Posts Tagged ‘Logistics
Delivering alongside Nelson on Trafalgar Square
One of our experienced London based porters, Lee Simmons, recently suffered a motorcycle accident which left him unable to carry out his usual duties as a Bishopsgate road crew member. Bishopsgate recognise the skill involved in carrying out our deliveries and the wealth of experience that Lee has, having been with us since 10 December 2007 and so took the decision to re-locate Lee to our Swindon Head Office, to work in the Customer Services Department.
This gave him time to recuperate whilst gaining experience with the Customer Services team allowing Lee to understand how a delivery starts and finishes its journey alongside some of the intricacies associated with each of our customers.
Happily, Lee is now fully fit and back to his usual duties, armed with his experience in the Customer Services position. When Lee recently carried out a job delivering an ice cream freezer on behalf of Unilever to the Café in the Square, Trafalgar Square, London WC2 Lee thought ‘what a fantastic photo opportunity’, something he admits that probably would not have crossed his mind before his work within the office.
After the success of having Lee in the Swindon office Bishopsgate are now creating a training rotation to have each member of road crew work within the office for a week at a time, as it has proved so invaluable for the crews understanding of customer needs.
Bishopsgate’s daily line haul service into Scotland for unpacked goods
Bishopsgate now operates a daily ‘unpacked’ line haul service into Scotland.
Specialising in the transportation and assembly of sensitive electronic and medical equipment in the UK, Bishopsgate has seen an increased demand for providing an express service into Scotland that competes directly with dedicated courier vehicles…but at a much lower price point.
With such sensitive and valuable equipment, our clients have always relied on the quality of our box sided vehicles and security checked crews and can trust that their goods will get there safely and on time. But this new daily service affords our clients much more flexibility as it shortens the delivery window.
We can now collect a piece of medical equipment from Germany on a Monday, ship it overnight to the UK on Tuesday and deliver into a Glasgow hospital on Wednesday morning. This service competes with air freight and as the goods travel unpacked it is very cost effective too.
Bishopsgate’s Sales Manager John Winter adds, “And it’s not just when it gets there but how it gets there. This is not a ‘groupage’ service where it sometimes seems that the objective is to cram as much product onto the vehicle as possible” He adds, “Our secure, tagged and boxed line haul service only carries high quality technical and clean goods…and often they are ‘naked’ and unpacked too!” When you consider that the cost of packaging can sometimes be disproportionate to the value of the goods, the savings that can be made can be quite impressive”.
For more information on the new daily line haul service to Scotland, Bishopsgate or TENESO Europe SE, please contact:
John Winter. Telephone: 0208 267 6250
www.bishopsgate.co.uk
Asbestos Training at Bishopsgate
Bishopsgate, have introduced a two tier training programme to increase crew’s awareness of the dangers of asbestosis.
Asbestos is a silent killer. It is made u
p of six naturally occurring silicate minerals and is known for its amazing sound absorption and fire resistant properties.
The word Asbestos is from Greek meaning ‘unquenchable / inextinguishable’.
Asbestos was first found to have been used 4,500 years ago in cookware due to its strengthening and heat resistant properties and was mined as long as 4,000 years ago. In history Asbestos was woven into cloth which allowed the cloth to be placed in fire for cleaning as with the napkin of Parviz the King of Sassanian (531-537).
The use of Asbestos in the UK started during the early 18th century but became more widespread during the industrial revolution when it was used within buildings.
Asbestos is present in drywall & joint compounds, plaster, gas mask filters, vinyl tiles, adhesives, roofing tars/felt/siding/shingles, countertops, pipes, fireproofing/clothing/internal fire doors, brake pads, stage curtains, fine filters, thermal insulation. In fact you would be amazed how many things do contain Asbestos.
As Asbestos became widely used it is believed that some factory owners may have noticed that some of their employees were suffering health issues, although no direct link to Asbestos was made at the time and the first case of Asbestosis was not officially diagnosed until 1924. The ban on Blue & Brown Asbestos in the UK was passed in 1985 which followed with the ban of White Asbestos in 1999. Asbestos only becomes a health issue if airborne so in 2012 the Control of Asbestos Regulations came into effect. All non-domestic buildings have to manage the Asbestos present within their buildings. All companies (mainly construction industry) who have operatives that may come into contact with Asbestos must provide training to their employees.
Tim Bloch, Bishopsgate MD says, “It is a part of our everyday business to install and to remove safes and ATMs. It is essential that our crews have a greater understanding of the risks involved before working in any area of risk. This comprehensive training programme ensures that our crews are fully aware and protected”.
Travelling to Sweden in a 3.5t vehicle?
Our TENESO Europe SE partner in Sweden, MTAB, has alerted us to a new law regarding winter tyres in Sweden that took effect on the 1st January 2013. If you are using a UK courier to deliver into Sweden in a Luton or a Transit van then this new requirement may affect you. We understand that all vehicles over 3.5t are being checked when entering Swedish borders and many are simply not being allowed to continue without the correct tyres. We can provide an alternative low cost solution taking full advantage of our our TENESO Sweden partner. If we can help, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Press release
22 November 2012
Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications
Winter tyre requirements for heavy vehicles
The Swedish Government today has decided new provisions for winter tyres for heavy vehicles. The new regulation will enter into force on the 1 January 2013. This means that all heavy vehicles using Swedish roads must be equipped with winter tyres, or equivalent on the vehicle’s driving axle during the period 1 December to 31 March when winter road conditions prevail.
In recent winters we have had accidents that have stopped traffic for long periods, even though most heavy vehicles have had tyres with currently adequate tread depth. More stringent requirements will therefore now be introduced.
“Today s decision means that one more piece of the jigsaw is in place for safer roads and better accessibility for both the business sector and the individual. The requirements apply to all heavy vehicles regardless of nationality and thus contributes better to safety as well as to equality in competition terms,” says Catharina Elmsäter-Svärd, Minister for Infrastructure.
N Joseph Woodland; Born 6th Sep 1921 – Died 9th Dec 2012
You may well ask WHO? We at Bishopsgate have a lot to thank him for!
Joseph Woodland invented Barcode Scanning in the early 1950’s, although it took time for technology to catch up in the 1970’s when UPC (Universal Product Code) became widely used to revolutionise Supply Chain Management. His work was recognised in his lifetime when he was awarded The National Medal of Technology by the US Government.
That logical step of producing an individual bar code that could be placed on any item which is now used in conjunction with modern day technology allows ease of tracking, whether it is for stock control, movement or point of sale and has now enhanced many a business.
Bishopsgate embraced this technology many years ago for use within their warehouses. All warehouse staff carry a hand held device so that all warehoused items can be scanned into the Warehouse Management System (WMS) and then into a specific location within the warehouse before being scanned out “just in time” and delivered to final destination. The whole process begins with an electronic order received from customer Sales Order Processing system, links seamlessly to WMS closing the order loop and providing track, trace and a mass of useful historical data to serial number level of each item moved or delivered.
Bishopsgate are currently working closely with their software provider to take this one step further by scanning every item each time it is loaded or unloaded from a Bishopsgate vehicle or customer site. This will provide complete visibility of goods to our customers at every stage of the process in real time.
Watch this space for further updates.
UK and ITALY TEAM UP for TENESO
There were no fireworks at The Nuffield Health, Brighton Hospital this past November 5th, when Teneso executed a challenging specialist delivery of a GE CT scanner.
Mitsafetrans, the Italian shareholder of Teneso, teamed up with Bishopsgate, the UK & Irish shareholder of Teneso and collaborated successfully to complete this placement and final positioning of this two ton scanner which had come direct from Italy on behalf of Alliance Medical.
Giulio Chiaia, Operations Director from Italy worked with Jake Bloch, IT & Quality Manager from UK to provide all the necessary Risk Assessments and Method Statements to ensure that the relevant stakeholders in this project were satisfied and that the delivery on the day went smoothly, efficiently and with no surprises!
The careful planning was necessary because of the challenging environments, floor levels and distances involved.
The system had to be craned from an upper car park level, 25 metres across a grassy bank and down 5 metres onto a lower level door way access.
It was a UK truck with an Italian made Fassi mounted crane, supplied by Bishopsgate which was utilized to lift the CT through the top of the Mitsafetrans truck with a roll-top roof.
The goods were guided carefully to the landing platform at the door way from where the European Hi Tech installation crews worked together to carefully position the CT into its final resting place ready for commissioning.
SO DO NOT FORGET WHEN YOU HAVE THAT DIFFICULT DELIVERY, OFF-LOADING & POSITIONING OF EQUIPMENT TO BE CARRIED OUT WHETHER THE DELIVERY IS WITHIN THE UK OR IN EUROPE BISHOPSGATE HAS THE SOLUTION.
Martin Onley – E-Tradeway
I wanted to provide you with some feedback from one of our customers Hayley Rail.
They complemented E-Tradeway on the delivery to Griffith’s house made on Wed 30th November. On arrival the doors were not wide enough for the machines, your boys helped with good spirits and enthusiasm to resolve the problem. Paul from Hayley Rail wanted me to pass on his thanks on a difficult job well done.
In the last year your companies support help and assistance has brought professionalism and certainty to our logistics. We no longer hire vans we call our friends from Bishopsgate as we know you will get the job done.
I would also like to say thank you to Nathan for his support which has been very much appreciated.
Best wishes to all at Bishopsgate
Martin
Out with the not so old and in with the very New
It’s out with the not so old and in with the very new for Wiltshire based, Bishopsgate Specialist Installations. Bishopsgate have just seen delivery of 4 Mercedes Benz trucks to add to their existing modern fleet. 12 new vehicles have been acquired in 2011 and each and every one of them has been equipped to a very high and impressive specification that includes full height tail lifts and rigid box sides.
managing director, Tim Bloch states, “ The decision to expand our fleet at this time will allow us to extend our delivery capability and will directly benefit our customers with faster transit times. A modern fleet in our new distinctive livery is helping us to promote our brand to a wider audience, and increase our delivery capability, our reliability and the modern Euro 5 engines are providing us with excellent economy too
The company will continue investment in network expansion, ground infrastructure, personnel development and improved processes to support our business growth”.
Donna McFarlane of Bassetlaw PCT (NHS)
Donna called to thank us for the excellent work performed by Mark Darlington and Malcolm Jackson, who were tasked recently with delivering a “hospital bed” to a home address, which is always challenging!
Donna mentioned that she was ”particularly impressed with the communication in advance of the delivery and then the tenacity shown by the crew to manoeuvre the bed successfully to ensure the customer got exactly what they wanted”
Although having called the crew to pass on her thanks personally Donna wanted to ensure all relevant parties hear about this and receive thanks for their part in delivery from warehouse pick through trunk to delivery.
All in a days work
When a Bishopsgate employee attended a computer collection at a high security premise the other day he came across more than the usual challenges.
Confronted by an angry lady who had been remonstrating with employees at the establishment, armed with scissors in her hand, he took swift action that according to the Inspector of the local police force, “Prevented injury to herself and possibly others in the enquiry office area” He added, “Clearly, the situation could have been very dangerous and it was commendable that your driver took the actions that he did”
“I suppose I didn’t really think about it. This was my first job of the day and I couldn’t really be held up that early in the day. I had so many more deliveries to sort out”
All in a days work? We too would like to add our thanks to him and his partner for bringing what could have been a very unpleasant event to a good conclusion
