Meet Maeve Gallagher our Operations Director

Meet Maeve Gallagher our Operations Director for Truck Mounted Forklifts in Dundalk, Ireland

Rogier van der Linde, Senior Vice President Truck Mounted Forklifts: Maeve Gallagher joined the Truck Mounted Forklift (TMFL) Division just over a year ago and has been an absolutely great addition to the team. She has made some tremendous and much needed changes to the operations in Dundalk by supporting and enabling her team to really make things happen. She has been the driver of the operations blueprint for the new Safety, Quality, Delivery, Inventory and Productivity (SQDIP) organisation setup in Hiab while also leading the implementation in our factory in Dundalk. As a result of this ownership, Maeve and her team have contributed to improved KPIs towards Customer On Time Delivery, such as schedule adherence, Build First Time, Right First Time and inventory accuracy.

We have interviewed Maeve to better get to know about her and the wonderful job she is doing.

How do you keep everyday life at Hiab moving?

As an Operations Director, myself and my team are hands-on and involved in keeping Hiab moving every day. I love the variety that operations in Hiab brings, one day I could be in a meeting with our US frontline unit partners, where we are talking about what shape our demand plan looks 18 months out, and the next day I am as likely to be talking to a key supplier about expediting in parts so as to keep the lines operational. 

Every morning, I usually walk the production line with one of my managers, talk to a few people, and then join our 10.00 am virtual GEMBA* meeting where we all dial in. When we go to Gemba, we focus on where the value is, and talk to the people that add value. We review each process step, discussing Safety, Quality, Delivery, Inventory and Productivity. We have live cameras on the shopfloor which are focused on the daily KPI boards, these have helped greatly with our operator and wider team engagement. 

What is the greatest achievement that you and your team has experienced to date? 

There is huge pride within our people in Dundalk, I have a fantastic team who work tirelessly, to improve processes, seek out root causes and develop our people. And I speak for my team, but I think our biggest achievement in the last 12 months was the introduction of our SQDIP) management process, where we re-organised ourselves in line with our new organisational blueprint, into small, self managed teams empowered to make decisions and changes. This allows us to make balanced decisions on each of its aspects.  It is not just what we do, it is how we do it, and we understand the value of getting that right culture of openness and transparency.  Whilst I have only been at Hiab for just over 12 months, even in this short time, I have seen a shift in the challenges that I have faced. With COVID, we have had to change how we operate inside the factory, how we manage our meetings, our communications, and externally we are seeing the huge impact on our supply chain, both at the direct supplier and at their sub supplier also. 

How do the future operations at TMFL, Dundalk look like?

As we move into the future, we know that we will have to keep changing and improving how to build TMFLs, particularly as we implement our Factory Of The Future and Industry 4.0 strategy. Industry 4.0 is the ongoing automation of traditional manufacturing and industrial practices, using modern smart technology, and our team has created a roadmap looking at a number of work streams including customer integration, business planning, supplier technology, smart assembly and digitalisation. 

Tell us about you, your career to date and what you like to do in your spare time?

Prior to joining Hiab, I spent most of my career in aerospace, growing up in manufacturing engineering, operational excellence and ending up in various operations roles. Outside of work, I am always on the go, which I find allows for the best work / life balance. Last year, and to deal with lockdown, I purchased both a stand up paddle board (a SUP to those in the know) and an electric scooter, and without a doubt two opposite ends of the transportation hub.

 I don't have any kids, but family, friends and two bad westies eat up my time.  I genuinely really enjoy working for Hiab, we have great people, great products and huge pride in what we do each day. 

Thanks Maeve for your really inspiring interview!

*GEMBA is an essential part of the Lean management philosophy. Its initial purpose is to allow managers and leaders to observe the actual work process, engage with employees, gain knowledge about the work process, and explore opportunities for continuous improvement.