To help mark the occasion, Paralympian David Clarke joined forces with Andy Taylor, the UK and Ireland vice president of the Schneider Electric Energy and Services business, to officially open the centre on 23rd September. Other attendees included local and national customers and national accreditation bodies including City & Guilds and St John’s Ambulance, helping to increase awareness of electrical safety.
The new facility offers electrical contractors, engineers and those working with electrical equipment the opportunity to learn more about electrical and occupational safety in a controlled and safe environment.
David Brady, Schneider Electric safety manager commented, ‘It’s easy to become complacent about electricity when it’s so readily available, but with it also comes many dangers. For many, working within the electrical industry and for those that help to keep our lights on, it’s imperative that they stay abreast of the latest legislation, procedures and processes relating to electrical safety. A good safety culture means that everyone goes home at the end of the working day.
‘The Schneider Electric Safety Centre is designed with this in mind, providing a platform for industry to work safely; build an understanding of how the technology operates, how to maintain it and to crucially know what to do should something go wrong.’
Now open for training, the new Schneider Electric Safety Centre has received significant investment and now comes equipped with modern classroom equipment, a new enclosed substation for competent persons and substation access training and new low voltage and high voltage equipment. Featuring a 50:50 mix of technologies from Schneider Electric and the wider market, attendees are able to encounter a real life experience in a controlled environment.
Commenting on the centre and his involvement, David Clarke, GB Paralympian football captain for the blind, said, ‘As a child, football wasn’t a sport for the blind, but we learnt interesting new ways to play the game such as using rice and then bearings inside the ball so we could hear where it was. Over the years and through experience, the key thing I have learnt about football and then safety is that it must be practical.
‘What I have seen here today, at the new Safety Centre here in Coventry, is the unbounding enthusiasm of the Schneider Electric team to work with customers, creating bespoke courses and solutions that meet their individual needs.’
