1 Coworker, 1 Job: Lorene

Hello, my name is Lorene and I have been working at éolane for the past 30 years. I started as an Operator in Saint-Agrève, back when I was working on the refurbishment of minitels. See ? That was a long time ago! *laughs* My tasks involved preparation, component insertion, and wiring. When I joined, I received training on the components, and thanks to the curriculum I had followed during my studies, it wasn't the first time I had heard the terms "resistor" or "PCB," so my integration went smoothly.

I continued working as a PCB operator for several years, then I moved on to prototyping, and eventually, I was offered the opportunity to become a Team Leader. Now, I hold this position at the Valence site.

Currently, I work on four products. I am responsible for setting up workstations, creating the operators' schedule, and handling Transfer Requests, which means I request the materials I need for the week's production orders.

I also report the workload to my manager, the Supervisor, in order to allocate operators to different work areas. The Supervisor's role is to address any issues that may arise. It's important to inform them if you encounter any obstacles or if you are unable to meet the scheduled deadlines and volumes. For instance, if there are non-conforming materials, I rely on the Supervisor and other departments, such as incoming inspection and quality, to find a solution and move forward.

We work in workstations grouped together. When there are not many of us, we don't necessarily have meetings (Go Meeting) because we are right next to each other and can easily communicate information. The atmosphere is great, and I work with fantastic operators!

The challenge of achieving the right result by the end of the week. I have a certain level of freedom to find solutions and ensure that everything runs smoothly. If needed, I inform my Supervisor, but I am autonomous in handling my products. With my experience and the trust placed in me, I enjoy the contact with both clients and operators. It's interesting because when operators join the workstation, I train them on the product. I get to see their progress and discover their individual working styles, which is really rewarding.

It's important to remain calm, know how to explain things properly, and be a good teacher. We're not machines, and everyone makes mistakes. When I train someone, I always tell them that there are no stupid questions. It's better to ask a silly question than to do something incorrectly.

We work as a team, so it's important to smooth out any rough edges. The operators don't see you as their boss because the Team Leader doesn't have a hierarchical aspect - that's the role of the Supervisor. However, we are responsible for ensuring quality, so we have to pay attention to everything. To avoid conflicts, it's crucial to prevent misunderstandings.

We work on many different products. It doesn't bother me personally, as I have held various positions, so I adapt quite easily. Team Leaders in Valence handle a lot of production, which accounts for 80% of our working time. When we are overloaded, it's important to know how to identify and manage priorities.

It's essential to understand how the operators we work with function. Some anticipate needs, while others don't. For example, if an operator tells you that they're out of screws, you need to determine if they mean they're running low on screws or if they really don't have any left at all! *laughs*

The atmosphere is very enjoyable, and sometimes, we play jokes on each other. For instance, at one point, we would place components that were supposed to be discarded randomly on the boards coming out of the wave soldering process to make it seem like they hadn't been soldered. When you spend an hour placing components and then find your board in mid-air, you're not happy! *laughs*