In the seventh of our “5 Questions with..” series, we talk to Paul Jenkins, Quality & EHS Manager at Gill. We asked him what’s exciting about his role in Quality, Environment, Health & Safety, what changes he sees coming and his passion for music.
Q.1 – What excites you most about Gill and your role here?
Firstly, it has to be said that I’m lucky enough to manage three dynamic departments here at Gill, and having a team of people that are an absolute pleasure to work with really helps. However, working in a company that is constantly innovating means that we are all key to providing the foundations to help Gill grow.
From a quality perspective, I know how our products are built and designed and I also know how diligent our production staff is. Quality is embedded into our culture and this is reflected in our reputation when it comes to first class products. Having such a high quality team and high quality products to look after is what really excites me.
Q.2 – You’ve been in this industry for many years – what keeps it interesting for you?
I very much enjoy variation in my job, and this really helps to keep me engaged and motivated to make a meaningful difference. At Gill, every day brings a new challenge, whether it’s improving a process, problem solving, helping our customers or empowering and growing our staff.
I enjoy the mix of analytical thinking and the fact that I typically have to integrate with every department within a business. It’s not just about quality, it’s about working within a culture where people take pride in doing things right. The ever evolving standards we work with, new technologies and continuous improvement mindset mean there’s always something to get stuck into. But ultimately, what keeps it interesting for me is striving to continuously improve our performance.
Q.3 – How do you see the industry changing in the next five years?
As we move towards a world that is largely based online, it’s interesting to see how our products are evolving with the times. So, I’m expecting a world where data from sensors of all types are more frequently streamed to apps, and I also firmly believe that the renewables market will play a big part in our future.
I recently returned from a trip to the US and was absolutely blown away (excuse the pun) by the vastness of the solar farms that now pump power into the US energy grid. However, all of the solar (and wind) technology is reliant on the systems around it, and our products play a key part in the overall design. I also recently visited a company that models wind flow through new (and old) city designs, and again the reliance on environmental data is becoming more and more important. Exciting times to be in our industry.
Q.4 – Who has inspired you the most in your career, and what did you learn from them?
The nature of my job means that a large percentage of my time is spent worrying about reporting negative news. In audits, its always the 1 non conformance that we need to focus on and if you are 99.9% on delivered quality, it’s the 0.1% that the boss wants to know about, and so it should be. Although it can, on occasions, mean that I have to remain calm while saying things that maybe others don’t want to hear.
But people who cope well in stressful situations where a cool head is needed really do inspire me, and there is no better example than Gene Kranz who directed the successful efforts by the Mission Control team to save the crew of Apollo 13. If you watch the film (or read the book), Kranz was the key to the team achieving their now ‘new’ goal of getting the astronauts back to earth safely, and his leadership and ability (while remining in complete control) to get the best from his engineers was truly inspirational.
Q.5 – Tell us something about yourself that might surprise us.
OK, I’m going to be honest here: I’m a secret rock star (at least I like to think I am). My real passion in life is for all things electric guitar, and although during the week I’m a mild mannered (at least most of the time) Quality Manager who wears a shirt, on weekends the inner Slash comes out and I can be seen frequenting live music venues around the South Coast who are willing to let my band play.
If I were talented enough to make a living from music then I would have, but alas I’ve probably spent more on two guitars than all the money I’ve ever made performing live. But as any failed musician would say ‘its not about the money, its about the music’…..
