Congratulations on the 6th place at the WorldSkills 2019

30.08.2019

Congratulations on the 6th place

On August 27, 2019, the closing ceremony and ranking announcement of the WorldSkills 2019 professional championships took place in Kazan, Russia. Our employee Thomas Schranz started in the category Polymechanics/Automation and took the excellent 6th place.

In spring 2018 Thomas started the preparations for the SwissSkills. These took place shortly after he had completed his apprenticeship as a polymechanic at Wandfluh. Thanks to good preparation and the right attitude towards his profession, Thomas was able to win the SwissSkills 2018 in the category Polymechanics/Automation and to automatically qualify for the WorldSkills 2019. From October 2018, the training phase began in which he could train two days a week on projects from previous WorldSkills competitions, among other things. After his return from his language stay in Australia, the intensive preparation period began for him with further test projects and various internships in the fields of wiring technology and programming of the LOGO PLC control system as well as training on tools and measuring instruments. On August 23rd it was finally time for the competition to begin. The task of the participants in the Polymechanics/Automation category was to produce a total of 19 individual parts of a filling system within 22 working hours according to specifications, to mount them into assemblies and to complete the electrical wiring and pneumatic tubing. In addition, the system had to be programmed so that its function could be tested. The working hours were spread over the four competition days and the candidates had to complete the subtasks

according to a given schedule. For Thomas, the competition began with milling work on the first day. On the second day, turning, assembly work and programming of the small PLC were on the agenda. On the third day the milling and turning took place again and on the fourth and last competition day the assembly of the plant and the final programming work were planned. The end of the competition would have been planned for the beginning of the afternoon. However, the project was too extensive to be completed within the 22 working hours. In addition, there were problems with measuring the finished individual parts before they could be assembled. These two circumstances led to delays and finally to postponements, so that the category Polymechanics/Automation was not declared finished until late in the evening. A part of the SwissSkills team stayed in the hall until late into the night to cheer Thomas on until the very end and then toast the successful conclusion with him over a well-deserved beer after work. The day after the closing ceremony in Kazan, the Swiss team flew to Moscow, where they spent another day. On 29 August the team arrived in Zurich and was duly received at the Welcome Event in the Rüebisbachhalle in Kloten. A group of our employees made their way to Zurich on Thursday to surprise and cheer Thomas at the Welcome Event. When Thomas and Andreas were introduced on stage, the small hall started to tremble through the many fans from Frutigen and the presenter had to take a break, so that besides Thomas and Andreas, their fans left a lasting impression as well.

Here you can find the congratulations video from SwissSkills