BVAA’s Director Rob Bartlett explains why training courses have become essential for today’s personnel. “The BVAA* were recently asked by one of our members to introduce safety alerts. Essentially these are bulletins advising members of accidents, near misses etc. involving our industry’s products. A recent example of such an alert included a very graphic photograph of a horrific injury sustained by a maintenance operative when servicing a valve. The company concerned will no doubt incur huge legal bills and will have to pay a very large sum in damages. It will leave the operative in tremendous pain and with a life-long disability. This injury, and many others like it, are completely avoidable providing proper training and instruction are given to staff. It is now incumbent upon employers to ensure that their workforces are competent and properly trained. BVAA offers a range of courses on valves, actuators, control and safety valves. They are prepared and delivered by the industry’s leading experts, and include a copy of BVAA’s renowned course manuals.