10th FVI Expert Breakfast

Topic: "Excited for Monday" – How we solve the skills shortage through culture & leadership.

In this session, Marcel Hahn and Jens Reisenweber left the world of algorithms and, together with Svenja Bayer (HR expert) and Lothar Schmiegel (maintenance manager), addressed the biggest pain point of the industry: We can't find people.

• The "Hempel Paradox": Lothar Schmiegel summed it up: We lure young talents with glossy videos, but the workshop looks "like a mess." The best campaign is useless if the reality (dirty, chaotic, outdated tools) is off-putting. Appreciation starts with the equipment.
• Agile Maintenance: Lothar Schmiegel leads agile teams at Gerolsteiner. Instead of assigning tasks in the morning ("Peter does A, Paul does B"), the team takes the work themselves. The result: More satisfied employees who take responsibility instead of just following orders. Leadership transforms from a commander to a coach ("What do you suggest?").
• Generation Z as a perfect match: Svenja Bayer noted: Gen Z doesn't want routine, but variety and purpose. That's exactly what maintenance offers (every day is different, solving problems). We just need to stop selling the job as a "light bulb changer" and present it as what it is: Manager of the machinery park.
• Peer-Learning instead of expensive seminars: Training budgets are often the first to be cut. The solution: Use internal knowledge. Let the experienced "old hands" coach the young ones. It costs nothing, secures knowledge, and strengthens team spirit.
• Social Media & Visibility: Jürgen Hiller (Schaeffler) confirmed: "Here your maintenance works for you" was prominently displayed on construction fences. We need to make maintenance visible – internally (marketing) and externally (TikTok/Insta for trainees), to get rid of the image of the "grease monkey in the basement."

Assessment: Technology must serve people ("power steering")

This episode confirms our philosophy that software alone does not solve problems. It must be embedded in a culture of appreciation.

• ADAM as an enabler for agility: Agile teams need information to make independent decisions. If the knowledge is gathering dust in folders, the boss has to decide. If ADAM democratizes the knowledge (everyone has access), the team can work agilely.

• Attractiveness through modernity: Young talents (digital natives) expect modern tools. If you let them work with clipboards and Excel, you lose them. An AI-supported app like ADAM is a recruiting argument: "We don't work like it's 1990, but with the most modern tools."
• Knowledge transfer as a cultural tool: The idea of "peer-learning" is technically supported by ADAM. If the experienced master can simply "speak" his knowledge (instead of laboriously typing), knowledge sharing becomes a low-threshold culture, not a bureaucratic burden.

Conclusion: The skills shortage is often self-inflicted (leadership, culture, tools). Those who give their people modern tools (like ADAM) and trust, turn "must-workers" into motivated problem solvers.