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Teams from two of our ongoing major station projects, Cambridge South and Beaulieu Park, recently took time out to support their local communities.

Cambridge South Station

The Cambridge South Station team utilised one of their Giving Back Days to help improve a community recreation ground. 

Great Bardfield village run a community sports facility for the local area.  They had raised enough funds to build a new community pavilion in 2021. However, after a rise in material costs, there was no funding left to complete the works, including the carpark. The area proposed for the car park was overgrown as well as needing to be cleared and levelled in preparation for the carpark to be laid. The team spent the day clearing the site, before bringing in plant machinery to level the surface in preparation for the new parking facility. 

The team also decided to use the day as a team building opportunity by swapping roles for the day.  Project managers became labourers, and operatives became the planners and work supervisors.

Kate Fox, from the local community said: “The Murphy team with their invaluable experience and heavy plant equipment achieved incredible progress during their visits. They undertook the tasks with a great attitude, professionalism, determination and dedication, meeting every one of our objectives. We are so grateful to the Cambridge South Station team and pass on our sincere gratitude and thanks to all the employees involved.”

Beaulieu Park Station

The Beaulieu Park Station team hosted a stand at the Chelmsford Skills Festival, organised by Chelmsford City Council. Over 1,200 secondary school students from across the city attended and the team spoke to them about the variety of career opportunities available within Murphy. The children also got to try their hand at driving a 20-tonne dumper truck across a building site (using a motion-simulator of course!).

Speaking after the event, Chris Cayton, Managing Director – Transportation, explained why the team placed such importance on events like this: “It is crucial we encourage the younger generation to enter our industry.  These types of events allow our teams to showcase the many opportunities we have to develop a career at Murphy”

Murphy staff were also approached by members of the local community who had seen the progress at Beaulieu Park Station and were excited to speak about the station’s construction.

Congratulations to colleagues in our SHES and Transportation teams who were recognised at the Network Rail SHELT awards this week with two wins and a highly commended for their efforts to protect workers and the environment.

Our collaborative project with the University of Salford, developing and implementing a Breathe Easy campaign and air sampling/monitoring schedule, took the ‘Physical Health’ award. This initiative tests robust control management of dust and welding fumes in the workplace, to ensure the wellbeing of our frontline workforce and supply chain.

In the ‘Railway that Cares for the Environment’ category, The Environmental Visual Standard, a groundbreaking tool, was the day’s winner. This innovative tool uses 3D virtual worksites to provide a series of interactable constraints that should be considered during the stages of the project lifecycle, enhancing understanding and planning of onsite environmental constraints.

Finally, colleagues were highly commended in  ‘Supply Chain Management’ for their integration of a four stage approach to our Supplier portal, enhancing our delivery model.

Well done to all involved for overseeing projects that support our core goal of improving life by delivering world-class infrastructure.

Murphy, a leading specialist engineering and construction company, is pleased to announce its financial results for the year ended 31 December 2023, which builds on the strong momentum generated by the Group in 2022.

Murphy has continued to deliver key critical infrastructure and is making good progress towards its vision of becoming the leading family-owned construction business in the three geographies in which it operates.

John Murphy, Chief Executive Officer of Murphy, commented:

“I am pleased to report another year of growth with a resilient, year-on-year improvement in both our financial performance and operational delivery, alongside a continued commitment to delivering world-class infrastructure. These results are underpinned by the dedication and hard work of our teams, our ongoing focus on sustainable business practices and our strong customer relationships.

“As we approach our 75^th anniversary in 2026, our ‘Murphy at 75’ vision to be the leading family-owned construction business in the geographies in which we operate is well within reach. Our key focus remains on delivering long-term, sustainable growth, driven by our ability to provide our customers with a reliable and consistent level of performance as we strive to create a positive and lasting legacy across our projects and the communities we serve.”

• Operating profit increased by 57% to £71.7m in 2023 (2022: £45.7m), driven by a strong performance across all areas of the business with increased levels of repeat business from existing customers.
  
• Net cash increased by 26% to £347.1m in 2023 (2022: £275.5m), enabling continued investment across all areas of the business, including a significant investment in key sustainability initiatives.
  
• Group revenue marginally declined 5% to £1,421m in 2023 (2022: £1,491m), primarily due to the timing and completion of projects in Canada, although this was offset by continued revenue growth in both Ireland and the UK.
  
• Employee numbers increased by 4.5% to 3,855, up from 3,688 in 2022, as Murphy continues to develop talent while creating a diverse, inclusive and engaged workforce.
  
• A 35% reduction in the number of Lost Time Injuries as part of Murphy’s continued commitment to safety for all teams.

• Delivering Beaulieu Park, the first railway station to be built on the Great Eastern Main Line for over 100 years.
  
• Delivering two major design and construction packages for National Grid as part of their £1 billion flagship London power tunnels phase 2 scheme.
  
• Upgrading water supply to Liverpool from Oswestry water treatment works.
  
• Delivering the road infrastructure and associated utilities for a new town centre in West Dublin.
  
• Playing a key role in the Coastal Gaslink project, a 670km pipeline that will enable the export of Canadian gas from a new LNG terminal in British Columbia.

• Achieved a further 8.4% carbon reduction versus 2022, almost halving the Group’s cumulative emissions reduction total from the 2019 baseline by 48.2%, meaning that the Group is now well placed to reach 50% reduction target by 2026.
  
• Invested £39m in state-of-the-art, environmentally-conscious plant and equipment.
  
• Delivered a 35% increase in training and development spending, up from £2.3m in 2022 to £3.1m in 2023.

• Group order book grew by 31% to £3.31bn in 2023 (2022: £2.52bn) with secured and anticipated orders across the UK, North American and Irish businesses.
  
• The acquisition of WHC Energy Services enables the Group to expand its operations into the US energy renewables and oil and gas markets.
  
• Continued growth in traditional markets, as well as newer sectors such as energy security and new infrastructure investment, underpinning confidence in the Group’s strategic direction and long-term growth plans.

You can read the full report here.

The North West’s water company has proposed a £13.7bn investment programme for 2025-2030 to deliver cleaner rivers, more reliable water supplies and extra support for customers struggling with bills.

Following a competitive tender process, Murphy is one of the seven which has been added to the specialist framework that will help United Utilities deliver its plans. 

The organisations will come together with United Utilities to form an integrated enterprise delivery organisation to deliver circa £3bn of major infrastructure and non-infrastructure programmes from 2025-2030.  This work would include upgrades to wastewater treatment works and reducing spills from storm overflows. 

Adrian Savory, Managing Director of Infrastructure at Murphy, said; “Murphy has a long-established working relationship with United Utilities which we are delighted to be further developing.

“Our purpose at Murphy is to improve life by delivering world-class infrastructure and we look forward to continuing to serve communities in the Northwest through our active participation in the integrated enterprise delivery organisation.”

This is the first time that United Utilities has engaged partners in this way. It will allow the organisations to make best use of their extensive expertise to work collaboratively and at pace for the benefit of the North West.

Louise Beardmore/Jane Simpson at United Utilities, said: “We’re really excited by our proposals for the next investment period. They will deliver a real step change in our environmental performance and further modernise the water and wastewater infrastructure we have here in the North West. 

“It will be the most ambitious and challenging programme we have ever delivered and that’s why we must be ready to start as soon as our plans are approved. By putting this partnership in place with some of the best design and construction companies in the country, it will allow us to hit the ground running with projects in 2025.”

The partnership has committed to investment in the North West through the supply chain and will look to create a lasting legacy by creating apprenticeship opportunities and jobs for local communities.

As well as helping to deliver cleaner rivers and upgraded infrastructure, United Utilities’ proposed investment would support 30,000 jobs across the North West, including 7,000 new jobs.

Regulator Ofwat will review the proposals and give its draft response by July 2024.  The final plans will be agreed by December 2024.

Murphy is delighted to be included in the huge boost to UK supply chain as National Grid launches the Great Grid Partnership with seven new industry partners all united in the drive to deliver The Great Grid Upgrade

• National Grid launches pioneering ‘enterprise model’ as response to UK supply chain and skills shortage, announcing the first seven supply chain partners to form the Great Grid Partnership.
• The Partnership, which will initially focus on the network design and construction work required by the end of the decade for nine major infrastructure projects across England and Wales, forms part of a £9bn supply chain framework which will also support infrastructure projects beyond 2030.
• The Partnership will support supply chain capacity and foster collaboration across best practice and skills, delivering benefits for consumers and the wider UK economy.
• This investment further underlines National Grid’s commitment to the people, jobs and skills required to help deliver the energy transition.
• Investment in the UK’s electricity network industry will contribute an average of £18.4bn to GDP and support around 220,000 jobs each year between 2024 and 2035.

In a major boost to the UK supply chain, National Grid has today launched the Great Grid Partnership. The company, which sits at the heart of the UK energy transition, has named the seven partners who will support the delivery of an initial nine Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment (ASTI) projects.

The ASTI projects form a key part of The Great Grid Upgrade which is building the significant new electricity network infrastructure required to reduce the UK’s reliance on fossil fuels by connecting 50GW of offshore wind by 2030.

This new ‘enterprise model’ is a collaborative partnership bringing together National Grid’s supply chain partners. Two design and consenting service partners [AECOM Arup (JV); WSP], and five construction partners [Laing O’Rourke; Morgan Sindall Infrastructure; Morrison Energy Services; Murphy; Omexom / Taylor Woodrow (OTW)] are joining National Grid in the newly formed Great Grid Partnership.

Designed to speed up the delivery of much needed national electricity infrastructure by taking a fresh approach to UK supply chain and skills issues. The partnership aims to coordinate the planning and execution of projects, allowing each supplier and National Grid to pool their resources, skills, insights, and experience to deliver faster and more economically – driving value for money and benefits for both consumers and local communities.

By creating these long-term strategic contractual relationships, our partners will work collectively as an enterprise to drive value and innovation and secure delivery. Once established, this pioneering model will also deliver significant opportunities and benefits beyond the initial ASTI framework.

The partnership comes as the demand for products, services and skills continues to rise on a global scale as countries ramp up investment in the energy transition. It represents a huge challenge but also a great opportunity if industry works together to take advantage of the opportunity.

Carl Trowell, President, Strategic Infrastructure, National Grid said: “Today’s announcement is another significant and exciting milestone in the delivery of The Great Grid Upgrade – the largest overhaul of the electricity grid in decades. The scale and pace of this upgrade requires us to unite as an industry and to think and act differently.

“This Great Grid Partnership is a ground-breaking initiative from National Grid that places our supply chain partners at the heart of our infrastructure upgrade programme. All our chosen partners have an established history of successful collaboration in delivering major projects and enabling innovation to thrive.

“By sharing best practice and collaborating across nine of our critical major ASTI infrastructure projects, we will set the gold-standard for future infrastructure projects in terms of driving innovation, shoring up capacity across the skills base, operating responsibly and sustainably and ultimately in getting the best value for consumers.”

John Murphy, CEO at Murphy, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded a place on the Great Grid Partnership and are proud of the longstanding and successful relationship we have with National Grid. Improving life by delivering world-class infrastructure is at the heart of everything we do at Murphy, and we look forward to working collaboratively with National Grid, our fellow enterprise partners and all stakeholder groups to successfully deliver the extension of England and Wales’s electricity transmission network – contributing directly to the UK government’s target to provide a net zero energy system by 2050.

Harnessing the benefits of the latest innovative technologies, coupled with a positive social value impact and safe and efficient project delivery, we will foster a robust enterprise culture to successfully build the electric network of the future”.

_________________________________________________________________________

1. National Grid’s policy paper: Delivering for 2035 https://www.nationalgrid.com/document/149496/download

The nine Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment (ASTI) projects are:

Norwich to Tilbury North
Norwich to Tilbury South
North Humber to High Marnham
Grimsby to Walpole
Chesterfield to Willington
Brinsworth to High Marnham
Tilbury to Grain and Tilbury to Kingsnorth
Pentir to Trawsfynydd (cable replacement)
Pentir to Trawsfynydd (second circuit)

As a leading engineering and construction firm, Murphy’s ongoing commitment to a positive and inclusive workplace culture has seen it link up with the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) – the global chartered body for safety and health professionals.

Murphy’s ‘hub day’ is the first in-house, targeted cultural development course of its kind to gain the IOSH stamp of approval. In partnering, Murphy and IOSH worked together to develop a robust approach to the delegate assessment process to ensure the correct level of understanding is achieved. All delegates receive an IOSH certificate upon successful completion highlighting their support and commitment to Murphy’s approach to culture development.

And this approach is working, with 96% of delegates believing they can use the learning in their roles.

As a family-owned business dating back more than 70 years, Murphy’s values have been evident from the start. The in-house Culture Development Programme (CDP) was launched in 2010 to continue to embed these values and bring them to life. This real and relatable approach is delivered by a team of 10 in-house coaches, all of whom have frontline construction experience themselves.

The ‘hub day’ is one of the core CDP modules and engages all roles within Murphy and the supply chain – focusing on what happens before behavioural choices are made. This holistic approach to culture begins with the company values, and sees safety performance as an output, not a focus.

Gareth Riding, Culture Development Programme Manager at Murphy, said; “Our hub day is part of a motivational cultural programme which enables individuals to restructure their beliefs and attitudes about safety, themselves and their working practices. We believe it is vital to success that all our colleagues understand our values and the impact of the day-to-day choices they make in the workplace. The key is having the correct working environment that supports them.  

“Partnering with IOSH has been very beneficial, we have shown a long commitment to culture development at Murphy and to receive this approval highlights the value our approach can have. In 2023, over 1,000 of our colleagues and supply chain partners attended a hub day, alongside receiving follow up support of onsite coaching which ensures everyone feels empowered to drive positive change.”

As well as being a global chartered membership body, IOSH is a leader in developing occupational safety and health (OSH) training courses that play a key role in workforce development around the world.

IOSH recognises the flexibility required to support the changing world of business and, through its IOSH for Business team, is helping businesses put their OSH strategy first.  

Charlie Grayson, IOSH’s Business Development Manager, said the Institution was confident the ‘hub days’ were pitched at the right level to enhance Murphy’s cultural development goals and keep people safe and healthy;

 “Murphy’s ethos and desire to drive cultural development and keep people safe and healthy at work very much aligns with IOSH’s vision and strategic objectives, so there were clear benefits with us working closely together.

“Our tailored course approval service is a very rigorous process, and we were satisfied that Murphy’s Culture Development Programme met with the quality standards we expect from IOSH certified training and is very well thought-out.

“The IOSH Senior Development Officer who approved the course felt that the efforts put in by the Murphy team to further develop their assessment process are a great example of their dedication to the impact of the course on Murphy employees and supply chain.

“We look forward to continuing to work with them and to seeing how the programme, and the hub days which are part of it, develops.”

-ENDS-

Murphy

Laura Bradley, Senior Communications Manager

laurabradley@murphygroup.co.uk

IOSH

Marcus Boocock, PR Lead

Marcus.boocock@iosh.com or +44 (0)115 257 3139

Murphy is a leading international, specialist engineering and construction company founded in 1951 with a purpose to improve life by delivering world-class infrastructure.

Operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland and North America, Murphy provides better engineered solutions to infrastructure sectors including transportation; natural resources; power and water. Headquartered in London, Murphy has a number of related businesses – Piling; Utility Connections; Murphy Plant; Murphy Process Engineering; Pipeline Testing Services; Specialist Welding Services; and Electrical Services. Murphy is a specialist in delivering pipelines, design, structural steel, tunnelling, fabrication, bridges and piling, and has a substantial holding of plant, equipment and facilities.

Murphy employs around 4,000 engineers, professional managers and skilled operatives around the world. Together, they work as ‘One Murphy’ – directly delivering the people, plant and expertise needed to make projects a success.

Visit www.murphygroup.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter: #MoretoMurphy

The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) is the world’s leading chartered professional body for people responsible for safety and health in the workplace. We have more than 50,000 members in over 130 countries.

We act as a champion, adviser, advocate and trainer for safety and health professionals working in organisations of all sizes. Our focus is to support our members in their efforts to create workplaces that are safer, healthier and more sustainable.

Our shared objective is a world where work is safe and healthy for every working person, every day.

Visit www.iosh.com or follow us on LinkedIn.