{"id":9432,"date":"2024-03-15T08:50:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-15T07:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/?p=9432"},"modified":"2024-03-19T13:41:56","modified_gmt":"2024-03-19T12:41:56","slug":"a-penchant-for-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/2024\/03\/a-penchant-for-change\/","title":{"rendered":"A Penchant for Change"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Wayne Werling likes to change things up \u2013 even in his work at Freudenberg Sealing Technologies (FST). Werling is a team lead working on hydraulic cylinder seals in the injection molding department at the Troy plant. He joined the company as a temporary worker on the Fluid Power \u00adCompetence Center\u2019s team. Six years and a number of career moves later, he has advanced to full-time team lead in two departments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Werling became aware of Freudenberg\u2019s Troy facility through a temp agency while he was still exploring career options. A job running an injection molding machine at Troy seemed interesting, and it certainly was one of the best paying positions available at the time. He pursued employment at the plant, despite having no experience with injection molding equipment. \u201cIt was all new to me,\u201d he recalls. But he was confident. \u201cI catch on to stuff quickly, and I\u2019ve been moving up and around since I was hired.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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He completed his training on a machine and became acquainted with the basic workflow. Then, while still a temp employee, he moved to the glue department to pursue permanent employment. \u201cThat was a way to get hired and start growing with the company,\u201d he explains. It worked \u2013 and during his first year there, he advanced to senior operator. Then he returned to injection molding. When a co-worker in that division took some medical leave, Werling was encouraged to train as a back-up lead. \u201cI knew it was something that I could take on and learn. So, I went ahead and did that,\u201d he recounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This landed him in the team lead position he holds now. Werling oversees a group of seven operators who ensure that the injection molding machines are steadily cycling parts for hydraulic cylinder seals. The operators also inspect the finished parts and check for visual defects. If there are any issues, they turn to Werling. He gives them basic instructions and works to troubleshoot and resolve any issues that may surface. Should a problem prove beyond resolution, Werling escalates it to the management.
Werling also sets up the injection molding machines. He configures the equipment according to the different jobs, inserts new tooling and enters the appropriate process parameters for each task. He is also responsible for checking all measurements and runs sample parts to \u00adassess the quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, he maintains a sense of humor and projects an easy-going, approachable attitude. His \u2013 sometimes unconventional \u2013 appearance may help break the ice. For example, when he spikes his hair. \u201cSomebody suggested it, and I thought it would look cool and be fun,\u201d he explains. \u201cI\u2019ve colored it, I\u2019ve spiked it, and I\u2019ve had a tonsure \u2013 I shaved the back half and left the rest. I am who I am, and I\u2019m totally comfortable with that.\u201d He adds: \u201cI try to have fun because we\u2019re here 8 to 10 hours a day. I\u2019m just trying to bring a little joy and lightness to everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

People like you and I<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here we give the floor to our coworkers in various manufacturing roles. In this edition, we introduce Wayne Werling, who works at the Lead Center Fluid Power in Troy, Ohio.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

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\r\n \r\n <\/i>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/span>\r\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wayne Werling likes to change things up \u2013 even in his work at Freudenberg Sealing Technologies (FST). Werling is a team lead working on hydraulic cylinder seals in the injection molding department…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":9152,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99,86],"tags":[632],"powerkit_post_featured":[],"class_list":["post-9432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-people","category-troy-en","tag-edition-02_2024-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9432"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9432\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9440,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9432\/revisions\/9440"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9432"},{"taxonomy":"powerkit_post_featured","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/powerkit_post_featured?post=9432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}