Helpdesk

Iplicit

FuseMetrix

Planday

My ePayWindow

Intranet

Category: Information Sharing

  • Rationalisation of the Tram Collection

    In considering the future requirements of the Museum to operate trams and the proposed extension of the tramway, the Museum Board, in line with the Museum’s Collections Development Policy, has approved the deaccessioning of the four tram bodies under tarpaulins by the Albion Depot:

    1. Cable Tram (1975/014/001) – Birmingham Central Tramways cable car, built by Falcon works, Loughborough, 1888. Thought to be the only surviving example of its type, the grounded tram body is in very poor condition. The National Tramway Museum, Crich, has agreed to accept the transfer of this important tram to their collection.

    The following trams will be offered to other museums, in line with the Museums Association Code of Ethics:

    1. Tram 75 (1975/016/002) – Dudley Stourbridge & District, single-deck car, built in Tividale, 1919. Similar to 5 & 34.
    1. Tram 102 (1984/466/002) – Dudley Stourbridge & District, single-deck car, built in Tividale, 1920. Similar to 5 & 34. 
    1. Tram 361 (1998/036/001) – Built by J Stephenson Co, New York, single-deck Tram No,361 was delivered to the Lisbon Tramway Network (Rede de eléctricos de Lisboa, Portugal) in Heavily rebuilt in 1947-49 and again in 1959-61, it survived in service in Lisbon, Portugal until the mid-1990s.

    All the vehicles are in poor condition and do not offer any useful spares, either for repurposing on our operational fleet or for research purposes. In addition, the Cable Tram and 361 fall outside of the Collections Development Policy (Section 4.3), which requires collections to have a reputable and clear Black Country provenance.

  • Staffing Restructure Proposal – Retail & Admissions, Hire & Hospitality and Development

    Background

    Securing funding for BCLM: Forging Ahead, coupled with the continued growth of the Museum’s visitor and support/donor base has resulted in the need to review and propose a restructure in three areas of the Museum’s operation.  The purpose of this proposed restructure is to improve results by providing the capacity and skills within the Museum teams to develop long-term relationships with visitors, supporters, donors, customers and corporate organisations.

    The proposals, outlined here, would establish a staff structure to enable the Museum to continue to grow audience engagement and secure the financial support to enable BCLM: Forging Ahead to be achieved in full.

    The Proposals

    The roles and responsibilities of the teams and functions, as well as those that they interact with, have been reviewed by the Leadership Team, and the Head of Retail & Admissions and General Manager (Food & Drink).

    As a result of this review the following is proposed:

    • Introduction of new staff structures for Retail & Admissions and Development.
    • Some changes to responsibilities and functions.

    The proposals, if adopted, would place the following roles at risk of redundancy:

    • Hire & Hospitality Sales Manager
    • Development Manager (Individuals & Corporate)
    • Team Managers, Retail & Admissions (x2 posts)

    Objectives

    In summary, the proposals are designed to have the following impacts on the Museum:

    (a)        Enhanced customer service, through a more customer focused and centralised function for visitor enquiries, bookings and Museum membership.

    (b)        Improved, long-term, financially-beneficial relationships with businesses.

    (c)        Improved levels of financial and in-kind backing from supporters and donors.

    (d)        Enhanced marketing and cross-promotions due to improved market and customer intelligence.

    (e)        Improved retail results through better retail management and product development for the Museum Shops and the ability to grow onsite retail opportunities.

    Consultation Process and Timetable

    Initial individual meetings have taken place with staff whose posts are at risk of redundancy and the proposals have also been shared with the Staff Consultative Forum.

    We are now releasing them to staff for a four week period for information sharing, consultation and to respond to requests for clarification. You can find hard copies of the proposal document, including proposed structures, functions, responsibilities and further details in the following communal staff areas:

    • Rolfe St office noticeboard
    • The Guide Hut noticeboard
    • Staff room above Emile Doo’s Chemist

    Concurrently, internal and external recruitment and assimilation exercises will be taking place alongside any external recruitment activity as required, in-line with best practice and the Museum’s statutory obligations, under the guidance of the Museum’s Head of Human Resource Development.

    The proposed new roles will be advertised across a range of external sources and on the BCLM website and staff intranet. Staff who wish to apply may obtain copies of application forms and job profiles from the Visitor Reception.

    No appointments will be made until the period of consultation has come to an end on 6 November. The consultation period may be extended if there are alternatives proposed which may require further investigation.

  • Peaky Blinders’ Nights – What a Performance!

    Peaky Blinders’ Nights – What a Performance!

    With ticket sales of over 8,000 across the four nights and trading income considerably ahead of budget, this year’s Peaky Blinders’ Nights proved popular than ever and that’s undoubtedly down to such a truly phenomenal staff effort.

    As one Peaky fan put it:

    We are big fans of the show and were blown away by the effort put into this event, right down to the small details.

    There’s no doubt that four nights across two weeks is incredibly tough on staff and so it really is a huge thanks to everyone that played a part in making each of these nights such a blinder!

  • 2018 Opening Times Published

    2018 Opening Times Published

    Opening dates and times have now been set for 2018.

    These are listed below along with a reminder about the rest of this year’s opening dates and times.

    A copy can also be found in the useful information folder within the Documents tab above.

    Opening Times 2017 & 2018
    2017
    Dates Times
    Wed 11 Jan 2017 – Sun 26 Mar Wed-Sun, 10am – 4pm
    Sat 18 Feb – Sun 26 Feb Daily, 10am – 4pm
    Mon 27 Mar – Sun 5 Nov Daily, 10am – 5pm
    Mon 6 Nov – Sun 17 Dec Wed-Sun, 10am – 4pm
    Mon 18 Dec – Sun 24 Dec Daily, 10am – 4pm
    Mon 25 & Tue 26 Dec Closed
    Wed 27 – Sun 31 Dec Daily, 10am – 4pm
    Mon 1 Jan – Tue 16 Jan 2018 Closed
    2018
    Dates Times
    Wed 17 Jan 2018 – Sun 25 Mar Wed-Sun, 10am – 4pm
    Sat 17 – Sun 25 Feb Daily, 10am – 4pm
    Mon 26 Mar – Sun 4 Nov Daily, 10am – 5pm
    Mon 5 Nov – Sun 23 Dec Wed-Sun, 10am – 4pm
    Mon 24 Dec Daily, 10am – 4pm
    Tue 25 & Wed 26 Dec Closed
    Thu 27 Dec – Sun 6 Jan Daily, 10am – 4pm
    Mon 7 Jan – Tue 22 Jan 2019 Closed

  • Summer Holidays: Week 5 – Busiest Week For 9 Years!

    Last week was the busiest non-event week the Museum has seen since August Bank Holiday week 2008!

    We welcomed 13,466 visitors which was 17% ahead of the budgeted attendance figure and means we are now 3% (or 5,500 visitors) ahead of both the visitor attendance target year-to-date and the same point last year.

    But did having such a large number of people on site mean our visitors didn’t have such a good time? Not according to this Tripadvisor reviewer who visited over the weekend :

    We were there a good few hours strolling around and I have to say it felt really relaxing, I have read a couple of other reviews that said it was packed. We went in about 1130 and to us it felt great not too busy at all…….So overall an excellent place to visit whatever you are into, it was just nice to wander around and see the history in action. Well done BCLM we will be back.

    Well done everyone and fingers crossed for an equally excellent last week of Summer!

  • AEOM Conference Success

    Last week we hosted the 28th biennial conference of the Association European Open Air Museums.  We welcomed 130 delegates from 60 different open-air museums from 20 countries as far-flung and diverse as Romania, Czech Republic, Poland, Estonia, Germany, Sweden, Australia, Canada and the USA.  It was an honour to be chosen to host the conference, on behalf of the UK, and a great example of our international links and the high regard people have for BCLM.

    You can probably imagine that 130 museum professionals, from some of the world’s best and biggest open-air museums are pretty tough judges, but we passed all measures with flying colours, especially when it came to the friendliness, enthusiasm and knowledge of our staff and volunteers.

    The conference was an enormous success, and represented the very best of team efforts; either those directly involved in conference organisation, or doing your day-job and showing the Museum off at its best.  So thank you to you all.  It was a world-class performance.

    I was also asked and I am delighted to, pass-on grateful thanks to everyone at the Museum, from retiring President, Katarina Frost Director of the Vallby Open Air Museum, Sweden, and the Association’s new President, Dr Henrik Zipsane, Director of the Jamtli Foundation, Sweden.

    Andrew

  • For Information – Newcomen Steam Engine Boiler To Be Replaced

    For Information – Newcomen Steam Engine Boiler To Be Replaced

    You’ve probably noticed that the Newcomen Steam Engine hasn’t been its usual self this year and as such, over recent weeks, has been in preparation for a detailed boiler inspection.

    Following that inspection on 11 August, and 31 years into its life at the Museum, it has been confirmed that the boiler now needs replacing.

    As you can imagine, this is a big job (and a bespoke one at that) and so, whilst we will be cracking on with sourcing a new boiler straight away, replacement works will not take place until next year. Until then, the Newcomen building will remain open and the brickwork exposed so that visitors can see the boiler prior to its replacement.

    To make sure the story of steam is not lost, we will be progressing the restoration works to the Racecourse Colliery (due for completion early 2018) including further work-in-progress tours.

    Please do keep a look out for further progress updates about the Newcomen, Colliery, and other ongoing projects on the intranet.

     

  • Summer Holidays: Week 4 Performance

     Last week was our best yet this Summer; we welcomed over 12,000 visitors which was 11% ahead of the budgeted attendance figure and saw trading income surpass its target by 15%.

    Year to date, we are now over 2% ahead of visitor attendance budget and have welcomed an additional 3,000 visitors compared with the same point last year.

    And the positive visitor feedback keeps on coming in:

    We decided as we were meeting up for the weekend we take the opportunity to revisit the BCLM. Once again it was a revelation. We all enjoyed the reminiscences that the tour around the museum gave us and watching the chain making demonstration was a definite bonus. The whole experience reminded me very much of my youth, in the 50s and 60s.

    Well done everyone!

  • Racecourse Colliery Hard Hat Tours – Staff & Volunteer places available

    Racecourse Colliery Hard Hat Tours – Staff & Volunteer places available

    On various dates between Wednesday 23 August and Sunday 3 September we’ll be running hard hat tours of the Racecourse Colliery restoration work for our visitors (exact dates and times listed below). The tours will explore the history of the Colliery, the reasons for its restoration and the work involved, what’s been done so far, and what’s still to complete.

    Not only does this keep our visitors involved in our current projects but it allows us to test this type of activity in advance of the new physical developments we will be creating as part of BCLM: Forging Ahead.

    We’d like you, our staff & volunteers to be the first to see the work that is taking place on the Colliery. So, if you fancy replacing a flat cap with a hard hat for half an hour at 9am on Tuesday 22 August, please register your interest via Museum Operations Manager, Jon White.

    Places will be limited to 20 but if we get significant interest then we’ll put on another tour for staff & volunteers at a later date.

    Please wear sensible footwear.

    The tours will take place from the Mine Manager’s Office.

    Visitor tours will be limited to 10 places and will take place at 11am, 1pm & 3pm on the following dates:

    • Wednesday 23 Aug
    • Thursday 24 Aug
    • Friday 25 Aug
    • Monday 28 Aug
    • Saturday 2 Sep
    • Sunday 3 Sep

    More tours are due to take place in the Autumn.

  • Summer 2017: Performance so far

    We’re half way through the Summer Holidays and although not as sunny as we would have liked, this all-important period to date has actually been quite a successful one.

    Visitor numbers for the first three weeks (Saturday 22 July to Sunday 13 August) are at 31,122, that’s bang on the budgeted attendance target and just a few hundred off the same period last year.

    But it’s not just our attendance figures that provide a good read; the number of 4 & 5 star reviews we’re seeing across Tripadvisor and Facebook, is also a testament to the excellent visitor experience that you, our staff & volunteers, provide – as one Tripadvisor reviewer puts it:

    “History is brought to life in a way no lesson or text book could.”

    Our all new Summer Evenings have also proved to be a welcome addition, especially to our Facebook followers (there’s over 87,000 of them now):

    “Enjoyed Friday evening. My little boy managed a full bag of fish & chips all to himself, and it was great to actually get into the bottle and glass pub for a few drinks! A fiver upon entry was a bargain. It’s something we would like to do every Friday evening!”

    We enter the last 3 weeks of the summer holiday period nearly 2% ahead of our visitor attendance budget year to date and ever so slightly ahead (0.2%) of the same point last year….and with fingers crossed for some dry weather!