Day 8 - Wrapping Up Our Learning

Day 8 – Wrapping Up Our Learning!

At Jiangsu Huan Li, I learnt that the company is committed to advocating and encouraging technology and research innovation. Despite multiple problems faced during their initial years, this company has bounced back strong and is now cooperating with key universities and overseas enterprises that enable it to progress further in developing and perfecting their technology. A lot of physics and mechanics are involved in the process, and they have even developed an app that can control the pressure. Every section has different parts made to assemble, and it acts as a sort of quality control. All these has shown me the intense amount of work and labour that is used for the manufacture of such items, and it has opened my eyes and made me more appreciative of the things that I have today. I realised also how much work and effort really goes into not only the manufacturing of the products but also the careful arrangement of them. More often than not, ‘small’ steps, such as organising items, are often overlooked when it comes to ‘important actions’, but it is crucial in order to maintain an efficient working process. Thus, I have learnt how important it is not to overlook the ‘small and unimportant’ things in life, as these things help to bring the entire picture into existence.  I also learnt that teamwork is an important element in the process. It helps to strengthen the bonds and furthermore quicken the whole work process.

In Zhen Hua Middle School, I saw the difference in the behaviour of these students in comparison with my classmates back in Singapore. In school, these students are extremely well-mannered and behave nicely, singing the school song with pride and conducting themselves in a gentlemanly and ‘good’ manner. They do not talk much in class, but sit still and pay attention, and frequently ask questions related to the lesson to increase their learning. In my class, there are similarly well-mannered students but also a handful who seem nonchalant towards their academic progress.  It was truly a pleasant experience in class with the Chinese students and I really aspire to be like them. In a class full of such people, academic excellence is bound to be achieved, and this different atmosphere of learning is definitely something of worth that I will take home from this trip.

In Suzhou, a major experience that I had was of the different culture and environment. I knew that the culture would be obviously different, but I had to really see and experience it before it sank in. Over there, everything is in Chinese. There are many lights that brighten up the night sky and the streets, and many Chinese shop houses and shopping malls that I really hope I can visit. I am also pleasantly surprised that the cleanliness here is around the same standard as back home in Singapore. I confess that I had a stereotypical mindset of China being ‘dirtier’ then what I usually experience, so I am glad that I am proven wrong. The food here is more or less the same as the normal Chinese food one will find in Singapore, albeit slightly more “authentic”. However, there is a large focus on sharing a large platter of food, rather than having individualised portions, and I feel that it is a nice thing to have as it promotes generosity with one another.

As a conclusion, this trip to Suzhou has been very informative, greatly increasing my knowledge and learning, and has been extremely fun. Whether it was working with my friends, helping one another out.

Peggy Tang

Day 7 Reflection

Day 7: 3 2 1 about Huan Li

3 Things I learnt

In Huan Li Technology, I was attached to the Marketing Department where I learnt what marketing was all about. At first, I thought that marketing was all about advertising for the company. However, it turned out that I was wrong. Marketing department in Huan Li also carry out the purchasing function such as purchasing the necessary items needed in Huan Li for the making of the pumps. Every little detail must be attended to. For example, even the finest grains of material had to be checked meticulously in case any problems were spotted. Knowing what the department did was my first learning point in Huan Li.

My second learning point was how the complicated the water pumps were built. In Huan Li, they do not only assemble the water pump. They had even assemble the circuit boards manually with the aid of machines most probably to gain the trust of the customers. Seeing how the different components were made from scratch to the final end stage really amazed me as I felt that it was so cool how those raw materials could turn into a water pump.

My final learning point would be attitude. I have realised that the employees in Huan Li were all putting in their 101 percent effort for the glory of the company. Such an example can be seen as my mentor told us stories about her working life.

2 Things I can apply to my daily life

Character and values was definitely a thing that I would want to apply to my daily life. In Huan Li, everyone treated each other with respect despite their different roles in the company. I feel that learning how to respect others is an important skill-set and value. If I do not learn how to respect others, it would be difficult for me to step into others shoes and understand their problems. People wouldn’t work well together either as no culture of respect was developed.

My mentor’s advice regarding course selection and my future job. As she had shared her personal story and her university mate’s, one point was really obviously highlighted: find a job you love doing. This advice was really wise as if you don’t find the job you love, you might not be determined to strive for the best.

1 Thing I want to know more about

I would like to find out a little more about why Mr Chen chose to venture into the field of water pumps as there are also so many lucrative fields that he could venture into. So why water pumps?

Chung Ler En

Day 3 - A Different Perspective

Day 3 – I used to think, Now I think

I used to think that China, Suzhou is going to be more like a village with very poor traffic disciplinary. I also thought the place was going to have a lot of people on the streets. But now that I have already observed the area, their traffic is actually not that bad and drivers actually stopped at red lights. The place and environment are way different from my imagination. There are tall buildings, shopping malls and a great atmosphere. The streets are very clean, peaceful and calming. There were not many people walking on the streets. There were certainly a lot more cars and E-bikers than motorcycles.

I used to think that Huan Li Technology is a very massive company, just like any other factories, which is why that made them top amongst the rest. But now that I have already learnt, the machines in the company are the ones that do most of the jobs and the workers are just there to touch up on imperfections that the machines have made. Certain areas require human work where the machines are not able to do. The company is as equally large as the other companies but there were fewer workers. This way, the company practices on efficiency of time and money management.

I used to think that the people in China will not be as friendly. I was actually worried in making friends and getting to know more about my mentors because I felt isolated within the Chinese people, despite having other students who practices other cultural activities such as Vietnam, Thailand and India that was with us throughout this trip. I thought that the people in China would prefer people speaking Mandarin more than non-Mandarin speaking. But now that I have experienced my three days in Suzhou, I learnt that the people are all equally friendly and helpful. They love to talk too! They are very humble and appreciative. They love to give more than taking them. They are also very understandable of my religion practices and even took the trouble to get halal food just for me. They are very sincere and their very best to make me comfortable despite the challenges of conversational exchange.

Liyana Khatun

I used to think that such a big company that makes and produces their own products would have many more workers. However that is not the case, and now I know that they only have 177 workers; including official workers and interns. This is because most of their production is done by machines so large numbers or factory workers are not needed. This also saves the company lots of money as they do not need to pay a lot of staff members.

I used to think that the Human Resources just dealt with lots of paper work, resumes, and conducting interviews, and most of the work was done in an office room. But now I think and know that being under the Human Resources department requires and does so much more. They play important roles in keeping the workplace environment comfortable and productive as well as keeping employees motivated. They are also required to plan and execute many important events. The job is also very people-orientated and requires us to be social able and willing to maintain good, healthy relationships with most or all of the employees as we also need to be viewed as friendly and approachable.

I also used to think that the people of China are very quiet and not outspoken, however I now think that they are extremely friendly and will go out of their way to make us feel comfortable and at home. Despite not knowing English or being able to communicate with the non-Chinese speaking people such as myself, they do try to speak English and wait patiently and understandingly wait for friends to translate whatever they said for us. They are also very patient when working with us.

Kareena

Before I arrived at Huan Li, I thought that it would be similar to a giant beehive where people rushed to and fro like in movies, sparing no time for anyone or anything, seeing that they are such a big brand and all. Now, I think that the above only happens during busy seasons and even then, might not match up to that level. The Huan Li at the present moment only need a few workers to get things done as automatons get increasingly advanced and more efficient, thus reducing the need for workers and eliminating the possibility of the above image of  beehive-workplace.

When I was ranking the department I wanted to be in, I chose Human Resources because I thought that it would be about them overseeing the work of everybody in the company and making sure that all products are delivered on time and other business of that nature. Now, I foolishly realise that Human Resources is not like that at all. Instead of being focused on the workers getting things right like I thought, they are actually more concerned about the workers themselves, such as making sure that their lunch is delivered on time, water is always readily stocked, making sure that the interns submit their forms on time, printing out tests and the answer key for them and their supervisors, etc.

I used to think that the front desk job would be a rather draining and boring job to do as they will have to stay at one spot all day dealing with difficult customers and other generally exhausting and unpleasant duties. Personally, I also find it pretty scary as they’ll also have to pick up phone calls from numbers they don’t even recognise and talk to them. After joining Human Resources and being placed in that duty, however, I now realise that it is neither tiring, boring or scary; in fact, it’s sort of like the duties I had to do during my time in the food team at Hearty Breakfast sessions and Vice-President of the Drama Club. Also, I was finally able to see two things thing I learnt at school applied there in real life as well – the petty cash system when Yi Jie Jie passed money in an envelope to the delivery man and bookkeeping when she recorded it down in the computer right after.

Hazel Lim

 

Day 6 - Suzhou Industrial Park

Day 6 - Suzhou Industrial Park

The Miniature “SINGAPORE”

In 1994, Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) was build, many jobs was created for the locals, and would have made some changes to their live. The land where Suzhou Industrial Park is now, was once a farm land, but now that land have changed into a very developed place. The late Mr Deng Xiaoping once said “Singapore enjoys good social order and is well managed. We should tap on their experience, and learn how to manage better than them."

When we were in the Suzhou Industrial Park gallery, we could see the changes of the piece of land, when it is like in 1994 till now 2016, even though it has been 22 years, but Suzhou Industrial Park is still improving. In the lobby of the SIP gallery, there are orchid flowers used as decoration, which the species is our Singapore National flower - Vanda 'Miss Joaquim'. This shows that Suzhou really respects Singapore, which causes them to put our national flower as a decoration.

Suzhou Industrial Park is around one-third the size of Singapore, not the building structure is the, they are also trying to manage SIP similar or even better than Singapore. The buildings in the Suzhou Industrial Park- CBD area looks similar to the buildings in our CBD area (Orchard road), the outer design of dark colour, grey and white, with glass panel. There’s a shopping centre in Suzhou Industrial Park called “LINK City”, not only the name is similar to Singapore’s “VIVO City”, but also the fronts of the name.

The development of the Suzhou Industrial Park would have affect the livelihood of many people, the once was a farm land have changed 360 degree to a technology place. An unattractive place in 1994, is now a famous tourist attraction which many people would want to visit, to know about the changes. Because late Mr Deng Xiao Ping and late Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s perseverance, then only Suzhou Industrial Park would have been a successful one.

Lim Tong Xin

From a Spark to a Park

In 1992, the idea of developing a modern industrial township with Singapore experience was broached by China’s late leader Deng Xiaoping. He admired Singapore’s good social order and management, and wanted to tap on the experience that we had. Thus, in 1994, after rounds of discussions and site surveys, the governments of Singapore and China decided to join hands in developing a modern industrial park in the east of Suzhou, which I just had the opportunity to visit, and it is truly a magnificent place to behold.

I am thoroughly amazed at what the combined efforts of two governments can bring forth. With the experience of Singapore, and the manpower and land in China, along with a lot of brainstorming and hard work, such magnificent project could have been born. Imagine what it would be like if all the leaders of the world would work together for the greater good of mankind…Alas, it may be wishful thinking, but I really feel that this Suzhou Industrial Park proves to us that by combining efforts, great things can come forth. Not only that, but even though Singapore is a small country, this has shown us that we should not feel discouraged at any time as we’ll always have something to bring to the table, and all of us should work hard to make our nation proud.

Peggy Tang

Collaboration between 2 countries that has changed people’s life

The development of Suzhou Industrial Park has shown us that a collaboration of two countries would have a great impact on the lives of the people. Back in the 1990s, the place was unattractive and there were not many visitors. However, the development has caused many tourists to come and visit to find out the history and to experience a place that has a mixed culture of Singapore and China. Suzhou Industrial Park has created many good jobs from tourism for the people which include tour guide, selling souvenirs, restaurants and many more. Despite many setbacks, perseverance was shown by two countries to sustain the economy here. Therefore, perseverance is an important value for people who wish to improve the lives of people and make a positive change towards their countries.

Jinie Agilia

Suzhou Industrial Park – The child of cooperation

When I came to Suzhou Industrial Park, I was impressed about how it has developed in just 22 years. I was thrilled when I saw the technology they presented in the exhibition. As a person who is interested in technology development, I was totally mesmerized when I saw the presentation boards, nano chips, the screwdrivers, the interactive tables… Some of them I hadn’t had the chance to see before I came there because those are the kind of products that even some countries that have a longer history than SIP still have yet to reach. Although I could not understand Chinese, but just by visualizing the models in the exhibition, I can still know that technologies used in SIP are the most modernized ones. When we came to SIP, we were totally attracted to the technologies they use. We came from this surprise to another as we did not expected that SIP could be so modernized, It is such an inspiring place to visit and learn from.

Around 22 years ago, the representatives of Singapore and China came to SIP and started to develop ideas and make plans. Those plans, ideas and dreams now have come true, the development of SIP is remarkable. It shows that when the innovative people cooperate together, they can do things even themselves cannot imagine. Who knew that such an area can turn into one of the world famous technologies developing park in just a short period of time. Imagine after 50 years, how modern more can SIP become? To me, this developed park symbolizes the hard works, the ambitions, plans, ideas and dreams, the spirit of never giving up, the relationship and cooperation between countries. This journey to Suzhou Industrial Park is a motivation for us to study hard, keep trying and never give up to pursue our dreams.

Chia Ming Cat

Day 5 - School Visit

Day 5 – Headlines: Zhen Hua Middle School

Learning from the best!

Today I went to Zhen Hua middle school to have a taste of how the students in China study. Zhen Hua Middle School is a top school in Suzhou, China. We are very honoured to be hosted by them. In the morning we have welcome presentation by the teacher with 2 short clips. One is about their rich school history and another one is about their distinctive programme named”小薇” just like our school we also have distinctive programme Applied Learning Programme (ALP) and Life- Long Learning Programme (LLP).  Their distinctive programmes are micro lessons of enrichment which include Gardening, Intercom Technology (IT) and drama. While ours is Hearty Breakfast programme and Entrepreneur and Innovation (E&I). They have a future classroom which is very high-tech just like our very own Broadrick’s learning lab. We have a physics lesson in the morning. The students there are very disciplined, they are always very attention in class and they are hungry for more knowledge. The lesson there is very fun with the teacher using experiment and the everyday items in teaching the concepts of vibration to the students. I realised that good attitude is an important factor to succeed in studying.

Tan Jun Hao

What is holistic education?

When we arrived at Zhen Hua Middle School, we were immediately lead to the “future classroom”. In the classroom, sat 16 lower secondary school students and a teacher who was preparing for the first lesson. The class started off with a violin performance from one of the younger students. The teacher then begun his lesson with a few fun practices that were done with everyday materials such as bowls, water, erasers as well as straws. During the lessons I noticed that the Zhen Hua students were paying full attention to their teachers. When they answer questions asked by their teachers, they spoke in a clear and loud tone. They were very friendly as well. The students always made sure that we were involved in the discussions and made as feel very welcome.

After lunch we had another lesson taught by our very own Mdm Kim. It was a chemistry lesson taught in English. They did look a bit flustered when they saw the notes in English but they picked up the concepts quite quickly. After the science lesson, we had another lesson. We were taught the art of “Yong Chun Quan”. After a few day without any proper exercise we were all quite stiff. However under the guidance of the instructor we managed to pick up a few moves.

Before going to the school, I had thought that classes in China is slightly more traditional. Thus I was quite surprised when we entered the “future classroom”. It was filled with high tech gadgets such as the newest types of microphones and projectors. Moreover the school had different blocks for different classes such as physical education lessons, science practical lesson and normal theory lessons. The school also has a fairly big basketball court as well as a large field for physical education for lessons.

Soh Sim Min

Amazed – ‘amazed’ is an understatement

Today we went to Zhen Hua Middle School to learn more about their way of learning and getting to know more about their cultural. The first thing we do when we arrive in the school was going to a classroom which they called it the ‘future classroom’. When I first got into the classroom, I was amazed of how modern the classroom is as I expected it to not be that modern. The classroom was full of high tech technology for example, a touch screen TV, cameras and a room for people to see what the students without them knowing that there are people watching them while they are having their lessons.

The other thing that I was amazed by was the behaviour of the students at the school. They are all well behave and well manner. I was shock to see them all ready and quiet while waiting for class to start when I went into the classroom. Their teacher did not even need to instruct them to do anything, they just do what they are supposed to do automatically. The students over there also sing their school song loudly and proudly. One other thing that I notice was that they do not interrupt a person when they are talking instead they wait until the person stop talking and then they raised up their hand to ask a question or answer a question. This are the things that shocked and amazed me while I was at Zhen Hua Middle School as the students that we met were all Sec 1 and 2 and yet they are all so well behaved and have such good attitude to learning.

Randy Tay

Day 4 at Huan Li Technology

Day 4 at Huan Li Technology: CSI – Colour, Symbol, Image

This picture is about me, Cheryl and Ming Cat discussing about what the HR department does. The HR department mainly focus about recruitment, interview and safety of the workers. What we are discussing is about what they look for in an interview. Some criteria they look for in an interviewee is their confidence, charisma, personality and the way they dress when they turn up for the interview. I chose this colour because pink is the colour of happiness and it shows how happy we are when we are learning and absorbing new things. It also shows we are very interested in learning more and are paying more attention.

Charlotte Poon

I chose orange as my favourite mentor likes the colour orange. I chose this symbol as this is what we learnt to assemble the product today in my department. Assembling the pressure controller seemed hard to do at first but as the person at that station teach each of us how to do it, the procedure became easier. I chose this image as this is my favourite station of the department as it is fun because you need to observe and concentrate on assembling the water pressure. This station also requires a lot of caution as you might get your hand stuck in the machine therefore you must act on precaution.

Zheng Xinyi

I choose the colour white as white represents completeness and wholeness. I learnt to be complete when I am working on the water pumps parts in the assembling workshop so that it is perfect. I learnt to be wholeness as a person as I make sure that all the small detail for the components are in place. I choose the symbol that represents focus. When I was working at one of the stations in the assembling workshop, I was so focus in doing every single step for one of the water pump component. I thought that focusing in everything we do is very crucial so as to not make silly mistakes and more time efficient in finishing our goal for the day.  The image I have selected is of me working at the station, it is to test the water pump pressure. I have to firstly stabilise the pump on a platform, connect a few wires to the pump and observe the pressure meter to see whether the water pump is fine or not and continue pass it on to the station to handle the rest of the work.

Lian Qi Aeng

Day 2 - 31 Oct

Day 2: See, Think Wonder—Huan Li Technology

I saw how organised and systematic the whole production line was. Everyone in the production line had their part to play in assembling parts of the water pump. I think that the organised and neat arrangement is also very important in the efficiency of the production. As many pumps are needed to be produced every year, efficiency is important in meeting the required standards. I wonder if there was not a structured system, would the whole company manage to manufacture enough water pumps to meet the requirements? Would there be a disorganised way of function leading to conflicts in the company?

I saw how Huan Li values quality over quantity. Sun Jiejie said that even if a company had only ordered one pump from them, they would still manufacture and sell it to them. I think that this shows their sincerity in producing the best service they can provide for their buyers. To provide the best for their buyers, they even would go all the way out just to manufacture one pump. I wonder if they would stand to lose in terms of money if they agree to only sell one pump.  If they stood to lose, why would they even agree to do so?

I saw how meticulous and dedicated the workers in the marketing sector were towards their job. I think that their job requires them to look at many numbers, receipts and unexpected situations. In which, they have to be patient in doing so.  Also, they have to liaise with their suppliers and all, so that they would be able to provide the company with sufficient resources to produce the water pumps. I wonder if they would ever get bored of their job as it seemed like a mundane job which only looks at many big numbers and settle supply issues.

Chung Ler En

The first thing I saw or learned at Huan Li today was that it is a very highly efficient company which makes business worldwide. It is constantly coming up with new ideas for products and is an essential component provider for much larger companies. The Research and Development (R&D) team and staff works hard every day to come up with new and innovative ideas that are original and effective, differentiating themselves from other companies. Otherwise, purchasers would have no reason to buy from Huan Li compared to other companies. The reason companies buy from Huan Li due to their originality and effectiveness. This is one of the core reasons they have to be constantly innovating, as it is what puts them ahead of others. I want to know where they stand, in terms of sales when compared to other companies.

The second thing I saw is that there are many automatic systems and machines in the factory. The reason being that machines are many times more accurate and less likely to make mistakes as compared to a human. Furthermore, in such a highly efficient company, there is no room for mistakes. Machines are also very much more durable and can be used for a long time. Also, with more machines, there is lesser need for manpower as machines are doing most of the work. In this way, the company can afford to have lesser employees and have a lower salary payout. There are also some students on internships working in the factory, and are easily differentiated from workers by their colour of their jacket. One more thing that I observed was that some roles in the factory are much simpler than others, like packaging the products into the box. Wouldn’t everyone want the simpler job? So, the company either alternates their jobs so everyone does different things for say every week they change, or that different jobs get different pay. There has to be a way that they keep this in check, or they would be an uproar in unfairness.

One more thing that I observed was that the company has patents for every new product they innovate and create. This is to protect the originality of the idea, which comes for Huan Li. This prevents other companies from stealing the idea of the product, and stealing the credit from Huan Li. This is what differentiates Huan Li from other companies, is that their products are original and better. If they allow other companies to just simply steal ideas from them, they would be allowing them to steal their business also. This is reason for patents. I want to know what some of the consequences in a case are where another company steals the patent of others? Do they get fined? Also, if they steal a tiny small portion of the product is it considered stealing the idea?

Lim Yu Jun