Production Technician - 2nd - Mesa, AZ
Pros
Work is very challenging, there's always something new to learn every day. Pay seems competitive for this area. Insurance / Health benefits are decent. Holiday pay and double time on sundays if you have hit 40 hours. Typical HSA but they go through Aetna which seems to be widely accepted. Company is trying to grow and trying to take safety and ergonomics seriously. They talk every day about safety on the job and share stories of safety mishaps to make you think about practicing safe work habits. Stretch routine at start of shift every day helps you feel ready for the day, helps with stress. There seems to be room to move up in the company if you have an engineering background, and ZF is a very big company so you might be able to change locations.
Cons
You work around explosives. This requires special precautions and it makes me worry about my health from breathing in the air. The work is very stressful, as something breaks literally every day and needs to be replaced. Operators (normal people with high school education) are expected to put their heads and hands inside machines. Keys are always in the HMIs so anyone and everyone can clear faults. NOT safe for the average joe as stored energy can ALWAYS exist unless it is verified to be de-energized. Training is poor. The documentation that exists is outdated or inaccurate for many machines. No medical equipment available on site on off shifts. No advice on things like defibrillators or bandages. They provide some tools but you need your own cutlery, plates, drink cups, etc for the break room. Same with bandaids. Vending machines in one of the break rooms are always broken / out of product / almost never have a working credit card slot. Company does not share profit or truly shut down for the holidays. Technicians are expected to stay late if stuff is broken or if third shift happens to be understaffed.. You have to wait almost 90 days AFTER getting hired full time for benefits to kick in fully , including vacation and sick days. Vacation is not long enough for new employees. Two weeks is a joke for employees that should be getting salary level benefits. There are unsafe working conditions that still exist. This company manufacturers airbag inflators, which are filled with explosive pellets. The explosives have never gone off while I was there, but they are still explosives and there's always a risk. Management is inexperienced and has the typical "I'm your boss do what I say" mentality. Engineering seems inexperienced, possibly overworked, and absolutely not available when you need them if you work an off shift. Some engineers NEVER answer their phone until the boss calls. Ellsworth road is horribly backed up at all times and it takes a while to get to work no matter where you live.
