Working hard for something we don’t care about is STRESS
Working hard for something we love is called PASSION
-Simon Sinek
Hi steemit friends! It's been 2 months since I joined steemit. It was fun and at the same time challenging. Though I have already introduced myself, I still haven't shared to you one thing, MY WORK!
The Company
Currently, I am working in GMC, a flour and feeds manufacturing industry in Cebu, Philippines. It is situated strategically near the Mandaue-Mactan Bridge (S. Osmeña Bridge) and along the Mactan Channel. It is also provides bakery products like yeast and trade raw materials such as corn grains and soybean meal. This company has already existed for more than 50 years.
Source: http://www.genmil.com.ph/
Source: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/111156006
Products
Flour and feeds usually come together in one manufacturing plant. But why? In producing feeds, one of its raw materials is a byproduct of flour milling.
Flour
Flour uses WHEAT as raw material. A wheat kernel has 3 main parts:
The BRAN is the multi-layered outer skin of the edible kernel. It contains important antioxidants, B vitamins and fiber.
The GERM is the embryo which has the potential to sprout into a new plant. It contains many B vitamins, some protein, minerals, and healthy fats.
The ENDOSPERM is the germ’s food supply, which provides essential energy to the young plant so it can send roots down for water and nutrients, and send sprouts up for sunlight’s photosynthesizing power. The endosperm is by far the largest portion of the kernel. It contains starchy carbohydrates, proteins and small amounts of vitamins and minerals.
Source: https://wholegrainscouncil.org/what-whole-grain
So FLOUR comes from the ENDOSPERM. The GERM is used as food additives. Then the BRAN is used as raw material for FEEDS. Who would have thought that such a small kernel can give us a lot of surprises inside!
How do I spend my day at work?
As a quality systems engineer, it is my task to investigate customer complaints (both internal and external customers). External customers are those to whom we sell our products. Internal customers are within the organization. Example, the internal customer of the production department is the quality assurance since products are passed from production to QA for inspection.
So, how do I spend my 8 hours at work? In the morning, I check my email for new complaints. If there are none, I proceed on my list of pending complaints. Usually, investigation takes time since there is a need to get information from other departments.
If there are new complaints, I will initially get the traceability of the product. Depending on its nature, different data will be needed. But basically, all issues require the source of complaint, date of delivery and product information (SKU, production date).
There are cases wherein I had to go to the area of the complaint. This job gave me the opportunity to visit different places and meet people. There are also times that I will go to the production line, for quality-related cases. This work helped me to walk out of my comfort zone and remove all the shyness from me. I had to talk to people and ask them the right questions that can really extract from them the true story.
In the afternoon, when all the required data are available, it is already time for analysis. Then viola! I will make conclusion and recommendations. The analysis part is the most challenging. You need to be open-minded and consider all angles.
At the end of the day, I see to it I made a list of pending data that I had to follow up the next day. This important especially before weekends. I might forget what I had to do after I reset my mind during the weekends.
How do I find my job?
I find this job challenging. Every day is always different from the previous. Complaints may be similar, but rarely exactly the same. It gives me excitement especially when I can almost unravel the root cause of the complaints.
How was my relationship to my co-workers?
In my 3 months of stay in this company, I felt already comfortable working with my colleagues. They are approachable and I can easily mingle with them. They were never hesitant to answer all my questions. Especially for a newbie, I always ask whenever I reach to a dead end.
We were like a family and we even call ourselves “La Familia”. We always look forward on holidays and long weekends. It is our time to go on adventures or nature tripping.
Fooling around with friends
Nature tripping at Samboan
Anyways, 
I remember someone told me this, "Be liked and be needed". You will be successful at work if you will be approachable and at the same time you try hard to contribute your best to make a difference in your company.