Award winning teamwork

Following Stagecoach London’s Leyton depot’s success at winning the Gold Award for London Bus Garage of the Year at the UK Bus Awards Jade Smith visits to find out what factors go into producing an award-winning depot

Stagecoach London’s Leyton depot is at the heart of the community, even in the literal sense as it is nestled between a local primary school and church, rather than being hidden away like many other depots.
It wasn’t difficult to locate the impressive building, originally built in 1912, and I was warmly welcomed upon arrival.

Simon Davis, Garage Operations Manager and Josie Meredith, Assistant Garage Operations Manager were joined by David Jones, Assistant Communications Manager to outline the depot and specific areas that had secured the award.

Origins and current roles

Josie is a graduate trainee who joined the programme after studying economics at university: “I did a lot of transport economics at university so I was interested in working in transportation, but also people management. While it’s an operations role, you are managing people 90% of the time. I did my first year in Lancaster as a trainee and then I’ve been here for a year. I’ve been covering day-to-day areas such as chatting to drivers, ensuring they are happy and we’re happy with them.

“Every day is different. I monitor the areas that Transport for London (TfL) measures us on. The Bus Customer Experience Survey (BCES) scores, speaking to anyone who needs help with that and allowing them to understand why they may have lost marks and how they can do better. I also review accidents, watch CCTV and see drivers both formally and informally.”

Simon said that having Josie is great as she provides a fresh perspective and is someone who is very open-minded and able to challenge him. It has complimented the management team having people who are fresh to the industry, allowing them to try new things, rather than sticking to the status quo.

Simon’s background is in banking: spending five years with Lloyds TSB in Newcastle originally and then in London. “I got a bit bored with project management and e-commerce,” he said. “A friend of mine joined the industry as an inspector and told me how much fun it was so I joined six months later when a position came up.

“A year after joining the industry I was advised of an internal Stagecoach development programme designed to take people with potential and turn them into managers. I successfully got onto that in 2004 and became an assistant manager soon after, finally Garage Operations Manager in 2006.

“We like the job because it’s so varied – one minute you’re looking at accounts, key performance indicators (KPIs) or investigating data trends and the next you’re talking to a driver who’s having a domestic problem. We ensure that everyone else can do their jobs by taking care of all the basics. We’re the plate spinners!”

When I visited, Josie was due to move over to Bromley, having been promoted to Garage Operations Manager. “I am looking forward to moving on,” she said. “I haven’t had a chance to think about it because it’s happened so fast. I’m going to miss it here as it’s a lovely garage and a good place to start in London. I’m excited to see what it will be like in Bromley though, as I’ve never been there before.”

Asked what changes he has witnessed whilst being in the industry, Simon said: “I’ve seen a lot more automation in systems and an increase in monitoring.

“TfL changed the way they monitor us on our mileage a few years ago so instead of us declaring to them what we haven’t done, they tell us what we have done. The general monitoring from TfL is a lot more intense and therefore our internal managers monitor us a lot more.

“We’ve moved away from a lot of the paper-based systems. We have online performance and attendance management so areas that used to be very labour-intensive are a lot easier now. We have more time to talk to people now rather than filling in cards as a lot of it is on spreadsheets. If a driver walks into my office I can just click a button and see their attendance card. It has sped up certain processes so we can do more talking. Technology has made us a lot more accountable and it’s a lot easier to talk to people as the legwork has been done for us with the data we have.”[wlm_nonmember][…]

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Shortlisting

Simon explained the process of winning the award: “In the summer of 2016 we were told we were shortlisted for the London Bus Garage of the Year award at the UK Bus Awards which is based on KPIs in the garage. TfL looks at everything we are monitored on and to get to the top six is an achievement in itself, considering the number of garages involved. We had to demonstrate why we felt we were the best out of those six garages.

“With David’s help we looked at other areas we do well – to be shortlisted on KPIs is one thing, but we had to find other areas we excel in that make us stand out. We focused on the excellent teamwork we have with every department working well together and the support network we have with our Personal Development Champions (PDCs).

“One supervisor, Mohammed Azim, attended the ceremony because I’ve been at Leyton for four years, but he has been here for 25 years. These awards don’t come out of one good year of performance – it’s about setting the scene and then building on it.

“In the afternoon the texts started to come in after it was announced we had won – everyone was incredibly proud and a little bit shocked. It gave a really big boost to morale.”

Proudly displayed in Simon’s office is a group photograph that was taken when Leyton was told it was among the top six. He explained that as Leyton is a live bus garage they could only round up who was available at the time. A good mix of staff was included: drivers, engineers, supervisors and managers.

The trophy lives in Simon’s office. He joked that the depot isn’t quite at the stage of needing a cabinet. “Sometimes the engineers borrow it and sometimes we put it on the counter for the drivers to see,” Simon said. “People enjoy taking pictures of themselves with it to show friends and family which we encourage, as it was a team effort. The drivers played a huge part in helping get us there as we were measured on mystery traveller reports, driver standards reports, minimum lost mileage reports and QSI reports.

“When we were told we were shortlisted, we’d just found out we were going to lose route 48 which was a bit of a kick in the teeth. It was a consistently high-performing route, but obviously TfL factor in cost as well and we weren’t the best bid. Some people take it personally when we lose a route, especially if they drive on it. It was good to have an award that proved that it wasn’t due to our abilities that we lost that route.”

KPIs

Simon explained that TfL measures depots on multiple aspects, a key factor being the on-the-road performance: “The space between the buses is monitored to keep the frequency consistent and Leyton is usually within the top 10 in London. Coupled with that is the mechanical lost mileage – as the frequency of the buses can’t be good unless they’re reliable. Leyton was in the top 10 for that area every month throughout last year.

“Driver standards reports measuring the drivers’ skill had shown a big improvement from the previous year. TfL looks at us around 100 times a year and mark us accordingly on zero faults, minor faults and serious faults – for the year that was the reference period we had improved by 15-20%.” Simon emphasised that was entirely due to the drivers, as it’s their work being monitored.

Personal Development Champions

“A few years ago we realised the driver mentors we had training the new people weren’t always of the best calibre, so we felt re-launching that programme was a good idea,” Simon explained. “The industry has evolved so much and across the company we realised that some individuals hadn’t evolved with it.

“We’ve got really good managers and supervisors, but we wanted to promote peer-to-peer support so Personal Development Champions (PDC) were sought out. Applicants were interviewed and tested: some existing mentors made it through and we got some new blood in as well who were really customer-focused and had good interaction skills.

“A new driver would have a PDC allocated to them to provide a continuous support network. The PDCs organise coffee mornings to go over any particular issues such as mirrors being clipped, for example. We always involve them with what’s happening and welcome their feedback.

“The PDCs completed a two-week course looking at all the aspects the managers do so they knew all the ins and outs of the business. They were also assessed on their driving skill by AA DriveTech.

“If there was an issue with a driver where ordinarily we might have disciplined them, we try to look at the PDC option first. We put them out for a day with a PDC to get some feedback and improve their performance. The old way of the bus industry is the punishment route, but we want to improve people whilst ensuring they aren’t disillusioned at a time when retention is an issue.”

Engineering

Mick Wenden, Engineering Manager, joined Leyton depot around six months ago but has been with Stagecoach for 12 years. Previously he was in the heavy goods industry.

Ricky Barrett, Deputy Engineering Manager, has just come back to Leyton after being at Bow for six months. His return was due to route transfers moving people about. He has been with Stagecoach for five years and in the industry for 38 years on the engineering side.

Both Mick and Ricky agreed that winning the award has boosted the morale of the Leyton staff because it proved that their hard work was worthwhile and recognised. They added that they have seen evidence of some areas improving further, due to the good morale.

Ricky said: “We keep records of everything. Someone might notice something wrong with a vehicle, it gets fixed and notes are made. The engineers have their own books where they keep track of repairs. Our door is always open so we can answer any queries.

“The engineers talk to the drivers which means drivers feel like they can tell us if something is wrong with their vehicle. Sometimes it’s easier for them to verbally explain a defect than write it down.”

“We also analyse driver defects, breakdowns and changeovers so we can reduce repeated defects,” Mick added. “A lot of analysis goes into it. Quality people and communication is key.

“We’re moving with the times and embracing technology. 80% of the buses that run out of this garage are hybrids which is new for a lot of our engineers who have taken it onboard.

“The workshop has been modernised with new pits being installed last year. They were lowered as the newer buses are low floor and the lighting has been improved. Telematics, provided by Saucon, is coming to Leyton soon: an online defect monitoring system that can highlight any scheduled maintenance on a vehicle as well.

“There are two engineering apprentices at the moment. We tend to keep them for two years before they move to a different garage. Any vacancies are usually filled by a fourth year apprentice finishing.

“Staff retention here is very high – when people leave it tends to be due to relocating or retirement. When we win and lose routes we move staff around accordingly. Most people at Leyton have been here for 20 years or more. We have a few knocking 40 years.

“It’s an accumulation of all those factors which have led to Leyton winning this award: engineers, drivers and operations all working together.”

Ricky agreed: “If we didn’t all work together the garage as a whole wouldn’t work. We have good training from the operating managers to the staff on the shop floor. There’s a lot of pride in people’s work here, which has been made stronger since winning this award.”

Technology

Dave took over to explain how technology has improved the communications within the depot: “The Loop is our company intranet system which was launched in London two years ago.

“It contains all the information employees need – Group and local news stories, promoting certain events, duty schedules, rotas, details about where the routes go and performance indicators. There are some social aspects such as forums to sell and swap items, photo galleries etc.
“The Loop has an open door to the managing director, so if anyone wants to ask a senior director anything personally they can. With the shifts our employees are working it’s hard to see everyone at the right time, so this is an easy way to contact each other.

“One of the most useful aspects within it is the ‘Ask a Question’ feature. It’s an open forum where any employee can ask a question and we do our best to answer it, or point them towards a person who can. That has started a lot of discussions, has been well used and, so far, not abused. Two years in we’re now looking at sprucing The Loop up a little appearance-wise and giving it more functionality.

“About nine months ago the computer-based allocation system that the garages use was made self-service for drivers. It’s called DAS-Web, supplied by Trapeze. Rather than ringing the garage to find out what route they’re on, drivers can go on The Loop and check there. A lot of information can be accessed through The Loop and it has been well-received.”

Josie is among those looking at the re-design and making The Loop more user-friendly: “The first aspect we’re looking at is the display. Sometimes the information can be a bit hidden away and hard to find. We want to improve the layout to make it more interesting and informative.”

Simon said that the theory is to stop putting as much information up on the depot walls and drivers access information via The Loop instead. Employees can access it through tablets, phones or computers and there are fixed iPads set up for the drivers and engineers to use on-site.

“Our ‘Loop Guru’, driver Barry Hartland helps drivers to access it on their smartphones,” Simon explained. “We encourage everyone to have a shortcut to it on their phones.

“The Loop was considered as one of the factors that led us to winning the award as our communication was improved because of it, which created better morale and understanding. Historically drivers and engineers only ever hear about bad aspects within a company so it’s a platform to inform everyone about what’s going on at various locations, both good and bad.

“Recently we had a big football tournament in the company to raise money for a charity for terminally ill children. There’s a lot of pictures on The Loop demonstrating how the Leyton guys did. It’s a friendly, positive aspect.”

Hello London

Dave outlined the ‘Hello London’ course, an initiative from TfL to improve drivers’ customer focus. “It’s to make them more than just someone who drives a bus. From when a passenger boards to when they disembark drivers can make a big difference to the travel experience.

“Drivers attend the two-day Hello London course (which counts as 14 hours for their CPC accreditation) where there are drama-based scenarios. Dramatic scenes are carried out by professional actors setting out various scenarios that are quite typical of what happens in a bus garage. They analyse the behaviours that are behind each situation and work it backwards to solve the issue.

“There are discussion groups and feedback sessions throughout the two days. Drivers from all different companies do that course at the same time, which allows them to compare different working conditions and practices.

“There’s been a noticeable improvement in the number of commendations we’ve received and complaints have reduced, which demonstrates the course works. Our overall customer satisfaction scores are in the mid-80s percentage-wise and complaints are down 15% from last year, which we’re very pleased with. It’s been an eye-opener and most drivers have found it very informative, even those who went into it a little sceptical.

“We’ve just launched Hello London Champions so every garage has someone nominated to keep the message fresh and to update progress and developments. They also feed back to drivers the results of the suggestions they have made at the end of the two days, as drivers have the opportunity to tell TfL what they think needs to be done.”

“Around 70% of our drivers have completed that course,” Simon added. “It demonstrates how a driver being a bit abrupt with another before he starts his shift can have a knock-on effect. It’s good to ensure managers and supervisors are aware of that. We want all drivers to go out on service happy as it reduces accidents, improves interactions with customers and the drivers themselves are more relaxed.”

Commendation

A notice board in the depot is kept up-to-date with commendations and BCES scores. Quite a few physical ‘thank you’ cards were on the board when I visited, something I personally have only ever seen at coach operators’ depots.

“When cards come in they are usually for finding lost items or generally thanking all the drivers on a particular route, which they really appreciate,” Josie said. “It’s nice to see that passengers notice the effort they put into their jobs.”

“Around the time Hello London was launched TfL redesigned the mystery traveller system to the BCES which assesses us around 25 times a month,” Simon explained. “If a driver regularly performs particularly well, TfL provides a certificate and £25 worth of vouchers – that all goes on the wall which makes a big difference to the drivers. Leyton is among the top 10 in BCES scores too.”

Working with the community

Simon explained that this year’s charity football tournament is the second of what has become an annual event: “One of our supervisors has a terminally ill child so we raise money for a related charity with support from both Stagecoach and Thamesmead FC.

“Throughout the year we play football as a depot. It breaks down the barriers so everyone sees each other as human beings rather than their job titles. Only 15 people play but everyone asks about it and it’s a morale booster.

“The big tournament was on May 19 and a lot of people watched and brought their kids. It was a lovely day and we raised a couple of thousand pounds for the charity as well.”

Leyton depot is visited by a lot of local nurseries as part of their curriculum. Simon’s office is home to some of the thank you cards that have been received after such visits.

“We tend to have a nursery here every couple of months,” Simon said. “The children get to sit in the cab of a bus and we drive them around the green.

“A regular passenger on the 275 is an autistic 12-year-old boy. His dad emailed me and asked if he could come over for the day to have a look around. He visited recently and spent a few hours with us – we try to do our bit to show we’re part of the community.

“Head office knows the kinds of things we do so when Dave’s team gets asked for a driver to do a talk we’ve normally got a character suitable for whatever event comes along.”

Depot improvements

Renovations to Leyton depot are in the pipeline. “It’s a bit dark in some parts of the depot as it’s a 100-year-old building,” Simon said. “It’s been a hectic year because we were told we might be moving site next April.

“There was talk of bulldozing this building and redeveloping it for us to move back. It would have been a logistical headache for us to move away for a year, continue to run the operation and then come back again.

“About four weeks ago we were told that was on hold, so going forward we will renovate the toilets and re-paint some areas to make it brighter. Our managing director doubled the money we got from the award and we haven’t really spent it yet. Now we know we’re staying we want to spruce the place up a bit and make it more attractive.”

Stagecoach Leyton lost route 48 but has a new route starting in October. “Where people were down about losing one, they were brought up again with us winning another,” Simon explained. “The new route will require an additional 20 vehicles which will bring us back up to full capacity and we’ll need another 50 drivers.

“I think the vehicles will be existing ones from Romford and Rainham – they’ll be the hybrids we have on the route 56, but we’re waiting for that to be confirmed.”

Advice

Asked for advice they would give to other depots, Josie said: “Work together, ensure everyone is in the right frame of mind all the time and understands the impact they can have as an individual. We have a lot of people here who always do their best and know it makes a difference. I think we are where we are as we have lots of good people here – we look after them and they look after us.”

Simon agreed: “If a garage wants to improve they need to break down barriers. Each team of people working separately is fatal; people need to understand that everyone is working towards the same outcome. If that’s at the back of everyone’s minds people tend to work together and achieve more.

“It takes time to create a garage at this standard and we’re lucky here that over the last four years we’ve had a consistent team and a very good engineering manager. It’s a case of staying calm and focused in order to move forward and produce the best results.”[/wlm_ismember]