If you’re investing a considerable amount of money in equipment that is vital to your business’s success, would you want to know how to get the best out of it? And if there were a possibility of some serious health and safety issues associated with failing to operate this equipment correctly, would you take that risk anyway?

There is really only one answer to each of these questions – but the reality is quite the opposite, according to Terry Horrod, managing direct of the UK’s longest-established manufacturer of engineered equipment for the roofing and highways industries.

“Horrod’s is the only company of this type to offer product training, so we can’t even put the lack of interest down to keen competition from elsewhere,” he says. “And the cost is hardly going to break the bank; our one-day courses, which usually accommodate ten delegates, cost from £90 per person.The main equipment which Horrod’s supplies to the roofing industry is asphalt mixers, thermostat-controlled bitumen boilers, hot rubber melters and associated equipment.

“There’s a boiler in most of the colleges, and it is generally assumed that the instructor will know how to operate it – which is not always the case,” says Terry. “However, even with some experience, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they know how to get the best out of this particular boiler, and there are health and safety issues which need to be address with every piece of machinery.”

Safety is, of course, paramount whenever equipment is being used, and Terry finds that some of the issues that arise are quite alarming.

“Most bitumen operatives don’t even know what a flash point is, never mind at what temperature it occurs!” he says.

Horrod’s one-day training course – either at their own premises at Leyton, or at the client’s premises – deals with all there is to know on health and safety issues relating to a piece of equipment, together with operating it to its full potential.

If numbers permit, delegates are divided into two groups; one led by Terry, and the other by his son – also a Terry! One group tackles the practical training, while the other concentrates on the theory, and they swap round for the afternoon session. At the end of the course, delegates must complete an assessment paper and if successful, they are presented with a certificate as proof of their training.

 

A family business, Horrod’s was established in 1948, and Terry has been running it since 1979. The company boasts excellent credentials; it has offered training for 30 years, is a member of the Flat Roofing Alliance (FRA) and the Mastic Asphalt Council (MAC), and has won prestigious awards for its equipment.

Terry would like to see legislation in force that makes training compulsory as far as health and safety issues are concerned.

“Less than 20 per cent of operators using this type of equipment have been on one of our courses, which would avoid many of the accidents which are brought to our notice,” he said.“We would strongly recommend any of these operatives – whether using our equipment or not – to go that extra mile and spend a day learning how to use machinery efficiently and safely”