Machine Solutions reviews

What others have said is true and things really haven't changed over the years. They've gone through cyclical improvements but the problems are recurring and it's amazing how a few people and leadership's decisions can make it a miserable place to work. I've decided to re-write my review because after working for another company it has become even more apparent how bad things were at MSI. This is harsh but all of it is true. The fact that I am taking the time to re-write this shows how much it has affected me. The compensation is not competitive for what is asked of employees. Raises became almost non-existent once BW acquired MSI and there is very little growth opportunity as an employee. MSI only has one conversation per year about performance and gives no explanations of what an employee needs to do to progress through their career with them. This may seem like the norm but it shouldn't be in my opinion now that I work for a different company, who plays an active role in its employee development. There are minimal or no discussions of expectations when you do get a promotion and the raises that come with title changes are not meaningful. Only after asking for clearer expectations was I provided with a job description of the new title I received. Working long hours and weekends is common. How hard you're working is defined by how many hours you put in and who you're friends with rather than results. As long as you work a ton of hours it doesn't seem to matter how many mistakes you make or how many times you have to redo work. At least one customer has complained about mistakes being made and rework as a result of excessive hours. The project timelines are unrealistic with leadership sometimes ignoring advice on them and there's a lack of accountability for making poor decisions. There are unrealistic resource allocations for R&D projects. The responsibility for these projects frequently falls on small teams while the rest of the company wants nothing to do with them. Someone in upper level leadership actually came in multiple times during one of the projects I was involved with and said we're hosed (he actually said something else I can't repeat on here) while the team was trying to solve difficult problems. This doesn't exactly instill confidence or make the teams on these projects feel like they have the company's support. On this same project people in operations openly bet on its success. Leadership was made aware of this and to my knowledge there were no repercussions. It's common to be made to feel guilty for taking time off. I had a fellow employee complain about missing work for a family funeral on another R&D project. I went to leadership to ask for help when I felt like I was being unfairly blamed for project setbacks, lack of communication of expectations, and timeline after I was instructed by leadership to reduce the schedule by 1 month. Leadership assured me they understood and would address it, but then stood behind the employee complaining about missing time for the funeral and threw me under the bus in front of the entire team. This was the last straw that convinced me some individuals in upper level leadership are incompetent as leaders, that's not going to change, and led me to finally leave. Leadership seems more focused on growing their "empire" with acquisitions than fixing problems and investing in its employees. There's a lack of innovation as a result. The company primarily produces dated technology with minor modifications. Increased competition locally and overseas is driving the acquisitions and growth to other areas of the industry rather than driving it to be a leading innovator. There aren't many other opportunities in Flagstaff, so once you move there it can feel like you're trapped. Don't make the mistake of staying with a company like this because of a location. It's not worth it.