Steve James – a trailblazer for raising standards and encouraging engineer development
I know I’m obliged to talk about me here but what I would rather know is, what is it that you need? I’d like to hear from you about the specific areas of concern that you have.
Insight
I’m very fortunate to be able to have insight into all points of view in the industry. From a business perspective, the customers perspective and from an engineer’s.
This allows me to offer bespoke training to cover what it is that your business requires.
My wife, Jan, has had her own business for many years, I’ve started my own.
We’re all customers and allowing ourselves the insight into what a customer needs is something I do.
I was an engineer for many years, so I know from experience what is needed on sites. I’ve been a service manager leading a team of engineers, learning to understand individuality; the specific talents and struggles that people face.
How I discovered the gaps in training
As a quality manager, twice, I have seen first-hand where things are going wrong. This involved auditing engineers, both live and retrospectively. It highlighted the similar problems that engineers were facing. There were things I could see which resulted from a lack of knowledge and skill set. It revealed that the 3-day external training was not leaving engineers confident and competent at all.
It shone a light on gaps that were leaving sites non-compliant and customers not receiving the service they have paid for.
This is actually a stress and worry for many engineers, where they want to do a good job but they don’t have the additional training that they need.
My time as compliance manager for BAFE was a highlight. As well as compliance, I also did engineer assessments, exam invigilation and the practical exam for Part 3. I was fortunate to be a part of the FSH2 British Standards working group.
I am a CQI & IRCA certified auditor.
I’ve had a 40-year career within the industry and I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m qualified. 🤓
This is my auditing face
Specialisation & Expertise
I have occasionally come across a view that fire alarms are more important than fire extinguishers. Almost as though extinguishers are incidental, something irrelevant.
Fire alarms ARE important, of that there is no doubt. An early warning is essential. But what if you’re trapped? Say a fire occurred between yourself and your route of exit?
A fire alarm bell ringing is not going to save your life. To aid my escape I’d rather have a fully maintained fire extinguisher to hand.
This is an attitude that makes me twitch!
Stretching knowledge for a multi-disciplined engineer for example can mean things are missed, they’re not concentrating fully on the job in hand. The skill set is on many things and mastering none.
Some things need specialisation because they’re important.
I started my career working with fire extinguishers and there I stayed. In a recent role I stretched this slightly to be able to audit fire alarm systems, something I found valuable. But like a stretched elastic band, I bounced straight back to my interest, extinguishers!
The reason I do what I do
Engineers are leaving the external training not fully understanding the complications of Part 8. They are also not able to learn all that they need to know in terms of creating organic growth for their employers. They’re not fully aware of their duties and responsibilities to customers. The list goes on.
This mattered to me so much that it was time to step out and do something about it. As well as on-site training, I’m creating bespoke courses for engineers that tackle the specific problems they experience.
This creates organic growth, compliance and happy customers for you.
Personal philosophy
I really have a problem with unnecessary selling to a customer. Many years ago I worked for a company that insisted that I sell as much as I could, whether it was needed or not. This didn’t sit comfortably with my core values: honesty and integrity.
I was told that my quality of work was excellent but in order to do a “proper” job I should sell more.
I’m happy to say that I made a swift exit from the company as soon as I could.
It is not in my nature to take advantage of anyone, and I object strongly to anyone that does.
Every engineer has their own talents and struggles and I see the person, not just the employee. I always strive to help them in the way that they need.
The nature of our business is serious and important work. However, I do believe that training, mentoring or auditing needs to be delivered in a light-hearted and friendly way. It’s essential that engineers feel comfortable so that they gain the most from learning. I’m not here to judge but to help and support.
Join me on my crusade – Let’s raise the bar in standards and compliance
Are you on board? Does this matter to you too? I think it does if you have read this far.
Whatever it is you need or if you have any questions, please ask.
Would I dare to put a picture like this on my website?
I would really like you to join me on LinkedIn. We have a fabulous community of like-minded people, wanting to raise standards within our industry.
Ours is a serious business yet I like to have some fun and light hearted banter on social media. I hope that you will enjoy the posts.
Including the picture here which was a little bit of a dare (you know who you are 😂). I announced that the website was coming soon with this picture, stating that I would not use it on the website. It was thought that I should!