Tag Archive for: A

A statement from Geoff Webb

/in , /by

A statement from Geoff Webb: Continuing to support our members during the Covid-19 outbreak, a statement from Geoff Webb, CEO at Grounds Management Association (GMA)

Over the course of the month, Grounds Management Association has continued to network with sports bodies and government to provide the latest guidance for the sector. Our primary focus always remains the safety, as well as the physical and mental wellbeing of anyone and everyone working in the industry.

A statement from Geoff Webb

A statement from Geoff Webb

Each working situation and environment during this challenging time is a case-by-case scenario. We have been able to get clarity from government that, for those where working from home is not possible – the case for much of those in our industry, then it is possible to resume work. However, this can only happen if you feel well and that it deemed safe (by your employer) for you to do so.

Government advice is changing rapidly, and we urge staff and employers to monitor the latest guidance daily. If you have any questions, contact your employer or sports body who can provide the most relevant information for your work and sector. We have produced a set of ‘safe working’ top tips for employers, relevant specifically to our sector.

We applaud the incredible key workers across the nation, as well as the those working hard to maintain the sports surfaces and green spaces that will return to being used and loved once safe to do so. We must continue to work together responsibly to play our part in slowing down the spread of Covid-19.

Our industry is crucial for sports and recreational activities, which provide positive physical and mental health benefits for many across the country. As a result, we hope that the role of grounds staff will be recognised and respected even more so going forwards.

Grounds Management Association (GMA) has also issued top tips to encourage best practice, for employers and managers in the grounds care industry.

Monitor official guidance daily

With the situation evolving daily, it’s worth keeping up-to-date with latest Government guidance online and the daily press statements to inform your decisions as an employer. If you’re self-employed, use the guidance to assess how you will personally work on the site.

Communicate regularly

With social-distancing taking place, it’s important to keep workers updated on the actions being taken to reduce risks of exposure to coronavirus (COVID-19) in the workplace. Ensure you have everyone’s up-to-date contact details, as well as any emergency contact details.

Provide clear, specific working guidelines

Those in vulnerable groups will require additional details on working guidelines for their personal situation, and if they are deemed extremely vulnerable they should be shielded and supported to stay at home. Create a safe-working plan that outlines the do’s and don’ts based on your specific working environment. For example, this may include asking only one employee to use a room or facility at a time and providing signs in the relevant areas.

Maintain excellent hygiene standards

It’s important to have strict standards and make sure there are suitable facilities for everyone to wash hands regularly for 20 seconds, with soap and water. Provide alcohol-based sanitiser for hands and to wipe down machinery. Provide tissues for staff to use, which must be disposed of afterwards.

Encourage responsible working at all times

Look out for others and those working around you. Make sure managers and colleagues know the symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) and are clear on your process. For example, reporting the sickness, the support available, and what do to if someone at the workplace becomes unwell. Keep a safe distance apart at all times.

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Greenkeeping during a pandemic

/in , , /by

Greenkeeping during a pandemic: As clubs continue to be shut in the UK while the coronavirus pandemic holds its grip over the world, one of the biggest concerns looking ahead is the shape our courses will be in when normality returns.

In the wake of the lockdown, the government confirmed greenkeepers could still attend work for “essential maintenance purposes”.

BIGGA and the R&A then set out a comprehensive plan on what that should look like.

But what is being done in practice?

Nairn Dunbar, in the North of Scotland, will co-host the Amateur Championship next year. We caught up with course manager Richard Johnstone to ask him how his team were working during the outbreak and how the coronavirus lockdown and aftermath would affect the Highland course…

What is essential maintenance looking like at Nairn Dunbar?

The health, well-being and safety of our staff, members and visitors is priority so, for now, all staff are on three weeks furlough.

We are lucky there is very little growth until mid-April in the North of Scotland and are happy with course conditions after completing a lot of work during our winter maintenance programme.

I have been in constant contact with my Club Manager and Management Committee to plan the next steps needed to implement essential maintenance, starting mid-April.

How will staffing numbers continue to be affected?

We recently had our Deputy Course Manager retire after 27 years working on the course.

An internal promotion is being carried out, giving the opportunity to one of our highly skilled assistant greenkeepers who have been excelling in their role and are ready for a new challenge.

Due to new financial restraints caused by Covid-19 we will be unable to take on anyone new, meaning we will be running with five staff through 2020 to look after our 135-acre site.

How will the course react to the new regime and how much time would you need to reinstate it when the restrictions come to an end?

Having missed out on three weeks of work, tasks will be prioritised to ensure the main surfaces are in the best possible condition given the resources available.

It will be tough but our hard-working team will do our best to ensure members and guests can continue to enjoy a first class experience.

Our enthusiastic members will also be offered the opportunity to volunteer alongside our team on the course, which will really help us complete smaller tasks through 2020.

We will also be working closely with the STRI and R&A as we look at best practice ahead of hosting The Amateur Championship, alongside Nairn GC, in 2021.

What measures will you need to take to ensure everyone stays safe?

Prior to the lockdown we had already put measures in place to make sure staff and members were as safe as possible by implementing practises such as different shift patterns to avoid similar start/finish and break times, machinery and surfaces wiped before and after use.

We also have a lone working policy in place to ensure safe working practices are followed at all times.

Golfers were asked to follow guidelines, such as 2m distancing between players, not to touch pins and hole cups were turned upside down to avoid contact with the pin.

All bins, water fountains, ball washers were stopped from use and rakes and ball scoops were removed from the course totally.

A lot of these measures will almost certainly still be in use when the course opens again until we can return to some sort of “normality”.

Being such a close-knit community club during this tough period has been a big advantage and we hope we can work through this together coming out the other side even stronger.

We do encourage, if financially possible, members and guests continue to support us and invest in the future of our 121-year-old club.

Click here to read the original article

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Procore 648 a hit at Muir-Of-Ord

/in , , /by

Procore 648 a hit at Muir-Of-Ord: Muir-Of-Ord Golf Club, located a few miles north of Inverness in Scotland, has chosen to invest in Toro for the first time, purchasing a ProCore 648 pedestrian aerator to enable quality aeration across the whole course.  

Head greenkeeper, Darren Hexley, explains: “We’ve never had Toro at the club before, but once our old aerator was reaching the end of its life, we seized the opportunity to improve the course with Toro. We’d been working with a tractor-mounted aerator and were keen to get a pedestrian aerator so we could access more areas of the course.”

Procore 648 a hit at Muir-Of-Ord

Procore 648 a hit at Muir-Of-Ord

Years of research, customer input, testing and attention to detail went into making the ProCore 648 the most productive and efficient walking aerator on the market, something Muir-Of-Ord is now experiencing.

“We noticed a difference from just the demonstration,” says Darren. “Staff and golfers have commented on the improvement that can be seen already. As a pedestrian aerator, we no longer have to drive over greens, and with no tyre tracks it’s a much cleaner job. But the biggest thing is that we’ve been able to cover areas of the course we weren’t able to before, such as slopes and the backs of bunkers. The benefits of this is huge. With just one Toro addition to our fleet we’re able to vastly improve the course.”

Darren is no stranger to the quality and results from Toro having previous experience with the brand, he says:  “I’ve used Toro before at previous clubs, and indeed the ProCore 648, so it was no surprise that it proved itself here to be a brilliant piece of kit. We could instantly see the benefits of the ProCore 648 over our old kit.”

It’s not just the improvement to the course that matters though. As a club with only three permanent staff members working on the course maintenance, having efficient and reliable machinery is vital. Something the ProCore 648 certainly delivers on.

“With only three of us on the greenkeeping team, having efficient and reliable machinery is very important and goes a long way,” says Darren. “The ProCore 648 will allow us to get out first thing in the summer and cover more ground than we could with our tractor-mounted aerator in the same time. The variable speed setting also really helps with that – it provides a consistent speed for a more even application.”

With the club’s only Toro machine having made such a difference to both the productivity of the staff and the quality of the playing surface, it seems only natural Darren is now wanting to bring more Toro on board.

“Once we’re in a position financially to make further machinery investment, it is certainly my preference to look to Toro. It would be great to invest in some of the latest technology, in particular one of Toro’s hybrid mowers.”

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

JCB lends a hand

/in , /by

JCB lends a hand: JCB has answered a call from the University Hospitals of North Midlands for donations of vital supplies of personal protective equipment during the current Coronavirus crisis.

More than 8,000 pairs of gloves and a large quantity of face masks have been gifted to the hospital as it gears up for an influx of patients in the coming weeks.

JCB lends a hand

JCB lends a hand

They were donated by the JCB World Parts Centre at Uttoxeter, which continues to provide service, technical and spare parts back up to customers including farmers maintaining the food supply chain, contractors providing JCB generators to NHS hospitals and hirers keeping crucial utility services intact.

JCB Parts and Service Managing Director Ian Sayers said: “We are delighted to support our fantastic NHS and the Royal Stoke Hospital by donating much needed gloves and masks. They are doing an amazing job and we are pleased to be able to help.”

JCB donated the equipment after a former employee who now works at the Royal Stoke University Hospital got in touch.

Paul Bytheway, Chief Operating Officer at UHNM, said: “We have been delighted at the response from local businesses across Staffordshire who are really pulling together in this crisis and grateful to JCB for their generous donation.”

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

A message from Rigby Taylor

/in , /by

A message from Rigby Taylor: Committed to helping you, safely

Rigby Taylor has always regarded the health and wellbeing of our employees and our customers as paramount and during this difficult time we are continuing to trade, in line with Government’s current advice on safe working practices.

A message from Rigby Taylor

A message from Rigby Taylor

With this in mind, we have adapted our working practices with the aim of continuing our high levels of customer service and we continue to be committed to helping you and meeting your needs.

These changes include phone- and online-based advice and sales administration as well as updated product collection and delivery services to ensure we continue to operate in partnership with you during this challenging period.

All our technical sales managers are currently home-based but still able to help with any problems or requests you may have. Our website (www.rigbytaylor.com) is an invaluable source of information and an ideal way to place orders.

We will continue to despatch products for as long as it is reasonably practicable, including order collections from our branches where we have implemented safe systems for collections (and deliveries).

If you have any questions, please get in touch either via your local technical sales manager or via the website.

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.