LRES-UK
THE INDUSTRIAL SERVICE AFICIONADOS
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Row lan d
LRES-UK
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Over the years, LRES-UK has achieved organic growth as an industrial service company. Initially set up to cater for the needs of oil and gas, the company has since ventured into the world of energy from waste. Managing Director Tom Rowland and Sales Director Lynsey Waller discussed the company’s latest investments, in an exclusive interview with Inside Sustainability. Report by Imogen Ward.
to irec
r
I
nitially set up with
The growth at LRES has been substan-
a focus on the oil
tial but entirely organic. Over the past ten
and gas industry,
years the company has seen its turnover
more recently LRES-
increase from £600,000 to a whopping
UK has focused on
£8 million. This progression is down to its
a different sector;
dedication to meet the growing needs of
one where it can
its customers.
make the most of
Companies with boilers in need of a grit
its diverse skill set.
blast need look no further. Whether
“We made the deci-
required for cleaning, prep-work or emer-
sion to step away from
gency maintenance, LRES’ staff are fully
oil and gas, in order
trained to blast in a wide range of envi-
to focus more readily on
ronments; and thanks to its partnership
the energy from waste market,” Sales
with ENPRO Swiss, they can do so with
Director Lynsey Waller explained. “That’s
adequate ventilation.
where we felt our true strengths lie.”
“When we are grit blasting the inside of a boiler, adequate ventilation is required
Organic growth
to ensure the safety of those involved,”
LRES entered the market in 2012 offering
Mrs Waller explained. “To overcome this,
tank cleaning, but it soon diversified into
a lot of the plants leave their ID fans on to
grit blasting and confined space rescue.
create that natural ventilation. However,
“Once we got established in the industry,
with safety being a top priority at LRES,
we made a really good name for ourselves,
we felt we could do more to help. We
and the business has continued to
have formed a partnership with ENPRO
grow ever since,” said Mrs Waller. “When
Swiss who designed a mobile ID Fan,
I started at the business 10 years ago, we
which replicates the role of a static ID
had around four employees. Now, we are
fan, meaning that work on site isn’t inhib-
working with around 30 full-time staff and
ited. This can save customers valuable
100 sub-contractors.”
time and money, and we are currently the
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LRES-UK
I PROFILE
only UK-based company to have access
each member is also IRATA Rope Access
to this product.”
trained and first aid response ready,”
The fan is also perfect for use in emer-
Managing Director Tom Rowland added.
gency outages to ensure a safe working
Most recently, the company has also
atmosphere is maintained.
been on a journey to improved sustainability. With the ultimate goal of reaching
Investing in the future
net zero, LRES has implemented several
With safety an integral element of
key changes to guarantee success.
LRES’ operations, all staff are trained in multiple disciplines.
“We’ve upgraded our entire vehicle fleet to reduce the carbon emissions
“As a minimum, all our employees have
that we generate through travel,”
a CCNSG Safety Passport or CSCS card,”
Mr Rowland explained. “We are also
Mrs Waller explained. “We also provide IOSH
planning to remove unnecessary travel
Managing Safely training for all supervisors.
from the business by strategically
On top of that, if our employees are working
placing equipment storage within our
within a confined space, they are given
customers’ buildings. We have been
Medium Risk training and rescue training.”
driving equipment to and from jobs daily,
“Not only is our rescue team City &
so this collaboration will completely
Guilds High Risk Rescue certified, but
eliminate that from the equation.”
244 Inside sustainability
Safety conscious innovations
able ways – we just need to be willing to
One of the company’s latest solutions
find them. To overcome this dilemma, we
aims to aid three of its main concerns.
turned to VISICS and the digital confined
With safety, sustainability and staff
space monitoring system, which now
shortages as top priorities, LRES has
replaces 12x sentry guards with 2x highly
begun a partnership with VISICS,
trained personnel using cameras, a digital
a Dutch technology company, and
badging in and out unit and atmospheric
now offer a new digital confined space
monitoring. This provides our customers
monitoring system, resulting in a positive
with 24/7 monitoring, health & safety, and
impact across all three areas.
strategic data.”
“During our journey to net zero, we were
The system has been running for six
coming up against two problems, one of
months and has received a lot of interest
which was a lack of skilled labour and the
in the market. LRES is optimistic that this
other is the impact that business has on
product will open a lot of doors for it going
the environment,” Mr Rowland said.
forward and hopes to use this system to
“Resource shortage is a major issue within
bolster industry-wide change.
our industry, as it is in all industries at the
“We are really looking at changing
moment: but we must all be more aware
health and safety within confined
of the impact our decisions have on the
spaces,” Mr Rowland continued. “Our goal
environment. Our personal choices will
is to get the safety regulations changed,
have either a positive or a negative affect
because we have found that working in
moving forward.
these environments isn’t as safe as it
“The culture or conduct of our busi-
should be.”
nesses cannot remain in a state of dogma:
“Safety for us is always number one,”
there are better, safer and more sustain-
Mrs Waller added. “We would make more
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246 Inside sustainability
money completing manual sentry operations, but we chose to take that financial hit to ensure the safety of our workers and our customers.” The company also holds national and international certifications for all the services it offers, ensuring that everyone involved in the process feels as safe as possible. “It’s my job to make sure our employees feel comfortable to put safety above everything,” Mr Rowland said. "We’ve demonstrated that by turning down a large amount of work that didn’t have appropriate safety measures in place. That gives our staff the confidence to come to us when they have concerns over a job.” As it focuses on the future, LRES endeavours to continue boosting the quality of its
“I’ve seen the business evolve from
services, whilst making positive changes
a tank cleaning company into an industrial
to the lives of its staff.
service solution,” Mrs Waller added in con-
“We really want to continue what we
clusion. “The business is going to continue
are doing, but on a larger scale,” said
to grow and it will do so in the right manner,
Mr Rowland. “We are all about raising
because our clients and employees always
standards; that’s not just standards within
come first.”
n
the industry, but also for the people who work for us as well. We strive to provide people with a better standard of living and better job opportunities.”
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