24
North West Crane Hire
September 2009 |
The Mining Advocate
Firm delivers on client needs North West Crane Hire was born out of a demand for good service and its owners take pride in continuing to fill that brief. An affinity with clients’ need to have problems solved is at the centre of what has become the largest crane hire business in north-western Queensland. Mark Bellamy was working in the Gulf of Carpentaria when he met his wife and business partner, Leanne. They were 16 years old at the time. Mr Bellamy had already been working for his fencer uncle for two years, starting at four in the morning and often finishing at seven in the evening. It formed his work ethic, he said. He became a rigger, operator and supervisor for a number of companies in Mount Isa, then in 2004 he had an itch … to buy a crane. Mr Bellamy was driving the 50-tonne rig back from Brisbane
at around 70km/h – his bank balance battered – when, at about Winton, he received a mobile phone call that resulted in his first job with the crane (at ERA’s Ranger uranium mine in the Northern Territory). North West Crane Hire was born out of the need for good service and grew on delivering the same, Mr Bellamy said. “When someone rang up with a problem, I wanted to solve it,” he said. “I didn’t want clients to go to someone else. That was the key behind it. I wanted to be the first port of call. “Even if I didn’t have a crane, or didn’t have a truck or chain block, I would find it and make it happen. “If I didn’t have a Franna or
Managing directors Mark and Leanne Bellamy with one of their Kenworth prime movers. Photo: Roslyn Budd
a 100-tonne crane, I would hire it and make sure everything was ready to go and the client didn`t have to worry.” The business is in its fifth year now and has grown to the point where there are 97 units on the inventory including 16 cranes, 13
cherry pickers, five prime movers and 15 trailers and dollies. The company now has two cranes in Brisbane. There’s another crane in Dalby on Queensland’s Darling Downs and one in Western Australia. There are now more than 50
Yard boss is ‘Choice’
Workers encouraged to enhance skills Mark and Leanne Bellamy drew from their experience in various businesses including other hire companies when starting North West Crane Hire in 2004. As the business expanded they needed both the backup of good people with their own experience and a training system to meet the requirements of upgraded plant and facilities. That presented opportunities for staff, Mr Bellamy said. “One thing I am about is training our blokes up,” he said. “We also like to train young people as well.
“If our blokes want to better themselves … I am all for it because at the end of the day, if they’re willing to put the time in, then we can use them.” Attracting and retaining likeminded staff has been a priority. “If you don’t have the right people, you can’t do the job properly, that’s the bottom line,” Mr Bellamy said. “I’ve had good people right from the start. I knew them from previous employment and I knew they were the people I wanted because they had the same ideas as I did. “
Safety top priority Professionalism and consistency of staff make for a safe work environment when vehicles from North West Crane Hire are on site. It was no co-incidence the business had such a good safety record, company safety officer Torren Bocos said. “To work for a company where training is the priority is the ultimate for a safety officer,” he said. “It has to be that way, because if you don’t have the management above you thinking that safety is No 1, then you have nothing. “We have to be professional about everything we do and the professionalism comes from the top. Without their support and go-ahead you have nothing.” The retention of key staff was another key, he said.
The breathalyser in the main North West Crane Hire admin building shows how serious the company is about setting standards in safety. It was a preventative measure not a punitive one, company director Mark Bellamy said. “I introduced it to ensure that all our blokes are fit to work any time of the day,” he said. “If they get a call in, they come in here and blow in the bag. If they are on site we have handheld units and all our blokes blow in the bag. “Our policy is a zero alcohol limit and no drugs in their system. It is up to them and they know if they blow a reading, they are gone (off site).” The units had the capacity to tell people what they often didn’t know about themselves, Mr Bellamy said.
staff on the North West Crane Hire payroll. That’s a long way to come in the short time since Leanne Bellamy was processing pays in the family dining room in between shifts earning wages. The business had a simple tenet to solve problems and not create them, which came down to having pride in workmanship, Mr Bellamy said. “Mines want minimum down time on shutdowns,” he said. “If you go in there with stateof-the-art equipment with all the safety gear on, you know that everything is taken out of the equation in that regard. “When you go there you do the job safely, you’re not going to break down and their plant is going to be running quickly. It’s in and out, more or less. “If you’re ‘Joe Blow’ with a 1920s tractor, it is really not going to make it.”
Operations manager Kelvin Ryan and head crane operator Bevan Shillabeer. Photo: Roslyn Budd
Quality people and excellent equipment foster confidence North West Crane Hire operations manager Kelvin Ryan, born and bred in Mount Isa, says working for a company with a good reputation makes for “an easier day”. Mr Ryan, fellow supervisor Martin Carrington and senior operator Bevan Shillabeer deliver on the promises made by North West Crane Hire to clients. Mr Ryan arrived at the business three and a half years ago as a rigger operator and now
plays a major role in organising shutdowns and maintenance operations for North West Crane Hire that could mean millions of dollars in downtime to the client. Quality people and quality equipment meant that the client could be confident the company was able to provide services on time and on budget, he said. A flat management structure promoted commitment, Mr Ryan said.
Safety manager Torren Bocos breath tests supervisor Martin Carrington. Photo: Roslyn Budd
Choice North West Crane Hire “yard boss”
The reputation of yard bosses varies from site to site only in degrees. To say they are a warmhearted and compassionate lot given to forgiving small indiscretions, like not cleaning the machinery after it has been in the field, is probably stretching it. In fact, most yard bosses would take your leg off. The yard boss at North West Crane Hire is more likely to cock a leg at shoddy work. “Choice”, the 10-year-old bull mastiff cross, oversees the North West Crane Hire fleet of more than 90 units and has a sharp nose for misbehaviour. He inspects the comings and goings of all vehicles and people. North West Crane Hire director Leanne Bellamy said staff showed the appropriate amount of respect. “When the guys knock off in the afternoons, he’ll go out there and get his pat and sniff all the machines,” she said. “In the mornings and at smoko he gets fed like a king. Everyone loves him.”