DBFS welcomes new Factory Foreman, Russ Gibb

2022 has been a huge year for our team at David Bailey Furniture Systems. We invested in state of the art new manufacturing machinery. A handful of select team members underwent Mental Health First Aid training, and we introduced a carbon reduction plan to cement our commitment to our environmental goals.

Unintentionally, the theme for this year has turned out to be growth. Growing our facility and capabilities and growing as a conscious company, introducing formal commitments to our people, our customers and our planet.

The credit for such initiatives and opportunities has to go to our team. We are privileged to have a workforce that feels like a family. Many of our staff have been with us for decades, and it’s our pleasure to watch as new recruits come on board to add to the dynamic and take us in brand new directions.

Although prices have been rising in the marketplace, we have been firm about our intention to keep our prices the same. As a result, new roles at DBFS have been weighed up with consideration about how those jobs could improve our efficiencies and keep our prices the same without compromising our services.

At DBFS, we care about craftsmanship and high-quality products. Our investments into new people and new machinery are a further commitment to maintaining our ability to produce to a high standard, giving our team of experts the tools they need to craft products with care and integrity.

Expanding into new roles

With more projects coming in of late, many of which are larger projects, we recognised the need for a brand new position to be created in the DBFS workforce. We wanted a dedicated department head to streamline our factory operations, maximise the team’s efforts, and speed up our production capabilities.

Taking on the role of Factory Foreman, we were fortunate to secure Russ Gibb, a distinguished engineer and production planner with a reputable background ready to lead our enthusiastic team to greater success.

Introducing Russ Gibb

Russ Gibb comes to us with an impressive background. He was a weapons engineer in the Royal Navy in his early career, fixing and maintaining small arms, sonars, and weapons. After Naval retirement, Russ operated machinery at a furniture manufacturing company before moving into a production planning role with an organisation making fluid tank equipment for road tankers.

Stepping into his role at DBFS, Russ has taken on responsibility for our factory processes and people, where he has thrived since starting in January.

Streamlining factory processes

After some months on the job, Russ says he enjoys being close to the business environment and understanding customers’ needs. He has identified the importance of timescales, deadlines and planning to ensure the factory runs smoothly. His ambition is to continually streamline DBFS’s processes in the factory to increase efficiency wherever possible, ongoing at every stage of our development.

From order placement right through to drop off on-site, Russ’s job is to make sure everything runs smoothly. This is no easy task. Manufacturing facilities rely on a range of specialist staff members to take a project from start to finish. Russ has to manage rosters, train staff, fix any problems that arise and at the same time constantly observe how all of these elements could be optimised for the future.

Russ is an asset to the team, looking after our factory to produce specialist furniture for the healthcare, veterinary, and education markets. We are proud to welcome him on board and look forward to a long work-life side by side.