Richard Davies, Head of Operations at REID Lifting

Richard Davies, Head of Operations at REID Lifting shares an insight in to his daily working life. From virtual team meetings, the introduction of social distancing measures across the factory to continuing to support fulfilling customer orders during this unprecedented time.

Working Day

I’m responsible for manufacturing, warehousing, shipping, procurement, production scheduling, maintenance, asset management, quality, health and safety and environment, so just about every part of my job has been impacted by the Coronavirus crisis. However, I’m proud to say that everyone at REID has dug deep over the past weeks and we’ve navigated our way to a new way of working which keeps our team safe and means we have been able to continue supplying to customers throughout, almost as normal.

While lots of people here are working from home and keeping in touch via Teams, I’m still in the factory every day, helping to plan the workloads and make sure that everyone here is getting the support they need. Because the REID factory is fairly large and already divided into clearly segregated work areas, it has been relatively easy to implement the social distancing rules when it comes to production and warehousing. For such a closely-knit team though, the real challenge has been in having to stagger start and finish times and keep people apart during breaks.

I also spend a lot of my time talking to our sales teams about upcoming orders and to our suppliers, who I’m delighted to say have supported us throughout – even those who were shut down for short periods were willing to reopen partially just for REID.  Now, as things hopefully start to recover and the lock down restrictions are eased, our priority is to push on with our new product plans and concentrate on maintaining the service levels which have always made REID such a valued partner.

When did you join REID Lifting?

June 2019

What was your first job?

After graduating in chemistry from the University of Glamorgan, I was a teaching company associate for a while working with businesses to support their needs.

What businessperson do you admire/inspires you?

The late Lee Lacocca, the visionary American industrialist who was behind the iconic Ford Mustang and turned around the struggling Chrysler motor corporation in the 1980s.

What is your best business achievement?

Leading and being part of a successful management team, which turned around the fortunes of a Japanese company based in South Wales. It was going into decline, but we made sure it is still thriving today.

What would you do if you weren’t in the industry?

I like passing on experience and knowledge to the next generation so I think I’d probably be lecturing somewhere.

Most useful/favourite gadget?

My iPad

Website/App you couldn’t live without?

BBC News - even more so at the moment.

Favourite hobby/pastime? 

I like walking and kayaking in my favourite places in Wales.