10 New Mercedes were added to our fleet this week. We continuously invest in our fleet to make sure that we have modern and reliable units working for our customers. The new Mercedes were all wrapped in our new livery and hit the road this week.
All our trucks and trailers are fitted with the latest Masternaut technology so we can track your freight accurately. We can also monitor environmental factors such as driving style, speed and fuel efficiency.
Armed Forces Day and Reserves Day both land this week! We are fortunate enough to have a few ex-servicemen and reserves as part of our team, such as Daniel Donald.
Daniel completed his HGV training through the army which has secured him work within the transport industry. He has worked with us since 2014 and he is managing to balance his civilian life and military career with us:
“Currie’s have been the best company to work for in regards to getting away for army training or jobs I have been called for.”
Thanks Daniel, we are happy to have you as part of our team! Feel free to contact jobs@curriesolutions.com for any information on possible vacancies.
We were delighted to support the Dumfries Rotary Club with their Storybox project.
5 separate stories and boxes have been made by college students, RotaKids, parents, friends and members of the club to support child literacy in two schools in Kenya and Sri Lanka.
The group worked together to create the stories before Solway Print helped produce their masterpiece and we helped transport the items to their destination!
Well done to everyone involved.
The award is in relation to our work with the Developing the Young Workforce Initiative that began in Dumfries and Galloway last year. We were very happy to be one of the first businesses in the area to work with one of our local High School’s and encourage students to come and experience the various aspects of our business and look forward to welcoming our next group of students.
The winner will be revealed at the awards ceremony at Easterbrook Hall on Friday 15th June.
Some of our team headed down to Peterborough last weekend to represent the company at the latest Truckfest! Stuart Caldow, Glen Patterson, Glen Wilson, Owan Patterson and Steven Wylie all attended the show. They took with them two of the new DAF units and our popular Scania.
Stuart was successful in picking up a highly commended award. Well done everyone.
Fire and Rescue Heavy Rescue Operator Training
Currie solutions were involved with the latest Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Heavy Rescue Operator course training at the Garroch Loaning Training Centre in Dumfries. We supported the local service by providing truck, trailer, driver and a live casualty.
Over 27,000 people were killed or seriously injured in the UK during 2017 due to road traffic accidents therefore our rescue services need to be kept up to date with the latest features in our vehicles and develop the skills needed to deal with these situations.
Instructors; Crew Manager Tony Reid, Crew Manager Chris Gracie, Crew Manager David Boyd, Crew Manager Pete Melville and Watch Manager Brian McClauchlan led the course. The training involved setting the scene where a car had driven into the side of the trailer and managed to be wedged underneath the trailer bed. On arrival the unit assessed the casualties and completed a 360 walk round of the vehicles and surrounding area. The officer in charge then asked team one to stabilize the car and team two to stabilize the truck and trailer. This involved using blocks to stop any suspension movement whilst working on the vehicles and recuing the casualties. Our own driver Neil Robertson also offered the option of lifting the suspension. The team then began procedures to safely remove the casualties from the vehicle. This included using hydraulics to remove the doors, lift the front dash and remove the roof to remove all 3 casualties who were trapped within the car safely.
Instructor Pete Melville explained what key information HGV drivers can assist with in an accident similar to this:
Tony Reid from the Fire and Rescue Service trainee and employee development department thanked the company for their help with the training. He explained that it was vital for the team to have access to hands on training so they can understand how these vehicles work and how to deal with such situations if/when they arise efficiently and effectively. By familiarising themselves with the vehicles they are able to isolate areas and also stabilize the situation quicker.
Kirstie Aitken from Currie Solutions actively took part as a live casualty where she was freed from the car and aided onto a board for paramedic treatment if needed. She explained that “even though it was role play, you still felt a little nervous within the mock situation. The team worked professionally and made me feel at ease, talking through what they were doing. They worked in a sensitive but competent manner.”
This was the last of the local courses which has seen 31 local personnel learn and develop new skills to be utilised in real life scenarios.
As a company we aim to keep up to date with the latest technological advances that support both our employees and customers alike to offer better logistic management of our fleet. We recently upgraded to the fourth-generation Masternaut Connect and integrated this with our fleet management system. With interactive live map activity and asset tracking we can access historical journeys and reports.
The real life tracking function across the UK and mainland Europe allows our planners to find the best vehicle for the job based on a location, provide accurate arrival times and prepare shipments just-in-time for pick up. This results in better vehicle utilisation, productivity, driver performance and fuel efficiency.
The system is also linked to our driver’s tachograph so it shows us exactly how many hours they have done and how many they have left. It also monitors driving style, picking up on speeding or harsh breaking which allows us to offer specific training depending to the driver.
The Masternaut technology tracks both the truck and trailers as individual units and together so we know exactly where all our customers freight is and we can keep a constant track of progress without constant calls to the driver. The system allows us to estimate times of arrival that keep our customer service team updated and therefore our customers up to date with any delays or issues.
Over the years Derek Montgomery has managed to collect over £26000 for a selection of Cancer charities. This year he is again running for “Children with Cancer UK” charity organisation. Derek explained he has always chosen cancer charities after his own family had been affected by the illness. After his kids came along and he saw the effects of the illness on infants he knew, he moved his efforts towards the children’s cancer charity.
Derek started running as a hobby 7 years ago and as his distance lengthened he went from half marathon to full marathon. For the last few years had has hosted various raffles and events alongside the marathon to help raise awareness and funds for the vital charities.
Currie Solutions are delighted to be supporting Derek and wish him all the best for the upcoming race in London on 22nd April 2018.
Feel free to sponsor Derek! https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/derek-montgomery13
We have a great team of fundraisers here at Currie Solutions and we have managed to collect over 100 Easter Eggs for the Cash for Kids Easter Egg Appeal.
We are open over Easter weekend, running a limited service. Business resumes as usual on Tuesday.
Developing the Young Workforce is a dynamic initiative designed to build strong working partnerships between education and the workplace. The main aims are to encourage confidence in the young people, giving them the opportunity to identify career goals whilst gathering key knowledge and skills.
Last year we began working with our first group of students from Dumfries High School and we have just finished our second session.
We work with the local school to develop a creative partnership that introduces students to the workplace and helps them prepare for their working career.
During their weekly placement times the group work with all areas of the business including HR, Health and Safety, Customer Service, Marketing, Fleet Operations, IT, Business Systems and Accounts. At each session they were guided through the various aspects of each department and were also involved with problem solving activities and role play that they would be part of within the daily workplace.
When the course came to completion we wanted to know if the students found the course beneficial. They all agreed that they would recommend the work placement to other students as they felt they had learnt a lot and it allowed them to consider what they wanted from their future career.
One student, Jake Broadfoot explained that it was “good to see inside the premises and all the different aspects that were involved. It was good to see real life work.”
Nathan Corcoran added that “IT is something that I have a keen interest in and whilst working with the IT department we were involved with some real ‘on the job’ problem solving which I enjoyed.”
The team at Currie Solutions have really enjoyed working with the students, it allows the team to reflect on the various roles and responsibilities we take care of and share real life stories with the future workforce, hopefully allowing them to make an educated decision about their future workplace.
