Jose Montalvo · Systems & production records

The people

Training, coaching, and the reasons somebody tells you about a problem before it becomes one.

09

Developing people, not just covering the shift

Wieland Metal Services · Operations Manager · 2025–2026

What it is
Training and coaching — courses on fire safety and the evacuation policy, and on the things nobody thinks to teach: tact and professionalism, critical thinking. Advice when it's asked for. And a standing habit of learning from the people actually doing the job.
Why it existed
A plant is only as good as the people who show up to it. If the only time somebody hears from you is when something has gone wrong, you get compliance and nothing else — and compliance doesn't tell you about the problem it saw this morning.
What changed
Training that goes past how to run the machine, people encouraged and put forward for promotion, and a floor that talks. The donuts, the lunches and the picnic are not decoration — they are there for the same reason as the training: the person who sees a problem first should feel like telling you about it.

Training and courses

  • Fire safety
  • Evacuation policy
  • Tact and professionalism
  • Critical thinking
  • Ongoing training on the job itself

Day to day

  • Advice when it's asked for
  • Learning from the people doing the work
  • Encouraging people, out loud and in front of others
  • Putting people forward for promotion

Getting people in the same room

  • Lunch meetings
  • Donuts and coffee, unannounced
  • The company picnic