I spent the first couple days getting a feel for the company as a whole. Getting oriented by several key players in upper management, guided by the yellow and red M&M characters. Several PowerPoint presentations and lots of paperwork later, I started boxing coffee packets on the assembly line. One thing that has really impressed me is the degree of effort they put into supporting equality, freedom, and fun. Treating "wheredafungo" is something they take seriously. Everyones desks are all in the same room, there are no private offices, no executive parking spaces, no special treatment. I can literally walk 15 feet to the company managers desk and introduce myself, while being greeted with a smile.
Everyone on the production floor is cheerful, friendly, and helpful. There is an overwhelming sense of camaraderie between machines. When someones rails are running out, the person next to them will refill the hopper, without any expectation of thanks or reciprocation. Tiny details like this make learning my way around the company incredibly easy, and an absolute joy.
After getting a solid feel for how the packet machines work, I started to get a bit more hands-on. Changing laminate and filter spools, fixing minor jams and lock-ups, and navigating the GUI. Today, the last day of my first week, I started doing quality control testing. Loading a big machine with 5 packets to test how much pressure it takes to break the lower seal. The hot chocolates were being particularly stubborn, as the packets had become notorious for popping open unexpectedly (an obvious safety issue when hot liquids are involved).
In order to attain the best seal, several factors were considered. The metal plates that press and melt the laminate together had to be tweaked. Two springs of differing tension were compared to each other, a 3mm plate was compared to a 7mm one, and the whole set up was done at several different temperatures. Trial and error was employed along with statistical analysis to determine which specific combination of these three individual factors produced the most consistently reliable seal. By the time my day ended, a conclusion had not been reached, but lots of data had been logged, so its now just a matter of crunching all the numbers. Talk about jumping right into the engineering!
On Monday I start getting familiar with the aging grinder, so when the time comes to replace it, I have a good working knowledge of it. That I am really looking forward to.
It's just a damn shame I have to wait so long to start getting paid. Oh well. $15/hr is worth the wait I suppose. Here's hoping for another great week next week!
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