These days, along the banks of the Clyde, the lights at Thales are burning bright into the night. A dedicated cohort of skilled engineers and technicians silently arrive to start their shift.  During these strange times Thales’ Glasgow site is busier than ever during the night shift.

“I won’t lie,” admits Stephen Francis, “it’s getting harder now that the nicer weather is here!”, quickly adding that, yes, it does happen occasionally in Scotland.

Stephen is one of Thales’ Industrial Architects who has been with the Glasgow based company since 1998. Thales produce a range of important Defence equipment and services from this site including world leading optics, thermal imaging cameras, and submarine periscopes. Even now, during this most extraordinary of global lockdowns, certain items and services deemed as Critical to National Defence or fulfilling urgent capability gaps still need to be delivered. Having started in engineering, Stephen is now part of the team that ensures the Thales factory at Linthouse Road is continually optimised in order to meet the stringent requirements and timings of our customers.

“This is the first time many of the team have worked nightshift and we’ve all had different problems adapting our eating or sleeping patterns”, reflects Stephen, “especially when trying to balance family time too, but as always we’ve pulled together and shared lots of ideas and tips to help each other out”.

Since the end of March Stephen Francis has taken on the role of people manager for most of his nightshift colleagues. “The Nightshift is not a new thing for our Glasgow site, but typically we would have less than 10 people working it based on project demand”, he explains.

Due to the current situation, however, things needed to change - and this is where Stephen’s role as an experienced Industrial Architect came to the fore.

Faced with three competing needs; the need to implement appropriate social distancing measures to keep employees safe, a Thales directive to split the entire workforce into two teams across all functions to minimise contact, and the requirement to continue to meet urgent and critical UK Defence requirements, things would have to change and this meant that the nightshift grew rapidly from an average of ten to eighty people every night.

However it’s not just a matter of working out shift patterns and manning. “We’ve made a number of physical changes to the factory too”, says Stephen, “from obvious stuff like floor markings at 2m intervals and a one-way system in corridors to maintain social distancing. We have also introduced new cleaning regimes at the beginning and end of shift to ensure all work areas and equipment are disinfected between users and shifts.  It’s a real team effort every day from all shifts!”

But the new world of Coronavirus has also made everyone look at their physical surroundings differently; Stephen continues, “Every day we find another solution to tasks we normally took for granted, like 3D printed hooks for opening doors, and stylus for operating water dispensers.  Basically anything that is a physical contact point we are trying to solve”.

These novel ideas are not only aimed at keeping employees safe but also demonstrate the team’s focus on keeping production going to ensure delivery of critical and urgent Defence requirements.  “I guess this is what happens when you put a bunch of engineers together with a problem to solve”, observes Stephen.

There’s little respite for the night shift and the canteen where they would normally be able to catch a break and enjoy a snack has been shut since the lockdown started.  But Stephen and the team have turned this too into a positive and are donating their ‘meal money’ to a local charity. “We are fundraising for Cash for Kids”, says Stephen, “and what started amongst the nightshift team has now led to donations from our dayshift colleagues and across the business also which has been fantastic.”

“But, it’s not all bad on the night shift”, concludes Stephen, “when you’ve had a rubbish sleep due to the dog barking all morning, and then someone makes you laugh at 2am, it makes you really appreciate the amazing people you work with”.

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