Schmidt + Clemens GmbH + Co KG is the world market leader in pipe systems for the petrochemical industry. Extremely high quality standards in the petrochemical industry and demanding customers require highly specialized employees. This is why Schmidt + Clemens is committed to training young people at its German headquarters in Lindlar. Several months of basic and specialist metal training take place in the modern training workshop – mandatory for all trainees and students of the later training disciplines. When the training workshop was to be newly equipped, Schmidt + Clemens asked Thomas Kind GmbH from Gummersbach, OTTOKIND’s long-standing specialist trade and competence partner. Thomas Kind GmbH has been providing customers with holistic support in setting up high-quality workstations in production, factory, workshop, warehouse and administration areas for 44 years. The aim is to develop and implement complete solutions for individual requirements and needs together with the customer according to the motto “Everything from a single source”.

Design according to the principles of systematic work organization

The aim was to configure 30 workstations that were to be uniformly designed according to the 5S method of lean management, i.e. the principles of systematic work organization, and to ensure that each workstation was clearly structured. The aim was to reduce the workstations to the essentials, keep them tidy, clean and clear in order to promote work discipline and minimize non-value-adding processes in favour of improved workflows and greater productivity. According to Uwe Leimbach, Head of Training at Schmidt + Clemens, the topic of “order in the workplace” is an integral part of the training, which is both a component of the final examination and of particular importance for operational quality and process management.

The long-standing business partner Thomas Kind was entrusted with the delivery of the 30 workbenches, drawer cabinets and closets from the OTTOKIND brand. Modular design, stability, robustness, durability – the functional and high-quality features of these products pay off even after years of intensive use in everyday training, as Leimbach already knew from many years of practical experience.

Sophisticated workplace solutions

The workbenches in the Schmidt + Clemens training workshop are bolted together and in a row and have height-adjustable vices. The central component of each workstation is a workbench with a robust multiplex worktop. The stable substructure consists of a lockable tool drawer, doors and a shelf with two storage areas. The workbenches are also equipped with practical workbench superstructures. At Schmidt + Clemens, they are mainly used for the clear hanging of tools and for suspended storage containers. The new clear arrangement contributes to cost savings, as surplus tools or missing items are immediately recognizable. Further advantages: Improved productivity and efficiency in the work process. Basically, the way in which the superstructures are used and equipped is determined by the individual work processes. The workbenches can be easily converted and retrofitted in the event of process changes or workflow modifications. This is because all OTTOKIND product ranges follow the system concept. There are no limits to the variations.

The well thought-out workstation solutions pay tribute to the 5S organization system with numerous other features, for example with a clearly structured arrangement of the range of files at handle height using appropriate suspensions and storage options or by equipping the workbenches with C-profiles for electrical and compressed air connections. Regardless of the number of drawers, doors, storage compartments, workbench superstructures, workbench tops or accessories – Schmidt + Clemens put together its range itself and relied on the support of the specialist dealer.

Extras with added value

The company is particularly proud of the innovative drawer design of the cabinet systems. The drawers at each workstation in the training workshop are fitted with a hard foam insert – a so-called toolboard. The inserts have laser cut-outs that are precisely tailored to the drawer size, required tool types, sizes and depths and positioned in the desired systematic arrangement. The tools embedded in them, such as hammers, files or special tools, cannot slip and are therefore protected against any kind of mechanical stress when the drawer is pulled open. Trainees can check the complete range at a glance and take out the tool they need.

“With this system, you are obliged to keep things tidy,” says Thomas Kind Managing Director Natascha Hein, emphasizing the great benefits of the toolboard insert for keeping the workplace tidy. The insert is a custom-made product made to customer specifications.

Unimagined monetary savings potential

One added value of the practical work and organization systems used in the Schmidt + Clemens training workshop deserves special emphasis. The individual design of the drawers and the customized, individually assembled workbench superstructures at Schmidt + Clemens meant that “temporarily lost” tools worth 18,000 euros could be returned to the factory! The systems not only save users time-consuming, tedious and unproductive searches for tools – and therefore valuable time and money. The systems also offer direct monetary savings potential.

In the course of changing processes and requirements, the workstations in the training workshop have been restructured several times in recent years, without any problems or loss of functionality. As Leimbach emphasizes: “Everything looks like one piece again”. Here too, the OTTOKIND system concept pays off. The powder-coated workbenches and cabinets in the fresh company colors of white and blue also communicate Schmidt + Clemens’ brand identity consistently from the company logo to the training workshop.