quality assurance inspector

assembler

senior assembler

senior quality assurance inspector

operator

Safran

As a Quality Inspector supporting the aerospace, aero structure, defense, medical, plastic injection molding industry to name but a few, my first reaction to the present day posing micro manager approach was in sheer disgust and contempt.
 Lately, I have encountered an ageing board of CEO and administration who woo the woman staff and virtually ignore the male counterparts.
•	
•	Sadly, the budget support of the quality department falls far below the priority level which 
•	compromises the accuracy and adherence to any given company's quality clauses.
•	Instead they spend company dollars on 1st and 2nd party body count who defragments the immediate 
•	order of command, thus becoming broken, frayed leaving temptation to frustration through a reckless chain of 
•	over staffed microscopic specialists, who juggle the department’s budget, veto your suggestion 
•	because it compromises their self-indulgent over expenditure while over analyzing and critique your job duties and 
•	workmanship procedures and vow there is a better way while claiming that we do not need to purchase better equipment.
•	
•	But before the door opens and closes there is that (standard operational bull****) trail of paperwork that can leave you in dismay. 
•	Then it is "Congratulations and welcome new fish". We will see if we can find a place for you to sit and get you up and surfing
•	in the company sea. Weeks later.  
•	
•	More companies would rather pay your initiation by demanding you sit and read all the policies, workmanship procedures for 
•	2 or more days and then when push comes to shove you end up spending your first week or more sitting around 
•	before you are even provided a computer, granted access into the company’s portal network and actually begin working and 
•	feeling like an employee. What is IT? Half of **it.
•	
•	Recently I had an encounter with a situation of excessive chain of leads and supervisors who was overwhelmed with work load 
•	and had no time to train me properly particularly in the paperwork flow. 
•	All he could hope to do is throw me in the fire and become counterproductive killing their time and yours by me 
•	constantly asking questions. This is the most pathetic means of management that plagues 50% of the companies 
•	I have worked for in the last 10 years. 
•	
•	The marketplace. 
•	There are not that many young, new and upcoming Inspectors entering the job market which has projected technical skills 
•	and direct hands on Quality Inspection expertise and besides Quality Inspection is far from the hottest rage and 
•	profession luring new job seekers in to the job market, especially in the wake of China tech which virtually killed the 
•	manufacturing market here in the states.
•	The fact is, the average wage of a Quality manual labor will leave you in the poor house no matter where
•	you live in California. We all cannot possibly live at Disney. 
•	
•	Lastly, 
•	within the past 6 months I have noticed repeated job postings on Indeed and other employment e boards, some
•	which continue running for months on end while some appear, disappear then poof, reappear as if to suggest that
•	either the company thought they had the right candidate for the job then, then oops my bad or the companies 
•	are doing nothing more than collecting data on who is seeking work or an employee/applicant is sick of their job 
•	and are looking for something else.
•	Are they really optimistic about discovering a new flesh and blood seeking an Inspection position throughout the course of 
•	a classified job ad running month after month? Very unrealistic. 
•	These days the majority of companies do not even send you rejection emails. 
•	After 30 resumes submitted since August, I suspect the weeding process of, not the right fit is so tight it is
•	suffocating the company’s jewels. 
As 2018 flies by and I continue to run across the same companies running the exact same position ad, I will begin dropping names.

A typical day started with me arriving at about 645 so that I could printout the paper work and review it and up date the boards before the morning meeting. At 7 the rest of my team would arrive and log on their computers. At 705 we would have the morning meeting in which I would present the work flow, parts numbers, and other key points since the previous day. Then our manager would say a few encouraging remarks and then we would go and prep for the days inspections. Pepping would include pulling out our tools, checking emails for non-conformance reports, lab test results, commodity buyer responses, stockroom requests, and general updates. Next we would go to the line and in order of first in, first out we would select a package of parts, open them and begin inspection. First we would check the part number, name, quantity, revision, and clauses against its paperwork. Next was the visual inspection for any obvious signs of cosmetic damage. Then we would printout the technical drawing from our files and match them to our parts. Using calipers, height gauges, and diameter gauges we were able to measure parts to a .03 tolerance level. After that came a final review of the paperwork. If every thing was correct then we would accept the parts, and printout tags to track the parts throughout the facility. If parts didn't conform then they would be removed and placed into quarantine until they were dealt with. this involve isolating the parts, sending reports to the buyers and manufactures, after red tagging, photographing the imperfection, writing a non-conformance report for them and set the parts in the MRB cage for holding. Aside from our breaks this is what we would do up until 415. At this time we would 5s or clean up our work stations, put away our tools, and shut down our computers. If there was over time work then several of us would volunteer to work on and remain there until 730. At Zodiac Aerospace I learned many things, such as how to use calipers, and height gauges, the writing of non-conformance reports, communication with commodity buyers and manufactures and the inner working or a large corporation like C&D Zodiac. My manager and co workers are all interesting people whom I learned a lot from. The hardest part of my job was my scheduling for overtime. I was also going to school full time and that left me with little time to work overtime. The most enjoyable part of my job were the people that I got to meet.

Working at Safran Aerospace Composites was an amazing opportunity for me. The pay was really good and the benefits were better than anything I have ever even heard about...quite possibly one of the best benefits packages in the entire country. The work was interesting to me and I really enjoyed it. 

The opportunities for advancement were abundant and they promoted from within whenever possible. In the first 14 months I received 3mo, 6mo, 12mo and annual reviews and each time received the maximum salary increase at each stage. 

My direct management was exceptional and fair and a great source of information whenever I had a question or concern. Opportunities to learn and get certified in new operations was unlimited and consistently encouraged and effectively coached by my direct management. There was a strong team atmosphere and we all worked together to consistently meet and exceed our production goals.

The biggest issue working here was the job security due to market forces out of the company's control. Granted, nobody could have predicted the once in a lifetime issues our biggest customer, Boeing, would have with their new planes, resulting in an unprecedented nearly 2 year grounding of their aircraft in combination with the once in a lifetime pandemic shutdown. The Boeing issues eventually led to several rounds of layoffs and elimination of the 3rd shift right as we were ramping up production and then the pandemic hit. The pandemic only exacerbated this by forcing a complete stop of all production for an extended period of months, 18mo later and they still haven't fully recovered back to 3 full shifts with production levels still at 1/5 of what they were before. 

I am fully confident that if these 2 major industry wide issues hadn't ever occurred that I would still be working there today in a leadership role. 

Before COVID hit the company hard at the beginning of 2020, I enjoyed my time at Safran starting as a Bonding Operator during the first major expansion of hiring within the company - in 2017. Overtime was optional, but abundant, but that later became the exact opposite in 2018 as they grew to be fully staffed. Overtime had to be pre-approved. I was lucky enough to have a lead who oversaw the Bonding Room and was someone you could get along with, and someone who led by example. Work was fairly fast paced, but more quality  centric. Temperature and Humidity controlled -Very comfortable climate to be working in. Standing work for 8 hours. Dealing with sharps, ratchet straps, IPA, and adhesives. No real heavy lifting, but work that requires very fine motor skills. Environment was helpful, educational and encouraging. The supervisor was someone who barely spent time in the room, which can be good and bad. Either way, because of this, you never knew where this particular person stood. With your pay rate being determined by this person, that can, at times, be seen as unfair. With the growth of the company, different positions opened up and allowed for career opportunities. I later was hired onto the NDT Department in 2019, and after showing the required base skills and understanding, was sent out for a week for training, all expenses paid. The NDT department is a different environment, with much more computer work integrated into the process. X-rays being conducted and analyzed, in a temperature controlled dark room, on a computer. Learning the X-rays and the tomographic process was very interesting and fulfilling work. And the supervisor was always there and willing to mingle and show camaraderie in and around the office. No matter the department, lunches were a half hour long, and was whenever you chose it to be. Overall, I recommend working at this company, if you have a good work ethic, and positive attitude - You’ll fit right in.

Liaison Electrical Design Engineering: 
Excellent coordination and communication with engineering groups to: - Support project managers to develop project workplans. - Solve engineering problems with quality, manufacturing, installation and certification engineers. - Support design engineering changes proposals to ensure approval.
 Wire Harness Installation Design Engineering: 
- Excellent experience with wire harness installation, wire harness assembly and formboard design in the aerospace Industry. - Remarkable experience and technical knowledge with CAD/CAM software as CATIA V5.-Experience with electrical parts selection for wire harness based in material types and zone / section environmental compatibility. - Ability to perform design review meetings with engineering groups to ensure compliance and resolve all wiring routing issues. - Ability to perform functional requirements and mock-up Integration analysis of wire harness installation designs to ensure compliance with FAA requirements. - Knowledge and ability to select design wire installation primary support attachments, wire harness provisions and brackets based on the wire physical properties like gauge, weight, material and section of the aircraft.
Mechanical Design Engineering:
- Experience with design and development of mechanical parts, components and assemblies with sheet metal workbench. - Experience with materials and process selection for new mechanical parts and components. - Knowledge of aircraft modifications and interior products. 
Manufacturing Engineering:
- Experience in manufacturing and development of harnesses. - Ability to perform manufacturing support to the site. - Ability and knowledge in Continuous improvements Lean methodology.
-  Ability to work with programming languages and designing softwares such as: Visual Basic, C++, CNC, GD&T, AutoCAD, Solid Works, Unigraphics, Ephysical and IVT.
-  Proficient with Microsoft Office: (Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook…). 
-  LANGUAGES:  Spanish: Native, English: Bilingual.

Expect little to no formal training, and then be held accountable for not performing a task "right". You are expected to follow a "rule book" for all procedures, but the rule book is full of contradictions and incorrect procedures. Management is extremely sloppy - nobody knows exactly what is going on at any given time. The managers play "Favorites". One person will get in trouble for doing something, while the other won't, for the same thing. They fail to provide the staff with the tools they need / request. They will overstaff you and provide you with too few tools. You will CONSTANTLY be fighting over tools. That is likely the reason the company can't achieve a 100% on-time rate. But they refuse to supply. You will be lectured DAILY about your mistakes (made because you were never taught properly by anyone). You will be wrong no matter what you do. You will be lectured by a different person each day who will disagree with the person who lectured you the previous day.
Most of the staff is very rude. Expect a lot of gossip. Even from managers. I had coworkers report to me the things managers have said about me behind my back. Expect it to be very hard to concentrate on a task because people are loud and inconsiderate for the entire shift. You may come to work with a motivation to work hard, but it will quickly be stolen away from you. It is impossible to clock-in and get to your station before encountering some form of drama. People will use extremely toxic chemicals and blow ear-shattering compressed air and plexiglass dust all around you without caring if you have protection on. Despite undergoing horrible skin irritation and inconsiderate coworkers, i tried my best to stay motivated until i was fired for reasons unclear to me. Of five jobs i've worked, this was the second-worst one.

Safran Labinal's business is creating aviation electronics for various manufacturers.  There are two different shifts (7 a.m. - 4 p.m. and 4 p.m. - 1 a.m.) with a one hour lunch break to give all the employees an ample chance to eat either in the in-house cafeteria or get take-out for the numerous near-by fast-food options.

A typical day begins with the intercom bell signalling that employees should be at their respectives workstaions and logged into their project.  After about two hours of work, the 10 minute break bell rings to give employees a chance to smoke, snack, or go to their cars to make personal calls.  For security reasons, cell phones must be left in employee lockers during working hours.  Two more hours of work, then lunch, work, break, work, then log off your project and clock out.

The work is challenging and varied enough to be interesting.  Strict quality control and a time limit made me want to do things right the first time.  The challenge for me was keeping within the time budget I recieved with the projects.

The supervisors were fair and understanding when I went through a prolonged illness that eventually required surgery.

The major downside to working at Safran is the poor air quality.  I am not prone to sinus infections but in the 2 years I worked there, I contracted 4 serious sinus infections that resulted in bronchitis and requried me to be out of work for an average of four days each.  In addition, to save money the air conditioner is turned on in only half the building during the summer.  For those who do not live in Maryland, our local conditions during that time tend to be roughly 90 degrees and 90% humidity.  This is not a job for those who have respiratory difficulties.

I loved this place because of the people, I hated this place because of the people. Everyone is super nice, what i mean about the above everyone not one the production floor, is detached, really really really detached, they may meet about a issue talk about an issue and make decisions, but when your not involved in every way bad decisions are made and  that is what plagues this place. There is an US vs. Them feeling where someone with title may try and step one you to get there way and the response is usually bad output. Also when its time for them to let you go )they routinely over-staff and basically put you job at risk every 3-6 months) they have security and all this embarrassing unnecessary stuff involved and gone you are!   
Now those are some of the fairly common negatives, the great thing about this place is chance, you may if you work very hard build good relationships, land a very amazing role.. I started out just in prep- and needed someone to impress.. i did so and landed job after job moving up very quickly. now i was highly overqualified but i had a need (to work) and the company needed someone who could, It was a perfect match. I ended up in quality my boss was great, super people in that department, I was lucky, but not all..actually very few areas were like that, i was lucky!
Unfortunately those bad decisions by those detached people, cased the company great loss and the employees (not management) were the first to suffer, due to the purposeful over-staffing every 6 months or so a few hundred are laid off because they found someone cheaper or your job is being sent to mexico

The parent company micromanages and treats everyone from the US office like 2nd class citizens.  Good luck getting any advancement opportunities if you are not a French or Belgian national.  Management is horrible and there are multiple worthless or toxic individuals in leadership positions that all of the workers have no respect for and wish were gone.  There is no work-life balance here.  I was constantly overloaded and set up for failure the last 4 years with unrealistic workload dumped on me.  Management constantly tries to change processes in the name of improvement without giving a single thought to change management and the extra work they are creating for employees.  Every new year there is a new boss with new processes that are not debugged or beta tested at all before management dumps these flawed processes on the employees and leaves it to them to figure out how to fix it.  Then they turn around and blame the employees for low efficiency and quality misses.  Turnover at this place is unreal, for a 100-person company over 5 years I saw approximately 70 people leave, which causes massive continuity problems and makes it impossible to improve processes that are in dire need of upgrading.  There is a great group of people working here, unfortunately, this place is falling apart because of poor management and good people continuing to leave at an alarming rate.

A typical day at work is trying to find work to do since we are very slow at our facility, I like to remain busy so that time passes by quick for me. We currently have lean projects going on which is what im currently working on and trying to better the process flow when we finally get a good amount of work in. I am involved in pretty much every process of a slide assembly overhaul which consist of opening, testing, evaluation, repair, packing and certifying the slide assembly to be shipped out with a 8130-3 release tag. The hardest part of my job is trying to do every part of my job in a timely manner since van nuys slide shop is so short handed and all work is really delegated to employees when a large amount of quantities on slide assemblys. My co workers are workers depend on me to get questions answered because of my knowledge of slide assemblys since I have worked on them for 8 years this may coming up. My co workers know that I am team player and as long as you want to learn in this department I will always lend a hand weather it be on slide on assemlys or other FAA regulation knowledge that I might have. My management I do not totally agree with which is why I am looking for a transfer or new job they lack experience and knowledge in my department which at times frustrates me on the fact that some of the things they ask for are not possible in the time given to complete a task and certain completion dates. The most enjoyable part of my job is the fact that I can do my job and at times also help out my co workers when my help is needed.

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