NYTimber’s mill manager Scott Harrison and warehouse supervisor trainee Dan Hulme, both based at the company’s manufacturing and distribution centre at Catterick, have achieved the certificate of proficiency in visual strength grading of softwood to British Standard 4978.
Nick Kershaw, managing director of NYTimber said: “There’s a growing demand for structural graded timber. We now have seven qualified staff in our grading team, which has improved our ability to deliver specially graded timbers quickly to customer requirements and to provide service advice to our seven sales centres.”
NYTimber enlisted the services of TFT Woodexperts to deliver bespoke grader training to prepare the two for the exam.
Jim Coulson, director at TFT Woodexperts, said: “It is quite an achievement to get through this tough exam at their first attempt, and the qualification commands respect in the timber world.
“The grader training consists of an intense few days of learning, acquiring new knowledge about timber and developing the skills to accurately grade timber for structural use – a situation where safety is paramount so the grading needs to be precise.”
