By Vincent J. Curtis
After a nine-year spell working outside of the Defence sector, Chris Driscoll has joined Marshall Canada as the head honcho at the company’s new production facility in New Brunswick.
Chris Driscoll graduated from the University of Windsor in 1995 with a Masters’ degree in Sociology. He began his working career at the General Motors Electro Motive Division in London, ON, where he started as a Materials Control Supervisor. Driscoll moved on to General Dynamics Land Systems in London, becoming a Maintenance Supervisor. Moving to Edmonton, AB, in 2006, Driscoll became an operations manager for General Dynamics, where he set up the Edmonton repair and retrofit facility from a green field to full production.
Continuing with General Dynamics in Edmonton, Driscoll moved up to become a Site Manager/Manufacturing Manager, leading 120 skilled tradespeople, at a 120,000 sq. ft. facility where equipment was built and refurbished.
After nearly ten years with General Dynamics, Driscoll moved on to become the Plant Manager of the Western Truck Body Manufacturing Company, also in Edmonton. His principle contributions to the company include the creation of “a strategic perspective throughout the organization through the creation of metrics, reports, meetings, processes, procedures, and [the establishment of] goals.” He also successfully introduced Lean Manufacturing, 5S and Continuous Improvement.
Along the way, Driscoll became a Sigma Six Black Belt, certified Processing Manager beginning with courses at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology.
After a little more than a year at Western Truck, Driscoll found a new opportunity with BWXT Nuclear Energy Canada in Peterborough, ON, becoming the Manager of Shop Operations.
After nearly four years with BWXT, in June 2019 Driscoll joined HEXO Corporation in Belleville, ON. HEXO Corporation is one of the largest licensed cannabis companies in Canada. Driscoll leaves HEXO for the new opportunity with Marshall Canada.
Marshall Canada provides military and commercial customers with a wide range of engineering services, and products. It is headquartered in Ottawa, and has operations in Abbotsford, QC and has recently announced plans to expand into New Brunswick.
Marshall Canada Land Systems specializes in Deployable Infrastructure solutions, Platform Integration, as well as Managed Support Services. Marshall’s systems span from complex, highly integrated Command and Control Modules, to Medical Systems, to Troop Carriers and Workshop Modules. Marshall has delivered over 7,000 Shelters globally in over 200 unique configurations, and delivery over 100,00 Load Bodies to over 25 countries.
With a rich history internationally, Marshall Canada has leveraged that experience and capability in the Canadian Defence Community recently delivering a deployable CT Scanner to Canada, continued support of the Deployable Technical Analysis Laboratory System of Modules, and design and delivery of over 800 Load for the Medium Support Vehicle System (MSVS) Program.
To support Marshall’s growing pipeline of opportunities, including the Logistics Vehicle Modernization (LVM) Program, Marshall is planning to open a state of the art Production Facility in 2022 which is forecast to create more than 65 jobs. Marshall is confident this new Facility will expedite their growth, grow local industry, and enable a highly competitive value proposition for Canada.
Chris Driscoll learned of the “amazing once in a lifetime opportunity to assist setting up and running a new Land systems manufacturing facility in New Brunswick. When I accepted the offer, I was 99 percent sure that I had made the right decision. That changed to 100 percent when I met the amazing Marshall Canada team, in person.”
“My career has involved positions in the military, social services and manufacturing. Each of these roles has influenced me, instilling senses of self-discipline, empathy, understanding people and an eye for process flow. This has led to a better understanding of myself, employees, and the technical aspects of manufacturing,” he said.
When questioned on the relevance of Six Sigma/Lean Manufacturing for relatively low-volume production, Driscoll replied, “Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing will always be relevant in any situation that requires high quality, improved efficiency, and continually adding value for customers. Tools like Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing are critical in forming a culture of continuous improvement, driving quality, and eliminating waste. These tools identity nonvalue added processes, or waste, and strategies to reduce or eliminate them. Marshall New Brunswick will be a world class manufacturing facility. Principles of Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing will assist in achieving this goal.
Driscoll says his best leisure time is spent riding a motorcycle. “It means that everything else in the real world has been taken care of, and there is nothing to do except enjoy the ride!”
