Cameron
Hi, everybody, and welcome to ‘This is Manufacturing in Mexico,’ the podcast from the Entrada Group. Entrada Group’s plug and play platform enables global manufacturers to set up and run their own production operation in Mexico in order to enhance competitiveness. And today we're welcoming to the podcast, Jonathan Nava, who is Entrada’s Shared Services Director. He has been with Entrada Group for four years. Jonathan, welcome to the podcast.
Jonathan
My pleasure, Cameron, and thanks for the invite to this interview. Very excited to be here with you.
Cameron
Definitely, we're excited to have you. Let me just briefly tell the listeners about you, Jonathan. Jonathan has trained and has experience in the Kaizen continuous improvement process, which is designed to enhance efficiency, reduce waste. Your role at Entrada Group is to help clients do things better, more efficiently, fewer mistakes. You trained with the Japanese consulting firm, Shingijutsu, and one of the founders of that was Taiichi Ohno who was one of the creators of the original Toyota Production System, which I think is fascinating. We'll get into that in a little bit. Jonathan, you've managed operations for many different companies across different sectors in Mexico. And, as we dive into what I wanted to go over with you today, I think it's essential to start with what you do and your function. You're really responsible for helping things be efficient, making sure that the trains run on time, making sure that the clients have a framework for a successful and efficient operation. At the same time, you don't really have direct influence or authority over the operations of your clients. Is that right?
Jonathan
That is correct, Cameron. Here at Entrada, we are focused on providing mainly administrative services to our clients so they can be focused on the manufacturing their own operation processes within the factory. So, we are very respectful in this case, in my position. We’re very respectful of the clients’ own processes, procedures and politics. So, I’m focused on improving our own internal processes here at Entrada, so we can provide a better level of service to the clients here in the campus.
Cameron
Okay. And so you actually trained under someone who was a direct student of the founder of Shingijutsu, Taiichi Ohno. What was that experience like?
Jonathan
That was a very motivational and high learning process for me. The fact of working with not only Japanese, but also Chinese, and other nationalities of workers from different regions in the world, brought to me several different perspectives on how they continuous improvement activities are being executed, and performed by different people around the world. And also, it was a very eye-opening process for me because I learned how to interact with different cultures and ways of thinking.
Cameron
And that's important in your job these days, because in Entrada’s campuses, you have clients from all over the world, different countries, so that must be an essential element.
Jonathan
That is correct.
Cameron
One of the things we want to cover today in our discussion is about the Entrada Learning Center, which launched late last year, and I'd like to hear a little bit about how clients are using it, how your clients are benefiting from this program and why this is such a unique offering for small and mid-sized manufacturers in Mexico.
Jonathan
Let me talk a little bit about the type of courses that we are initially offering to our clients in the campus, Cameron. We are starting with IPC certifications, in this case, the regulation IPC 620, and the IPC 610. These are very technical certifications, the first one, the 624, the wire harness industry, and the 610 for the soldering regulations and best practices for this type of processes, but also within the continuous improvement area, we can offer also to our clients, the tools and the knowledge so they can be more efficient within their own production processes.
I would like to mention, for instance, a very specific case, where one of our clients, in this case one production supervisor, got in touch with us. She was commenting to us that she was feeling frustrated, because within their production processes, she was obtaining different production rates from one operator to another. Just to give you a number, let's say that operator A was able to produce 100 pieces per hour, then the operator B was able to produce 300 pieces per hour. And she was commenting to me that, “how is that possible?” Because she doesn't have the knowledge, and the tools, and the techniques in order to standardize the production rates. So, all the operators working in that specific production cell can meet the same production rate every time. That is an example of, out of many examples that we can find with different players in the campus, where the standardization of processes can improve how the operation is running within every facility.
Cameron
Interesting, and is that perhaps why demand from your clients came to focus the initial training on these two IPC certifications?
Jonathan
Yeah, it could be related, but the IPC certifications are going to be more aligned to meet international requirements or regulations. So, the company can be more competitive in a worldwide commercial environment.
Cameron
So, this might be an example of how Entrada is helping to make your own clients more competitive, more desirable in the manufacturing landscape there in Mexico to their customers?
Jonathan
That is correct.
Cameron
You mentioned earlier about continuous improvement, and I want to explore that a little bit more. How does the continuous improvement program fit into the overall offer that Entrada gives to clients as part of its manufacturing support platform?
Jonathan
Besides the example that I was giving you a few seconds ago, the continuous improvement tools can provide not only better efficiency within their processes, but also it requires a cultural change in the people that is going to be involved in this type of initiative. So, it's not only that you are modifying the processes or executing the processes in different ways in order to get different and better results, it’s also the involvement of all the people within the company, different levels from top level to lower levels within the company, they need to be committed so we can see huge changes in the coming future.
Cameron
Without the support from the top, a continuous improvement program just won't take hold and won't be successful?
Jonathan
That is correct, Cameron, and according to my professional experience, that that should be the very first step - top level of the company to be committed with these type of initiatives.
Cameron
And regarding the Learning Center, what types of training and professional development will
Entrada offer at the Learning Center?
Jonathan
I already mentioned the IPC certifications 620, 610. We're looking in the following three months to be also certified on the J-standard, which is also related to the soldering best practices and processes. And we're looking also to offer, besides to the continuous improvement tools, courses that facilitate the personnel to be more committed, to be happier within the factory, and to improve the work environment within the company. It's not only to be more efficient in the process, but it's also to have more committed and happy people doing that job. That is a very important part that we also want to cover in the coming future as part of the services provided by the Entrada Learning Center.
Cameron
It motivates clients on so many levels, not just better efficiency, fewer mistakes, but also better retention, better opportunities to recruit the best talent, to say, “hey, we're committed to a program like this” makes them all more desirable as an employer.
Jonathan
Exactly, exactly. That is that is what we're looking also to cover within the Entrada Learning Center services, Cameron.
Cameron
Fantastic. Why is this program potentially such a game changer for Entrada’s clients? Why is it such a big deal, Jonathan?
Jonathan
You know, Cameron, we have a very common situation here within the campus. And actually, I could say here in our state Zacatecas, which is a not a highly developed industrial state, there is a very common situation that many factories, in our case, in the campus, whenever the clients are requiring a specific training course, they need to send their personnel out of the campus, or out of the city, or sometimes out of the state, to get that training program. That implies moving their personnel, expenses for traveling, time spent to go and receive the training… so why not make a little change to that current situation and get these types of services within the campus? And you're going to get these types of services just a few meters away from your facility.
Cameron
Okay. And so, efficiency, convenience, all of that contributes to better participation, and better retention, and again, continuous improvement.
Jonathan
Correct.
Cameron
Okay. So, this is our second episode of the podcast and people listen from all over the world. There may be people listening from US, Canada or Europe here. What's one thing you'd share with the listeners about what they could expect in a Mexico manufacturing environment, such as the Entrada campuses in Zacatecas and Celaya? What's something that you could share with them that they may not be expecting or may not be aware of about manufacturing in Mexico?
Jonathan
Well, I think one of the most known topics about manufacturing in Mexico could be the competitive cost of the labor. But it's not only that. Specifically for our area here in Fresnillo, we can mention the availability of direct labor. That is an important topic. And I think it applies more to the wire harness industry, which requires a high labor availability for this type of processes.
We are a big, big fish in a small pond, I can say. We have a very good relationship with government authorities at the local and state level that support us also on good initiatives on getting to attract more people to the campus. The type of services that we're offering here at the Entrada Group, it's also a significant part of the advantages that all the companies around the world can find here in Fresnillo.
Cameron
Well, Jonathan, thank you so much for your time, and we appreciate that. And this has been ‘This is Manufacturing in Mexico.’ So, until the next episode, thank you for listening, and we'll catch you next time.
