Songs, Showers, and Separate Meetings | 16th May 2025, Thursday

The day began with a familiar ritual - and an unexpected emotion.

The moment I stepped into the workshop this morning, I knew something significant was about to happen. A large pipe was laid out, the air felt charged with preparation. And as expected, our Safety Officer was ready with another hands-on demonstration. But before that, it was my turn to lead the morning prayer.

I chose to sing:

"Aye Malik Tere Bande Hum,
Aise Ho Hamare Karam. 

Neki Par Chale, Aur Badi Se Tale,
Taki Hanste Hue Nikle Dum."

It’s a prayer I’ve always liked, but today... it struck a deeper chord. Perhaps because I now walk every day among people who’ve forgotten what it means to hope or to strive for something higher. Or maybe because these words reminded me of the person I want to be - even in a place where systems are broken and spirits tired. I felt genuinely emotional. Some things can’t be explained.

---

Safety Officer's demo was commendable again.

Today, he showed how to safely extract a welder stuck inside a confined space. Again, a job well-prepared, demonstrated with confidence. There was appreciation all around. This week, his role has silently become the backbone of our meetings.

Just like yesterday, once the demo ended, people began raising their issues. I didn’t stop them - it’s important they speak. But once the meeting ended, I gently reminded them that we must respect time. Morning meetings should be wrapped up in 25 minutes. Not everything can be solved in the meeting room.

---

After that, I walked through the usual path - store and plant.

The Daily Production Meeting was brief, almost too brief to extract any real value.

But on the plant floor, the mood was better.

Since we discovered that the air blasters were non-functional, things have been moving - manually, yes, but moving nonetheless. There's visible improvement. The temporary workaround is working, but a proper sequential operation system must be installed soon. The fact that we’re still using manpower for what machines were designed to do shows how far behind we had fallen.

---

Then came the rain. Or rather, the strangeness of it.

After lunch, the heat became unbearable. Humidity thickened the air like a blanket. I looked toward the plant, and it was raining - yet there was no rain here. The kind of split-scene that only nature can offer. The rain was selective, as if reminding us that everything has its own time, its own place.

This triggered a deeper thought: our problem response system behaves just like this.

The symptoms show up long before we even realize there’s something wrong. And by the time we react, the problem has already taken root. I had a long discussion about this in the evening with our PDG Sir.

---

But the real test of the day was still to come.

Later in the evening, I had a meeting with our Director. He believes that our expat team is large enough and that our local seniors are highly capable. Capable, maybe - but committed? That’s a question.

Today I came to know that a separate meeting was held with local employees without any coordination with the larger team. That’s the problem. We cannot have two ecosystems operating inside the same plant. We either build trust and walk together, or we collapse under the weight of mutual suspicion.

---

This isn't just about cement or machines. It's about people. About alignment. About shared purpose.

If we don’t fix that, we’re just firefighting - forever.

---
Key Points of the Day:

  • Led the morning prayer with "Aye Malik Tere Bande Hum", felt deeply emotional while singing.
  • Excellent safety demo on confined space rescue by the Safety Officer.
  • Open sharing of points by the team again; reminded everyone about time discipline for meetings.
  • Routine visit to store and plant; brief and underwhelming DPM.
  • Air blaster issue workaround is yielding visible improvement; sequential system planning underway.
  • Nature's reminder: rain seen at the plant but not at the base - just like our delayed problem-response culture.
  • Evening discussion with PDG Sir on slow systemic response and delayed root cause analysis.
  • Meeting with Director, who has a mismatched view on expat capacity and local leadership commitment.
  • Uncoordinated separate meeting with local team members surfaced - highlighting the risk of divided leadership.

[View from the 4th Floor of the CCR after the rain.]

Next Day - 17th May, 2025

Previous Day - 15th May, 2025

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