8 Months and counting, Experience from SKF Sweden, Finland, Indonesia and Brazil
Olá para everyone! My name is Benjamin and I’m composing this small update from our factory located near the rainforest in Brazil. As a Global Trainee in SKF my new challenge is distributed across Latin America where I’m learning how we are handling our customer interaction and how to identify their needs, my next stop is SKF Chile!

A fish out of the water, from robotic to software
Working at the software centre in Gothenburg, Sweden was for sure an exciting and challenging first rotation. As a mechanical engineer previously researching robotics, my jar was empty, but to be challenged in a true agile environment suited me well. I had the opportunity take a Product Owner Certificate which helped me to assist the development of the agile framework. To receive such working experience and have the possibilities to challenge the status quo in such a big global company is very exciting!

A responsibility for the future
Managing the SKF Remote Presence had for sure been the most challenging and developing part of my journey, and still is. I’m fortunate enough to be working with state of the art technologies within digital communication, augmented and virtual reality. This technologies is used to enhance the internal and external communication. Example: the reduction of cost/time related to travel, and the increase of the operation up-time by solving disturbances faster. I consider this to be of key importance for a more efficient and sustainable future.

Over and out,
Benjamin von Schmuck

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

Ciao Ragazzi, my name is Giuseppe and I graduated within International Logistics and Supply Management in Sweden (MSc, in Jönköping). After finishing my studies I started my exciting journey as a Global Trainee for the Husqvarna Group.

Since then I got to know amazing people while working within international project groups and along different departments. Allow me to quickly recap the last 10 months:

I started my international rotation in Ulm (Germany), where I was working for the Logistics department. While working in Ulm I was responsible to reduce the logistics costs by improving the stock levels and establishing a new delivery concept together with a card board supplier. In addition to that, I also got the opportunity to undertake a pre-study for an automated warehouse solution for our spare parts logistics warehouse in Laichingen. Both tasks were characterized by the fact that I could not really apply theories and knowledge I acquired throughout my studies. Thus, it made the tasks extremely interesting since I had to think outside the box and move out of my comfort zone.

Meanwhile, I have already past 4 months of my second rotation. I am now based in Aycliffe, UK, where I am working within Supply Chain Management and Sales. My learning curve throughout the last couple of months was amazing. I got assigned with the role as a Project Manager and I am currently setting up a new customer, thereby coordinating logistical, sales, financial & IT related topics. I actually never expected to get a similar amount of responsibility assigned, before I started this program. Hence, I am really happy that I got this chance to prove myself in an competitive global environment.

Aside from the work, one of the best things about being a Global Trainee for Husqvarna Group, is the opportunity to meet new people from different cultures. I have made many new friends in the past couple of months, and have also had the pleasure of exploring the variety of nature that the cities of the UK have to offer.

Can’t wait to tell you more about my stay in Sweden as well as our next training modules in the USA and China.

In diesem Sinne, see you soon & arrivederci!

Giuseppe Anello

Global Trainee Logistics & Operations

The year of 2016 was the year when I graduated as Master of Science in Industrial Engineering, it was also the year when I was hired as a global trainee at Husqvarna Group. I started my two year program the fall of 2016. So far it have been an exciting time, with a lot of new impressions, which I will tell you about in this short blog post.

Each global trainee has its own focus area, with a specified development plan guiding four assignment rotations for the coming two years. Me, as global trainee within manufacturing started my first assignment at Manufacturing Engineering at the Husqvarna site in Huskvarna.

My first two weeks at Husqvarna started with an introduction to the manufacturing site, which is a very interesting one; as it contains the whole value chain. The process starts with a piece of metal and ends with a final product ready to be delivered to a dealer. During these two weeks; me and a fellow trainee got to spend time understanding the everyday work of the different functions within manufacturing. Most interesting was the days we got to assembly products on the assembly line, it gave me understanding of the product and the challenging work for my colleagues.

Me during product testing at the first training module.

The first assignment was kicked off with a training module and introduction to the Husqvarna division with start in and end at Husqvarna Headquarters in Stockholm. During this training module I got to meet all the other global trainees for the first time, and we had a great time as we learned about the products and the business of Husqvarna.

Huskvarna site is currently going through an industrial revolution where we are moving towards industry 4.0. As my first assignment I got to participate in this exciting journey as project manager of a pre-study. The pre-study included movement from manual assembly towards a semi-automated assembly for one of our fast growing product categories. The finalization of the pre-study meant a presentation for the management team, and now the project is moving towards the next step.

I will soon change assignment and thereby perspective. I will move to the product department for the product category which I worked with within manufacturing. It will be interesting to experience both the delivery and receiving end of the development process, and I’m certain that I have an exciting time ahead of me.

Best regards;

Olof Gustafsson

Global trainee Manufacturing, Husqvarna Division

Husqvarna Group

Finally time to post my first entry! So here it goes:

Today I got the question: what does it feels like to start working after uni?
And my answer was: it’s surprisingly easy.
But of course this is not entirely true; it can also be highly complex and has its ups and downs. So, I will share my stories and experiences with you as honestly as possible.

When finding myself at the end of my engineering studies, I spent much time reflecting upon how I wanted the journey to continue. All of a sudden it was time to get out of that marvelous bubble of student life in Lund. Being a “generalist specialist” (as I this weekend learnt that my education can be labeled, thanks for the expression!), and also curious as a person, I ended up in parallel recruiting processes. This period was interesting because one day you think you have learnt something about yourself and your aspirations, only to have a setback and doubt it the next day. I had long knew though, that a trainee program would be a interesting way of bridging the gap, while it offers a professional environment where you get introduced to several areas, presented to a broad range of challenges and start to build your network from day one. Furthermore, the focus is on learning as much as possible about the organisation and developing your own skills! So in the end, when the opportunity presented itself, I finally followed my gut feeling (facilitated by the professional but yet highly engaged and welcoming atmosphere experienced during the recruitment process) and accepted a trainee position at Scania CV AB – a choice I am very happy with.

It has now been almost 3 months (my god, that went quick!) and there’s heaps of stuff that I would like to share in this forum. But let’s start with the most recent experience; my first business trip. To the Netherlands. Alone. I have been given the responsibility for a project with rather blurry frames which I am to fill with content, with the help of a resource in Holland. This is of course challenging, and sometimes I just wish that someone would tell me what to do. But I also know that wouldn’t be as fun in the end. The project targets how we can work to better create an understanding of the flow of products all the way to our end customers. Hence, 1 1/2 week ago I was kinda nervous and did not know how to fill the agenda for the three day long visit, but then I reminded myself; if you want challenges, go grasp the opportunities! So off I went, and it was incredibly instructive.

Since I am currently employed within the industrial side, this trip was also a way for me to learn how the same flow can be interpreted from the commercial point of view. The distributor I visited is located in Breda, a two hour flight and an additional one hour train trip from Stockholm. I felt rather excited waking up at the hotel, knowing that I would get picked up and spend my day at this head office. I gladly experienced that the entire day had been dedicated to me, where a manager and I sat down to discuss the project, their market setup and challenges, and how to proceed from here. And once again it struck me how open and friendly the employees are at this company; willing to share information and experiences. This is built into the Scania culture, where one of the core values is ‘Respect for the Individual’, and we seek to capture the knowledge, experience and ambition of each individual to continuously improve and develop. I personally feel I thrive in an environment where knowledge sharing is encouraged and the standard answer (at least to my experience so far) is: “Of course, just book a meeting in my calendar!”

During my second day I got to attend pulse meetings and to further discuss the project with several employees. I also seized the opportunity to get an introduction to our pre-sales tool and to have lunch with some of the managers (sushi buffet, yay!). Moving on to Amsterdam, which was the second stop of the trip. The hotel was situated in an industrial part of town and the dealer just a 10 minute drive from there. Spent a full day at the local sales back office, where I got to experience how they work with planning activities and how complex the flow setup can be; from the chassis delivered from factory, to the point where the vehicle is ready to be picked up by the customer (I think I am growing rather fond of our products, they can be pretty cool…). The atmosphere was, again, open and the colleagues seemed to enjoy each others company – at least we laughed more or less during the entire lunch. Knowing I had learnt a lot about this market and our customers, I entered the workshop just in time to see some of them picking up their vehicles before it was time to close the business for this day.

Someone liked the Swedish handicraft.

Time for me to wrap up this day and blog post as well.

//Therese

PS. Breda is a pretty little town, which seems to host a great amount of cosy restaurants, cafes and pubs. Happy to discover this part of the country as well!

I spent my first three-month trainee placement at my home department: Marketing Communications. The main responsibility of this department is to develop global marketing communication strategies for trucks, buses, engines, services, and parts. The strategies are, then, transformed into tactical marketing activities and tools, such as web campaign sites, brochures, advertisements, direct marketing material, videos, promotional items and graphical guidelines for marketing communication material. A typical activity is the preparation for international trade fairs, such as the IAA in Hanover, the IFAT in Munich, the Dubai International Boat Show or Busworld in Kortrijk. Another main task at Marketing Communications is to continuously update the brochures of our products and services.

However, my very first marketing project was a little bit different: I was responsible for coordinating the production of the Scania 125 year campaign book. This year, Scania celebrates its 125th anniversary and many activities are planned throughout the year 2016 in order to celebrate this special occasion. The campaign book summarizes the background, marketing strategy, core message, and target groups for the Scania 125 year project. Furthermore, it provides an overview over the marketing material that is being produced for the anniversary, such as posters, roll-ups, videos, promotional items etc..

I realized very quickly, that the daily work at Scania is very cross-functional. This was no different with my project. In order to coordinate the project, I had to meet with various departments at Scania to collect all information necessary for the campaign book. Hence, I met with colleagues from the department of Corporate Relations, Event & Exhibition, Employer Branding, Parts & Services (Vehicle Accessories and Branding Products) and Business Support (Image Desk). We decided to develop a Scania 125 year logotype in different variations, which was then printed on different promotional items, such as flags, T-shirts, umbrellas, key rings, mouse pads, pins, pens, mugs, balloons, and chocolate. Furthermore, we designed posters, roll ups, wall banners, and produced a video together with an external advertising agency. Once the campaign book was written, it was published internally to all Scania distributors in the world. The distributors could, then, decide by themselves which marketing material they want to use locally in order to celebrate Scania’s 125th anniversary.

All of us trainees have spent a period abroad at a Scania distributor this year. I always got very excited when my trainee colleagues sent me pictures of Scania 125 year marketing material that is used at a Scania distributor, for instance, in Brazil or Holland. It is great to see that the marketing material, which I helped to design, is used all over the world to celebrate Scania’s 125^th anniversary!

Each year, Scania offers its trainees to take the heavy truck licence (C-licence). With the C-licence, you are authorized to drive any kind of truck, regardless of its weight. Since I got my driver’s licence for passenger cars in Germany, I had to exchange my German driver’s licence into a Swedish “B-licence” at the Swedish transport agency, first.

During the introduction weeks of the Scania Graduate Trainee Program last summer, we spent two days at “Grönlunds”, which is a driving school for heavy trucks and buses. We attended theory lessons, in which we repeated basic traffic rules and learned more about truck-related regulations, such as restrictions concerning “driving and rest periods”. We also learned the use of a digital tachograph. In addition, we were given a heavy folder and several smaller brochures, which we had to study for the theoretical exam. It was quite a challenge to read and memorize all the material in Swedish in the evening, after having stood at Scania’s assembly lines all day long.

On the day of the theoretical exam, I was very nervous. The exam is a computer-based test and is comprised of 60 questions, which have to be answered within 40 minutes. Five of the 60 questions are so-called “test questions”, which means that it does not matter if these questions are answered correctly. However, you do not know if the question you are trying to answer is a “real question” or a “test question”. Hence, 44 out of the 55 “real questions” have to be answered correctly in order to pass the theoretical exam. After 40 minutes, a note on the computer screen showed me that I had just passed the theoretical exam for my heavy truck licence. I was extremely relieved and proud, when I saw that message.

A few weeks later, I completed the practical exam with a 18t Scania truck. First, I had to perform a security check on the truck. Furthermore, I had to answer a few questions and calculate how much payload I could have on different roads, depending on the road classification (BK1, BK2, BK3). Afterwards, I had to prove my driving skills on the highway, as well as in rural and urban areas. Besides, I had to reverse the truck around a corner, and I also had to park the truck backwards against a loading bay, so that 10cm of the tailgate were placed on the loading bay, when opening the tailgate. After 45 minutes, the examiner told me that I had passed the practical exam and congratulated me on my heavy truck licence.

The three-week workshop practice, which is part of the six-week introductory program at Scania, was one of the activities that I had been looking forward to the most since I signed my working contract with Scania. It takes place in August and September each year and is part of the introduction program for the newly recruited trainees.

There are three production facilities in Södertälje: bus and truck chassis, axels and gearboxes, and engines. The aim of the workshop practice is to obtain first-hand experience of how Scania’s products are assembled and to get an insight into the daily work flow at the production lines.

Due to safety reasons, the regulations concerning what clothes or shoes to wear when working at the assembly lines are very strict. Therefore, each trainee was given a pair of safety shoes on our first day at Scania. Furthermore, we all received a workshop outfit, consisting of work trousers, T-shirts and a sweater.

I still remember the moment, when I entered the chassis production facility for the first time. There was so much happening simultaneously that I did not know where to look first. The factory was surprisingly clean and light, all components were perfectly organized on the shelves, and every single step along the assembly line was precisely structured and planned in great detail. When walking through the production hall, you had to make sure to stay within the yellow lines, which are drawn on the floor, since there are so many small trucks, such as forklift trucks, driving around in order to supply the different workshop stations with new material. Thus, one of the first rules we learned was that these trucks were always allowed to go first.

Wearing the Scania outfit that we were given earlier, we trainees were dressed in the exact same way as all the other assemblers at the production line. Even the workshop managers all the way up to the plant manager wore at least the beige Scania T-shirt. This is, again, a typical example, that shows Scania’s unique organizational culture, where everybody – from the assembler to the top manager – feels like being part of one big family.

When I was at the chassis assembly line, I worked with the team that put the engines into the bus chassis. I was surprised by the fact that a lot of work is still performed manually, for example, pushing the chassis from one work station to the next at the end of each tact time. The tools that are used in the chassis production are very heavy and not so easy to handle and it was exhausting to stand up during the entire day. Thus, my feet and shoulders hurt quite a bit when I got home from work.

During my second week of workshop practice, I was at the rear axle assembly line. The tact time, which is the time spent on each unit, is a lot shorter compared to the bus chassis production. Furthermore, since the rotation of an axle from one work station to the next is completely automated, every movement is prescribed in detail and has to be followed strictly. In addition, taking a break for drinking a sip of water, eating a snack or going to the restroom is steered by the tact time.

However, the workshop practice has been a very valuable experience for me. From day one, I felt like being part of the team and the assemblers were very patient and thorough when they taught me their tasks. The production facilities are really “the heart of Scania” and I have even more respect for the Scania assemblers, who are standing at the production lines every single day, now, after I have worked there myself. The assemblers’ dedication and commitment to Scania is truly exceptional and is definitely one of the reasons why Scania can retain such a high level of quality in its products.

The trainee program at Scania started in August with a six-week introductory program. Three of the six weeks were filled with lectures, seminars, and various other activities.

On one of the first days at Scania, we visited the Scania DemoCentre in Södertälje. The DemoCentre is Scania’s showroom where you can test drive different Scania products. More than fourteen thousand visitors from around the world come to the DemoCentre each year. Among them are representatives of major customers such as local councils, fire services, and the military, as well as international politicians. A wide range of vehicles can be tested on the test track – from distribution trucks to 25.25-metre rigs to hybrid Scania buses. The trucks are fully loaded and most of them are available in truck and trailer combinations. There is a Demodriver for each truck and bus who provides technical information and driving advice.

Having never driven a truck before, I was very excited when I climbed into the driver’s cabin of one of the Scania trucks for the first time. It was an amazing feeling sitting high up in such a heavy and robust vehicle and experiencing the power of the V8 engine, when the truck easily mastered a steep hill on the test track. I also test drove a hybrid Scania bus, which was quite a unique experience, too.

Another highlight of the introduction weeks was that we got to meet all executive board members including the CEO.

One of the seminars that we attended during the introduction weeks, was an intercultural training, where we learned more about the differences between the Swedish and German business cultures. German companies, for instance, tend to be more hierarchical, whereas consensus decision-making is very important for Swedish companies. Being aware of such cultural differences is crucial for successful German-Swedish business relations. Since the collaboration between Scania and MAN has intensified after Scania became part of the Volkswagen Group, understanding the German corporate culture has become essential for Scania.

It is very important for Scania that its employees have an appropriate work-life balance. Therefore, Scania motivates its employees to take a break from work once in a while in order to attend one of the gym classes that are offered at the Scania Health Center or to work out at the Scania gym. Hence, we trainees got the opportunity to test a Kettlebells class at the health center, which was a lot of fun.

On one of the weekends during the introduction weeks, we travelled to Barnens Ö together with the trainees from the year 2014/15. Barnens Ö is an island north of Stockholm and we stayed in a Swedish cottage directly at the water, where we celebrated a typical Swedish “kräftskiva” (crayfish party). It was also a great opportunity to get to know the former trainees and to ask them questions about their journey at Scania.

The activities mentioned above are only some of the highlights of the introduction weeks. Another highlight was definitely the three weeks that we spent at the Scania assembly lines, which I will write more about in my next blog entry.

In the morning of my very first work day in August 2015, I drove to the Scania headquarters, nervous and excited to meet the other trainees. The only information that I had gotten was what place and time I should be there and that I should take sports clothes with me for an outdoor activity. The meeting point was the Scania museum, where the trainees of 2015 gathered to start the day with a Fika.

In 2015, Scania hired 26 trainees (10 female and 16 male trainees), all of them recent university graduates with a maximum of one year’s working experience. The trainees had been recruited by different functional departments; hence we are nine Production trainees, six within R&D, two in Sales & Marketing, two in Commercial Operations, two in Purchasing, two in Business Control, two in Finance, and one in IT. Besides me, there is one other trainee, who is originally from Germany, as well as one trainee from Estonia, while the rest of the trainees are Swedes.

On that first day at Scania, it was very easy to start a conversation with the other trainees. It seemed like we were on the same wavelength, since we all have similar backgrounds and are rather outgoing people who like to socialize. After the Fika, we were welcomed by the trainee coordinators, who gave us more information on the structure of the introductory program and the trainee program as a whole.

In the afternoon, we went to Scania’s own health and fitness club, which is just a few minutes’ drive away from Scania’s headquarters. We were asked to change to our sportswear and to put on a blue work overall and helmet. Putting on the helmet, we became a little anxious what Scania had in store for us. What followed was an outside teambuilding activity, during which we had to execute different tasks and solve problems in smaller teams. The weather was beautiful and it was a lot of fun and definitely helped us trainees to get to know each other better as well as bond as a team.

In the evening, I was exhausted from all the new impressions that I had gained on that first day, but I was also very happy to be part of such a nice group of trainees and excited to go back to work the next day in order to continue the trainee journey together with the other trainees.