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CEO Q&A: Meg Post, Haviland Enterprises, Inc.

Meg Post is the President and CEO of Haviland Enterprises, Inc., a employee-owned chemical supplier for cleaning, plating, recreational water and other applications. Haviland is comprised of two divisions with locations throughout the United States including its headquarters in Grand Rapids, MI.

Post recently sat for a Q&A session with us. She provided insight on why Haviland decided to implement the QAD Redzone Connected Workforce Solution and how the company’s production teams are using it to solve problems and win the day.

1.How did you learn about the QAD Redzone Connected Workforce Solution?

“We heard about QAD Redzone when we were visiting a distributor’s customer [AquaCal] that had recently adopted the technology. [AquaCal leaders] showed us everything that the tool and the software had done for them over the past several years,” says Post.

2. What interested you about the solution?

“[AquaCal] had two production lines manufacturing the same product… First, we started in their boardroom. They showed us the specially designed iPad with QAD Redzone software and all the information that they were gathering through the tablet. And then, they showed us out on the production floor how their employees were engaging with the software, the visual boards, and the TVs that they had installed that provided continuously updated shopfloor information. And just the insights and reporting that they were getting from the software was very interesting to us,” says Post.

Ms. Post says she also liked how QAD Redzone inspired healthy competition between the production workers.

3. How would you define QAD Redzone?

“I describe QAD Redzone as a tool for employee communication and engagement in their work. It does track productivity. It does track downtime. But it gives employees the empowerment to escalate issues and solve problems that need to be solved for the success of the company,” states Post.

4. What’s your favorite feature of QAD Redzone?

“I love the ability to just communicate and chat and engage with our employees every day,” says Post.

“I love being able to open my iPad or open my iPhone and see which employees are working on which line, what they’re working on, what the success they’re having that day looks like, [and] what their struggles that day look like,” she states.

“When I go out onto the floor … I’m equipped with the information on how their day is going and what support they might need. I also enjoy being able to interact and communicate with them when I see success. And I can do that from my desk. I can do that by walking out to the floor. I can do that at home,” Post adds.

5. How does QAD Redzone support your organization?

“Haviland is 100% employee-owned, so our staff has a vested interest in the future of our company. We knew that QAD Redzone would enable our team to take ownership of their work, escalate issues, and become engaged in their success and the success of their production line every day,” states Post.

“By improving our business with QAD Redzone, we’re impacting the lives and retirement of our workforce every day,” she adds.

6. What advice would you give peers who want to improve manufacturing results?

 “When you’re considering QAD Redzone, don’t just look at the productivity gains you can achieve with the solution. Look at how your employees are now communicating with each other, across business functions and about business challenges. Employees thrive when they’re given the tools to be successful every day,” Post concludes.

Learn more about QAD Redzone.