"My work’s so exciting because I face new challenges every single day that a solution has to be found for."
After finishing my advanced vocational certificate of education I started studying for a bachelor’s degree in general mechanical engineering at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Dortmund. Wanting more practical experience, I did some research online and came across a student trainee job at KHS. In May 2015 I then started working as a student trainee in assembly control and planning in Conveyor Technology. My tasks and responsibilities included optimizing assembly planning by allocating components to individual production stages in clock production, drawing up work schedules and calculating assembly times. About a year and a half later I then joined a development team/project and, in conjunction with this, started working on my bachelor thesis. As part of my thesis I studied and further developed the mechanics on a mechanical assembly for a modular system. On finishing my thesis I took up a permanent position as a trainee in automation in the aforementioned development project.
The trainee program lasted 18 months. One focus of the program was to devise and implement a company-wide project together with other trainees. I developed a tool for product managers with two fellow trainees. The aim here was to standardize the preparation of and follow-up to customer strategy talks, including analysis, and to link these in a workflow across all of the product centers. I was otherwise able to familiarize myself with a number of different departments, among them Purchasing, Controlling and Mechanical Production at another product center. I was also sent out on various assignments to a production site outside Germany and was able to see what installation and production was like directly on site. I didn’t just watch, however, but also directly assisted in the installation of a new line.
I also supported the customer I visited at the installation site with development for an order. I spent about nine months working on an extension to an existing conveyor for a particular application. This encompassed the entire organization of the project – from the procurement of parts to test installation and test runs, with a final demonstration for acceptance by the customer. I then supervised commissioning at the customer’s site.
At the moment I’m working on various tasks in the order process. Here, the aim is to automate and supervise various aspects of the same. These include, for instance, programming a bill of materials configuration or automating the assembly control process. In the near future the goal is to implement the developments of the past few months in a team. Otherwise I’m currently studying for a masters in mechanical engineering alongside my work.
“What I like is the strong bond with my colleagues. I can learn a lot from them both personally and technically.”
I’m extremely satisfied, especially as I can work independently and organize myself. My work’s so exciting because I face new challenges every single day that a solution has to be found for. This also calls for a lot of teamwork, work with interdisciplinary interfaces and coordination of developments. The trainee program has allowed me to get to know many different departments and meet lots of people. This helps me a lot in my everyday work. Otherwise I appreciate being able to develop both my personal and technical abilities. KHS may be a big company but here you have a strong bond with your colleagues. People are very close here – which in my view is not that common. I can learn a lot from my colleagues both personally and technically. You have plenty of support here, especially when you’re new.
In my spare time I practice combat sport (boxing and Thai boxing), which I’ve done for many years, read a lot and devote time to my family. I’m married and have two daughters: one’s two and a half and one’s six months old. My last period working as a volunteer was in Liberia last year where I spent a week visiting various villages and making sure that donations went to the places they were needed. We documented what the donations were actually spent on, usually elementary schools. The aim was to provide learning materials but mainly also to distribute food.
I’d spend half of the time learning another language and the other half abroad. And of course I’d spend lots of time with my children and my family – and finally get round to sorting out my cellar!
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Xinrui Hu
technical support specialist | Service | KHS China, Suzhou
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