A brand-new purpose-built training facility has been launched in Inverkeithing, Fife by MRS Training & Rescue.
The six figure investment sees the company expand its presence in the Kingdom of Fife (and Scotland), which has been a prominent employer in the region for over a century.
The new state-of-the-art facility has been specifically designed to support the safety and welfare of businesses in the region and throughout Scotland, offering bespoke training for Working at Height and Confined Spaces – two fundamental requirements for Scotland’s critical sectors (including renewables, oil & gas and construction).
This investment follows a record year for the business, which recorded an 9% increase in profit year-on-year and a 15% increase in staff numbers.
As well as the new facility in Fife, the company has announced a significant contract win to provide working at height and confined spaces training for Ferguson Marine – a world-class shipbuilding and ship repair business.
Errol Parrish, Operations Manager, MRS Training & Rescue in Fife said: “This is a significant investment for our business, most especially during the challenging times that the pandemic has brought. We have in fact been fortunate to buck the economic trend over the last 12 months and have remained fully operational helping to support our clients within mission critical industry.”
Errol added: “We have been at the forefront of innovation since our inception over 100 years ago. From our beginnings as a Mines Rescue Station, we have developed and diversified to meet the operational needs of industry to become the nation’s premier provider of specialist Working at Height, Confined Spaces training and Emergency Rescue cover and consultancy. This new facility will support our existing site in Crossgates to help deliver the very best training solution for a number of mission critical sectors.”
The Health and Safety Director at Ferguson Marine added: “MRS Training and Rescue are highly regarded in their sector. Their knowledge of, and experience in working at height and confined spaces was key to our decision to engage them. This coupled with their people-centric approach to training delivery made them a stand-out choice for our specific requirements. The feedback from our personnel who have attended the courses delivered on site here in Port Glasgow, has been positive. We are very much looking forward to continuing working with them here and to take up their offer of a visit to their new facilities in Fife.”
The new training centre features:
- Purpose-built indoor training facility to compliment company’s existing site at Crossgates, Fife to deliver an ultra-realistic practical training environment
- 3,487 ft² / 324 m² footprint (complete with three fully equipped training rooms to accommodate both large and small groups for training)
- Expansive 8m tall scaffold access system (supported by local Fife business MAR Scaffolding) designed to simulate variety of industry scenarios for Working at Height rescue and training drills with key features including:
- Ladders to perform ascending/descending drills with use of twin hooks (for ladder rescue)
- Trap doors, gates, hatches and guard rails
- A sloping roof and flat roof – both with open edges
- A freestanding tower enabling training in suspension, a suspended rescue and a casualty stretcher rescue
- Dedicated confined space vessels and network of crawl spaces with a variety of entry points, for bespoke confined space training
The new Inverkeithing facility will augment the company’s long-established site at Crossgates in Fife which already offers a purpose-built 17m high tower for work at height training. A wind turbine, used as part of the company’s training courses for the Renewable industries, and a range of confined space training tunnels and classrooms in addition.
MRS Training & Rescue can trace its roots back in Scotland to 1910, when it was established as a Mines Rescue Station in Cowdenbeath, Fife. With a gradual decline of the coal mines over many years, culminating in the closure of the last deep coal mine in December 2015 – last deep coal mine in Scotland closed in March 2002 due to flooding (Longannet Colliery), the company has expanded and diversified to meet the needs of today’s health and safety market.
Using their many years of expertise in underground mining they now provide unique rescue services, specialist equipment, consultancy and a comprehensive range of accredited health and safety related products, training and services to a wide range of industries, including nuclear, aerospace, manufacturing and utilities throughout the UK and overseas.
