“CREATIVITY – TRAINING FOR TRAINEES” AT THE IRON AND STEEL WORKS KRUPP MANNESMANN (HKM)
- 25 industrial mechanics
- 11 mechatronics
- 7 electricians for factory mechanics
- 5 electricians for automation mechanics
- 1 computer scientist
- 1 doctor’s receptionist
Objective:
- to train teamwork and flexibility
- to prompt interest and initiative
- to improve concentration and persistence
- to encourage the forming of individual opinions and independence
- to improve communication
Structuring / Activities
Working in four groups of 11, 12, 13 and 14 participants, respectively in two workshops during three days
with an additional day for conferences.
1. Workshop:
Two and a half days of working with creative media
eg
- working with clay
- working with stone
- drawing with chalk
- working with paint
- manual printing techniques
The exercises of the first part of the course were carried out individually and served as a basis for discussions. The analysis of the order of events and the results helped to train, among other things,
the detailed description of work situations and the personal point of view.
The discussions and the processes within the group led to new ways of thinking about questions like:
- how do I deal with the area of conflict concerning work and free time?
- how can I create models of behaviour for my future working life?
- how do I find in my current position new impetus for my every day worklife and private life?
First and second day: Visiting the art exhibition in the head office I; introduction of the art project
“Kunstwerk Hüttenwerk”, as well as the viewing of different artistic starting points and methods.
The first workshop led to a pool of ideas. The trainees, split into small groups of three to four participants, used this pool to find ideas for the second part of the project. A concept with a working plan around the topic “My working world” was to be presented by the participants. It was discussed on the conference day and carried out in the second workshop.
Conference day / First results:
- every single one of the fourteen small groups introduced diverse and well prepared ideas
- positive effects on the daily work could be observed
- some groups showed such motivation that they wanted to start working straight away or had already
started it (“There’s just no stopping them”: a comment by the trainer)
- the involvement when working on the workpiece was noticably higher
- a great love for details could be observed
2. Workshop:
The indivdual small groups took three days to work with their ideas.
Variations on the theme “My working world” reached from collages of fotographs to welded company logos. The work routine and contents varied accordingly. They included documentary fotographs of the work place, their selection and adaption, and their final arrangement, as well as skills learned during training like working with metal and synthetic materials or electronics and mechanics. Using different combinations these contents were combined with each other during the carrying out of the idea of the project.
Examples:
eg
- collage of fotographs “HKM” (nature/building/materials/people)
- sculpture “Man and Machine” (human figure with electronics)
- sculpture “Teamwork” (a tower made of little metallic men)
- sculpture “The green iron & steel works” (HKM logo in a flowerbox)
- sculpture “Green iron & steel works” (metallic sculpture with photographs and lights)
Evaluation:
The work processes and the product were evaluated with the help of questionnaires which were filled in
anonymously by the participants at the end.
The average mark (1 being the best and 6 being the worst) was 2.6 taking 43 questionnaires into account. Here are some quotes about what the participants say they have learned for their future careers during the creativity-training:
“Teamwork is very important.”
“Improvisation: trying to fit screws into difficult positions.”
“Organizing something together with the colleagues; aqcuiring the material in time, and so on – Independence.”
“The only way to get good results fast and successfully is through teamwork.”
“Independent organizing and the distribution of tasks within the group.”
“I have learned to persevere and not to give up if something does not work right away.”
“You start thinking about new ideas.”
“Finding solutions for problems.”
“Now, I know what I have to do to work more effectively in the next project or in bigger jobs.”
Evaluation-talks were afterwards held with the trainers to optimize the handing out and the completion of tasks in future projects.
At the end of the project all works were publicly shown.
