A New Era of Efficiency Continued….

Posted 11th June 2025

Following the success of our previous blog, A New Era of Efficiency, we’re continuing the conversation around transformation, innovation, and the people behind Byworth’s drive for excellence. In this follow-up feature, we speak with three key members of our team — Account Director John Hirst, Head of Production Oliver Hamilton, and Head of Service Dan O’Grady — to explore how their evolving roles are shaping the customer journey, streamlining operations, and building stronger interdepartmental collaboration.

Their insights offer a behind-the-scenes look at how Byworth is embracing change from the inside out, challenging old norms, introducing smarter ways of working, and laying the groundwork for a more connected, customer-centric future. From welding bays to customer care platforms, it’s clear that this new era is more than just efficient — it’s personal, proactive, and purpose-driven.

John Hirst

1. Tell us about your (new) role. What does it involve in terms of your key responsibilities and how does that translate into your day-to-day tasks.

The role is mostly about trust, clear communication between teams, and maintaining strong relationships with clients. It’s about making sure everyone’s working towards the same goals and that what we’re doing across departments supports the bigger picture for the business.

2. How do you feel the implementation of this role will positively impact the customers journey from order to delivery?

In general, customers prefer not to be passed around between different departments. By restructuring the teams and giving clients a single point of contact throughout the Lifecycle of a boiler plant, we can significantly reduce the frustration that often comes from not knowing who to speak to. This dedicated contact may not carry out every task themselves, but they will have strong communication skills and take ownership of coordinating with internal teams and external suppliers to ensure everything runs smoothly.

3. What are you most excited about with regards to the positive changes for the future?

Working as one. A good mix of skills, mutual respect, and people who’ve got each other’s backs. They’re there for the good times and ready to pitch in when things get tough.

4. How do you see the communication across departments improving going forward?

It can only improve, massively! The right people in the right roles - taking ownership and being responsible for your own actions.

Dan O’Grady

1. Tell us about your role. What does it involve in terms of your key responsibilities and how does that translate into your day-to-day tasks.

I lead a diverse team, many of whom are the face (or voice) of Byworth. We are responsible for the commissioning, maintenance, upgrade and repair of our customers Byworth equipment. Leading the Service team involves managing many conflicting priorities with the customer at the heart of everything we do. 

2. How do you feel you can positively impact the customers journey?

Our boilers are at the heart or our customers operations, without their boiler online many customers simply can't operate. By continually striving to make our operations more efficient, we aim to deliver service excellence on every interaction. Working closely with customers our goal is to be a silent partner that delivers work on time and without fuss. As we continue to develop our service offering we are excited at the future potential to support our customers to an even higher standard.

3. What are you most optimistic about with regards to the positive changes for the future?

The possibilities are endless... Being the leading manufacturer with a full lifecycle of products to complement our industry leading boilers means we can offer a level of care and detail that is unmatched. Taking our award winning Unity system and building upon our Service Connected product to offer a wrap around care service really excites me.

4. How do you see the communication between Byworth and the customer improving going forward?

For me, this is one of the biggest focusses. Clear and regular communication helps both customer and supplier maintain a strong relationship. As we continue to invest in our operations I am very much looking forward to launching our new Field Service IT platform, enabling us to take our support to the next level. 

5. This is a very challenging and demanding role, what skills from past work experience do you think will help you to excel in this environment?

I began my career as an apprentice at age 16, since then, I have worked in 1000's of properties across domestic, industrial and commercial settings. Each customer, each task being different from the last. Having worked for businesses very large to very small, I am able to bring the best of each world together, creating ways of working that suit the customer and colleagues alike. In addition having worked as an engineer myself I understand what it takes to get the job done from all sides. 

Oliver Hamilton

1. Tell us about your role. What does it involve in terms of your key responsibilities?

At the moment my main focus is identifying key areas of improvement. Looking at both quality and the end to end process of boiler making. Improving our processes, even slightly, will have a significant impact on the overall process.

2. How do you feel you can positively impact the manufacturing workflow and team dynamic?

Fresh eyes! I can see things that have previously gone unnoticed, unrecognised or ignored. Coming in as an outsider makes it easier to see where changes can be made. Just because something has always been done a certain way, doesn’t mean that is the best way of doing it.

I am working towards helping the team and the business as a whole achieve their goals. The team dynamic will improve as we start to see the significant results from our efforts.  

3. What are you most optimistic about with regards to the positive changes for the future?

New management structure. Making people more accountable for their actions and getting the focus into the right areas.

People can fear change but when the changes begin to have a positive impact on overall performance, those changes become less scary and everyone works better and feels happier. That’s the plan.  

4. This is a very challenging and demanding role, what skills from past work experience do you think will help you to excel in this environment?

I have an extensive manufacturing background as well as prior knowledge of the company having worked here previously. I also have experience running multiple companies as either Operations Director or General Manger.

Additionally, I have accreditations as a Responsible Welding Coordinator and CSWIP 3.1 Welding Inspector.

5. Why did you decide now was the right time to return to Byworth?

Returning to Byworth wasn’t something that was ever on my radar. However, when the Directors invited me in for a chat, and talked me through the issues they were having, I could see the improvements that could be made and how much I had to give to the organisation in order to help the process improve.  

Ready for the future

As Byworth continues to evolve, it’s the people behind the scenes who are turning strategic vision into meaningful progress. John, Oliver, and Dan each bring a unique perspective and expertise to their roles — but what unites them is a shared commitment to continuous improvement, clearer communication, and delivering exceptional value to our customers.

Whether it’s refining production processes, strengthening service support, or creating a more cohesive client experience, their efforts are helping to drive a culture of accountability, innovation, and unity across the business.

This continuation of A New Era of Efficiency reflects just the beginning. As we look ahead, we remain focused on making Byworth not only more efficient — but more responsive, resilient, and ready for the future.