Where would we be without our engineers?
Our engineering team are at the very heart of our maintenance division. They spend their days giving our clients the technical support they need, fixing tricky ad hoc issues and making sure their equipment is working at its best, all year round.
Carl Twaites, our Field Service Manager, heads up our broader team of engineers and is responsible for ensuring everyone has what they need to deliver a stellar job.
We sat down with Carl to talk about his role and what he loves the most about working at TWO.
I started my career with a 7-year apprenticeship in mechanical electrical engineering. I then multi skilled into electronics and hydraulics and fabrication of machinery, which put me in good stead for catering engineering.
I started my work in the catering sector 22 years ago and then joined TWO Services over 15 years ago as a commercial catering equipment engineer. Since then, I’ve gradually worked my way up through the ranks to become Field Service Manager, soaking up as much knowledge and experience as I could and learning what it takes to deliver excellence in what can sometimes be a very demanding sector.
My day-to-day work normally involves waking up at 4.30am. This allows me to be on site at around 6.30am – 7.00am.
My role requires me to be at the customer’s premises as early as possible to repair or service the equipment in question before the kitchen gets into full swing.
I’m very hands on – I assist the office with technical queries, quotes, emails, and call backs to sites if required. I regularly attend meetings with clients regarding old or new equipment, meet new potential clients, and carry out site surveys.
I liaise with my engineering team daily to ensure everything is on track and assist with any issues they may have. I also hold the out of hours phone in case of emergencies, so I’m usually on call during the evenings and at weekends.
I’m responsible for interviewing new engineers. As far as recruiting goes, I’m only interested in recruiting the best – and that’s why we really do have some of the most talented staff in the UK here!
I’ve never been someone who wants to be chained to a desk. I much prefer being out and about having conversations and fixing problems.
I think it’s important to keep moving forward in a professional sense, and that means not only staying up to date with current regulations but expanding my team’s skillset with new accreditations wherever possible.
One of our biggest achievements of late was gaining COCN1, ICPN1, TPCP1A, and TPCP1 qualifications in commercial gas. Having certification in these areas now allows us to install, test and purge all pipework to gas appliances that’s downstream of a meter.
As we now install and repair interlock gas systems, we needed these qualifications to carry out any works required on commercial pipework – for example, installing a gas solenoid or emergency isolation valve on existing pipework, or renewing, replacing, or repairing any existing pipework.
We can now carry out all these works within TWO Services, meaning we can install gas interlock systems, run new gas supplies, install any gas appliance and fully test, purge, and commission a complete kitchen.
I’ve developed brilliant relationships with a lot of our customers. Many of them have been with us for well over a decade (and often longer), which I think is testament to the quality of our service. It’s fulfilling to know my team and I are making a real difference to their businesses.
I really enjoy working with my engineers and the office staff here; I can pass my knowledge on to them but also learn a lot from them. We work brilliantly as a team, and I think this comes across in our customers’ experiences of us.
Out of hours I love river fishing and am a keen DIY enthusiast, having refurbished a couple houses over the years. I love spending time at home and around the garden.