Speaking Norwegian and Swedish, Michael G. will in future support the production of cross laminated timber with the TiCom ERP so that his ex-colleagues on the construction site can expect the highest quality. Here he tells us how his retraining from carpenter to IT systems clerk started with us.
"On the day I started my retraining at TimberTec with an introductory internship, I was already confronted in the hallway by a colleague from support as I was walking through the building with the question of whether I would have time in six weeks. My answer: "Uh ...yes." "Good, keep that free, because then you can come along to an update at the customer's site."
What a welcome! I will probably forever associate my first day with this surprising and, I thought, generous invitation to my first business trip at TimberTec.
When the time finally came, it had become clear that I would be going to the update appointment with none other than my boss himself and my team leader. I have enormous respect for the extraordinary abilities of my team leader. I happily sit next to him, fascinated, and watch as he queries information in the database of customers at a speed that I wouldn't be able to get to half of the data. And my boss is my boss, so no pressure.
So at 6:00 a.m. on Monday morning, I was standing in front of my apartment on the street, waiting to be picked up by our managing director. I am not easily upset and had absorbed as much knowledge about our TiCom ERP, databases and SQL as I could in the previous 6 weeks, but I was still nervous. Quite nervous.
The nervousness was quickly taken away. The statements from my boss, "We can call you if you like, I think it's better that way for business trips," and "Do you mind driving first, I still have to work a bit. certainly contributed to this.
When I arrived at the customer's, the smell of freshly cut softwood on the factory premises, which I was familiar with from my time as a carpenter, made me feel really at home. After a warm welcome at the customer's, for my companions it was a reunion with "old" acquaintances, we made ourselves at the conference table in the office of the managing director.
There was still a lot to be checked and prepared before the update could be carried out. In the meantime, I looked over my team leader's shoulder and tried to follow as much of his work as possible. That's not always easy with the speed at which he can read and write code. Still, it was insanely interesting and then it was soon time to go. I was instructed to tell the clerks to close the program so we could update it. Although my colleagues seemed relaxed, I was probably excited enough for the three of us together.
The update went without complications. A minor error was eliminated and the users were able to continue working on their documents immediately with the new version of our TiCom ERP. At 6:30 p.m. we left the plant and checked into our hotel. After a joint meal, I fell into bed quite tired from the long day and the many experiences and also fell asleep right away.
The following days were also the most instructive of my training period at TimberTec so far. The opportunity to work only on the cases of one customer, the personal contact with the users of our program, the close cooperation with colleagues and the tour of the company premises, with the managing director of the sawmill in person, gave an enormous boost to my familiarization on all levels.
With a little pride, I can report that I didn't feel incapacitated the whole time. With the support of my colleagues, I adjusted one line in a print script and, after checking the changes and being sure that they were only related to the customer's adjustments, reinstated another from the pre-update. I was also able to relieve my team leader with some organizational tasks. I was also able to help with the adjustment of some additional data.
The trip also reinforced my impression that I am in good hands at TimberTec. I really enjoyed being a carpenter and was very sorry to have to say goodbye to my life as a craftsman and to the building material timber for health reasons. But I got to know our customer and its employees as the kind of down-to-earth, reliable business partners that I also dealt with in my old job and therefore appreciate. They are pithy guys in checked shirts and friendly ladies who saw, refine and sell timber , the best building material in the world. It grows mainly in the beautiful forests in the region around the sawmill. It smells good, feels good and looks good. On the business trip, I was able to make an even more direct (albeit still quite small) contribution to ensuring that they can continue to produce it competitively and buy and sell it more easily. That felt good."
Michael G. ,
Trainee IT system merchant and skilled carpenter