Wrap a tiny bit of damp sponge around the ribbon right behind where you're soldering, it pulls heat away from the plastic before it can travel down. Sounds dumb but it works way better than kapton tape alone since tape just blocks air, it does not soak up any heat. Also turn your iron down to like 600F for flex work, you do not need 700+ on those little connectors. The pad will still flow fine if your tip is clean and tinned.

Wait, twenty minutes?? That's some serious dedication to defending 3.0.

Did the manager actually say anything to him about the change, or did he just notice on his own? Curious if a small habit like that gets you credit or if you still gotta point it out yourself.