forklift operator

production operator

maintenance technician

production associate

production worker

Owens Corning

The pay is very competitive everywhere in the plant other than the warehouse. The warehouse makes at least $3 less an hour than anywhere else in the plant. Being a newer plant they have had their issues with trying to figure out shifts if you are lucky enough to have days enjoy it because it could always change. But going from nights to days it's almost impossible. They rather hire someone new from the street then give you the opportunity to work on days. Their pay differential is one of the higher ones I have seen but it is not worth it. 
It is hot work in the summer no matter where you are. In the winter it is hot if you are in packaging and really cold if you are in the warehouse. 
They do not pay for knowledge, you can work and train in every job and they are not going to pay you to learn a thing. If you fill in that's on you there is no incentive. 
If you do get promoted to another department you lose you raises...
Worked here for two years? Got a couple raises under your belt? Looking at this job that has better hours or maybe a little more money to start? Yeah na they aren't going to honor the time you have spent here to get the raises you deserve they are going to take thoes away. You are now back to base pay for whatever postion you just took. Well most people anyway...there are thoes that get to skirt the rules..
They use an AI system to filter applicants for jobs even from internal applications. So let's say you spend 5 years working here, you have learned almost every postion you can and you have hands on experience throughout the entire plant  but you don't have reliability on your resume. Then you are never going to get the opportunity to go to reliability to make more money even though you know the equipment inside and out they would rather hire from the street. That just to reiterate there are no opportunities for advancement in your career unless you have that experience prior to working here this just does not make sense to me at all. 

Benefits are decent for today's market there are several options in insurance. Or HSA accounts that are great, and at the higher levels of insurance they contribute a decent amount of money to your HSA account. 

Pay is great for anywhere other than the warehouse. But poor work life balance due to always being short staffed and running on the absolute minimum amount of employees they can have.

Management cares more about numbers  than they care about anything else. They run with literally no space in the warehouse just to hit the numbers they want. The work environment is rather toxic.
Favoritism is a major problem. They know it and acknowledge it but will not do anything to fix it. 
The newer managment have made things even worse. It is ALWAYS your fault no matter what. They do not know what they are doing and are running off any of the good employees that are still left. HR is a joke. The will almost literally run away from you so they do not have to talk to you! They will ignore emails calls and texts. If by some chance you do get ahold of them they will not give you a straight answer about anything. They always talk in circles and skirt around anything needing taken care of. I have know people not get paid for weeks after hire because they just did not get around to putting the employees info into the system! There is absolutely no communication from management to the employees, but if you do not know what's going on then that of your fault. 


Don't think the grass is greener. Here it probably is not. 

Be careful about taking a temp job with this facility, unless you intend on making this only as just that: a very temporary stop, and moreover, if you genuinely tend to fit into a “good ole boys” network. I use to think that term was just a cliché, until what I witnessed for three months. This location is also run-down, drab, downtrodden, and at times, disgusting (the restrooms and kitchen are deplorable and almost never cleaned, and were due for a refurbishment probably last century). Worst of all, I and others have ben lied to about perm status by first shift supervisors and the one-person HR team (who seemingly is gone half the time either on vacation or traveling to conventions). Not on the up, and a certain “team lead” as she is loosely referred to by other staff), is a downright awful person: zero people skills and out to subjugate others to her misery. But with the HR person always AWOL, you are best off letting such people carry on with their miserable lives. The immature temper tantrums and throwing of product by a higher-up in the Safety Department was something also that seemed to surreal to believe in the year 2019.

This job isn’t worth it. A renowned company like Owens Corning should be ashamed. But they turn a blind eye to these sort of things, and very simply the best thing I can do is purchase my roofing needs elsewhere in the future.

Very little congeniality among many 1st shift workers. And when workers aren't given the means to succeed, most with ambition in life, realize it’s time to move on. I got a chuckle to hear some of the old timers' and management's puzzled commentaries regarding so many always quitting. Naivety at its extreme. And to those who ride it out, I learned those one month and two month reviews aren’t credible or applicable. Really, they are more like surveys anyhow, and while I received no negative feedback, I never heard anything positive come from any supervisor’s or team lead’s mouth directed at me, nor other workers.

It would be nice to learn some of the skills necessary to do other jobs proficiently, but even when you offer, team leads tell you "no, we're all set". Often times it results in holding up a broomstick to make yourself look busy for 11 hours (yes machines constantly have issues at this factory, and in fact one day didn't run for 11 hours out of a 12-hour shift). Gets very boring.

Supervisors should be up front with you if they feel like you’re not a good fit, but they just let you wallow in the wind for three months, don't communicate, and move on to another poor sucker from an array of temp agencies. Management stating that they are any different than other warehouses when it comes to hiring tamps, is blatantly disingenuous. At least don’t go hide in your office all day, gabbing with your buddies and gutlessly avoiding the folks on the floor. Be a man, and state it in person face-to-face if there is an issue. And sorry to bring up an unrelated job-function issue, but some kind of communication is just common sense before you decide to clean your refrigerators for the first time in a month, and abruptly throw out employees’ lunches and good Tupperware. Bush league move. Sorriest excuse for a work environment I've seen in my lifetime, bar none. Owens Corning ought to be better than this dog and pony show.

The work is as expected: PM activities, safety checks on equipment lockouts and other devices, basic cleanup duties, operation of air compressors and steam systems, and periodic audits of the different processes in the plant. The floor workers (Maintenance and Ops) work well together for the most part, but like anywhere there are exceptions to the rule. Management at the lower levels is too focused on product and not enough on people, and it shows horribly. There is a lot of "brown-nosing" between people in management and if the "little guy" doesn't engage in it then their chances of advancement or a pay raise are slim to none. A typical day wasn't that difficult to complete as long as management would stay out of the way, but those days were few and far between. The workplace culture was advertised as trying to shy away from an "Us vs. Them" mentality, but from the first day it was obvious that this was not the case. During the initial installation of the equipment and during the plant startup, the maintenance team (as minimal as it was at the time) pointed out multiple glaring faults in the work being performed and offered solutions for fixing those faults; however, they were completely ignored until they were noticed by higher management during the startup and testing phase. The hardest part of this job was keeping your mouth shut when it was obvious that the company was losing money due to shoddy work by your superiors, but the most enjoyable part of the job was getting to work with your hands and get a sense of accomplishment when you assisted the Operations team with a repair.

This review is indicative of the environment at ONLY the Gastonia location and is not a reflection of the company as a whole. Most of the people I worked with were phenomenal at their jobs and really cared not only about the company but about their co-workers, but as I stated previously there are always exceptions to this and there seemed to be more exceptions at this facility than is usual.

I was really excited when i first got a call from Owens Corning, one of the biggest companies in the world. Once i got to the interview on-site, I was ecstatic to hear that I was hired on the spot! The red flags still had not popped up in my head for some reason. Once I passed my background and drug test, I started the following the week. Once I started officially, there was a lot of training which I was grateful for. Once I officially got onto the floor is when the problems started. First of all, I started to see why the retention rate of employees at this company is so poor. There is very little communication between employee and employee and between employee to management. The place was in chaos 24/7, and if you ever tried to ask anyone for help, it was clear you were annoying them. The place was basically every man for himself except for a few golden employees that were there during my short time at Owens Corning. The machines were also VERY old and poorly maintained, so the place was constantly in shambles as people ran around and tried to fix the machines. Note to management - While it would hurt in the short term, the long term health of the plant and employees would be greatly improved if you would just do a massive overhaul of the machines and improve the health of them. You surely have the money to do this, as you are one of the biggest shingle manufacturers on the planet. 

The labor itself is easy but physically demanding and tiring. The problem arises when they are short staffed or no one FEELS like doing their job. Very few people follow their task paperwork leaving one or two utilities to pick up the slack. People are very underhanded and if you follow company guidelines rather than what whoever has seniority wants; they resort to anything to get people in trouble or subjected to disciplinary action. Break schedules are apparently a suggestion. People who were personally hired through or know management outside of work are just as bad. They will tell you in interview that you can bid for any job in your first 90 days, and that you can garner as much overtime as you'd like that is a lie. Every single thing is based off of seniority. Not skill or potential. Even if you learn the job quickly and perform it well if someone with seniority wants it you get outbid.

Cleanliness and 5S standards do not apply to all shifts or persons. So when a favored shift with favored supervisors leave the facility a mess and you aren't able to get it back to standard because the facility is ALWAYS running or machines are always FAILING it is your shift to blame.

You cannot leave or call for any reason without garnering a point. Even medical emergencies where blood is involved/car accidents/etc. The No fault policy on top of 12 hour shifts leave you no room to navigate personal life or issues.

Though you work 3 days on two days off, 4 days on three days off at the pay rate, without OT you make as much as you would biweekly as a security officer. You are doing 3x the labor with no incentive. 


You do not have union rights until after 90 days. 

.


First:
lousy management
second:
lousy environment
If you are applying as an instrument tech, keep looking,
you'll unplug pipes, bust up concrete, stand outside in the rain, and do plumbing, and be abused. I worked there approx. three months.First month on days, which was ok, not great ,but ok, i did "some" instrument work. However, when the need for shift coverage came about, i was forced to be a shift mechanic, and did no instrument work while on nights, forced to work out in the rain, not even offered a raincoat. I saw other people sleeping on the job, and smoking in the building, and this was apparently ok.
So, if you dont mind abuse, misuse, and a very rough and nasty environment, maybe this place is for you. But;
if you are a skilled instrument tech, move along, you are wasting your time here. The pay is great, but thats all, and money isnt everything. If you worked at nights covering as a shift mechanic instead of being an instrument tech , as your job description states, then after 2 years you would have fallen behind in your career field. Some of the guys in Maintenance were ok to work with. However I think most are unhappy, and only work there because the money is good.
HERE IS A FACT:
I was let go on my 89th day of 90 day probation period, without warning, (WHICH WAS DIRTY, IN MY OPINION) I was never even talked to about my "BAD ATTITUDE" which is the excuse they gave for letting me go , on the very last day of my probation. ASK MY CO WORKERS, I DID MY JOB< AND I WAS GOOD. I DID COMPLAIN ABOUT THE DAILY UNPLUGGING OF PIPES OUTSIDE, INSTEAD OF SOLVING THE PROBLEM, IF YOU CALL THAT A BAD ATTITUDE< THEN I AM GUILTY. HOWEVER;
I WAS NEVER OUT, NEVER LATE, and DID EVERY TASK EXPERTLY< AND QUICKLY< ASK MY CO WORKERS.
So:
draw your own conclusion!

I   Owens Corning is a fine company with a long history .
      I enjoyed working there,starting as a group leader in production then in a few months i was moved up to  supervisor i was there a few years and they needed someone to take over inventory control i had that for  three years,I had as many a  eight (8) warehouses all but one was off plant sight, it took extra activity to keep up,but we received a letter of a job well done after our yearly physical wit a very low right off. I took over a shift in the warehouse and our on job accidents dropped due to constant safety  inspections. we made our shipment on time and correct counts. we brought computers on the seen and put them to work trying to convince people to treat the computer as a tool like any other tool was hard but it worked.
I was asked to start a maintenance planning department where all of the plants equipment was entered and a preventive inspection sheet was created. The inspection sheet would be printed out on schedule tobe performed. All repair work was put on a schedule and i made sure the materials people and schedule were all in sync. to make the repair go smoothly and on  scheduled time table.I had at least one multimillion dollar rebuild each year. where you had (28) days from shut down to start up for complete rebuild. that  required people and equipment and parts all had to be there when needed and were inspected to insure every thing was right. we always finished up one or two days ahead of schedule and on or under cost.  dedication to detail buy every one made it come off and we all look good.
  Good People  dedicated  and a good company that was dedicated to its people,made an unbeatable team...

A typical day at Owen’s Corning starts with young fresh out of college supervisors that know more than you telling you how to do your job. Other than the supervisors telling you how to do your job they don’t communicate anything internal or external going on with the plant. They refuse to listen to the employees and their ideas and advise about things and just do as they want which typically leads to failures. They refuse to spend the money to fix anything inside the plant so the plant runs about like you would expect, not very well. The only time they attempt to make the plant better or nice is if somebody from corporate comes to the plant for a visit then they break out the paint and red carpet to shine it all up and sweep the rest under the carpet. Morale as about as low as I had ever seen it with guys and gals just coming to work with no drive and no want to. They are here to collect a check and nothing more. The insurance there is absolutely terrible that they charge you way more money than they should for it. The pay is about the only thing that is decent but still low compared to other similar workplace settings in the area. The plant is extremely hot in the summer and miserably cold in the winter so if you can’t handle that then don’t bother. Not to mention the amount of toxic materials that you have to deal with everything front inhalants to absorption. Most people pass away shortly after retiring from cancer or other rapid health declining ailments. If you’re looking for a smelly, dirty, hot/cold, place where communication is terrible, morale and insurance sucks, all for a supervisor to know more than you type of place then sign up as fast as possible if not I would keep driving down the highway. 

Pros - Great Job with great pay. They really do care about you there and don't treat you like nothing. They are understanding of personal life and work. and are very encouraging of people who have drive and good work ethic. 

Cons -  I say there is very little upward movement. In order to Fully move into management is having to relocate. You can not be a "ground worker" and work up to manager at the same plant. In order to get that position is to move to another plant. Then relocating back if position is still open or opens again. Which seems like a strange way to do things especially if you want a good trained person having the knowledge of the exact location. But if you're willing to relocate for that then its not that bad.  And only other thing is the management culture here is to not really care about poor work ethic or holding accountability to employees. Which comes back to the pro of encouragement to driven employee's but the ones that aren't don't get any accountability towards them. and when you do hold people accountable and are direct to ones actions it is "frowned" upon and looked at strangely. Where the accountability is pushed passively and vaguely amongst the team and not to the direct employee or one responsible for said action or problem issue.

In Conclusion,
This is a great company and great stability. Always work and never have to worry about a paycheck. With great benefits. But the culture could use some work especially because of what is taught through the company. Lead by example would be a great improvement to all of management and personnel 


I looked forward to going to OC and left a really good position. I am 53 and the cupula was more than a little intense for me, Honestly you need core body strength to Bend and lance the cupula. I can deal with heat having been both a oven operator and a fireman. But id never run a jackhammer in the past, and as a 53 year old I felt this job should require your age to be under 30, and be able to hike 5 miles. The pay id really good, the hardhat and healed safety boots become taxing in the pack operations. There were some younger help who said, we don't get paid more to help you so watch and learn, I felt like a door matt right away. Running 5 robots on the pack line, or bailing insulation, both suck honestly, I left with blisters on the back of my heals. don't leave a good job for this one, also there are serious health risks with the level of formaldehyde and junk you are in when your on the second swing of the swing shift. enough that the 5 year veterans in the plant loose there voice like it scratches out when they are talking. If you are young and very stout, this would be a good place to work a couple years to get ahead, but maybe health risk for long term considerations. I tapped out in one month, I know that is pathetic, but it wasn't for me! There are some dedicated good people here, I was just spoiled with a better position.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Forklift operator 1 salary reported	$19.00 per hour
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Maintenance technician 5 salaries reported	$36.21 per hour
Production associate 1 salary reported	$12.00 per hour
Production worker 1 salary reported	$20.28 per hour

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