Continuing to Make a Difference

I have been asked over my career about many of the position choices I have made and how I chose them. I think career decisions are defined in many different ways and there is no real forumla to choosing the right place. However saying that, a lot of times I use my gut and the level of interest of the employer when I discuss my thoughts on the operation during the interview process. I will be the first to admit that I don’t fit in every operation. I look for properties that need change, want change, and are willing to change. If one of those three are missing it is tough to get to success. The bottom line is I like being apart of something that is less than impressive and make it world class. I like to show people how they can save money and give them a vision of where we can get and what impact that will make both financially and aesthetically.

This takes me to the meat of this blog post and our new additions at the Four Seasons Resort and Club.This month we started by replacing our air compressor and revamping our air lines throughout the shop. I am not sure we realize the importance of air until we don’t have it. Next we installed a new tire changer as you can see in the photo below. The tire changer is a big part of an operation this large. Tire changes happen on a daily basis and generally it was taking 30 minutes per tire to manually have them change many times that labor going to waste having to take tires down to the local tire place to have them taken off and mounted. This accounted for a lot of lost time “labor” spent on nothing but tires. The tire changer will allow us to cut that time down by 2/3 and in the end to get the job done.

Coats 5030E Tire Changer

Also we purchased a new set of grinders. Grinders are the most important part of the operation in terms of quality of cut, plant health, and numerous other factors. This purchase was unique because I made a decision to change grinder manufacturer from the companies I have used in the past. Most of it was a financial decision. I have to thank Mark Pilger and S.I.P for the outstanding pricing and service so far. Mark is the owner of S.I.P. and has personally driven to Dallas to give me a demonstration on the grinders before we made any decisions on what grinders to go with. I feel I am open to new things if and when it makes sense either technologically or financially and in this case it was some of both. I think the most impressive thing to me was the bedknife grinder. I am someone you could call a perfectionist and I want things done as precise as I can get it done. The S.I.P bedknife grinder is in my opinion the most accurate bedknife grinder on the market. With the recent addition of the V-Block pallet it allows us the capability of grinding from the pivot bolts. This isn’t a new concept, in fact, it has been used on another manufacturers grinders for years. However one thing that this pallet does that sets it apart is it sets the bedknife in a fixed parallel position which has proven to produce more consistent results. Also it gives you the capability of grinding the bedbar itself which will allow you to get longer life out of bedknives. In regards to the reel grinder it takes into account parallel of the cutting unit which I have been saying for years is the most important part of cutting unit set-up. While the set-up process with the reel grinder requires you to have some basic math knowledge the results thus far have been outstanding. More to come on the grinders as I continue to get fully versed on them.

S.I.P Reel Grinder

S.I.P Bedknife Grinder

One thing I have learned in this process is that friendships come and go. The best friendships are those that don’t require you to buy something or have strings attached in order to have that relationship. Being the CEO of the IGCEMA and the Equipment Manager at a club many times puts me in a political conundrum that many leaders are not normally in. I am tasked to work with all manufacturers and create those relationships as IGCEMA CEO but then disappoint them when I don’t make a purchase from their company as Equipment Manager. The deal is someone is always going to be disappointed. Most handle it fine however it doesn’t change the fact that a decision has to be made and someone is likely to be upset whether they admit it or not. My job is to do what’s in the best interest of my employer “The Club” as is everyone. The realization that everyone should come to is that just because we don’t buy it doesn’t mean it’s not good enough. Just like every other club we evaluate things on price, application, and support and if any of those differ from one another it often times sways the direction of decisions we make. All I can say is Don’t Take it Personal!