Vis Cement Company - Reflective Essay

Introduction

I worked in Vis Cement Company for a period of four years from the year 2010-2014. Vis Company was established in 1972. The company has gone through tremendous changes since it was established. In 1972, it only had one mill and could only produce 55,000 tonnes of cement. In 1980, another mill was installed and therefore production increased to 100,000 tonnes. Currently the company produces 2million tones of cement per year. The company produces two types of cement and these are the ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and pozzolanic Portland Cement (PPC) with Ordinary cement good for Megaprojects like building of bridges, roads etc while OPC is good for constructing and building houses.

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Company Values

Unity of Purpose

Working together to ensure that the goals of the company are met within the stipulated time

Open Door Policy

Employees are free to get into the manager's office on issues that are work related i.e. a suggestion on how a particular work can be done better.

Honesty

All workers must be of utmost integrity.

Safety

All employees must always work under safe environment putting on the safety gear. Tnhe safety gear includes mainly safety boots, overall and helmet. In some cases goggles, ear muffs etc.

Dedication

All employees must always show high level of dedication in their work.

Task Structured

Vis Cement Company believes strongly and practices structured task system. Each worker knows exactly who his immediate boss is and whenever there is an issue that requires an attention, one is free to report to the immediate boss who should address it or pass it forward when it is beyond him.

It is the leadership that ensures that the duties of every member are well defined so that one knows what is expected of him at all times and to avoid overlapping of responsibilities among the employees. Defining roles also guide the workers on what exactly is expected of the employee. The workers must know the exact undertakings the must do in their jobs. The management ensures that apart from defining the roles of a particular job, the workmanship and abilities for the job are defined and clearly stated.

The idea of Vis Cement Company becoming task structured makes it easy even for the Human Resource department to recruit employees in case of shortages. There is high likelihood that they get the right individuals that they need. This is because, from the onset, the job is described during advertisement, what duties will the new recruit be expected to undertake, the expected outcome, experience and the threshold qualification of the individual to be hired.

The Nature of Tasks Assigned

I was working at the mechanical section 0of the production department as a technician. Vis Cement offers a favorable environment for working and also has several machines relevant to the kind of work being done there in order for cement to be produced. The following are specific tasks and the results expected as defined by the management.

Planned Maintenance on Machines

The machines in the mechanical section are to be inspected visually and correct action be immediately taken. In case of a problem that requires the attention of the higher authority, let it be done forthwith. This is done to avoid unnecessary breakdown. When this job is well done, there will be no unnecessary stoppages due to machine breakdown.

Fabrication of Machine Parts in the Workshop

This involves the use of machines in the workshop like the welding machine (arc, mig and gas), shaper, lathe, milling machine and drilling machine. Some machine parts can be fabricated locally instead of the company ordering for parts all the time. An example is welding the diverter for bag loader so that the Cement bags can move directly into the Lorries through the flat belt conveyor.

Oiling and Greasing of Moving Parts of Machines

The company has got several machines that have rotating parts. The rotating parts must be frequently lubricated either by oiling or greasing in order to allow for the parts to remain functional for long. In other words, reduce tear and wear. This lubrication is done according to the plan and schedule developed by the supervisors.

Inspection, Repair and Correction of Faults on a Machine

There is a time when there is a breakdown in the machine already. The machine cannot operate as usual. An example is when there is fault with the drag chain that moves the clinker from the floor of the Grate cooler to the pan conveyor cannot function and therefore some clinker do not reach the mill. A technician on duty must go and inspect and check where the problem is and fix it. It could be replacing the rollers that cannot rotate or even replace the worn out parts

Designing Through Drawing of Some Parts of a Machine

Any engineering work or technical work that is associated with engineering cannot be done unless a proper design of the machine is done. This involves drawing the machine to scale either manually or through the use of a computer or both. Whoever does this job must understand the use of the softwares used in drawing and design today. Some examples are autocad, matlab, Solid works, inventor, archicad etc.

Challenges

• Dusty working environment.
• Noise
• Hot environment
• Vibration of some machines

My Personality

Most personalities are of the workers are influenced by the work itself and the work place (Osif, 2005). This could be the salary, factors considered in promoting individuals, work condition, challenges, the people around you and the management.

Positivity

All through my life I live by, with and for positivity. In every situation, I pick the advantages and make them my strength and use them to go to the next level. Otherwise I believe nothing would get done. Working in a cement factory is one of the most challenging tasks one can ever do because of exposure to fine dusts from cement, limestone, kunkur fines. Pozzolana, iron ore coal etc. Not many people may manage working under such environments. Every time went for work; I said that if it is not me, then nobody would.

Discipline

This is about doing the right thing at the right place at the right time in the absence of people. Discipline enables one to follow all work place rules, do one's roles with minimum supervision. In a cement factory, there are machines that make a lot of noise e.g. blowers. They can make one develop hearing problem and so ear muffs or ear plugs must be worn in the machine area. This requires discipline, otherwise one would see that it is hard to wear the ear plugs, helmets and other safety gears all the time making one to be susceptible to injury or damage.

Osif (2005) says that the best work places and even employees still have areas that would require improvement and change. This means that no one is perfect, but we must strive to do better and leave an indelible mark. In fact leaving a place, better than we found it is the way to go.

How I Would Increase My Leisure Time?

Leisure item is very important in the life of man since it helps one to have a strong physical health and for internal body organs to function properly (Paddi et al., 2016). Therefore it is as well indispensable just like productivity time.

I would create more time by reducing over scheduling and I would make this a reality by:

• Setting time that I should spend working. For example doing heavy jobs up to lunch hour and should something remain, it can be finished in the afternoon to create time for rest
• Avoiding overtime. Working for overtime, though paid, makes one to do more work at the expense of leisure. And so when avoided, one can create more time for leisure.
• Identifying the time that am more effective and capable of offering my best. This happens mostly during morning hours. I can use that time to do heavy jobs.
• The use of machines and technology. The machines make work easier and help to make the work to be complete within a short time. This increases leisure time.
• Prioritizing duties and avoiding multitasking which is strenuous. This enables one to finish the most important jobs first and can now do other things that may not even be amust.

References

Osif, B. A. (2005). manager's bookshelf: Personality and the Workplace-Difficult Employees. Library Leadership & Management, 19(4), 212-217.

Paggi, M. E., Jopp, D., & Hertzog, C. (2016). The importance of leisure activities in the relationship between physical health and well-being in a life span sample. Gerontology, 62(4), 450-458.