October 2009
Estimator Geoff Walsh embodies the
people-focused philosophy that makes
K E Brown different.
While celebrating 30 years in the company this year - and being a skilled exponent of traditional and modern technologies - he recognises the value of constant communication with customers and colleagues and continuing to learn.
"As Ken Brown still says, 60 years after founding the company, people are always the key. Without good people, you've got nothing," said Geoff, who, after Ken Brown, is the company's longest-serving current employee.
"I began with K E Brown in June 1979 as a 22-year-old Electrical Detail Draftsman and I spent four years on the factory floor that taught me to respect the people in the manufacturing team as an outstanding asset to the business. They are very clever people with a wealth of knowledge.
"After we get our brief from the customer - and we listen very carefully to what customers want and need - we consult closely with our manufacturing team and get the opinion of our tradesmen colleagues there on how to ensure the design will work best. We value their opinion, because they are the ones who will nut it out," said Geoff, who prior to joining K E Brown completed an apprenticeship with a high voltage switchboard manufacturer.
"Switchboard design was much simpler in the 70's. A typical main switchboard would include a main isolator, a Sydney County Council CT section, a stack of fuse switch units and if you were lucky, three ammeters and a voltmeter. If you needed to control some external lighting you added a big round Sangamo motor driven time switch poking out the front of your distribution board. No enhanced discrimination tables to consult back then and certainly none of the electronics in the boards that we see today.
"We were pen and ink draftsmen, no computers or AutoCAD back then. You would pencil your initial design on a sheet of translucent drawing film then go over it with your different thickness Rotring pens. Corrections were made by scratching out
Geoff Walsh celebrates 30 years at KEBmistakes with the edge of a razor blade, but only gently or you would end up with a hole in your paper!
"Technology has certainly made some wonderful advances since then, and we at KEB have embraced it wholeheartedly, with our manufacturing operations structured to take full advantage of the customising we can do for clients, the precision, efficiencies, flexibility, safety and energy monitoring features we need to incorporate within our switchboards.
"But technology is a useful tool only in the hands of capable people. And people are the key - you have to remain open to communication and to new ideas," says Geoff, whose personal process of renewal and growth has embraced activities as diverse as advanced computing courses, welding courses and manufacturing and engineering courses at the local TAFE, ("which to me is important because it gives me greater appreciation of the skills of our manufacturing team," he says).
He also practices what he preaches as an active member of the Toastmasters organisation. "We had to stand up and give six to eight speeches each over six weeks. You were judged by your peers and you had to be eager to learn. "But it makes you a better communicator - and you are always meeting new people and encountering new ideas. In all walks of life, being open to people and open to new ideas is a very important thing."
(L-R) Peter Silsby, Carol & Geoff Walsh
