Episode Details

Connect with Todd Drouillard

Website: https://www.hed.design/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/todd-drouillard-aia-b9a7a629/

Lisa Ryan:  Hey, it's Lisa Ryan. Welcome to the Manufacturers' Network Podcast. Our guest today is Todd Drouillard. Todd is the section leader of the manufacturing and product development sector within the national architecture and engineering design firm, H E D. As a member of the state of Michigan construction code commission board of directors, Todd focuses on design innovation and improving speed to market in manufacturing, supply chain, and design for automotive and battery technology.

Todd, welcome to the show.

Todd Drouillard: Thank you. Thank you again for having me on. We're happy to be here.

Lisa Ryan:  Todd, please share a little about your background and what led you to do what you're doing.

Todd Drouillard: Sure. It all started when I was ten years old, which is crazy to think that you knew what you wanted to do when you were 10. I wanted to be an architect. I had a brief period just because I grew up in the Metro Detroit lake area and was highly influenced by the shows we would have. So a short time, I wanted to design vehicles. That kind of squashed a little bit when I discovered that my artistic talents weren't as great as they should have been.

So I did go ahead and received a degree in architecture in the area that made sense to work in automotive. So that's where I've been spending most of my time, probably two-thirds of my 20, 21 years of doing this.

And the work has been focused strictly on the manufacturing side. So my role at H E D is precise in that I look for ways that we can design buildings to build better products.

Lisa Ryan:  Okay. So what was it about architecture? That's so fascinating that you were captivated at age 10.

Todd Drouillard: Yeah. I just loved to look at blueprints and drawings, and when my folks had a cottage built a few years before I was born. They still had the old blueprints, and I'd love to roll them out, study them, look at them, and sometimes try to recreate them. I was just amazed that these drawings turned into something tangible. So from there on out, it was just like a passion of mine.

Lisa Ryan:  Wow. Wow. That's just fascinating. I had no idea what I was going to do at age 10.

Todd Drouillard: My children are just beyond those ages, and I asked them, and they don't know. So maybe it was just a strange thing that happened to me.

Lisa Ryan:  So when it comes to design, I know we talk a lot on this show about the workforce we're going through now with the great resignation and all that stuff that's going on. How do you feel that good facility design can be used to create and retain workforce talent and reduce staff turnover?

Todd Drouillard: Yeah. There are a couple of things that we do. My firm has a workplace side too. We often collaborate because what happens in offices and lab environments can quickly move into manufacturing. Many of our clients are coming to us and saying we must differentiate ourselves from our competitors.

We need to make the space better than it used to be. So the dark, dreary manufacturing plants are not working. It's strange; we've gone back in time a little bit. If you think back to some of the greatest factories built, they were open-aired skylights and the use of natural ventilation.

And then we went back into this box. And we took out the windows, and we just used enough lighting to save money or whatnot. And we found out that you get some fresh air when you bring in light. You make it a more workable space. The employees stay. They enjoy what they see. A lot of times, too, we try to open up ar