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In case you missed it – Supply and demand

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At Rail Live, back in June 2016, Ballyclare announced its successful contract win to supply Network Rail with protective workwear. It’s been all go since.

The contract win was great news for the Ballyclare and Gore partnership and was considered to be one of the biggest UK deals to supply rail-compliant workwear. It was also great news for the Network Rail workers, both male and female, who have benefitted from easy access to a wide selection of base layers, jackets, trousers, salopettes, coveralls and body warmers. In fact, within 15 seconds of a Network Rail worker placing their product order, it is received at Ballyclare’s warehouse where products are then picked, bar coded and labelled, and packed for swift dispatch.

Maggie Shaw, Ballyclare’s sales and service manager for the rail industry comments, ‘We started supplying in October 2016 with a soft launch approach which we felt was the best option to ensure a smooth transition from the incumbent to Ballyclare. Since then, uptake has been excellent and feedback has been positive from all levels within the business.

We’ve started attending PPE Days which are hosted by Network Rail and held at depot level to talk through with the end users all elements of the PPE provision. This covers supply, design, dispatch as well as open question and answer sessions.’

Jonas Andersson, Gore Workwear Associate added, ‘Gore is proud to work so strongly and effectively with its brand partners. We are delighted with the feedback that both the products supplied and service received is exceeding expectations.

‘The GORE-TEX® Fabric technology is keeping workers warm, dry, visible and comfortable even during our most foul winter weather. This is complemented by Ballyclare’s expert design and manufacturing, plus their high quality customer service, meaning that the rail industry gets the best products and service level support it deserves.’

CLEANING UP

Cleaning and maintaining the products in the new range has not been overlooked. To keep garments in peak condition they can be cleaned and maintained repeatedly. This not only extends the lifecycle of the garment but also ensures end users consistently and constantly benfit from being kept safe, seen and dry.

Ballyclare’s Maggie Shaw comments, ‘For the Network Rail contract, we are working closely with PHS who are their independent laundry provider. We’ve produced end user product information sheets which have gone into depots so that everyone is clear how to use a garment layering system, as well as providing instructions on garment and laundry care.’

Every garment Ballyclare supplies is assigned to the individual wearer and tracked via an automated system by Ballyclare and PHS. This means that Network Rail have up-to-date access to all the information they need to ensure that their workwear is maintained in prime condition. Network Rail also provides its workers with a dedicated PPE Help Desk service.

BALLYCLARE AND GORE PARTNERSHIP

Ballyclare Limited is an established supplier with over 20 years’ experience of designing, manufacturing and distributing an extensive range of industrial workwear, corporate garments, high visibility and waterproof/foul weather garments.

It’s been successfully partnering with Gore for a number of years to supply Technical GORE-TEX® Garments to the rail and other industries.

WIDE PRODUCT AVAILABILITY

It is not just Network Rail workers who can benefit from the Ballyclare portfolio of GORE-TEX® Garments. Anyone working within the rail sector can order these high quality and durable products directly from the Ballyclare website (ballyclarelimited.com). In addition, there is the option for garments to be individually branded if required.

Ballyclare is an accredited supplier under the Rail Industry Supplier Quali cation Scheme. The company supplies a full range of workwear for the industry, all of which complies with the Rail Industry Standard RIS-3279-TOM, which recently replaced Railways Group Standard GO/RT 3279 standard. It includes waterproof and flame-retardant garments, plus an extensive range of fleece and next-to-skin options, allowing the customer to create the perfect workwear solution for all employees, regardless of their role.

Visit: ballyclarelimited.com gore-workwear.co.uk

First published in RailStaff April 2017

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