Etienne's Blog

PERSONAL VIEW ON WEALLCAN and PERSONAL ASSESSMENT

CONCLUSIONS:

Thanks to the “tool” that represents the blog, I insisted to show to its users (students and professional, etc...) that there is a big big big gap between the world of the industry and the world of the studies!

By the mean of the informations displayed on my blog, students should know or understand the way of life among ALCAN group, particularly in France in my case, but other bloggers had other experiences abroad to complete my overview.

To summarize a student who knock on my blog’s door should know:

- on my coach’s job:

field: Aluminum production;

grade: responsible of carbon management;

he needs to be: dynamic, open minded, available and the last but not the least, aware to the constant improvement (in each sector: security, human beings...)

– about my coach’s work environment:

site: St Jean de Maurienne near mountains and from Italy

carbon department: 90 employees (operator and responsible ) that you learn to know at work or not (by external or internal activity or associations)

at the office: about 10 resps. that you see at the first security meeting each day.

I want to highlight on the following work facets:

- Be conscious of the task which were consigned to you (people want you to evolve and wait for results)

– Don’t wait that the things go wrong to say it but say that all is all right when it’s the case.

-Don't expect to respect your time table (don't count your time at work)

PERSONAL ASSESSMENT

My point of view about the program “WE ALL CAN”:

Allows to 33 students not to say: “How! It’s very beautiful a firm!” But they can say: “I wouldn’t have imaging that such a company was plenty of different jobs with various skills and commitments” they can answer to “What is exactly the life of an engineer of ALCAN?”

Allows to ALCAN group to measure the impact of such an “advertisement” on European school of higher education.

There are almost 11000 hits at the end of the operation, is that all right for you? Did you expect more or less?

I have achieved few interesting thing these past few weeks.

For example managed to called my coach not only for the blog but for a request concerning a project at school in order to see the reactivity of the “relationship” system between all the production sites. Then I tried to see the other visions of my collaborators (my dear bloggers J ) because it’s hard to come to terms with all the undertaken activities.

I answered to my comments by mail but not thanks to the forum, because I know it’s important not to let a question alone! People appreciate your contribution.

For the impact of this experience on my choice for my future career and life, I would say that the typical department of my coach will not be for sure my future job (maybe, but on a short range time in order to evolve in the company or to go abroad)

I just want to give on advice to my visitor blog:

Don’t take in account my presentation first (please!) but have FUN to read my contribution: it’s FREE, for you, in resume, for US! (our generation)

COORDINATOR OR MANAGER ?

Would you please find below answer elements about my coach’s job, in team or in everyday life at work

•Etienne: For our last contribution, I will ask you if you are a manager or a coordinator?

••Romuald: I would say I’m quite a coordinator for the moment because it’s the role that I now very much that I had in Australia.

When everybody has different goals there is a need: a conductor (MUS.) this person allow a team or a group acting in the same direction to succeed.I can give you my point of view about a manager. He is the person who draws the line and settle the goals (all about the requirements in relation to a goal).I can say that I will be soon a manager because I feel that people are waiting for me in this field of competence...For example in EHS people identified my weaknesses and they make me evolve to get better. I see the two works (manager and coordinator) like when you are on a boat: one is responsible of the direction, the speed (coordinator) and one is in charge of the totality of the trip 24 hour in advance, of the capacity of the hold (NAUT.)

Is that all right for you?

•Etienne: Oh yeah! Talking about a boat (your team), how are you involved in your team work?

••Romuald: I feel involved because you have the first meeting point about security everyday morning, where all the responsibles of operators can express themselves about the work of the day before, during the night and about the work coming...

I think that they are waiting that their superior (in the firm) build thinks coherent between them, in order to go in the same way. (Without caring about shallow things). Your team needs to feel that she is acting in group, in the same way and for a common goal (a lead like in electricity)

•Etienne: What can you say about interpersonal relationships in global? (during a project or not)

••Romuald: I think that I “OPEN”. A coordinator needs to be OPEN. People need to talk with you for different needs: but the more important is a need to be motivated at work , that why you need to ventilate to improve relations.

Then, you have to be VAILABLE but you have to organize you work in consequence, because you need to work for you and not always for the others. It’s quite normal to talk about subjects more private but there is a thing that I can’t stand is the fact that people forget my role and mix up the two different relations we have at work and not at work: be careful in your future job!

•Etienne: Is there consequences on your job (time table, attitude...)?

••Romuald: You ought to modify your work because you need to allow people to come to see you: it’s in the department-interest! Here in St Jean from 8h to 10h in the morning all the department resps. are on their production sites (and not in their offices). It’s the moment to talk seriously about things and not to ventilate (ventilating it’s for the coffee machine ha ha ha!!)

You have to be convinced by the words you use; it’s important because people need to be “recognized” don’t forget it’s concerning the faults but when people are doing right too! In Europe we always say something when it’s not working! In Australia for example, the always say something when it’s working good! Be careful to the different cultures abroad!

WORK PLACEMENT

è    You are a first year student or a second year student in an engineering school.

è    You studied on organization and management issues about production.

è    You are fond of contact and you like to be in the place of action.

This work placement is for you!

You will be in charge of the automation of the production follow-up in Marne (France) in the heart of Food Packaging Department (Europe - ALCAN Group)

If you are interested, send your candidature with the reference STAG/CAB/03/05 at lionel.quenet@alcan.com.

For further information, contact me on my blog.

INNOVATION

Would you please find below a summary of my coach’s vision on the innovation theme within ALCAN.

•Etienne: In which main field do your job deals with INNOVATION?

••Romuald: We have two different aspects in relation with innovation, the small on and the big one!

You have to understand that in technical innovation there are two ways for acting! First, the small innovations in the way of the constant improvement (Plan, Do, Check, Act). And then, the way of the improvement with the suppliers with their new devices.

•Etienne: Can you explain these two different ways?

••Romuald: For the second point of view, suppliers are interested in the validation of new technologies and we are (privately ALCAN) the only way for suppliers to “test” their improvement with all the risk that represents.

•Etienne: And for the constant improvement?

••Romuald: The constant improvement affects all the fields of activity. But particularly at the level of technicians who can see the improvement at once.

•Etienne: Do you have “visual aids” for the constant improvement or innovation issues?

••Romuald: More and more graphics are displayed to inform all the employees (at each level) of the new goals, innovations and results of all the actions undertaken.

We have a good mean of communication for these aspects of the way of working: I want to talk about the “PROFIL” which is the internal newspaper. The rubric concerned is called “IDEAL”; in this space all the employees can propose new ideas to make the work more efficient. In addition to this I want to notice that, when a new device is installed in a workshop, it’s a good way to inform the employee. That makes me take a new turn to explain the different participant to the validation of new devices of our suppliers.

•Etienne: Yes, which are they exactly?

••Romuald: In this work, we are always 3 actors. The production sites (concerning by the innovation), the supplier with its new device and the technological research department (ALCAN’s internal actor) that is a guarantee concerning: technology, risks and sales.

This work allows the company to reduce the price of new products development because it’s the suppliers that does the work for us. If the innovation is validated the suppliers have the possibility sell their products with improvements and with application and results, it’s interesting for each actor of this work.

•Etienne: In concrete terms do you have ever do a job to improve your way of work or the way of work of your colleague circle?

••Romuald: Each week, I have a meeting to explain the budget of the week before. I have a personal program which allows me with only a “copy paste” to have graphics and comparatives... that a personal investment.

I think that the only thing to remember is that the people need to feel at home with these issues (constant improvement and innovation)

•Etienne: Do you think that every body feel right or at home with these issues?

••Romuald: I don’t know but I think they have a lot of interest to feel involved in the way of life and the “culture” of the company.

•Etienne: There are different levels of involvement?

••Romuald: Definitely yes! For operators improvements are done on daily work (at the small scale) and for chiefs executor, innovation is done on big improvements that we call RUPTURE, in conclusion we have to be listening to everybody and we have to organize things dynamically with new ideas.

INTERNATIONAL ASPECT

Would you please find below a summary of my coach’s vision on the international issue within ALCAN.

•Etienne: To what extent your job entail international aspects?

••Romuald: Here in St Jean, we are not directly confronted with international relationships.The main international aspect concerns our external clients who buy aluminum (North of Europe and South of Europe) or our suppliers of raw materials in India, Germany England and so forth…

•Etienne: Do you have regular contacts or relationships with the “International”?

••Romuald: At the level of an international group like ALCAN with different production sites settled everywhere you are compulsorily in touch with colleagues who are part of the same sector of activity but in another country.

In fact, every department has its own equivalent at work in another production site and it’s easy to organize twice a year technical meetings to compare our problems, our weaknesses our strengths in order to improve.

For example, in May, I will go to Canada to meet all the carbon department staff; this will allow us to exchange experiences.

•Etienne: Is it really interesting and necessary to have such meetings?

••Romuald: You know, when you meet people from other culture sometimes from another company (before ALCAN’s merging) with their own know-how, history and philosophy: inevitably, you’ll find solutions to your issues with new technical ways because people make you think differently.

•Etienne: For your career, does the international aspect of ALCAN allow you to evolve?

••Romuald: More and more, in a big group like ALCAN, it is always (or practically always) necessary to have an international experience if you want to have an interesting career.

•Etienne: You went to Australia for 2 years, was there lot of choice for your future destination when you decided to go?

••Romuald: As to my field of activity, Greece and Australia were the main destinations but you have a lot of different sites in other countries in Holland, Switzerland, England or Germany and Canada for sure.

•Etienne: Do you think you will change department within ALCAN?

••Romuald: Today, a specialized career is very rare because of the different branches that are offered to you. I think I will be led to change my current branch for another one in order to vary my experience: it’s easy! In twenty years’ time some engineers have diversified their experience after having being transferred to several sites (5 or 6).

•Etienne: Do you think it’s a personal enrichment too?

••Romuald: Yes, this allows you to know or to learn a language fluently, to discover a country, new horizons, new cultures and so forth.

•Etienne: If you had to do it again, would you do it again?

••Romuald: Definitely yes! You know, it’s easy to do when you have young children.

ALUMINIUM MANUFACTURING PROCESS

• St Jean de Maurienne site produces anodes for its own electrolysers.
• Anodes are produced thanks to the mix of Brai (15000 tons per year) and Coke (80000 tons per year) which are sub products from petroleum. The paste workshop is in charge of this mixture, and then this paste is injected into shapes for moulding.
• At this stage the anode is called green anode (before baking), then they are forwarded to big ovens (max depth: 6m!). The baking cycle is started for duration of 31 hours for each anode. Each oven “cooks” several anodes that imply each oven is opened each 14 days due to the number of anodes.
• Then the baked anodes have to be connected to the electrolysers by the mean of bar of metal called connectors.
• The superior part allows to the anode to be at the right distance with the cathode in the boiling bath (this height is calculated in function of the external conditions).

                                          

• When the electrolyser works, the temperature of the bath grows up until 960°C and a regulation system detects when the bath needs alumina in order to elaborate Aluminum.

• The Aluminum is stocked in the bottom of the bath thanks to the separation of the Oxygen and Aluminum contained in alumina (Al₂O₃)
• When the maximum level of Aluminium is obtained, a big tank sucks out the Aluminum (liquid phase) thanks to the vacuum effect. Then, about 10 tons are forwarded by big trucks (Cometo) to another oven located at the beginning of the production line (for rodding shop: 85000 tons/year slab: 45000 tons/year, blocks...)
• You can see, the elaboration of rod which represents the monopoly of ALCAN, in this activity.
• Rod is used to manufacture tacks, pedal and gear mechanism (Shimano) Rod is delivered by 10 km-long-bobbins with different diameters.
• A production line of the rodding shop produces 7 to 9 tons per hour.

CLIENTS AND SUPPLIERS

UP to the interview with my coach Romuald the answer to this first item is focused on the Carbon department.

First we will talk about Clients:

•Etienne: How many clients do you have?

••Romuald: Here in St Jean we have a “privileged” client because we represent the main supplier for the electrolyze department. It’s an inner client. But you have to know that the surplus of the capacity for anodes production is used for “external” client. But the relations are different.

•Etienne: Which percentage does represent inner clients?

••Romuald: About 70% of anodes production. Don’t forget that the LRF (Research Laboratory) uses our anodes production: it forms part of our inner client.

•Etienne: Do you have special conditions of working with your clients?

••Romuald: It’s depending of what kind of client we’re working with. For inner one’s, there is less formalism with external one’s What is not changing is the fact that we are certificated ISO 9001 that means we have to: - give follow up of our activity - communicate technical results to clients - keep with a level of quality: for products but for relations with clients too.

•Etienne: What’s up with external clients?

••Romuald: All their needs are precisely statuoried by commercial contracts. This kind of client is “processed” with the same rules but with a different level of formalism. As a result; as soon as we have to sell to a third party, we need to plight with special parameters. (i.e. we have to stock and analyse check samples during two years to guarantee a level of quality to clients) In conclusion, I can say that for a constant level of quality, the level of formalism is different in function of the clients we’re dealing with.

Now let's talk about suppliers:

•Etienne: What is your main supplier?

••Romuald: The Carbon department has got a main supplier in row materials (Brai and Coke). The LRF (Research Laboratory) gives us inner recycled raw materials

•Etienne: Is there any different ways of working with your suppliers?

••Romuald: Exactly! There are 2 different aspects.

-A technical aspect  and a commercial aspect

•Etienne: Details?

••Romuald: The first aspect is linked with the specs we need to keep with. The first step is the validation of the quality of the raw materials we received by the LRF. The LRF evaluates the specs we need to have for such anode or such another one. That implies different specs for the procurement (linked with commercial aspect).

•Etienne: Are you n charge of this aspect or is there a dedicated department?

••Romuald: Yes, there is a procurement department centralized in Paris or Grenoble (in France) for all ALCAN Europe production sites. It’ this detachment who is in charge of the logistic part of the daily problem: supply! (How to unload or to load a train, a cargo of Brai or Coke with the best prices?)

•Etienne: With which resources do you contact them?

••Romuald: We contact our customary correspondent and we give to him the programme schedule of procurement of the week and they have to find the best quality for the best price with the bind of our need and quality. Sometimes dispensations are signed up to authorize a supplier to furnish out of the specs.

Last Minute: ••Romuald: A supplier recently changed its quality of petroleum: we have to accommodate ourselves!

As a result, on this part, we can say that such a firm has to accommodate itself with the external variations (that no one controls) and needs to inform its clients and suppliers to improve its LEVEL OF RELIANCE and to ANTICIPATE.

COMING SOON!

New annonces about work placements in Alcan sites in France will be detailed soon.

The international relationship manager of the ENSAM , Christophe MASSACRIER proposed me to stick them up into my blog in order to divulgue faster the information in the group of students we are.

Both will be in relation with the job of engineer assistant in the sector Food Packaging in Marne, and I will find more details about the second one.

I hope it will be usefull for you if you are applying for a work placement.

See you

DETAILS ABOUT ME

Welcome on my blog!

Here, you will find some details about me.

Have fun!

I'm French, and I come from Perpignan near the border of the Spain.

I hope you would have the chance to discover my region “Catalunya” (as we say).

Since I’m young I’m fond of “do-it-yourself job” my father, my brother and I are always a party to build a new device like the new concept car you can see here:

Or the follow wind turbine fixed with a pomp made with wood which pumps water for developing countries:

It’s always a real pleasure to work with my family!

My mother finds always new ways to develop because she has another way of thinking:

We are a complementary family!

Clara, my girl friend, is now preparing a dietetics diploma in order to practise in hospital or in consulting room.

Then, let’s talk about my studies:

Before coming to my current school: ENSAM, I obtained a ”Diplôme Universitaire Technologique”: a two year University Diploma in Aeronautical Mechanical and Production Engineering, that I prepared in Toulouse in the South West of France And now, I’m a second-year-student at the ENSAM.

What is ENSAM?

ENSAM is a "Grande Ecole d'Ingénieurs": in France higher engineering studies more often take place in specialized institutions than at the university. Our five year engineering programme starts at the end of secondary education 2 years of preparatory studies in general science accomplished elsewhere and 3 years at ENSAM (1st year at ENSAM = 3rd year of university engineering studies).

ENSAM is composed of: (As you can see on the map)

-8 teaching and research centres (CER): Aix-en-Provence, Angers, Bordeaux, Châlons -en-champagne, Cluny, Lille, Metz, Paris

-3 post-graduate Institutes: Chambéry, Chalon-sur-Saône, Bastia (in Corse).

AND

3500 students in 2nd and 3rd cycle 200 foreign students 1000 engineering degrees awarded each year 300-350 students pursuing studies abroad 600 academic staff 620 administrative and technical staff 3 major fields of study: - Product development, materials, processes - Machine Design - Methods and industrial systems 7 study groups: - Mechanics and structures - Materials - Energetics - Production, industrial engineering - Control theory, Electronics, Electrotechnics - Computer science and mathematics - Foreign languages, human and social sciences, sports

At the end of these studies I would like to work in the field of renewable energies (as you know: wind turbines, hydraulic power stations, etc…) or in a company that need to reduce its consumptions of energy.

CLUNY – www.cluny.ensam.fr

Settled since 1901 on the premises of an ancient Benedictine abbey, the Centre is now involved in new technologies. 40 professors and researchers are in charge of the technical education of engineering students in completely refurbished laboratories and workshops.

Here in Cluny, the best way to learn about relationships is to participate to the associative life that the students make important . A lot of meetings and activities are organized by the students themselves in order to show how it's important to know each other and how it's important to act together and to see the result is amazing when the things are made by a group.

Each year we organize the most prestigious french provencial gala see the link to have more details:GRAND GALA CLUNY

And now, you can have a look on what I’m fond of:

During the last summer I obtained the second level of scuba diver. I practice scuba diving in my region, well known for its protected areas: for example the natural marine reserve.

In the future, I would like to obtain the initiator diploma to teach to children the basis of scuba diving.

During two years I practiced with my brother “Ballooning” as an official in competition of ballooning (France championships of ballooning 2000 and 2002).

ABOUT MY COACH "ROMUALD"

ROMUAL GICQUEL: Portrait of a new chief executor to the carbon department

Here you will find a summary of all the informations that I collected during interviews, lunches, dinner... about my coach Romuald. To make this part more attractive, I formulated it as an interview.

•Etienne: Romuald, who are you and was your evolution in ALCAN group?

••Romuald: I’m 29, I’m married and I have 2 little children (Camille who is 2 and Thibault who is 8 month old). When I was graduated (Ecole Polytechnique and Ecole des Mines de Paris) I worked as an assistant at the “Electrolyse” department, in 2000 at Lannemezan site. Then, I went to Tomago (Australia) during two years as a project coordinator, where my team and I managed to manufacture 530000 tons per year instead of 460000. My 2 little kids were born down there. I don’t forget Marie-Pascale (my wife) who was there too don’t forget that ;).

•Etienne: What was your first feeling about St Jean de Maurienne factory?

••Romuald: When I was employed in Lannemezan, I visited St Jean and today I can see changes and improvements about cleanliness and visual arrangements. It’s good to se the things are changing one’s tack!

•Etienne: What is your goal in your new department?

••Romuald: In my opinion, it’s a real challenge to assume new responsibilities however the atmosphere makes me reliant for the future, more precisely about the goals about Carbon department, and of the factory too.

                                    

•Etienne: What are your favourite hobbies?

••Romuald: I’m fond of mountain climbing and music. I’ve met my wife during a mountain trip with friends where we climbed several summits. Now, with muy little family, I’m fond of sliding an snow (Thank you!, Maurienne’s valley:) ) Camille likes it too and Thibault is too young to appreciate! I practiced the oboe and I learnt the piano in Australia where I invested in a didgeridoo its sound makes me wonder (Hye Stairway to Heaven from Led Zeppelin).