Kyle Boyd - Trainee Supervisor - Higher Apprenticeship Programme

I’m currently in my third year as a Higher Apprenticeship apprentice for Heidelberg Materials UK, based at Whatley Quarry in the Mendips. In reflecting on my journey in the apprenticeship, I feel a tremendous sense of pride in my development. I am now entrusted with a variety of responsibilities on-site and have a clear idea of what I need to develop in myself for the coming months towards the end of my apprenticeship. 

Being a supervisor at what is an extremely busy quarry, I quickly learned that daily tasks are rarely the same. The fast-paced environment, which is constantly changing, has taught me to be flexible in work prioritization and manage time effectively, which has been an extremely useful skill to develop.

The daily tasks I complete as a site supervisor in helping the operation run, are bolstered by some important responsibilities. Crucial duties I do include pre-blast inspections which involve appointing sentries; making sure all personnel are out of the danger zone; operating the blast siren and liaising with our blasting contractors for blast planning. I also complete geotechnical inspections for stockpile management, monitoring the working faces, and tips on-site to ensure safety. A large portion of my time is also dedicated to directly managing a team of spillage employees, looking after fugitive material on-site to ensure breakdowns caused by escaped material are minimized. This is in conjunction with working with the maintenance team in order to engineer out problem areas in the plant causing these issues.

Something instilled in me from week one was the attitude for safety and its utmost importance on site for everyone. From the beginning, I was involved in monthly health and safety meetings, action plans, calls, safety weeks, and safety shutdowns. I’ve also more recently been responsible for our COVID-19 controls, ensuring compliance on-site for the safety of everyone, including visitors. 

I’ve really enjoyed being involved in data handling processes on site, which identify trends and patterns for identifying improvements, for example when changing screen media in the plant. This is as well as the general reporting of plant performance through the aggregate management system for the monitoring of plant and evaluating key performance indicators. 

Moving forward towards the end of my program I’ve got a clear idea of what I want to work hard to achieve. This includes finishing off essential training courses, gaining my appointment under the quarry regulations, completing the foundation course at Derby University, and continuing my self-development so that I will be in a strong position to continue my career with Heidelberg Materials.