A safe and reliable network

agendaNi visits NIE Networks’ Dargan depot where Head of Health and Safety, Damien Monaghan discusses the significance of apprenticeship schemes and a proactive approach to health and safety in delivering the company’s mission of providing a safe and reliable energy system for Northern Ireland.

A native of Ederney, County Fermanagh, Monaghan started his career with NIE Networks as a craft apprentice before going on to become a senior authorised person, a team manager, a project delivery engineer, a project delivery and commissioning manager, and in August 2024, Head of Health and Safety.

“Predominantly, I have spent most of my 30-year career in the construction side of the business. Now, it has been a privilege to move into health and safety and work on behalf of all employees and contracting partners during what is an exceptionally busy time for NIE Networks,” he remarks.

Reflecting on his initial time as Head of Health and Safety, Monaghan emphasises the importance of “being visible with those responsible for carrying out the physical work” and “understanding developments across the network from a health and safety perspective”.

“My aim each day is to support the business in meeting its objectives and ensure that our people return home safely to their families.”
Damien Monaghan, Head of Health and Safety, NIE Networks

Apprenticeships

Branding NIE Networks’ apprenticeship scheme “a vital talent pipeline”, he describes how many of his peers in senior management are former apprentices themselves.

“As a result, we are surrounded by people who have completed the apprenticeship process and are keen to offer help and support. From my own perspective, it was a great learning opportunity,” Monaghan observes.

In a testament to its commitment, in 2024, NIE Networks was awarded the first-ever Investors in People platinum accreditation for its Apprentice Academy, while seven apprentices were nominated for ‘apprentice of the year’ at the Institute of Engineering and Technology Awards in London.

Furthermore, Lisa O’Neill, a renewables development manager, and Cassie McArthur, a higher-level apprentice in quantity surveying, were nominated for ‘outstanding mentor’ and ‘outstanding apprentice’ respectively at the Women in Business Awards, while at the Department for Economy Apprenticeship Awards, Andy Wing, apprentice mentor was nominated in the ‘mentor’ category.

“A culture of continuing learning and professional development is fostered across NIE Networks,” the Head of Health and Safety explains, adding: “Colleagues are supported to achieve their potential while developing a pathway within the company. Crucially, this equips us with the skilled workforce required to play a proactive role in the transformation of the electricity network.”

Health and safety

Emphasising NIE Networks’ mission statement of providing a safe and reliable energy system for Northern Ireland, Monaghan asserts that health and safety is the predominant priority for the owner of the electricity transmission and distribution networks in Northern Ireland.

“Health and safety – whether that be physical or psychological safety – extends to all aspects of the company. My aim each day is to support the business in meeting its objectives and ensure that our people return home safely to their families,” he explains.
“By being open and honest, we can encourage colleagues to foster a more collaborative environment. Some of NIE Networks’ listening tours include employee voices outlining what health and safety means to them. These sessions can be very emotional, and that is a powerful tool.”

Committed to protecting the health, safety, and wellbeing of its employees, contracting partners, and the public, NIE Networks has an ambition to provide a zero-harm working environment in which all risks to health and safety are assessed, controlled, and minimised.

Among the wider health and safety initiatives rolled out in 2024 were:

• the introduction of a new app for easier recording and reporting to improve the quality of reports and identification of unsafe acts;
• health checks and clinics;
• financial wellbeing clinics; and
• an increase in mental health first aid training.

Psychological safety

Alongside its high physical safety standards for employees and contractors, psychological safety is equally as important to NIE Networks. “There is more to health and safety than just statistics and scorecards,” Monaghan insists. “Psychological safety is a huge contributor to employee wellbeing and to the company’s overall performance. We are not complacent about this. When people feel safe, it fosters open and honest communication, trust, and transparency around roles and responsibilities.”

Within NIE Networks, psychological safety is primarily established by providing clear roles and direction for employees, empowering them to deliver.

“Ultimately, we want to establish and maintain the conditions in which NIE Networks’ people can safely innovate and be creative as we seek to deliver a once in a generation transformation of the electricity network,” the Head of Health and Safety comments.

“As the distribution network operator, the public and our stakeholders expect us to remain focused on the safe and reliable supply of electricity.”

Storm Éowyn

Providing a recent example of this clear delineation of roles, the Head of Safety reflects on the impact of Storm Éowyn in January 2025 “when some 320,000 homes and businesses were impacted” and “our human nature meant we felt compelled to step outside of our key roles”.

However, for Monaghan’s team, it was crucial that the focus remained on the safety and restoration efforts to all impacted homes and businesses, “supporting the experts in other spheres to take the lead” in their respective areas.

“As the distribution network operator, the public and our stakeholders expect us to remain focused on the safe and reliable supply of electricity.

“We received significant support from contracting partners and distribution network operators (DNOs) from Britain and Europe. My priority was to ensure that these personnel were onboarded and inducted onto our network, bringing their attention to any potential differences and the risks that they may encounter. Each day, we staged daily health and safety briefings to ensure employees and contractors remained abreast of changes to the network, the prevailing weather, feedback from customers, and the many hazards that remained.”

Motivation

Maintaining and improving the health, safety, and wellbeing of NIE Networks’ employees and the safe delivery of electricity remains the single most important value at the core of its business operations.

In 2020, NIE Networks embarked upon its Safer Together: Our Pathway to Zero Harm journey. This enabling action plan aims to improve safety value, reduce risk of harm, and improve the wellbeing of staff and remains an ongoing priority for the company.

“Safer Together includes maintaining a culture of meaningful engagement with employees, ensuring that we have a transparent understanding of the safety challenges that must be addressed,” Monaghan says.

Explaining that his goal is to make health and safety engaging and relevant and part of our everyday culture, the Head of Health and Safety expresses a commitment to transforming safety from being a ‘must do’ to something that people take pride in delivering.

“We must need lead by example, encouraging employees and contracting partners to step up and challenge unsafe behaviours wherever they may find it. We want our employees to look out for each other, including from a mental health perspective,” he says.

“Across the company, there is broad support for health and safety. This hinges on the identification of lessons learned and a culture of care, as opposed to a culture of blame which counterintuitively renders employees less inclined to identify problems that could prevent serious harm in the future.”

Guiding NIE Networks’ safety culture, the Safer Together programme places learning at its core, as well as cultivating an open and proactive health and safety culture.

“In my current role, I have the responsibility to make sure that our people get home safely each evening, having effectively worked to deliver a safe and reliable network on behalf of the public. That is what motivates me,” Monaghan emphasises.

In late 2024, NIE Networks became only the 12th organisation in Northern Ireland to achieve an Investors in People (IIP) platinum status with assessors judging that the company has “an unwavering commitment to employees’ health, safety, and wellbeing”.

Plans for 2025

Among NIE Networks’ plans for 2025 is to continually improve the health and safety risk management framework governance ensuring “robust and effective controls are in place within the health and safety management system”.
NIE Networks’ health and safety management system is accredited to ISO 45001 standard which demonstrates that safety is strategically managed with a proactive, preventative systematic approach.

The company also collaborates with other organisations, including NI Utilities Safety Group, and the Energy Networks Association (ENA), in the pursuit of enhanced safety culture and performance.

“At present, we are undertaking safety seminars for all our employees to drive health and safety engagement within our company. These small-group sessions are tailored to the different skillsets within the company. Among the industrial cohort, for example, this includes interaction with new pieces of PPE and equipment,” the Head of Health and Safety outlines.

Simultaneously, the company has introduced peer support groups for mental health first aid as well as various networking groups for both personal and professional development.

“A male networking group has recently been established within NIE Networks, giving people the space and opportunity to talk, listen, and be heard which focuses on engagement, relationships, mental health and networking. This compliments the established female networking group. Overall, my aim is to support the wider business and its people to meet its mission of providing a safe and reliable energy system for Northern Ireland,” Monaghan concludes.