August 2019
30th August 2019
August has been an extremely busy and positive month for the business. We have had all the staff appraisals carried out and training needs are now being identified for staff development. This month the company has secured the largest contract in value ever, and secured other contracts with new clients.
With the amount of new clients and projects being secured, we are aiming to expand our team. We have made contact with candidates this week who showed an initial interest in the horticulture apprenticeship. We interviewed one candidate who came to our office today and demonstrated desirable traits during the interview, so we have invited them to come and do a work trial with us, where the true test of working on site begins.
We are recruiting new apprentices to join both our installation team and also have an office based position available. The office based position is for an Estimator role, to assist our current Estimator who has recently been promoted to an Estimating Manager, due to his excellent work. This position involves undertaking a Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Construction Contracting Operations, which involves elements such as buying, design co-ordination, estimating, planning and others. This apprenticeship is delivered by North Lindsey College. Please click on the link below for further information about this programme.
This week we have also arranged for our HR annual audit to take place at the end of September. This is done by a Stallard Kane Associates consultant, who comes in the office and audits the company’s current procedures. In this year’s audit, we are aiming to achieve at least the Silver Status, which means achieving over 90% rating over all the HR procedures. For us to ensure the best service is given to our clients, we must ensure that our team and company procedures are always up to date with current legislation and that we are always striving for improvement.
Useful links:
http://northlindsey.ac.uk
https://www.stallardkaneassociates.com
Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship in Construction Contracting Operations
Recruiting for Apprentice Landscapes Site Operative
23rd August 2019
As part of our on-going business development, we are always looking for the most eager and enthusiastic people to join our growing team. We have recently signed Bailey up to the apprenticeship programme with Riseholme College, and now, we are looking for more candidates. The ever growing number of contracts and projects, as well as the continuous demands from our clients, impose the need for us to continue developing and expanding our current workforce.
Good news is that we are interviewing some more candidates next week who have applied for the Apprentice Landscape Site Operative position through the gov.uk website. The interview allows the candidate to meet the team and for the team to have a feel of what that person is like. It allows us to assess the suitability of each person. After the interview, the next stage is to undertake a work trial, where the candidate has the opportunity to work with the team on different projects. The candidate can then understand better what we are about. It also allows us to better assess their skill set for the horticulture programme.
We are also in the process of registering to exhibit at the Construction Week in the Lincolnshire Showground in October. This will be a great opportunity for us to promote the horticulture and landscaping apprenticeship programme, working together with Riseholme College. The aim is to help the youth and the future generations to understand what the construction sector and its various trades entail. Pupils of different schools and different ages will have the opportunity to undertake activities and learn the mechanics of how it all works. At the moment, Rheanne and Ayrton are drafting up a plan of the activities to be undertaken by the pupils. We will also be promoting other internal opportunities for those interested in other aspects of the business.
To find out more, please visit:
https://lincolnshireshowground.co.uk/whats-on/event/construction-week19
https://westlindseylandscapes.com/careers-2/
https://www.findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk/apprenticeship/-304901
https://www.riseholme.ac.uk/departments/horticulture/horticulture-and-landscape-operative
Winning Contracts
16th August 2019
This has been a great week in securing several projects with both existing and new clients. The first project secured this week is from a new client, Carmalor Group, that we have been in touch with recently and have been working with them in submitting our landscaping bill. The project is in Eagle Road, North Scarle, very local to where we are based. It is a housing development currently being built. The scope of works will include reducing the height of a hedge that runs through the perimeter of the site entrance. This will involve a lot of hedge cutting operations and clearance works. Also, we have secured the whole landscaping scheme to this project, which will entail topsoil preparation to all landscaping areas, turf laying to several plots, grass and wildflower seed sowing to public open spaces, tree planting, shrub planting, membrane laying and bark mulch spreading. The landscaping areas are likely to be ready in October for us to start.
With the same client, Carmalor Group, we have secured High Oakham Park, a project in Mansfield where Carmalor is refurbishing and building new luxury homes. Currently, there are 4 existing homes being refurbished and 2 new ones being built, in the first phase of the project. We will be supplying and laying turf to each plot and sowing grass seed to the public open spaces. The project is due to be completed soon and we are currently in liaison with the client in arranging the start date for us to commence the works.
Also this week, we have secured the landscaping package to a residential development in Mablethorpe, by Lindum Homes. 3 years ago, we carried out maintenance works to this site, and now, the site is finally ready for us to attend. The scope of works will involve our typical soft landscaping scheme installation.
It has been a great week for us in winning these contracts. It is our pleasure to keep our clients satisfied and we look forward to working on our new projects.
Useful links:
https://www.highoakhampark.co.uk/
http://carmalor.co.uk/project/high-oakham-park/
Weekly Updates – Oak Timber Planter and Tool Box Talks
9th August 2019
As part of our health and safety culture, we carry out periodical training and tool box talks on various topics of the industry that is relevant to our working environment. The tool box talks are written by our own Health and Safety competent person who is NEBOSH qualified. They are formulated using content and guidance from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and from the NEBOSH course notes. The contents are then adjusted and tailored so that they are relevant to our own working environment.
This week we have conducted a tool box talk on working near excavations. As landscapers, we tend not to work inside excavations, however, when we work near or around them risks are immediately presented. They are identified in risk assessments formulated at an early stage where preventative measures are discussed. The tool box talk always provides refreshing information to everyone in regards to the risks, consequences and preventative measures.
This week we are also carrying out some hard landscaping works in a private project in Caistor. The work involves building oak timber planters. Wal, our DIY expert, was allocated for this project. On Monday, Wal and his team cut the existing tarmac on the ground and started building the planter by laying and installing oak timber. The planters are now being finished and filled with topsoil. To complete, a single row of buxus sempervirens hedging will be planted in each planter and they will be topped up with pine bark mulch to give an aesthetically pleasant finish.
Also this week, we have now implemented the updated rating feature to our appraisal system, which has been applied to two appraisals we conducted this week, and will be applied for the appraisals next week too. We will continue to implement the new features and assess how effective they are, to ensure continuous improvement to our systems.
Useful links:
https://www.hse.gov.uk
Horticulture Apprenticeship Sign Up – Bailey
2nd August 2019
Bailey has been working with West Lindsey Landscapes Ltd for almost 5 months now, gaining experience and a taste of what the landscaping industry is like. This week, Bailey has been signed up to the Horticulture & Landscape Operative Apprenticeship, Landscape pathway programme with Riseholme College. It was a pleasure to have received Craig Malloy into our office on Thursday, where the apprenticeship was discussed in more details and the formal signing up was completed.
Bailey will attend his first class of the apprenticeship programme in mid September, and will attend Riseholme College once a week, for a duration of approximately 2 years. Throughout this period, the college will provide Bailey with theories on various aspects of landscaping, generally covering principles of plant growth and development, plant nutrition requirements, ways to reduce waste, cultivating soils for different purposes, controlling plant pests and diseases amongst others.
West Lindsey Landscapes Ltd will provide Bailey with the practical elements of his course in order to complete the apprenticeship programme. This will be tied in together with the daily activities of landscaping, such as applying fertiliser to soils prior to turf laying and seed sowing, using machinery and equipment to cultivate and prepare topsoil, identifying, setting out and planting shrubs and everything else that is involved in the landscaping schemes that we install.
It is a pleasure to work alongside Riseholme College in providing education to the youth and promoting the landscaping industry. The Horticulture apprenticeship is a great opportunity for those who have an interest in working in exciting projects, in learning about the industry, in developing an exciting career and in building a personal life full of friends. We recruit all year round and there is no time restrictions on when to join.
For further details about the apprenticeship programme, please visit the following links:
Riseholme College – https://www.riseholme.ac.uk/departments/horticulture/horticulture-and-landscape-operative
West Lindsey Landscapes Ltd – https://westlindseylandscapes.com/careers-2/
Find an Apprenticeship – https://www.findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk/apprenticeship/-304901