David Foad: Can you outline the involvement Aramark had in the royal funeral?
Glyn Ingram: Working in partnership with the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) and the Ministry of Defence UK, the scale of the arrangements for the royal funeral of the late Queen required a rapid response among Aramark Defence Services team members in providing services and support for the entirety of the planning, preparation, and execution of the Ministry of Defence’s official duties during the procession and funeral.
These services included catering, cleaning, general waste removal, equine waste removal, retail and leisure provision, accommodation services, provision of marquees and temporary ablutions (showers and toilets).
In addition, the Aramark team performed tailoring duties for military personnel, cobbling support for the pall bearers, and equine services over the 12 days of preparation and ceremony.
With preparations taking place throughout the night in London this meant ensuring a 24/7 service delivery.
DF: When did planning start?
GI: The planning started as early as 2017, when Aramark commenced its contract with the DIO. The planning has been on the agenda ever since. This helped us ensure we could move quickly to ensure a smooth and efficient execution of all services and duties in the lead up, on the day, and in the immediate aftermath of the royal funeral.
DF: What was your own personal role?
GI: My role was to support the operational teams on the ground, to ensure they had access to all the support and resources of the wider business to deliver a plan that had many moving parts and was five years in the planning. In this type of operation, it’s important you have a motivated and proactive team that is able to navigate unexpected demands and challenges.
DF: How many staff were involved, and across how many locations?
GI: The scale of the arrangements required the deployment of 500 Aramark Defence Services team members, out of a total of 3,000 employees.
The locations were:
• Scotland: Edinburgh Castle and support to Holyrood Palace Guards; Dreghorn Barracks; Redford Barracks; Leuchars Station supporting the RAF 24/7 FOR Quick Reaction Alert (QRA)
• London: RAF Northolt; Wellington Barracks; Royal Guardrooms (Buckingham Palace, Horse Guards, St James’s Palace, Tower of London); Windsor Combermere; Windsor Victoria; Windsor Castle Guardroom; Hyde Park; Regents Park; DGC Feltham.
DF: How many meals were served?
GI: In total, approximately 50,000 meals were delivered to 12,000 members of the UK military, civil servants, police and emergency personnel, BBC media, and Commonwealth troops all called to support the funeral proceedings.
DF: What were the biggest challenges you faced?
GI: Keeping on top of timing and logistics, given that there were so many moving parts that had to be borne in mind, especially around how many troops would be where and when they would arrive. This impacted the volumes of products and services required and when locations could be accessed. London had areas cordoned off at different times leading up to the event, which impacted deliveries, replenishment and team members getting to work.
DF: What are you most proud of about the work Aramark did?
GI: The team’s commitment in going above and beyond to provide a once-in-a-lifetime service delivery that captured the imagination of the public at the time. It was incredible to see a UK-wide company response from all operational teams, from Scotland down to London. This allowed us to have a number of the central services fully engaged and operating at sites, to ensure success.
Our teams were flexible, adaptable and leant into every opportunity to make the event a success for our customers and client.
The teams in this sector are very aware of the role they play in service delivery and really rose to the occasion in fulfilling their duty to support the military customer.
DF: Have you received any feedback since about Aramark’s role in the funeral?
GI: We have had fantastic feedback, especially from our client the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), who wrote to the team issuing thanks for their ability to stay calm under pressure, deliver against ever changing timescale and volume, and always with strong focus and a positive attitude.
The military customer has also recognised the part that we have played in such a monumental occasion. When the eyes of the world were on our nation, we allowed the customer to be the best that they could be and showcase our nations to the world.