Hej!
Today we successfully completed our last day of company visits. It was also the earliest we have ever had to meet to head out in the mornings. After a quick breakfast of bread, parfait, and fruit, we hopped on a coach bus. We were riding in style to BraunAbility (Bruno’s sister company) because it was a decent drive outside of Gothenburg. It was very gloomy when we left because the sun rises so late here in the winter, but it didn’t help that it turned out to be a darker than usual rainy day.
After a quick nap, we arrived at the BraunAbility facility. We made our way to the conference room for an introductory presentation by Rolf. But first, we had fika (the cinnamon rolls were the best we’ve had so far). This was followed by a tour of the offices and then we made our way down into the manufacturing plant in our lovely yellow vests. The tour was very nice because it showed an interesting blend of open-concept and individual office spaces, standing desks, and employees that actually smiled and waved at us instead of looking at us like the ugly Americans we are. The plant was very different from Bruno’s simlply because it was cleaner and quieter. There was even an ABB welding robot.
We then split into two groups. My group had a crash course in mechanical engineering and research and design (R&D). It was fascinating to learn about where and how materials can have stress points and techniques to try to redirect and reduce that stress. We watched crash test videos of the motorized swivel chair at different points in the design stage to see how tiny alterations, like a 4° back angle for the chair, could make a huge impact on the occupant’s safety in the event of a crash.
When we switched groups, we went to the showroom to see some of the products in action. There are wheelchair lifts for the back end of the car, exterior boxes and lifts to store the wheelchair, swivel chairs, chairs that slide out to snap to a wheelbase, pedal adaptors, and joysticks to operate the car with just one hand. It was amazing to see just how wide their selection of solutions is. We had a lovely lunch and had a great conversation with Rolf and Sarah about life in Sweden and the States. The last presentation was led by Sarah and Anna-Karin, both part of the HR team, about creating a positive and productive work environment. I learned a lot and had a great time at BraunAbility!
Our last company visit was Remente back in downtown Gothenburg. I was a bit apprehensive about this visit because it’s a self-improvement app, but it was very interesting. David, the CEO and co-founder of the company, talked with us about psychology and mental health. The app, which was launched 4 years ago, is a self-improvement application. It’s intended to be a holistic approach to proactively support an individual’s mental health rather than just reactively responding as the healthcare system typically does.
Today, people are stressed, anxious, and overstimulated with the complex and nonstop activity of work and home. Stress can be defined as the perceived lack of control, so the app helps to help the user feel more in control of their life by setting both short and long term SMART goals and tasks. It was interesting to learn how the more primitive emotional part of our brains will always win out over the logical part, so it is very important to be in the right mindset, or at least know how to trick your brain into being in a certain state, like relaxing or accomplishing a difficult task. Overall, I learned a lot more about how even though humans pride themselves on being logical, our driving force is still emotions.
For our last open dinner, we found a nice restaurant that had great vegan pizza options. Not sure how it happened, but one second everything was fine, then the next, Kendall’s glass was broken and there was a full glass of beer on the table and her lap. Other than that little hiccup, it was a great dinner with my dearly beloved Canadians.
Daily Reflections:
- In Sweden, people with limited mobility younger than 65 can get all the appropriate car alterations for free and funding towards purchasing a vehicle to accommodate different needs.
- Most small restaurants in Gothenburg are closed on Mondays.
- Involving all your senses improves memory recall.
- Avocado is very delicious on pizza.
- Your brain is actually not very smart and can be easily tricked to feel differently.
Adventures in Sweden 