Success is in the Details; Commitment to Continuous Improvement
posted on Thursday, July 16, 2020
Congratulations to Chad and his team of growers for placing first in Finishing SelectPride last quarter.
“Chad is one of those supervisors who pushes himself and his team to do the best they can every day,” said Kevin, Senior Finishing Supervisor. “His managers have a lot of experience and they all work really well together.”
Although he’s been with the company for nearly 25 years, it might surprise you to learn that Chad has only been on the finishing side of things for just under five years. In November of 2015, he made the transition from sow farm manager to finishing supervisor to fill a need on our team in western Iowa.
“I remember feeling overwhelmed at the time,” recalled Chad. “It’s crazy to think that you could have spent your whole career with the same company and feel like you know a tremendous amount, and then the next day you feel completely lost and not know what’s going on.”
It's safe to say a lot of growth has taken place in the past five years, as this is now Chad’s second appearance in the first-place spot. And although much of the success could be credited to his marketing and management abilities, Chad said it all comes down to working alongside an amazing team.
“I’ve got a solid, sharp group of growers,” he explained. “They know what they are doing and what to look for. Better yet, they execute every single day. With animal care it’s all in the details and my team gets it.”
Alongside Chad are managers Arle, Daniel, Edgar, Josh, Max, Ricardo and Travis. Together, the group handles the daily health and care of pigs at 16 different farms, farm upkeep and light facility maintenance, among many other daily and weekly tasks.
“Chad is always seeking improvement and looking for opportunities to help make us better,” said Daniel, who has been a finishing manager for four years. “He pays particularly close attention to the front end of our turns and focusing on getting the pigs off to a great start.”
With another first place win notched on his belt, Chad is now focusing on improving communication with his team members and more face-to-face contact. They also continue to focus on improving death loss, which has already seen dramatic improvements thanks to filtered farms and improved herd health.
“Having been on the sow side of things for so long, I appreciate the effort it takes to get us healthy pigs,” he said. “What I love about working in pork production is that it takes everyone working together. We’re all an important piece in the puzzle.”
Congratulations to Chad, Arle, Daniel, Edgar, Josh, Max, Ricardo, Travis and Travis on an excellent quarter!
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