At Packaging Automation, we are immensely proud of the work all our teams do and acutely aware of their contributions to the business, especially during difficult times.
We took some time recently to interview Jo Porter, who leads the Projects Team, about the team and the challenges they have faced during the Covid-19 global pandemic. Although her first responsibility is to manage the department, with extensive knowledge of client expectations for operator tasks, maintenance windows, and the rigours of the hygiene standards and customer audits our clients are subjected to, Jo supports our clients and her team at every stage of the capital investment journey.
Q: Jo, can you tell us a little bit about the Projects Team?
The Projects Team at Packaging Automation is a multidisciplinary team of 8 individuals who all have specialist skills in key areas.
Greg, for example, is our resident expert on high speed sealing machines, whereas Nick is the person to speak to about rotary machines and tools and he is the advent calendar expert too!
Our expertise comes from in depth knowledge of our machinery from team members who joined the business as apprentices and developed their skills over many years, balanced with those who have worked on the front line in food manufacturing companies and offer an ‘end-user’ perspective.
Q. What is the role of the Projects Team?
From the moment the order is placed, the Projects Team take ownership of the machine or tool, and the Complete Line Solution project, ensuring delivery is on time and client expectations are met, no matter the size of the investment.
I am proud to say that we deliver a comprehensive project management service with knowledge, pride, and passion from conception to closure.
Q: Is there a key skill that is needed to work in the Projects Team?
Yes, there are a couple of things, excellent customer service, attention to detail and questioning skills to illicit the correct information from the customer to manage expectations.
Q: Has the Covid-19 Global Pandemic presented any new challenges for the Projects Team?
To be honest it has pretty much been business as usual with the team attending sites as necessary but with the necessary PPE and social distancing rules adhered to.
We have, of course, found some new ways of working and Microsoft Teams has really helped with virtual meetings, but we operate very robust processes which have been critical during this time.
Fast responses are inherent in our roles and that is something that has been very helpful during Covid-19 as many projects have had tight timescales.
The very nature of our work means that we are an adaptive agile team and that has certainly been beneficial during this time.
We have had some new starters to the team during the pandemic which has been a bit of a baptism of fire for them, trying to find their feet in a new role in an ever changing landscape but they have coped admirably!
If you would like to find out more about the Projects Team please visit https://www.pal.co.uk/projects or call 01565 756566