Planning DEPARTMENT
1. What does the start of your workday look like?
We start the day by reviewing the plans from the previous day and checking what’s still on track and what’s now just a fond memory. We review performance metrics, initiate processes, handle emails, manage order intake, and kick off new production orders. There’s really a lot to do. In short, we assess just how much reality has once again adjusted our expectations from the day before.
2. What are your main responsibilities during the day?
We monitor the flow of materials through the company. We make sure orders don’t fall behind schedule. We tie up loose ends from the previous day that didn’t go as planned. We come up with new “devil plans.”
3. What is something others might not even realize about your job or department?
We’ve found through experience that after a few years in planning, you not only gain great experience but also develop a very unique relationship with stress. The statistics speak for themselves – nerves of steel are a major advantage.
4. Who do you work with most often during the day, and why them in particular?
We collaborate with just about every department across the company. As a manager, I’d say that we don’t just do planning – we oversee integrated logistics. This involves managing opposing flows: the flow of information (from the customer to us) and the flow of materials (purchasing, production, shipping, customer). Most often, however, we work with production, because that’s where it becomes clear the fastest just how optimistic our plans were and where they might be able to help us.
5. Have you ever had a workday where something went wrong? What was it like?
We’ve never had a day where absolutely everything went perfectly. And honestly- we’d find that suspicious. We see it as the natural order of things and a starting point for further planning. We create new challenges.
6. What part of the workday do you enjoy the most, and why?
We all agree on this one. We look forward to lunch – it’s one of the few things that turns out exactly as we plan it. Plus, every now and then, we manage to let go of the work stress, at least for a little while.
7. What is necessary for your work?
Absolutely necessary are planning and scheduling tools. And also experience. After all, experience comes mainly from mistakes – and thanks to our work, we have a truly rich collection of them.
PRESS DEPARTMENT HEIDELBERG XL WORKSTATION
1. What does the start of your workday look like?
When I arrive at work, I check in with the printer who’s just finishing his shift to find out what happened, what condition the machine is in, and how his shift went. Then I check my computer to see what’s on my schedule for the day. After that, my assistant and I discuss what we’ll be printing today and how we’ll do it. We have some coffee and get to work.
2. What are your main job responsibilities during the day?
My job involves printing, which means we receive blank paper and set up the machine so that the final print matches the original as closely as possible. We also make sure the pages are clean, the colours are rich, and the book looks as beautiful as possible.
3. What do others might not even realize about your job or department?
I think my colleagues from other departments might be surprised by the printing process itself. Very few people realize everything that goes into setting up the machine and how challenging it is to properly adjust the water and ink so that the print is clean and precise, and the resulting colours have the desired richness.
4. Who do you work with most often during the day, and why them in particular?
We work most often with my assistant. Our work requires absolute teamwork. He helps me prepare the materials, while I can fully focus on the actual printing and quality. We’re one team, and we have to run like clockwork, because any miscommunication slows us down. As for the wider team, help from colleagues operating other machines is very important to us. We help and advise each other when a non-standard technical problem arises.
5. Have you ever had a workday when something went wrong? What was it like?
One of the most common problems is a burst rubber band. In moments like that, what helps us most is keeping a cool head, not panicking, and strictly following the correct technical procedure. When you proceed systematically, step by step, and know you can rely on your well-coordinated partner, the problem can always be solved quickly.
6. What do you enjoy most about your work?
What we enjoy most is the tangible result and the precision that flatbed printing requires. Ours is a craft where you can see the results of your work immediately. We also never tire of the fact that the technology is constantly evolving.
