Ultrasonic Basic Sanitary Pad making machine – SWACHH 4.0

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Unparalleled work satisfaction keeps us going
even during the pandemic! Mr Abhijit Patil, the
head of the operations department at Saral
Designs, shares his experience of working on the
mask making machine and the challenges posed due
to the lockdown. It was the honest efforts and
dedication of each one in the team that lead to
the success of this project, he says proudly, as
we discuss the process and his contribution to
this project. What is your role in the
organization? I am heading the operations
department, in which we look after the
distribution and after-sales service. Timely
delivery of the machine to the client,
manufacturing quality supervision, installation
of the machine at client place, the supply of
raw material to the client and the after-sales
service and maintenance are some of the tasks I
am responsible for along with my team. What was
your reaction to the first lockdown, and did you
think it will affect your job? I did not expect
the magnitude of the pandemic and resulting
lockdown to be this huge. Honestly, I thought it
would be a matter of a couple of months. But the
thought of losing my job did not touch my mind
because we had a few projects in the pipeline
and manufacturing of sanitary pads (which was the
primary focus) comes under essential services.
So, no matter what happens, the production and
sales cannot stop. We heaved a sigh of relief at
our luck! As for the lockdown, our company had
switched to work from home before the official
lockdown was declared. Hence, we were prepared
for the coming restrictions and changes in the
method of working.
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How was the decision of developing a mask-making
machine taken? The impulse to move beyond the
sanitary pads making machine had touched us for
a long time. I coordinate with the existing
clientele, and they all were suggesting we make
some modifications and upgrade our machines. But
it was only during the lockdown that the project
of making a mask-making machine began. Due to
the pandemic, the enquiries for a mask-making
machine had started to flood in from our
existing as well as new clients, in addition to
the sanitary pads making machine. The decision
did not come as a surprise, but the execution
was challenging for all the departments. Since
the nature of your work is outdoor, what
difficulties did you face due to the
restrictions on mobility? During the lockdown, I
managed most of the work from home with the
strong support of my team. At that time, the
operations team had ten people working in it. We
have expanded the team now. But during this
project, everyone coordinated really well, and
only about 10 of the work had to be done on-site
or in the office. How was your experience of
working from home? At that time, we did not have
an option but to continue working from home. So
whether or not we prefer it was out of the
question. What I found difficult was the switch
between work and personal life while being at
home all the time. Usually, when I leave the
office, I try not to take work home so that the
balance can be maintained. But when you are at
home all day, it is tough to adhere to that axiom.
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What kept you motivated to work during the
pandemic? The fact that we still had work while
a lot of people lost their jobs made me feel
very fortunate. To add to it, the project we had
was beneficial for the society, which provided a
sense of satisfaction that while people are just
sitting idle at home, we are actually doing
something meaningful. That kept me going. Do you
have any experience to share when a colleague had
to go out of their way to keep the work
going? I remember, on the very first day of
working at Mahindra, we were all in full
coverage PPE suits. It was the birthday of one of
our teammates. Now considering how birthdays are
celebrated these days and how excited everyone
is on their birthdays, the conditions there were
really not favorable. But he seemed to have
forgotten all about his birthday and still worked
with the rest of us. All of us had to make some
compromises to adjust to the prevalent
circumstances but it was the dedication of each
team member that made this project a huge
success! Would like to share similar experiences
when you went out of the way to support a
colleague? The mask making machine was an
entirely new experience for all of us. It posed
before us questions like where to procure the raw
material from since the factories were closed
and the regular vendors could not provide us with
the material. It was quite stressful, and a lot
of calls were made, but still, we did not manage
to get the raw material. One day I just told
Kartik that I would get the raw material in the
next five days. I did not know how I was going to
do that, but I used all my sources and firmly
believed that I could do it. Much to my and
everyones surprise, I managed to get the raw
material within those five days. Describe your
experience of working with Saral Designs in one
sentence. A career with a cause. Author Dhruti
GanatraBusiness Development Manager, Saral
Designs Dhruti is Marketing Professional with a
Masters degree in marketing. She has worked in
sales and marketing in India and as well the
United States and has her bachelors in
commerce. Her previous work and internship
experience include working with companies like
ICICI Bank Ltd, ACG Group, Jio Studios (now Jio
Creative Labs) and for a
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Veteran Owned startup supported by the Bunker
labs in The United States. She has been a part
of various social campaigns which involved
awareness about Breast cancer, Swacch Bharat
Abhiyan etc.