in the 1950s to deliver electricity to the London grid area from the former Barking C power station. Built post-war, the original substation was designed to look inconspicuous to enemy aircraft.

The new facility replaces and reinforces the old infrastructure, and features 17 bays – the equipment which enables a connection to the grid – with room for future upgrades. It sits alongside National Grid’s bigger 275kV/400kV substation to boost the resilience of electricity supply in East London as energy demands grow.

In August National Grid energised the first circuit on its London Power Tunnels 2 project, on which Murphy has also been heavily involved as part of the award-winning Hochtief-Murphy Joint Venture HMJV, to help connect millions of homes to clean power.

Liam Corr, managing director for Energy at Murphy, said: “Our company purpose is to improve life by delivering world-class infrastructure and this project is a great example of that – we are proud to have played our part in future proofing energy supplies for the local community.

Laura Mulcahy, project director at National Grid Electricity Transmission, said: “Our new Barking substation is a crucial upgrade to the electricity network in East London, and will help future proof it as electricity demand in the capital grows.

“Barking has played a crucial role powering London since its first power stations were built in the early twentieth century, and with these latest network upgrades our infrastructure in the area will continue to support the energy transition for decades to come.

“It’s been an exciting project to be a part of, and the team and I are delighted the new Barking substation is fully energised and connected to our network.”

Andrew White, programme manager, capital programme, UK Power Networks, said: “We’re delighted to work with National Grid on this major infrastructure project serving 20,000 locals in Barking and East London. This investment will benefit residential and industrial supplies and comes as part of our commitment to reinforcing reliable energy for many years ahead.”

HIGHLIGHTS

National Grid’s new 132kV Barking substation is switched on in East London
Substation will help UK Power Networks to distribute electricity to 20,000 homes, and Network Rail to power its electrified lines in the area
New facility supports the ongoing Barking Riverside redevelopment

Murphy is proud to be the largest direct employer of emerging talent in the construction industry. As a business we are committed to providing opportunities to people of all ages and at all stages of their career and we have a variety of entry points to suit all backgrounds.

Whether people are looking to start their career in construction, or upskill in their current role, we believe we can offer world-class opportunities unlike anyone else in our sector.

We are thrilled, therefore, to announce that we have been awarded the prestigious Platinum accredited membership as part of The 5% Club’s esteemed 2024-25 Employer Audit Scheme.

This accolade highlights our unwavering commitment to empowering our employees through earn and learn programmes such as Apprenticeships, Graduate Schemes and Placements. If you, or someone you know, is looking to take advantage of one of our emerging talent programmes, please head to our Early Careers web page or email emergingtalent@murphygroup.co.uk.

The role models who bring value to the world, their families and communities

Today marks International Men’s Day, which this year is aiming to celebrate male role models who bring value to the world, their families and communities. So, we asked colleagues across the business to share their positive role models with us:

Tunde Adams
I have to be honest and say that my Son Casper is an absolute inspiration to me, he is everything I love in having a son and more, extremely proud dad!

Nick Fletcher
I have a huge respect for my grandfather, He served in the trenches in the first world war from 1916 to 1918. He later became a Vicar, and he was a calm, considered and extremely generous with his time, teaching me about the wisdom of life, how to love and my potential. He was always positive and trustworthy.

I have also huge respect for my father, who emigrated to Ireland from England in the 1960’s to work in electricity transmission. He taught me how to analyse problems and find solutions, especially with his passion for cars. He has always been and is still great fun to be with, always fun to be with but also a great listener, buckets of energy and like his Dad, always generous with his time and plenty of wisdom.

I have learnt a lot from my dad and Grandad (Papa) and I really appreciate them.

Jonny Richardson

I’m lucky to have two great male role models in my dad and godfather. Both have shown me the power of simply being a good person, and positive impact you can have on wide range of people by doing so. Their best lesson? If you can help someone, do.

Ryan Holland

I have been lucky to have met many people I see as great role models, both personally and professionally. Personally, my dad taught me respect and to stand up for what is right. Professionally, the list is long but over my 14 years with Murphy, accountability, not only for the work you do, but over your own life in general. “What can you learn from this interaction” is a piece of advice I once received and will never forget.

Jake Outram

I’ve never really had just the one role model, I’ve looked up to several people going through different stages of life but what seems to be a common theme is to treat people how you expect to be treated. People won’t always remember what you said to them, but they will always remember how you made them feel.

Greg Keenan

I’m paying tribute to my 80 year old father who travelled to England 66 years ago from his family farm in Monaghan to work and start a family.

He inspired me to work hard and enjoy life with family, friends and colleagues and I have definitely adhered to that during my 29 years 11 months at Murphy.”

Laura Bradley
My dad has always been my role model – both at work and at home. He is hardworking, kind, full of integrity and the first person I call if I have a problem – particularly if it is DIY or car related!

He’s also very funny and makes a great apple cake.

Diana Murphy
My dad is the most important male role model in my life. His charisma and storytelling have consistently inspired me, and he has always encouraged me without judgment. He has played a huge role in shaping who I am today, and I will always be grateful for that and proud to be his daughter.

Paul Barrett

At different stages of our lives, I feel we have different role models. In my early days, I would have loved to have been a Thundercat….I view life slightly differently these days.

Anyone who’s met me, knows my life revolves around playing rugby union. This is my escape from reality, a great leveller, where everyone is equal, brought together by the love of the sport. I’ve taken a role model from this sporting sphere, not one of the great players like Martin Johnson, Dooley, Ltoje, Lawes, Etzebeth, Baird and Beirne etc. I look up to Nigel Owen MBE the referee. I’ve seen this diminutive figure in action many times, managing one of the most physically brutal games on the planet. He doesn’t use his stature, authority or position of power to manage the game, but his calm voice and presence. I’ve seen this man, manage some really difficult situations, with a calm, well considered conversation. Without aggression, but using facts and humour, to get his point across. He regularly deals with people twice his size, full of adrenaline, and helps them to understand the error of their ways and keep the game flowing.

This is a man who grew up in a small Welsh village, managed the biggest games in the world, and retired, back to the same village, to start a cattle farm, his lifelong dream. He doesn’t crave the limelight, look for adulation, he just lives his life in the way he wants to. For me that is truly something to be admired.

Last week we held our annual Supplier Awards, celebrating the valued impact of our supply chain partners.

The night was our largest awards event yet, bringing together over 300 members of our supply chain who support our project teams to successfully deliver world-class infrastructure.

There were ten award categories – covering all elements of our business and core operating goals and values – winners were selected for their proactive, collaborative efforts to support colleagues’ safety, ensure sustainability and foster long-term innovation.

You can see the full list of winners below:

Health & Wellbeing Supply Chain Partner of the year – Flannery Plant Hire
Energy Supply Chain Partner of the year – AMS No-Dig
Major Material Supply Chain Partner of the year – Aggregate Industries
SBU Supply Chain Partner of the year – CA Group
Sustainability Supply Chain Partner of the year – GRS roadstone
Infrastructure Supply Chain Partner of the year – Tudor Griffiths group
Transportation Supply Chain Partner of the year – Ropetech Access
Framework Supply Chain Partner of the year – Scott Parnell
Murphy Plant Supply Chain Partner of the year – Flannery Plant Hire
Safety Supply Chain Partner of the year – MGF

Speaking after the event, Ian Holcroft, Procurement Director said: “This year’s awards were another fantastic evening celebrating the success of our supply chain partners who are very much part of the Murphy family and our One Team approach. Congratulations to all our winners, we look forward to continuing working with you and all our trusted partners in the year ahead.”

Murphy’s Supplier Awards 2024, Bloomsbury Ballroom, London, 14th November 2024 Photo by Tim Bishop/TimBisMedia

Over two weekends in September, Murphy completed the successful replacement of a vital rail bridge over the M62. On behalf of our customer, Network Rail, Murphy was responsible for both the demolition of the old bridge and the fabrication and installation of the new structure.

The 40m long, 450t bridge was fabricated by our specialist steel fabrication team at our state-of-the-art fabrication workshop in Newbridge, Co Kildare and installed using a self-propelled modular transporter.

With the support of National Highways, the busy motorway was closed to allow the bridge to be placed precisely onto the new cast in-situ cill beams over the central pier and abutments by our Transportation team.

Following successful landing of the bridge, the team then renewed the track to ensure safe and efficient operation of the rail and highway network for future users.

The new bridge is expected to last 120 years and will never need painting due to its weathering steel design.

Our Clonmel WWTP Aeration Basin Upgrade project team took home the 2024 CECA Excellence Award in the under €2 million category in Dublin tonight.

The project scope for the Clonmel WWTP Aeration Basin Upgrade was to design, supply, install, commission, operation and maintain a new Fine Bubble Diffused Aeration Systems to replace the existing surface aeration systems in the existing four aeration tanks at Clonmel WWTP.

Murphy was able to improve the efficiency of the final proposed solution by increasing the depth of the Aeration Basins using an innovative baffle system.

The post upgrade monitoring demonstrated a 75% reduction in Energy consumption from 2060 kWh/day to 500 kWh/day. This equates to a reduction of 568,000kWh/year.

Murphy is delighted to announce it has won the Best Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative Award at the 2024 CIPD People Management Awards.

The award was in recognition of our people strategy, where Murphy is committed to championing inclusion and creating a workplace where everyone feels secure and comfortable to be themselves.

Our holistic EDI programme was described by the judges as having an; “Excellent alignment of objectives, initiatives, annual targets and measurements to strategic goals. Born out of a skills shortage in the construction and engineering sector, we were impressed with Murphy’s aim to “improve life” for both current and future employees and the communities in which they work.”

Our work in this space includes:

In 2023, Murphy became the founding member of the first National Prison Employment Advisory Board, a unique initiative offering prison leavers a journey into employment. This employment model received recognition in parliament and is now being replicated in 91 prisons across the UK.
Murphy also became the first company in the sector to adopt the Ambitious about Autism programme, creating long-term employment for neurodiverse candidates.
We also partnered with the Home Office to create a scheme that helps refugees settle into their new lives and find meaningful work. The refugee programme was featured in the national press and created more than 100 job opportunities.
In addition, all job advertisements went through gender-neutral language screening to ensure they were accessible to all candidates. Murphy also rolled out an in-house BIG Inclusion programme to bring employees together at all levels to have open discussions about equality, diversity and inclusion. Now, 24.37 per cent of teams are from underrepresented groups, which the judges noted was challenging given the firm had a starting point of less than 10 per cent at the end of 2020.

The judges were also impressed by the plans Murphy has implemented to ‘Continually Improve’ and build on its successes, for example, the £40m training facility at Ollerton, “which will help the local community by investing in skills and boosting employment”.

Over the course of September, we were excited to welcome the next generation of construction and engineering experts as our largest ever cohorts of graduates and apprentices joined the One Murphy family.

From HGV Drivers and Civil Engineers to Accounting Technicians and Business Administrators, they will play an essential role in supporting our purpose of improving life by delivering world-class infrastructure.

Covering a wide range of functions, sectors and countries they’ve now all joined their project teams and are hard at work.

HIGHLIGHTS

Over 68 new Apprentices
Over 85 new Graduates

Murphy’s enabling works on the M62 Motorway Bridge Replacement Project have continued at pace in recent months, seeing a range of impressive milestones achieved along the way.

In the last period, the site team have poured 3 No Trestle Foundations to support the new structure as it is being built off-line in the site compound. The site team also constructed a concrete bell-mouth to create access directly from the M62 Westbound Carriage directly to the site compound.

The bell-mouth is approximately 5m wide by 50m long – the large size of bell-mouth was required to enable delivery of the 46m long edge beams and for the future installation of the new bridge structure via SPMT. The haul road for the SMPT has also been completed. Due to the existing ground conditions and heavy weights of the new bridge structure and SPMT – a full highway carriageway specification was installed.

But perhaps the most impressive milestone is the fabrication of Murphy’s largest ever Steel Bridge. Colleagues in Ireland completed assembly of the bridge structure in their recently opened fabrication shop in Newbridge, before welcoming members of the project team and client Network Rail for a trial assembly of the new structure. Network Rail were very impressed with both the structure and the new facilities.

The two edge beams were then delivered overnight on Sunday 21 July. The edge beams were only permitted to travel overnight at 20mph and, due their size and weight, they were given a full police escort from leaving the fabrication shop in Newbridge to arrival on site in Rochdale via Holyhead Port.

Following delivery, colleagues from Ireland have travelled to Rochdale and commenced the assembly of the new bridge structure within the site compound. By the time they are finished, over 5000 bolts will have been installed to fully assemble the bridge structure.

Further ongoing works include the mobilisation of a satellite compound to facilitate the Permanent Way works. The compound will be used to build fifteen 18m Track Panels and a new S&C Panel in preparation of the core possession.

The core possession is scheduled from 6 to 24 September and will require a full closure of the railway. The road closure will be supplemented by two weekend closures of the M62 Motorway, 6 to 9 and 20 to 23 September. During the first weekend closure, the existing bridge structure will be demolished in-situ and the new bridge structure will be installed via SPMT during the second weekend motorway closure. Night-time motorway closures are also planned during the weekend closures to allow the site team to undertake critical enabling works to the bridge abutments prior to receiving the new bridge.

A Pre-Possession Briefing has been organised for the end of August, along with the support from our CDP team, to ensure that all personal involved in the core possession are ‘Fit to Start’ and ensure the works are delivered safely.