Goodbye to 2021 from Ionactive!

This time last year we were somewhat hopeful that 2021 would be a little easier on everyone as compared to 2020. As it turned out 2021 started with another lockdown and with the rollout of vaccines. Writing this entry 31 December 2021, I am not convinced we have seen the last of Covid-19 (or at least its significant influence on society). I have had Covid recently and it's not very nice – put me out for the second half of December and Xmas was unfortunately not what was planned.

Live face to face training

Despite hoping for the best, we did not manage to restart our live 2-day face to face Radiation Protection Supervisor (RPS) training. Hospitality were the last to open after lockdown in 2021 and mixing 15-20 delegates from all over the UK into the training venue in Buckinghamshire just did not seem viable.

That said, we actually delivered a significant number of live face to face bespoke courses on company sites - this being easier as we complied with their local H&S requirements which all delegates were aware of.

We will review public face to face training during Q1 of 2022 and will aim to start running such courses again at our training venue (Missenden Abbey, Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire) as soon as possible. This training will now utilize our online training system (see below).

On demand online RPS training courses

The ‘hit’ remains our on demand 2-day 24/7 online RPS training course. Our training system was created due to Covid 19, but is now the backbone of all the training we do (including live face to face training where it hosts detailed notes, resources, the course tests and certificates etc). We have seen over 350 online RPS training delegates in just over one year since the system went live. A surprising finding, at least initially, is that many delegates appear to prefer our online multi-media approach. They like the flexibility of taking the course at their pace - logging in and out as time allows. Their employer also likes the system as the training can be delivered around other job functions. For more information on this system - visit online RPS training courses.

Ionactive in 2022

Onward to 2022. Lots of project work is underway – and Ionactive is spreading its wings too. For the first time we will be working on a large radiation protection project for the medical sector in New Zealand. Work in Italy and Slovenia looks promising during 2022 too, subject to travel restrictions. Not sure if Ionactive will be back to the Gulf in 2022 (our 10 year run in this region completed December 2019).

Ionactive core business is supporting the radiation safety needs of our large UK client base and we look forward to delivering this service in 2022. In addition to our valuable long term clients we welcome the opportunity to work with many new users of ionising radiation, some of this starting January 2022. We are particularly excited to be supporting a large NHS hospital during the design, build and commissioning of their new nuclear medicine department.

All the best for 2022!

Mark Ramsay

Ionactive Consulting Limited