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OCS, a leading facilities management company, has extended its partnership with Great Western Railway (GWR) for a further three years to clean its trains and the 197 stations across the network that it manages.
After a competitive tender process, the deal will run until June 2027, and employ around 360 cleaning operatives.
GWR has a keen focus on Service Quality Excellence (SQE) and as part of the contract extension, OCS will implement additional mobile teams and management positions to work proactively, enhancing cleaning standards and increasing SQE scores across the network.
As part of the contract, OCS will also implement the Assure competency management platform that has been developed primarily for use within the railway sector and is a key tool to monitor and develop their resources.
OCS will use its systems to capture the competency of its operatives and deliver appropriate training where necessary. Reward and recognition formed a key part of the OCS solution, including the introduction of a rewards programme in which an operative per month in each region covered by GWR will receive specific recognition from both GWR and OCS.
This key retention for OCS cements their position as a key provider in the rail sector, and they look forward to harnessing the power of knowledge sharing, resource depth, management capabilities and service excellence across other train operating companies in this highly specialised sector.
Leonie Gaimster, Head of Cleaning at GWR, commented: “We selected an extension to our relationship with OCS to fulfil our requirements for several reasons.
“We have a good track record with them and the flexibility they have shown in working with us has been a strength. Our senior leadership team has outlined its requirements with confidence, knowing that OCS will deliver.”
Richard Marshall, Sector Managing Director Transport, at OCS UK & Ireland, added: “We are delighted to extend our relationship with GWR for the next three years.
“I’m immensely proud to have them as a key customer in my portfolio, and we are excited to be able to continue to work in partnership with them to deliver service excellence identifying and implementing innovative solutions to the unique challenges of the rail environment.”
