It won’t come as much of a surprise that the engineering industry is largely dominated by men. In 2018 The Women’s Engineering Society reported that only 12.37% of the engineering workforce in the UK were women and that’s why Kirkstall Precision Engineering have actively been encouraging women to get into the industry with our apprenticeship academy.
We have always been a huge believer in having a richly diverse workplace and to celebrate the women at Kirkstall Precision, we thought we’d run a piece that focuses on the women who work here, starting with our Quality Inspector, Anna Termanowska.
Everything done to the highest of standards.
As an inspector Anna ensures that everything that is manufactured here is done so to the highest standards specified by our clients. She works across all areas of the engineering process, being involved as the designs enter our building and actively involved as they leave the building too.
Anna joined two years ago and has a long-standing track record in the manufacture of medical devices. She has brought a great deal of manufacturing experience to Kirkstall Precision and understands the many factors involved in assembly and the importance of quality standards at every stage.
The challenges make things interesting and engaging.
She enjoys the wide range of challenges that she’s faced with at Kirkstall, and in her words “I really like the fact that every day is different and that we produce so many products. I’m not tied down to a desk and can sometimes be in the workshop or the delivery area and overseeing the physical checks, so that makes every day really interesting and therefore more engaging.”
Anna’s personal ethics and principles have been key to her succeeding in her role: “You ask people here and they will tell you that I am so picky. I believe everything that leaves here has to be the best quality and I actively make sure everything is made to be as good as possible. I make sure that quality is built in at every stage of the process and communicate this importance to everyone on a regular basis.”
The right mindset for constant improvement.
She feels that Kirkstall Precision has the right mindset of constant improvement. “We often talk about our processes and how we can make them better. We make notes for people in future stages to ensure they are aware of things and even on a daily basis we talk often to ensure things are progressing well and there are no problems or compromises and the skills of everyone here makes this task easy as everyone has a strong sense of pride in the work that they do.”
In the future Anna wants to continue to improve processes here and actively talks to other women about how engineering is a fantastic opportunity for a rewarding career. She feels she is involved and well-regarded at Kirkstall and is encouraged when she sees young women entering our Apprenticeship Academy.
For now, Anna is focused on saving time, improving processes and maintaining quality standards and it’s safe to say she’s doing an excellent job.