Well Oiled

Veolia Environmental Services and Pirtek share a common belief in caring for the environment. So when the waste management giant recognised the potential danger caused by oil and hydraulic spillages, Veolia called in Pirtek Harlow to advise and train their 40+ crew members in how to safely cope with these problems.

Under the guidance of Harlow depot senior supervisor Sharon Knight, Veolia have instigated a programme of training their operatives in how best to cope with such spillages. Originally started as a joint training session between Fentex and Pirtek, Pirtek Harlow has now taken over the project.

Lee Tubb, brother of Pirtek Harlow licensee Perry, usually trains two or three teams (five to six people) at the Veolia site. He runs through the kit carried on the Veolia vehicles and then uses two Pirtek safety videos to highlight the problems posed by a spillage, how to cope with them and the potential dangers the crews may encounter. The basic concept revolves around the four safety principles of identify, secure, protect and dispose.

Lee Tubb then describes the different spillage products including booms, mats and granular products, and their suitability in different applications. Finally he uses the mats in a practical demonstration to show their absorbency and water resistance and how they should be used in situ. The session ends with a question and answer session.
"Veolia believes in on-going training and we expect our personnel to continually improve on their skills. We realised a long time ago the importance of environmental pollution and took a pro-active stance to deal with it,” Sharon Knight says. “With our longstanding connections with Pirtek, they were the obvious people to consult. Lee Tubb now does all our spillage training and refresher courses, and we expect the entire staff to have attended one of his courses during the year."

Lee Tubb is clearly delighted to have been invited to participate in this important training programme. "It's a great compliment to Pirtek to be invited to participate in the environmental training of a market leading company like Veolia,” he concludes. “This training programme has been a great success and we are hoping to roll out this service to other concerned customers in our local area."