Turning Ideas into Reality: The Collaboration of Program Managers and Project Leads
This blog dives into the topics covered in the first episode of JAKTOOL’s new podcast, JAKTALK. We’ll be sharing episodes every other week on YouTube and Vimeo. Subscribe to catch new episodes and get valuable industry insight!
This article is a recap of JAKTALK episode #1. You can watch the full episode below.
Meet Our Team: Paola and Tom
Joining Jeff Kinsberg on this week’s episode are Paola Torres, Program Manager, and Tom Zamorski, Engineering Supervisor – Design/Healthcare Their stories, from Paola’s transition from chemical engineering to program management, to Tom’s multifaceted experience in medical device development, underscore the diverse backgrounds and paths that converge to fuel innovation at JAKTOOL. Our people are at the core of our success, a diverse team of experts who bring their unique perspectives, skills, and dedication to every project. We’re thrilled to have Paola and Tom join us for episode #1 and share their expertise!
Paola and Tom work closely together, particularly on medical product and device projects, to execute our customer’s scopes. They often work together to figure out solutions, as much of our work here at JAKTOOL is so innovative that solutions may have never been created before for the problems we’re solving for customers.
JAKTOOL’S Unique Process: What Makes Our Process Different
At the core of our work is our commitment to our company’s values. Our team is driven by these key pillars:
- Great communication
- Humble confidence in how we work
- Learning, growing, and applying what we’ve learned to future projects
- A passion for our work
- Be the example for others
- Creating an environment of 360° trust
This isn’t by accident! When Jeff Kinsberg first opened the doors to JAKTOOL 30 years ago, he did so with these values as the pillars of our work. They have guided our team to success ever since and made us one of the Northeast’s premier product development, engineering, and precision prototyping companies.
Understanding and Meeting Customer Needs
Central to our philosophy is our deep commitment to understanding and meeting the needs of our customers. Led by figures like Paola and Tom, our team engages with customers to identify their actual needs, often going beyond the initial brief to deliver solutions that meet and exceed expectations. This customer-centric approach, coupled with our agility and expertise, enables us to offer tailored solutions that truly make a difference for our customers.
During the initial phases of bringing on a new customer, Paola’s role at JAKTOOL is to work alongside our Business Development team to get to the root of their problem. Sometimes, customers may come to us saying they need one problem solved when a different solution may work better in the long run.
Once we’ve onboarded a new customer, Paola works with them throughout their time at JAKTOOL. She ensures their scope is fulfilled on time and on budget and acts as the liaison between our team and the customer. She works closely with Tom and other Project Leads at JAKTOOL to think through change requests and issues that may arise during a project.
As the Project Lead, Tom has to balance multiple projects, his team’s growth, timelines, and more to ensure we’re meeting the customers’ scope on time and exceeding expectations while also prioritizing our own growth.
Handling Challenges and Celebrating Success
What sets us apart is not just our ability to develop cutting-edge products and prototypes but also our approach to overcoming challenges and celebrating successes. Sometimes, the process of bringing ideas to fruition can be turbulent, from initial concept to delivery and beyond. The importance of good communication, collaboration, and flexibility cannot be understated. It is essential as our team navigates through the complexities of product and prototype development.
Challenges often arise when there are change requests from customers mid-project. Tom’s approach is, “Yes, if…”. During this podcast, he describes that JAKTOOL can typically accommodate requests, but it often causes something else to shift in the project.
Our team works within fixed budgets, fixed timelines, and uses a fixed set of resources. When one of those things has to shift, it also causes the others to shift. Paola will work with customers to communicate how their change request may affect their project timeline or budget.
From Idea to Done: Your Project with JAKTOOL
At JAKTOOL, our passion is your passion. The most fulfilling aspect of our work is getting to make a difference by helping our customers create new products that change the way our world works. We’re lucky to get to partner with customers in defense, medical, and more and shape the future.
Our team of experienced engineers is ready to discuss how we can bring your idea to life. Reach out today.
What is The Vision Vault?
The JAKTOOL Vision Vault is a space for us to expand on the passions that drive innovation and growth at our company. On this blog, we’ll take deeper dives into industry news and our expertise and highlight the leaders we have under our own roof through featured blogs.
Follow along for updates throughout the month and recaps on new episodes of JAKTALK, our biweekly podcast hosted by our founder, COO, chairman, and visionary, Jeff Kinsberg.