First day at work

First day at work. I woke up an hour before the alarm. I think I hadn’t slept all night. I always react this way when I start a new job. Which one is it? The fifth or sixth? I don’t remember. My family keeps telling me that there is something wrong with me. But what should I do when every time in my new job I feel that I want to run away as soon as possible? Besides, my family does not know what it means to work in production…

First day at work – 04:30

I will not even try my breakfast today. I react badly to stress. The coffee is ready (really strong). The first rays of sunlight fall through the window. Sunrise. I stir the coffee with a spoon, one time to the right, one time to the left. I remember all my “first days” in my last jobs. Chills go down my spine. I remember a foreman in one factory telling me to work exactly like the others. He pointed his finger at them and walked away. I was meant to put some wires into plugs. I have no idea what was produced in that company. I don’t know why, but other employees found this job so easy – like children building things from Lego bricks. It was torture for me. As if these wires did not match the plugs at all! After an hour, it turned out that I only met 40 percent of the norm, although it seemed to me that it was impossible to do it faster. I wanted to quit my job. And so I did. The next day I was gone.

In another factory, I was ordered to assemble some household appliances. I think they could have been washing machines. Yes, I think they were. I remember that it irritated me terribly that I was told to screw in the elements in protective gloves. Safety. So I took a bigger one to make it more comfortable for me. At home, I love DIY. I’m good at it. But I never do it in gloves! When screwing the screws into the washing machines I felt like a cosmonaut suspended somewhere in a vacuum in the orbit of the Earth. It all felt so hard and clunky. Gripping the screw was already a challenge, let alone positioning it in the hole! I remember cursing terribly. I wanted to take off the gloves and start screwing in like a normal human being. However, they gave some penalties if someone did not comply with the rules of health and safety. I preferred not to risk it. The next day I did not return to this job. After a few months, I heard from a colleague who survived there longer, that many employees had the same problem. Supposedly, taking a smaller pair of gloves than the size of your hand helped – then the discomfort in grasping the screws disappeared. I took a size larger… All experienced workers knew this. It’s a pity no one told me about it…

In a different factory, where I came from a temporary employment agency, my supervisor gave me instructions to read before starting work. I flipped through them and could hardly breathe. They looked terrible. Lots of technical drawings, and some strange symbols. I sat in a room for an hour, and it seemed to last for an eternity. All I could hear was the ticking of the clock on the wall. I tried to read all these documents, but everything that came into my head through one ear immediately fell out through the other. I felt like before biology lessons with my teacher from whom I always got Ds. Anyway, I was never good at science. Sport was my life. I like to get tired. As soon as my supervisor returned to the room, I apologized to him and said that I was not fit for this job. I got up and left. I always give up quickly. I guess that’s why I didn’t make a career in sports…

It’s always been like that. Always something. I could never survive in my new job for more than a few weeks, days, and sometimes even hours…

Before Work – 05:55

I left the house around 5:30. I have a 15-minute walk to my new job. I will oxygenate myself. It will do me good. I know that this factory produces hubs and bearings for cars. I read it on the Internet. Cool. I’ve always been interested in the automotive industry. Standing in front of the entrance gate, I smoked two cigarettes. I don’t normally smoke, but I needed to relax. I see a lot of people going to work. All faces look alien, but strangely pleased and smiling. I wonder why? So far, when I go to work, I always pass people with unhappy faces, especially at 6:00 in the morning. I went to the security office and said that I was new here and that I was meant to meet Mr. Adam from the HR department. They asked me to sit down and wait. Three minutes later, Mr. Adam appeared. He greeted me, introduced himself, and took me to the factory.

After Two Hours: 08:00

I am already after the health and safety training. It lasted for an hour. It was cool. Until now, I used to spend almost the entire day on health and safety training (Read more about 6S and Safety). It was always a torture. And here it was very nice – short and to the point. After the health and safety training, Mr. Adam picked me up and took me to the leader – my direct supervisor Wojtek, who asked me to call him by his first name. Wojtek showed me around the production. He showed me the machines and indicated the place where I would work. He introduced me to every employee. Everyone was very nice. Wojtek also took me to a board with a table on it. It looked like a game board for playing ships. I saw these in other factories, but I had no idea what they were for. It didn’t interest me that much. Wojtek explained to me that this is a competence matrix. It will help him follow my development as an employee. In fact, on the matrix, I saw my name and surname and also marked the operations that I will be trained in for the next six months. These were three operations where I had “one quarter” marked. I thought: they have a plan for me! Then Wojtek said that he manages this area, and my instructor on the first milling operation will be Mirek, who had a “full circle” on the competence matrix. This meant he was a certified instructor.

Break: 10:00

On-the-job training led by Mirek just ended. It was great. Mirek first asked me where I am from, and what my interests are. It turned out that we both like running. Like me, he will be competing in the next half-marathon in our city. This is supposed to be a debut for me. I’ve only been running so seriously for 2 months. Mirek has already completed several marathons. I started to respect him. I feel that I can have a jogging partner because he lives in the same estate as me. Mirek told me that I will be working on a milling machine. He asked if I had done such work before. I said no, although I mentioned to Mirek about my previous production experiences. Then he explained to me in detail why this operation is important and how it affects the final product. I had no idea that this work is so important and that it determines the quality of the product to such an extent! Then Mirek told me where to stand in a comfortable position and told me to watch as he will show me three times how to do it. He also told me to listen carefully to what he was saying as I would have to repeat it later. I was a bit stressed, but Mirek calmed me down and assured me that I would be able to do it. While doing the work, Mirek first talked about the steps. He called them important steps. I remember easily that there were six of them. Then he added tips. These were key points, such as how am I supposed to grab an element to insert it properly into the machine. There were quite a few such key points, which you couldn’t see when just watching the work during its first presentation. I just think that maybe in my old job, where I was meant to install these cables into plugs, there were also such key points? Maybe it all fitted together, and I just didn’t know how to do it… In the last presentation, Mirek justified to me why I should work in this way and not in a different way. This is the first time I experienced such a thing in my long professional life. He showed me clearly all the consequences. For example, I found out why I should leave excess material on the edge. It was very interesting, and at the same time – very important. Then Mirek asked me to do the work myself quietly. Amazingly, I did it right the first time. In one place I was wrong, but Mirek quickly corrected it, explaining to me what was wrong. He was very calm. I think he knew what he was doing. Then came the time of testing. Mirek asked me to do the work three more times, discussing the important steps, key points, and the reasons for them. I thought that I wouldn’t be able to do it. But I did it! Of course, with a few hints. I felt really confident in it, and the job wasn’t that easy at all. Then Mirek said that I should now practice and do 50 pieces – focusing on quality, and not time. It was a surprise to me because so far, in every company, I was first supposed to do my job. And here? Quality. Mirek pointed to Andrzej who was working close to me. He is an experienced employee who supposedly has “three quarters” on the competency matrix for this operation. This means that he knows the job very well. Mirek introduced me to Andrzej, who assured me that I should speak to him in case of any problems. He also told me he will be back in 20 minutes to see how I was doing. He put a lot of emphasis on me asking questions. I never liked doing this. However, here, I somehow felt safe – safe enough to not be afraid to ask for help. In addition, Mirek left me an instruction called the TWI Instruction (Read more about Training Within Industry). The important steps, key points, and reasons that were presented to me by Mirek were described in detail in this manual. In addition, some photos showed all the key points. For the first time in my life, I felt that the manual could help me with something because I simply understood it. I was intrigued by this abbreviation – TWI. I started working independently.

First day at work: End at 14:00

The first day at work is over. It was great! I learned a lot, and met very nice people. I told Andrzej that Mirek is a great instructor and has a gift for imparting knowledge. However, I also learned that every instructor in our company trains in such a way. Andrzej explained to me that to have a “full circle” on the competence matrix and the title of Instructor, I must complete the TWI training, during which the internal trainer will teach me how to conduct on-the-job training. In addition, Instructors and Trainers use some IT systems in which they create TWI SOPs and where they have many videos reminding them how to instruct and train. The method used by our instructors is called Training Within Industry – Instructing Employees, and it supposedly comes from the USA from the times of World War II. It is dedicated to experienced employees. It consists in transferring knowledge in small portions – so that a person can remember. Mirek divided the work into small elements and passed them on to me gradually. At the end of the day, I remembered how many important steps there are in this work, what the key points are, and why they are so important. In addition, I learned that the motto of this method is: if the employee did not learn, it means that the teacher did not teach it. Andrzej told me that he was also going to attend TWI training soon. When he finishes it and confirms that he can train according to this method, his “three quarters” will turn into a “full circle” on the competence matrix. Exactly like Mirek has. Andrzej will then receive access to the IT system as a TWI Instructor. Wojtek – a leader in the area, who introduced me to Mirek – is supposedly an internal TWI Trainer and he trains experienced employees how to conduct on-the-job training according to TWI. At the end of the day, Wojtek marked on the competency matrix next to my name and next to the milling operation – “two quarters”. This was confirmed by Mirek. This means that I can carry out this work, but only under the supervision of another employee. I will be working on this operation for a while and then I will be trained in the other two where I have “one quarter” marked. Mirek also told me that after a few months, after I have practice, I will also be able to go to the TWI training. I will be able to prepare myself for the role of a TWI Instructor. However, I know that I must first become an experienced employee. It needs time. I realized that in this company I would not only work in production but would also be able to develop in other areas. The first thing I will do when I get home is open the Internet and check exactly what the Training Within Industry program is. I look forward to my next day at work. My only regret is that this company was not the first one I found…