Qualified engineer Alex Floyd has joined the team at Pegasus Lift Truck Training in Northamptonshire to add yet another service to the wide range provided by the forklift truck and materials handling firm.
Over time, Alex will also be delivering training but his experience as a service engineer with local firms over the past 10 years will bring a new skill set to Pegasus. With the company now delivering accredited CFTS Thorough Examinations, Pegasus will be in a position to add LOLER inspections to their portfolio, making a difference to clients through their business-to-business procurement support that aims to put the best possible procedures in place.
Dawn Girardi, who founded the company with husband Giuseppe (Pepe) in 1995, said: “We’re very excited about having Alex on board because he adds yet another string to our bow. He’s very well known in the local area and, having worked with him previously, we know his expertise will be of benefit not just for our clients but for anyone who has equipment that needs servicing and LOLER testing.
“Most companies go through their insurance providers for their annual testing, thinking it’s part of their policy but it’s usually a separate addition. They now have that service readily available from us whenever they need it.”
Statistics show that 93% of forklift truck managers assume their Thorough Examination checks the whole truck, but not in all cases. CFTS member companies, however, comply with a Quality Assurance Procedural Code which guarantees an inspection of the whole truck under LOLER and PUWER.
All Pegasus training courses also explain the requirement to meet PUWER (The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998), LOLER ( Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998) and L117 legislation.
Determined to remain the driving force of the family business, Pepe still delivers many training sessions himself and it’s he who has undertaken Zoom training to support companies with language barriers, delivering training to operators who don’t have English as a first language and who struggle with regular training. Pepe has an Italian background and an ear for European languages, and he’s put a number of training methods in place that get over any language barrier.
“We had a client recently that had been told by another training company that they couldn’t work with a driver because his English simply wasn’t good enough,” said Dawn. ”Pepe took over the training and that driver now has the qualifications he needs. There’s always a way round these things if you try hard enough and we’re confident now that we can go into any situation like that and make a difference, as long as we are confident the trainee understands all necessary safety commands and has the ability to drive safety within the workplace.”
Bringing Alex into the company is part of the ongoing growth Pegasus Lift Truck Training has seen over the past year, despite the pandemic. Much of that success has, according to Dawn, been down to the company’s willingness to adapt to meet clients’ specific needs and an example of that eagerness to adapt is the roll-out of an Emergency Evacuation Escape Techniques course for those operating Very Narrow Aisle trucks going up to heights of 11 metres plus. The new course was developed at the request of long-standing customer Alpro in Burton Latimer and has now been added to the list of courses available to the wider Pegasus Lift Truck Training customer base, and trainees have now undertaken the harness and abseiling experience using a controlled descent rescue system.
Dawn, who has a wealth of experience in forklift sales, hire, servicing and finances, added: “Pepe and his team of trainers are always happy to work with clients to make sure the training meets their specific needs, depending on their operation and the business they are in. We want to be adaptable because it makes our service better and it covers all aspects of the training clients might need, we work alongside customers as their training and safety arm.”
Hundreds of drivers a year are trained by Pegasus Lift Truck Training in the operation of using all types of warehouse equipment, ensuring they meet the strict, accredited, safety guidelines.
The training is carried out on the client’s site, encompassing basic training, specific job training and familiarisation for the trainees on the trucks they will be using day to day. This covers stability, truck components, pre-shift checks, load weight distribution, handling techniques and vehicle loading and unloading in accordance with the Health & Safety At Work Act.
Pegasus Lift Truck Training also offers supervisors’ and managers’ courses aimed at anyone supervising or managing the use of work equipment and who needs to be adequately trained in areas such as regulations, operational safety, operator training and supervision of the workplace.
To find out more about Pegasus Lift Truck Training visit www.pegasuslifttrucktraining.co.uk or call 07736 248071 or 07801 631699
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