scientist

inside sales representative

technologist

senior research associate

research scientist

Patheon

The staff work great together - they are a great group and despite being underpaid, they have a great attitude and really help to make the place run well. It helped make my job easier. The problem is when upper management gets in it’s own way.

The site is poorly managed by the top leadership and it trickles down from there. My role was never properly defined which led to having to manage a huge array of tasks ranging from team leader duties, supervisor duties, and manager duties - all in any given day. Basically I was wearing 3 hats at a time, while getting paid for just 1 of them. 

The site’s manager has poor people-skills and that leads to favouritism among lower management where some are encouraged and supported and others are alienated and ignored. This favouritism isn’t merit based but rather how well you cozy up to the manager and play nice. If you fold like a cheap suit and agree with everything, you’ll be taken care of but if you challenge ideas or provide your opinion on how something is done, you’ll be treated like a roadblock. 

Overall the job was good and the challenges I dealt with  helped build my career and skill set but given what I was paid, the workload, and the way I was treated by the manager, it wasn’t sustainable. For example during the early months of Covid when other managers were not on site or ‘off-work’, I was one of the only leaders who came in on a daily basis to keep things going and helped the facility get through the Covid mess in good shape despite all the challenges. I worked both shifts doing 10-12 hour days to help cover for the lack of leadership across the board, and it was barely acknowledged. 

This role would be good for someone new to the management role or learning the ropes of front-line supervision but anyone with any experience should stay away from the Micky Mouse show that manages the production area. 

I worked in the packaging department. Job itself is easy and very repetitive. Line Leaders can be rude depending on the person and tend to take there stress out on you. It's hard to ask questions when the environment is like that. 
The pay could be better considering this is a pharmaceutical company!!! 
If you want to move up at all you have to be a "favourite." Like you really have to suck up to a line leader or managment to learn anything  in order to grow yourself and learn new skills. Line leaders only take their favorites under there wing and train them. And from that you can guess training is none existing. You are thrown on to the floor and have to figure it out or you become a favourite of one of the line leaders to learn anything. 
The favourites are inexperienced and try to learn to much and try to run lines like a line leader but because of there inexperience they led the company into a lot of DR's. 
They say they want to help you reach your career goals and the many departments you could work for but of course they will keep you in your same department and only hire external than internal.
Next management
Management is not the nicest to deal with. It's only numbers in there eyes which I get it's a business but we are humans and the lines always breakdown it's very rare that the lines run smoothly. Usually you hear about it from supervisors when you have garbage production because the lines run horrible and are always down. We can't help the machines run like trash. Management needs to be more supportive and actually work the floor or come to the lines and see what's going on first hand. And be more respectful to the employees break their backs to get batches out. They are the ones making sure you have a pay check at the end of the day!!! 
This site needs a rehaul of the management team cause it's starting to become toxic. 

There is no formal training process at Thermo Fisher. Temp agency employees come and go frequently so permanent employees are constantly training them and monitoring their work. There are issues with language and many employees do not speak fluent English thus making communication difficult. Different cultures speak together in their own languages, including management staff. Promotions are usually granted through personal relationships. Employees are not individually recognized for their efforts and often penalized for an error. Systems are outdated and documentation is laborious and requires major revamping to decrease errors. Permanent staff are friendly, supportive and helpful. They should be commended more often for their dedication to the company. Benefits are good and are usually granted immediately, upon hiring. The Packaging Department feels like an isolated bubble in the company. 

I came in full of energy, loving the field I am in and willing to do what it takes to secure a permanent position, we were giving false hopes and dreams at the end. Management hyped your head up that you will be brought on to the company and there will be changes to make sure your schedule is stable and that wasn’t the case. I am use to working long hours but I felt like I was on call and the work environment is not family friendly especially if you have a baby don’t expect for them to care about your personal and home life. You will be thrown around from different schedules every couple of weeks. Nothing is consistent there and you have to find out information for yourself. Management and supervisors do not communicate with each other leading the team to failure and you can feel the tension between people in groups. I came in wanting to grow and stay with a company permanent and unfortunately that was not the case no matter how hard you tried. 

The Laboratory Automation team based out of Burlington is the right place for someone who likes working in a dynamic environment where each individual has a lot of ownership for their own success.

The group has a small company feel and people are encouraged to do what's right to move the business forward. This comes with a lot of empowerment and flexibility, but can also lead to high demands, especially when things get busy. 

Plenty of experienced employees that have been around for ten years plus, balanced with new employees following a recent period of rapid growth. This has led to a good mix of skills and viewpoints. 

Definitely helpful for prospective employees to be excited by science, technology, robotics, etc. If you're motivated by helping scientists do great research, then this could be the ideal place for you.

I personally find the leadership strong and possessing of a good vision for continuing to grow and develop the business.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The company a very comfortable  working environment mostly due the great people I had a chance to work with.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
They never really had any areas of the job that caused much stress but if I had to choose one it would be making sure the customers received their orders on time. We were dealing with hospitals and labs so we needed to ensure that they received their orders on time.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Throughout the local warehouse and the head office in Ottawa everybody that I dealt with was very easy to work with. Kind of like being part of a family

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Everyday would differ for shipping and receiving and stocking and inventory counts. The manager and I would meet in the morning and set up the usual day as planned and if there was anything special that needed to be done we would find a  place to fit it in.

The operations manager is somewhat robotic and encourages a toxic work environment. He lacks a certain understand of work life balance and wants everyone else to work long hours and stay in the office. The project managers and engineers are burnt out are met with constant abusive behavior and language from him and manufacturing. Manufacturing is unhinged and scream when things don't go their way - specifically the manager who becomes an angry child. Some people have been here for too long and have created a culture that encourages inefficiency based on what they 'feel' is correct despite having any semblance of a technical understanding. The engineering supervisor in operations is also inexperienced and could probably benefit from more experience as a designer. Attention was brought to HR but HR was dismissive. There have been incidents of vendors becoming frustrated with management and going so far as to attacking employees - unsafe environment.

Workplace morale has dropped pretty significantly in the past few years.  Management has a very take it or leave it mentality.  Possibly related to it being a non-unionized environment.  Company seems to have a good relationship with clients, so lay-off due to lack of work is not an issue.  If anything it's a bit understaffed, which can lead to its own kind of stress.  Internal advancement seems limited.  Training and work instructions for operators are fairly comprehensive.  For tradespeople these things are almost non-existent.  This environment is ok for experienced tradespeople, but if you're a young technical or trades person looking to grow and develop as a professional I don't think you will be satisfied.
There is more to this picture that can't really be included due to the 'review guidelines', but with that said, I know for a fact some other locations within the company are far superior to this one.

The company operates as a contract pharmaceutical organization, primarily handling small batch orders, which leads to frequent changeovers in production. While the shift structure is fixed—a positive aspect for work-life balance—the high frequency of product transitions requires skilled operators. However, there are challenges with training consistency among operators, and some experienced staff members demonstrate behaviour that can be counterproductive to a collaborative work environment. Management is aware of these dynamics, yet is often reliant on these individuals to meet operational demands. The pay rate is reasonable, though the culture leans more toward independent work rather than fostering a cohesive, team-oriented approach.

Typical day involved first attending a meeting to find out what products were already manufactured during the earlier shift while learning what was expected to be produced - this included finding out if the were any issues with the equipment or products. Management would alter production schedules around significant errors and listen to any concerns. Once at my station, I would be responsible for my paperwork and checking the production line for any errors or defects, and assisting my coworkers when required; this was the most time-consuming and monotonous aspect of the job. At the end of day, ensuring proper paperwork had been filled out and cleaning of station and equipment while readying for the next day.

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