An opportunity to serve LEEA
Explaining how LEEA’s governance team is driven by their belief in the Association’s purpose and a desire to make a positive contribution, LEEA’s Chair of Board, Dave Cormack, welcomes those who wish to join the Board.
LEEA’s vision is to have lifting and height safety industries that have eliminated accidents, injuries and fatalities. Its mission is to educate, influence and enable so that best practice is everyday action. This is something you will often hear mentioned by LEEA’s senior management team and employees, and delivering the organisational vision is at the heart of the decisions made by the LEEA Board. We do not take this lightly and it drives everything that we do.
The LEEA Board represents the interests of the association, its members and the industry as a whole. Board Directors are not paid and give their time, experience and judgement freely for the benefit of the industry because we believe in LEEA’s purpose and want to make a positive contribution to the Association and the Lifting Industry. Serving as a Director of LEEA is both a commitment and a responsibility.
Alongside my role as Chair of Board at LEEA, I am Managing Director and owner of Delphini Ltd, which I started in 2001. The company specialises in the design and manufacture of lifting spreaders, beams and frames, which sell mainly into the marine and port industry. We also import bulk lifting and load restraint products, which we sell to specialist end users in both marine and construction. From our 12,000 sq. ft. manufacturing base in Essex we also manufacture a range of structural steel solutions in the marine sector, including yacht transport cradles, pontoons, fendering systems, access bridges and walkways.
My start in the lifting gear industry was in 1988, working for Coubro & Scrutton, a founding member of LEEA (then the Chain Testers Association). I have been involved with LEEA for many years, having passed my first LEEA examination some 35 years ago. The Lifting Industry has been good to me and I am passionate about giving back. I want to leave the industry and its association in a better place than when I started, which is a huge challenge considering the accomplishments of previous Chairs and members of the board.
LEEA is a global association, with superb regional councils that are growing bigger and stronger and have representatives on the board. These board members from across the globe attend meetings and give their valuable time – at times when most others are at home with their families. We must be ambitious in supporting the regional councils and recognising the strengths that a truly international association brings to its members, and the global industry as a whole.
LEEA must also challenge what type of company should be a LEEA member. Is LEEA an association for the whole industry? I believe it is. That being the case, we must embrace users of lifting equipment and ensure that we can offer them a route to achieve LEEA’s vision and mission.
Alongside being ambitious, we must remember where LEEA came from and respect as well as protect our core members. Being cautious and finding a balance is something that the executive and the board is working on diligently. It is a massively important consideration and one that is not being taken lightly.
LEEA’s board, which is elected by members, listens to the entire membership. Board members act in the best interests of LEEA as a whole, regardless of their employer, region, specialism or route onto the Board. The LEEA goals and its membership are at the core what we do.
We recognise that Board membership is an opportunity to serve LEEA, its members, the wider industry and those whose safety depends upon good lifting practice. We listen to one another and value different perspectives. We understand that we must sometimes ask difficult questions, challenge constructively and speak up when we believe something is not right.
As a Board we succeed or fail together. We contribute openly to debate and support decisions once they have been properly made.
Thinking about joining the board?
We welcome any member that wishes to join the board. We are not a club represented solely by global multinationals; most board members are directors or owners of small lifting companies, professional people that just want to get involved.
Being on the board of LEEA does involve a commitment of time – and being the Chair of Board even more so. The strategic input, knowledge and responsibility of being a LEEA board member isn’t for everyone, and requires a certain level of seniority and experience.
A good place to start is by getting involved with committees and events. The Chairs of the Learning & Development and Technical committees are both board positions, so by becoming involved will give the member insight into the workings of the association, its strengths and weaknesses. Indeed, I started by attending technical events and providing input, then I joined the technical committee and from there joined the board. It’s a challenge but one that is very rewarding.
