Horizon Platforms are proud to announce that we have been awarded on to the Safe Contractor scheme. The award comes just months after achieving three ISO accreditations: ISO 9001, 14001 and 18001.

Horizon’s application for SAFEcontractor accreditation was driven by the need for a uniform standards across the business. Along with the ISO accreditations, Horizon can provide the solid structure needed to win new business, as well as cementing in our present customers minds, Horizon’s commitment to improving all aspects of the business.

John Kinge, Head of Risk at SAFEcontractor said, “Major organisations can no longer run the risk of employing contractors who are not able to prove that they have sound health and safety policies”.

“More companies need to understand the importance of adopting good risk management in the way that Horizon has done. The firm’s high standard has set an example, which hopefully will be followed by other companies within the sector”.

We have now opened our accessory stand, located in the Horizon Training area.

Horizon Platforms Ltd provides a full range of additional products for sale to aid the safe and efficient use of any powered access equipment hired from us. All the items at the store are kept in stock and can either be provided with your machine, collected from the store or delivered to your door by courier within 24 hours.

Please ask one of our customer support team for an accurate delivery cost as they can vary upon location and size of order.

Christmas has arrived at Horizon Platforms!

As usual, we all had a night to remember with the whole Horizon team in attendance.  The success of the event held last year left us with an “if it ain’t broke” attitude, and it was agreed to keep the same format.  A marquee and bar was erected in the Horizon warehouse, transforming what usually is the service area into a venue to rival most.

The catering last year was also a massive success and was supplied again by Abdul’s of Ossett, serving up a fantastic range of Indian food.

The booze was also sourced locally with Ossett Brewery supplying a couple of kegs of their finest along with the bar. The excellent marquee was supplied once again by 1stchoicemarqueehire.co.uk and giant board games supplied by “AR Entertainments“.

This year’s music came in the form of the Audio Test Pilots. This proved very popular with the guests who were on the dance floor well into the early hours.

All in all it was another fantastic evening and we would like to take this opportunity to thank all the suppliers who made it all possible and the Horizon board for putting the money up to fund the party.

Most of all the Horizon team would like to thank our very own Damian Edge for the massive effort put into getting it all together. Knowing Damian he will already have a whole host of ideas for next year’s bash?!

There was definitely a few sore heads on Sunday morning, but a very enjoyable evening was had by all.

I joined Horizon Platforms back in February 2008, after working in the Access Industry for 3 years. Over the last four years I have been on an incredible journey, witnessing the company develop from 30 platforms, to well over 350, a change of location, 6 new delivery vehicles and 23 additional staff members. All of which seems to have happened in the blink of an eye.

From the start my main role was to look after the Hire Desk and its day-to-day running, working with our drivers to ensure kit is on site on time and communicating our customers’ needs to our service team. This quickly developed as we won new business and expanded our fleet to what it is today.

One of the most exciting aspects of working for Horizon is the opportunities that this growing business presents. With an ever expanding customer base and the addition of our New and Used Sales department, I was given an opportunity to further develop my career in a more Sales and Marketing focussed position.

In September 2011, I started my new role working alongside our sales team. I am now responsible for Horizon Platform Sales and deal with all enquiries for New & Used Platforms. In addition to this I conduct and organise the majority of Horizon’s site survey requests, this gives me the opportunity to visit and maintain relationships with our existing customers, ensuring that we are still meeting all their requirements whenever they need to work at height. Alongside this I will assist with the development of our two websites, our blog and our regular email updates! This all gives me plenty to get my teeth into!

Much of the role is new to me, however I feel my experience and knowledge of the Industry and a desire to exceed our customers expectations, will help me along the way. Not forgetting the constant support from co-workers.

There have been many long days and challenging moments along the way, but I feel we are all proud to look back at what everyone has achieved as a team at Horizon Platforms.

Horizon Platforms has become the first privately-owned, independent powered access specialist in the UK to achieve three key ISO accreditations – ISO9001 Quality Management Systems, ISO14001 Environmental Management Standard and OHSAS18001 Occupational Health and Safety.

As an IPAF Rental+ accredited business for the last two years, the company already had strict quality controls in place. However, to achieve the new ISO standards the Horizon team extended its IPAF systems to encompass health, safety and environmental responsibilities too – combining everything into a single set of company procedures.

The auditors were impressed with the fact that Horizon had made a significant commitment to emissions reduction within its transport department by investing in the very latest Volvo FM 8-wheel delivery trucks – all of which achieve the Euro 5 exhaust emissions standards.

Customer feedback also came under the spotlight. Horizon has introduced a more structured way to receive customer comments on its overall performance and response as a business. This feedback is then used to make continual improvements throughout the organisation, which is the whole ethos behind ISO accreditation.

Another area in which Horizon has worked particularly hard is waste management. The company now has a strict recycling policy integrated through every area of the business and is already seeing cost savings filtering through as a result.

Horizon’s joint managing director Ben Hirst, said:

“This has been an interesting, challenging and rewarding process during which we have learned a lot about ourselves as a business and where we would like to take the company in the future. We are proud to have efficient and effective monitoring procedures in place that allow us to continually improve the quality of our products and services, reduce any negative impact on the environment and maintain our exemplary health and safety record.

“I’d like to thank everyone at Horizon Platforms for the hard work they have put in – both now and in previous years – to maintain our levels of professionalism and commitment to excellence, ensuring we were able to meet the high levels demanded by the ISO auditors.

“ISO standards are becoming a key consideration for many large organisations. They need to be confident that they are working with suppliers who highlight quality, environmental awareness and health and safety as a top priority. Now we have the independent endorsement to prove we do precisely that.”

Excitement had been building within the Horizon team for the past four months in anticipation of the Mid-Summer Day Out. The Directors of the business were adamant that the location of the event be kept secret until the day.

The team were delighted when the convoy of vehicles pulled into the Conistone Hall Estate in North Yorkshire, where a morning of Clay Pigeon Shooting and an afternoon at the Land Rover Experience had been organised.

Two teams were drawn out of a hat with Ben and Rory heading up a one each. Excellent skills were on display throughout the both events with Carol Hodkinson winning the individual prize for Best Driver and Dave Williams for Best Shooter.

At the end of the day the group prize was awarded to Team Duggan. In response, cries of bribery, foul play and score fixing were heard from some of the more competitive spirits within the Hirst camp. Questions were asked regarding Mr Duggan’s insistence that he should mark all his own team’s shooting record???

A full enquiry is now underway………….

The team at Horizon would like to congratulate Matt and Becky on their recent wedding.

The happy couple tied the knot at The Bridge Hotel, Wetherby on Saturday July 9th 2011.

Matt and Becky are excited to be spending a week on Safari in Kenya, followed by a week on the beach in Zanzibar.

Internal Account Manager

I have worked for Horizon Platforms since August 2010, previously working for an International Drainage company.  I was ready for a new challenge and after attending my first interview at Horizon, I knew that this was the type of company that I was looking for.

My first impressions of a customer focussed, fast paced business, proved to be right.  Even though I have only worked here for 10 months, I have seen a huge amount of growth within both the Rental and the Training side of the business.  The fleet has now grown from 180 machines to over 300! It is no wonder some people say that Horizon Platforms is the most successful and fastest growing Powered Access Company in the North.

Having started work in the Hire office, with no prior knowledge of the Access Industry. It really was sink or swim!  However, working with two of the best Hire Controllers in the business, I felt that I was able to grasp the volume of work and learn the different types of machines quickly. Their customer service skills, product knowledge and experience were just what I needed to help support me and help me grow into the role.

At the start of April 2011 I moved into a new role within the business as Internal Account Manager.   This role is a very pro-active consisting of attracting new customers, re-activating old ones and also developing current customers, which is proving to be very successful. The main selling point when introducing Horizon Platforms to prospective customers is that ‘Customer service’ is at the heart of everything that we do and that the whole Horizon team truly do strive to be the very best.

The team spirit permeates right the way through the business in every department.  This Team Spirit and our desire to satisfy all of our customers is what helps make my job so rewarding.

 I am proud to say that I work for Horizon Platform and look forward to watching the business grow over the coming years.