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Blog

A monthly blog from our MD, Michael Spoors. Michael has a passion for customer service and he would like to share his thoughts on changes in our business and the wider industry.

2020

RRO Changes Codify Requirements For Fire Door Inspection

When the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (or RRO as it’s known) came into effect in 2006 it provided a real shake up in the way the passive and active fire protection elements of buildings are specified, installed and maintained. It placed the legal responsibility squarely on the shoulders of building owners and operators – the Responsible Person – to conduct risk assessments on the buildings under their supervision with an emphasis on preventing fires and reducing fire risk.

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Reach For The Stars

All year we will praise, contradict, celebrate or criticise the decisions we make for new ideas, campaigns and processes. Sometimes a little to quickly so at this time of year when I’m planning for the future path of Norseal I find it’s a great time to reflect on the previous year. Did we achieve what we set out to do and did it deliver to our expectations?

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Working Soundly with Norsound: Co-Working Spaces and Acoustic Integrity

It’s no secret that co-working spaces are on the rise. Why wouldn’t they be? In a post-lockdown world, they offer workers greater flexibility for hybrid working, whilst also being a more budget-friendly option for businesses. In fact, a 2020 study predicted that the amount of co-working spaces worldwide was set to grow by up to 21.3% a year from 2021.

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Sound Judgement

Doors with an acoustic rating are being increasingly specified in commercial, healthcare, education and hotel settings. But the performance of an acoustic door is only as good as its seals. But how are these tested and regulated and what can they achieve?

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Look, all I gotta say is what a year, what a year…

It’s this time of year I am pestered by Amy in marketing to write my blog. Some of you might remember I used to write a blog back in lockdown 1. I’m not sure why it started but at its height I think it reached a readership of half a dozen which was enough to keep my creative juices flowing and me to continue until we were allowed outdoors.

It’s a nice time of year to write this. Reflecting is a time to look back at the highs and lows.

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I’ll give you all I’ve got to give……..

………………………If you say you love me too!

Ever tried to analyse what great customer service is? To give your staff a definition in a couple of sentences that is easy to understand, easy to execute and delivers every time?
I think every company strives to deliver ‘Great Customer Service’. It’s almost the go to phrase for most companies on their literature, web sites and social media. After all, surely all customers want a great service. I’m yet to see anyone advertise bad service. But what is this mythical thing we all strive to deliver?

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How do you make sure your staff are competent?

The report, Raising the Bar – part of the post Grenfell review In the construction industry has resulted in the formation of a Competence Steering Group for High Rise Residential Buildings (HRRB). It is designed to ensure all companies and stakeholders responsible for the design, construction, refurbishment, and maintenance of such buildings are trained to a competence level relevant to their role.

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We’ve come a long long way together…….Through the hard times and the good.

It’s got to be the strangest start to a year I’ve ever experienced. I was fully geared up last month to tell you how Norseal were going to take on all door sealing challenges 2021 could throw at us.

I stared at my screen…nothing! I frequently avoided calls from marketing asking where the hell my blog was. I even occasionally lied “I’ve just finished it!” hoping the creative juices would once again flow…nothing!

Maybe I could get away with using an old one…does anyone actually read these bloody things?

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All I want for Christmas is you…

… to leave me alone so I can get over 2020 in a darkened room.

In tradition with year-end, many will be dusting off their old anecdote book to write a fond recap of the previous year. Listening to Cliff on the radio whilst wearing their Christmas jumper and sipping their mulled wine. This year I opted for the ‘P*#s off and leave me alone’ jumper, Slipknot on Alexa and something a little stronger to drink.

So, deep breath and this was us – Norseal 2020! (apologies for the mild Christmas references. I’m trying to get in the spirit.)

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So Tell Me What You Want, What You Really Really Want!

For some time we have been telling you what we have been getting up to at Norseal. We’ve introduced Self Serve, our online trade account system. Bespoke drop seal cutting, our recently released Fire Stopping range and our soon to come fire door inspection app, Inspect…..all phenomenal ideas in my opinion. And that’s the problem, it’s my opinion!

Naturally, these developments were introduced in conjunction with customers, but not with all of our customer base so it is now time we spoke to you.

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Shut That Door!

So here we are at the close of Fire Door Safety Week. A week where we have seen the industry become alive with awareness and advice for anyone responsible for building safety and employee wellbeing. Great advice it has been too.

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It’s the End of the World as We Know it!… I Feel Fine!

Well, there has been a lot of talk recently about how we are now officially in our worst recession in history and the worst recession of any G7 country. We also have the highest Covid death rate of any European country.

On top of that, everyone’s rights are more equal than anyone else, if we leave the country we might not get back unless we take a dinghy from France; our students have been robbed of their future; the polar ice cap will melt and will drown us all and we’re all going to hell in a handcart.

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Dude, where’s my surfboard?

Anybody else wondering what the hell they are going to do when the second wave comes?

It’s almost like we’ve come to the end of the book. People have translated it in different ways to suit their business, their budget or ambitions but all the same they started at chapter 1, ‘Crisis’ got through those difficult middle chapters where nothing new happened and got to the last chapter ‘ Recovery’, where the end was in sight. The time you can’t wait to finish and start skipping a few paragraphs and pages. I DON’T WANT TO READ IT AGAIN!

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The Times, They Are a-Changin…

They say it takes 21 days to create a habit and 90 days for it to be part of your lifestyle. This got me wondering, now we’ve been in this current situation and approaching this time how many new habits have we created, are we totally new people or did we forget to seize the opportunity and now thinking it’s all too late.

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Hello… Is There Anybody Out There?

When I first started these blogs I was unsure of who would read them and who would care about them.

Was this a vanity project or do they have a purpose. I finally decided that as an open and progressive company we should tell our customers what we are up to and allow them to add a personality to their supplier. Little did any of us know 2 months later we would be locked up at home with far greater things on our mind than the meandering muses of a blog fantasist.

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Working Apart But Still Together

Don’t we all wish it was just an April fool? I’m sitting here at my desk, its eerily quiet, no natter of last night’s TV. No one talking about the football and ‘will Newcastle United EVER be sold’ and no smiling face delivering my hourly cups of coffee. But I know I’m just a couple of mouse clicks away from my work family.

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The Need for the Machine

Well, we are well into 2020 and 2019 already feels like a blur. We’ve had Brexit, storms Ciara and Dennis. Hopefully seeing the back of Coronavirus and lost another beautiful soul to suicide….what a start!

Looking back at my last blog I’d like to give you some backstory to one of our achievements….our drop seal cutting machine.

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And We’re Just Getting Started!

The first in the series, this blog is from our MD, Michael Spoors. Michael has a passion for customer service and he would like to share his thoughts on changes in our business and the wider industry.

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Tom is very active, going to the gym five times a week. He is a footballer, BMX and mountain biker and a keen traveller, having covered 4 out of the 7 continents. If he was to join a boy band it would be the Jackson 5! 

Tom Griffiths

Sales Admin

Ben would rather live in a theme a park than a zoo. He loves to play basketball and has a real passion for music.

Ben Spoors

Sales Admin

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Neil is an FA qualified coach and volunteer of grass roots football. As a self-declared mountain climbing and camping legend, he would rather have a third arm than third eye!

Neil Smeatom

Operations Manager

Kelly is an animal lover and would rather skip than run for the rest of her life. You won’t find her skipping around shops though as she hates shopping!

Kelly Houston

System Development

Matt is a self-proclaimed BBQ King, who has perfected sticky ribs! He doesn’t believe in ghosts but can eat 45 Yorkshire puddings in 3 minutes!

Matthew Burns

Warehouse Manager

Amy has played in the Women’s FA cup for Weymouth FC and if there was a movie about her life she would be played by Rebel Wilson, as she is that one friend who is always dared to try something first! Watch out though because correct use of font and image size is everything to her!

Amy Green

Graphic and Marketing Officer

Wayne is mad about his dogs, they rule his life! He has a hobby of laser engraving which keeps in him busy in his spare time, but he if was to flee the country you would find him in Mexico!

Wayne Robson

Business Development Fire Stopping 

Rebecca likes nothing better than sitting in the sun with a Piña Colada; where she would rather feel like a potato than look like one. She also loves days out with her family and going on spontaneous last minute adventures.

Rebecca Wilson

Sales Admin

Simon, loves motorcycles with his favourite being his Kawazaki Z900RS. He has completed many charity events such as chilli pepper eating and a 24-hour roller-coaster ride, but his most useless talent is the ability to stick 24 cocktail sticks in his head!

Simon Sutton

Head of Sales

Andrea loves dogs and her favourite animal sound is her Labrador snoring! She is also a self-declared wine’o’holic!

Andrea Wilson

Purchasing Manager

Alan is a fan of brown sauce and an even bigger fan of Newcastle United! In his spare time his favourite hobby is cycling.

Alan Spark

Warehouse

Ivan spends his spare time lost in a book, he enjoys sci-fi and crime novels. His favourite part of the human face are the eyes because they tell a lot about a person and how they feel. Unlucky for some, but Ivan finds being born on Friday 13th a lucky charm. 

Ivan Lanha

Warehouse

If Michael had to choose an animal sidekick it would be a wolf! He has a passion for education within our industry and he also has a love for live music.

Michael Spoors

Managing Director

If Heidi had to, she wouldn’t mind losing her nose, as she hates strange smells! Despite any smells she loves spending time at the beach, and she makes a mean lasagne.

Heidi Harrison

Service Manager

Sophie has a love for interiors and styling. A proper foodie, she loves going out to a good place to eat and given the choice she would rather have mouse ears than a giraffe’s neck!

Sophie Westlake

Business Development Norsound

Lilly plans to travel and live all over the world; sampling the world’s menu as she is a massive food critic. If she could be a fruit, Lilly would be a kiwi. 

Lilly Spoors

Business Admin

Ryan enjoys listening to rap music as well as going archaeology magnet fishing! If he ever bumped into Donald Trump he would say “It came from CHINA!”

Ryan Gillon

Warehouse

Lily believes it would take 197 chickens to kill an elephant! She enjoys reading classic novels and use to row!

Lily Harrison

Internal Sales

Tony loves to travel the world with only a few places left to complete his bucket list. If he could replace a lead singer in a band it would be Martin Fry from ABC. Tony loves the Toon Army and is famous for drinking black sambuca! 

Tony Henderson

Warehouse

Gary would rather wake up with animal arms than an animal’s bum; this may help him on adventures, as he has been in both an ice cave and a lava cave! He also owns over 3000 vinyls.

Gary Power

Warehouse

Anneka has three fish called Steve, Boris and Fart-face! She once knocked herself out playing hockey by running into the goal post, but she makes a better lasagne than Heidi!

Anneka Anderson

Finance Admin

Tony loves going to heavy rock gigs and festivals. His favourite cowboy is Clint Eastwood, but more than anything he loves to spend time with his 3 grandchildren.

Tony Stewart

Warehouse

Lea loves going to the gym! He also loves socialising with friends with some good food and drink; if he opened his own bar he would call it ‘The Four Horses’ because by spending too much time there the wife will nag, nag, nag, nag!

Lea Cameron

Warehouse

Rays favourite superhero is Super Gran! He loves travelling to America but his true love is rugby.

Ray Spoors

Credit Controller

Visiting new places around the North East is one of Bailey’s favourite things to do, as well as learning morse code. If he could choose he would rather ride to work on a crocodile than a giraffe. 

Bailey Richardson

Sales Admin