Career

The high peak of creation, the infinite range of technical possibilities

2023. 02. 21.

Zsuzsa Németh joined our company 10 months ago as a new employee. In this article you can learn more about the world of Production Technology Design through her experiences and thoughts. Take a look behind the scenes!

The world of Production Technology Design is a little different for every company. You joined Audi Hungaria 10 months ago so you have fresh experiences. How would you describe the field of Production Technology Design at Audi?

It's amazing how concentrated and complex the knowledge is within the walls of the factory. This field has a history of more than 20 years, and employees are still constantly working on new product projects, designing new production lines, rebuilding and modifying them - in line with the latest technologies. I've never seen this level of complexity before; there is an amazing diversity in the field. I love my job as an engineer and it's a place where I can literally indulge in the possibilities. All this is very unique based on my experience so far.

To give a simple example, in my previous jobs we usually had a fixed fleet of machines and had to adapt the production of new products to existing equipment. In contrast, here at Audi, when a new product arrives, our job is to actually create a whole new production line. It is the responsibility of the production technologist to define what is needed, find the most efficient, state-of-the-art production technologies and - if not with their own hands - build the new production line. This creative engineering and project work truly inspires me.

What did you expect when you came to Audi?

In short, I wanted to challenge myself... I was looking for more responsibility, depth and complexity, a real challenge and development possibilities.

At Audi, I work in the field of e-motor production, so I live my everyday life with the technologies of the future. When designing production technology, I have to look 5-10 years ahead, i.e. into the future - both for the product I'm working on and the production technologies. Here I come across a lot of technology that I had never heard of before. In fact, when I came to the company, I didn't really have any previous knowledge of e-motors. I didn't know their technical characteristics, I didn't know what their manufacturing process consisted of. Now I know all of these things. During my training, I took part in production trainings, worked on the production lines and received a lot of help from my mentor and colleagues. Although I'm still in the training phase, I already have independent projects, and yes, I can definitely say that I've got the responsibilities, networking, professional depth and complexity I was looking for.

My current job title is "Production Technology Designer". I like this term as it describes our actual job very well, because in this position we have to design complete production technology and production lines for our products.

How do you feel after 10 months?

I have found my place. Since Audi is a premium company, there's no question that when we win an engine project, we always strive for the best possible manufacturability - approaching from every aspect of production. It gives me a lot of opportunities for professional fulfillment, but it's also a really nice challenge.

In my work I have to coordinate a lot of aspects. I also have to constantly see through the eyes of the manufacturing partner areas, as one of the main objectives is to meet the production needs of the new production line. There are also many other factors that I have to keep in mind every day. I need to know the parameters provided by engine development, the characteristics of the product, the production technology options offered by the market, the time factor, the budget, and I also work with, for example, quality assurance or occupational health and safety. I can never step back, because as a Production Technology Designer, I am the driving force. For the whole choreography to come together, a symbiosis needs to be created between the different areas - even if the current directions may not be the same between the parties. I like the fact that I have to find the best options and compromises to produce the perfect product in terms of quality, time and cost on my production line.

What is your everyday life like?

My everyday life is very diverse. I'm often in production doing "fieldwork" - for example, for machine capability tests or tool changes, but I also regularly visit our supplier partners, for example, to discuss things about production. One of my most exciting new tasks is inviting tenders, compiling the requirements and managing the tendering process for machine manufacturers.

The level of modernity at Audi is extremely exciting, and it's particularly inspiring to be able to integrate new possibilities into our production lines. It's always exciting to use a technology you haven't used before to support production even more efficiently. Of course, project work also involves working in peace from home or in the office, for example, preparing presentations or planning our budget.

You talk about your work with great passion and drive. What motivates you and gives you a sense of achievement?

Anyone involved in production technologies knows that creating something from "nothing" with your work is a very inspiring idea. The product development phase is also very exciting, but in production planning, the plans and hours invested are turned into thousands of tangible products that roll off the production line. It's a great feeling to stand next to the production line and see everything you've worked for is embodied in front of your eyes.

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