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Employee Spotlight

Jose Rodriguez

Jose Rodriguez

Jose Rodriguez

EMS

Lean Manufacturing Specialist

EMS SATCOM’s Lean Manufacturing Specialist, JOSE RODRIGUEZ has a passion for continuous improvement.

"With this experience I can certainly help avoid pitfalls during our Lean Projects at EMS"

Q:	How long have you been with EMS SATCOM and what is your background?
A:	I started to work for EMS in September 2008. I have a degree in Chemical Engineer and a Master’s Degree in Environmental Engineering, both from ITESM, Tecnológico de Monterrey University in Mexico. However, I have worked all of my professional life in production management, continuous improvement and lean manufacturing. My professional “reformation” started when I landed my first job at SONY as Production Supervisor. From there, I had the chance to be trained in Lean Philosophy and I fell in love with it. I have 10 years of experience in this field.
Q:	What do you feel is the most important skill you bring to your work?
A:	In this position it is very important to have several skills or “tool boxes” as I call them. I try to bring them every day to the EMS team. The first is technical knowledge—it’s very important to know which Lean tool to use for each situation the team faces. The second is change management. As Lean Specialist, my focus is on where the problems are and it is very difficult to solve the root cause of every problem without changing the culture of the people working in that area. Yes, the Lean tools help us to identify the root cause of a problem, but it is necessary to work with the people in the area and help them to embrace the proposed improvements. So, the most important skill I bring to my job is the ability to work with the people, to help and convince them, and use discipline mechanisms AKA metrics, to ensure the improvements continue. The third is experience. I have been involved in several Lean transformations and I have lived the difficulties of implementing improvements in these other companies. With this experience I can certainly help avoid pitfalls during our Lean Projects at EMS. And finally all of these skills need “fuel”: I like to think I have the passion to improve our processes and to help EMS to surpass its goals.
Q:	What is the most significant trend you've seen in your field?
A:	Lean Manufacturing is leaving the production floor. There is a big movement in organizations that is bringing the Lean Principles and Methods to Hospitals, Management, Design, Government, etc.
Q:	What's a typical day like for you?
A:	I would divide my day into two sections: maintenance and improvement. The first part of my day is devoted to maintaining and supporting the systems we have already put in place. Here at EMS we have a fantastic Production team, and I am honored to help them with the daily meetings on the production floor aimed at organizing and managing the day of the different groups (both Production and Repair & Overhaul). In the second part of my day I normally work on our improvement projects. Currently I am involved in several projects ranging from Lead Time reduction to Visual Control/5s on the production floor.
Q:	If you weren't working with EMS SATCOM, what would you be doing and why?
A:	Professionally speaking I have two passions, the continuous improvement of processes and the management of the production. I think I would be working in another company in either of these fields.