engineer

contract administrator

NORDAM

 started as a temp and was hired on immediately after my 90 days. That was extremely rare. Some temps had been there years and still weren’t being hired on. After a long year of learning every position in the shipping and receiving department I thought finally I’d be promoted to a mechanic’s apprentice since I had proven myself. Instead I received no promotion and a meager .40 cent raise. (I received the highest of everyone else in the department that had been there much, much longer than myself. My previous employer at least gave me a dollar raise every year and that was a grocery store). The biggest issue with Nordam is its lack of structure. There are no Standard Operating Procedures to utilize if instruction is needed. When I reached out to my supervisor I was told to contact another person, then another, then another and still the task couldn’t be accomplished. Yet somehow I was held responsible. I’ve never worked anywhere that the immediate lead doesn’t know any of the positions they are overseeing. The hours vary daily. You are expected to stay as late as necessary no matter what. Every day was a battle to leave. Even after working 10-12 hours. After putting in 60 or more hours they will take away your Saturday morning and act like you’re a baby if you have other obligations. You will be working your butt off while the leads get the praise for your hard work. Most employees have been there over 20 years so they all think you’re dumb if you can’t do something as well as they can right off the bat. There is a huge divide between support and the mechanics and engineers. They will leave at the same time every day and tell you that something must be done before you can leave. It will mess with your head. You will work harder, longer and for far less money than everyone else in that facility. It’s sad because Nordam has a reputation of being a great company in Tulsa but that is definitely not the case. 

• Buffed/Polished urethane and Polyester top coats.
• Sanded all types of wood veneer to achieve proper flatness prior to color application and clear finish.
• Sanded to prepare painted parts to include composites and nomex surfaces.
• Painted Customer spec paint on interior cabinet shells to include Zolatone textured surface.
• Sprayed both Urethane and Polyester top coats.
• Worked in Detail area where I was responsible for preparing Furniture for pre-delivery to Customer.
• Performed the artwork on Faux finish replenishment parts.
• Performed all aspects of Finish department to include Faux finish replenishment field requirements.
• Worked in Final Assembly where we put together and installed furniture for Customer.
• Supervised 20-60 employees and delegated daily work assignments to meet Customer demands.

Developed training material and program to be used throughout their Finish shop.
I believed I further developed my communication skills as an effective leader.
Their Management team for the most part was strong but a few lacked the ability to demonstrate on a daily basis those core attributes that a good manager and/or leader should display in front of their direct reports.
My co-workers were very knowledge and disciplined in the finish skill sets.
Dealing with co-leaders within the tier that weren't professional and both mine and their direct leaders would not take action.
The day to day interaction with very high caliber finish personnel.

A typical day at work entails coming in a little early, asking or finding out what the shift prior to yours has finished or started, followed by  clocking in to meeting and going to daily briefing of what all of the individuals will be doing then clocking out of meeting and into 5s system to do your daily preventive maintenance when that is done you go about what ever it is that has been set out for you to do.

I learned how to navigate the NORDAM computer system and to personalize the dashboard to make it faster and easier to use for my self with any information related to any job I need to work on. NORDAM sent me to many different classes that allow you to move up within the company.  If you need certification to do a certain job then ask management to be certified and they will point you in the right direction to get it.

The management while I was there was always fair and considerate!

The majority of my co-workers were good intentioned and fun to work with.  

The hardest part of the job is finding out what protocol to work under to do certain tasks when there either is no one around that has done the job or trying to find out who has done the job and asking them.

This company has a lot to enjoy, such as a garden located centrally that you are invited to use and grow your own veggies.  A company picnic usually held at the Tulsa Zoo for the Oklahoma Plants.  If you have a family the Health insurance is invaluable

I was looking for a new job after the first week . It is a point the finger type of environment, lots of closed doors, lots of crying. The management would belittle the employees in public forums. The Supervisor would lie to cover her own butt. It was a throw anyone under the bus for anything kind of environment. The new HR lady was horrible. HR is definitely not there for the stakeholders. 3 levels of management in Supply Chain and not one of them had supply chain experience, but did have a family member in upper management or a member of the company band. Favoritism shown to the ladies that were know for being extremely unprofessional in a kiss your way to top manner.  I would not recommend working for Nordam. The owners are very friendly but unattached to the reality of the bad perception they are getting because of who they allow to manage there stake holders. 

Bonus* if you have a family member, can play a guitar, kiss and tell, you can survive this place.

The GM was amazing! The executive Assistant was amazing, the Supply Chain as whole needs a complete revamp. Not moving these people into other roles to ruin those groups as well. Get them out of the door they are ruining the business

What is the best part of working at the company?
I can’t think of a good part of having worked here. Every time you think it’s gonna be good, your hopes are smashed into the ground like a put out cigarette.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
My experience was that there was zero accountability. People are allowed to make wild claims, not have any evidence to back them up, and no repercussions when they are approved wrong.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Creepy. They try to force this family feeling on you, but it’s more cultlike.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
There are multiple fires to put out immediately, then you have to go to the most worthless morning meeting you’ve ever set through in your life, then it’s a free-for-all from there.

Decent starting pay, but raises were infrequent and low when you qualified for one. At times you might find yourself working on something you like with a decent supervisor and coworkers, although that wasn't typical for everyone. Its an acceptable place to get some experience, but I wouldn't plan for anything long-term due to the scant raises and rising cost of living. Benefits were okay, nothing to praise or complain about. Coworkers were generally good to work with. If you had everything you needed to start your day, there wasn't anything too difficult about the job, but material/tool/supply shortages happen, and make the day feel much longer. Best aspect of the job was the 4 day work week, or 3 days if you work weekends.

Overall this company is a good employer.  However, the Transparency Division is under staffed in the production support departments (Quality, Customer Service, Supply Chain), so expect to work 60+ hours per week in order keep up with the task demand.  Current senior leadership at said division does not make the best decisions for the overall company and actually violates many aerospace industry standards.  Unfortunately, the short cuts taken by production at the direction of management is having a negative impact on not just the bottom line but also the customer satisfaction and on-time delivery.

Pretty much they let the leads do all the employee checks, they don't know what they are doing and there is MASIVE favoritism. Getting promoted or changing positions takes a miracle. They will not even let you transfer to the same job in another area. Management messes up and the workers have to work 12 hour days to get caught back up then management takes all the credit. I worked there 2.5 years and in that time I worked 10 hour days 5 days a week for over a year then switched to 12 hour days 5 days a week because of a management mess up, then we all got laid off...

I was on  call 24/7
I enjoyed my job but management was a challenge as it was a good old boys network.  The management on my team went out drinking once a week and didn’t invite the female co-workers.  A male employee was that had worked for the company less than a year was promoted before me.  I was told on a number of occasions that I was being considered for a promotion and never was, this created conflict and I was let go a week after I questioned the promotion.
NORDAM also disputed my unemployment.  I went through the appeals process and WON.

Great company, very oriented to their employees (which they refer to as stakeholders).  My department consists of a very cohesive group which goes above and beyond to help each other and assist others in the company.  
Company is very high-tech.  State of the art equipment in meeting rooms.  Late model personal computers.  Mostly a cubicle environment.  
Company is international with major locations in the United States (Tulsa, Oklahoma - headquarters), Wales and Singapore.  NORDAM is a maintenance provider and components manufacturer for commercial and military aircraft.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Engineer 3 salaries reported	$66,000 per year
Contract administrator 3 salaries reported	$52,833 per year

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