Commercial vehicle workshops can be dangerous environments, but independent repair firm Sapphire Vehicle Services's managing director Perry Reeves believes that providing training for recognising the signs of poor mental health is more important than first aid. "I think mental health first aid training is more important because there are more people suffering with mental health issues than actually injuring themselves," he says. "Providing maintenance for a truck or car will ensure that it does a good job, and the same is true for people - we need to make sure they are fully functioning." At Sapphire (pictured above), it is crucial that staff always remain focused, especially when it comes to tasks such as brake relining. "Operators put their trust in us to ensure a vehicle is roadworthy. It is essentially a lethal object going down the road at 50mph, and we cannot have anybody working who is not focusing 100. If a worker has a problem, we will assign them to other tasks until we are confident they are fit to work."
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