INTERVIEWS

GROWING GLOBAL NETWORKS

MWH is developing its global network by setting a company standard for employees who wish to pursue a professional qualification.  Erika Yarrow reports on the environmental consultancy's work and how it is supporting new graduates in India.

MWH has seen significant growth in its business in Pune, India, the cultural capital of the state of Maharashtra.  Mark Sweeney, learning and development manager at MWH provides some background: 'From humble beginnings our office in Pune, which opened 12 years ago, now has more than 250 people. They deliver projects in support of MWH's integrated global working practice; a practice that increases speed of delivery and competitiveness.'

On 11 July last year 51 new graduates started in the MWH Pune office. As part of the company's commitment to supporting colleagues towards a professional qualification, MWH invited CIWEM's professional development coordinator, Tom Owen, to spend a week with Sweeney in Pune to meet the new graduates and their mentors.

Sweeney, a Fellow of the ICE and CIWEM, as well as a professional reviewer, says: 'MWH maintain accreditations with five engineering bodies as well as CIWEM. The engagement between MWH and CIWEM increased dramatically during 2010 with a range of new initiatives including:

• the accreditation renewal and commendation of our Professional Development Programme (PDvP)
• being invited as a guest speaker at CIWEM's first national mentor network event
• the reach of our PDvP extending to India and Asia Pacific
• persuading CIWEM to participate in their first ever professional review by video conference (Pune <=> UK)
• more than half our colleagues in Pune beginning to pursue professional status, and a significant proportion following CIWEM.'

Encouraging professional development

The visit enabled Owen to get to know the graduates and to understand more about the requirements of potential members overseas. Owen says: 'It was a privilege to meet the graduates and it is clear that CIWEM and MWH have many shared aims. One of these shared aims is to help environmental professionals gain appropriate experience in their pursuit of professional status. The CIWEM competences map to the MWH Standard and are supported by a bespoke workbook which ensures consistency of approach as well as making progress visible to the business on a quarterly basis. The workbook enables the recording of evidence demonstrating progressive achievement of development objectives. It also shows the logging of Continuing Professional Development and completion of development (quarterly) reports.'

Sweeney adds: 'Having gained professional status as a civil engineer myself this helped me understand the requirements of the many professional institutions MWH support. The challenge of integrating these aspects by setting a company standard led to the creation of a model comprising common, company and discipline specific development objectives (competences).  The model continues to stand up to other requirements being added, most recently those of the APM. Evidence of the performance of the PDvP over the past four years led to it being short listed for a UK Water Industry Association Award in March 2011.'

The PDvP Workbook is now accredited by CIWEM.  Owen says: 'Each trainee can carry the Workbook everywhere they go and it becomes an intrinsic part of their working day.  It is great to see how MWH is valuing what CIWEM stands for.'

Sweeney concludes: 'The PDvP is an enabler to help develop the best MWH people. Once you satisfy the PDvP criteria you meet or exceed what's needed for professional status.'  

Technology is also proving to be an important enabler. In October 2010 professional reviewers took part in CIWEM's first review via video conference.  Sweeney explains: 'Reviewers attended MWH's Solihull office to interview two candidates in our Pune office. Although both candidates passed, the experience for reviewer and reviewee alike was challenging. In time we expect to have CIWEM reviewers based in India, which will mean one or two of the three reviewers will be in the same room as the candidate.'

Whilst in India, Owen took the opportunity to meet UK Trade & Industry representatives and employees of Black & Veatch working in Mumbai to develop further links.  His hosts, MWH, also took him to a tree planting ceremony, which was part of the consultancy's Climate Change Commitment Programme, which aims to engage clients, communities and employees in awareness, education and action with respect to the causes and effects of climate change.

Commitment to climate change

Ian Wynnes, development and delivery manager for MWH says: 'MWH has a global Climate Commitment Programme that the Pune office has further developed for its own use.  Employees visit schools and talk to 12-15 year olds about saving water, waste and carbon. To enable people to get to grips with the carbon element, we created a carbon wheel to help people work out how much carbon they use in their day-to-day activities.'

A master plan for stormwater

Mumbai is a city that is more vulnerable than many to the fluctuations of weather associated with climate change, and as part of the visit Tom Owen was shown the work that MWH has undertaken to alleviate flooding in the city. MWH has involved technical expertise from other parts of the global enterprise to support the work in Mumbai, highlighting again the practice of integrated global working.

With an average annual rainfall of 2,150 millimetres and low lying areas, Mumbai is a city for which stormwater management is as critical issue. The Brihanmumbai Stormwater Disposal System is a plan to overhaul the city's drainage system.  The original system is more than 100 years old and consists of 2,000 kilometres of open drains, 186 outfalls and more than 30,000 water entrances. This ageing system was designed to work using gravity, rather than pumping stations. 

The upgrade includes the widening of stormwater drains, rehabilitation of major drains, the provision of pumping stations, updating the stormwater master plan and the implementation of an early flood warning system based on stormwater management modelling.  Owen visited the first of several pumping stations to become operational.

Wynnes says: 'The early warning system is based on flood modelling and consists of rain gauges in the catchment. The gauges send signals to start the pumps when rain of a certain intensity is recorded.'

Whilst this technology can be an alert to major flooding, loss of life and property, it has become clear that it will not work effectively without the cooperation of Mumbai residents. The city has lots of channels that are prone to blockages. Wynnes explains: 'A huge education programme is required in Mumbai to raise awareness that dumped material causes blockages that result in flooding and loss of life.'

Wynnes adds: 'MWH has mapped the stormwater master plan.  Twelve pumping stations are proposed where the channels enter the sea.  The combination of heavy rainfall and high tide can cause serious flooding, but the problem only arises during monsoon season - four months of the year.  Two pumping stations have been built and are ready for commissioning.  Hopefully another six will soon be available.  They are capable of handling six cubic metres per second, which is an enormous amount of water.  But the biggest problem is one of culture change, if the channels are blocked the automated system will not be able to do its job.'

As we are beginning to learn, environmental management, so often requires people management.  Initiatives such as these from MWH give us confidence that steps are being made in the right direction.