News
People Engagement – It’s Why We Do What We Do
Recently, the TA Aerospace team in Valencia, California, initiated a project that was designed to help employees connect their daily efforts designing and building TA products directly with the aircraft on which our parts are installed and highlight the importance of their contributions. TA Aerospace ships thousands of clamps, grommets, line blocks and other small parts every month that are installed on most commercial aircraft, as well as a wide variety of military and space platforms. Carol Marinello, President at the Valencia operation, said, “When I joined TA and began engaging with employees, I went to the manufacturing floor to meet them and try my hand at making a clamp or two. As I spoke with people and learned about our products, I would ask them, “Do you know what airplane this is installed on or what it does?” The answer consistently came back, “no”. I knew that I had to find a way to connect our employees with the end use of our products and the overall purpose of the platforms on which they fly. By associating our products with the aircraft, our employees would have a greater sense of purpose, ownership and pride.”
This idea began to take shape when the walls in the Valencia factory became a canvas. As we began painting the first mural of the F-35, you could feel the excitement on the factory floor as people watched and smiled as it took shape. We were very excited about this project, not only because it provided an opportunity to visually align our efforts with the reason we do what we do, but it also gave us an opportunity to do something creative as a team. Creating a culture of teamwork, inclusion and employee engagement is a high priority here. It has the additional benefit of allowing customers and others who visit us to see what we do, and understand the great contribution we make.”
“The F-35 mural was completed over a period of a few weeks. During the first phase, employees painted the aircraft. In the second phase, engineering identified where our parts are installed on the aircraft. The third phase involved attaching the products we make to the mural! We were extremely proud to have it finished when the Leadership Conference participants toured our Valencia facility in January. The F-35 is the first of many platforms that will become murals on the factory walls. Other murals will include Boeing and Gulfstream aircraft.”
“At TA Aerospace, treating people fairly and with respect are the building blocks for teamwork and engagement. I strongly believe that people come to work for a sense of purpose and community. We have an amazing community within TEAM TA! I wanted to do something to connect us more closely with the end product that we support, the people who fly safely on the aircraft we help make reliable and the pilots that fly platforms like the F-35, who keep us safe. Supporting that purpose is extremely motivational for everyone here in the Valencia facility.”
Carol Marinello, President, TA Aerospace products in Valencia, CA, contributed to this article.
