News

October 2010: Beacon’s skills confirmed

When one of Beacon’s customers won a contract to supply product to Laing O’Rourke’s massive redevelopment of Heathrow Terminal 2 a condition of the supply agreement was that all personnel visiting the site must have a CSCS qualification.

The Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) has been set up to help the construction industry improve quality and reduce accidents. Over 1.5 million people have been issued with a CSCS card and to apply it is necessary to take and pass an appropriate health and safety test as well as proving competence in relation to the individual’s occupation.

Beacon Roadways was asked, “Do your drivers have CSCS Certificates?” The answer was simple, “Not yet but we will get them.”

During September 2010 five of Beacon’s drivers, all from the 18 tonne section of the fleet, were trained in the requirements of the Construction Skills Certification Scheme.

On Saturday 2 October the drivers attended the local CSCS Test Centre in Dudley, West Midlands; they successfully passed and have now been awarded their certificates.

This is great news as the intensive Heathrow delivery schedule begins at the end of October 2010.
The five Beacon drivers, with their CSCS qualification, can now enter the Laing O’Rourke site at Heathrow Terminal 2: that is official!

October 2010: Gold medal service from Beacon Roadways

The London 2012 Olympic Games is fast approaching but for many suppliers of products and services it feels as if the race for the finishing line has already started.

For several months, Beacon Roadways has been involved with delivering vast quantities of air conditioning ducting, destined for the Olympic site in East London.

Martin Chiswell, Beacon Roadway’s Managing Director, explained the issues associated with delivering products to the extremely busy and high security London location.

“When we won the contract we were told that the quality of our service was of paramount importance. Deliveries were all timed and there would be substantial penalties if we failed to meet the stipulated schedules.

To make sure Beacon’s timing was spot on the ‘Olympic Lorries’ were loaded the evening before any due delivery date and the following day, the drivers set off from our base at Lye on the outskirts of Stourbridge, West Midlands at 4.00am in the morning.

The first stop was Loughton in Essex where an Olympic lorry marshalling yard has been established. Beacon trucks were asked to park here and wait to be called into the Olympic site.

Because Beacon Roadways was always on time at Loughton the wait to be called into the Olympic site was never too long. The worst hold-ups were not delays along the 10 miles of the A104 but, getting through the all important security checks before entering the stadium complex.”

Unlike many haulage firms, Beacon Roadways specialises in handling awkwardly shaped and easily damaged products, so called ‘ugly freight’, it does not use haulage hubs and takes goods direct to their destination without using any intermediaries.

Martin continued, “Ducting comes in all shapes and sizes, it is pretty easy to dent and needs to be handled with the utmost care and attention. It is just the sort of product that suits the Beacon Roadways’ set-up and one of the reasons why so many of our customers keep coming back with delivery requests.”