Fairgrieves Factory Team Upgrade Forklift Skills in Preparation for Next Project

Members of Fairgrieve Compression Moulding’s specialist team have upgraded their forklift operating skills in preparation for a new production run on the factory floor which will require them to repeatedly move tooling weighing five tonnes. This follows the return of Lenny Moulding who, at the age of 69, rejoined Fairgrieves after four years of retirement, to help the business as it has taken on an increase of orders and moved to 24-hour manufacturing to meet customer demand.

Production manager, Johnathon Hutchinson, and factory operatives, Leslie Forrest and Shaun Hovvels, have successfully upgraded from their B1 Counterbalance Fork Truck licence to the B2 Counterbalance licence, which allows the holders to operate forklifts with a capacity of up to 15 tonnes.

“It has been essential for us to complete this training given the size and weight of tooling we are going to be using on the factory floor in the coming weeks and months, all related to a significant new order taken on by the business,” said Mr Hutchinson.

“We’ve had to send away four separate tools, each weighing five tonnes, for upgrades and modifications to fulfil this specialist order, and the production process itself involves removing and changing the tooling at various stages.”

Course included theoretical and practical tests

The course, led by A1 Forklift Truck Training, included theoretical and practical tests, with all three employees successfully demonstrating their ability to operate the larger forklift trucks safely and efficiently, completing tasks including stacking and de-stacking, manoeuvring in confined spaces, and conducting pre-shift inspections.

“Firstly it was an excellent recap for us all on the disciplines and basics such of forklift operation, such as carrying out pre-use checks to ensure it is in a safe condition, carrying out maintenance and loading and unloading,” said Mr Hutchinson.

“However, crucially this course also covered the skills required to move heavy loads, such as moving objects with restricted views at times due to the size of the materials being carried. We ensured we had three of our team complete the training, as this ensures we have the skills and ability on the factory floor on all shifts.”

Barry Davidson, managing director of Fairgrieve Compression Moulding, said: “It’s always important to upskill your team and that is something we have done repeatedly over the past few years at our business, from continuous improvement programmes to health and safety training and forklift skills.

“This has been important to us as a business, as this latest contract has seen us invest in modifying some of our largest tooling, and alongside our newly upskilled forklift operatives, we are now able to take on more contracts which require the use of this tooling to produce larger, heavier components.

“I’d like to once again thank A1 Forklift Truck Training for providing excellent training to our team.”

Read more from Fairgrieve Compression Moulding here.

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