Q&A with Rhian Parry Managing Director of Windfarm-Worksafe
Continuing to make a difference in the drive for Zero Harm
Who are you?
I am Rhian Parry, Managing Director of Workplace-Worksafe Ltd
Describe what your company does
We have two parts to our business.
- Workplace Worksafe is a leading nationwide supplier of health and safety equipment, personal protective equipment (PPE) and branded workwear.
- At Windfarm Worksafe we design, develop and manufacture products for the renewable energy sector, these products can be load tested items, or items such as our deltasafe which are used for safe transportation and installation of key components used on the wind farms. We create new protective products for use within the wind energy businesses.
How many people are in the company, including yourself?
13
How long have you worked in the Health and Safety sector?
I have been in the industry for over 20 years! I set up Workplace Worksafe Ltd in 2005. I love Health and Safety because I like fixing problems and I am pretty good at it. In this sector no two customer requirements are the same, every day I get to learn new things.
I am NBOSH qualified, and I am a member of IOSH. The company is a registered Safety Supplier with BSIF (British Safety Industry Federation) and a member of LEEA (The Lifting Equipment Engineers Association).
How did you move into the wind energy sector?
Workplace Worksafe is well known for our service and ability to source difficult items in rapid lead times. As a result, customers are often asking us to help them resolve their Health & Safety and branded workwear challenges.
Due to our ability to supply products solutions rapidly for our customers, one of our key customers a global renewable energy leader needed a supply of safety equipment and workwear in a challenging time frame, we met the challenge and kept rising to the challenges after that. We quickly realised that our business set up complemented what was then an emerging wind energy sector and set up Windfarm Worksafe.
What are your company’s goals?
I am proud to state that we are a people-first organisation. I believe that putting people first is the key to our company’s growth and longevity, this is not just our external customers. We have a fantastic team based at Workplace Worksafe and Windfarm Worksafe, and we are known for the service we provide to our customers, we are not looking to be the biggest we just want to be leading the way, in customer service, customer supply and on product / solution development, the reason why is I believe they all go hand in hand.
What are the next steps for your business?
The wind energy is now at a tipping point globally, and we are excited about the prospect of taking the business forward into new international markets. We are thankful for the support and guidance we have received from the Welsh Government who have been helping us as we transition into a post-Brexit business era.
It takes years to gain the experience wind farm operations and know-how of how to access to the supply chains. We have been working hard over the last ten years to build knowledge and relationships with our energy customers.
We are looking forward to applying the knowledge we have achieved in the UK market to now grow the business in new markets, and with that to create new job opportunities for our local com- munity in North Wales.
Which part of the wind sector are you most passionate about?
One thing I love about the wind sector is the complete dedication to ZERO HARM. This philosophy is my passion, and it drives our health and safety business.
In the wind industry, everyone has one goal. It is about prevention, and every one is entirely on board with this. Near misses are reported and actioned, the teams work in super challenging environments, and are focused on getting everyone home safely at the end of the day.
What are you most proud of about your business?
Our team. I am so lucky my team are fantastic. Working in the HSE industry is a challenging job. Our customer base is Global. So, we have to meet a quick turnaround on specialist products, and at times we have to source niche products. We work hard to make sure our customer get the right products for their businesses. We achieve this by knowledge and commitment; every member of our team commits 100%.
My proudest moment was last year when our innovative inverter protection system, the DELTAsafe, won a highly commended award at the BSIF (British Safety Industry Federation ). To have a product win an award that is voted for by our peers in the safety industry was pretty special.
The best part of your job?
Developing our team and helping them progress with their careers. Having the opportunity to make a difference – how many people get to design products that fix problems and see them through from design concept to global rollout.
And the worst?
The days & months fly by, and there’s always far too much to do!
Where would you like to be ten years from now?
I am excited to see how our international expansion develops, and with that will come job creation for our local community. One of my goal is to continue to develop innovative solutions for the challenging environments around the world and build a world class team where companies from all over the world come to us to find solutions.
I am looking to see how private sector business can help the services within public sector become self-sufficient and flourish but not in a charitable way in a quid pro quo way. But more of that another time.