Tuesday, October 24, 2017
CENTRAL Helicopters staff prepare the lifting mechanism during a demonstration held at the airfield last Tuesday. Photo supplied
Sven Carlsson
A HELICOPTER training session for beekeepers was held at the Opotiki airfield on Tuesday last week.
New Zealand Manuka Group health and safety manager Cam Smailes said the helicopter training day was held in conjunction with Central Helicopters.
“This annual occurrence ensures all beekeepers remain upskilled with the latest practice in moving beehives to some of the more remote sites of the East Coast region using helicopters,” he said.
Training topics included practice in the safe work around helicopters, entry into and out of the helicopter at hover, radio communication techniques and emergency preparedness.
“We take the health and safety of our staff seriously and this compulsory training day for all beekeepers allows us to share ideas on the safest way to perform this task,” Mr Smailes said.
“Equipment can change over the year, so to ensure everyone remains safe we arrange these training days in order to continuously improve our practices.”