Only the Best.
In June 2003 the Insafe Training Academy was founded with Phil Marsden (Technical Product Manager). Phil was ideally suited to this role coming from a mechanical and electronic engineering background with strong supervisory and communication skills.
The Insafe Academy has 5 main areas of responsibility:
Insafe Apprenticeship Scheme
Workforce Training
Technical Assistance
Product Development
Technical Reference
Insafe Apprenticeship Scheme.
The Insafe Apprenticeship Scheme was set up in 2003 in order to safeguard the continuation of skilled engineers within the safe industry. The training program is operated at Insafe’s Decimus Park facility in Tunbridge Wells and runs for a period of 24 months during which time the candidate learns the range of skills required to enable him/her to become a skilled field service engineer.
The apprentice is trained using a variety of methods including face to face training in a classroom style environment using handouts, manuals, visual aids or demonstration models, home study, hands on workshop time and on site training with an experienced Insafe Engineer.
The apprentice is monitored closely throughout the training program undergoing tests upon the completion of each module laid out in the Insafe Apprentice Training Scheme Overview. A Skills Assessment Form (SAF) is completed at the end of each test which shows the skill level attained by the apprentice. Further training and reassessment may be necessary depending upon the skill level attained.
At the end of the apprenticeship, the successful candidate will be eligible to join the Insafe Service Team as a field service engineer. However, training and assessment will continue throughout the engineer’s employment.
The Insafe Training Academy is unique in the UK safe industry and successfully sets Insafe apart from other suppliers and manufacturers.
Workforce Training.
The Insafe Academy can provide any level of training ranging from in-depth, for its field service engineers, down to basic knowledge for office based staff depending on the level of knowledge required, as it is necessary for all members of staff at Insafe to have an understanding of the Insafe range.
Prospective field service employees are assessed for their skill level before being selected to full time employment as field service engineers at Insafe. New skilled employees are then trained at the Insafe Academy for a period of 1 week as part of the Insafe induction program. During this time, new field service engineers are trained in the installation and operation of locking systems within the Insafe product range and assessed, according to the Skills Assessment Form. Their range of skills are then recorded on the Engineers Skill Log. This assists the Service Team to allocate the correctly skilled engineers to attend particular tasks. However, training and assessment will continue throughout the engineer’s employment.
The Academy train and update all members of the Insafe Sales Team with a basic knowledge of locking systems including functionality and application. This information enables the Sales Team to identify and discuss the correct locking solutions with Insafe’s clients. Members of the Insafe Academy may attend meetings with clients to assist the Sales Team with some of the highly technical aspects of locking systems.
It is particularly important that the schedulers in the Insafe Service Team and Helpdesk have a working knowledge of locking systems including functionality and application as this will assist in determining lock and operator errors as well as recording job details correctly and provide technical back up to Insafe’s clients. Wherever possible, the Insafe Helpdesk will solve locking issues involving operator errors and lock system faults over the telephone, thus, reducing costs to Insafe’s clients.
Technical Assistance.
The very nature of the services and products supplied by Insafe is technical. Therefore, it is of paramount importance that Insafe can provide technical assistance to its staff and clients alike. The Insafe Academy is the reference point for all technical information within Insafe.
The Insafe Academy provides technical assistance via e-mail and telephone to identify and discuss the correct locking solutions with Insafe’s clients and provide solutions to technical and operational issues. Members of the Insafe Academy may attend meetings with clients to assist the Sales Team with some of the highly technical aspects of locking systems.
Product Development.
From time to time there are situations where components fail on out of production safes. In such situations it may be necessary for the Insafe Academy to produce engineering drawings for the manufacture of replacement components should these components not be available as reclaimed/refurbished and held in the Insafe Store Department. Once an obsolete component is designed and approved, the replacement components are manufactured in a small production run. This will ensure that these components are available should future failures occur and will reduce downtime for Insafe’s client’s equipment.
In a similar way, new components are designed where there is a requirement. For example, conversion kits may be designed where a non-standard sized lock requires replacement with a more modern standard-footprint product.
As techniques for opening locked-out safes advance, there is a need for new tooling. The Insafe Academy designs and test new tools such as lock decoders and picks for use by Insafe’s field service engineers.
Insafe is continually looking for new products to add to its range. The Insafe Academy evaluates any new products for durability, functionality and application before reporting its findings to the Sales Team. There have been situations where the Insafe Academy consults with manufacturers to make updates to existing products and software. This has resulted in products being included in Insafe’s product range to satisfy the unique requirements of particular clients.
Technical Reference.
The Insafe Academy is responsible for recording all possible information regarding mechanical and electronic locks, safe and vault mechanisms, opening and repair techniques. This information is acquired through feedback from Insafe field service engineers, direct information and updates from manufacturers and from investigation by technical staff at the Insafe Academy. This information is securely stored and available to all members of Insafe’s staff through the Insafe Academy, whether office or field based. This is especially relevant to field service engineers where detailed information may be required, whilst on site, in order to overcome technical issues and increase first visit fix statistics.
Technical manuals and operating instructions for all Insafe’s product range are written in house for distribution to field service engineers and the Insafe Helpdesk. These manuals often contain more information than those supplied by product manufacturers due to the experience of the field service engineers and the Insafe Service Team. Special simplified versions of operation instructions are created for distribution to end users.
Regular Technical Bulletins are distributed to the Service Team and field service engineers from the Insafe Academy to update staff and bring their attention to any new information on locking systems including repair, diagnostics and opening techniques. This flow of information enables Insafe to provide the most up to date responses to technical issues.
70% of most functionality is not used by end-users due to lack of knowledge or education… changing this trend is important to our Academy.