HLL - Hindustan Lever Limited - one of the biggest manufacturing giants in India, a company which produces things that we use right from the time we wake up to the time we go to bed, and I am right now sitting in one of the offices of one of its factories. WOW !!
I had been selected for doing my summer internship with HLL at a time which now seems so distant from now that i would not even have been able to recall had i not written it down in one of my earlier posts. My project brief was sent to me around May 8 and I had to report in Mumbai on 16th but I did not read anything though i had material for that. I contacted Dr S K Gupta who taught us process control but he straightaway refused that SPC is out of his area of research. As Dr Nitin Kaistha was too busy with his seminar, I was left to my own. (Dr Kaistha later helped me by telling me which books to study and what to study in them).
I will not explain my project topic here coz I believe I will remember that for the rest of my life. My project is in Khamgaon, a place well known for HLL factory and for cotton production. This is all that Google had to show. So, I knew that I had finally got a 'gaon'. I and Richa took out our Atlas, rubbed off the dust over it and tried to locate this place. Finally we saw it. Hey, it was near Ajanta-Ellora caves. I can go there when I get time. But its too far from Mumbai. There was no big city near this place. Koi nahi, project karne ja rahe hain, ghoom lenge baad mein. Believe me, 'baad mein' never comes.
I talked to Dimri and Harvi. Dimri was also alloted Khamgaon and Harvi had to do his project in HLRC, Mumbai. I asked Harvi to book tickets for me also but he refused. Then Dimri said that he will book the tickets for both of us. I had never been through an air journey so i did not want to fly alone. Well, somehow that was done. My family was busy shopping and arranging things for me. Really I am very lucky to have parents like my Mom and Dad. They are the best. And I am ashamed of myself when i think of my sister. She must have been expecting me to help her in arranging admission forms for M.Sc. in various universities, and I was doing only what I was told to do. True that I was busy to my neck at that time but I must have put everything aside for her. I still find no reasons why did I give priority to other works. I am really sorry for that.
Everything ready we went to Meerut and from there to Gurgaon to Dimri's sister's home. Then on 16th morning we boarded our flight. I got the window seat which Dimri wanted desperately. The experience was good and there was no outstanding experience. Infact air flight is so boring that I slept in my flight from Mumbai to Aurangabad. Anyways we reached mumbai and were received by one of the friends of Dimri's father. His driver dropped us to GULITA - the training centre of HLL. It has a lovely location at Worli Sea Face. The view is fantastic. Through the window you can sea a vast expanse of sea roaring and waves crashing.
We went to our rooms (no welcome only a letter in our rooms woth instructions what to do next). Now Gulita was an experinece to remember - tasty food, team games, some interesting and some boring sessions, reaching out to waves and walking along the coast for a few kilometers. We even saw a Rolls Royce in ATRIA (mall). On 18th we started to our respective locations - I along with Dimri and Varun Murali. Now Varun was a Mech from IT-BHU. He was the finalist in ESPN School Quiz. Talked less and tried to talk sensible. We enjoyed each other's company and were soon well mixed. Varun and Dimri had a common tutor - Gautam Saha - while my tutor was Mazher Topiwala. But when we reached there we learnt that he was being transferred and Sudeep Bannerjee was appointed as Manufacturing manager in his place. Now Sudeep is uner his BLT (Business Leadership Training) period and I thought that I have been quite unlucky coz Mazher Sir seemed very intelligent and very experienced. But I realized I could not do any thing about that and so decided to focus on the project.
The first thing we did in the factory was a meeting with the Factory Manager - Nilendu Sarkar - and then we found ourselves sitting in the company weekly meeting. As soon as the meeting started, there was a countdown 3 - 2 - 1 and everyone stood up with his (no '/her') right hand stretched as if taking an oath. We were utterly confused and before we can do anything, there was a pronouncement "SHE comes first" and everyone took his seat again. What was that ? No clue. Later on we came to know that SHE stands for Safety, Health and Environment and its an integral part of the Unilever's policy. Then we met our tutors and went back to our rooms. We were alloted 2 rooms only and I had grabbed the single room so Murali and Dimri had to stay together. It was later decided that we will stay on a rotation policy.
The accomodation is good with full furnished AC rooms and a caretaker - Rajput ji - who is a good cook. We are allowed to use company's car to travel to city, etc. There is one common office provided to us (similar to other managers' cabins) and we are more than happy. Outside temperatures reach 46-48 degrees and hence we rush through from one place to another with our caps and safety shoes. But while doing so we are allowed to travel only along designated pathways and if anyone is found violating these rules, he ( no '/she') is told by others to walk on the pathways. There are other similar rules (like holding railings while walking up/down stairs) which look funny but are followed by everyone.
The factory is very very well organized, a thing for which HLL is known, the whole plant is very clean and inspite of DFA units where tonnes of oil is continuously distilled and handled, the walkways and the factory floor in general is vey clean. There is a separate plant for PEARS - the only place in the world where Pears is being made - and a separate plant for rest of the toilet soaps, laundry soaps and Bits. Its really a sight to watch the soaps being carried along the conveyer belts, turning around corners, picked up by rotating vacuum tubes, packed by very fast wrapping machines, checked by Metal detectors and finally packed in cartons by the packers. The whole process is so fast and the small size and round shape of soaps moving obediently along the belts is a mesmerizing sight for the first time. Its altogether different when you learn to identify the defects in the soaps and have to find ways to improve the process capabilities. Anyways, the whole process by which soap is made (PSM route) is unique in the sense that India is the only country where soap is made by this way. Everywhere else, BLS/Mazzoni route is followed which is economically less efficient.
The operators in this factory are very good and have a deep knowledge about their work. Almost all of them are more than 10 years old and their say is the final regarding operations of the m/cs even in other HLL factories. Khamgaon is known for experimenting and many of the experiments have been successful due to the skill of these workers. These workers are also the reason why the factory has not been moved to some other place as the government subsidies for factories in remote locations of India are only for 10 years and Khamgaon is neither located near to any RM source nor near any big market like Mumbai.
There is so much more to write but its getting too long .. I will take on some other aspects later. I have not yet started my project. Its still in the process of deciding what to do and how to do. I hope to start it soon as time is running out. All the best to me :)
Some pics :
