Dazed and Confused

The excitement of arriving in Berlin was still in the air as we stepped off our train heading to our tour for the day. The excitement quickly dwindled as we found ourselves running around like chickens with our heads cut off. We walked a total of 1.1 miles searching for the Siemens plant, only to find out it was a block away from where we had exited our train. After arriving 23 minutes late to our tour, we were brought to the basement to put on our “safety shoes”. Mind you, we had been running around like crazy trying to find the company, and our feet already hurt enough. We didn’t need the stiff, uncomfortable work boots to add to the pain. Sitting in the room listening to our guide, Mark Zegenhagen, it was quite evident that everything he discussed was going to go right over my head.

Siemens is a company that specializes in designing and manufacturing motors. During our tour we were taught (or attempted to be taught) the different processes and components which went into manufacturing the motors. As an Industrial Engineer, I was not necessarily intrigued by the mechanics of everything, yet found myself observing the safety and ergonomic aspects of the factory floor. They had a light system, which progressed from green, to yellow, and then red, depending on the sound being produced by the machines. A few times during the tour Allyson and I locked eyes, silently communicating our large confusion surrounding this man’s words. Overall, I learned that I am not as smart as I believed, and that there is still a lot to learn. After the tour I think everyone was ready for a great meal, which is exactly what we got.