Personal Experience of Industrial Visit

The objective of the Industrial Visit is to help students gain first hand information regarding functioning of the industry which presents the students with opportunities to plan, organize and engage in active learning experiences both inside and outside the classroom. We , twenty five students of 1st year PGDHRM batch of Xavier Institute of Social Service had Industrial Visit starting from 28th February to 9th March. During these ten days we visited Heavy Engineering Corporation Ltd, Jindal Steel and Power Limited, Moonidih underground coal mine of Bharat Coking Coal Limited, Bokaro Steel Plant, Piparwar open cast coal mine of Central Coalfields, Usha Martin Limited, TELCO, Tata Cummins and Tata Steel. Among the above organizations that we went to the most note worthy of mentioning is our visit to Moonidih underground coal mine of Bharat Coking Coal Limited. It was a never before learning experience for me. We studied The Mines Act, 1952 in the classroom. But when we went to the BCCL site at Moonidih we got to know the various applications of the different provisions of the act from the HR officers there. Plus we saw the entire process of how coal is excavated and washed and then finally grinded and prepared to used as prince coking coal. Following are couple of key points that I carried back with me as part of self learning experience. 1. Due to the prevalence of harsh conditions at the site of excavation the working hours for adults have been divided into three consecutive shifts of 6 hrs each. 2. Prohibition of employment of children below the age of 18 years and women in the underground mine. 3. Provision for use of helmets and battery powered lights by workers inside the mine at all times for protection. 4. Safety boards for generating awareness among workers regarding safety of self as well as coworkers have been put up at every nook and turn of the entire stretch of the mine. The safety boards are also meant to caution the workers of the danger that prevail at certain points of sliding of the walls and the ceiling. 5. Arrangement for artificial ventilation and supply of cold air for preventing injury to the health of the workers. 6. Arrangements for rest places and cool drinking water at regular intervals for the workers. We were fortunate to have one highly skilled supportive and interactive officer from whom we got to know the technical details of the entire coal preparations process and various other precautionary measures being adopted by the management for providing safety to the workers inside the mine