Scott
Automation & Process Improvement Manager
When I was looking for work, I already had some familiarity with the Kaiser facility and process owners, as I have a relatively broad experience base in a fair number of heavy industrial facilities. Kaiser represented a wealth of new opportunities for growth, both technically and professionally, due to the large variety of equipment types, different processes and the scale of the facility. The ongoing challenges of maintaining and operating a facility this size and complexity provide a wealth of learning opportunities, both technically and in management roles.
One thing I enjoy about working at Kaiser is the fact that each day is quite different, simply due to the nature of the facility – particularly with the drive for process and equipment improvements. Continual planning, coordinating and execution of process and equipment upgrades make up a good portion of my day. If there are unexpected equipment issues or downtime, a lot of coordination, field work, planning and recovery work are involved in order to drive those conditions to completion. I also try to spend a portion of the day on the floor watching equipment operate and interacting with operators and maintainers on the floor to get a more involved picture of the facility.
At Kaiser, I enjoy solving difficult and long standing issues, as well as helping to provide educational and learning opportunities to others in the facility to try to help them do the same. Due to the size and complexity of some of the processes and lines, making a fundamental process change or improvement can be very challenging and time consuming, which makes succeeding at those projects very rewarding when it all comes together. I’ve found our facility to be full of talented people, the vast majority of whom show continual interest in trying to make the facility a better place.
As my career continues, my goal is one of continuous self-improvement – to learn better techniques for process management, for personnel management and for training. Kaiser has always been very supportive in providing me opportunities to do so.
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