Baking & Snack - February 2024 - 95

" TARGETING
KEY EQUIPMENT
IS PRETTY
IMPORTANT,
ESPECIALLY WITH
THAT LIMITED
DOWNTIME. "
Kyle Ray, Klosterman Baking Co.
staffers well and building a positive culture in the bakery,
one that shows employees they're appreciated.
" We want all employees to come to work each day happy
for what they do and the value they add, " Mr. Catlett
said. " Being happy at work is something we strive for.
Money is a short-term motivator. But if employees can
come to work with a smile on their face, put in a good
day's work, be appreciated and treated in a positive manner,
then we have put ourselves in a great position to not
only hold onto talent but also attract new talent as well. "
Rubicon Bakers, Richmond, Calif., has put an emphasis
on maintenance recently, which has paid off for
the bakery.
" It's been probably one of our biggest areas of investment
over the past two years, not just the maintenance
of the equipment but the build-out of the maintenance
team, " said John Clinkscales, chief financial officer at
Rubicon. " Everything is on a very robust preventative
maintenance schedule. We're doing a lot of that in-house,
but we're also working with our equipment vendor partners
as needed to ensure reliability and uptime. We have
seen huge improvements as we invest more on that front. "
Good coaching is key
Management teams that are present and providing guidance
to the mechanics are the ones who will find the
most success, Mr. Brixey said.
" If you went out right now and gave every NFL team
the exact same playbook, only one of them is going to
win the Super Bowl. The execution is the key, " he explained.
" The coaches have to be the ones responsible for
the condition of the bakery and the assets. "
Bosses who get out of their offices and walk the floor
of the bakery, talk with their teams and check on assets
are the ones who set expectations for high quality and
know what's going on in the bakery, Mr. Brixey continued.
He emphasized the 'Trust but verify' principle.
" I don't know how many times I've seen people sit
in a meeting and be surprised by the amount of waste
and downtime, " he said. " But if they'd have walked out
on the floor at any moment during the prior week while
the issue was happening, their involvement, the intensity
that they could have brought to bear by just being
present in the moment, could have impacted the lagging
indicator much more than they ever realized. So
the get-out-and-look, the get-out-and-get-engaged is a
huge opportunity. "
Mr. Ray said mentoring and coaching his people
starts with the basics, such as emphasizing that safety is
the first priority, then supervisors and managers build
from there.
" You have to get them into the mindset of working
safely, " he explained. " When they step in the door, they
can't think of it as baking at home; it's baking on an industrial
level, so you have to understand how that works
and why it works the way it does. "
He stressed asking questions of team members after
they've been working on a piece of equipment. Helping
them understand what is needed by talking through the
process benefits everyone.
" When a technician comes in after working on a piece
of equipment, you have that conversation with them.
'What did you find? How did you repair it?' " Mr. Ray
said. " Then coaching them through any corrections that
might be needed or adding detail that would be useful
to them. "
Klosterman uses not just the experienced workers
and supervisors to guide staff but turns to outside help
when needed.
" If we are short-handed or short on experience, we
use opportunities to bring in an OEM technician to provide
the training needed as well as an in-depth inspecwww.bakingbusiness.com
/ February 2024 Baking & Snack 95
Guiding
maintenance staff
before repairs and
discussing the job
afterward reinforces
understanding and
good habits.
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Baking & Snack - February 2024

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