Sabine's Blog

Goodbye !

This great experience “We All Can” is nearly finished. A bit sad, isn’t it ?!!
Here is my last contribution on my blog, since it will be closed on Wednesday: a personal assessment about this programme!

Two months ago, I was in Switzerland, in Neuhausen, to get to know with my coach, Holger Knissel, and to discover his daily work in a Research Centre as team leader and as programme manager “Future Options”. Not only a technical view, have I got ! It was also the opportunity to know how it really is to work in a Research Centre through the testimonies of different engineers of this Research Centre, always ready to answer my questions, and, of course, through the privileged contact with my coach during these two months.
I have to thank my coach who answered to all my questions and took time to do it during these two months, although he was sometimes very busy!!

In the Research Centre, work’s organisation is based on projects: projects ordered by plants or business units (short or middle-term) or more seldom, radical innovations (long term projects).
As team leader, a good sense for relationships is to have, with the clients, who are, in this Research Centre, the plants or business units of Alcan, as well as, of course, with the members of his team. My coach assigns the projects according to the competencies of the engineers of his team. The project leaders act then very flexible and independently in their special projects. The task for Holger Knissel is to support them, so the project leads to a benefit in their businesses, and to give account of results or problems to the clients.
My coach is also the supervisor of the local programme “Future Options”. His role is to promote idea submission and support idea management in terms of an effective and efficient ideation, idea submission and stage-gate process. Another source for innovations is the competency and idea exchange with new colleagues from Voreppe (former Pechiney)!!

It’s difficult to describe this experience and particularly to tell why I found and I still find it so interesting. Discover a job may be not very exciting !?! What made this experience great, was the opportunity to discover the “backstage”, the possibility to ask people about their own impressions about their daily work and to become a real image of what and how it is to work in the field of R&D, far away of the scientists only carrying on their experiments !!! First, human qualities accompany the daily work through projects and teamwork ! Then, the financial part comes more and more to the fore in the job of an engineer, even in a Research Centre.

I’ve lived my participation at this programme as a great chance to know better what I can expect as engineer in a Research Centre. It is likely to be advantageous in my future job search !

Thank you Alcan and the WAC team very much for the organisation of this great programme “We All Can”!

Team work, spirit, leadership ... in R&D

In a Research Centre, engineers live a scientific culture and usually they are specialised in a certain domain. But they are not, like I have recently heard, isolated in their laboratory, concentrated on their research experiments and don’t interact much with other people even with colleagues. First, an exchange of know-how is always present. Secondly, since the different research activities are divided into several teams, engineers belong to a team, in which the people carry on similar research tasks, that’s the link between them! And, of course, there is a team leader, who contributes to develop the team spirit. Such a team spirit is one of the most important ones in companies today, but what is it accurately? To my mind, it means a good understanding and working together in the team. My coach, Holger Knissel, is the leader of a team of 11 engineers. It’s likely, he has a better answer:

Can you give a definition for team spirit relating to your experience?
Holger Knissel: Team spirit is hard to define but absolutely essential to make a team successful. It deals a lot with helping each other in the team and from my side to support my reports to achieve their working objectives. Very important is a reasonable communication over all team members. Talking to each other is the bet source for generating new ideas, which can end up in a Future Options project.

Another question is how to create or to maintain it. I think, there are the common methods, and as a matter of fact, very efficient, these are:

• Meetings regularly, to know what the others are doing, to help each other by finding a solution together, …
• “Unofficial discussions in the lobbies”.
• A good repartition of the tasks between the members according to the competencies of each one.
• Recognition, encouragement, …

In Germany, like in Switzerland, a “custom” I first found a bit funny and now very good for a team, is that you have to bring anything to eat and/or to drink to celebrate your birthday with your colleagues. It’s a kind of break in the daily activities, where people have the opportunity to speak with each other, and not only about “work”, but also about their own life. It’s a good way to create stronger links between the members of the team. To my mind, team spirit is based on relationships, and of course, good und even friendly relationships. And there are surely other methods to carry on the leading of a team with success, which depend of the characters of the members of the team and of the person leading it!

Can you describe your team leading? Which methods do you apply to aim at success in your team?
Holger Knissel: In the field of R&D the work is very much focused on the final result. So it is essential to set clear objectives with each employee. Especially, the project leaders acts very flexible and independently in their special projects. The task for me is to support them the best I can, so the project lead to a benefit in our businesses.

Can you describe the relationships between you and the engineers of your team? And in the team itself?
Holger Knissel: Our practice is very direct and open communication. There is a lot of technical exchange because people have different background and competencies.

Is there a know-how exchange between the experienced and the younger engineers? How does it take place?
Holger Knissel: For sure there is an intensive exchange. I try to promote this by sharing the same office. In R&D it is very important that we ensure transition of know-how of the experienced employees.

In Alcan, there is also training for engineers want to be later charged of management positions in the company. For example, one engineer of Holger Knissel’s team, Riccardo Dentella, is participating management at this training. My coach will also do it.

What does this training consist of? Which points are in this training very important for a manager? Which positions in the company are then offered to the people who did this training?
Holger Knissel: With such kind of management trainings employees will be brought up to speed to understand the business better. You will learn more about Alcan strategy and politics and Alcan's customers. By the way, you are prepared to take over a leading function in a Alcan facilities.

Innovations in Alcan and particularly, in a Research Centre!

Topic of this week: In what sense does my coach’s job entail “innovation”?   

Innovations sustain profitable growth for the company. That’s why it exists in Alcan an innovation program called “Future Options”. “It aims at identifying potential “breakthrough technologies” and accelerating their development so that their benefits can be realised in the shortest possible time” (Definition of Alcan). Within this programme, a website was created so that it is easier for the employees of Alcan to submit their “innovative” ideas. A bit more information about this programme, you can have it in my post about my Alcan Day (second part). 

• You take care of the management of the local "Future Options" programme. Can you describe more accurately what this programme is and what your role is?
Holger Knissel: My job is to promote idea submission and support idea management in terms of an effective and efficient ideation, idea submission and stage-gate process.

• When and in which conditions was this programme created?
Holger Knissel: This program exists for a long time in Alcan and was created to ensure a continuous flow of successful innovation into the markets Alcan serves.

• Are the objectives achieved? In what extend in the Research Centre of Neuhausen?
Holger Knissel: The role for ATM Neuhausen is to be in charge for the first stages of the stage-gate process. A lot of ideas will be killed during the first stages. For some ideas the Business Units will pick up the development for implementation and market introduction.

• In Neuhausen, there is a lot of changes these last years, with the acquisitions of Alusuisse and then of Pechiney which caused the spin-off of Novelis. It is not very favourable to reflex about innovations. Do you meet difficulties within this programme due to these changes?
Holger Knissel: This period of ongoing changes do no promote an innovative culture. But coming together with new colleagues from Voreppe opens also new opportunities in competency and idea exchange.

  • In general, are people always ready to submit their ideas?
Holger Knissel: Not always. Some ideas need to maturate. Some people are overloaded with other work.

• Do you think, this programme is very adequate to identify innovative ideas?
Holger Knissel: Yes, because it is absolutely independent from any Business Unit.

• Have you yourself or one engineer of your teams submitted innovative ideas?
Holger Knissel: Yes, we are working a lot of new product ideas where innovative materials, joining processes or surface treatments are applied.

• Except this programme, how do you think innovations can be promoted in Neuhausen? In your team?
Holger Knissel: Trust and Communication is the key for an innovative culture for me.

My coach in an international company!!!

This week, a very large and current topic: To what extent does my coach’s job entail international aspects?

      

International is first his team with a lot of German engineers, a French one and of course, of Swiss ones, since this Research Centre is in Switzerland!

Then, Holger Knissel has projects with the Business Units or the production plants of the Business Group Engineered Products, which are located all around in Europe. This implicates that he works with people from different countries.

Since the acquisition of Pechiney, the Research Centre of Voreppe (in France, near Grenoble) belongs to Alcan. Different equipments are available for research projects in France and in Switzerland. For example, in Voreppe, they have a complete rolling unit, like in the production. In the future, projects realised in Neuhausen could be up scaled using the Voreppe devices to avoid unpleasant surprises in later production. For a better understanding between the both Research Centres and a future cooperation in the research tasks, it was organised mid of March a meeting in Lyon. During three days engineers of the both centres had the opportunity to better get to know each other in order to break through the culture barrier. By the way, my coach is also learning French!!

It already occurred similarly in the 1990s, when Alcan merged with British Aluminium plc. The Research Centre of this company, situated in Bambury, and the Research Centre of Neuhausen worked together. In 2001, it was decided to shut down the Bambury Lab and transfer 20 English engineers to Neuhausen. The most spoken language on site then seemed to be English.

 

And a few questions to Holger Knissel:

• Have you often the opportunity to work with foreign people?
Yes I have. As you mentioned I work intensively with our new colleagues from Voreppe.

• Are there differences when you work with people from Switzerland or Germany and with people from other countries? Do you have to be careful with some “behaviours”, some “customs”, by working with foreign people?
In general, there are a lot of prejudices on characters from different countries but Alcan R&D world gives a certain togetherness. To my mind, it strongly depends on the personality.

• How do you live it, to work in an international group? Advantages and disadvantages?
Advantage: Interesting to work with people with different cultural backgrounds. This keeps your mind open.
Disadvantage: sometimes hard to speak a foreign language

• Did you travel a lot?
Yes, there is a lot of meetings (with Voreppe) and you would be at the customer as often as possible to know his thoughts.

    

My coach's clients&suppliers

Every week, a new topic to discover a bit more about my coach's job. And this week, what are the clients and suppliers of Holger Knissel ? These both terms have to be considered in a broader sense.

As team leader:

My coach’s “clients” are those who order a project relating to the competencies of his team (surface technology, joining technology or material research). They are the Engineered Products facilities like the production plant in Singen or the business units, which belong to this business group (Aerospace, Transport & Industry; Automotive; Extruded products; Composites; Cable; Service Centres; Ventures; International Network).

There are three kinds of projects:

The first both kinds of projects are the more frequent.

The “suppliers”, in a very broad sense (!), are the engineers who are in charge of the project. And for my coach, they are the engineers of his team!

When it concerns a project of the first both categories, my coach is the link between the “client” and the “supplier”. On the one hand, Holger Knissel assigns the projects according to the competencies of the engineers of his team and then, backs them. On the other hand, he has to give account of results or problems to the clients. He is responsible for the good proceeding of the project within his team.   

 

A Research Centre has no direct contacts with the market. Only, as to bring to market new technologies, resulting from innovations, which were developed, in the Research Centre.

Usually, the company’s clients have only dealings with plants or business units and only a part of their orders are transmitted to the Research Centre, the rest is direct handled by the engineered products facilities. There are advantages and disadvantages in such a procedure. The advantages are, the development is adequate to the plant installation and not all orders need to be handled by the Research Centre. The disadvantages are, first that not all information is transfered to the engineers of Neuhausen, and secondly that it is difficult to know the trend of the market and through it, to develop innovations. To compensate for it, there is the programme Future Options.

   

As programme manager Future Options:

This programme is to associate with the third kind of projects. The “suppliers” are the inventors of innovative ideas. The role of my coach is to promote innovations, or in other words, to motivate people of this Research Centre to confide their ideas or to find new ideas. And if an idea is identified as a potential “breakthrough technology”, he will help in the development of this innovation and verify if this is aligned to the Future Options "Stage Gate Process”(see Alcan Day, second part).

Alcan Day (second part)

First about the “daily” job of my coach in Alcan.

Holger Knissel is one of the supervisors of the programme “Future Options”. He has to help people to develop new ideas, and after a first selection, to bring the best ones into a concept, which is realisable as well technically as financially.

  “Future options is Alcan’s innovation programme aimed at identifying potential “breakthrough technologies” and accelerating their development so that their benefits can be realised in the shortest possible time” (Definition of Alcan).

A website allows people who have new ideas to submit them.

After a selection, the way from the concept to the product is divided into stages and gates. A gate is to validate the stage before.

 

The gates are very important for a good process. If the validation in a gate was no correct proceeded, unsolvable problems can, for example, appear in the stage of the production and the project has to be abandoned: it means a waste of money and time!!

It’s particularly not easy at the moment. Due to the acquisition of Pechiney and the spin-off of Novelis, the Research Centre went through a restructuring. And it was not the first time. Four years ago, Alcan merger with Alusuisse, the employees also knew a lot of changes. These changes are not favourable to innovations!!

Holger Knissel is also the leader of a team of 11 engineers with specialists in surface and joining technique. He is in charge of the relation between the team and the clients. In the Research Centre, the clients are mainly the engineered products facilities like the production plant in Singen or the business units which belong to this business group. The client gives a work order and my coach transmits it to the engineer of his team, according to his competencies. Then, he has to check the progression of the project, to motivate his team if necessary, to inform the client and to discuss with him when problems appear. In the fact, he said, he always phones, does meetings in Neuhausen or in the clients’, it means that he is often in business trips. As team leader, he is also in charge of administrative tasks, like resources allocation.

His team

Then, I got to know with his team. Here is a diagram which represents the repartition of the team in function of the competencies, surface technique, joining technique and material science.

   

Unfortunately, on March 9th, few were in Neuhausen. Two of the engineers, who are specialists of joining technology, were in a seminar and Riccardo Dentella is participating to a management training and he spent this day with his mentor.

Jean-Francois Paulet, French, made me visit the laboratories for surface technology, of course, in French! He is a senior scientist, it means an engineer with a lot of experience. He works in Alcan and formerly, in Alusuisse, since about 35 years. He studied chemistry in France. Because his woman came from Schaffhausen and worked here, he looked for a job in this region and so was employed by Alusuisse, in the field surface technology. He didn’t always stay in Neuhausen. He was once production leader in a plant in France. And up to late 2004, he was team leader Surface Modification, Materials Development, in Neuhausen.

What is “surface technology”? Good question! It’s all surface treatments of an aluminum piece to protect it against corrosion, to colour it, to give it a better mechanic or optic quality, and so on.

          

   

For example, the aluminum sheet which is used to fabricate lamps, can reflex the light and allow a stronger luminosity thanks a special surface treatment.   

 

An other original idea is to concentrate the light on a saucepan (on the picture, a small model), which is so warmed.

The main surface process: the sheet is plunged in an electrolyse bath and with electricity, is coated with a thin film of an adequate material.  

    

I visited the laboratories for joining technique with Holger Knissel. To join two pieces, you have different methods: welding (MIG or laser), adhesive bonding, riveting or a combination.

On the picture: riveting between aluminum und fibre-reinforced polymers 

 

For example: laser welding of Trans- rapid

 

My coach is also in charge of a project to improve the extrusion process. The client is the production plant of Singen. Beginning afternoon, he found out about the results of the experiments that were recently conducted by the engineer, Domenico Tiberini, and decided with him what was in the future to do. The results were quite satisfying and the budget which was forecast for this project was nearly entirely used. They decided to conduct more experiences in order to verify the results and then to meet the client to discuss about the next stages of this project.

After a last conversation, my coach drove me to the train at 18:00 and wished me to win the trip to Canada.   

   

It were two fantastic days. I got a lot of information. Everybody was ready to answer all my questions. It was the opportunity to discover what a job in a Research Centre of a big company nowadays is. For example, the engineer job in a Research Centre changed. Now, each research project has to be justified, and particularly financially for the company, what is not so easy for scientists!

It was a great and unique experience that I’m very happy to have the chance to do!

Thank you very much, Holger Knissel and his team, for this Alcan day!!

Alcan Day (first part)

 

On March 8th, I left Aachen for a trip of 6 hours in train to arrive to Neuhausen. Have you already heard from this town? Maybe, it's in Switzerland, at the frontier of Germany and it's famous for the largest waterfall in Europe: the Rhine Falls (width of 150 m and height of 23 m).

 

            

 

I was already once in Alcan in Neuhausen, during an excursion with my university, last year. I knew Neuhausen under the sun, this time, it was under snow.

 

I arrived late afternoon in the Research Centre. In this first contact with my coach, it was the occasion to get to know with each other. As he also studied at RWTH Aachen University and in the same field (materials science), he was quite interested in my study in Aachen. After he introduced himself (see about my coach), he explained to me the organisation of this Research Centre and situated it in the company Alcan.

      

But first a bit of history about aluminum in Neuhausen:

Neuhausen is the "Nursery" of the European aluminum industry.

1888: first European aluminum production facility based on Heroult's process of electrolyse (Aluminum-Insdustrie-AG: AIAG). Why in Neuhausen? The Rhine Falls is not only a tourist attraction, it was also used to produce hydroelectricity, necessary for aluminum electrolyse. 

1929: Creation of a Research Centre.

1944: aluminum production stopped, only the Research Centre remained.

Up to 2000: the Research Centre is integrated into Alusuisse (recalled in 1998 Alusuisse Group Ltd: algroup).

2000: Alcan Merger with Alusuisse

2004: spin-off of its aluminum rolled products business called Novelis. The Research Centre in Neuhausen was divided into two parts, one remained in Alcan and the other became Novelis.

So a lot of changes in these last years, including in 2003 the acquisition of Pechiney, it means a research centre more in Alcan!!

A few words about Alcan:

Alcan is one of the world largest producer of primary aluminum and aluminum products. Bauxite is the most common aluminum-bearing ore. It contains alumina (aluminum oxide) and from it, aluminum is extracted using a chemical process: Bayer-process and calcination to extract alumina from bauxite and finally, a smelting electrolyse to obtain aluminum with high purity. This electrolyse is the more expensive in this process because of the strong needs of electricity energy.

There are 4 business groups in Alcan:

• Bauxite and alumina (extraction and first processings)
• Primary Metal (smelting electrolyse)
• Engineered Products (extruded, cast, rolled products for t he mass transportation, automotive, aerospace, ...)
• Packaging (Alcan is the world leader in the markets for food, pharmaceutical, beauty and tobacco)

And within each group, business units.

In Neuhausen, there are Research Laboratories for the business groups "Engineered Products" and "Packaging". Multimaterials, Surface & Joining, leading by my coach, is in the business group "Engineered Products". Here is the organisation of this group in Neuhausen:

               

The business units in the group "Engineered Products" are:

• Aerospace, Transport & Industry
• Automotive 
• Extruded Products
• Composites
• Cable
• Service Centres
• Ventures
• International Network

They are mainly located in Europe and in Northern America.

In the evening, we ate in Schaffhausen, near Neuhausen, with an engineer of Novelis. I will do my master thesis in Novelis and it was also the opportunity for me to visit Novelis!

About me

Hello everybody,

This picture was taken at Aachen's Christmas Market at Aachen, last year.

But let's begin with the beginning.

                                                                                    

I come from a region of France that few people, and even French people, know : Jura ! It’s at the frontier of France and Switzerland. A typical feature of my region is that there are fast only little villages. When people ask me where I come from, it’s always difficult to explain it, because it’s not situated in the proximity of a big city !!!

 

In one of these little villages, I was born in 1981. In the fact, I grew up in a house, which is 1 km far away from any habitations, on a small hill. It is a bit no man’s land but a very beautiful environment ! It is known as the land of water, forest and mountain (Jura Monts). 

   

 

More information about Jura with these links:

http://www.franche-comte.org/defaut_anglais.htm

http://www.jura-tourism.com/index.php?langue=2&carnet=0   

 

 

In 1999, I passed my baccalaureat and I began studying engineering. In France, it’s a bit different than in other countries. To study it, you don’t go to the traditional university but to “Grandes Ecoles” (French engineering universities). First, you do during two years preparative scientific studies for the national competitive entrance into Grandes Ecoles. I did it in Annecy, a very lovely city near Alps. It was a hart time with a lot to learn, but Alps and the lake of Annecy were a good opportunity to do a break.    

    

After two years in Annecy, I was admitted to “Ecole des Mines de Nancy” (http://www.mines.u-nancy.fr/ ) and I took the specialisation materials engineering. I involved in different student union clubs. My better experience was, in 2002, my involvement in the association Forum Est-Horizon that organises every year an international recruiting fair for students (130 firms and 5,000 visitors): http://www.mines.inpl-nancy.fr/~forum/index.html . I was in charge of the organisation of conferences and round-table discussions. The team spirit was so good that we are still very good friends!!!

In Nancy, it may be surprised, but I discovered a new sport, rowing. In fact, there are no lakes or big rivers near Nancy, only the river called la Meurthe. It doesn’t prevent that it exits a good rowing club. Just in winter, you have to be good motivated to row when the temperature is near 0°C, what is usual in Nancy!!! In 2003, I participated in team with three other girl students in the Rowing National University Championship, in the category “Quadruple scull” (W4x). We were 5th. Not bad!!   

   

                        

And since October 2003, I’m studying at RWTH Aachen University (http://www.rwth-aachen.de/ ). I am participating in an exchange program between the French university “Ecole des Mines de Nancy” and RWTH Aachen which will result in an engineering degree from both institutions. My specialisation is metals forming. My aim is to work in research and development in this field. That’s why I decided to take part in this program, to get a glimpse of what my future job could be !!

Lectures are very interesting here, more thorough about materials engineering and with more practical experiences. In France, it was only a small part of my study. I can say it, here, it is like a specialisation in this field for me.

It was at the beginning not so easy to have lectures in german but now, it’s better!! Only a fact: When I speak, German people can still immediately guess that I’m French. I should stay a bit longer in Germany so that my French accent entirely disappears, although the German find it very nice !!!

Aachen is also a student city with a lot of foreign students. You don’t need to travel to get to know people of all around the world. I have friends come from Mexico, Ukraine, Japan, India, Brazil, Korea, … !!!! A very interesting exchange. For example, we arrange dinner parties and every time, a different person cooks a typical meal of his country.

I like discovering other ways of life, of thinking and to get to know people. I did trips in Western Europe (Spain, Italy, England, Belgium, Switzerland, …) but also in Eastern Europe, Romania and Bulgaria, and last year, I was in Chicago (picture: View of Chicago's downtown from the Lake Michigan)  . 

 

Welcome to my blog

                            

   

 

 

On March 9^th, I spent a day with a team manager, Holger Knissel, in the Alcan’s Research & Development (R&D) centre of Neuhausen, Switzerland. It was the opportunity to discover the daily R&D work as well as the backstage of this job.

Through this blog, I will testify about this day and share my impressions.

But that’s not all. In April and May, there is every week a new topic to know a bit more about the work of a manager in R&D.

Don’t hesitate to let me know your reactions and your comments on this experience and my blog.

I look forward to hearing from you.

My Alcan Day

What is it?   

During one day, I experienced a typical day at work with an engineer, Holger Knissel. It took place on March 8^th and 9^th. It was two fantastic days that I reported in these both links:

• March 8^th : Alcan Day (first part)
• March 9^th : Alcan Day (second part)