“It is six o’ clock in the evening and the hands of the clock are tickling fast. There is dead silence and the place is abandoned. Office timings have crossed and everyone has already reached home. After all it is India meeting the Pakistan in the Semis of the Cricket World Cup 2011. But in this deserted territory, six eyes are glued to their computer screens desperately trying to figure out the cost overruns of a project. Amongst these three musketeers, two are amateur kids trying hard to tackle their difficulties but their efforts are hardly bearing any fruit. But as they say that ‘at the end of every tunnel there is light’, these two greenhorns are shown the right path and suddenly the problem no longer remains a problem. Courtesy: A young man of fifty, their boss.”
When whole of India was watching their home team play, these two novices were reverently watching ‘their Tendulkar’ bat. Being their Chief, he could have simply ordered them to complete the task and he himself could have feasted on the high profile cricket match. But He is different and He always leads from the front.
This is Mr. Joseph Thomas- our ‘Thomas Sir’ for you.
Thomas is a true team man. Out of ten, if he distributes eight tasks among his subordinates then he ensures that the remaining two are personally taken care by him. Not to mention he is equally involved in the other eight too.
Technically, he is undoubtedly the best amongst the lot. His standard is such that whenever a knowledgeable person is seen at the workplace, his/her skills unknowingly get compared with Thomas.
Thomas always goes to the root of every situation. It is because of this quality of his and of course his practical brilliance that the Switchboard Factory Kalwa was able to handle numerous difficult projects of difficult clients like IOCL, Volkswagen, Mahindra, Tata Power, HPCL, BPCL, EIL and the list goes long and still continues.
It was the year2007-08, when there was no dedicated team for the execution of Gas Insulated Switchgear at Kalwa, Thomas who was a part of Air Insulated Switchgear along with his team had shown the courage to accept this challenge and had successfully sailed through the novel project of IOCL
But one project which raised his standards to an all together new height was definitely TYCO THERMAL CONTROLS. When many shied away from this so called non-standard type of switchboard, it was Thomas who not only executed the project successfully but also ensured that Siemens earned good profits.
It was Thomas’ Midas touch that he dug out gold from the ‘not so happening’ Verbund (Intra Company) Business of Switchboard Factory. With his proper planning, he streamlined the process for such projects. While giving practical solutions to the internal customers, he also made it a point that a hawk eye is being kept on the project costs.
It was Thomas’ brainchild to do the C2 costing (costing done after complete manufacturing to check if there is any cost overrun) for all Verbund projects. It once happened that his experienced eyes sensed some sort of ambiguity in the costing sheets of a certain project. On doing a detailed costing himself he came across many catastrophic revelations. Then and there a decision was taken and today you will find that C2 costing is done for all the Verbund projects.
Irrespective of one’s age or cadre, he is always ready to help. People too knock his doors to quench their thirst for knowledge just like the voyagers who go to the river. And like an eternally graceful river, doors of his cubicle too are open for all, 24x7! The same doors are also open for discussions. Though his experience speaks for itself but still He hears to others’ opinion with a patient ear. Had it not been the case then he would have not stood with me in the middle of the dispatch section when I was skeptical about some of the crucial dispatches of the month. At that time, his industry experience was of glorifying 23 years and I, I had just celebrated my 23rd Birthday.
He always treats his team as his own family. He is always behind them like a stanchion in their good or bad phases, be it professional or personal. And for his team, he is not just a boss. He is a Father!
No doubt that he has achieved many accolades in his alluringly long career but what makes him stand apart is indeed his humble nature. With a work experience which is slightly more than my life experience, his legs are still firmly grounded and this truly makes him one of The Real Heroes@Siemens and we@Siemens are proud of him.
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