Shining A Spotlight On......Gavin King

This edition of our 'Shining a Spotlight on...' blogs introduces Pilot's Operations Manager, Gavin King.

Where's home to you?

Home to me is Dublin. I live close to the Pilot labs with my family.

When did you join Pilot?

I've been with Pilot since July 2017, joining as Operations Manager. My BSc Physics with French and  MSc Physics in Spectroscopy has been supplemented with Green Belt in Lean Manufacturing, Prince 2 Project Management and a Diploma in Big Data for Business. 

What projects do you work on at Pilot, and where does your work fit in to the company's operations?

My work within Pilot is focused on ensuring that the sales and product developments have all that they need to function and stay on track, including: bill of materials development, procurement of parts; documentation ; quality assurance; test management; sourcing of new suppliers; and liaising with customers.

What does a typical day look like for you?

Pilot Photonics typically has 3 to 5 active product developments or R&D projects ongoing at any time in addition to live sales orders. When the work starts, I am involved in establishing, with the internal team, the project requirements, including processes, scheduling and costs. 

At the other end of projects, I am concerned with quality assurance of finished products, including arranging testing by the technical team and ensuring that the product meets the target specifications.  

Apart from my technical responsibilities, I'm also responsible for the website and IT management, shipping, facilities management, and the production of technical and marketing assets to assist the global trade shows that the company attends. 

What excites you about what we do at Pilot?

What's particularly exciting is the futuristic nature of the technology. We're at the cutting edge of developments within our industry, which means that it's difficult to create but has the potential to smash current limits on data transmission, sensing and communication. 

The team is close and cohesive, with the  younger staff growing together in a technically complex business, supported by the more experienced engineers who have been pioneers within the photonics industry for many years. It is great to see individuals hone and share their technical skills, alongside acquiring the commercial focus needed to meet the pressures and challenges that come with moving from research projects to the delivery of products to specific customer specifications and deadlines.

What does a successful day look like?

It looks like oiling the wheels! If someone is blocked as a result of equipment, parts or instruction challenges, then I unblock it and let the work progress again. The goal, at the end of the day, is to always be closer to completing the task. 

What challenges do you experience?

The company is growing, but so is the customer interest and demand. So we still experience resource issues - both human and equipment, even when every job is high priority! The great thing is that the whole team is flexible and everyone pitches in to ensure that we remain on track to achieve the objectives and meet the deadlines.

What do you particularly enjoy about being part of the Pilot team?

Pilot gives me flexibility and variety, with no two weeks the same. The crew is great - and that's a huge benefit when it's a small team working closely together. The whole team is invested in success, not just for themselves and their future careers, but for Pilot, which is good to see.  

How do you enjoy your time when you're not at work?

As anyone with a family knows, when you have children, your enjoyment comes from helping to shape their lives: my daughter's a footballer, so there are a lot of trips to and from training and games, not to mention helping her with homework. For myself, I like to jog and listen to music - both together and separately! And soon there will be a dog to add to the mix! 

There's often a focus on the technical aspects of the team, and the effort quietly going on in the background to keep the engineering processes running smoothly can appear to go unnoticed. Gavin's skills at keeping things on track and having resources ready and available before we realise we need them are instrumental in ensuring that the challenges of resourcing don't hijack progress towards the end goals and meeting our schedules.