A day in the life of Essex Cares Equipment Service Warehouse Manager
My name is Tony Hardy, or my Sunday name known only to my mum is Anthony, I am the Warehouse Manager at Essex Cares’ Equipment Service.
I manage the daily running of the warehouse and refurb area at Catalyst house, supporting a team of over 20 warehouse staff and the responsibilities that this entails.
My day normally begins with assisting the warehouse supervisor in ensuring that all our vehicles are loaded correctly and with the right equipment for the service users. Once the drivers have left the warehouse, we carry out a stock report on available equipment in the warehouse and refurbishment area, ensuring that equipment we are short of can be refurbished and put back into stock or ordered from our suppliers. We receive all the orders for the following day just after lunch time, following which the warehouse staff will pick and place the items ready for the drivers' to load and deliver the following day.
As part of the Equipment Service we also have a refurbishment area in the warehouse. This is where equipment is brought back by the drivers' after it has been returned by the service user if no longer required. It is assessed and if it is in an acceptable condition it is cleaned and decontaminated ready for future use. I currently have two supervisors in the warehouse area, one in refurb, one in the warehouse. We regularly conduct quality assurance checks on a large percentage of the equipment to maintain a good standard of refurbishment of the equipment, any equipment not up to standard is returned into the refurb process or it is scrapped.
I have a great team in the warehouse all the staff, without exception work incredibly hard so I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of myself and both supervisors to thank them.
I have worked for Essex Cares in various roles since August 2010 and became Warehouse Manager in August 2011. Prior to working for Essex Cares I served in the Royal Air Force for 15 years as a Supply and Logistics technician retiring in 2003. My RAF career took me to many challenging locations including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Bosnia and Northern Ireland where I gained valuable experience in working to tight deadlines with minimal resources. This experience gave me valuable skills and prepared me for supporting my Essex Cares colleagues in delivering an outstanding service in a difficult financial climate. Following my retirement from the RAF I worked for the Ministry of Defence in Cyprus, Germany and UK for a further 8 years remaining in my area of expertise; warehousing and logistics, until settling in Colchester with my family in 2010.
I am a proud Yorkshire man at heart spending the first 24 years of my life in Leeds. I enjoy the beautiful countryside of Yorkshire but greatly appreciate the warmer Southern climate! I like to think of myself as a connoisseur of red wine and enjoy relaxing at home with my wife Sarah, daughter Georgina and pet dog Sasha.
I have had a busy end to 2011 assisting Essex Cares Health & Safety department in achieving the successful outcome of the BSI 18001 accreditation, and will strive to maintain this recognition of excellence
I am confident that Essex Cares’ Equipment Service under the excellent leadership of the Head of Service – Trudi Foster - will continue to maintain the same high standards of provision that ensures that the service user is at the forefront of everything that we do.
.JPG)
Essex Cares achieves BS18001 accreditation
Posted: Jan 10, 2012
Wishing all our customers and strategic partners a Happy Christmas
2012 will be a challenging year for all of us in the current climate but Essex Cares will be looking to be innovative in finding solutions which best meet the needs of our customers.
Posted: Dec 14, 2011
Interim Position Extended for Sarah
Sarah joined Essex Cares in May 2011
Posted: Nov 15, 2011
New head of Reablement for Essex Cares
Zara joined Essex Cares in July 2011 to seek fresh challenges
Posted: Oct 17, 2011
Opportunity to design services for the future
Despite the focus this summer by the media on phone hacking, Libya, and the economy, we have from time to time seen news on the increasing challenges facing all of us with the implications of an ‘aging society’.
Posted: Aug 23, 2011
Where have the last 6 weeks gone...?
I can't believe that I have now been in post with Essex Cares for six week, the time has flown.
Posted: Jul 13, 2011
