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Frontline Worker Q&A: Tyler DeGood, Haviland Enterprises, Inc.

Tyler DeGood is a packager on the North Liquids Production Line at Haviland Enterprises, Inc., a chemical manufacturer headquartered in Grand Rapids, MI supplying creative chemistries for cleaning, plating, recreational water, and other applications. Haviland is an employee-owned ESOP company that is comprised of two divisions with facilities throughout the United States.

Mr. DeGood recently sat for a Q&A with us to share his experience working with the QAD Redzone Connected Workforce Solution, which Haviland implemented in Q1 2023.

1. What are your responsibilities as a packager?

“I run my line. I help out other lines if I can. However, [my job is] mostly making sure our equipment is running smoothly as we package everything and get ready to send out to our customers,” says Mr. DeGood.

2. What was your first encounter with QAD Redzone like?

“I’ll be honest: I thought it was going to be more of micromanaging of us on the lines – watching and just basically nitpicking what we’re doing,” states Mr. DeGood.

3. So, what do you think about the solution now?

“After doing our Kaizen event in Liquids One Line, I saw [QAD Redzone as creating] an opportunity for us on the line, those of us who are actually packaging, to show our supervisors, our managers, and even further up in the line, exactly what the problems are. [We can show them] what we are experiencing and what we potentially think could improve the lines,” says Mr. DeGood.

4. Does having a digital identity help you communicate?

“Yes, we are able to communicate with specific people. For example, if sensors aren’t working properly, I’m able to message my supervisor. Help comes pretty quick,” states Mr. DeGood.

5. Does QAD Redzone make your work easier?

“It makes it easier to tell exactly how much time it [takes to complete a process] instead of trying to estimate it afterward,” says Mr. DeGood. 

6. Do you feel more engaged now that you’re using QAD Redzone?

“I do feel more engaged. I feel that I’m paying attention to exactly how long things take, especially our longest process, which is changeovers,” states Mr. DeGood.

7. Do you think management is listening more to what you have to say?

“Yes. We’ve seen a few things we talked about in the Kaizen event already started happening. And I know some of them were in the works already. However, some of the smaller things we mentioned [were fixed] the week of the event. So, I definitely feel management is showing that they’re listening more,” says Mr. DeGood.

8. Can you share any process improvements that your team has made?

“We had all 36 of our fill heads plus some inside one bucket. Now they’re separated into three buckets. We’ve taken an extra cart, when we can, to basically keep things separated … because our line is pretty long. It’s just those little minor things that have already shown that they can speed up our changeover process and can speed up how we run the line,” states Mr. DeGood.

9. What would you say to other companies who are considering QAD Redzone?

“Give it a try. It makes it easier for you to see what problems your workers are experiencing. [You’re not relying] on word of mouth: They are saying this, and you are thinking something else. QAD Redzone gives a clear [signal]: ‘This has been a repetitive problem. Let’s try to get something fixed there,’” concludes Mr. DeGood.