Operation Improvement Projects in the US

Hi, how are you doing,

Again, it is really time for a new update. This time an update from a hot and mostly sunny Atlanta! The final week of my internship here in the US is coming close. Time has passed fast. So far, it has been busy, and I have got many new experiences. Both in the two development projects that I run on work, and besides work on my time off.

The first things that stroke me when I arrived here in Atlanta were the heat, how many trees there are in and around the city, and the size of the city. Atlanta really is a huuge city with around 6 million citizens. The distances, the skyscrapers, the size of the roads, the intensity of the traffic, and all activities the city has to offer is something different to what I am used to. Luckily, I had a bunch of weekends to do tourist things and explore.

For instance, I have walked on the “Belt Line”, a famous walking path in downtown Atlanta with a lot of restaurants and life. If you did not know, Coca-Cola was founded in Atlanta. I took the opportunity to visit their visitor center “World of Coca-Cola” where you can try Coca-Cola branded beverages from all around the world. Also, I have been hiking, watching baseball games, visiting the Olympic Park from Atlanta Olympics, going by boat on a lake north of Atlanta, and River Tubing. River Tubing is big here and is that you float on a tube along the streams in the rivers.

For work, I am located at our head office for Thomas Concrete Inc in northwest Atlanta. This is where I spend the most time, even if it has been some trips and plant visits related to the projects. I stay in an apartment mid between the office and central Atlanta with about 15 min travelling to each. So, it is quite close to a lot of and besides, there are nice sunsets from the balcony.

I have mainly worked on running two business improvement projects during these months. These projects have resulted in contact with many different departments and persons. For one of the projects, the focus has been on water usage and water monitoring. In this project, I have identified potential improvements, developed Power BI reports for monitoring, and made ROI calculations. For the other project, the focus has been on electronic monitoring systems for fuel. In this project, I have mapped out what requirements different departments have on such a system and how different systems align with these requirements. Also, I have looked into the pricing for systems and fuel for different vendors.

Thomas Concrete is the biggest subsidiary of the group, both in terms of turnover and number of plants. Further, the operations are divided into 6 divisions which almost can be compared to countries in Europe. To have the opportunity to visit this is for sure awesome and learning. It is interesting to notice the differences and many similarities between countries within our group. I think to see this in practice is an important and great experience.

Finally, I want to thank all collages on this side of the Atlantic Ocean who have made me feel warmly welcomed, always been smiling at me, and have invited me to a lot of fun activities on my time off.

In the end of this week it is time to go back to Sweden. Time has passed so fast! Back I will have some vacation before I enter my new position in the Business Development team at the Group.

Have a nice summer! Talk to you soon.

Jakob