Shindaiwa recently conducted a series of handheld equipment safety and basic maintenance meetings for more than 300 employees of the City of Montgomery, Ala. Attendees represented the department of parks and recreation, water works, and department of transportation. The safety training event is an annual requirement for the City of Montgomery employees.
The meetings were organized by Tommie Majure, parts manager for Sun South Equipment, a local Shindaiwa dealer, and Mark Frank, territory sales manager for RCH Distributors located in Memphis, Tenn. The training sessions were presented by Vic Grossi, technical services manager for Shindaiwa, Inc.
“This is the second year we’ve invited Vic to do the training,” said Majure. “He always does a tremendous job with the crews and really holds their attention. We’ve already asked Vic to come back again next year.”
The training was divided in to three separate meetings — one for each department. Topics included the proper starting and safe operating techniques for chain saws, trimmers, and brushcutters; and a session on basic engine maintenance and recommendations for proper equipment storage. Each of the meetings concluded with a brief but dramatic demonstration on the safety benefits of wearing chaps when operating a chain saw. A full-speed chain saw was buried in to a pair of chaps strapped to a wooden saw horse. Almost immediately the ballistic nylon material from the shredded chaps clogged the saw chain as predicted resulting in astonished looks from many observers.
“When we do these training presentations for the City of Montgomery the idea is not to just promote the Shindaiwa brand, but to promote safety,” said Grossi. “We want these customers to be around and kicking so they can buy more Shindaiwa products!”