faces of the frontline: manufacturing’s all stars

Fortino Martinez may not be wearing a cape, but he’s certainly seen as the superhero of the production floor at Soft Gel Technologies. Joining the business 12 ago as a machine operator, Fortino has risen through the ranks to assistant supervisor. He has helped the business standardize its die system, remove inefficiencies, and train its production line workers to remove waste and improve quality. 

Fortino has that rare combination of an impeccable work ethic and an unwavering commitment to helping others that makes him a true asset to any organization he works for. His team has certainly felt the benefits of his helpful disposition, and that’s why he’s the highlight of this month’s Faces of the Frontline series.

Reducing Downtime by Revamping the Die Room 

Fortino worked as a machine operator for eight years, but he never sat on the sidelines when it came to fixing problems. When his shift lead performed equipment troubleshooting, he was right there, learning the ropes until he was confident enough to do it on his own. 

When the business embraced Kaizen’s lean manufacturing methodologies, Fortino noticed that the die equipment room was disorganized. “When we needed a piece of equipment, it sometimes took 30 minutes to complete a setup,” says Fortino.

He wasn’t intimidated by it, though. Fortino followed the principles of Kaizen and took on the lead role in organizing the die room to make the process easier and faster. He did an inventory of all dies and flagged up any that were damaged or in need of replacement.

Organizing the die system was only the first step in driving efficiency. Fortino also performed regular roller tests to make sure the equipment worked as intended and flagged any issues with his supervisor as soon as he found them. 

He also labeled the equipment and created a new system that gave the whole business a high-level overview of all dies, their capacity, and any wear-and-tear. “He created an Excel sheet that everyone in the company could access and see when the dies are damaged, the amount of ribbon they can handle, and the dimensions on them,’ says Anthony Allman, Senior Encapsulation Supervisor.

Taking Training to the Next Level 

By embracing Kaizen, Fortino quickly became the go-to person for any equipment or maintenance questions. Part of optimizing the production process was giving employees better training. 

Fortino knew intuitively that visual drawings would work far better than writing notes, so he took it upon himself to develop them.

“These drawings are much more professional looking, and people can take them home to study since we can’t give them the equipment to take home. That was part of his idea,” says Allman.

This is exactly the people-centric approach others love about Fortino. He always keeps the employee in mind and adjusts his approach to each individual to make sure everyone learns and performs to the best of their ability. 

“He did that with the employee in mind. He wasn’t asked to do it. He was just saying, ‘how could I best train these people?’ He figured out that it would be great if he had some diagrams and that’s what he came up with. Didn’t ask him to do that. He did it on his own accord,” says Valentino Lascano, Plant Manager.

Turning the Graveyard Shift Into a Productivity Powerhouse

Manufacturing runs around the clock, but finding skilled workers to run the graveyard shift is always a challenge. When his manager asked for volunteers, Fortino was the first to raise his hand, even though that meant finishing his day shift in the afternoon and starting up again at 2 a.m. 

Fortino, however, didn’t just operate the machines. He took on the split shift and started training both the employees and the shift supervisor to make them as efficient as possible.

“The supervisor for that shift has great people skills, but she’s still learning the technical aspects of the job. He jumped in and helped her — she’s come a long way since he started working with her,” says Lascano.

These improvements spurred a desire for additional training within the whole team. People not only wanted to learn; they wanted to learn from Fortino specifically. “They’ve even come to me too and asked me ‘when can I be next for one of these lesson plans?’ And then ‘okay, but can Fortino teach me?'”, adds Allman.

What’s unique about Fortino’s approach is that he always tailors his training to the individual instead of throwing standardized playbooks at them. This has helped speed up the learning curve and get everyone on the same page much faster. 

Lifting Everyone Up

The impact of Fortino’s work is felt daily on the manufacturing floor. The equipment is always well-maintained, downtime is brought down to a minimum, and shift workers feel confident in the tasks they’re performing. 

When asked to describe Fortino, his team isn’t short of superlatives to highlight his generous spirit. Unselfish, caring, and humble are just some of the words they used to characterize him. Indeed, his teammates’ desires to work with him showcase his innate commitment to sharing knowledge, helping others, and lifting everyone up. 

This embodies the culture that Soft Gel Technologies has strived to inspire across the business, and his attitude has definitely rubbed off on others. That’s the Fortino effect right there.

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