What kind of work does Flight Plastics do?

Flight Plastics design and manufacture plastic packaging for all kinds of businesses, including food producers, retailers and horticultural suppliers. We run a manufacturing and packing facility in Lower Hutt, which has high foot traffic and trucks coming in and out all the time.

What was the problem you needed to solve when you came to Vanguard?

We were trying to change our staff’s movement behaviour and get people to stay on the walkways and away from vehicles. The problem was, the quickest path doesn’t line up with the walkway, so staff would tend to cut across the carpark or dock-way instead, which has high risk factors.

We did a review of our incomings, outgoings, truck movement and people movement, and found that we didn’t have any barriers in place between people walking and trucks moving outside the facility. It was a health and safety initiative. Although we hadn’t had any accidents or safety incidents, we needed to put barriers in place to keep people safe.

It was also a priority to reduce our workload. We had previously designed and made our own bollards, but working with Vanguard allowed the team to focus on other business priorities.

Vanguard installed walkway handrails and barriers, as well as Slowstop® bollards – has this helped solve the problem?

I think it has made a positive difference and the perception of safety in the area has improved. In certain areas – like the dock-way – the handrails, barriers and Slowstop® bollards are keeping people on the footpath, but it’s still a challenge to stop staff from cutting across other areas, like the carpark. We’re using the handrails in several places, including to keep walkways clear when we’re stacking product – that has been useful.

What made you work with Vanguard?

Other pack-sites in the business had worked with Vanguard before, so we knew they were reliable – and they were already set up in our supplier system. They were also local to the facility, so it was easy to visit the office and get everything organised.

Did we meet or exceed your expectations?

My expectations are high – if you meet them, you’ve done well. Working with Vanguard was straightforward – they managed the whole project for us, including subcontractors, with no problems. The barriers and handrails look good, and we’re installing some more handrails soon.

We’re more than happy with the service – Tim Boon has been great.

Andrew Torrance, Engineering Manager Flight Plastics.