We are pleased to announce the promotion of Peter Surtees and Ross Macauley to Operations Directors at Armstrong Environmental.
Their appointments are an important step in the continued development of Armstrong and recognise the technical expertise, client leadership and contribution that both Peter and Ross have made to the business.
As Armstrong has grown, so too have the scale and complexity of the projects we deliver. Peter and Ross already have extensive experience managing major client relationships and significant LEV portfolios across the sectors we support, including defence, aerospace, advanced manufacturing, pharmaceutical and healthcare environments.
Their new roles give them greater responsibility for ensuring that, as Armstrong continues to develop, the technical quality and personal service our clients expect remain at the heart of what we do.
Technical competence has always been fundamental to Armstrong.
Both Peter and Ross are experienced LEV Specialists and Specialist Licentiate members of the British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS), combining practical engineering-control experience with an increasingly broad understanding of occupational hygiene and workplace exposure.
Peter has recently completed his Master’s degree in Occupational Hygiene at the University of Manchester, while Ross is beginning the final year of the same programme.
Alongside their technical development, both have progressed into increasingly senior roles within Armstrong, taking responsibility for people, projects and long-term client relationships.
Their promotion to Operations Directors is the next stage of that progression.
Peter will take overall responsibility for the continued development and delivery of Armstrong’s Local Exhaust Ventilation services.
His remit includes our approach to LEV Thorough Examination and Testing (TExT), commissioning and retrospective commissioning, LEV Control Reviews and the continued development of LEV Tracker as a tool for helping Duty Holders manage increasingly complex LEV portfolios.
Peter has extensive experience working with organisations looking after large LEV portfolios, where effective LEV management requires considerably more than completing an individual examination every 14 months.
In his new role, he will have greater responsibility for Armstrong’s technical standards, development of our LEV specialists and ensuring that our approach continues to evolve as the scale and complexity of the work we undertake increases.
Importantly, becoming an Operations Director doesn’t mean moving away from technical work. Peter will remain closely involved with our clients and technical teams, particularly on complex LEV projects.
Ross will take overall responsibility for Armstrong’s Workplace Exposure Assessment and Specialist Services.
This brings together our occupational hygiene and specialist technical capabilities, including workplace exposure assessment, biological safety cabinet validation, pharmaceutical containment work and workplace noise assessment.
Ross will also continue to play a significant role in our LEV work, where he has considerable experience managing significant LEV portfolios for major clients and delivering complex projects.
His broader remit reflects something that is increasingly important to Armstrong: understanding engineering controls and workplace exposure together.
LEV performance cannot always be considered in isolation from the processes, hazardous substances and people it is intended to protect. Developing expertise across both engineering control and occupational hygiene helps us provide Duty Holders with a more complete understanding of whether their control measures are genuinely effective.
Armstrong has changed considerably over the years, but one principle remains important to us: growth must not come at the expense of technical quality.
As the business develops, clear technical and operational leadership becomes increasingly important.
Peter and Ross’s appointments therefore aren’t about creating additional layers of management. They are about putting greater responsibility for our services into the hands of people who understand the work, understand our clients and understand the standards we expect from ourselves.
They will work closely together across the business, developing our people, protecting our technical standards and helping Armstrong continue to improve the way we support Duty Holders.
Most importantly, they’ll remain visible and involved in the work.
We are extremely proud of what Peter and Ross have achieved so far and look forward to seeing them shape the next stage of Armstrong Environmental.
Congratulations Peter and Ross — thoroughly deserved.
