I'm today just enjoying winding down into the weekend after what has been a busy week and, in truth, a packed couple of months. In the UK we've just put in place a new integrated IT system which drives the whole business from procurement right through to sales, HR and finance.
I'm doing a new job very much at the sharp end of the implementation. As a factory scheduler I decide what we're going to make and when and deal with suppliers to bring in materials on time, which mean that most of the key transactions in the factory come through me.
I spent hours beforehand in a classroom learning a whole new system from scratch, and now get to see the training come together. The work I do on a screen comes to life in the form of lorries arriving and production lines starting.
Yes it's pressured - mistakes could mean lines stopping and the company losing sales fast - but the results of my work are real and there for me to see. Later I'm involved in training sessions for managers who are yet to understand some of the benefits of the IT we now have. Because of my background I'm well placed to explain the implications of using the system correctly, and incorrectly, to my colleagues, some of whom have barely used Hotmail before.
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