Embark on a journey spanning two decades with us as we delve into the incredible narrative of Sandhya Shah, a cherished member of the Welland Medical family. In this introspective piece, Sandhya reflects on her transformative experience, sharing insights from her professional evolution and personal milestones along her remarkable Welland Medical journey.

“Wow! What a journey of 20 years!

I, Sandhya Shah, started at Welland in 2003 as a temp for about 6 months and then took a permanent position on 5th January 2004. I have grown and experienced so much in these 20 years, professionally as well as personally.

When I started in 2004, I couldn’t speak English as fluently as I can now. Within a year of joining as a perm, Welland gave me the opportunity to take an ESOL Level 2 course at Crawley College in 2005. This helped me communicate better and provided a stepping stone for the rest of my journey at Welland, starting with reaching the Higher Matrix level as an Operator.

Then the opportunity came up to train as a machine setter, and I was very excited and enjoyed the challenge of learning a new role. My confidence was thoroughly boosted from passing the training. At first, I was under the impression that my role was only to cover holiday and sick periods, but I was running Auto 4 solo in no time and for a duration of 8+ years. This was a big turning point in my career, and I would like to thank John Pile and Nancy Vince for giving me this opportunity and their continued support and encouragement in this role.

After taking full responsibility for Auto 4, my focus was to reduce waste while increasing throughput. I was pleased to achieve this self-set challenge over the period of 8 years with the support of my colleagues, especially Damian from production engineering who always accommodated my machine modification requests.

Once I mastered Auto-4, my interest in learning other machines grew. I was pleased to have gained experience on Auto 2, Auto 3, and Lambert. During this phase, I also passed an NVQ in Performing Manufacturing Operations in 2012 and undertook many other courses which enhanced my ability to run the Autos smoothly. In particular, I really enjoyed the Lean Six Sigma Green belt course in 2012 and the leadership course conducted in 2016. I appreciate Nancy’s encouragement and support in all of these courses.

While I enjoyed being a machine setter, it was time for a change. At this time, with immense support from Bhavini who was my manager and lead setter, I was able to find a part-time position working on Lambert. I am still working part-time under Terry and Wayne’s leadership in the Hydrocolloid area, where I feel very welcome and appreciated.

Besides this, I have also enjoyed being part of curry day, where we made various foods such as chicken curry, samosas, and much more to raise money for charity!

There have been plenty of personal milestones too while working at Welland such as watching both my daughters graduate, get married as well as recently becoming a grandmother of two. Meanwhile, my husband and I are enjoying spending time together with cinema dates, holidays, and playing with our grandchildren!

I feel lucky to be working with such supportive mentors and managers during my time at Welland and have mostly felt heard and supported during these difficult times, for this I am thankful.

Lastly, I am also incredibly grateful for my family. Without their confidence in me and the support provided by my husband and both daughters none of this would have been possible, including the writing of this eloquent letter of gratitude.”

Sandhya Shah

Keep up to date with all Welland news by following us on our social platforms!

LinkedIn

Instagram

Facebook

X