From welder to department head: the story of Saimir Myhypaj at Baglioni
From welder to department head: the story of Saimir Myhypaj at Baglioni
Organising work means holding together many variables: the priorities of the day, the progress of orders, the skills available and the unforeseen events that can alter the schedule.
Behind every decision, however, there are, first and foremost, people.
Saimir Myhypaj joined the company as a welder and, over the years, took on growing responsibilities until he became a department head. His path from welder to department head has been built on the shop floor, through direct experience in the workshop, dialogue with colleagues and a willingness to pass on what he had learned.
Today his work calls for technical expertise, organisational ability and attention to human relationships: three dimensions that, in the daily life of the department, cannot be separated.
Saimir’s professional growth
Saimir joined our company on 20 August 2010 as a welder. Over time he began to support new recruits, helping them to learn the processes and gradually gain autonomy.
“I started to accompany new colleagues during their onboarding, helping them to become familiar with the work,” Saimir explains.
This willingness to help others marked one of the first stages of his professional growth. It was no longer only a matter of carrying out a process correctly, but also of being able to explain it, passing on skills and method to those joining the department.
An important step came in October 2017, when Saimir had the opportunity to work at the Gruppo Baglioni plant in Marion, in the United States, to support welding activities.
“It was an experience that allowed me to experience a different working environment and to grow both professionally and personally.”
Contact with another production environment allowed him to observe different ways of working, test his own skills and develop a greater capacity for adaptation.
In February 2018, the Plant Manager and the Production Manager proposed that he begin working alongside the manager in charge of the area, with the aim of gradually taking on the role independently.
From that moment, Saimir continued to broaden his responsibilities until he took on his current role.
The move from welder to department head did not mean moving away from production. On the contrary, direct knowledge of the processes still represents an important basis for organising activities, understanding operational difficulties and communicating with the team.
A day that starts at 5:30
Saimir’s day starts early. At 5:30 he arrives at the workshop and checks the progress of the production batches on the computer. This first check allows him to identify the priorities, assess any critical issues and work out how to set up the day.
He then checks the staff available and distributes the tasks according to people’s skills and the needs of the department.
“The aim is to optimise resources and ensure continuity and efficiency in the work.”
Planning, however, is only the starting point. During the day it is necessary to follow the progress of the activities and step in when something is not proceeding as expected.
“An important part of my role is handling the day-to-day issues that come up. I look for quick, shared solutions to keep the department running and support the team,” Saimir points out.
Being a department head therefore means having an overall view of the work, without losing contact with what is actually happening on the shop floor.
Managing the team and people: the hardest part of the role
When we ask him to describe his team in three words, Saimir chooses “close-knit, competent and collaborative”.
“I would describe my team as close-knit, competent and collaborative. Everyone brings their own skills and we work together to reach our goals, supporting one another when the workload is heaviest. Beyond the professional side, I also consider the human relationship that is built day by day to be important: getting to know one another, listening and having direct dialogue helps to build trust and a positive working environment.”
It is precisely this human dimension that also represents the most complex part of his role, the part that can be hardest to perceive from the outside.
“The most demanding part of my job, which is often not perceived from the outside, is managing people. Each team member has their own character, their own experiences and their own way of approaching work; my task is to bring out the best in each of them.”
Improving processes without losing what works
Looking to the future of the department, Saimir identifies production planning and coordination between the different functions as the main areas to keep working on.
A greater ability to anticipate operational needs would make it possible to reduce interruptions and make the production flow more continuous.
At the same time, there are aspects that must be preserved: the skill of the team and people’s willingness to help one another.
“It is these elements that allow us to handle daily activities and react to the unexpected. They are also the result of a way of working that puts team spirit, dialogue and the growth of its people at its heart,” the department head concludes.
Saimir’s path tells us something we recognise every day in our plants: responsibility is built over time, by learning the trade, sharing one’s skills and making oneself available to others.
To lead a department, knowing production is not enough. You also need to know the people who, every day, make it possible.
Would you like to get to know the people, skills and experiences that help Gruppo Baglioni grow every day? Keep following our stories.
