Bench–pressing Benchmarks

Jon Urkiola Becerril, H&N International Quality Manager and Projects Engineer 

Yes, H&N International is a genetic company – and much more! We keep diversifying our portfolio with new formats of services, trainings and support for our distributors and their customers. To maintain highest quality and drive ahead industry leading cutting-edge solutions we broadened our team of international experts and specialists further enriching it with a new role: Jon Urkiola Becerril joined our team in 1st of June of 2024 as Project Development and Application Manager. A good reason and opportunity to quiz him profoundly: 

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H&N: Please tell us about yourself and your origins!  

Jon Urkiola: I was born 1978 in San Sebastián, Spain. If you have the chance, visit it! You will understand why it’s so famous: the beauty of its beaches, the elegance of the city, the excellence of its cuisine, and the joy and friendliness of its inhabitants 

H&N: It sounds like a great place! Then, how and where did your professional career begin? 

Jon Urkiola: My professional life began in Pamplona. As soon as I finished my degree, I started my internship at the Clínica Universidad de Navarra, one of the leading clinics in Spain. After completing my internship period, I continued and have since been working as a quality engineer for the past 22 years. The clinic is a benchmark in healthcare, as evidenced by the fact that it has topped the ranking of healthcare companies with the best reputation in Spain for the last ten consecutive years.  

For me, working with them and contributing to the improvement of their performance has been very rewarding, as I joined for the first implementation of the Joint Commission International, a very demanding hospital quality system (with more than 1000 requirements) in which the Clinic was certified for the first time in 2004, and has done so continuously since then, including in 2023 the accreditation of its new building in Madrid.  

H&N: When did you know you wanted to be an engineer? 

Jon Urkiola: I have always known that I like to organize events and all kinds of activities involving people around me. In addition, I have always sought the best way to carry out each of our activities, both mine and those of the people around me. I was fortunate that the University of Navarra offered a specialization very innovative at the time and common today: Industrial Organization Engineering. This allowed me to combine my technical skills and the desire for technological knowledge with my interests. Process management and continuous improvement has been one of my passions ever since. Also, during my studies, I noticed that my knack for data was very useful for carrying out my work, always looking for feasible and reliable evidence. 

H&N: What were your studies, training, early jobs, and areas of specialization? 

Jon Urkiola: Upon completing my degree, I was fortunate that the same university gave me the opportunity to work on quality improvement in a healthcare centre, and not just any centre, but one of the most reputable with the best professionals and a clear focus on technological innovation. In my work at the clinic, I have been able to perform various roles, developing multiple aspects of my engineering work. I have been able to implement quality both at a technical level, in areas such as maintenance or environmental management, and at a management level, in areas such as patient care, laboratories, testing areas, and administration areas. I am particularly proud to have contributed to shaping and implementing important concepts such as quality, patient and people safety, evidence-based improvements, teamwork, continuous improvement, environmental management, and sustainability. 

H&N: What has been your experience working with H&N? 

Jon Urkiola: I have had the opportunity to collaborate with a team of excellent technicians and professionals who know the sector very well and do an excellent job. On my part, I hope to work with them and help develop proven effective tools such as incident management, risk assessment, effective communication systematization, setting joint goals with our clients, concrete process definition, and establishing consensus requirements with all stakeholders, and developing measures to achieve the objectives. I also hope to implement incident management tools for day-to-day incidents, such as the afore mentioned risk assessment, identification of critical points, and accident management. This will allow us to have preventive measures in place to minimize the occurrence of these incidents and reduce their impact on our chicks. 

H&N: What is your area of responsibility at H&N?  

Jon Urkiola: I oversee implementing all new technologies in our processes, which is a great challenge as there are more and more powerful technologies, but at the same time, it is a very interesting job. On the other hand, I have the help of my entire team and, of course, our distributors. Currently, I am responsible for supporting the implementation of our KAI farming assistance App. This helps to monitor all the work done on a farm and, will allow us to establish direct measures for improvement, as well as implementation of tools for analysis through graphs allowing systematic comparison between current flocks, standards, and previous flocks.  

H&N: What impact do you expect these new tools to have on the poultry sector?  

Jon Urkiola: I am confident that KAI is the way to achieve these goals. I am sure of its effectiveness, and the tremendous help and impact this will have on farmers. In addition, I want to ensure that our farms move towards a more sustainable culture, as technological opportunities available in the market increase. 

H&N: How has your integration into the H&N team felt so far? 

Jon Urkiola: I think H&N is doing a fabulous job with its entire team, with a very accurate and defined vision of the market. That gives our distributors a guarantee of quality in their work, and sustainability in the future. I believe the portfolio we have is the best, and currently, both our sector and other sectors are betting on excellence, which guarantees better performance for all our customers. 

H&N: How was your start with us?  

Jon Urkiola: I am enormously grateful for the great acceptance I experienced since my arrival, both from the H&N team itself, which has considered me part of the team from the first minute. As well as from all the people I have had the opportunity to work with, especially the farmers who have opened their doors to me around the world. This has allowed me to work with greater confidence and advance faster and further than I imagined at the beginning, reaching levels that make me feel quite accomplished in my work and motivate me to improve further. 

H&N: What does working globally mean to you?  

Jon Urkiola: For me, every learning is a source of motivation and progress towards personal fulfilment. Working globally attracted me a lot; and I think I am a very fortunate person to work in a single day with people from Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America, and to be able to share with all of them knowledge, effort, and a desire to improve. Right now, I am eager to visit the farms I am collaborating with out of Spain.  

H&N: What role do new technologies play in your work?  

Jon Urkiola: New technologies are an open window to improve and go further, I am sure that globally it will allow us to live in better conditions, achieve better goals in our health, daily life, well-being, and improve our accessibility to more and better services. We will also be able to have greater advances in medicine, knowledge, sustainability, forecasting and responding to disasters and pandemics, and acting in situations that 10, 20, or 30 years ago were impossible to manage or imagine. 

H&N: What do you do when you are not working?  

Jon Urkiola: I try to and focus on an activity of the moment, the now. A few years ago, I took my hobby of cooking seriously, to be able to have a healthy Mediterranean diet. I wanted to be able to prepare dishes that I liked, but that included more fruits, vegetables, and legumes, and had less fat content. I enjoy cooking a lot, and it helps me disconnect and focus on creating exquisite and healthy dishes.

I also practice CrossFit. CrossFit has shown me that I have more muscles than I was aware of (thanks to the soreness you suffer when you exercise them). Once you get over the soreness, I have noticed clear improvements in vitality and strength, as well as allowing me to share sessions with great people I see at least twice a week.  

On weekends I try to walk in the mountains. I have always had the hobby of climbing any mountain around me, from all the peaks of my native Gipuzkoa to the most significant peaks of the Pyrenees. Although I always accompany myself with my watch and technological advances, I try to turn off its functions and only leave the GPS running.  

Perhaps my greatest hobby is still sharing moments with my loved ones. I have a wonderful family and friends of whom I am proud, as they share my joys, and make me laugh and enjoy their happy moments.  

H&N: And your favourite way to cook eggs?  

Jon Urkiola: As one of my basic products I cook it in hundreds of ways: boiled in salads, in carbonara pasta, in cheesecakes, crepes, shakshuka…But, in my country, the answer is mandatory: frying eggs and omelette of potato, codfish or wild mushrooms.