Members of National Grid’s control rooms worked round the clock this weekend to help ensure power continues to reach the UK’s homes and hospitals at this critical time of national crisis.
To support the team, National Grid has been working on the construction of a new ‘village’ of sleeping pods which can house their most critical workers in the Midlands, in the event of further lockdowns.
A team of 18 people have volunteered to work over the Easter weekend and beyond, and will be living in this temporary village, minimising the risk of them falling ill. Once complete, the village will be able to be home to 68 team members.
The pods have been carefully developed to create a welcoming environment for the team, with freshly ironed bed linen, a comfort hamper including photo frames to house pictures of their loved ones, snacks and chocolates, and Griddles the teddy bear to keep them company.
Sara Habib, Head of Workplace Services said: “National Grid has a critical role in keeping the country’s power and gas flowing in these challenging times. Our control rooms are the beating heart of our networks, so we’ve been working hard to ensure our teams have everything they need to get the job done, and that they and their loved ones are kept safe. It’s been a great effort by the site team to get the sleep pods ready for the Easter weekend, which means we can keep teams separate and minimise the risk of people falling ill.”
The ability to sleep on site is just part of a wide range of tried and tested resilience and security measures put in place by National Grid, including fully operational back-up locations for their control centres and additional training for their engineers so they can do multiple roles.
Andy Eagle is a Shift Manager for National Grid’s transmission network team and will be on site this weekend: “It’s a big sacrifice in terms of being away from our loved ones and families but it’s one we’re all willing to make to ensure we can help keep the lights on for the country.”
