Moving up the food chain at work

BuckeyeTim

This has been in the works for a little over a month now but was afraid to say anything for fear it would fall through. I work for a first tier supplier to the auto industry and have done so for over 22 years now. I started as a temp and was soon turned loose on a cnc lathe that was used to machine pressure plates for clutch sets. After about a year and a half of running various cnc, manual, and tape lathes I was offered the job of 2nd shift department supervisor.

I have basically kept the same job for 20 years...until now. The entire facility has changed by leaps and bounds during those 20yrs. Where I used to be responsible for machining of manual transmission components, I am now into machining of automatic transmission pieces parts.

Back in the day, we only had about 100 people, now at around 850+ and hiring another 80, 40 in June and 40 in August. We have plants all over the world employing thousands. In fact, I work for one of the 10 richest women in the world.

Recently, as in Tuesday, I was made an offer and accepted the position of "Group leader". Huge deal for me! I will be responsible for all 3 shifts and the supervisors of all 3 (5 total). All planning and scheduling is on me. Capacity calculations, capability studies, failure mode analysis.....me. I have to work with all suppliers whether it be internal or external with scheduling issues and lead times. I even have to act as interim MQE (manufacturing quality engineer) until I hire someone to fill position! Next week I have to go out of town with an engineer to look at a used cnc machining center. 60k for this thing, used. I also have to work out an entire floor plan for the planned additions and improvements.

Holy crap! What did I get myself into?!

I think I'll be banging my head into that yellow line in the middle of the road a little more than I already do.

Thanks for listening to my nervous ramble.

Tim

audiocr381ve

BuckeyeTim wrote: »

This has been in the works for a little over a month now but was afraid to say anything for fear it would fall through. I work for a first tier supplier to the auto industry and have done so for over 22 years now. I started as a temp and was soon turned loose on a cnc lathe that was used to machine pressure plates for clutch sets. After about a year and a half of running various cnc, manual, and tape lathes I was offered the job of 2nd shift department supervisor.

I have basically kept the same job for 20 years...until now. The entire facility has changed by leaps and bounds during those 20yrs. Where I used to be responsible for machining of manual transmission components, I am now into machining of automatic transmission pieces parts.

Back in the day, we only had about 100 people, now at around 850+ and hiring another 80, 40 in June and 40 in August. We have plants all over the world employing thousands. In fact, I work for one of the 10 richest women in the world.

Recently, as in Tuesday, I was made an offer and accepted the position of "Group leader". Huge deal for me! I will be responsible for all 3 shifts and the supervisors of all 3 (5 total). All planning and scheduling is on me. Capacity calculations, capability studies, failure mode analysis.....me. I have to work with all suppliers whether it be internal or external with scheduling issues and lead times. I even have to act as interim MQE (manufacturing quality engineer) until I hire someone to fill position! Next week I have to go out of town with an engineer to look at a used cnc machining center. 60k for this thing, used. I also have to work out an entire floor plan for the planned additions and improvements.

Holy crap! What did I get myself into?!

I think I'll be banging my head into that yellow line in the middle of the road a little more than I already do.

Thanks for listening to my nervous ramble.

Tim

Congratulations brother! That's awesome news. You will do well. Humility is key!

amulford

don't be nervous, obviously your qualified. Just run with it and get your groove on. Congrats

gdb

Does this mean that you can now safely harass your female underlings.....sexually or otherwise? Just Kidding!!! Very impressive position, good luck!

renowilliams

lol....I'm not sure whether to congratulate you or feel sorry for you. It sounds like they want you to be a manufacturing manager, project administrator, facilities administrator as well as a quality assurance manager. It's certainly going to be challenging for a while until you get your legs under you. One thing you should consider, is to utilize one or more of your experienced staff to assist you with making a layout plan. As far as QA is concerned, I am assuming you have Dimentional Inspectors and other QA personnel. I would look at having someone in that department to assist you. Remember that the key to being a good manager,is knowing how to manage resources and personnel that you have.

Good Luck

tonyb

Congrats ....with the bucks comes the responsibility. Piece of cake.

txcoastal1

Oh what a feeling congrats

decal

You can now kiss what little free time you had goodbye !!!

devani

congrats and more audio gears!!!

mudwrx

Congrats. It's ok to be nervous, but also be sure to show confidence. You've got the experience and obviously worked hard over the last 20 years or so.

You got the promotion for a reason, no looking back!!

steveinaz

Good for you Tim!

fatchowmein

Congrats! Remember all those times you thought from the past 20 years, "Man, if I was in charge"? Now, you get to test those theories out. You da man! :biggrin:

Joe08867

Congrats you poor ****.

inspiredsports

It's great to hear about growth here in Ohio after we've continually ranked at or near the top of the job loss list since 2008.

After 20 years you know your stuff technically. Now you get to move into the arena of learning which of your subordinates will whine with an agenda, which will shoot you the straight dope, and determining how to act based on that varied input.

It will be smooth sailing once you learn who you can depend upon and trust.

cincycat13

Congrats Tim! I have lots of dime store advice but I will leave it at...

manage THINGS ... LEAD people ... and confidence goes a long way...

if you want more middle management BS tips feel free to PM me

Big Dawg

Congrats! The first 6 months will be hard work as you get used to the change in responsibility. After that, it will get easier and life will just keep getting better.

Obviously, well earned!

jflail2

Congrats man! I made a similar move a few months back and I suspect you'll do well for the same reason I have so far; you truly understand the roles that you're managing from your strong tenure there. That's a huge leg up compared to someone coming in off the street.

Dive in both feet first and I'm betting you crush this new role. Enjoy the additional responsibility, it's a pain but it sure does feel good to be leading a group in the right direction!

cfrizz

Congrats!

mrbigbluelight

The fact that you're understandably nervous proves two things: you don't have your head up your rear (you know what the job's going to involve) and that you want to do a good job (speaks to your character). All good.

Your job is to lead and to delegate. Don't be afraid to do either.

You'll do well; look at the people you associate with.

Polkersince85

Now that you are the manager, you only have to work half a day. Your choice, first half or second half. Congrats to the promo. Experience goes a long way and you will do good.

Tony M

fatchowmein wrote: »

Congrats! Remember all those times you thought from the past 20 years, "Man, if I was in charge"? Now, you get to test those theories out. You da man! :biggrin:

I agree there x2


Now isn't it normal that the higher up you go, the less your supposed to do.

Congrats on your career climb!!

BuckeyeTim

Wow, thanks for the show of support.

In all reality, it was not an easy decision for me. It took a lot of thought and discussions with a lot of people before I decided to turn in my resume. I talked to others in the same position but in other areas, their superiors, operators on my shift as well as other 2 shifts.

The overwhelming support is what persuaded me to show interest. Those directly above me all encouraged me to turn in my resume. The way they made it sound, I had it all sewed up as long as I was willing to take it on. Half of these people I have already worked with for ten or more years. Kind of heartwarming when those around you encourage you to take a position like this.

I'll be surrounded by a lot of people I respect greatly and would never have accepted the position if not for the support everyone has offered.

Even though I will be responsible for all the things mentioned and more, it is a team effort. There are people that do nothing but run coordinate measuring machines and tracing equipment. They do layouts of..... well, whatever we want them to measure. New parts, test parts, capability study runs... Depending on the issue at hand, there will be team members from all areas of the facility. I maybe called to be on a team involving production issues in another area as well as bringing together teams that involve issues directly related to me.

It's a really great team I will be working with....top to bottom.

Nervous, but excited as well!

Thanks for the congrats

George Grand

It gets lonely at the top.

vmaxer

BuckeyeTim wrote: »

Wow, thanks for the show of support.

In all reality, it was not an easy decision for me. It took a lot of thought and discussions with a lot of people before I decided to turn in my resume. I talked to others in the same position but in other areas, their superiors, operators on my shift as well as other 2 shifts.

The overwhelming support is what persuaded me to show interest. Those directly above me all encouraged me to turn in my resume. The way they made it sound, I had it all sewed up as long as I was willing to take it on. Half of these people I have already worked with for ten or more years. Kind of heartwarming when those around you encourage you to take a position like this.

I'll be surrounded by a lot of people I respect greatly and would never have accepted the position if not for the support everyone has offered.

Even though I will be responsible for all the things mentioned and more, it is a team effort. There are people that do nothing but run coordinate measuring machines and tracing equipment. They do layouts of..... well, whatever we want them to measure. New parts, test parts, capability study runs... Depending on the issue at hand, there will be team members from all areas of the facility. I maybe called to be on a team involving production issues in another area as well as bringing together teams that involve issues directly related to me.

It's a really great team I will be working with....top to bottom.

Nervous, but excited as well!

Thanks for the congrats

Hey, Just curious, what company do you work for?? I am also in the automotive supply industry and it is very tough, hard to compete!!

BTW I work for Dana

cnh

Congrats man! Are you saying that we are still 'manufacturing' some parts in the U.S.?

If so, kudos to you and your employer!

cnh

BuckeyeTim

vmaxer wrote: »

Hey, Just curious, what company do you work for?? I am also in the automotive supply industry and it is very tough, hard to compete!!

BTW I work for Dana

My dad used to work for Dana. When the plant here closed down my parents moved to Dallas with the company. I work for Luk, which is part of the Schaeffler Group.

cnh wrote: »

Congrats man! Are you saying that we are still 'manufacturing' some parts in the U.S.?

If so, kudos to you and your employer!

cnh

Absolutely!
In fact we are one of the few that actually EXPORT to China. We are so busy that we have been working 7 days per week for months now. I haven't had a day off since middle of May. I have certain machining centers in my area that have to run 24/7, which is why we are looking at more equipment. I have to finish putting a 3rd shift together and hopefully in a few months we will be able to back off a little on the overtime. Right now, ot is unlimited...and we can't keep up.

Not only do we still manufacture parts in the U.S., our facility produces most of our own components internally. We have a stamping department with 1200-2400 ton transfer presses that use those huge coils of steel you see on the back of a semi going down the road. We have our own heat treating department, machining (mine),bonding (mine) where we bond carbon fiber and other friction materials to transmission dampers, various assembly areas, and even a special equipment group that builds custom equipment for use all over the world.


I started my training the last few days. Going to be extra tough for the next few months as I make my transition. The next couple weeks I will be working sort of a split shift, from around 11 am to 9 pm. This will give me time to train on first shift and spend time training a replacement for my current position. I have a guy that I am bringing off the floor for a 2 week trial period, to see if he likes the job.

Tim