T ell us a little about yourself and what you do in the company?
Hello, I am Kevin and I started working with Scott & Fyfe in 2008. In that time I have worked in various roles starting as a machine operator manufacturing a woven, reflective fabric to increase crop yield on our circular weaving looms before moving to work in our composite department. Here I manufactured our glass reinforcement materials for the composite industry for example Polymat which is a glass core mat type material for use in closed moulding applications.
Whilst working in the composite department I was given the opportunity to further my responsibilities as Production Team Leader. In this role I manage a team of roughly 16 people. Day to day activities for me include the control of our incoming raw materials and outgoing stock, the planning of production, managing the team and of course operating machines where required and carrying out light engineering work when possible.
One of the biggest challenges I have working in this role is to ensure that we keep ahead of the game as we have seen a high growth in our sales over the past year in particular. Whilst this is a challenge, it is a good one to have and as I work extremely closely with our sales team, we are always able to fulfil our customers’ requirements. One of the things that I enjoy most about the role is the team that I work with as they are hardworking and flexible which makes my life much easier and of course they are comical which makes the day go by faster.
What changes have you seen / been involved in whilst working at the company?
Around 6 years ago I was given the opportunity to join the NOW team (New Opportunities Within). This was right at the beginning of the company shift towards a design led strategy and meant that I went away with a team of employees from all levels within the business to learn different (design) methods of thinking and working.
For me the NOW team was a really enlightening and positive experience. One of my key takeaways from this was the Fail Fast approach and I think this is really valuable in our business today. With this technique we are encouraged to generate a lot of ideas and to work through these quickly, not worrying about the consequences if they are not a success but instead ensuring that if they are no good that we close them quickly and move onto the next, failing fast.
What is a highlight from your time at Scott and Fyfe?
