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On Monday, June 1, 2020
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Q&As with Joel Robinson
As the EHS/CI Manager, tell us about your primary responsibilities and what you’ve been working on lately.
My primary responsibilities revolve around making sure AHT’s EHS and CI programs are up-to-date and administered effectively. A couple of the things I am currently working on are an annual employee safety event and future focused CI projects called Forward Thinking.
With the rest of the AHT COVID-19 Response Team, I have also been working on ways to restructure business activities while keeping our employees safe during the pandemic.
RELATED: View our COVID-19 Precautions here.
AHT strives to be a technical resource for our customers. Tell us how your past experiences at AHT help you to be a great resource for our customers.
I am thankful to have had the opportunity to work with so many AHT departments. It has allowed me to see a larger picture of how each AHT department connects to each other to meet our customers' needs.
During my time with operations, my customer interface was mostly doing my part to make sure turnaround goals were met while delivering the results our customers expect. In the past, I had regular contact with customers in the aerospace industry and using a combination of the experience I gained working in various roles helped solve problems they were facing. I still enjoy interfacing with some of those customers to help solve their problems when I can.
I currently work with our CI team to find solutions to keep exceeding our customers’ expectations through process improvements and job design.
When not at work, how do you like to spend your time?
I love spending time with my wife and 3 children, watching movies or playing games. I also really like to read.
A couple of the books I have just finished in my free time are First Commandment by Brad Thor and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins. From a professional standpoint, a group of us at AHT just finished reading and discussing Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne.
What’s an accomplishment you are proud of?
I am proud to have finished graduate school to earn my master’s degree. I am the first one in my family to go through graduate school so that is a source of pride for me.
What is one thing people may not know about Joel Robinson?
I travel to compete in an obstacle race every year. (Pictured to the right)
Joel, you are very involved in the community. Tell us about some of the organizations you belong to or ways you’ve given back and promoted manufacturing and STEM.
Waterloo Community Schools - I have been involved with the Waterloo Community Schools for the last two years through the partnership with AHT. As an alum of the Waterloo School system it is special to me, and I give presentations and tours of the AHT facilities to students several times a year to learn about manufacturing.
Manufacturing Day Committee Member - I have served as a committee member for the Hawkeye Community College Manufacturing Day for the past two years to help connect manufacturing organizations and increase student awareness of manufacturing opportunities.
Manufacturing Partnership - I have been part of the Cedar Valley Advanced Manufacturing Partnership for the past three years which allows me to collaborate with other industry professionals and keep my industry knowledge current.
Higher Education Advisory Boards - I also have been a member of advisory boards for both Hawkeye Community College and Upper Iowa University for several years to collaborate on ways to help those institutions relate student outcomes to business.
What advice would you give our customers?
I would advise our customers to reach out to us with any questions they have on how our various heat treat processes can help them find solutions for their products. We excel in finding solutions to the “hard” problems.
Ask Us a Technical Question or Request a Quote - We are Happy to Help!
Now, a series of quick random questions:
- Favorite Book or Movie: The New Destroyer: Choke Hold by Warren Murphy
- First Musical Album: A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing by Black Sheep
- First Job: Hardees
- Favorite Food: Cheese pizza
- Least Favorite Food: Coconut
- Favorite Sport(s): Football and MMA
- Favorite Team: New York Giants
- Hobby: Reading
- How Long Have You Been Married? 23 years
- Pets? 1 dog (Roman) and a lot of farm animals
- Favorite Quote: “If your dream doesn’t scare you, it’s not big enough” – Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
- Finish the sentence: Anyone who knows me knows that .... "I have a loud speaking voice.”
Have a question for Joel Robinson? Call him at 319-291-3405.
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