I had been working as a research trainee in the Research and development department of a Manufacturing Plant. There I had to involve in many tasks including new product development, process improvement and the implementation of 5 S in the department.
5S is basically a workplace organization system which involves a list of five Japanese words: seiri, seiton , seisō , seiketsu and shitsuke. These have been translated as "Sort", "Set In order", "Shine", "Standardize" and "Sustain" respectively. The list defines how to organize a work space for efficiency and effectiveness by identifying and storing the items used, maintaining the area and items, and sustaining the new order. The decision-making process typically comes from a concept about standardization, which shapes understanding among employees of how their work should be done.
For the implementation of 5 S, our the physical space of the department had been divided the office space into eleven sub units as there were eleven officers in the department. Each officer was held responsible for the implementation of 5 S in each subunit. Among the eleven officers, One was assigned for monitoring the progress in the implementation of 5 S. The monitoring officer would be changing every week. I was the first one to be assigned for the monitoring. The Department head asked me for developing a system for monitoring the process. He asked me to give suggestions as well as I should ensure that everyone is on the same track with regards to implementation and follow up.
I designed a marking system where I would go through the subunits daily and give marks based on the extent to which 5S is implemented. I would be giving suggestions and instructions based on the then the condition of the subunit. If they did not follow the instructions next day the marks would be reduced and if they followed they would be given extra credits. As I was the youngest person in the department, I felt it as a challenge and I did it as systematic as possible
Later on, this marking system became successful and our department became the top one in the implementation of 5 S. other departments also gradually followed this marking system which helped in improving the standard of the whole company.
When talking about the influence of Aditya Birla Group products, it reminds me of the first-ever gift I received in my life. It was a plain Louis Philippe shirt in sky blue color. It was special for me as my father gave it to me when I got good marks in my tenth class exam and I was fascinated by the quality of it. I used to think that he got it from abroad because it was of such good quality. Later on, I was surprised to know that it was from an Indian Company: Aditya Birla Group. I used it for around five years and no other brands could last for such a long time. This experience gave a remarkable impression of the company