Guards manager Katie Pierce joined South Western Railway (SWR) from Sainsbury’s in March 2022 where, as a 20-year-old apprentice, she had had little to no experience of working under the pressures that people managers on the railway are subject to. Prior to joining SWR, Katie mainly worked on the shop floor and carried out checkout duties. Katie wanted the challenge that went with joining the SWR Apprenticeship scheme. After she joined, Katie was placed under the supervision of the guards depot manager for the suburban area, based in Woking, to gain some insight into people managing. Katie also undertook placements within various other functions of SWR, including with the stations, security and Rail Community Officer teams. It is a testament to her dedication and hard work that, following each of her placements, every function she worked in asked if she would like to join them on a permanent basis. Before the end of her apprenticeship and while still completing her apprenticeship coursework, Katie successfully applied for a maternity cover secondment as a guards manager at Guildford traincrew depot, giving an excellent interview and presentation.

Kev, Mark and Jerry have planned and delivered charity rail tours which in total have raised over £1.3 million for some incredible causes. The charters include fundraising for Martin House Children’s Hospice in York have travelled 7164 miles across Britain. Using their extensive network to make this possible the team have sourced 72 different locomotives from eight different rail companies. Charlotte, who worked for Jerry in the Network Rail Control at York, tragically lost her son aged 11, who had received care at Martin House Hospice all his life. After her son passed, After the funeral, Jerry thought his contacts with Kev set about running charter to fundraise money for the hospice , but also in Lucas memory, which had given 11 years of care to her son. Kev, Mark and Jerry have built a team of personnel from GB Railfreight, DB Cargo and Network Rail and together they successfully delivered the first Martin House Charter in 2019. They have raised over £ 300,000 over the past five years, enough to provide one year of bereavement services, support groups, and 300 home visits for the children's hospice. For every charter that they are involved with, they ensure that the team of stewards are briefed clearly on their safety duties onboard what are often heritage locomotives and coaches, which bring their own unique challenges. They also make sure that accessibility is at the heart of their services, so the stewarding team are always on hand to look after mobility-impaired passengers, so that they are able to be on board enjoying their hobby and passion. The team's enthusiasm, care for others, meticulous planning, and ability to negotiate and bring together hundreds of people across the rail sector has driven so many successful charity charters and tours for local and national charities for over ten years. Thanks to the three of them, they are running more charity rail charters than ever before and will continue to raise thousands of pounds for charities, bringing the industry together under the mantra of "one industry working together to make a difference

I want to nominate Tracey Cheung for her exceptional dedication and remarkable achievements in fundraising through endurance running. Tracey’s unwavering commitment and tireless efforts have significantly impacted numerous charitable organisations, all are rail connected.

London Marathon 2023 - Oasis Charitable Trust In 2023, Tracey ran the prestigious London Marathon, raising an £2,105 for the Oasis Charitable Trust. Her participation not only showcased her physical endurance but also her dedication to supporting underprivileged communities and promoting social inclusion.

London Marathon - Ben Kinsella Trust Tracey also took part in another London Marathon, this time raising £660 for the Ben Kinsella Trust. Her efforts contributed to the fight against knife crime, supporting educational programs and campaigns that aim to keep young people safe. Her passion on reducing county lines and knife crime on the railway.

c2c Ultramarathon - The Railway Children Demonstrating her exceptional stamina, Tracey completed the c2c ultramarathon, running 50 miles down the Essex Riviera. Her remarkable achievement raised £155 for The Railway Children, an organization dedicated to helping vulnerable children living on the streets.

Annual Christmas Carol Singing Since 2016, Tracey has organized the annual Christmas carol singing event underneath the Christmas tree, bringing festive cheer and a sense of community while raising funds for various causes. Her enthusiasm has made this event a beloved tradition.

Sleep-Out Events In 2022, Tracey participated in the sleep-out event at St Pancras for The Railway Children, and in 2023, she took part in the sleep-out at Millennium Point for St Basils. Through these events, Tracey raised awareness and funds for homeless and at-risk youth, highlighting her compassion and commitment to making a difference.

c2c Football Charity Matches For the past three years, Tracey has been actively involved in the c2c football charity matches, raising money for The Craig Tyler Trust and Samaritans. Her participation in these events underscores her dedication to mental health awareness and support. Tracey Cheung’s extraordinary fundraising achievements through endurance running and community involvement make her a deserving candidate for this nomination. Her relentless spirit, compassionate heart, and unwavering dedication have not only raised substantial funds

Louise Livesay and Rebecca Hendrickx have made a transformative impact on the way HR cases are managed within the station environment. Through their determination and tenacity, they have worked closely with teams to significantly improve wellness in the stations, ensuring complex HR cases are handled with the utmost care and precision. Both Rebecca and Louise’s methodical and meticulous approach has led to the development of comprehensive action plans that have been instrumental in supporting staff to return to work as quickly and smoothly as possible. Their efforts have directly contributed to improved staff visibility, with more employees returning to work, reduced sickness rates and lower costs associated with absence cover. What truly sets them apart is their unwavering commitment to doing what is right for individuals going through any HR process. Their focus on the well-being of staff, combined with a structured approach, has had a lasting positive impact. The genuine care that both bring to each case makes a profound difference and their contributions to improving wellness and managing HR cases deserve recognition.

The Finance Systems team was formed following a restructuring of the finance function, highlighting the need for an in-house systems team well-versed in SWR processes. Their primary responsibilities include:

- Documentation, development, maintenance, and support of finance systems.

- Administration of SAP S4, SAP Neptune, Infor EAM (stock management), Concur Expense Management, and other systems.

- Understanding and improving finance system interfaces.

This team was tasked with quickly taking ownership of financial systems, acting as the primary contact for troubleshooting, implementing revisions, and creating a roadmap for optimizing SWR's diverse solutions. Led by Gnanalingam Kandeepan (Deepan) and supported by Gertrude Torto (Trudy), they have achieved significant milestones in a short time. The team successfully cleaned up, revised, and updated Purchase Requisition Workflows and Approval Limits for requisitions initiated in SAP Neptune, ensuring compliance with the FirstGroup Delegation of Authority Policy and the Delegation of Authority Matrix (DOAM). By aligning approval workflows with the DOA matrix and adding extra levels for greater visibility and accountability, SWR has strengthened its financial controls, empowered the business and facilitated effective budget management. This initiative has resulted in a more streamlined, efficient, and compliant procurement process.

Additionally, the team played a crucial role in enhancing the Process Director's (PO-PI auto match solution) key KPIs, improving their frequency and reducing the effort required by automating the process using SQL. This automation has significantly decreased the number of invoices pending processing by the Accounts Payable team and provided additional metrics to address processing issues related to purchase orders.

They also provided substantial support in cleansing and validating migrated data during the group-wide implementation of the SAP S/4HANA ERP system. The team has taken the lead in automating various financial processes, including:

- Duplicate invoice checks

- Duplicate payment checks

- Publication of SWR travel reports

In a remarkably short time, the team has made impressive progress in process improvement and automation, and they deserve recognition for their achievements

Phil has demonstrated exceptional leadership and creativity in transforming the way we handle, processes, and utilise data. Through innovative practices, collaborative working and forward-thinking strategies, Phil has significantly enhanced our method of interpreting revenue protection data and onboard productivity statistics, empowering the department to make more efficient and long-term decision. Tasked with leading a workstream to improve the use of technology in the Revenue Protection space, Phil devised and implemented two highly successful projects. Firstly, the Fare Evasion App was designed and developed by the workstream he leads, from inception to roll-out and ongoing support, he has been instrumental in the success of project. Phil co- created a user-friendly portal where staff can record incidences of fare evasion, which builds intel so the resources available to the business can be strategically deployed to areas where there is most fare evasion. The portal was designed solely with the user experience in mind. Almost all the data was going un-captured, due to the previous method being time consuming and non-specific to the task. The FE app now takes seconds to upload incidents only recording the information needed. This is in use across GTR, providing all staff with the ability to report Fare Evasion wherever it may occur. The feedback from users has been hugely positive, users now have access to the records they have submitted, allowing them to track the status of their reports. Additionally, the Revenue Protection team follows up with individuals after blocks, to thank them for their contributions and provide the results achieved as a result of their intel. Since going live the system has had more than 23k reports, forming an integral part of the company’s revenue protection strategy. The most impressive and vital initiative which has benefitted us as line managers is Phil’s capture and utilisation of the data from the TTK system (barcode scanning and clipping of eTickets). Phil sourced the vast banks of data produced by the on-board staff. Developed the collating of this data to a dashboard and produced a measurement through Power BI which all of us can view. We can now compare productivity between staff, depots, routes and more, allowing us to be better, more data-led managers with such useful tools at our disposal. Since its inception, the productivity of onboard clipping has increased by more than 50% across all the GTR brands, this is a huge achievement for Phil and our team. Phil has put his department ahead of the curve by introducing clever, cost effective and sustainable ways to make use of the information we have at our fingertips. He is setting an example to follow which makes his achievements matter even more. The attention he gives from inception right up to the ongoing support is what makes the difference. Phil puts the users and the teams at the heart of any project, taking pride in sharing the successes with his colleagues.

I am honoured to nominate the Thameslink Central Management team for the Innovation & Technology Team award in recognition of their exceptional initiative in creating a periodic virtual meeting platform, designed to enhance engagement and improve information sharing among our frontline teams. Understanding the challenges of managing frontline teams working across multiple locations, the team took the innovative step of implementing a regular meeting in virtual format to be delivered to over 200 front line team members. This initiative not only delivered crucial updates but also fostered an inclusive environment that encouraged participation and feedback from frontline staff, also ensuring that each one is conducted on a different shift rotation to allow everyone the opportunity to attend at least one and recording the session for those who couldn’t attend, to be able to watch back. The team's efforts have improved employee engagement by ensuring that all frontline teams felt connected and informed, reflected through positive feedback and regular views of around 100-150 per session. By ensuring that all frontline teams felt connected and informed, the meetings have provided a platform for open dialogue, allowing team members to voice their concerns, share insights and feel valued. Through these sessions, the team have effectively streamlined the flow of information, ensuring that all team members were equipped with the latest developments and organisational updates including guest speakers from different departments to capture insights and best practices from across the business, leading to improved collaboration and a stronger sense of community. It has also has led to a more informed workforce, ultimately enhancing overall productivity and morale and a greater understanding of how their role fits within the wider business. In recognition of their exceptional contributions and commitment to enhancing communication and engagement within the team, I wholeheartedly nominate the Thameslink Central Management team for their dedication to improving team dynamics and performance, making them truly deserving of the award. Thank you for considering this nomination.

Whilst on duty conducting Crowd Control supervision during a busy rugby event at Seven Sisters Station, Aimee noticed a young gentleman close to the edge of the platform who appeared visibly upset and distressed. Aimee approached the man and started a conversation with him which allowed him to open up and discuss his troubles where he admitted that he wished to end his life. After some coaxing and encouragement, Aimee was able to move him away from the platform edge and towards one of the station rooms as they continued to talk as she awaited the arrival of the BTP. Arriving shortly afterwards, BTP took over the situation and moved the young gentleman away from the area to perform the necessary welfare checks. Following this situation, Aimee returned to her Event Crowd Control Supervising duties ensuring other patients were kept safe during high capacity. Even throughout extremely busy circumstances, Aimee managed to spot a customer in need and used skills, experience and knowledge in a way that ultimately saved a young person's life.

Aminul is our resident staff member working at Whitechapel Overground Station, he is very well respected by all TOCs that work at the station and has been involved in many life-saving situations for passengers. On this occasion, a passenger became seriously ill on the platform and Aminul was the first individual on the scene. Assisting the passenger, he managed to catch the passenger who had collapsed when disembarking from the train. Aminul went above and beyond his normal duties in showing care/compassion to the customer and his colleagues. Most importantly, his immediate and timely call for assistance to colleagues while administering First Aid helped save the customer’s life as they awaited the Emergency Services to arrive and take over. Although this incident was extremely upsetting Aminul continued to keep passengers calm and safe while the passenger received the care he needed. Well done Aminul !

You may hear of our teams saving customers’ lives, but recently Ivan saved a colleague's life when they unexpectedly started to have an epileptic seizure on the platform. Ivan's first instinct was to ensure his colleague was put in the recovery position, along with ensuring passengers in the area kept calm and that service was kept to minimum disruption. Ivan was composed and calm as he dealt with the emergency services and his colleague going through a medical emergency with his actions ultimately saving a life. His quick thinking and calm demeanour in a high-pressure situation exemplify his dedication to the safety and well-being of others. Ivan's actions were truly heroic and deserving of recognition with a lifesaver award.

I nominate Fong as he is a technical subject matter expert and an exceptional mentor to the next generation. He is always available to support and solve problems. Recently, during the Kensal blockade, Fong swiftly resolved a sheet pile issue due to his vast technical understanding. His solution ensured the blockade's success by addressing the problem of sheet piles not achieving the required depth. This was raised highly by the contractor Amey TI and the team on site. His staged assessment approach in resolving the problem allowed for the works to continue while he did some further analysis and checking with the geotech team. He worked on call throughout the whole of the blockade ensuring problems could be resolved quickly and efficiently. Fong consistently supports our colleagues at Amey TI with site queries arising from unforeseen circumstances and other issues and has been able to gain a well respected reputation. He never hesitates to go beyond his project brief when it benefits the programme and project. For instance, he developed template survey sheets and briefed junior staff to ensure their safety and preparedness during survey works for example. This was not part of his remit, but he recognised his responsibility as a senior team member to address shortcomings in the survey's setup and organisation and stepped in. Fong's approach of viewing challenges as opportunities for solutions and his drive to go above and beyond for the team and project are paramount in his role as a CRE on the Transpennine Route Upgrade. He collaborates closely with other disciplines and supports the development of design solutions that work for all. One notable example is when he reviewed a ballast shoulder design solution developed by the geotechnical team, which required sheet pile walls. Fong proposed a series of alternative solutions that were more sustainable and cost-effective, providing technical advice to the geotechnical team to evaluate the final solution. But Fong is a great mentor, always dedicating time to junior staff, providing technical and commercial guidance and support. He has been instrumental in mentoring several staff members, including George Burrows, who took over from Fong as the LSC CRE for the GSM-R Packages under his mentorship. This is reflected in feedback from George Burrows - Fong has been a massive help to me and the team in delivering the TRU compound submissions. He has a wealth of knowledge surrounding civils in particular compounds and is always happy to give his time up and go through things. With his help, I been able to complete multiple submissions under changing conditions and time pressures to a high standard. Fong's mentorship extends beyond technical guidance; he also supports staff in their career development, helping them with applications for progression and providing valuable feedback. He also supports the team with his commercial experience and mentors them to have better understanding on controlling budgets and package programmes and resources.