As it approaches its 30th anniversary next month, Pegasus Lift Truck Training, based in Wellingborough, is so much more than the name suggests – innovation and flexibility having transformed the business over the years into what it is today.
Before 1995, Giuseppe and Dawn Girardi ran Pegasus School of Motoring locally, a well-known name in and around the town. Diversifying into eco-driving and coach driving were added to the portfolio, before Pegasus began focusing on the forklift truck sector, in which it’s still a major player.
But it’s also so much more, having widened the scope to cover many of the disciplines that are important in a busy warehouse or logistics setting, including training in emergency escape, working at height, first aid, fire marshalling, banksperson, chemical awareness and abrasive wheels.
Forklift driver training is still a large part of what Pegasus offers, but these days the company is more likely to be acting as a partner in a client’s business as well as responding to a need for a simple, one-off driver training programme.
Operations Director Dawn Girardi said: “There’s so much to consider now and our services are wide and varied, so we tend to work with clients as part of their operations. We take an overview of how their business operates, advising on what they need in terms of training not just for drivers but in all aspects of making sure the workplace is safe and compliant.
“A lot of our customers give us feedback about how valuable it is to find bespoke training with unique PowerPoints tailored to their site and equipment. Every setting is different and when we deliver a course for a client, it’s done in a way that is relevant to their business. Some may not need chemical awareness training or work with abrasive wheels, for others they’re areas that need to be covered.
“Over the years we’ve learned to be flexible. Courses are delivered when the clients need them. A lot of warehouses have night-shift workers and it can be difficult to rearrange shift patterns during the day to complete a training course, so we go in at night and do the training during their working hours. We adapt to their business because we know how important it is to be flexible.”
Delivering training on company sites benefits both the client and the trainees, allowing specific on-the-job training and familiarisation on the actual trucks that drivers will be using once they’ve passed, and, just as importantly, the benefit of training at the exact height of the warehouse racking and not at a simulated height. Courses satisfy Pegasus’s ITSAAR Accreditation and cover all of the ACOPS requirements. During the training on the lift trucks, candidates also get to know a basic understanding of the HSAWA along with both Puwer and Loler Regulations.
Working alongside Giuseppe and Dawn is their daughter, Lydia, together with office staff and the team of trainers and specialists, who play a pivotal part in looking after the client base and assessing their needs and responding to them.
The Pegasus team puts the emphasis in on ‘prepare and prevent, not repair and repent’ – instilling a clear understanding that skilled operators who have completed their training are safer and less likely to cause damage to themselves, equipment or the goods, so leaving their employers confident that their workplace is operating safely and efficiently.
Regardless of who is carrying out operations within the workplace, the responsibility for health and safety ultimately stops with the business owners or directors, and they need to be aware of their liabilities. Pegasus can work with leaders to ensure they have the knowledge and understand their responsibilities towards their workforce and the business as a whole.
Pegasus’s clients include major names from F1 and motorsport, a large publishing house, High Street retailers, and public sector service providers. Local companies such as food and drink producer Alpro and windows and door supplier Emplas, are among many long-standing clients.
Dawn added: “We’ve built a team over the past 30 years that can deliver high-quality training, including some specialists in certain areas, who certainly have a better, more in-depth knowledge of their areas than we do.
“After all that time, it’s rewarding to have built up a breadth of knowledge that means there’s very little we can’t provide for our clients, whatever their requirements are. Our clients cover a vast range of businesses and sectors and we are ready to respond to that.
“What started with forklift training has grown into a passion for ensuring everything that needs to be in place is in place, and that everyone, from management to the most junior member of the team, is properly trained with regular refresher courses, and is aware of their responsibilities when it comes to safety and good practice.”
To find out more about Pegasus Lift Truck Training visit their website or call them 07736 248071 or 07801 631699.
