Re-setting the balance between work and home

I mentioned at the start of the previous article that I was suffering from “writer’s block.” It hasn’t really gone away, but at least I’ve managed to nail the real reason for my malaise. Basically, it’s being in a rut; a situation I dislike, especially as I’m supposed to be winding down at work. The irony is, that as my stint in charge of the company’s Quality Control function, draws to a close, if anything, I’m busier than ever.

I mentioned before that my plan is to go part-time from the end of September, working a 3-day week, instead of five days. Things are progressing on that front, as the company has managed to recruit my successor, and she’ll be starting at the beginning of next month. To begin with she will work alongside me, learning about the job, the department, and the company, and will gradually assume more and more responsibility.

Teaching this new incumbent is a task I’m really looking forward to, but in the meantime, there are a few issues that need ironing out. I’ve a key member of staff off sick at the moment, so I’m trying to spread her workload amongst the rest of the department, and that includes me taking on my share of the work. The trouble is this has come at a time when the company’s order book is at a record high, as there has been an unprecedented demand for dental products.

No-one seems to know why. Our customers are unable to tell us the reason and the industry body we belong to, can’t either. All we know is that after the shutdown caused by the pandemic, there has been a totally unexpected surge in demand for dental materials.

All well and good, you might say and better make hay whilst the sun is still shining. Others would say it’s a good problem to have, and they would be right, providing the resources are in place to deal with all these orders. Unfortunately, they are not and we’re experiencing real difficulties in coping with this unprecedented demand.

I’m mightily relieved that I work on the quality rather than the operations side, as our Production Manager looks absolutely worn out. With too many balls to juggle and too many demands from various factors, the poor chap is not having an easy time of it.

He has my sympathies, as having served a stint as Production Manager in a previous company, I know exactly the pressures he will be feeling under. On the one side there will be the sales team who, having promised the earth to competing customers, will be on his back wondering why so and so’s order hasn’t been completed. On the other side, he will be attempting to ensure there are sufficient stocks of raw materials, containers, and packaging items, along with the manpower necessary to process all these orders in a timely fashion.

Believe you me, it is not an easy task, especially when you are a conscientious individual, like he is, and I was. You don’t like letting people down and you don’t want the sales department constantly on you back either. So how does this impact on my department and, more importantly, me?

It impacts quite a lot, as all incoming goods, whether they’re raw materials, containers, closures, cartons, or labels, have to be inspected and tested, where appropriate. This is QC’s responsibility and a vital part of our Quality Management System (QMS). In addition, the bulk intermediate products, have to undergo full laboratory tests to ensure full compliance with the appropriate ISO Standard.

And then there’s the paperwork, and our organisation generates huge amounts; so much so that it is drowning in the stuff! It’s all very necessary though, as we are required to maintain full lot-traceability on all our products, and this includes details of every batch of the components described above. Thankfully, in a few months’ time, it will be someone else’s problem, but it is keeping me far busier than I would have liked.

I’ve laboured these points quite a bit, but they go a long way to explaining why I’m feeling tired and jaded at present, and why I’m lacking the motivation to go out of an evening or to even look for beer-related stories to write about.

It’s also good to get things off one’s chest, even though, in a perverse sort of way, I really like my job and despite the undoubtedly heavy workload, the company is heading in the right direction. One of my management colleagues was appointed as General Manager at the beginning of March, and as someone who has been with the firm for a long time, and worked his way up from the shop floor, it is a thoroughly deserved promotion.

It is also a welcome change in direction from the absolute clown the board saddled us with, almost two and a half years ago – an appointment that, with hindsight, was made out of desperation, combined with a desire to fill the GM’s position, at any cost.

So, with pubs, restaurants, and other forms of hospitality due to open up again next week (Galapagos Islands and other obscure variants of Covid, permitting), there’s going to be one helluva lot to commit to paper. Rest-assured I will do my best to bring these stories to your attention and, if you’ve managed to stay the course so far, thank-you for your patience.

Footnote: Apart from the first picture, which is a couple of lines written by Ernest Hemingway, the photos show various parts of my workplace, but were taken in such a way as not to give too much away about the company name, or its products.