Logistics Colleague
“As a Freight Driver, my main role is moving goods to and from all the government buildings we work on around the world. It could be computer components. Construction materials. Furniture. If an embassy’s getting a new room or a new extension, or even if it’s being strengthened against earthquakes, then we’ll deliver the supplies – even things like plaster, cement, bricks, wiring, sockets. We move it all.
You’ve really got to get familiar with a lot of different road systems along the way. In some of the countries we drive to, motorways aren’t so built up, and you can find yourself effectively driving a huge truck along backroads. That driving environment can be a challenge.
If an embassy’s getting a new room or a new extension, or even if it’s being strengthened against earthquakes, then we’ll deliver the supplies.
Equally, you’ve got to learn the laws of the road in so many other countries, so that you know when you’ve got priority, when you have to give way, even which way the roundabouts go. You get to grips with other languages and types of road sign, so that you can recognise when your vehicle might be too tall or too heavy, when the warnings are written in a language – and even an alphabet – other than your own.
One of the other things that makes our work a little different is that some of the materials need to be protected and accompanied at all times. We’ll drive across continents, and even when we stop, we’ll make sure that the delivery never leaves our sight.
It’s really vital work, and you’ve got the rest of the Logistics team – and the wider business – supporting you in that. Before a secure delivery like that goes out, it’ll be scanned and x-rayed by the Goods In team at Hanslope Park, and then once it’s packed in the Warehouse, we’ll escort it all the way, right up until it’s unwrapped and installed in its final destination – whether that’s an ambassador’s office or an embassy reception.
It’s really vital work, and you’ve got the rest of the Logistics team – and the wider business – supporting you in that.
We’re also working really hard to make sure our trips are as efficient as they can be. We might have one thing in the truck that’s a secure delivery and needs to be accompanied urgently. It doesn’t make sense to send a truck that’s half-full though, so we’ll make sure it’s packed with other materials going to the same place, so that we can provide the best, most efficient service. That’s really the goal we’re all working towards, together.”
