Modernising shift patterns in water utility companies
'Fit for purpose' shift patterns could be key to improving PIRP outcomes
Shift patterns can play an important role in PIRPs
The introduction of mandatory Pollution Incident Reduction Plans (PIRPs) for water companies aims to ‘increase transparency about the steps they are taking to address performance issues’.
Against a backdrop of AMP8 and wider employment legislation changes, in this article Robert Crossman, Director of optashift, looks at the role reviewing shift patterns can play in improving PIRP outcomes whilst delivering broader benefits for organisations and employees.
Our experience
Shift patterns can create systemic issues
The government’s PIRPs guidance suggests ‘investigations look beyond the immediate technical failures and address the wider organisational or systemic issues that contribute to pollution incidents.’
In sectors like utilities where resourcing challenges impact compliance with government-mandated targets, shift patterns can play an important role that can sometimes be overlooked.
Having the right people, in the right place, at the right time, with the right skills, doing the right work, is a fundamental component in every facet of water company performance.
From SLA delivery, efficiency and productivity to employee health, recruitment and retention, how you plan working time matters.
However, many still operate with legacy resourcing models, shift patterns and ways of working that don’t reflect evolving operational realities, regulatory requirements and the needs and expectations of a modern workforce.
For example, measures included in PIRPs can cover any aspect of a water companies’ business activities including ‘operations and maintenance, human resources and culture, incident response and customer engagement.’
How shift patterns are designed and managed are fundamental to ensuring water companies have the right labour capacity model to increase preventative maintenance, improve incident response times and enable staff control rooms and contact centres to operate effectively and efficiently.
Shift Work Assessment
Optimising shift patterns and shift work delivers huge benefits…but complexity and competing priorities sees many organisations leave things as they are.
Our Shift Work Assessment is a streamlined process which quickly analyses all relevant operational and HR factors to give you a tailored plan for immediate improvement.
Take a system-level view of shift patterns
Improving shift patterns is fundamentally about achieving a balance between meeting demand, factoring in operational and external constraints and creating working conditions that support employee wellbeing and career satisfaction.
Shift patterns that fail to track variation in demand for capacity, skills and assets often lead to unpredictability and generate capacity shortfalls that lie behind underperformance and inefficiency.
If they don’t reflect a wide range of interdependencies such as policies, processes, geography or regulations you will likely see increased risk and compliance issues – especially as measures due to come into force over 2026 and 2027 under the Employment Rights Act could significantly impact how water companies plan and manage shift work.
When shift patterns don’t consider fatigue risk management or health and wellbeing of shift workers, you’ll typically see higher sickness absence and attrition rates which further compound capacity issues.
Increasingly shift patterns that don’t offer choices that reflect the needs and preferences of a diverse and intergenerational workforce are a risk to employer brand and wider efforts to avoid the skills cliff and secure the long-term future of the industry.
All of these are arguably systemic operational, HR and governance issues that will impact how a water company performs when it comes to PIRPs, AMP8, ESG and wider commitments.
It emphasises the need to take a considered and holistic view of shift patterns, shift work management and support for shift workers.
Modernisation requires a focus on data and stakeholder collaboration. Taking a system-wide view enables you to identify where the challenges, opportunities and risks lie.
This will enable you to build an evidence base that can inform a considered pathway to improvement and enable you to engage meaningfully with stakeholders such as Trade Unions around this often complex and sensitive area.
Ultimately regulators want to see that water companies have identified systemic risks and are addressing them appropriately.
It means that now might be the right time to see if your shift patterns are fit for purpose.
Shift Pattern, Shift Work and Shift Worker services
optashift services help you attain optimum shift work performance.
They can be delivered individually or combined to create a unified programme of continuous improvement.
Our agile approach means everything we do is tailored to your organisation and shift workers.
Shift work is complex, sensitive and always changing.
Let optashift be your trusted partner.