Atlas was appointed to deliver touchpoint cleaning for H.M. Courts and Tribunal Service that was mission critical during COVID-19.
We delivered vital COVID-19 related touchpoint cleaning, ensuring over 360 Court and Tribunal sites across the UK were clean, safe and operational.
At very short notice, Atlas stepped in to deliver a rapid-roll out, emergency COVID-19 response from 2020 to 2022. The appointment was made through Crown Commercial Services.
Our Head of Stories interviewed the then director for the government unit in an inspiring interview in 2021…
When I had the pleasure of meeting Mark Evans, Deputy Director for COVID-19 Response for Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Services (HMCTS), the first thing we discussed was the self-build project he has undertaken in Kilgetty, West Wales. Mind you, he is in a better position than most to build his own house, as Mark is a professional Building Surveyor who joined HMCTS four years ago as Head of FM.
In no time, our conversation led to playing pool at the Kilgetty Buffs Club under the eye of the Deputy Club Manager there, Mel, whom we both know. This was far from the formal business discussion I had expected and a truer reflection of the relationship between HMCTS and Atlas.
The business association began on a more “transactional” footing, when HMCTS needed to respond to the growing COVID-19 crisis in early 2020.
FM Contractors Engie (now EQANS) runs the standard cleaning service for the institution’s 365 buildings around England and Wales, but a specialist ‘Touchpoint’ clean was vital to help control the spread of the virus and satisfy the requirements of Public Health regarding COVID-19.
Mark supervised the tender process, with Atlas bidding for and winning the contract in traditional, formal fashion. “From Day One, I’ve always been really happy with Atlas’s performance,” says Mark. “The KPIs were always excellent right from the start.”
Atlas Regional Director Jamie Davies recalls, “We had to get the contract mobilised at the outset in 4 days flat. Finding, training, and placing some 700-odd staff around England and Wales! By any standards, that was a massive ask, and I am so proud of our respective teams that we pulled it off together.”
The contract has grown organically since that day and is mirrored by a relaxed, amiable relationship between members of the two organisations at all levels. “HMCTS hold us to robust management at the monthly KPI meetings with close monitoring of performance,” says Jamie, “but despite the sheer size of the contract, the hallmark of the meetings and the relationship itself has always been informal, easy-going, and affable.”
“We talk things through, don’t we?” said Mark. “How we can work together to help one another–because it works both ways. And, thankfully, the contract has always gone really well. Atlas has focused on what we want and then custom-designed the details of the service delivery to suit us.”
In my time with Mark, it was heart-warming to see and hear how delighted he was with the service that Atlas has provided during this national crisis. And with clients like HMCTS, it is effortless for us to treat them like our best friends—because they are!