NEWS

Get to Know: Our Logistics Supervisor

 

York Biotech Campus (YBC) is home to over 10 bioscience organisations, 1,100 employees and has 80 acres of parkland, so it’s no surprise that it takes a whole host of people to keep our campus running.

One of which is our Logistic Supervisor, Keith Alexander. Keith has been at YBC for nearly a year, and quickly proved himself to be an integral part of the team, starting as a logistics operative before getting promoted to supervisor.

He oversees a wide variety of tasks that fall into the logistics department, which includes everything from looking after the post room, stores, and samples, and arranging deliveries, collections, and transfers, to setting up the conference and meeting rooms or helping our occupiers with room and lab moves.

Keith has had a busy year moving up the ranks, so we caught up with him to find out more about his role.

 

What does a typical day at work look like for you?

“The logistics team look after a whole host of things that help keep YBC running, which means there is no typical day!

“We’re very much behind the scenes to make sure the businesses onsite can focus on their work seamlessly, and without disruption. For example, I look after the post room and make sure occupiers receive important packages, such as test samples, and organise external shipments for them. As lots of our businesses are working in bioscience, we receive client requests for transferring clinical and chemical waste off the site, which I’m responsible for doing as quickly and as safely as possible.

“Sometimes I’ll be supporting our onsite conference centre, Lakeside Conference Centre, and help set up for events and conferences held here, and I’m on hand to help with any room or lab moves.

“Overall, what’s most important to me is ensuring the satisfaction of my team and clients, whether that’s the businesses based here or external event organisers.”

 

How do you work with the businesses that are onsite?

“I work closely with our occupiers and assist with a lot of their daily operations such as taking the stress out of deliveries and chemical waste management. I’ve also created spreadsheets to monitor the use of services and consumables around the site to keep the occupiers updated and streamline their services.

“I recently did some work with Fera Science to regenerate the chemical waste booking and collection system to make it safer and easier for both Fera and my team to use. I really enjoy working collaboratively with our community to make life easier and more efficient for everyone.”

 

What do you enjoy most about your job?

“I love that no two days are the same. Working at York Biotech Campus means we have such a broad range of clients, from the organisations based here, to our conference centre users, which makes my job so varied and I’m always learning something new.

“The team I work with is also fantastic, and due to the vast number of responsibilities that the department has, teamwork is important. The logistics team is a brilliant bunch, and everyone works really hard to keep everything running smoothly. I’m grateful for all the support they’ve given me to help me progress in the year I’ve been here. “

 

What do you like to do outside of work?

“I live for the family life -my wife and I have actually just celebrated our ten-year anniversary together! I love spending time with her and our children and my favourite part of the week is Sunday when we will all have a big traditional family dinner together.

“I’m also a massive Ultimate Fight Championship (UFC) fan. I’ve no clue when it comes to football, but if anyone wants to chat UFC I’ll talk your ear off! I watch every fight night without fail.”

 

If you’d like to join our community, find out more about our space here, or get in touch with the team.