What do you do in the QM Department?
I’m team leader and the one pledging that aleo’s high quality standards are being guaranteed and respected whenever a new product is introduced in our portfolio, alongside all its production phases: from the entry of purchased material to the final controls on ready-to-use new pv panels. In order to have flawless reliable products, risks analysis are performed on a team-based approach for every new product. Of utmost importance is the experience of our production associates, they always contribute to the risk analysis team’s decisions. The tasks of the QM Dept are complex and linked to many different technical and economic activities. As a result QM Dept always works closely with Development, Purchase and Productions Depts.
Particularly important are the ability and skills to handle problems, to evaluate them by identifying reliable solutions and checking their effectiveness thereafter.

You play quite a relevant role in the production process. How would you recognize a good quality manager?
It’s not us running after flaws, I would rather say the contrary. This is also confirmed by many colleagues. People enjoying a good sense of quality immediately single out the defect and rapidly diagnose where the problem lies. It’s like proceeding as a detective, you need to investigate the reason why the flaw is there and where it comes from.

Can you really learn how to do it?
I’ve always been a practical person. In 1979 I made an apprenticeship as machinery and plant mechanic. I enjoyed welding pipes by the jobsite. After that I studied as mechanic and plant engineer, accomplishing my period of practical training by the nuclear power station in Lubmin by Greifswald. At that time that was the most modern energy source, this is why I wanted to work there. But due to family reasons, my plans changed and my professional path was decided: I would have been a quality manager. By IKR I should check the length of pipes produced by apprentices and decided whether or not they passed the inspection. I’ve always been the one giving or denying approval.

Even in your private life?
This is a weakness I have, since I always need to check the traceability. Even at the supermarket, for instance, I check where the apples come from. Do they come from the region or from somewhere else? This is important to me. I do that even here with our modules. I can trace back every single material to its origins.

You grew up in Bitterfeld at a time when there were many polluting chemical industries. How important is it for you to work here by aleo for a green energy company?
In those days in Bitterfeld the air sizzled and the chimneys were belching out smoke 24/7. The snow was dark and petrol was in rain puddles. Every day my mother used to sweep a shovel full of ash from the window-sill. There were so many flue ashes
from chemical combines. In 1968 a chemical plant exploded. I recall I saw a huge smoky cloud from the window of the nursery school. That was dreadful, that experience really left an indelible mark on me.

Is this the reason why you work for a solar company?
Yes, and I can also say I’m lucky since aleo is not so far away from my place. A modern company in the Uckermark region, you can hardly find any.

How sustainable is your private life?
My husband and me are living in Ringenwalde in the middle of the countryside, without fences around us. We heat the house with wood from a near forest and pay particular attention to water consumption. Since we live in a nature reserve we do have our own septic tank. Treated waste water can then flow in the river again. To clean I only use a vinegar-based cleaner. I also grow vegetables myself and as fertilizer I uniquely use horse manure.

How do you personally recharge your batteries?
When I come back home from work, in the evening, I feel like I’m on holiday. I feast my eyes on the view from the big window and overall I see green, trees, a park and when I turn around I look at my pond. My husband and me often sit there, on beach chairs, greeting the frogs.