Hi,
After a exciting year at Stabburet's pizza factory in Stranda, Norway, it's now time for new interesting challenges within Stabburet.
I have since last update been working hard with a couple of different projects. Amongst others a fun project with focus on improving the work climate, and culture, in one of the production departments. Here I've supported and worked close with several blue-collars, which has been strongly involved in the project. It has been very rewarding to see that we have achieved a great result at same time as everyone has learned a lot and grown as human beings.
Since last I've also started another tough project with focus on packaging, an area on which we've identified a considerable potential (more I can't say, sorry). It's a very interesting project since any change on packaging involves almost every department within the business, such as management, marketing, sales, R&D etc. Something that puts a strong focus on correct information and good communication. And as I've written earlier on this blogg, when working on Orkla you really get to work with tasks that in some way is a stretch for you. But you'll always have helpful colleagues around to support you.
So, that was my last update on this blogg. I hope that You, as I reader and a potential colleague, have found it interesting and that you feel that you in some have gotten some insight in how it’s to work in Orkla, and Stabburet.
I hope I'll see you around :)
Bye
torsdag 24. juni 2010
onsdag 10. mars 2010
Starting a new year
Hi,
I still feel that 2010 just has begun but we're already in the middle of March (!). A lot of interesting things has happened in the factory. January started of with an almost empty supply chain which meant higher production rate and a lot of hard work for everyone. As a trainee you get involved in almost every day-to-day problem which spans from technical issues to more managerial ones.
January then continued with the planning of this year's activities. As the junior member of the local management team I was given the task to lead and coordinate this work. An interesting challenge when you’re new on the job. But it gave me a good insight in the management of a factory, and all the parameters you have to take in mind.
February came and my work focused on different projects, both marketing/innovation and more technical ones (i.e. investment in new equipment). When working with these projects I realize that Orkla really allows you, as a junior employee, to be responsible for projects worth millions of NOK (Norwegian crones). But it feels safe to have a lot of really experienced colleagues that can support me.
Now it's already March and I'm continuing the work with the different projects. It's also being done a lot of work on different LEAN-activities where I support the supervisors, setting the university theory into practice.
I still feel that 2010 just has begun but we're already in the middle of March (!). A lot of interesting things has happened in the factory. January started of with an almost empty supply chain which meant higher production rate and a lot of hard work for everyone. As a trainee you get involved in almost every day-to-day problem which spans from technical issues to more managerial ones.
January then continued with the planning of this year's activities. As the junior member of the local management team I was given the task to lead and coordinate this work. An interesting challenge when you’re new on the job. But it gave me a good insight in the management of a factory, and all the parameters you have to take in mind.
February came and my work focused on different projects, both marketing/innovation and more technical ones (i.e. investment in new equipment). When working with these projects I realize that Orkla really allows you, as a junior employee, to be responsible for projects worth millions of NOK (Norwegian crones). But it feels safe to have a lot of really experienced colleagues that can support me.
Now it's already March and I'm continuing the work with the different projects. It's also being done a lot of work on different LEAN-activities where I support the supervisors, setting the university theory into practice.
fredag 18. desember 2009
Projectile - the Orkla way of Project management
Hi,
Last week I did something that was great fun and very interesting - I was on a course named Projectile. It's a course in which the ORKLA way of project management is taught to young and senior employees working with projects, as project managers or project members.
The course offered a lot of insights and learnings about the usual error of project management. And since you always have your own projects in mind the seminars become very rich of learning (in contrast to what the seminars during university from time to time was...). I found myself several times thinking: "Oo, there's another thing I have to change when I get back..."
Another great thing with last week was all the people I met. It was a lot of people from our (Stabburet's) marketing department attending the course. And since I work a lot with marketing in different innovation project it was great to get to know some of them better!
As the picture shows the course contained a lot of work with brown paper and post-its. On the picture we're working with an activity network - the final result covered the hole table... :)
Mats Ragnarsson (Teacher and project-specialist), Janne Flovik Olsen, Ole Martin Holtberget, Mattias Ljungkvist.
Last week I did something that was great fun and very interesting - I was on a course named Projectile. It's a course in which the ORKLA way of project management is taught to young and senior employees working with projects, as project managers or project members.
The course offered a lot of insights and learnings about the usual error of project management. And since you always have your own projects in mind the seminars become very rich of learning (in contrast to what the seminars during university from time to time was...). I found myself several times thinking: "Oo, there's another thing I have to change when I get back..."
Another great thing with last week was all the people I met. It was a lot of people from our (Stabburet's) marketing department attending the course. And since I work a lot with marketing in different innovation project it was great to get to know some of them better!
As the picture shows the course contained a lot of work with brown paper and post-its. On the picture we're working with an activity network - the final result covered the hole table... :)
Mats Ragnarsson (Teacher and project-specialist), Janne Flovik Olsen, Ole Martin Holtberget, Mattias Ljungkvist.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!
mandag 16. november 2009
A "typical" week on the job
Hi there!
To begin with I just want to say that there isn’t any such thing as a "typical week" - almost every week differs from the previous one. Which I think is a good thing. It's very stimulating and fun to come to work on Mondays when you know that you're facing other challenges than last week!
For me, as a management trainee, my week is mostly controlled of where I am. Mostly I'm on one of the factories in Stranda, where I work at the moment, but pretty often I either start or end my week in Oslo (as often as 2-4 times per month). Mostly depending on the activity in the projects I'm working with. But quite often also trainee gatherings, courses and other work related activities make sure that the week’s stands out from each other.
However, how could a "typical" week look like? Let's start with Monday.
Monday: The week usually starts at one of the factories in Stranda. Here I check the status on on-going projects and usually I get some serious work done.
Tuesday: Meeting with the factory management team. The last week’s production is followed up and actions are decided upon. The status of on-going projects is discussed. And since I'm the youngest member of the team I often get to write the referendum (...) and distribute this within the organization.
Wednesday: Working with the production managers or supervisors. Typically different lean-activities are on the agenda (a. o. 5S, stable processes). I leave the factory quite early to catch the flight down to Oslo.
Thursday: Trainee gathering at the HQ. The trainees in Stabburet works at the different factories, the HQ or at the Orkla CDO (Corporate Development Operations) and the gatherings are good opportunity to exchange experiences and to get to know each other better.
Friday: Working with different projects related to HQ, i.e. projects linked to product development, marketing or logistics.
As a trainee in Stabburet you need to be quite flexible since you'll be working on different factories and or the HQ. The positions also means a lot of travelling between the different sites. But when you're fresh from the university, as I am, this isn't a problem.
Now it's back to work :)
To begin with I just want to say that there isn’t any such thing as a "typical week" - almost every week differs from the previous one. Which I think is a good thing. It's very stimulating and fun to come to work on Mondays when you know that you're facing other challenges than last week!
For me, as a management trainee, my week is mostly controlled of where I am. Mostly I'm on one of the factories in Stranda, where I work at the moment, but pretty often I either start or end my week in Oslo (as often as 2-4 times per month). Mostly depending on the activity in the projects I'm working with. But quite often also trainee gatherings, courses and other work related activities make sure that the week’s stands out from each other.
However, how could a "typical" week look like? Let's start with Monday.
Monday: The week usually starts at one of the factories in Stranda. Here I check the status on on-going projects and usually I get some serious work done.
Tuesday: Meeting with the factory management team. The last week’s production is followed up and actions are decided upon. The status of on-going projects is discussed. And since I'm the youngest member of the team I often get to write the referendum (...) and distribute this within the organization.
Wednesday: Working with the production managers or supervisors. Typically different lean-activities are on the agenda (a. o. 5S, stable processes). I leave the factory quite early to catch the flight down to Oslo.
Thursday: Trainee gathering at the HQ. The trainees in Stabburet works at the different factories, the HQ or at the Orkla CDO (Corporate Development Operations) and the gatherings are good opportunity to exchange experiences and to get to know each other better.
Friday: Working with different projects related to HQ, i.e. projects linked to product development, marketing or logistics.
As a trainee in Stabburet you need to be quite flexible since you'll be working on different factories and or the HQ. The positions also means a lot of travelling between the different sites. But when you're fresh from the university, as I am, this isn't a problem.
Now it's back to work :)
onsdag 28. oktober 2009
Introduction of myself and my way to Orkla and Stabburet
Hi everyone! It's time to introduce myself and how I found my way to Orkla and Stabburet.
When I started working at Stabburet in february 2009 had I just finished my final thesis and acquired av M.Sc. in Industrial engineering and Management from University of Linköping (Sweden). I'd focused my studies on supply chain management, production and production technology which set me off looking for jobs within these fields. However, my search for a job during the autumn 2008 (whilest I still was writing my final thesis) unfortunately coincided with the fall of Lehman Brothers and the economic turmoil that followed.
The economic crash struck the swedish industry hard and quick and many on-going recruiting process came to an halt. This meant that I quickly had to widened my search, both geographically and in what kind of job I was looking for. The first question I asked: Am I willing to work outside Sweden? Since I'd been studying and working abroad earlier wasn't this a tough decision to take and I started looking for jobs in the northern parts of Europe and the neighbouring countries to Sweden. However, quicker then I'd aspected I got in contact with Orkla and Stabburet, through the Nova100 network, who at time was looking for management trainees.
As a swede I hardly knew anything about Orkla and even less about Stabburet. But through the Internet, a lot of great information from the HR-department at Stabburet and a lot of questions I applied for the job (early November). Then it all happend very quickly. I visited Oslo twice for interviews (mid November) and just before Christmas 2008 I was offered the job. The reasons why I took the offer was mainly the opportunities to work in many different fields of the operation (a.o. logistics and production) and the positve first impression of the culture and future colleagues.
Now when I look back on my search of my first job the most important insight is to stay open minded. Especially when you're a student and have none or little work experience. To discuss the topic with friends, family and older students helped me in my search for my first job.
Now it's back to work!
When I started working at Stabburet in february 2009 had I just finished my final thesis and acquired av M.Sc. in Industrial engineering and Management from University of Linköping (Sweden). I'd focused my studies on supply chain management, production and production technology which set me off looking for jobs within these fields. However, my search for a job during the autumn 2008 (whilest I still was writing my final thesis) unfortunately coincided with the fall of Lehman Brothers and the economic turmoil that followed.
The economic crash struck the swedish industry hard and quick and many on-going recruiting process came to an halt. This meant that I quickly had to widened my search, both geographically and in what kind of job I was looking for. The first question I asked: Am I willing to work outside Sweden? Since I'd been studying and working abroad earlier wasn't this a tough decision to take and I started looking for jobs in the northern parts of Europe and the neighbouring countries to Sweden. However, quicker then I'd aspected I got in contact with Orkla and Stabburet, through the Nova100 network, who at time was looking for management trainees.
As a swede I hardly knew anything about Orkla and even less about Stabburet. But through the Internet, a lot of great information from the HR-department at Stabburet and a lot of questions I applied for the job (early November). Then it all happend very quickly. I visited Oslo twice for interviews (mid November) and just before Christmas 2008 I was offered the job. The reasons why I took the offer was mainly the opportunities to work in many different fields of the operation (a.o. logistics and production) and the positve first impression of the culture and future colleagues.
Now when I look back on my search of my first job the most important insight is to stay open minded. Especially when you're a student and have none or little work experience. To discuss the topic with friends, family and older students helped me in my search for my first job.
Now it's back to work!
onsdag 7. oktober 2009
Meeting students
Hi,
Then I'm back in Stranda after a week off in Sweden. Perhaps you think: "that's odd, why take a week of now?!" Well, it isn't really that odd. Last week was the autumn holiday for all schools and kindergartens in this region. Which means that a lot people seizes the opportunity to have a week free (including me) .
Well, to be really honest the week wasn't only a holiday. I confess, I did work one day... But it was the really fun part of working though :) Last Wednesday did I, and a some colleagues of mine, meet students at University of Linköping. It was fun to be the one answering all the question instead of asking them. We met a lot of eager students and it's fun to be able to tell them that we are still recruiting and will start several procesess during the autumn and spring*.
My colleagues Frida Sandberg and Erik Alexandersson.
Anyway that's that about my week off. When got back to Stranda on Sunday evening I quickly found out that the autumn is over! The winter is here. There are even rumours that someone actually did some skiing this last weekend... Nice.
Now it's back to work!
Now it's back to work!
* if you're reading this blogg and are intrested in working at Orkla I recommend you to visit orklajobs.com
torsdag 24. september 2009
Introduction seminar on the Manor
Hi there,
This week has so far been very fun and interesting. I haven’t been in Stranda. Instead I've been in Sarpsborg, at the Borregaard Manor (Borregaard Hovedgård), for a 3 day introduction seminar for new employees in Stabburet. Perhaps I’m not the newest member of the Stabburet-family (with my 7 months on the job...) but it was anyway a great opportunity to get to know more people within the company.
Borregaard Manor is in many ways an interesting place. It was the living place for the early norwegian Viking kings and it was here the company Borregaard was founded in 19th century (which today is a major company within Orkla). The Manor is today a very nice conference center.
This day has so far been a very efficient day at the headquarter. When I arrived this morning it was a shock to see my inbox. It’s incredible how many mails that you get on only 3 days. However, I’ve had time to clean up the mess and to do some serious work on my projects.
Tomorrow I’m heading down to Sarpsborg again. Not to visit the Manor but to visit Borregaard’s (huge) plant in order to exchange experience on the field of purchasing. It will be very interesting!
This week has so far been very fun and interesting. I haven’t been in Stranda. Instead I've been in Sarpsborg, at the Borregaard Manor (Borregaard Hovedgård), for a 3 day introduction seminar for new employees in Stabburet. Perhaps I’m not the newest member of the Stabburet-family (with my 7 months on the job...) but it was anyway a great opportunity to get to know more people within the company.
Borregaard Manor is in many ways an interesting place. It was the living place for the early norwegian Viking kings and it was here the company Borregaard was founded in 19th century (which today is a major company within Orkla). The Manor is today a very nice conference center.
This day has so far been a very efficient day at the headquarter. When I arrived this morning it was a shock to see my inbox. It’s incredible how many mails that you get on only 3 days. However, I’ve had time to clean up the mess and to do some serious work on my projects.
Tomorrow I’m heading down to Sarpsborg again. Not to visit the Manor but to visit Borregaard’s (huge) plant in order to exchange experience on the field of purchasing. It will be very interesting!
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