We’re surrounded by technology from our smartphones we carry to the cars that we drive. Each new version knows it must out-perform its predecessor and therefore offer ever-greater levels of capability. We used to be amazed if our mobile phone had a camera in it – or if our car told us what the outside temperature was but now it seems we feel cheated if we can’t check our front door camera from a train in a tunnel or set our SatNav to an airport of our choice within ten seconds.

Technology is great but it must be harnessed in order to be useful. Over the last couple of decades, we’ve all become accustomed, in varying degrees, to adopting strategies to make the most of the technology we use every day, whether that’s understanding which Google search terms are likely to provide the most success or discovering the fewest keystrokes necessary to set a microwave to cook on full power for sixty seconds. In our need to master our technology, we often have to adapt our very understanding of the world to its languages and protocols. It’s often said that the true test of being bilingual is the point when dreams take place in the second language. The tech equivalent of that is the moment after a mishap has taken place in the analogue world (like spilling a cup of coffee) if your first thought is ‘use the Undo command’.

The same is true with industrial technology. It’s one thing for Willacy Oil Services to design and build world-leading tank-cleaning machinery but all the capability in the world isn’t really worth having if it isn’t being used properly. There are many customers all over the world who have benefitted from buying our unrivalled technology and all the equipment we deliver can potentially be accompanied by a team of our staff to give on-the-job training to the customer for the first few days of its operation. Usually, by then, the customer’s team are keen to put their new purchase into action. At that point, everyone is happy. But what happens next?

A combination of a number of factors can soon lead to a usage problem. Our machinery is built to last and is invariably used for infrequently-performed tasks – some tanks may be cleaned only once every fifteen years. Meanwhile, recent research has shown that the average amount of time working for a single employer is now only five years in the UK – or four years in the US – and it’s soon apparent that the sophisticated Willacy hardware owned by a company is likely to have outlasted the personnel who last used it – let alone those whom Willacy initially trained. There are obvious implications on the correct usage of such machinery if those using it are trying to remember what they were shown, years ago or, worse still, simply trying their best because they never even met the person who last used it.

With this in mind, Willacy have decided to offer tailored training on all the technology we offer, as an after-sales service option. This is in addition to the wide variety of training available (such as working in confined spaces or working with breathing systems) to ensure the cleaning process itself is carried out as safely and effectively as possible.

“We have knowledge gained from the experience of doing hundreds of jobs and we try to apply as much of that know-how as we can into our training” said Gavin Lucas, Willacy’s General Manager. “The proper use of the machinery we’ve supplied not only ensures the jobs are done more effectively but it also reduces the chances of faults or performance issues occurring on the machinery itself.”

If your company has any Willacy-made technology on its books, whether you’re using it or not, we invite you to contact us to see how we can help you make the most of its capability. Sometimes, it seems you can apply an ‘Undo’ command in the analogue world, after all.