The collaboration conversation at JVC Precision

JVC Precision aims to be a partner to its customers. As co-founder Michael van Campen noted, anyone can deliver parts on a standard order; adding value in the long term for the client is a larger proposition. Images: JVC Precision

In its short 18-year history, Orillia, Ont.-based JVC Precision has evolved from a traditional job shop to what it terms as “a dynamic manufacturing partner,” offering a range of engineered services, with a focus on welded subassemblies, precision machining, and custom metal fabrication. To expand its OEM business, co-founder Michael van Campen is fostering stronger customer relationships by enhancing the customer experience and taking a collaborative approach. The better the communication between fab shop and OEM, the better the outcome. The challenge is getting buy-in from some customers.

The solution is in making collaboration a core principle, both with the company’s most open-minded customers and among JVC’s internal teams.

The 30-person shop primarily works with OEM clients in the mining, automation, consumer goods, and construction industries.

“We think we can really add value for welded assemblies among those specialties,” said van Campen.

JVC has a number of clients it has worked with for years, and it has reached a point where it wants to solidify those relationships by looking forward with the customer together.

“We want to do quarterly business reviews, we want to review quotes,” said Duarte Da Silva, business development executive at the company. “We don’t want it to be the sort of transactional relationship where we just fill orders. We want to make sure that if there is any way that we can drive value into the process earlier, that we can make that happen in a way that saves the customer time and effort. Just receiving the STEP files and sending a quote a couple days later doesn’t add value to the customer.”

Some customers have truly engaged with JVC through regular virtual meetings to review engineering procedures or upcoming projects. These sessions ensure that JVC is prepared to meet capacity needs and determine if the customer is getting the value it expects for money it spends.

“We’ve had amazing feedback,” said van Campen. “One customer said, ‘We've never done this before,’ and you could tell a lightbulb went on and they could see the value of having us at the table, understanding what builds they needed and how we could help them.”

The team at JVC hopes that proactive communication will help them avoid situations where suddenly, after working with a customer for a certain amount of time, that customer just disappears.

“That can happen—you send a quote in and you just hear nothing back,” said Da Silva. “I understand that everyone is busy and that we’re not going to get every job, but having a relationship with open communication where we hear why we’re not getting a certain job is important also. We just hope we can create better communication throughout the process.”

Understanding customer needs long term also helps JVC plan its own investments. For instance, client feedback on planned builds and delivery expectations helped the company realize that it made more sense to invest in a machining centre than it did to outsource simple but steady secondary processes on materials cut and formed in its shop.

With better communication, JVC management hopes its team can prove its value in engineering and fabricating knowledge that the customer may not have.

Such an approach required a shift in mindset inside the company as well—moving away from simple jobs and doubling down on furthering relations with its existing customer base. And it came with a dedication to certain core values—commitment, collaboration, growth, and gratitude.

Those core values also are being upheld internally at JVC as well by encouraging employee engagement at all levels.

“Part of it is explaining to the team that competitive wages and benefits can’t be paid for making bent brackets,” said van Campen. “It's taking on the challenges of more difficult work that does so.”

JVC does quarterly reviews of its team members, analyzing ERP data to see where things are going well and where extra help might be necessary. But conversations on the shop floor happen even more regularly with Monday morning management group meetings, where KPIs are reviewed. Plant huddles take place every morning to review each department’s progress, with the help of bar graphs and other visuals. Then they consider the priorities and the critical shipments to tackle.

“We also highlight the wins, though,” said Da Silva. “The new generation is really driven by that. We have lots of success, but sometimes you really need to highlight the specifics behind that. Everyday production huddles also are just a good reminder of our common goals, what we are doing here.”

JVC wants its team members to feel confident and become leaders in their own spaces. With the check-in meetings, that's a question management asks: Is enough communication taking place for team members to feel confident in what they are doing? At the same time, it’s an opportunity to congratulate those who have made an impact on the shop floor.

“And if there's a problem, we don't want to wait for a year to go by to address it,” said van Campen. “If there's a problem, what's going on? What are the roadblocks we need to clear? How can we help?”

Another aspect of that give-and-take philosophy is in how the company values employee input in decisions. For instance, if the company is considering a new piece of machinery, management will look for feedback from the team. And if there is a big customer contract, management will go to their team to ensure that the job can be accomplished smoothly.

“Everything may look great on screen when you've designed it, but the engineering team may see ways to improve it,” said van Campen. “The welding team might suggest a stitch weld, for instance, to lessen warp concerns. You don’t get that input unless you talk to your team. We can’t take that subject matter expertise for granted.”

Collaboration in-house is as important as external collaboration. This includes regular management meetings, shop floor huddles, and check-ins with individual team members. Communication is key.

In hiring new employees, the company is doing what it can to ensure that candidates have a shared vision of what employee engagement in the shop means. Though it equates to a longer hiring process, management has seen the value in the approach.

“It takes longer, but we want to make sure people share our core values,” said Da Silva. “Being proud of what you're doing is key as well.”

The hiring process is multifaceted and involves several rounds of interviews, making sure that potential new hires understand the company culture. Onboarding involves learning about the whole company, not just that person’s department, so that they understand how they fit in with the whole.

“I've been pleasantly surprised over the last two years,” said van Campen. “I’ve seen people we’ve hired move from one job to something completely different because they followed their passion and saw where they could add value to what we do. You can train people to do a lot of different things, but it doesn't work well unless they have that openness and willingness to learn.”

JVC Precision understands that it’s important to support young talent. One way it’s done so is to offer scholarships in mechanical engineering and welding at Georgian College. The company also has taken on co-op students from Queen’s University and Georgian College.

“Students have such great energy,” said van Campen. “It's great pairing them up with our experienced operators because it changes them too. It energizes them, being able to share their knowledge.”

The company encourages students to follow their passion. One standout example is former co-op student Owen Saniga, who now works part-time at JVC. He recently designed and built computer stands for each bay in the shop to speed data entry when the company increased the number of consoles on the floor. Instead of the company buying stands, Saniga took the initiative.

“The whole team really appreciates his efforts because he makes a difference on the shop floor,” said van Campen.

“Because we have a pretty flat structure here, we offer quite a lot of leeway and freedom to our students to come up with ideas and have creative solutions,” said Da Silva. “We find that draws a lot of students to us because they're not just going to be in this closed box with a defined task every day. It's very much what you make of it.”

Editor Robert Colman can be reached at [email protected].

JVC Precision, jvcprecision.com