Kevin Cage, Ops Manager and Chris Leese, UK Aggs Vice President, had the opportunity to visit the Sand Falcon undergoing repairs in dry dock at Teesport.
Kevin reports: “If you ever get the chance yourselves I would thoroughly recommend it; the marine and contracting Team are very welcoming and provide the knowledge to make the day very interesting, from the basic life aboard a dredging vessel to the large scale maintenance programs they need to undertake. Make sure you hear the story and see the scars left by ‘cutting and shutting’ a dredger i.e. how do you cut a vessel in half and insert a 20m section in the middle? If you thought you had maintenance issues on your Plants this takes it to a whole new level.”
Chris also commented: “There is always a lot to see and share from these dry dock visits which are akin to a Cement Plant shutdown in their intensity. As you know we saw a great deal of very good practice but also some challenges especially with the contract scaffolders where we had to “step in” demonstrating the value of VFL tours and our basic safety principles, Stop and Think, Follow the Safety Essentials, and Step In.”