David Furnell managing director, D Furnell
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D Furnell Plant Services runs a specialist transport service involving complicated lifting of office, press and other machinery.
Saturday
Today is tke company's 31st birthday. I try not to work on Saturdays but today I start at 6am when three of my staff and I are heading into London to remove a large image printing machine from a shop basement. We need some specialist lifting equipment and it takes us three hours to get everything ready to transport the machinery to its new location. Thankfully the new site is easier. But on our way back to the depot at Hemel Hempstead we are delayed by an accident on the M1 between Junctions 7 and 8. People are going mad, racing along the hard shoulder. Even a couple of coaches full of passengers career up the hard shoulder.
Monday
It's another early start-7am. Over to High Wycombe with a three-man crew to collect a piece of equipment that's 15ft up in the air on the first floor. We've been to this site before and take one of our own fork-trucks which means almost no problems. All the relevant equipment is packed into our vehicle by 11.00am and en route to Kodak Polychrome in Watford. Get back to the office at about 12.30pm and check mail and messages. Make a quick visit to Vales Trucks at Watford to inspect a 7.5-tonne box vehicle just received from the bodybuilders. There's a small problem, but it should be delivered to us later in the week. Return to the office at 3pm to discuss Tuesday's workload with Zac, our transport manager; sort out some accounts with John, the finance director; and see Bob, our mechanic, about one or two problems with a trailer. I leave the office at 4.25pm for the 4.30pm meeting without my paperwork.
Tuesday
Meeting at 10.00am with Tony Vaguer, the new logistics manager at Eltek. Tony even supplies me with a lead from his old company which may mean a new customer for us. The local Conservative business liaison officer has come to discuss how the party can improve its relationship with small businesses. After half an hour I get off my soap box and go to a site survey in St Albans. While there I'm asked to collect some parcels from one of our customers. Back to my office by about 2.30pm to work on a quotation for the St Albans job. Then my secretary Ann asks me to shoot over to our computer suppliers in Kings Langley for a special adapter to help her to set up our new digital video-tocomputer system link. Back in the office I finish off the St Albans quote and ring it through. End the day by sorting out a collection of equipment from Chatham for the following day and discussing workloads with Zac.
Wednesday
Follow one of our artics to Thurrock Services where I leave my car and go on to Chatham with our driver to a machine collection. My driver drops me back at Thurrock and I go on to a site survey of a pre-press unit at Wansted. I decide the only way in is through the window on the first floor. Back to the office by about 1.00pm and then round the corner to our number three warehouse with manager Andy to try and decide where to put the mezzanine floor and., more importantly, how are we going to get it in around the equipment that's already there. Discuss tomorrow's workload with Zac.
Thursday
Into the Ace at 8.00am. We have received a fax from the US about moving a delicate piece of machinery from Bristol to Amersham—our reputation is spreading. I arrange an 11.00am appointment in Bristol to look at this machine. Return at 1.45pm and try to get through to the US for some further details. Dictate a letter to the seven drivers who will be on the Ingram Micro Roadshow. I'm going to Harwell tomorrow to check up on the three trailers we have there for loading and I need to talk it through with Bob, the mechanic. Just about to leave for home when I hear that the main door at our number three warehouse is stuck open. Go to check it with Andy, try to release it and now it's stuck shut, Call the supplier's engineer; he's coming tomorrow.
Friday
Leave kome at 6.30am for a meeting at Harwell to oversee the loading of the three containers and to check out two trailers that have come up from Cardiff. There's a small problem with the trailers and Bob will need to go to Harwell on Monday to service them. Leave at 10.30am for the Williams Grand Prix Team at Grove for a factory and museum visit. Seventh heaven for the next four hours! I've driven more than 700 miles this week and worked 59 hours.
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