Vadodara summer internship at a toothbrush factory, class 11, 3-9 June, 2012.
As a part of summer internship program a trip was organized by our School atBreech Oralcare Private Limited (BOPL), Vadodara.
5 students from the science section of class 11 were made a part of this opportunity. The trip was really knowledge enhancing, joyful and interesting. Students not only acquired the technical training in a manufacturing process from pioneers in the field but also an introduction to the management and accounts’ procedures related to the same in a professional way. The whole staff at BOPL was kind enough to reach out to the level of the students and explain complex procedures in the simplest possible way. The training in itself was extremely in-depth and the spectrum covered was a wide one.
BOPL is a modern manufacturing organization in the tooth brush industry. It is one of the few organizations in India operating working by global strictures and standards. This comprehensively covers Standard Operating Procedures and complex Quality Assurance. Hence students were exposed directly to the best methods applied in industry. Here the students learnt all the necessary steps required for making of a tooth brush from acquiring of raw material to despatching of finished product. The programme was spread over a 6 day schedule. Along with this, the financial aspects of a manufacturing operation was also explained in depth. A scientific costing method named PADTA system which is very unique in its own way. The activities arranged for the students were purely real time and live. Hence all the students learnt by doing. The whole process from the raw material to making of mould, tufting of bristles, end rounding, quality checking, sealing and packing and report preparation to maintenance of records was performed by the students with their own hands under supervision.
High standards and methods of quality checking were explained to the students by the senior engineers of the organization. Each and every machine was operated by the students themselves departmentwise and it’s scientific basis were explained by the engineers on the spot. This was indeed a vast industrial training program which involved various topics namely introduction to toothbrush industry (size, prospects, areas and major players), introduction to a toothbrush (parts, materials and processes involved for its manufacturing), working processes of stores (SOP, inspection of quality of incoming material, receiving, issuing and reconciling of material everyday, records keeping), Planning (machine loading, material orders, organizing dispatch, adequate labour), Overview of Quality assurance, Introduction to accounts (finance, taxation, TDS, Excise, Sales tax, VAT etc. financial audit, banking,imports etc). Every topic was dealt with in depth. Students were particularly interested in the manufacturing process which involved a scientific approach at each step. It included moulding of toothbrush handles from raw materials (with unique colour and shape), bristling (nylon cutting, tufting machine and methods, finishing machine and methods), thermoforming (materials, machine and methods), Sealing-cutting (materials, machine and methods), packaging (pallet checking, holding and clearing, final pallet audit) etc. The training schedule in itself was logically and beautifully developed so as to keep the enthusiasm and energy of every one up throughout each day. Further the BOPL staff presented the students with nice gifts along with the brushes made and packed by themselves as a souvenir.m Finally this was indeed a fruitful training program for us all.
As filed by Tapeshwar Sir, senior Science teacher.
Summer internship at a toothbrush factory, Vadodara, class 11.
DAY 1
Our flight landed at 11 am. My 4 friends and I were really excited and were really looking forward to the trip. We were welcomed by Mr Bagchi and we were dropped at our hotel. We relaxed at the hotel on the first day.
DAY 2
We were picked up from the hotel by Mr Bagchi and Mr Bhatt. We went to the factory in their car. We entered the factory with full excitement and were warmly greeted at the factory and introduced to Mr. Joshi, Mr. Bose, and Mr. Kumar. We all sat in the conference room. We were given an introduction to the Toothbrush Industry and to the various areas of the factory in brief. After lunch we went on a guided tour of the factory – Moulding department, Bristling department and the packaging department. Mr. Joshi explained each operation broadly as we went along. At 5 pm we left for the hotel.
DAY 3
We were picked up by the taxi to take us to the factory. We went to the Moulding department and saw how toothbrush handles were moulded on horizontal and vertical moulding machines. We were taught how to mix raw material, how to weigh it, and how to put it into the moulding machine. The handles looked beautiful when finished. We made 5 toothbrushes that day on our own. All this time we were guided by Mr Bhatt. We were thoroughly familiarised about the moulding process that day.
DAY 4
Mr Bhatt taught us how to check the quality of handles on by a Vernier scale, screw guage, etc., We made our own reports on handles we were given to observe. That was really fun. After lunch, we went to the tufting department and there we were explained how the bristles get inserted in the handle, what caution is to be exercised when this is done. Understanding the bristling department was not easy but interesting. Weū also checked the quality of the bristles, the length and the number of bristles. We again made 10 toothbrushes on our own.
DAY 5
We went to the thermoforming department and saw how this was done. We were taught what is a quality blister. After this we went to the sealing/cutting dept, and saw the materials used for sealing and it’s method. We went to the packaging dept where we did packaging of the toothbrushes, ourselves – interesting to know how much detailing is involved in even the packaging! Then we did our own quality testing of the packaged goods. We were supervised by Mr Bhatt. He also taught us how to assemble packed toothbrushes in a cardboard carton for the market.
Mr Pramod Kumar next introduced us to the Planning process, how the various functions are quickly organised as soon as the order for the month is received. So that maximum productivity at the most economic cost is achieved. After lunch Ms. Sohini Bose introduced us to costing. Mr Bhatt then spoke about how standard operating procedures critically control all functions.
DAY 6
We learnt about the MIR and went into the details of SOPs. We vIsited the QC Lab and performed various experiments and tests. Mr Bose then gave us a presentation to further elaborate on Planing.
We packed our own 24 toothbrushes. We went into the further details of quality testing. We all together covered every aspect of quality testing and generated 6-8 reports. We really appreciated the patience and care of Mr Bhatt and Mr Bagchi.
DAY 7
Mr Bhatt taught us about Quality Assurance and it’s key elements. Mr Bagchi explained Excise/sales tax/vat and financial audit/banking/ import of machinery. He also gave us a detailed introduction to the Padta system of cost control.
Mr Joshi talked about automation and efforts to eliminate labour-intensive work. We then left the factory at the end of our deeply educative trip, thanking everyone for all their cooperation and support.
Thank you to Our dear School for this wonderful experience!
Report by SHIVA ASWANI, class 11A.
Summer Internship at a toothbrush factory, class 11.
INTRODUCTION
The following students of Class 11 of The Indian School volunteered to go for a 5-day internship program with Breech OralCare Pvt Ltd., Vadodara :-
Gaurav Aswani
Shiva Aswani
Nakul Chodha
Sahil Sarna
Pawas Navani
We were accompanied by our teacher, Tapeshwar Sir.
We are all Science students.
DAY ONE – SUNDAY, 3RD JUNE 2012
- Left Delhi at 10 am and arrived Vadodara at 11.30 am
- We were warmly welcomed by Mr Soumen Bagchi, Vice-President, BOPL
- Transported to Express Towers Hotel, followed by lunch
- Free time to explore the city, played pool, relaxed and retired early.
PpnDAY TWO – MONDAY, 4TH JUNE 2012
- Woke up at 7 am and everyone was excited to start the day and visit the factory.
- Had Breakfast and were picked up by Mr Bhargav Bhatt (Senior Manager of QC, BOPL) followed by a ten minute drive to the factory.
- First impression was of a neat, clean, well-organised set-up. Rules and Regulations were to be followed strictly.
- We were taken to the Conference Room and we were introduced to senior management of the unit, namely Mr. B.K. Joshi ( Director)’ Mr Pramod Kumar ( Executive Director) and a few others.
- We were briefed on the history of a “toothbrush”, and an introduction to the making of a toothbrush through 4 main processes used in the factory which are :-
1) HANDLE MAKING
2) TUFTING & PROFILING
3) PACKING
4) QUALITY CHECKING
- The factory is 48,000 sq ft in area with 400 workers and 6 lacs pieces produced daily for a leading MNC.
- We were then given a guided tour of the factory through all the departments which took the whole day.
IMPRESSION :-
I never thought that it was so difficult to make a toothbrush! OiThere was a lot of hard work and technology that goes into this. The factory was very impressive, neat and clean, well maintained and strict rules and regulations. There were SOP (Standard Operating Procedures) displayed everywhere. No photography was allowed inside.
We had lunch in the Conference Room everyday with the Senior Staff.
DAY THREE – TUESDAY, 5TH JUNE 2012
- We were picked up by an Innova at 10 am and driven to the factory
- We were shown the Moulding Department and introduced to a total of 17 Moulding machines out of which 10 were horizontal and 7 were vertical, with Mr Bhargav Bhatt. IiWe made our own Master batch which is Raw material for the Moulding machine as follows:-
1) Made the MASTERBATCH
2) Loaded it into the Moulding machine
3) Made the body of the brushes by operating the machine
4) Took the body of the toothbrush to the Tufting and Profiling Department and added Bristles Profiled it to make a toothbrush.
5) Took this for a quality check and learned how to do the quality check
Made our own QC report
IMPRESSION :- The machines worked at very high temperatures. Cooling towers, air pressure and many other factors were important. Everything was at a high speed. Felt proud to actually make my own toothbrush.
DAY FOUR – WEDNESDAY, 6TH JUNE 2012
- Picked up from the hotel at 10 am and drove to the factory
- We went to the Conference Room. We were introduced to the PADTA system by Mr Bagchi . This is unique management tool indicating machine efficiency. The higher the PADTA, the lower the return from the machines, and vice versa.
- The slightest of weight error of even 0.01gm, can cause a loss of 24840 gm of plastic every year. which could make approx 3500 toothbrushes.
- We went to the Tufting & Profiling Department and were shown the inside of the machine. We operated the machine and the speed was 850 RPM. Every 3 seconds a brush is made. We took the brushes for Profiling and each and every step was explained in detail.
- A quality check was conducted on these brushes.
IMPRESSION:- Another interesting day. I learnt the importance of quality control. Each and every brush is checked thoroughly. The slightest error, even if a brush falls to the floor, can result in a rejection. The standards of quality are very high.
DAY FIVE – THURSDAY, 7TH JUNE 2012
- Started our day at 10 am
- We were taken to the packing department with Mr Bhargav. We were shown how a blister was made. Ev iery part of the machine was explained in detail.
- We were then taken to the Conference Room and were informed about the planning of orders. Man , iuoi and Machine had to be considered for eg., If we receive an order for 10 lacs toothbrushes, the calculations of how much the machine should run is :-
- Speed of the tufting machine is 850 rpm and every 3 seconds a brush is released. So it would make 1342 brushes/hour. So in 2 shifts totaling 23 hours, it would make 3068 brushes. So, Machine One would run for 26 days to produces 8.02 lac brushes and Machine Two would run only 6 days, to complete the order.
- Mr. Pramod Kumar also showed us a ppt on planning order
Impression:- This factory run for 23 hours a day nonstop, with only two 30 min breaks for maintenance of machines. Wow – I was very impressed.
‘DAY SIX – FRIDAY, 8TH JUNE 2012
- Started the day at 10.30 am
- We were given a PPT Presentation in the Conference Room by Ms Sohini Bose (3rd year CA student and an earli intern at the same unit ) on costing/profit/loss/accounts and marketing. We discussed Opening Stock, Prime Cost, Net Work cost incurred, Work Cost, Cost of production, the formula for arriving at a profit.
- After lunch, we learnt how to process an order:-
- An order is received 10 days in advance
- Calculation of material is done
- Purchase order of material is made
- Material is tracked
- Upon arrival, it goes to the store, an MIR (Material Inward Registry) is made
- Material is inspected
- Tallyed on Computer
- Payment is made for the raw material
- Material is given to workers for processing
- Invoice bill is made
- We also went to the Shop Floor where fabrication of small machines is done. We did the packaging of the finished material (toothbrushes) and quality checking. We made a quality check report
IMPRESSION :- A lot goes into the management of a factory. Saw all the paperwork and realized it was not easy but started dreaming of opening my own factory one day.
DAY SEVEN – SATURDAY, 9TH JUNE 2012
- Packed and checked out of hotel at 11 am
- We went to the conference room and learnt Quality Assurance through a PPT conducted by Mr Bagchi.
- There are several guidelines governing this uas follows :-
1. Leadership
2. Training
3. Building, facility, Equipment, Design and installation
4. Technical Standard and product design
5. Return Procedure
6. Validation and Change Control
7. Housekeeping, Pest Control, Sanitization and Maintanance
8. Material
9. Making Operations
10. Packaging Operations
11. Store and handling
12. Lab Control
13. Process Control
14. In-process and Finished product release and control
15. Records
16. Self Improvement program
17. Customer complaint
18. Quality system result, tracking and improvement
We were also shown a PPT on the PADTA system and explained in greater detail.
Impression:-
We left the factory at 4.45pm thanking ueveryone for all their support and cooperation, and for sharing their experience with us. I will never forget this trip.
Iuu would like to thank my school for giving us this chance which I will not forget for the rest of my life. I would like to thank Mr Goradia, for giving us this opportunity and Mrs Brinda Shroff, Mr Raisinghani for the arrangements, Mrs Narula and Tania Ma’am for support and Tapeshwar sir for giving us such lovely company and guiding us and being patient with us everyday. It was very nice to meet such nice people at BOPL and I will never forget them and this experience.
Also, want to thank my friends, Nakul, Sahil, Pavas, and Shiva for their company. We played pool, and saw such a nice city like Vadodara and had such lovely food at such nice restaurants. It was great learning experience with lots of enjoyment with my friends. I hope we get a chance to do this again soon.
As reported by Gaurav Aswani, class 11 A.
