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CSR Update 2021

Tandem chose three charity partners in 2021, Focus Ireland, Make-A-Wish Ireland, and The Rainbow Club – Centre for Autism. As usual, Tandem’s staff and contractors have gone above and beyond in their contributions to our fundraising efforts and in their event participation. To date, Tandem has raised over €6,000 for its chosen charities and its fundraising efforts continue throughout December. Below is a roundup of Tandem’s activities in 2021.

In March, Tandem participated in the Focus Ireland Camino de Quarantine, a virtual walk covering the distance from Saria to Santiago de Campostela, 114km of the French way of St. James. Tandem also fundraised for Easter Eggs that were delivered to both Focus Ireland and The Rainbow Club, just in time for Easter.

In October Tandem participated in Shine a Light Night, in their fundraising efforts for just one day the team surrendered a comfortable night in bed to experience a fraction of what homeless people endure every day.

Also in March, Tandem ran a competition to fundraise for Make-A-Wish Ireland, we packed a jar full of jellybeans and donators guessed the number of sweets in the jar. The closest guess was just 34 sweets off the total! The sweets were then donated to Temple Street children’s hospital.

Throughout July Tandem participated in Make-A-Wish Ireland’s “Wheels for Wishes” campaign. The challenge was to cycle 250km during the month. Also in July, we ran a Virtual Race Night, a night of horse racing with colleagues and their families that was good fun and for a great cause.

In October Tandem organised a fundraising hike on Carrauntoohil in aid of the Rainbow Club, it was a huge success and was a first for many of the participants. One of the highlights of The Rainbow Club’s year is the upcoming Santa visit, Tandem have also raised money to support the gift giving at that event. Tandem has volunteered some time to assist with clearing land for their expansion and will be back again over the coming weeks to further assist with the expansion and to help setting up their all-important Santa visit.

Throughout 2021 Tandem has also engaged with other charities, groups, and sports clubs, delivering sponsorship, and fundraising to support their work and their events. It has been a hugely successful year to date, we thank all our staff and contractors for their support and their time.

Tandem is delighted to round up a great year of Corporate Social Engagement with a very busy December supporting our charity partners. During December, Tandem raised €610 for the Rainbow Club’s Santa visit, and our personnel volunteered to help with Christmas preparation at the club.

Tandem has supported Focus Ireland by volunteering 24 hours during December at the Remembrance Christmas Tree on Patrick Street in Cork, of which Focus Ireland is one of the recipients this year. Our personnel also donated a collection of gift items to Focus Ireland in time for their Christmas delivery to clients.

To end our 2021 CSE programme, Tandem’s Christmas Quiz, Raffle and Auction raised €790 for Make-A-Wish Ireland.

The Rainbow Club Centre for Autism, Focus Ireland and Make-A-Wish Ireland perform amazing work in the service of others every day, and it has been a pleasure working with them all throughout this year. Tandem wishes to thank all of its personnel that have gone above and beyond in their contributions to our fundraising efforts and event participation in 2021!

Rotary Tree of Remembrance Focus Ireland

STEPS Young Engineers Award 2021

During November, Tandem’s Engineers have been participating in the Engineers Ireland – STEPS Young Engineers Award Programme. The STEPS Young Engineers Award encourages 3rd and 4th class pupils to explore the world of engineering by developing a project that would help to improve their local community. Students form an engineering team and take on the challenge of using an engineering approach to find solutions.

Tandem’s engineers delivered virtual presentations to participating classes outlining what it is like to work as an engineer, the students then had the opportunity to showcase their projects and to receive feedback. All of the teachers reported that the students were thrilled with the presentations and the feedback they received on their projects.

Tandem’s STEPS visits in numbers:

5 Tandem Engineers
5 Virtual School visits
3 Counties
23 Young Engineers Award Projects
117 Students

Thanks to Engineers Ireland STEPS for delivering this STEM initiative in primary schools nationwide. Tandem wishes all of the participating schools the very best of luck in the competition!

ISEA Solar Ireland Conference 2021

Tandem attended the ISEA Solar Ireland conference on 14^th to 15^th October. Some of the topics covered in the conference included energy policies, future planning, solar finance and zero carbon networks. Case studies on a utility and commercial scale showed some of the challenges and successes of solar projects undertaken in the last few years. Each topic was well presented and generated an engaging Q&A session at the end. Some of the main points highlighted at the conference:

Renewable electricity generation commitment increased from 70% to 80% as outlined in the National Development Plan.
Micro generation support scheme to be rolled out over the next year.
Relaxed glint and glare assessment requirements to be announced for 2022.
Electrification will be the most effective method for meeting commercial renewable energy targets.
Solar arrays should be sized to accommodate future demand which will increase as heat pumps and EV charging is integrated into commercial and residential settings.
Energy storage becoming more viable with potential feed in tariffs and the current high prices of electricity.
Larger PV systems should incorporate smart PV management with battery storage to avail of grid price variations throughout the day.

The conference was an excellent opportunity for networking and showcased some of the leading solar suppliers in the Irish market. Innovative solar systems were discussed along with the challenges involved in their planning and installation. One key positive is that Ireland has World leading renewable grid integration capabilities and there are ample solar projects already in operation around the world that Ireland can replicate and improve upon.

CSR Q3 Update

Wheels For Wishes

Throughout July Tandem participated in Make-A-Wish Ireland‘s “Wheels for Wishes” campaign and raised €500. The challenge was to cycle 250km during the month. Our intrepid cyclists braved the heat, battled the wind and endured the rain to raise funding that will help to grant wishes to Irish children with life-threatening medical conditions. Since 1992, Make-A-Wish has granted wishes for more than 2,600 brave children across Ireland!

The Rainbow Club

The Rainbow Club Cork – Centre for Autism held its annual fundraising golf classic early in September, Tandem was delighted to help sponsor this event.

Pharma Industry Awards 2021

Tandem is delighted to be shortlisted as a finalist in the Pharma Supplier of the Year category of the Irish Pharma Industry Awards for the second year in a row.

The Pharma Supplier of the Year award, sponsored by H2 Compliance, recognises the supplier that has provided a ‘best in class’ service, solution, product or goods to Ireland’s Pharmaceutical industry.

Congratulations and best wishes to the shortlisted nominees across all categories of the 2021 awards. Tandem looks forward to the awards ceremony on November 11th and participating in this celebration of excellence in the Irish pharmaceutical industry.

Thrive Q3 Update

Thrive, Tandem’s EHS and Wellbeing initiative undertook a mid-year survey and received an overwhelmingly positive response as well as comments and suggestions of activities for Q3 and Q4. Thrive is delighted with the levels of participation in its wellbeing initiatives to date and look forward to delivering a fulfilling programme to the end of 2021 and beyond.

The positive response means that Thrive retains a lot of the initiatives that it started earlier this year such as our Cycling, Walking and Running Groups, the Book Club will continue to meet, and our lunchtime Pilates classes will resume this month. We will continue to send healthy recipe ideas to help with meal planning and to host lunch and learn events with upcoming topics to include mental health and resilience, ophthalmic health, money matters and more!

New initiatives include a gardening group. Mags Coughlan, Head Gardener in Ballymaloe House will join our gardening group once per quarter to discuss what’s happening in the garden during the coming season and what jobs are required to keep everything growing. Other new initiatives include HITT classes, language groups and a Nature Photography Competition that will run during October.

ATMP / CGT Training in NIBRT

Tandem staff recently completed NIBRT’s ATMPs/CGT Training Course. Held over two days, the training was divided between classroom learning and practical sessions.

NIBRT delivered a solid grounding in the basics of ATMPs and CGTs and their advantages over existing treatments as well as the challenges that exist in manufacturing. The training then continued to offer deeper understanding of how these treatments provide benefit to the patients, their delivery methods, and their manufacturing process.

The practical sessions allowed trainees to apply the theory to a laboratory environment and demonstrated the entire process of scaling up cells from Cell Culture to Final Downstream Purification. The sessions delivered hands on experience of processes to simulate growing cells from cell culture through scale up in a Rocker up to a Stirred Tank reactor. Trainees then set up Downstream Bioprocessing equipment including Chromatography columns, Depth Filtration and UF/DF Skids to simulate the complete purification process.

The NIBRT ATMPs/CGT Training Course was hugely beneficial to the trainees, the skills and knowledge learned will enhance their future project work.

Cork Chamber Large Company of the Year Finalist

Tandem is thrilled to be selected as a finalist in the 2021 Cork Chamber Company of the Year Awards. To receive this recognition from the Chamber is a great honour and we are privileged to be counted amongst the finalists.

Congratulations to all of the finalists, we look forward to the ceremony on the 26th of May.

Spotlight on Services: Project Controls

The Tandem Project Controls team provides specialised expertise across project lifecycles to reduce client risk, improve value and deliver positive outcomes in all sectors of the built environment. Services include cost control, procurement, contract administration, risk management, scheduling and document control.

Through cost estimates Tandem will establish project viability and a robust baseline. It delivers value management and value engineering, lifecycle costing and cost forecasting. Tandem will estimate and plan costs to proactively manage the project budget, optimising cost performance from inception to completion. Tandem delivers and manages cost reports throughout the project lifecycle and manages cash flow forecasting.

Tandem will expertly schedule each phase of a project from concept, engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning through to qualification, validation and operational readiness. It delivers man-loaded schedules and S-Curves with weekly earned versus actual progress reporting. Tandem’s critical path analysis, progress updates, identification of slippage and development of recovery plans delivers clarity and transparency. Tandem develops portfolio scheduling for PMO’s and micro-schedules for complex areas of work where detailed coordination is required.

Tandem offer procurement services and will prepare tender packages for trade contractors and equipment vendors, it will perform tender walkdowns and lead bid clarification meetings. Tandem will undertake commercial and technical bid analysis, issuing award recommendations on tender reports, managing vendors and leading final negotiations.

Tandem will identify the most appropriate procurement and contracting strategies to minimise risk to time, cost and quality. It will prepare contractual documentation, ensuring all parties are familiar with their contractual obligations and remain compliant at all times. Tandem employs timely communication to ensure the smooth progression of the contract. Tandem will implement change management procedures that facilitate well informed decisions and ensure effective financial management. It will deliver certification of monthly valuations, assessment and agreement of contractual claims, assessment of contractor claims for delays and provide advice when assessing claims for any time extensions and costs for delays.

Tandem’s expertise in risk management delivers analysis of potential project risks. Tandem will develop risk mitigation strategies, maintain a Risk Register and regularly communicate the mitigation status with stakeholders. Tandem also implement controlled processes and practices for the creation, review, modification, issuance, distribution and accessibility of documents.

Thrive Wellbeing Initiative

Entering 2021 under lockdown conditions, Tandem’s Thrive Wellbeing Committee was acutely aware that this lockdown was different. In March 2020, people adopted very positive health behaviours, engaged in constructive leisure time activities such as redecorating, rediscovering the joy of gardening or just getting through a list of chores. In 2021, people are experiencing lockdown fatigue, when moods are low and if we let them, they can affect those positive health behaviours that we established a year ago. The committee also recognised that a lack of societal interaction was having a heavy impact on people’s mental health. These coupled with the pressure of school closures, travel restrictions, altered work arrangements and inability to see family members are all reasons why Thrive put in place a series of initiatives aimed at enhancing wellbeing and providing a positive social outlet for all of our employees and contractors.

Our Q1 initiatives included a series of lunchtime pilates classes. Classes were designed to alleviate the stress caused by sitting at a desk for long periods of time. Introducing simple stretches that could be utilized at any time during the workday to ease tension and reinvigorate.

The committee has run informative lunch and learn sessions on nutrition and resilience. In January we welcomed Marc Murphy, a nutritional therapist, lecturer and clinic supervisor with the College of Naturopathic Medicine in Cork. Marc demonstrated healthy meal ideas while talking through the nutrition benefits of the meals and specific ingredients. In a similar vein, Thrive is sending emails with healthy meal planning ideas, twice weekly, to staff and contractors.

In February, we received a talk on resilience from Maureen O’Dwyer, a registered Mental Health nurse and Nurse Therapist with Highfield Healthcare in Dublin. Maureen walked us through the tools and techniques used to cultivate a mindset oriented towards greater self-compassion, which helps to reduce anxiety levels and decrease the risk of high stress levels and associated burnout.

The Thrive committee ran an outdoor photography competition, emphasising the requirement to adhere to government guidelines and remain within 5km of home. The competition resulted in 22 entries including images from locations such as Kerry, Cork, Dublin, Mayo and Clare. The winning entry was called ‘Blanketing the Green Road’ and can be viewed here: Photography Competition

Thrive has also established a book club, to encourage the joy of reading, to suggest new genres of books and to provide a social platform for discussion. Aptly, the first virtual book club meeting took place on World Book Day, 4th March. It was a great success with lively discussion and participation, the event delivered the intended fun and social interaction.

Lastly, Thrive has set up three exercise communities, for running, walking and cycling. The comradery is facilitated by WhatsApp groups and they have become lively forums for discussion.

The running group’s first challenge was to cumulatively run from Cork to Cheltenham and back before the Cheltenham racing festival. The walking group challenge was 21 in 21, to achieve individual walking goals for 21 days in a row. The cycling group virtually cycled from Tandem HQ to Croagh Patrick before St. Patrick’s Day.

The feedback from staff and contractors regarding these initiatives has been extremely positive. We look forward to continuing them, at the same time hoping that our virtual social activities can be replaced with safe, face to face social interactions in the not-too-distant future.