PLANNING FOR THE IN- PLANT TRAINING

B.Basu

Retired GM – RIL, Ex Scientist BTRA

Mail id: [email protected]

Today, it is a world of competition and competency. Those who can survive are those who has got sufficient knowledge of the plant where he/she will perform.Up to date technology, good working systems of the production plant, material handling, automations,and proper process controlling should be grasped by the students before joining the industries. A newcomer always feels nervous when he/she gets ill-treated from the bosses of the industries where they join. It is because of the poor technical knowledge, lack in common sense,not aware of the subject to deal with that they often blame the managements. Hence in-plant training is always helpful to build the career.

All the industriesdo not welcome training students, thinking it as a burden. Most of the students are reluctant to go to the industriesspecially in summer season. Most of the students leave the training in the middle citing health problems but are only interested in getting the certificate. On the other hand, a good percentage of the college faculties do not take any interest in arranging the training for the students. Some faculties mainly send the students to the industries as per their wish and not as per the wish of the students,saying that “there is a better scope”. That demoralises the students also. The overall pictures are not in a very favourable condition. Cooperation, self-interest and egoism must be eliminated for the greater interest for all.This paper is related to the textile industries.

Purpose of the In Plant Training

In-plant training will provide an industrial exposure to the students as well as to develop their career in the high-tech industrial requirements.

They will learn about the working systems in the industries with new machinery which are not available in the colleges.

They will also learn how to handle the situations,problem solving, shopfloor technics and relationships. Bookish knowledge is not just sufficient and to come up in the larger world of the working place.

It is the essential part of the academic as it provides a hands-on real time exposure to the engineering graduates. It transforms students from the theoretical to practical solutions.

Today`s industries require dynamic and result-oriented engineers with high capacity to work and the students can fulfil the requirements only when they have got the industrial exposures.

Objectives

1. To improve the employability of students pursuing undergraduate level general degree Programme. 2. To focus on outcome-based learning in degree programmes.
2. To promote active linkage between the higher education system and industry, non-commercial and commercial enterprises/organisations. At least 20% of the total credits for the degree programme should be assigned to apprenticeship/internship. The marks secured by the student in apprenticeship/internship course will be reflected in the semester and final grade sheet.

It is going to be a value basededucation.

New Education Policy

With fast growing needs of the industries for manpower with specialisation in specific areas it became necessary to have proper interaction with the industry. Therefore 28 special Industry Institute Interaction Cells have been established in Institutions. The main function of the cell is to promote interrelationship between industry & institution through training programmes, visiting faculty from industry, industrial visits & practical training etc.

These cells are establishing liaison with industries around for the benefit of students, teachers & support staff. A Memorandum of Understanding (M.O.U.) has been signed between the Confederation of Indian Industry and Directorate of Technical Education, Bombay for this purpose. Advisory committees are formed in all technical institutes for participation from industries & business houses.

There are the suggestions for the students to opt for In Plant Trainings in each year i.e., 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th year.

The new education policy is emphasising the In-plant /Practical Training from even 6^th Standard to make the education more practical oriented.

Difference between Internship and In-plant Training?

The major contrast between In Plant Training and that of Internship is that the Internship is a type of training where the students are needed to apply all the hypothetical information that are learnt during studies and in general of a 2-month duration. Both the in-plant and Internship will polish the students to gain the basic knowledge and confidence to face the interviews. The Organisations will always welcome the candidates who are familiar with much Industrial Exposures.

What is Vocational Training?

It is similar to the In Plant Training. The college education is restricted to homework, exams, assignments etc, but the vocational training is focussed on providing skills and knowledges to make the students more Practical Oriented. The aim of a student is to get high marks in the theoretical papers but with the evolution of new and newer technology it is important for the students to become proactive and fine-tune their skills to meet the demands of the industry. It is a bridge that reduces the gap between the educational and the working environments.

The vocational courses are structured to meet the ever-evolving need of the industry, so it can make an individual’s life secure. It makes them well-prepared to face the obstacles in their career and get high rewards. The vocational courses can help an aspiring student to become economically liberated at a young age.

While the major difference between technical and vocational training may seem somewhat semantic in nature, it is mostly related to the subjects that each focuses on. Vocational training often refers to education and training that focuses more on practical skills and being able to perform tasks related to working in a particular industry. Technical training is similar in nature, but the focus is on technology and developments information.

There is a need to bridge the disconnect between ‘what is taught in the class’s and ‘what is required by the society’. The competencies demanded by the industry need to be embedded in our university curriculum so that the Employment-Employability gap is overcome.

Through apprenticeship/internship, students may actively engage with the practical side of their learning like problem-solving, creative thinking, digital skills, teamwork etc. This apprenticeship/internship experience will augment the employability of the students

How to get the permission from the industries?

The permissions obtained from the branded name organisationswho care for the students and for their developments. The Educational Institutions approach the concerned Industries through the mails, direct interactions, through known persons,alumni or through personal approach.  Manyof the industries deny the entry of any student from outside fearing leaking of their secret and don’t want to take any extra burden on their existing employees. Sometimes it becomes too tough to obtain permission because of some lethargic officers in the industries having too much negative thought.

Some professionally managed organisations have the regular program for In- plant training who absorb limited number of good students from various leading colleges like IIT, NIT, NIFT, VJTI etc., pay stipend, offer some short-termprojects that benefit them. In such cases the duration of the training is kept for 45 – 60 days. Otherwise, this In-plant Training varies from industry to industry, college to college, students to students which prolong for 15 days to 45 days.

Attitude towards In-Plant Training

The student`s attitude is described here as I faced with them during my career.

• Most of the students feel that by undergoing the In-Plant Training in the Industries, they are obliging the College and T&P Officers. Most of them take it as “Not Important” although they know it is a part & parcel into their syllabus and course.
• The mere 10-15% of the students of the “B” and that of “C” gradecollege students take it seriously as a part of their career, then 50-60% students need counselling and convincing that they must undergo In-Plant Trainings and agrees thereafter! The remaining 20% try to avoid showing some excuses like “health is not ok” or “the parent`s health is not ok”, or “there is marriage in their family” or “there is some celebrations etc.”

The students from the “A Grade colleges” are found to be more serious in building their career and almost all of them opt for the trainings.

• The In-Plant Trainings in general last from 15 days to even 45 days. It depends on the interest of the students and the permission granted by the industries. In most of the cases, the students leave the industries before the stipulated dates showing the causes “Shortage of money”,“ill health”etc. When questioning about the knowledge gain within that short span, the answer is “yes, I have learnt all”. When interviewed about the training, it shows a big blunder.
• It is experienced that the sincere students complete the full course of the trainings, add their values to the industries, prepare a comprehending report that helps all.
• Why such lethargy in going for the In-Plant Training? (i) Most of the students are scared to go for hard work. They feel that in the industries, they may undergo huge pressure with workloads. (ii) Do not know what they should observe, where to give more importance, what are their interesting areas, what studies are to be done machine area wise. (iii) Some Industries have their own training officers where they feel comfort. (iv) The colleges do not guide them properly before proceeding for the training. (v) Most of the students are very much choosy about the name of the industries, location, etc. They are interested only to branded name and renowned locations. (vi) Some students have the real problem of money! (vii) The female students face difficulties in finding the accommodations because of the safety. Their parents do not like to keep them away for such a long time.(vii) Not always encouraged by the concerned faculties, students’ lose morale.

Preparation for the In-Plant Trainings:

It is always better to get prepared for the Internship in a planned manner;otherwise, the training becomes haphazard and fruitless.  The following are a few suggestions.

• Know the Organisation: At first the student should prepare a report about the organisation, its location, year of establishments, number of employees, products, and product range, whether producing exportable varieties and their descriptions, about their corporate, marketing & sales office and locations.
• The Hierarchy of the Organisation, CMD, MD, Board of Directors, the key posts, and the persons of the Organisation. Their mission, vision and strategic plannings.
• Technical studies: In textile industries, there are spinning (blow room to carding, draw frame to ring frame), weaving (weaving preparatory, loom shed, drawing, knotting, grey folding), wet processing (scouring, bleaching, dyeing, printing, finishing, package dyeing and preparations, finish folding), POY Industries (POY spinning, take-up area, FDY, IDY, DTY, Process Control, PPC), knitting (circular, warp knitting, weft knitting, processing) and so on.

 Study and check list preparation

• Soon you enter in any department please study (i) Role of the Department (ii) What it manufactures (iii) Incoming raw material to outgoing products,their testing procedures. (iv) Conversion parameters and cost involved (v) Types of the machines, model, detail of the machine. Speed of the machines (vi) Production / machine (vii) Quality Norms (viii) Testing procedures as per the ISO Norms if they have ISO, otherwise what are their standard Norms. (ix) Corrective Steps taken in case of any abnormalities (x) Machine Maintenance Schedule (xi) Manpower involved in production, QC, PC etc. (xii) Power consumption overall/ Per mc. (xiii) Humidification Plants, Make, Automatic/ Semi-Automatic/ fully – Automatic (xiv) Housekeeping system (xv) process Control System. (xvi) In Textile Industries, Tension control of the yarn is necessary i.e.in Winding, Warping, Sizing, Loom, Knitting, POY Plant and should learn the norms. (xvii)Stop motions and its control system should be learnt. (xviii)ETP for the Dyeing unit.(xix) Material handling, storing system (XX) Safety norms followed by the Company. (xxi) Whether the Organisation is having the Recycling system to minimise the wastage, if yes, what are those? (xxii) wherever required do they have knotting or Splicing System, ie.in winding, warping, texturization (DTY) etc.? (xxiii) In which areas they follow auto doffing system? (xiv) Any skill development programme by the Organisation? If yes, what are those?

Group Discussions, Brain-storming among the student’s during training is necessary. If the student is a lone person, question him/herself that what the new things they have learnt? Note down in computer or in Notebook.

Try to contribute /value addition to the Organisation with their fresh mind /observations. (The details of the Check list for each section/ Departments are under preparation by the Author)

Conclusion

Students must opt for In -Plant Training / Vocational /Internships as much as possible during Summer and Winter vacations. It is agreed that many the industries are highly reluctant to offer the trainings, but the colleges must approach them time to time. The Industrial Experts are to be invited time to time to interact with the students and faculties. The faculties should be very much liberal to see about the progress of the trainings rather than to play ego.

The students must not be so choosy about the name of the organization, location, brand name and must complete the full course thinking about their future. The education department should find the possibilities of sanctioning some stipend as a motivational measure to the students, especially for the low-income group.