We continue our ‘Meet the Team’ blog series welcoming Toby Blamey, our Certification and Quality Control Manager. At Kingsway Group, certification and testing of our products is fundamental to ensuring our solutions perform in the most challenging behavioral health settings.
Toby plays a pivotal role in making sure our products meet the stringent requirements of these environments, and as such, is a crucial member of our Winning Team at Kingsway Group. We spoke to Toby to find out more about his role and how it ties in with our three core values; Happy Customers, Perfect Products, and a Winning Team.
Hi Toby, thank you for joining us today. To begin with, can you start by telling us your role at Kingsway Group and what it entails?
From a certification point of view, I am responsible for ensuring that Kingsway products satisfy both clients specifications and regulatory requirements. Kingsway products are installed and used throughout the world and as such our test evidence needs to satisfy a whole range of National and International legislation. Our ongoing compliance is based upon an extensive and ever growing archive of test evidence. Test evidence covering characteristics such as fire resistance, smoke leakage and mechanical durability. Part of my role is to ensure that as and when new products are introduced or existing products are modified, we submit samples for test and obtain the appropriate test evidence.
Can you tell us a bit about your work background, skills, and experience?
Management systems, quality control and testing have been a consistent theme throughout my working life. From internal auditing of BS 5750 as an apprentice toolmaker to assessing Certification bodies and Test Laboratories as a UKAS Assessment Manager, I have always had an interest in how and why things are done in a particular way. For almost 20 years I worked in the glass industry where I had various roles from design and testing of architectural glass products to developing, implementing and maintaining management systems. The link between testing and management systems is crucial within any manufacturing environment. This is particularly true here at Kingsway, where we have to demonstrate that we have not just passed a particular test, but we provide our clients with the confidence that we can replicate that quality and performance in every doorset we produce. (See more on our certifications)
When did you first join Kingsway Group and what was it that attracted you to the role?
I joined Kingsway in April 2023. The fact that our products are used around the world provides additional certification challenges. This was one of the aspects that attracted me to the role.
What are your main ambitions for the role?
With the challenges faced in behavioral health environments, we understand the importance of getting things right the first time around. Core to my role, therefore, is providing our partners with total confidence in the performance of our products and solutions.
What regions does your role oversee?
Essentially, wherever Kingsway sells and installs products there will be a requirement to ensure we are compliant. As such, I’ve been liaising with colleagues in the US, the UK, and Australia with regards to the testing and certification requirements.
Which members of the team and which departments do you work most closely with on a day-to-day basis?
Here at Kingsway I work within the Products team headed up by Melvyn French, our Head of Product Development. Kingsway’s Technical Director, Ben Hall, is always on hand to offer guidance and lead the way in relation to the testing schedule.
Which one(s) of our core values of Happy Customers / Winning Team / Perfect Products are most closely aligned to your role at Kingsway Group?
When you think about quality control and product testing it would be easy to think the focus would be on Perfect Products, however, to achieve this we definitely need a Winning Team. The end result will hopefully be Happy Customers. So it’s probably fair to say that Quality and Certification is impacted by all three of our core values.
Thanks for chatting with us today, Toby. To round off, what are your main interests and passions outside of work?
I am very fortunate to have travelled extensively but I still have a few places on my bucket list to visit. Closer to home, during the summer I spend a lot of time on the water, either canoeing or paddle boarding.
As your partner in patient safety, we’re proud to be helping reduce risk in behavioral health facilities throughout the US. Toby Blamey’s efforts, as with all our dedicated team, contribute to making this possible. To find out more about how Kingsway Group can help improve safety in your project or facility, speak to a member of our team today.