The role of an industrial “Sensei”: why an external perspective changes everything
When you work on a production line every day, you sometimes end up not seeing what is really wrong.
You correct the symptoms. You make minor adjustments. You compensate. You find temporary solutions.
But you often lack the perspective to understand what is really going on.
This is something I see very regularly with my clients: the teams are competent, committed and rigorous, but they have their ‘nose to the grindstone’. And in industries as demanding as pharmaceuticals, agri-food and aeronautics, this lack of perspective can be costly: rejects, material losses, non-compliance, not to mention unnecessary stress.
This is precisely where an outside perspective comes into its own.
And this is also what gave rise to Control Sensei.
Here, I explain what I mean by ‘industrial Sensei’, why this outside perspective changes everything, and how I apply this philosophy to our business.
The role of the Sensei: imparting expertise and guiding with respect
Sensei is a Japanese term that literally means “one who was born before”.
It is not a question of age, but of experience.
In Japanese culture, a Sensei is recognised for their specific expertise, but also for their ability to pass it on with rigour, accuracy and respect. The term is used to refer to teachers, doctors, artists, and practitioners of ancestral and rigorous disciplines such as martial arts or calligraphy.
Traditionally, the Sensei acts as a guide, a reference point, and a motivator… They are not there to impose knowledge, but to observe, question the discipline as a whole, explain, correct, and above all, support.
It is in this philosophy that I wanted to establish Control Sensei: an approach based on experience, ethics, technical discipline, and mutual respect, to provide comprehensive solutions and support their technical application across the entire production line.
From experience to tailor-made solutions: a demanding and innovative approach
Before founding Control Sensei, I spent more than twenty years managing teams and working in demanding industrial environments.
I understand the concepts of commitment, deadlines, budgets, and the pressure that Quality and Production teams are under.
For the past five years, Control Sensei has been entirely dedicated to packaging issues, leak testing, product integrity control, and the associated regulatory constraints, whether historical standards or new European frameworks such as the PPWR.
I know the machines I offer inside out: their unrivalled qualities, their limitations, their real uses, and above all, what they cannot solve on their own.
Because, in fact, some industrial problems cannot be solved by standardised solutions available on the market.
In these cases, my role is to take a step back, analyse the situation as a whole, and work with the client and their teams to build a tailor-made solution.
This sometimes means questioning habits, sometimes even initial choices… taking a step back to provide the most relevant and effective solution possible in the long term.
This is how Control Sensei created a customised vacuum test chamber for Ariane Group, which could not find any existing solution that met its requirements.
This is where an external perspective, informed by experience, becomes a real driver of performance, a guarantee of integrity, and a source of fluidity in the production chain.
Teaching independence: training people to use equipment respectfully and appropriately
At Control Sensei, we do not offer quality control training in the academic sense of the term. Our employees are highly qualified and already know their job well.
Our role is specifically to help teams master the tools they use, understand the physical phenomena at play, and become autonomous in the use of the solutions implemented.
To this end, I try to provide as much support as possible: installation requirements, user manuals, digital support, and soon more educational content.
My background as an IT project manager helps me a lot in structuring these tools and staying close to my clients, even from a distance.
Another key point in my approach and the Sensei philosophy is prevention rather than cure! In other words, anticipate rather than react, by focusing on preventive maintenance, limiting emergency interventions, and securing processes over the long term.
This transfer of knowledge is based on demanding technical discipline, but also on a relationship of mutual trust, respect, and commitment. For me, this is the very essence of the Sensei role.
Finally, as I write this article, I realise how Control Sensei is not just a control solutions company.
It is a mindset.
An external, experienced and committed perspective, capable of helping manufacturers take a step back, better understand their issues and build sustainable solutions that go far beyond the installation of solutions.
It is also a comprehensive profession, which I practise with a passion for solution engineering and knowledge transfer.
If you work in a demanding industry and feel the need to take a step back from your product integrity, packaging or process challenges, in a long-term relationship, I would be delighted to discuss this with you.
Sometimes, an outside perspective can change everything.