Hi everyone!

My name is Sören and since August 2019 I am a Global Graduate at SKF. Though originally from Germany, I have spent the last 5 years studying in Sweden finishing with a master’s degree in Data Science from the University of Gothenburg and Chalmers.

The First Rotation

During my first rotation, I am at my “home” department in Gothenburg working on technologies that are enabling SKF’s Rotating Equipment Performance (REP) strategy. With REP we are moving from selling bearings to our customers to selling reliable rotation. This means that we apply our knowledge from many years in different industries and cutting-edge technologies, such as artificial intelligence, to keep the machines of our customers running as long as possible. Thereby we create a win-win for our customers and SKF.

As my first project, I am investigating the business impact our machine learning models are having. This is a very interesting project since it includes finance and technology across different parts of SKF. This was one of the major reasons for me to apply to the graduate program at SKF. It is possible to use your knowledge and skills in different environments.

The program gives us a truly holistic view of SKF. Last week, I had the chance to experience working as an operator in one of our factories. Here, I could see how large-size bearings are produced and assembled. Especially, the assembling can be a tough job with bearings weighting more than 300kg and the shift starting at 05:48 in the morning. However, I could also witness that the operators are happy working for SKF. Not only the focus on safety but also the amount of responsibility and trust given to the operators create a great working climate. In SKF, empowerment is definitely not an empty word but is applied throughout the company!

What’s to come

While I am enjoying my time here in Sweden, I am looking forward to my upcoming rotations. My next stop will be China where I will be leading my own project developing a computer vision application using artificial intelligence. I am excited to be deep-diving into our manufacturing process in the context of Industry 4.0. Since my rotation is split I will spend 2 months in India working with improving our bearings’ quality, getting yet another perspective.

For my third rotation, it is time to return to the REP. This time though, I will be working in our sales unit in Latin America learning about our customers’ needs in different industries. As you can see, the program throws you into different demanding challenges. However, my experience until now has shown me that we always get great support. This can be from our managers, mentors or co-workers.  

As you probably already guessed from the posts of the others, having a group of graduates going through the program with you makes it an even better time. Judging from the introduction month, all the gatherings between the rotations here in Gothenburg will be a lot of fun which is definitely not limited to regular working hours 😉. Additionally, it is great to exchange experiences we make in our monthly online meetings. This gives us an even broader view of the company and shows us we are not the only ones facing challenges!

In conclusion, even being at SKF for a fairly short time I have gotten a good insight into the company and it is fun to work here. I am looking forward to the next 2 rotations in 3 different countries getting an even more global perspective.

I hope this gave you a bit of an insight into the life of a graduate at SKF.

Cheers,

Sören