NESHEP August Site Visit to Caterpillar Factory (Peterlee)

1. NESHEP Main Meeting (6th August 2013)
Our annual site visit was held at the Caterpillar Site, Peterlee. A small handful of
NESHEP members attended Tuesday’s meeting as place’s where limited.
Attendees were given the opportunity to tour the site with the assistance of our
tour guide Derek Quarmby. The group was welcomed at the Learning Centre of
Light and had a brief safety induction followed by an excellent presentation on the background
and history of Caterpillar.
DEREK QUARMBY – (Caterpillar Peterlee Ltd)
Members were chaperoned to the reception building where they were provided with ear
defenders/headphones and were able to hear Derek throughout the morning, high visibility vests
and safety glasses were also provided and were required to be worn throughout. Members were
also advised to stay inside the green footpath as a safety precaution and to give way to on coming
vehicles.
There was plenty of opportunity to ask questions
throughout, Derek was extremely helpful with his
wealth of experience/knowledge on the Articulated
Trucks produced within the factory. Attendees were
able to see in stages how the articulated trucks are
manufactured, including the robotic plasma cutting
technology used for cutting steel. The manufacturing process is set up in stages (1–17) to create
the final truck. The site was extremely clean (one NESHEP members stated it was cleaner than
some food processing plants he had visited), well organised and Caterpillar prides themselves on
recycling 97% of their waste.
The overall visit was extremely interesting and received great feedback from our members.
NEXT MEETING
Our next meeting will be held at the usual venue of the Wilton International Centre, Redcar.
Tuesday 1st October @ 10.00am. Details on this meeting are to be confirmed, however you will be
notified as soon as possible.

2. Names and companies attending our August 2013 meeting:
John Raftery – Arco Ltd
Derek Weatherill – Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering
Alan Bassett – Cognition Media Ltd
Dave Swalwell – Deborah Services Ltd
Mick Stephenson – DP Consultancy Ltd
Liam Stephenson – DP Consultancy Ltd
Chris Rhodes – Guest
Simon Ellis – Guest
Colin Ellis - NESHEP
Bianca Kemp - NESHEP
Gareth Bland – R Bland
Please note that attendance of meetings can count towards your CPD.