Two days in production: Sascha Grawunder, Head of Operations at KEMPER, gathers first-hand impressions

"Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other." Sascha Grawunder, Head of Operations at KEMPER, also took this quote from John F. Kennedy as a reference. For two days he supported the production in all working areas to get a detailed impression of the production of extraction units and systems. At the same time, he used the opportunity to exchange ideas with his colleagues directly at the workplace.

"It is important to have personal conversations with colleagues in production at eye level", emphasises Sascha Grawunder. "Possible problems are addressed in a completely different way and could be identified at the same time, so that I can better understand where there is potential for improvement". As a medium-sized family business, KEMPER attaches great importance to communication and the sense of unity. "I am firmly convinced that everyone can learn something from everyone else here", Grawunder praises his team. He started at production line 1, where the mobile extraction units are finally assembled. The Head of Operations played an active role in both the basic assembly and the electrical assembly. He then went to the testing station for final quality control, where he was allowed to inspect his own work. "Thanks to the good guidance of my colleagues during the assembly process and the final inspection, I was able to gather a lot of input about our extraction units," Grawunder remarked after only half a day. 

• "As a manager, it is important to obtain an opinion from all those involved"

After that, Grawunder went to the dispatch department. Here a fully loaded semi-trailer from the KEMPER production site in the Czech Republic was already ready for him. During unloading, he discovered a new passion: driving material handling vehicles. "That was really great fun. I'm especially glad that I didn't hurt anyone in the process," jokes the department manager for operations. At the goods receiving department, Sascha Grawunderer supported his colleagues in their daily business and also took the opportunity to exchange ideas. "When you work together with people, you simply learn the most - about the workflow, the processes but also about the people themselves". 

In a positive mood, Sascha Grawunder started work on the second day on production line 2, on which the central WeldFil welding fume filter systems and CleanAirTower series filter towers are completed. Here too, the Head of Operations was given interesting insights and the opportunity to play an active role. "For the fact that Sascha usually prefers to work with Excel tables and diagrams, the technical mind did not fall by the wayside," team leader of production line 2, Julian Sikorski, jokingly assesses the work of his supervisor.

• "I am firmly convinced that everyone can learn something from everyone else here"

All in all, the two days were a complete success for everyone involved. Both for the colleagues, who were able to exchange ideas with their supervisor at eye level and in the process make suggestions for optimisation, and for Sascha Grawunder himself, who was able to get to know his colleagues better in addition to the KEMPER products. "As a manager, it is important to obtain an opinion from all those involved", Sascha Grawunder draws a final conclusion. "After all, we are all working together towards the same goals."