In February, we kicked off our trainee project, which goes by the name of “Crane Model”. This project is all about planning and subsequently building a demonstrative model for our U-ONE-SAFETY universal encoder system.
Our four trainees have been hard at work ever since the project was launched. They have successfully completed the concept-based planning phase and are now working on the practical implementation of the model. The team was recently proud to show us its latest progress at our production facility in Giessen, Germany. The basic structure has already been built and clearly indicates what the final model will look like. Even a trolley that can move backwards and forwards a total of two meters has already been integrated.
“You have to be able to rethink things too”
During the project, the four trainees were confronted with a number of difficulties. One of them reported that getting the trolley travelling winch to run smoothly was a tough task. Some plans also had to be amended during the construction phase, but our trainees were more than able to handle all of these difficulties without any problems.
Alongside the construction, the team additionally worked on the electronic components of the model. The control electronics will ultimately be installed in a control cabinet and are used to control the crane model.
Over the course of the project, delivery problems have threatened to throw the schedule into disarray, but being able to deal with such setbacks is all part of the learning process. The four trainees therefore quickly learned how important it is to factor in extra time in the schedule to provide some leeway for unexpected occurrences.
Support from all sides
Our trainees are clearly enjoying the project, with one of them telling us that it is a great addition to their regular training content. It not only allows them to get to know the Hübner Giessen products but also provides them with a better insight into the structure and functions of a dockside crane and requires them to tackle a multitude of challenges as a team. They are supported by their trainers but also need to collaborate with a variety of other departments. This cross-departmental coordination is a new approach for all four trainees but is going well so far.
The trainee project as a USP
All four trainees have informed us that they are the only members of their vocational school classes to be completing such a major project in their first year. They would definitely recommend tackling such a project hands on to all other trainees. The only thing they would change would be to reconsider and improve the schedule so that it is not quite so tight, they told us with a knowing smile.
What’s yet to come…
At the end of the visit, the team looked to the future and told us about the next steps planned. They have currently completed about 70 % of the project. The electronics and control system still need to be configured, and individual mechanical components still need to be made. This will be followed by the major step of combining the electronic and mechanical systems. Even this significant task is already well under control thanks to the initial test run of the control system recently carried out by the team – with successful results. But will everything work well on the final crane model too?
We cannot wait to find out and look forward to seeing the end result.
For now, we’ll keep our fingers crossed for our trainees and wish them every success!