Pegasus Lift Truck Training has been operating as a company since 1988 initially as a driving school and then moving onto fork lift training in 1995, seizing an opportunity when workplace driving was only just beginning to grow to the levels of safety expected today.
With collaboration and relationships at the heart of everything it does, Pegasus is trusted to deliver regular training by a range of large food manufacturers, retail companies and government agencies, working in partnerships to ensure consistent improvement, and flexibility is always paramount, especially when everyone is trying their best to ensure business carries on as usual during challenging circumstances.
Dawn and Giuseppe Girardi, co-owners of Pegasus say without a doubt their biggest achievement to date is their amazing customer relationships, which means a great deal to them and especially being recognised for making a difference.
Pegasus has seen an upturn in business this year, despite the pandemic and puts this down to a willingness to adapt and meet clients’ specific needs, which has even included developing a new bespoke course at the request of a long-standing customer. Having worked with Alpro for a number of years, Giuseppe and his team are always encouraged to get involved, and a recent innovation is being asked by Alpro’s UK Logistics Manager Len Smith, to develop an Emergency Evacuation Escape Techniques course specifically for working with Very Narrow Aisle trucks going up to heights of 11m plus.
It’s not a course the firm currently offers, but with Alpro’s support, Pegasus will undertake specific trainer training and devise a suitable course and syllabus as part of its portfolio.
There really is no substitute for experience and the team offers an extended arm to supporting Warehouse and Operations managers, stemming from their vast knowledge of the many types of makes and models of equipment which are used across different company environments.
Delivering training on company sites benefits both the customer and the trainees, allowing specific job training and familiarisation on the actual truck they will be using once passed. Most importantly, the benefits of training at the exact height of the warehouse racking and not at a simulated height. For example, if trainees are trained to operate a Reach truck and tested at three metres, this height restriction means they would need additional specific job training to cover high-level racking on site, whereas Pegasus is able to tailor courses to satisfy its ITSAAR Accreditation and cover all of the ACOPS requirements in one training session.
Although Pegasus continued to train throughout the whole of lockdown, they were also asked to deliver online courses and although fairly easy to implement, the instructors preferred the training to be on site, having hands-on engagement to assess the drivers’ interest and abilities, while ensuring safe driving is accurately observed.
Working within 24-hour shifts, Pegasus not only ensures clients’ forklift operators perform safely and efficiently but the team are frequently asked to advise on the best trucks for the job, to arrange short or long-term hire, implement servicing and breakdown cover and to cover training within nightshifts and weekends. The trainers are also happy to travel further afield and clients often request that Pegasus delivers training to sister companies in other parts of the UK, most recently Winchester, Chelmsford, Liverpool, Ipswich and Croydon, and the firm regularly works with UK Border Force to deliver training in their dockside warehouses.
Dawn explained: “We offer a wide range of courses and although the core training is fork lift driving and materials handling, there’s a lot more besides and our focus is always on serving our customers, which has never been more important than in the past year when many of our clients have been under additional pressure to meet ongoing demands.
“Collaborating with trusted, successful partners to ensure clients receive the best services, we can offer a point of reference for help with any type of health and safety training services. Over the years, as the company’s services have developed, so have important working partnerships that help customers put the best possible procedures in place, with Pegasus offering a single point of communication for First Aid, Fire Marshal, Racking, Chemical Spillages and Dsear and more.
“Our ethos is to offer an ongoing professional standard of training and by making a point of getting to know our clients we can share their values and become an extension of their business whether it be for annual assessments, bespoke certificate checks, new starter assessments or just providing helpful advice for anything forklift related, there’s very little the team don’t know about forklifts and workplace safety.
“In addition, there are other skills, such as understanding when companies employ staff from other countries, it can sometimes feel daunting when there’s a language barrier. Giuseppe soon puts them at ease as he’s fluent in Italian, which many European workers can understand, so he is often able to converse in Italian or similar to make them feel more comfortable.
“What all that actually means is that we make our clients’ lives easier because they know they can leave all their training needs in our safe hands and we are totally reactive to their needs.”
To discuss the options available for training, call Pegasus Lift Truck Training on 07736 248071 (Dawn) and 07801 631699 (Pepe), visit the website Pegasus Lift Truck Training or email dawn.girardi@pegasuslifttrucktraining.co.uk
