'Meet the Trainer' - Sam Purvis

What is your name?

Sam Purvis 

Subjects you teach

Lifting Equipment, Offshore Cranes and Offshore Wind Turbine Service Lifts, Pressure systems Examination, TMSE

How did you get into this industry?

I started my career as a Workshop Technician with Survitec group (previously Cosalt), manufacturing chain and wire rope slings and lifting systems, general examination of lifting equipment, and refurbishing mechanical lifting equipment. After gaining enough experience, I progressed into the offshore engineering team, where I carried out offshore LOLER surveys for the oil and gas industry, crane examination, test, inspection, and non-destructive testing of all lifting equipment.

I was then approached by Certex UK Ltd. and accepted an offer to join the company. I worked within the offshore oil and gas division as a Lifting Equipment Engineer, continuing to service the oil and gas industry with crane and lifting equipment examination, rigging duties, and rope access work.

After a few years, I began to do some work for the Renewables division as a Service / Inspection Engineer working with cranes, passenger lifts, and turbine-mounted safety equipment. After two years, I transferred fully to Renewables, where I travelled most of Europe and as far afield as Taiwan, carrying out these duties for the largest clients and sites under construction at the time.

But after almost 13 years of globetrotting, I felt it was time to get back home and spend time with the family. This coincided with an opportunity to join the Training team as a Technical Trainer, which has led me to this point.

What do you love most about training people?

I like meeting people from different walks of life and learning about the experiences people have had, not just from within the lifting industry but also industries that are impacted by lifting on the whole. I like to think that as a technical trainer, you play a part in shaping future generations of lifting professionals through my experience and knowledge that I’ve picked up along the way to constantly improve the safety, culture, and quality of work carried out in our field.

Favourite Food:

Either a solid fry-up or a cheese and potato pie!

Fun Fact about Yourself:

I am a massive geek! I love all things technology. In my spare time, I build and repair tech devices, and I love to follow industry innovation with new products and methods.

Dream Holiday Destination:

Probably the Maldives; I’d like to travel to the US just to see the scale of the place for myself as well.

Do you have a favourite training course and why?

I’d have to say either the Lifting Equipment Examination or the Crane Wire Rope Inspection training course; these are two subjects that I’ve spent my entire career working in and around, so a lot of the information is very well engrained in my brain. The course material seems to come naturally, and when you can talk with confidence about a subject, I’d like to hope all our course participants will also pick up on this and really get stuck into your delivery.

Keep your eyes peeled for future 'Meet the Trainer' interviews.

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