Monday, June 24, 2024
As the business settles into membership of Scottish Engineering, I’m reminded of the importance of joining such groups, and how smart businesses are always good at networking. If more people realise this, Global Lifting Awareness Day — #GLAD2024 — will be better off too, as I’ll explain later.
There are countless trade bodies and federations and I’m certainly not an advocate for joining all of them; nor am I saying that the company with the most badges or membership plaques is the best. But, in a lot of cases, it’s worth at least looking at what such alliances might offer.
I caught up with Gordon Orr, regional manager – Scotland; and Lauren Green, office manager, recently, and we got talking about Scottish Engineering, which is a perfect case in point. Their depot is busy — I covered the Cross Tay Link Road (CTLR) project in Perth last month — but they’re always looking for ways to access new markets and expand the network. This is especially important north of the border as the facility tends to operate more independently of our other sites in England in Wales.
Lauren was especially excited at the time because she was about to attend a special event hosted by the group in celebration of International Women in Engineering Day (see #INWED24 on social media), powered by the Women’s Engineering Society. Lauren was part of a delegation that explored ways we can encourage more women into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers, while helping those already in industry reach their full potential.
For over 150 years, Scottish Engineering has connected industry in Scotland to expert knowledge, advice, and supply chain opportunities at home and abroad. Moreover, it gives companies access to a membership that includes major construction, engineering, manufacturing, and infrastructure firms, which I know was a big attraction for Gordon and Lauren. Throughout the year, professionals are brought together at tabletop and meet-and-greet style events — and we’ll now be part of it.
Thinking outside the box
If you’re thinking about getting involved in such groups, you should make a checklist of things they need to offer to justify the investment. And it’s rarely the monetary commitment that needs to be considered; it’s more about the time and effort that goes into making membership count. Often, getting the most out, means putting a lot in. There’s no point subscribing if, when invitations arrive for events and seminars, they’re disregarded as a waste of time.
It’s not necessary to tick every box, but these five points always help me decide if an association is worth looking at:
- Who are existing members? Are they kindred spirits? Are they potential partners?
- Does it present networking opportunities that non-members cannot access?
- Does it represent members at political level?
- Does it have a track record of campaigning locally, nationally, and / or internationally?
- Do we have the resources to devote time to in-person and remote networking activities?
Depending on the body or association, it might also be important to look at the training and accreditations that they offer, but that’s a different subject. The point I’m making is that there are other groups out there beyond those, like the Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA), where the membership benefits are more obvious, and even necessary.
When a business has multiple divisions or locations, it’s a good idea to encourage their leaders to look at joining groups on behalf of their departments versus corporate level. The move to join Scottish Engineering was made by our representatives there for the benefit of their branch. Allowing such entities to explore their own memberships and affiliations gives them freedom, responsibility, and a sense of scale in the local marketplace. Denying them such opportunities or forcing irrelevant partnerships on them from headquarters would have the opposite effect.
I want Gordon, Lauren, and their colleagues to feel emboldened by their new membership, which will no doubt lead to even more impactful conversations with those they serve so diligently at CTLR and in shipbuilding, nuclear, renewables, utilities, wastewater, and many others.
What groups can help your business take the next steps forward?
Nobody puts lifting in the corner
We’re increasing our references to the lifting industry’s big day on 18 July across our social media platforms — and you should be too.
Be careful that your company and its employees don’t talk the talk and not walk the walk. While promoting our sector is a year-round effort, we only get one day to celebrate it unreservedly. For a start, how many of you have gone onto the dedicated website and filled in the form to add your company as a supporting partner?
I’ll make it easy for you:
https://globalliftingawarenessday.com/partner-form
If you’re stuck for something to put in the box for a brief description explaining why you are supporting, here’s what we said:
‘We support #GLAD2024 because we are passionate about promoting high quality lifting products, inspection, and training. Further, we support LEEA’s organisational vision to eliminate accidents, injuries, and fatalities — and believe that skills and employment must remain at the centre of the campaign. We have supported GLAD since 2020 inauguration and have seen it grow each time to the point where it is commanding more respect and generating higher levels of engagement at the point of use, where these messages need to permeate most. We…will continue to share non-commercial, educational content before, during, and after the event. Tune into our social channels for more information — and look out for an unaired video showcasing our ongoing commitment to the cause.’
We also included a reference to our in-person managers’ meeting, which we’re co-locating with #GLAD2024 to make sure our leadership group is together on the day. While allowing time to review the last six months, and plan for the next half a year, we’ll be engaging with content being generated by LEEA and its supporting stakeholders.
There are lots of materials out there — more than in any prior year — to help. The website features a toolkit, where graphics can be downloaded. Once you’ve filled in the partnership form, there’s a logo you can display to celebrate that you’ve done so, for example. The association is also in the middle of an eye-catching campaign showing how lifting has always been changing everybody’s world.
The campaign comprises a series of posters featuring a selection of lifting’s noteworthy achievements through the ages. We’ve already seen Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the renowned Victorian civil engineer; and Mary Macarthur, of the National Federation of Women Workers, who, in 1910, led the women chain makers of Cradley Heath on strike. Look out for several others, including Patrick Swayze holding Jennifer Grey aloft — the famous image from the classic 1987 film Dirty Dancing.
A multidimensional campaign has been running since the turn of the year, with LEEA members, manufacturers, and suppliers leading those sharing material that promotes safe and high quality load lifting across the world. But these are the few weeks that count as we bring everything to the mountaintop on a day that will put our industry in the spotlight like never before.
Don’t leave lifting in the corner.
Steve Hutin
Managing Director
Rope and Sling Specialists Ltd
