Dec 6, 2007

My days as a production engineer

One of my posts regarding the early morning commute to work brought back the memories of the days when I was the production engineer

Here are the things I liked with that company;
a)One uniform dress code for all employees including the CEO
b)Once a year allowance to buy new uniform(with free dress material), new pair of shoes, nope no receipt required
c)Daily stand up meetings the managers had with their supervisors discussing the production, rejection and other matters. Display boards in each production area offering production and rejection rates. CEO, in his early morning walk around the plant would stop occasionally at such boards and ask the nearest engineer or manager to explain the numbers!. Managers spent significant time in reporting such metrics and preparing for any surprise questions.
d)Excellent food & snacks at rock bottom prices - Just Rs.1 per day (It is approx. 2 cents (USD) in the present conversion rate!) which included unlimited breakfast, lunch, coffee / tea./snacks during the two breaks. During summer, fresh fruit juices were an additional choice during the break period
e)Yearly gift to the employees – Usually a household item like designer cutlery, refrigerator, etc. The management and the employees chose the gift jointly and this was well appreciated.
f)Drop by car option for managers and engineers during the night shift, provided to those whose homes were far away from the bus stop and for those who missed the bus due to some pressing work.
g)A well-organized family day visit to the manufacturing premises during the Ayudha Pooja day. Welcome package included a full breakfast, sweet box for all the visitors

Some or all of the above might sound ordinary compared to the current scenario where some IT companies take good care of its employees. The point to note is the willingness of such manufacturing companies to provide these things in spite of relatively low profit margins

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