The new director of operations at Baker Electric Solar, Jay Miller, works with a key warehouse staff member, Albert Kasem, during the company’s inventory and process-review check.
Baker Electric Solar, a San Diego-based solar company, has been recognized as one of the area’s fastest growing companies. Recently, the company appointed Jay Miller as director of operations. In that role, he will manage diverse aspects of the company amid growth. Since January, Baker Electric Solar has hired 30 new employees, increasing its workforce more than 25% this year.
Solar Power World asked Miller a few questions about his role and plans for managing growth at the solar company.
Solar Power World: You have amassed 25 years of experience in the electrical contracting industry, but you’re relatively new to solar — starting at Independent Energy Solutions (IES) three years ago. What is it about solar that brought you to the industry and keeps you here?
Jay Miller: Prior to IES, during my tenure at McBride Electric, solar energy products and services were a natural addition to our electrical contractor’s suite of products. For more than 10 years now, I’ve been an advocate of renewable energy solutions. They fit with my strong desire to help clients save money while helping improve the world’s ecology.
Baker Electric Solar is a fast-growing company, and it will lean on your operations experience as it continues to evolve. How will you think about managing operations at a company that continues to grow?
It truly is exciting how Baker Electric Solar has grown exponentially throughout Southern California. I love to engage teams, encouraging their input on what works and what doesn’t work. My role will be to ensure our team’s expertise is focused and synchronized — using the most efficient ways to process the work to create powerful results.
You will direct multiple facets of the company, from engineering and installation to warranty service and warehousing. So how important is it that one individual oversee all the different aspects of the business? How important is unity among departments, especially in solar?
For managed growth, all departments of our company need to be in sync with each other in order to be successful. Being responsible for all of these facets gives me the authority to make sure all of the various teams seamlessly collaborate together to achieve our goals. Unity is of the utmost importance regardless of industry!
How do you expect to reduce project delivery times?
We are looking at and analyzing every step in the process to reduce delivery times – from contract signing through permission to operate (PTO). We will follow Lean Enterprise concepts removing “non-value-add” steps from the entire process. We’ll also strengthen our relationships with all of the jurisdictional authorities we deal with in order to help us move jobs through the process.
Baker Electric Solar is based in Southern California, as are a lot of other solar companies. How can a solar company set itself apart from the competition?
Baker Electric Solar was formally launched in 2007, yet brings a 76-year history of doing electrical contracting in the region. Our team has hundreds of years of combined experience in electrical contracting and is the cream of the crop! This longevity and knowledge base is unheard of in our industry. On top of that we stand behind our product and our reputation. We live up to our commitments and will be here for the long term.
What do you predict the future holds for solar in the short term, say in three to five years?
There are currently many changing factors impacting the solar industry, from technology improvements, federal investment tax credits, other incentive reductions to net metering rule changes, and more. We feel the diversification of our products and services will be important for our continued growth. Solar has a history of being a flexible industry, one that can overcome many obstacles. I believe the entrepreneurial mentality of our industry will help us all adapt and grow.