About me
I’m a qualified machine engineer specialising in industrial production. My training has been very wide-ranging giving me a broad knowledge base in mechanical engineering, automation and logistics. Exactly a year ago I moved from Trollhättan to Hallstavik to start my first job as an engineer. I’ll now tell you more about the Finishing and Goods out section and my tasks.
My workplace
The Finishing and Goods out section is the last part of the production process in the paper mill, where the paper reels are finished and have to be packaged to withstand the reel handling right through to the customer. Finishing also includes dealing with rejects and rewinding. My focus is mainly on the packaging material in Finishing. I make sure that we receive the right quality material at the right time, and continuously test new materials to secure our access to material and to reduce costs. I also work on the optimisation of material to avoid waste and unnecessary costs. This process requires some collaboration with suppliers that deliver material to us.
Packaging station
Packed reel
In addition to my responsibility for material, I’m involved on a daily basis in developing such things as working procedures, processes and equipment in the section. No two days are the same and there are always interesting challenges to tackle. My expert colleagues help me to learn something new every day.
A day at work
The day in Finishing starts with a morning meeting where the section manager, engineer and technician take part together with the process operators to go through how operations have gone and what problems are still outstanding. The aim of the meeting is to get a status update, exchange knowledge and pass on information. Then it’s just a matter of starting the day. Since I’m involved in both Finishing and Goods out, I have offices in two different places. This is perfect since I can work close to my colleagues in both Finishing and Goods out.
In Goods out I work mainly on developing working procedures and processes to increase our capacity so that customers obtain their paper on time. We load our paper reels onto both trucks and ships. Right now I’m working on developing our automated stacking of paper reels in the warehouse. Today finished paper reels are stacked manually in suitable compartments. We’d like to develop our existing system so that this job can be automated, allowing resources to be devoted to activities that create more added value.
Warehouse
Why Holmen?
Another small project currently under way is the automation of our consignment notes for drivers. The idea is that the drivers themselves should be able to print out their consignment notes after loading. It’s really great being able to turn your own ideas into reality and that’s what I like about my job. It’s a lot of fun being able to work for a company where I can be innovative and have the opportunity to make changes.
Today my colleague and I will have a visitor who will present a solution from their company for automated sobriety tests. This is something we want to have outside the gates to Goods out to ensure that all truck drivers are sober when they are transporting our paper reels. We care about the safety of both the driver and other road users. So the next step will be to plan the work before testing the instrument and having to develop new procedures. As I said, there are always new challenges and improvements to be made!
That’s all for now
And finally, thank you for taking time out to read my blog post! I hope I’ve been able to give you a bit of an insight into Holmen and my section. Have a wonderful summer!
/Sarina