LEEA Board Spotlight - Ashley Hall
Introduction
In the latest of our Meet the Board series, we speak to Ashley Hall, product specialist and trainer at CMCO. With more than 30 years in the lifting industry, he explains why he joined the LEEA board, the pressures facing members over the next five years, and why quality must always come before price.
What's your day job, and what made you stand for the LEEA board?
I'm a product specialist and trainer at CMCO. I train customers and end users in the safe use of rigging, using a demo trailer that we take directly to their sites. It lets us simulate what happens when rigging is used incorrectly, and show end users the practical steps they can take to make it safer.
I stood for the LEEA board because, after more than 30 years in the industry, I wanted to put that experience to good use and help make the industry even stronger.
What does the board do?
The board's role is to lead the conversation across the industry about how we make lifting safer.
We engage with governments, end users, suppliers, distributors and many others to help create the right conditions for an industry that keeps improving its safety record and reducing accidents, injuries and fatalities.
What's changing in members' businesses over the next five years, and is LEEA ready for it?
The biggest challenges facing our members are supply and financial pressure. That's leading some new entrants to sacrifice quality for a cheaper price, and that puts people at risk. Quality has to come before price, every time.
Regulation is adding to the challenge too, as we continue to navigate the effects of Brexit and work out how best to export into new markets. On top of that, we need to maintain a level playing field, making sure people in every territory have the same access to training and opportunities, wherever they're based.
LEEA is well placed to help members through these changes, but only if we keep listening to them and adapting as the industry evolves.
Where should LEEA be more ambitious, and where should it be more cautious?
We should be ambitious in continuing the conversation with governments around the world, and in getting our message through to drivers and operators on the ground. That's where real change happens.
Where we need to be cautious is in how we push standards in regions that aren't as well-resourced as others. Imposing high standards in an authoritative way would be a big ask for some markets, and if we get the approach wrong, it could encourage people to take shortcuts or find other routes, and in our industry those can have serious consequences.
It isn't only less affluent regions that face this challenge either. In the USA, for example, there's no external body that effectively regulates the market, so we need to find the right way to raise standards that works for each region.
LEEA's board is elected by members. How do you make sure you're hearing the whole membership?
We're elected by the LEEA membership, and every one of us has to work for a member company to sit on the board.
That means we're in daily contact with the industry, facing the same challenges as the members we represent. We take our day-to-day experience from the field into the boardroom, and we take what we learn in the boardroom back to the front line.
It's that two-way connection that keeps the board grounded in what members actually need.
What would you say to a member thinking about standing for the board? What would they need to bring?
Bring your own experience to the table. That's what the board values most, whatever your role or the size of your business. Don't be put off by the complexity or the time commitment.
It isn't a big drain on your resources, and you get so much back for your business in return. We're always looking for new members who can bring fresh insight and different perspectives, so if you've been thinking about it, I'd really encourage you to put yourself forward.
Are you considering joining LEEA?
We’re always keen to hear from people who want to join our Board and help shape the future of the association for our members.
If you're interested in finding out more, contact: Ross.Moloney@Leeaint.com
