Reflecting on 35 years of TEAM: Stories from our colleagues

In celebration of 35 years in business, we have spoken to a few of our long-standing colleagues to get their thoughts on how the energy landscape has changed over time, their favourite TEAM memories, and their predictions for the future of the energy and sustainability industry.

Over the length of your career in the energy industry, what do you think has been the most significant change?

Tim Holman, Head of Operations, joined TEAM in 1997: “It has to be the advances in the availability and quantity of data for energy management. I recall having hardly any customers with access to half hourly data when I started over 20-years ago and when they did have some, I had to copy this on to many, many floppy disks to transfer from one PC to another! The changes in the power of personal computers and mobile access to information we now have, I could not have begun to envisage.”

Andrea Shoel, Business Development Manager, joined TEAM in 2006: “There are a few things that we became earlier adopters of and that we led the way on and one of these was being the first company to launch Display Energy Certificates (DECs). It was an exciting time to be part of pushing that initiative forward. In recent years’, the introduction of Cloud hosting services has really changed the way we work with our customers and how we are able to support them.”

William Staden, Solutions Engineer, joined TEAM in 1989: “Over the last two decades, there has been a public shift in the attitudes towards the sourcing of energy and technical shifts to follow. We have seen the rise and acceptance of photovoltaic systems (PV) and wind turbines, as well as experimentation with or adoption of minority sources of power such as ground-based heat pumps, the burning of old coal mine and a number of other initiatives.”

How have you seen TEAM change during your time here?

Tim Holman: “In some ways TEAM has changed massively over the years, the technology we use and the scope of our products and services. In other ways we have not changed at all, we still have the same core values that the company started with, putting our customers and staff first in everything we do and that entrepreneurial and innovative spirit.”

Pete Morrell, Sales Manager, joined TEAM in 2005: “There have been lots of changes in TEAM over the years, we have moved from having a Visual Basic based, desktop only software product to the cloud-based version we have today. Changes in technology have meant we can constantly develop our software’s functionalities making it easier for our customer to use.”

Darren Weekes, Key Account Manager, joined TEAM in 2003: “When I joined TEAM things were very different from how they are today. Energy data outside of utility bills had just started to be made available, initially for the suppliers to accurately bill their customers, and subsequently for the end customers to use to track their bills and manage their energy. Prior to this the only data that was available was either from manual meter reads or manual utility bills.

What is your predication for TEAM and the energy industry for the next 35 years?

Pete Morrell: “I think the move away from carbon-based generation and onto renewable generation will be complete within 35 years. Technology will, once again, be unrecognisable. This will be in data management, connectivity, and a move to real time monitoring. Developments in AI will mean the link between monitoring and Building Control, through BEMS systems, will be seamless, meaning control systems will be automatically adjusted as a direct result of data received by monitoring systems. So much so that those systems, currently separate, will become a single system.”

Tim Holman: “I predict that AI is really going to become a standard tool for energy management systems over the next 35 years. Enabling energy managers to see issues faster and operate buildings and plants more efficiently. Even when we are living in a country with net zero emissions, we will still be using energy and managing its use will be even more important.”

William Staden: “I predict that electric cars will soon become the only small vehicles that organisations will buy and hence there will be a dramatic drop-off in oil demand and a sudden increase in electric vehicle services. Due to this, there will need to be a very large increase in the provision of electric power to cope with vehicle charging and that will mean more wind turbines and the retention of gas generation.”

What is the most rewarding part of working for TEAM?

Andrea Shoel: “TEAM is like a family. We are all passionate about assisting our customers to save energy, I like the customer loyalty and getting to know the people behind the businesses.”

William Staden: “I have got and still get satisfaction from creating or adapting our solutions for users and the challenges required to do that. I have met hundreds of lovely people who have worked for TEAM over the years, and have enjoyed guiding some of them in their career.”

Tim Holman: “Having been with TEAM for such a long time I have had the benefit of being able to see lots and lots of my colleagues grow and build a career in energy management from smart fresh-faced youngsters into professional analysts, engineers, consultants and managers. Something I really enjoy is helping the great people we have at TEAM realise their full potential.”

Pete Morrell: “One of the most rewarding parts of working for TEAM is seeing how the customers benefit from what we do. I have been onsite at customer’s offices when they have realised the time and cost that Sigma can save them. It was invaluable and they wondered why they hadn’t done it before!”

Learn more about TEAM’s history over the last 35 years.

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