Chloe Davenport graduated from BA (Hons) Photography two years ago. Now she’s working in aerospace as a Senior Continuous Improvement Analyst for a leading supplier of Air-to-Air Refuelling (AAR) working directly with aircraft manufacturers like Boeing and Airbus.
It's funny to think that I didn't even know what Continuous Improvement (CI) was until it became my job. If you’d told me as a first-year Photography student I’d be doing this I wouldn’t believe you, I was too busy trying to figure out how to put cyanotypes on plaster heads!
In short, CI is about working smarter not harder. It really started out in Japanese car manufacturing. If you imagine all the elements that go into making a car on a production line, then CI is the magic that makes sure it all comes together as smoothly as possible every time. Simple things like a clear workstation or having the tools you need right where you can reach them helps things to flow so time isn’t wasted and steps aren’t missed. CI isn’t just for manufacturing; in an ideal world it’s applied across the whole business to improve everyone’s work life. In my team, we oversee how things are done on every level and figure out ways to make it all work more cohesively. Not every day is about coming in and making big changes, maintaining the improvements is an important part of it too.
I got into CI I think out of frustration more than anything. When I was working part-time at B&Q as a student, I found that barcodes kept falling off products. Customers would come to my till and I’d have to run halfway across the store to find the price of a plank of wood or whatever they were holding. Everyone would complain about it, but no one had a solution. I started taking the early shifts to make time to catalogue some of the problem-barcodes when it was quieter. I put them into a handbook with a picture and the price so we could scan them at the tills. The results were pretty much instant, no more running after products, happier customers – it was really rewarding.
I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do straight out of uni. I got a job at Neptune as a Design Assistant which felt like a good fit; I always loved interior design and it was inspiring to be surrounded by beautiful things. As a franchise store, we didn’t have access to the same resources as other branches, so we had to make do with some outdated processes. The familiar sense of frustration crept in and I started mocking up some changes. It needed to work for everyone, so I talked to designers and customers to see what would make their lives easier. We made change after change and it just kept getting better. It’s funny because I always thought design would be the creative part of the role, but it actually turned out to be CI.
It sounds silly but my turning point came when I put the word ‘improvement’ into Indeed. I figured there had to be a job where I could do what I was doing at Neptune but full-time. This vacancy popped up for Continuous Improvement and I finally had a name for everything I’d been doing.
I reached out and asked if they’d look at my CV to see what experience I needed to get a job like that. As a Photography grad with no official training in CI or a background in engineering, I was really only hoping for some notes pointing me in the right direction – if I was really lucky, maybe a “come back in a few years” kind of thing.
I met with the Continuous Improvement Lead who wasn’t remotely put off by my arts degree or my lack of formal experience. In fact, she thought my degree would be an asset. She told me it showed her I’m technically minded, that I can pick up software and I have experience working with people. Whilst CI is all about processes and efficiency, you have to be able to communicate and empathise with people. She was much more interested in who I was as a person and reassured me that I was already exhibiting all the right behaviours for a career in CI. I went back a couple of times to meet other members of the team there, and it became clear how much CI I’d been doing in my previous roles without realising. After a few visits, they asked me if I’d like the job!
For me, studying Photography was really about learning how to see. We had amazing tutors. Hitesh Ambasna, one of our Senior Lecturers who doesn’t teach on the course anymore, really shaped the way I look at the world. He taught us by showing us. I can still hear him in my head telling us to triangulate our sources. There was so much emphasis on being informed and bringing together different perspectives. Because art can be so subjective, we spent a lot of time learning how to explain our decisions.
I've always been a perfectionist, but I had to learn that art is never finished. You can never get there, but that means that you can always get better. If that doesn’t say Continuous Improvement, I don’t know what does.
I studied Photography at college and absolutely loved it. In hindsight I think that course was almost too good, because I spent a long time trying to find a degree that could follow on from it, not rehash what I’d already learnt. I thought I’d found one in London but when I started, it felt like a step back. I left in my first year and took some time living in the city. I was hungry for life experience and trying to figure out what I was going to do next.
After some time in the ‘real world’ I decided to go back to uni and grab the opportunity with both hands. I loved the freedom a creative course afforded me. I could do anything, so I did.
For one of my first projects I was working with specialists, learning about materials and methods and applying process in new ways. One day I’d be in the workshop making these 3D plaster heads and the next I was in the darkroom trying to figure out how to put cyanotypes on them. I developed all sorts of transferable skills that I’ve taken into my career. I got so sick of people saying, “What are you going to do with a creative degree?”. Anything I want!
I wish I could go back and tell my younger self not to worry so much. You’re not always going to know what the future looks like, but you’ve got to trust that you’ll find the answer through doing. It’s good to be impatient but don’t put yourself through it in the way that I know you will. I’ve always wanted to know everything and be prepared for what’s coming, but it’s just not possible – I still tell myself this now!
I think I’d got it in my head that I needed to go straight into the perfect job after uni. When what I actually needed was to find a job I enjoyed and then go from there.
My one piece of advice for graduates would be to trust your instincts. If you’re finding something easy it probably means you’re good at it. Lean into it. Don’t limit yourself because something doesn’t feel like a viable option. Everything’s a viable option. Just try the thing you want to do and see if you like it.
You learn a lot about yourself in any job that you have. There are things that will line up from having different roles. It’s about the stuff you can’t help but do. At B&Q and Neptune I couldn’t help but make improvements, I’m just lucky that they let me!
