faces of the frontline: manufacturing’s all stars

Sometimes, all an employee needs is an opportunity to make their mark. For Pedro Garcia, Downstream Operator at California Natural Products (CNP), a company that manufactures nutritional, natural, and organic food ingredients in Lathrop, California, his opportunity involved an iPad and QAD Redzone. 

Garcia started at CNP as a temporary employee. He was promoted to a full-time position shortly before QAD Redzone was introduced — and he was eager to jump in and use the tool.

One feature of Redzone is a learning module where employees can create “plays” — short, instructional videos that show team members how to accomplish specific work tasks. Pedro was the first employee to use the learning module to create plays, putting his stamp on the entire culture at CNP. His dedication to creating plays to help his team has inspired his coworkers to do the same.   

What Makes Pedro a QAD Redzone Frontline MVP

His managers already knew Pedro was a valuable team member. However, they were still surprised when he was the first employee at CNP to step up to create a play in QAD Redzone. They didn’t see him as the type to get on camera. Yet, for Pedro, filming plays was a natural thing to do, and a way to help his team. 

“He came on as a full-time employee and got engaged in Redzone. And then the learning module came in, and it was like, ‘Boom. The gate’s open for me to have a voice’…Pedro took to that like a fish in water. I’m serious. It was explosive,” says Marcos Galvan, Director of Aseptic Operations at CNP.

Ever since he was first hired at CNP, before QAD Redzone was implemented, Pedro looked for ways to help his team. Now, four years later, he continues to be a force for good. 

Influence

Initially hired as a temporary employee, Pedro worked hard for a full year before being hired on full-time. As a Downstream Operator for the following three years, he influenced his teammates by bringing suggestions as a peer rather than a manager. Coworkers followed his lead because he was “one of them.” 

When CNP invested in QAD Redzone, the ability to create plays appealed to Pedro. And while his teammates initially weren’t interested in getting in front of the camera, seeing him do it inspired them to give it a try. Pedro remains one of the top playmakers at CNP. But to date, 54 different team members have stepped up, and together, they’ve created over 260 plays.

Bravery

Pedro went from a temporary employee with great ideas but low authority, to a permanent employee who represented the company’s standards. He made these strides by being fearless in front of the camera, with no particular experience or specialized knowledge of videography. All he had was a desire to help his teammates and the courage to get it done. 

“The impact it created … ‘Hey, we’ve got to make a play.’ I said, ‘Well, give it to Pedro. He’s going to make it happen,'” says Galvan.

Team Player

Pedro’s number one motivation for creating plays was to help his teammates. And because the safety plays and training modules came from a peer, rather than coming down from management, his coworkers embraced them. This supported a broader change in CNP culture of valuing ongoing training and continuous improvement.

“I don’t want people to make the mistakes I’ve made. I want them to be here so I can mentor the people coming in so we can have a better day, and we can win together,” says Pedro.

Initiative

No one told Pedro to make a play; his managers presented the tools and he ran with them. He taught himself to make plays that demonstrated all the steps of a process, including what to type into the screen on a machine and screenshots of important steps of the operation.

“With this learning module, now anybody can access these or any type of plays … A lot of them were created by Pedro, and they’re great,” says Galvan.

Impacting the Culture at California Natural Products

Pedro’s managers call him a trendsetter who changed the CNP culture for the better. His plays made it easier to get training to the floor workers.

“He started that trend. It wasn’t a supervisor, it wasn’t a director, it wasn’t a manager. It was an operator that created that trend for the entire department,” says Galvan.

Leading the Way for Employee Safety

Because of his experience as a temporary employee, Pedro understood the physical demands of transitioning between positions, like moving from recycling to stacking. The muscle groups and labor intensity of each task were different; this taught him the importance of preparing his body to do the work. 

As a result, his first play was a pre-shift stretching video. Those early plays are still used today to prep team members for an arduous shift. 

“That’s the reason why I wanted to start off with the stretches. Because if nobody’s stretching, everybody’s going to be hurt. So get the stretches going, then get everything going and working,” says Garcia.

Raising Team Productivity

It all started with a simple play to demonstrate pre-shift stretches — it led to an entire culture change. Employees accessed learning modules regularly and continued to add to the library. Following this culture shift, CNP saw a 7% improvement in employee turnover and a 14% improvement in overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).

Taking Ownership of Plays

Pedro created his first QAD Redzone plays using trial and error. The plays weren’t perfect, but he did them anyway. As his skills grew, he took ownership of the plays, giving each his total effort. 

He even created his own catchphrase, beginning each play with his signature greeting, “Hi, my name’s Pedro Garcia.” This small sound bite might not signify anything to an outsider, but every time CNP management heard it, they were reminded that Pedro is committed to excellence and creating a culture of continuous improvement.

Want to know more? Read about more Faces of the Frontline, and their stories stories in our ebook.