Renfrewshire Council

Head of Facilities Management, Chris Dalrymple nominated the team in recognition of their remarkable resilience after a mains water supply pipe burst in the Foxbar and Lochfield areas of Paisley. The broken pipe meant the wider community including Brediland, St Paul's, St Charles' and Lochfield Primary schools, as well as Foxlea ELCC, were all left without access to running water.

Chris explained that despite the unprecedented scale of the challenge, the team's hard work meant the nursery and four schools were able to remain open providing massive relief to local families.

He said: "The way the team responded was a wonderful example of how we live our values, with helpfulness at the centre of their approach. They truly went above-and-beyond to assist the nursery and schools so that children could continue to learn in a healthy and safe environment."

We went out to Brediland Primary School, to meet some of the team and find out how they managed to exceed all expectations, keeping the nursery and schools open by living our values.

Senior facilities operative, Michelle Gordon told us about the initial reaction when the team learned about the burst pipe:

"It happened over the weekend, and we first heard about it on social media. We knew that lots of houses in the area were going without water, but it was expected to be fixed in time for schools opening on Monday morning.

"When Monday came, it seemed like everything was working ok, at first. Then quite suddenly, it stopped, and that's when we leapt into crisis mode."

At the helm, coordinating the response effort were strategic facilities manager, Joyce Robertson and assistant facilities managers, Susan Allan and Roberta Grant.

Joyce said: "The team were busy moving around all day carrying out tasks that were completely out of the ordinary. From trips to the cash and carry to buy bottled water and disposable plates and cutlery, to manually refilling toilet cisterns and managing access and use of facilities, there was a lot going on.

Roberta said: "We all went directly to the affected area as quickly as we could on the Monday morning so we could get organised. I found myself outside in the rain, talking to the workers from the water board which got us real-time information and updates."

Susan added: "It was one of those situations where everyone got involved and did whatever they could to help. That's something I love about our team—when something like this happens, everyone pitches in, no matter what their role or where they're based. We all do whatever needs done because we recognise how important our schools and nurseries are to local people, and we genuinely care about our communities."

Soft facilities operative, Marie Taylor said: "My day involved a lot of refilling toilet cisterns—not the most glamorous of tasks! But hearing the response from parents was heartening because they were so appreciative that we managed to keep the schools open so their kids could spend the day in a safe environment with running water."

Soft facilities management officer John Ibbotson said: "I'd like to make a special shout out to all our team members who were working in the school kitchens that day. It would've been totally understandable for them to only serve cold food options like sandwiches, but they were determined that the kids who'd been going without water at home over the weekend, would get a hot meal. They managed to provide their normal hot meals service, which cannot have been easy without running water. I think that alone is a great example of our values in action."

Expanding on the impact of our values, senior facilities operative, Linda Thomson added: "It's those values that drive us to work as a team every day. We've all got different skills as well as different needs and life experiences. Through living our values, we're able to understand everyone's strengths and abilities and create an environment where we can all bring our best to the table."

In response to the nomination for living our values, facilities officer, Andrea Goudie, said: "It was lovely to be nominated and receive a thank-you card from Chris. The work we do is critical but so much of it goes unseen. It's nice for the team to be recognised and reminded that their effort and work is truly appreciated."

Nominate a colleague for living our values

Have you noticed a colleague or team who really get what it means to be fair, helpful, collaborative and value learning? Why not let them know they're doing a great job by nominating them for living our values?

For more information and to nominate a colleague, head over to the Living Our Values webpage.

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Published Thursday 27 March 2025