What I’ve been up to, SKF Global Trainee Programme


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Hi Traineebloggen, it’s me Carl, previously just a reader, now a writer.

A little more than a year ago I was a reader of Traineebloggen, but then as a senior in Mechanical Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg. I had just started to feel a mixture of anxiety and excitement about the future, what do I want to do, with whom and where? And who would want me to do something, somewhere with someone?

Traineebloggen gave me answer to what I want to do (become a trainee), and SKF gave me the possibility to discover new somewheres and someones, so I’ll try to help you guys out, by sharing.

I started as a Global Trainee in Application Engineering, in August of 2017 together with my ten trainee colleagues from across the globe. Would love to tell you more of our intro-month, but Saien and Henry has already got that covered (click here for Henry’s & here for Saien’s posts).

From the intro month: Off work challenge, escape room with Saien, Li, Allan and Dennis.

Clarification of tasks and short description of what I’ve been up to.

Application Engineering: Working very close with the customer to optimize the bearings arrangements. Could be in different phases, either in development phases with Original Equipment Manufacturers, improving current arrangements or root causing failures and prevent them from occurring again. This means that it’s both a strong customer and technical focus. The teams the customer meets consist of Sales, Customer Service and Application Engineering, to be able to cover their needs.

Customer visits: After a couple of years buried in literature, it was really exciting to get out in the real world, at our customers. Sounds pretty cheesy, but working in the engine bay of a towing vessel together with two 37 litres diesel engines was a blast. We conducted service on the drive-train, which included physical inspection of bearings, housing, lubrication and mounting of seals. The service job gave me valuable insight in both the technology and customer relations.

Project: In Sweden, we are set to increase the competitiveness of Swedish industry. Meaning that we need to be in the forefront when it comes to technology, organizational efficiency and being able to deliver the solutions our customers expect. To facilitate for this, several improvement projects are ongoing, and mine is focused on how to increase the value to the customer by having a closer collaboration, and how to set up the business for such a collaboration.

Education: Hybrid bearings in Steyr, Austria. SKF’s site in Steyr develop and manufacture bearings with ceramic rolling elements and coated steel bearings for electric insulation. As an engineer, this is really exciting, since the properties of such bearing are vastly improved in some areas compared to all steel bearings. These bearings are lighter, can run faster, with less lubrication, in more contaminated environments without the risk of being damaged from electrical currents. Meaning that these bearings are the “pièce de résistance”, located in some of the toughest places, such as F1 gearboxes and aerospace applications.

A demanding application and a long collaboration, SKF and Ferrari.

What happens next: In April I’m moving to Brazil for five months, to get to know another part of our global organization. I’m really excited about the journey, since I’m convinced I can contribute to their daily operations and challenges, and also to grow and learn as a global citizen. Hopefully, next time you hear from me, I have more to tell you about this experience.

For you: If you also want to spend 18 months: challenge, learn and develop, both yourself and SKF, apply “here” (for applicants based in Sweden).

SKF Wave 2 Trainees

 

If you have any questions, feel free to use the comment section.

Take care!

/Carl

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Ny bloggare!


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Nu har det blivit dags för Alexandra i Stockholm att lämna över denna fina blogg till en ny Trainee från 2017. Det har både varit intressant och roligt att läsa om Alexandras resa, grymt jobb! Nu visade sig att denna stafettpinne fick åka hela vägen tvärs över landet till mig!

Mitt namn är Arvin Bahmani och jag är en av årets nya traineer här på JM där jag dessutom fått äran att driva traineebloggen 2017. Jag är född och uppväxt i Göteborg, brukar gillar häftiga teknikprylar och har utanför jobbet ett starkt intresse för sport. Jag tillhör JM i Region Väst, Göteborg, där ni kommer att kunna läsa om vad jag gör under mitt första år på JM som Trainee.

En snabb presentation om mig själv:

  • Ålder: 24 år
  • Utbildning: Civ.Ing – Maskinteknik på Chalmers Tekniska Högskola
  • Tjänst: Trainee inom Projektutveckling på JM Region Väst (Göteborg)
  • Bor: Hisingen, Göteborg

Jag går mitt första block för tillfället där jag i en arbetsledarroll huvudsakligen har besiktningar som uppgift (vilket jag hade noll koll på när jag började hehe). Projektet jag blev tilldelad heter Tribunen och ligger i Mölndal.

Innan jag såg byggarbetsplatsen hade jag en bild av att jag skulle gå bland stora byggkranar, traska i lera och mestadels se massa betong. Men min bild tinade bort ganska snabbt under min första dag när jag fick se detta!

Projektet är snart färdigt, inga kranar och ingen lera, utan inomhusvärme och parkettgolv. Även om byggarbetsplatsen inte var som jag tänkt mig så är jag väldigt nöjd med vad jag fått vara med om.  Jag har fått träffa massor med glada och frågande kunder, gå besiktningar, lära mig massvis med byggtermer och även spika och skruva.

Det häftigaste med detta projektet tycker jag dock är hissen som också är nybyggd för att komma upp till själva området. Jag känner mig lite som en karaktär i Star Wars när jag på morgonen går igenom dörrarna! Haha

Vad är det jag ska göra framöver nu då? Jo, det funkar så att det tvååriga traineeprogrammet är uppdelat i fem block, vilka för mig ser ut som följande:

  • Block 1: Produktion, slutfas ( Göteborg)
  • Block 2: Projektledning (Göteborg)
  • Block 3: Projektering (Göteborg)
  • Block 4: Centrala Inköp (HK, Stockholm)
  • Block 5: Produktion, stomme (Göteborg)
  • Teoriveckor: 4 teoriveckor som är placerade mellan blocken (HK Stockholm)

Jag ser fram emot att dela med mig av mina olika arbetsuppgifter under mitt första år som Trainee här på JM!

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My second trainee placement: Scania-Bilar Sverige AB


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From January 2016 until end of April 2016, I spent my second trainee placement at Scania-Bilar Sverige AB / Region Väst, which is a Scania dealer in West Sweden with the main office located in Gothenburg. The main office as well as the offices in Borås and Himle, which belong to Region West, are comprised of a sales office and a workshop. There is also an additional workshop without a sales office in Gothenburg.

Working at a dealer is often referred to as “working in the real world”. It is very different from working at the headquarters in Södertälje. When you work at the HQ, you can easily forget that the work is not done when the chassis rolls out of the production hall. A long process follows until the vehicle is finally delivered to the end customer. The hand-over to the end customer takes place at Scania dealers worldwide, thus, it is at the Scania dealers where Scania actually makes its money. Hence, it is of utmost importance, that every sales strategy and every marketing campaign, which is developed at the HQ in Södertälje, is being communicated all the way from the HQ to the respective distributor (Scania Sweden in this case) and from there to the dealers. So that even the workshop personal knows and understands our sales and marketing activities. It is at the workshops and sales offices that the end customers meet Scania. Thus, the way the customers are treated by the salesmen or met and assisted by the workshop personal has a huge impact on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. In summary, what happens at a Scania dealer is decisive for Scania’s overall performance.

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During my placement at the dealer, I worked on mainly three projects. The first project was an analysis of the delivery process. When an order is placed at a Scania dealer, it often takes three to six months until the new vehicle is handed over to the end customer. First, the chassis is produced in Södertälje. Then, it is often delivered to a bodybuilder, where for, instance, a crane is built on the chassis. Afterwards, the chassis comes to the Scania workshop and it is delivered to the end customer. My task was to identify the individual steps and the responsible employees throughout this process and to find issues and methods of improvement. This project enabled me to meet everybody who is involved in the delivery chain. I met with salesmen, the delivery coordinator, bodybuilders, and the employees at the customer reception desk and in the workshops. Two highlights during this project were my study visits at the bodybuilders JOAB and SKAB.

The second project was an analysis of the used vehicle process. When a customer buys a new Scania, he or she can simultaneously trade in his or her used truck. Scania-Bilar Region West has a used truck center in Himle. One of the problems is that the value of a used truck is assessed when the customer orders his or her new truck. However, the new truck is delivered several months later. And when the used truck is finally traded in for the new truck, the used one is often in a worse condition than it was when its value was assessed. Thus, my task was to find a solution for this problem, since this has an impact on the financial performance of the used truck business at Region West.

20160120_162519

Finally, I got to work on the third project together with the trainee in Sales &Marketing, who spent her second trainee placement at Scania-Bilar Sverige AB / Region Syd (Region South Sweden). The dealer in this region had recently undergone a reorganization, whereas Region West continued to maintain the former organizational structure. Our task was to compare the two organizational structures and to analyze which one of the organizational models we would recommend to apply in the future.

To summarize, working at a Scania dealer was a very instructive and broadening experience. It helped me understand the daily struggles at a Scania dealer and the processes and routines that follow after the chassis leave the production hall in Södertälje. Therefore, I recommend all future trainees to take the opportunity and work at or at least visit a Scania dealer during the trainee program. It is definitely worth getting an insight into “the real world”.

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Västkustresa och nätverksbreddning


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På inköp tickar klockan ofta fortare. Många slåss mot tiden och ibland kan det se hopplöst ut. Dock så är det som mycket annat – det löser sig, för att man sätter sig ner för att lösa det. Så även om många inköpare talar om att de har mycket att göra och att det stressas ibland så märker man väldigt tydligt att alla trivs fruktansvärt bra på sina positioner. Med välfyllda agendor så hinner man med mycket, man känner sig effektiv och det blir roligare för man märker av resultat av sin strävan och slit.

Teckning av Lindström som jag finner härlig

Frekvensen av mina blogginlägg har sjunkigt något under min sista tid på inköp. Det kan bero på många olika leverantörsbesök där det senaste i raden var ner till Göteborg, min gamla studentstad. Nostalgin var på topp när jag checkade in på Hotel Post i Götet (hotellet som jag gjorde mitt exjobb på för ett år sedan och som då var en smutsig byggarbetsplats hade nu förvandlats till ett vackert vattenhål för hotellgäster och glada Göteborgare). Två dagar gick åt för att prata kvalitetsfrågor och framtida samarbeten med fyra leverantörer innan de tre Scaniaiterna drog sig tillbaka österut.

 

Klappar postlådan på Clarion Hotel Post i Göteborg

 

Jag och Anders testar restaurangutbudet i Göteborg

Vid sidan av inköpsarbetet så har jag även arrangerat ett besök för ett gäng SKF:are som reste  till Södertälje för att lyssna till hur Scania jobbar med ledarskap. En dag med intressanta ledarskapsföreläsningar, rundvandring i produktionen samt avslut med lastbils- & busskörning på Scanias Demo Center resulterade i att tummen var upp från samtliga deltagare. Att man bygger ett starkt nätverk inom Scania hade jag förväntat mig när jag började på traineeprogrammet men att man även skulle bredda sitt nätverk genom att träffa kollegor från andra branscher hade jag missat men glatt välkomnar.

 

Två glada SKF:are testkör några tungviktare

-Jens

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