Customer-Focused Production At Server Technology

When Jeremy Foroszowsky surveys the production of the floor at Server Technology’s headquarters in northern Nevada, he doesn’t notice - as most people would - the amazing beehive of activity, with workers concentrating on assembling some of the world’s most powerful PDUs. Instead, he sees happy customers.

In the end, that’s really Foroszowsky’s job; to ensure that the final product conforms to the exacting standards for which Server Technology has developed such a stellar reputation. Even though his title reads Director of Manufacturing Operations, his ultimate goal is to see that every component of every power distribution unit that comes off of his production line is exactly what the customer is expecting.

The same could be said of everyone else who works at Server Technology, whether they’re an engineer, salesperson, receptionist or CEO, but Foroszowsky also has the added role of ensuring that the products are delivered on time, every time.

That, Foroszowsky says, takes a strong culture of communicating across silos.

“The one thing I’m proud of with my team is the communication we have,” he says. “Understanding all the way throughout the organization what the priorities are and working together as a team – that’s all important to us. Our team is particular here because we deal with so many configurations and complexity of the builds that open and honest communication is crucial.”

In a typical day, the production floor holds 29 employees. Production employees go through daily standup meetings with the production supervisor, who highlights the day’s challenges, including all fulfillment expectations for special and rush orders. With this mindset, Server Technology team members go to their respective stations, which are broken up into four different areas. There is a cord prep area that deals with power cords, two assembly stations and a test station.

Foroszowsky said it’s not uncommon for an employee to rotate stations to keep them engaged and on their toes. The non-linear approach is by design.

“We try to maximize our agility out there, so if you look at our line, it’s segmented. It’s not a linear, straight-through sort of process,” Foroszowsky says. “We want to be more agile than that.”

Once the production day ends, the shift is capped with meetings where the team members discuss challenges, including any quality issues that may have arisen during the day. These are quickly addressed and the lessons carried over into the next shift.

Safety is also a high priority, Foroszowsky says.

“We deal in very high voltage as well as amperage units, so we have not only safety boxes we’ve created, but we have GFI boxes that’ll shut everything down in an instant to protect our employees,” he says. “Going through proper training, making sure they understand what the tests are, that’s critical.

In the end, the team’s top focus is on creating award-winning PDUs that meet – and hopefully exceed – customer expectations.

“We really focus on the customer and on getting things out,” he says.