Our Business Development Manager, Brittany, sent in a description of a recent visit she made to a job site where James was responsible for the startup and commissioning.  Here’s what she had to tell us:

“Often on our “Where’s James” blog posts he is solo on a startup, but on a recent startup I got to visit him. James was at a site about 2 hours from my home office in Dayton, Ohio. So, I thought it was a good idea if I stopped by to see how he was doing and learn more about what goes into a startup.

James greeted me outside and he escorted me into the facility. Once we made it through the security gates, James gave me a tour and showed me all sorts of equipment and explained the job in detail. The only issue was the electrical installation was not yet complete, so I couldn’t see the system actually running. Now, I have not been to  many job sites,  but I do know that it’s not uncommon for us to arrive at the site before all the electrical is complete.

When we talk to potential customers, we like to know what their aches and pains are, and we want to figure out how Pendant can help. We have to be prepared for the potential for “schedule compression” of the controls startup and commissioning, since the customer’s deadline for Go-Live is a critical milestone to hit.  In this case our solution was to send more help to assist James once the install was complete.

One of the key lessons for me from this visit is sometimes something is going to create an issue that is out of your control, and how you respond to the situation is critical to the outcome.

We believe in communicating “too much”. That way as a team, our customer and Pendant can figure out a solution together, so that the outcome is a win-win for everyone.”

Thanks, Brittany for that summary and the excellent reminder that outcomes are decided not just by events, but also by the response to events.

Help me with my “events” please