cnc machinist

machinist

engineer

Acutec Precision Aerospace, Inc.

At a deburr position, you grab a box of parts from off the machine. You find out what needs touched up, and you do it. Sometimes it's as simple as grabbing 2000 spring steel half circles, and running them briefly over a grinder, and getting it back in the box or in a new container for the next department to deal with. Sometimes you have to grind off a large portion of something cumbersome large, rounding off edges to a precise measurement with several different grinding bits on a pen tool in a particular order. Instructions are easy to follow, precision is acquired in time. If there is a defect in the part, you mark it, and it gets sorted. Mostly it's mind numbing, but so long as you have an MP3 player or radio, you can listen to music while you work. No cell phones allowed on the factory floor. You work 10 hour days with a half hour in the middle for lunch as your only break. In deburr, don't expect to have a great relationship with your coworkers, because you're working with hearing protection in a room full of vacuums, so conversation isn't a thing.

If you have ethical scruples, this is not the place for you. Many of the contracts this factory takes are military, so you will be working on parts for military aircrafts, drones, and bombs.

Management cares a great deal for their customers. They do not care so much about entry level employees. I attended a meeting for employees that were there for between 1 and 3 months. They were told there was a Christmas bonus, but we would not be getting it because too much scrap was produced in the previous year. They practically outright told us that we were being punished for something we had no part in. Communication takes place entirely through a set of 3 in-network websites that required 3 different esoteric IDs and passwords to access, and could not be accessed from home. So if something is wrong with your performance, you might not find out about it until it's too late.

This place touts itself as one of the best places to work in Meadville. And that's incredibly sad.

The compensation for employees is hardly competitive. 

The only employees they really care about are the machinists. 

Management is a pot of nepotism, most supervisors here are completely Inept and have no idea what they are doing so they just change your supervisor every 2 weeks. 

I was hired to fix and audit their inventory a year ago during my stay i constantly had more and more work put into me with absolutely no compensation. This is now an exaggeration. After working their a year I was making the same as I started despite being promised 90 day raises and recieving stellar quarterly reviews. 

Then to make it all the better when I finally had their raw inventory fixed and verified... I was laid off.

They once pulled their entire workforce Into a meeting and told them all there would be absolutely no layoffs. An hour later 75 employees lost their jobs.

They will spew all this garbage about how they stand behind their employees and are a family company but the fact of the matter is this company is an utter sham which should by no means be allowed to operate in the aerospace industry. 

And to anyone looking to work here, it's unlikely this company will be around much longer. Between awful management and losing contract after contract due to poor on time delivery and quality standards, I find it hard to believe this company will make it through the pandemic.

I was employed at Acutec for about a year and it was an unpleasant experience for the most part. 
I was surprised to learn there were no breaks allowed here, only a 30 minute lunch. Also no PTO as a new employee, you are expected to earn a few hours with each check. This is the first company I have ever worked at in an over 20 year career with these rules. Most jobs provide two 15 minute breaks with an additional break for lunch. I’ve walked into positions with two full weeks PTO on day one. 
I did not have any issue with my direct supervisor, but dealing with some of the others were painful. Everyone always needs something all at once. 
Someone posted it was hard to be fired, but I disagree. I know of at least two former coworkers who were good people, competent in their positions, and they were both fired without much of a reason. It may have been that they were not part of the “club”. There are so many relatives and married/dating couples, if you don’t have a relative, you might not fit in. 
The pay is also quite low, compared to other similar positions I held. Overtime is expected, even if you don’t want it. I know some people love OT, but I would rather have a life outside of a job as well. 
They have a Christmas party with free drinks. Maybe they think if everyone drinks enough, they will forget about the year they had there.
Only benefit I gained was meeting a few cool people who I am still in contact with. 

What’s the workplace culture like? 
It’s only a matter of time before some huge tragedy wipes this place from face of the Earth and Acutec becomes a household name. Then it will be left to future generations to untangle what exactly went wrong here. In fairness, the owner is acutely aware of this potential and posts about how we can’t afford to crash a jet with our parts. There are nervous portal posts every time there’s a high profile crash and then a Phew, thank god this wasn’t us post when the truth comes out. 

What’s management like?
I don’t know how anyone can feel good about working here in its current state. Management went from being a functional boys club where you have no possibility of advancement to the new skullduggerous leadership team with no possibility of advancement and they fire or drive out anyone that they feel is a threat.

A typical day involves just keeping your head down and trying to make it through the day. 
There is no integrity now and with everything being late it just means more pressure on everyone working here to sign off on questionable parts just to move them along. If you don’t do it then you get written up for insubordination or fired. If the parts are found to be bad then you get written up or fired for that also. 

Acutec does a service for the community by giving jobs to people that would be otherwise unemployable.  

Most of the jobs are monotonous and boring. It depends on your personal situation as to if working here is right for you. If you are looking for work release…. this is clearly better than being in jail all day. If you are a recent graduate with an engineering degree…. I would stay away. 
There is no engineering done here other than basic fixture design.  

There was/is rampant substance abuse and while this isn’t a uniquely Acutec problem, management doesn’t really help matters by treating the drug tests like an inside joke. 

The turnover is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before and I was in the military. Every couple weeks they completely change the leadership with no real explanation why other than some sketchy accusations. 

They do offer many levels of machinists certifications all the way up to a Masters in machining. This however is completely meaningless as I found out first hand when I was interviewing for a job. I was told that all the interviewees coming from Acutec were way over paid and under qualified. Likewise when I tried to transfer it towards finishing my masters at a local university. In both cases they felt I would be better off starting over from scratch. 

The workplace culture is CYA with some of the most inept managers i have ever seen
Most enjoyable part of the job is knowing that there are people depending on the parts you make. 
What’s a typical day like?
My typical day was spend reading routers and sawing material based on the spec. You have to x-ray the material to verify its  as marked
Management and HR leave a lot to be desired.
Be prepared to go to night shift no matter what they tell you.
They will lie to you to get you in the door and then act like it’s your fault.
 I was told that I wouldn’t be required to work night shift when I started. 60 days later I get told that I had to go to nights immediately. Talked to HR about it and reminded them that I’m a single parent and I was told I won’t have to. HR said an intern told me that and shouldn’t have but I still have to report for nights for 2 years. I explained that I will lose custody of my kids if I do and they proceeded to tell me that life is unfair and to learn it while I’m young and that I needed to wake up paranoid every day. (These are company principles that they preach daily) I asked for more specific guidance and was told that I needed to be more lucky and i should prepare for luck.

Smoker friendly, lots of flagrant drug use

Company is making huge strides in the world of Electronic Management of Employees. 

Huge Strides in Productivity. 
Huge Strides in tooling.

 But the BUCK stops there. Employees are absolutely and most definitely subject to management favoritism and nepotism concurrently.

 If your in the Cliche your IN!

 The current system used to establish employees ability is a complete bias system.( It is NOT Based on Ability it is simply based on your relationship with your cell leader and plant manager.

 This goes for both Saegertown and Meadville locations.

 However it is X200 worse at the Meadville location.

 When Multiple "A" Machinists can "NOT" run your job but yet you can and your never promoted to the next level it is a complete joke of this system. 

Managers are supposed to sit and have a communication with you to produce your "ROCKS" (LOL) "I.E. Performance goals"

 All of my managers have simply said " Here sign this" "Thanks"
HR. Has asked how the ROCKS Program is going and have been told this as well, Yet no changes......

 If I maintain a relationship with Plant Management I WILL advance in my positions and pay! Proof is in the pudding.

Sad state, Boys club!
Stay Away if you want to advance in your life!

 
What’s the typical day like? Stressful and no one seems to know what they are doing or what’s expected of them. There’s hundreds of dash boards that even the creators of them have no idea what’s going on. 4 completely different employee softwares and no one can answer why you are getting points but be prepared to be written up for it.

 Do you have to take a drug test? Yes you do but you don’t have to pass it. That’s what I was told during my interview. If you have to take a random drug test they will allow you to “study” for it. 

How did Acutec handle SARS Covid 19? I’d say better than most but double masks AND a face shield were what leadership was wearing. 

What’s the culture at Acutec like? Cutthroat and toxic from the top down. Everyone has a real condescending tone and attitude and has zero interest in what you have to say.

 Does Acutec offer training? Yes and No. Most of the training is reactive and in response to a finding of some kind. So someone will hand you a clipboard and tell you to sign it and then say that you are “trained”. 

It’s not a bad place if you need a job but you will come home everyday smelling like chemicals. The goal of the company is to put you on night shift as soon as possible and try it out for a couple years. 

Acutec was once a great place to work. After working there for about a year you learn fast how the place is ran. The same few people get to go on training field trips,run all the new machines, and get paid the most. If your not "IN THE RIGHT CLICK" you can just forget about any advancement or good pay raises. Oh and try not to make any of management angry at you,bc you will pay for it by being stuck on 60 part an hour job for weeks and you will be expected to make rate. The worst part about acutec is the pay. From loading the material to programming to getting a 1st piece approval you would think you would be making great money, well think again buddy boy you bust your tale doing all this for very minimal pay....unless you know the right people. At acutec it's not WHAT you know,but WHO you know that will carry you to the top. My advice would be to soak up what you can,as much as you can,and get out. Everything you learn at acutec you can go ANY where ( like I did) and join a company that cares and pays their employees fairly.

Typical day at work begins slow, but as the morning hours go by, you find yourself immersed in a multitude of tasks to complete  before going home for the day. I learned how to do simple computer/computer program coding. I learned how to use different styles of organization. I learned machinist lingo as well as how to operate certain precision tools. Management was great and was open to communication, regardless is if they agreed with your input or not. Workplace culture is very community oriented. Hardest part of the job was learning several things over a 3 months span. The most enjoyable part of the job was getting to see a different set of skills I didnt know I had, blossom. I was enjoying math, i was enjoying the social aspect of the job; using my past teaching abilities and people skills to really connect with people that was more than just work-deep. The hardest part overall was the goodbye; knowing I was just an intern for three months, only to leave a huge piece of joy behind...this was very difficult to tackle. I hope to return someday, if the opportunity arises.

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