my career as a mechanical engineer
We live in a world of machines. Machines have been an integral part of our lives and will continue to do so. A lot of advancements have been happening in many fields of Mechanical Engineering (ME). Two things that I am always curious about are 'machines' and the 'technology' that drives them. Fortunately, my father works in a huge MNC, incidentally a cement factory, as the Head of the Department (HOD) of Technical Services.
During my childhood, my dad used to take me to his office often to show all the huge machinery he works on and explain all the details so passionately. I remember one tour where he showed me how the clinkers are handled at elevated temperatures just by mechanical equipment with precision. That has driven my interest towards industrial environment. As a result, my curiosity grew over time and made me select ME stream in my undergrad at the coveted Koneru Lakshmaiah University (KLU), Andhra Pradesh after getting passed in its entrance exam. During the initial years, my visit to home was something I looked forward to, as my dad would take me back to his workplace to show the applications of the subject I had learnt.
Though I have enjoyed learning the science of mechanisms and their practical illustrations in both college and at my dad's workplace, the first two years turned out soar for me in terms of grades. My innate passion towards sports ever since my childhood, especially cricket, made me juggle between studies and sports. I was a notable cricketer in my college cricket team and even played for some prominent tournaments. As it felt great in achieving fame and respect in my college, I failed to notice how badly my studies were being affected. I took a pause and started to focus more on my academics pertaining to which I have raised my CGPA bar by third year and ended up my engineering with 6.92 CGPA. My under graduation has been a rewarding experience as I got numerous chances to visit industries to gain a closer look at the practical application of machines and their related theories.
My interest in the practical application of concepts pertaining to Mechanical engineering led me to participate actively in various projects. I, with a group of 2 more friends made a 6-legged robot for an event organized by ASME at Gujarat representing our college in my third year. We were appreciated for our effort on making a design that was perfect for the track. We even designed a Hovercraft, Oldham Coupling, Stirling engine involving many mechanical equipment and software. I have published my work entitled "Estimation of Carbon Foot Print in a Transport Network of Supply Chain" in IJAER, ISSN 09734562 Volume 10, Number 8(2015).
In my third year, I gained immense exposure to the industrial environment based on my internships, as part of my curriculum. I got the opportunity to work in the Manufacturing and Maintenance Department at India's leading cement supplier Ultra Tech Cement Limited. It was an integrated plant with production capacity of 18,000 TPD with 2 production lines consisting of Kilns, raw mills, main crusher, packing units and many rotary types of equipment. I had a great disclosure about the working of major rotary equipment and production process of the cement. It was a good exposure for me as I had an opportunity to see the dismantled parts of their plant equipment
As part of my curriculum, I also went to a practice school in a manufacturing industry in Hyderabad. We had a great airing to casting, heat treatment and working of CNC, DNC, VMC, lathe machines. We were involved in a project entitled, "Production of Cylinder Head CNG Mold Base". It was used for the production of spare parts of an automobile. As my practice school was in a city with vast opportunities, I took a good advantage of that time. I attended career enhancing certifications like AutoCAD and NDT Level-2 certification which I felt as one of the best things I have done during my stay in that city.
I started my career as NDT service engineer at P.S Metallurgy and NDT Services, Hyderabad. The company used to provide NDT services like Ultra Sonic (UT), Dye Penetrant (DPT), Magnetic Particle Testing (MPT), Radiography (RT), thickness measurement and many more. I was responsible for performing all NDT methods based on clients' requirement and making the report of the same. I was well habituated in using all the advanced technology and equipment launched in my field. I worked there for a period of 6 months and then moved to a new method of NDT.
The next step in my career was, IRM Engineer at MVS ACMEI TECHNOLOGIES PVT LTD, the place I am currently working at. My posting is at Ajmer, Rajasthan for Vedanta Zinc Mines, one of the clients of our company. I am responsible for taking care of all major rotary equipment in the plant through vibration analysis and thermography. My primary task was to develop, implement a daily and time-based maintenance schedule for all major equipment along with maintaining a record of the equipment status. I update my work status in SAP (PM Module) on a regular basis along with the equipment condition. My posting at mines has been a big learning for me as I had a great exposure to production and manufacturing process apart from my maintenance job. Apart from my work, I was also interested in troubleshooting breakdowns effectively and carrying out root cause analysis of the problem to come out with its permanent solution. Now, after attaining an experience of more than 26 months and achieving a satisfactory level of expertise, I feel the need for higher education.
Working at assorted work locations like a mine enabled me to interact with fellow colleagues from diverse cultural backgrounds of Indian sub-continent and turned me out into an ambivert.
I would like to commence my career as a mechanical engineer with sound knowledge in production and maintenance sector. My work stream has given me adequate exposure about various mechanical components, their technology and industrial processes but I felt my learning through bachelor's degree course is not adequate to meet my objective of being an expert with production and maintenance fields. I, therefore, decided to go for higher studies. On approaching my professors and seniors I was suggested about Politecnico di Milano's mechanical program. On visiting the website, I was satisfied with the subjects in course especially Production systems which I think will exactly drive me to my goal.
Europe is a land of innovations and free thinking. It is No.1 ranked hub for ME aspirants. Politecnico di Milano is just ideal stop to quench my interests and relinquish my academic hunt. Browsing through the information given on the website of University, I am highly impressed with the accomplished faculty members, environment and the facilities the University has to offer to its students.
Since my work and zeal has been in production and maintenance streams I would prefer to take up Mechanical Engineering with production system course as it would be a boost to my knowledge and experience. I am fully aware of the fact that pursuing this course requires an elevated level of intelligence and dedication. I am confident that I have the capability to contribute positively towards your esteemed University and with great hope; I eagerly wait for your reply granting me an admission into my desired course.
