James Wilde, Quality, Health, Safety & Environment Manager [QHSE] at REID Lifting

From identifying opportunities across the business where improvements can be made to ensuring all employees are kept safe, James Wilde, Quality, Health, Safety & Environment Manager at REID Lifting shares an insight in to his daily working life.

Working Day

The only part of my day which is ever the same is the start – dropping my daughters off for school before setting off on the half hour commute into the office in Chepstow.

What I really like about my job is that I get involved with all areas of the business. Being responsible for Quality, Health & Safety and Environment means I could be working with manufacturing, purchasing and engineering one day and then sales, finance or supply chain the next.

There are essentially two elements to my role at REID – Compliance, which is about ensuring that the business meets all its legal requirements and has the processes in place to ensure that products are always produced to specification, and Improvement, which means identifying opportunities across the business where improvements could be made and then ensuring that there are processes and actions in place to implement these in a controlled and managed way.

In a typical week, I will be involved in different operational meetings, conducting audits or risk assessments, analysing customer feedback, identifying and implementing improvement actions and meeting with suppliers.

I’m a firm believer in the maxim that, just because you are good at something, doesn’t mean that you can’t do it better. REID might be the market leader but, you have to keep on improving if you want to stay ahead.

When did you join REID Lifting?

June 2019

What was your first job?

My first proper job was at the Ford plant in Dagenham building Ford Sierras and Fiestas. I started out as a Foreman on the Sierra Trim and Assembly line, before I moved into the Quality department

What businessperson do you admire/inspires you?

Not really a businessman, but a coach – Sir Dave Brailsford for his philosophy of making ‘marginal gains’ to achieve significant overall improvements.

What is your best business achievement?

Winning the Wales Quality Award in 2000 and 2003 while helping to turn around a struggling business.

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

Relaxing on a Greek island with a bike nearby.

Most useful/favourite gadget?

Anything I can use to listen to music. I’ve got over 14K songs on my iPod and even my children tell me to turn the volume down.

Website/App you couldn’t live without?

Strava. I love to get out on my different bikes – road, gravel or mountain and this app tracks the route and the distance.

FAVOURITE DESTINATION/PLACE IN THE WORLD?

Any Greek island with my family.

Favourite hobby/pastime? 

I keep fit by cycling. I ride with Newport Social Cycling most weekends and through that I get involved in lots of voluntary work and various events for St David’s Hospice.