truck driver

warehouse worker

operations associate

machine operator

cost estimator

Norfolk Iron & Metal

The most difficult thing about Norfolk Iron and Metal is the turn over rate in employment. I did not understand it when I first started as wages start off at a competitive amount for other entry level factory jobs in the area - NIM simply can not keep people employed. When you are employed there for 1 year or more, you reach Senior status. Management then looks towards you for training and making advanced changes that affect overall operations and profitability of the company. These things are demanded. So many people are looked over because they simply aren't "one of the guys" or someone who goes out to drink regularly at one of the local bars with everyone else. This alone has resulted in the same type of people running the show on all three shifts and have made the work place very divided. The company goes to great lengths to distance themselves from incidents. When material is sticking out of the storage racks and goes through a sideloader forklift and almost harms the operator, questions such as "How can we prevent this in the future?" are not the topic, but placing blame such as "Did you look before you almost died?" or "It says you checked the racks 7 hours ago, so this is your fault" - although the rack may have been traveled and altered 200 times between now and 7 hours ago. Because of this, people actively seek and fight over positions where there is little to no responsibility and these over burdening positions are then turned into entry level positions and further increasing the problems that make the work place very unsafe. There are many days where I have had near death anxiety attacks because I was tethered to forklift forks and lifted 30 feet up in the air to throw 300 pound rectangular tubing only to have something malfunction and almost throw me to the concrete with 2,000 pounds of steel crushing me. It was even worse when I was the person that had to tether another person to the side of forks and lift them in the air. I can boldly state that unsafe operations lead to the death of one of the employees at the facility in Norfolk, NE on February 15, 2011. The only enjoyment I received at this facility was by leaving.

A typical work day was i start off in a forklift getting material ready to be shipped or in the crane putting material on trailers to be shipped out it depended on where they needed me. if we were all caught up on loads i would empty rail cars for stock so id get the rail cars placed in track mobile and take the lids off check the material or or empty with over head crane. i learned a lot at my time spent at NIM I learned how to use pretty much all the equipment. As well i learned about time management, production, team skills, and  a lot about safety of myself and the people around me. I liked the people i worked with except the lazy people i was forced to get to work a long side me. I also liked management except when they rudely expected me to get things done that we were behind on. That was the hardest part of the job was to deal with the stress and pressure management would put on me to get things done with the amount of people we had and not give excuses and get done what he had to get done. the most enjoyable part was the people i did get to know and got to work with while spending my time at NIM as well as learning something everyday whether it was new equipment or leadership skills to get the guys to work as a wll oiled machine to be productive.

8 hour nights from 11pm-7am. I was in control of Bay 1 towards the end of my employment (Handling 40' material) and running the crane. When being in charge of the ground, duties include pulling all 40' material, rebar, beams and round tube for loads through out the night. Keeping track of all inventory using a scan-gun for cycle count. Includes following all work orders for each customer and scanning out items. As a crane operator, you controlled both trolleys from a cab using 5 levers (up/down, north/south for north trolley as well as south trolley and 1 lever for east/west directions) duties include, paying all attention to all orders from ground guy, carrying bundles of 20' material 40' material. Angles, Channels, Beams, Tubing, Rebar, Sheet and Plate. Also learned what attachments to use for what equipment. Usually a 3 member area. One guy in-control of paper work, a crane operator, a guy who cuts material and generates all tags and bands all material. Hardest part of the job was having to un-bury material from the bottom of a stack or finding material. Most enjoyable part was working ahead, and being to learn new positions afterwards.

The Bad: Driver manager doesn't even have a CDL and only refers to Google Maps for routes and believes it's great for trucks (No for several reasons). The same mentioned above will be happy one day and then terrible the next. The General Office will not hesitate to report you for controlled substances regardless if you have a Dr's waiver for DOT Physical due to not being able to  communicate with the MRO (difficult since they call while one is working). Will get written up for damage to equipment for events that never happened with no way to appeal or defend yourself. The warehouse is usually 80% late when it comes to loading times and that makes the day harder from the beginning. 

The Good:

The routes, customers and uploading were all easy to work with. This was especially true when the customers eventually got to know you because some can be very particular when it comes to how to enter their unloading zones or methods of unload. The routes weren't ever "fixed" per se as in the same route everyday so it varied at times, however somehow the pay was rather consistent. The HR guy was awesome and very easy to approach. The uniforms were supplied and they used a cleaning service.

every day at work the first thing you do is check your saw's to make sure their working and cutting properly. then when you have pulled the correct material you are going to cut by checking material with micrometer, and making sure material has correct item and tag #'s as specified by job work orders. you then cut material as specified by job work orders. usually either within 1/16. or 1/8th. inch tolerance. 
  
  In my opinion operating and saw's is very interesting, experiencing, and ever changing job. 
 
  as long as you are always doing your job within specified time, safety, and other requirements specified by your supervisors. witch is fairly lenient. you are always going to be liked and appreciated by your supervisors.

  the hardest parts of the job is always remembering to check and tag your material, and properly secure your newly cut material.

the best part of operating a band saw is finishing a job for a coustimer within their specifacations and being able to look back on it and proud that u are doing what they wanted.

Pay & benefits
Starting wage is great but raises hardly ever come around unless you work anywhere but accounting. All the other departments get incentive pay.

Job security and advancement
You don’t get anywhere in the company unless you’re related, or a male that’s been there for 30yrs.

Management
CEO does not care about accounting because they ‘don’t make him money’ CFO does not consider respect a value. You have a problem with another employee? Then quit because it won’t stop.

Culture
You’re not part of the in-crowd unless you’re related or a male that’s been there for 30yrs.

Overall
Overall this company should be used as a buffer till you get where you want. Keep your head down and do your work. You’re just another number to the CEO, just someone that’s ‘taking money out of his bottom line’. Disrespect from everyone, cursing in every sentence, derogatory comments/suggestions, filthy work environment, software if outdated, every woman that was in sales was ‘conveniently’ moved out of laid off.

This is a great company, with a very unique working environment. The pay starts out above average, but raises can be slow.
The work may be repetitive but it is steady.
Production incentives, full benefits, PTO and a relaxed atmposphere make this a great place to work, if you can handle the environment. Depending on your role, the work can be physically and/or mentally stressful. For shop employees, thick skin and the ability to work in both heat and cold is a must.
The boss is a great guy, very personable, practical and reasonable, but the shop has a lack of structure. There are no supervisors, which can make the delegation of work complicated, and discipline is sparse. Issues frequently arise that could be remedied or avoided completely with clear and set rules and some structure.
If you are not capable of working without supervisor direction, and staying motivated independently then you will have difficulty here.

NIM is over 100 years old, run by the same family.   The corporate employees have been with the company for decades.  The company promotes its employees on tenure not experience or expertise.   The company needs to implement a standard work practice and consistent work rules.  The inter-departmental fighting is a constant struggle.   The company needs to develop clearly defined roles and responsibilities from the top down.   The pay is excellent.  The benefits are marginal at best.   A very poor health insurance plan and the inability to contribute to the 401k progam for until you reach one year are a problem.   The commute to the facility was problematic.  The facility is in the middle of farm country.  (30-45 minutes from town)  The middle management needs a complete overhaul.   (the good ole boy system) is impeding the growth of its employess and profits.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Low pay and unreasonable expectations.  They will work you to death and they don't care about you or safety at all.  They only care about the bottom line.   I was "let go" for bringing up safety concerns twice.  I am working for another company now and the difference is clear.    If you have other options my advice is to not work for this company. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Required long hours, low pay for it.  

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It should have been a red flag when I after I was hired all my peers and trainers spoke very poorly of the company.  The  company promotes an US against them mentality when it comes to employees.  No team spirit for a common good.   They just work you to death and don't care about you. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Long with unreasonable expectations.

I really enjoyed my time at Norfolk Iron & Metal. I left the company to relocate with my fiance' but would highly recommend this company to anyone within the field of information technology. The most enjoyable part of my time at NIM was the team oriented environment. We all worked very hard as a unit and also helped each other achieve our goals and professional aspriations. This company is VERY family oriented and definately supports their community and charities. The owners of the company knew almost everyone personally and treated everyone as though they were part of that family. In my field of Information Technology NIM was very good at having the latest cutting edge technology to make my job as easy as possible but yet keep it constantly educational as i was always learning new things.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Truck driver 95 salaries reported	$77,316 per year
Warehouse worker 12 salaries reported	$19.96 per hour
Operations associate 14 salaries reported	$19.46 per hour
Machine operator 5 salaries reported	$20.33 per hour
Cost estimator 15 salaries reported	$47,500 per year

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