Defying the odds of social norms and perception, Poonam Shinde, the Process Engineer at Minda Corporation proved her decision right by making remarkable achievement in the field. She is considered a valuable asset by her organisation. As a passionate Mechanical Engineer, she urges aspiring women to be courageous and explore their scope in manufacturing as well.
In the stream of Mechanical Engineering, women are perceived as misfit by many. Poonam Shinde is the one who is not ready to accept this perception. She not only opted this supposedly male-major vertical of engineering, she shined in it showing her leadership and innovation skills probably as good as, if not better, any man would have showed.
Today, Poonam Shinde, is the Process Engineer at Minda Corporation, one of the leading auto components manufacturers in India. Her colleagues and organisation consider her as extremely talented and a valuable asset for the organisation. A young achiever with a knack for perfection and excellent leadership quality, Poonam, however, prefers to remain humble even in success and focus on continuous improvement as an engineer.
Identifying Opportunity
Poonam studied Mechanical Engineering. “I was motivated to come forward and join Mechanical Engineering when I observed the growing scope for women in the field of manufacturing. I also felt girls were not coming forward and opting the course as it was supposedly male-centric area.”
Even though there was borderline stereotyping in the practical labs, she never let that drag her down. Poonam knew her rights and was ready to fight for them. She wanted hands-on exposure with the practical sessions as she had a clear vision that those skills would become handy for her.
Leading the Team of Innovators
During her second and third years in college, Poonam was an active participant in the Baja SAE competition, a popular competition for engineering students. She feels that it was a wonderful opportunity to discover and experience her potential. She was the leader of a team of 25 students who were representing the college.
Poonam and her team developed the award-winning 4-way catalytic convertor, for which, she was responsible for the brake department, cost report, and exhaust system. “Our main goal was to build a vehicle from the scratch. Although the theoretical aspects of the same were available in the textbooks, the real task for us was procuring the required materials. We had to study the market and find the best vendors who would give us quality products at an affordable rate,” she converses.
“We even went to the ‘Chor Bazar’ and bought a Catalytic Converter, disassembled it, and tried to reverse engineer it through our analytic processes. Our main objective was to find out the areas where we could improve. We even used the parts that we could salvage from that 3-way Catalytic converter in our final product,” adds Poonam.
Made for Manufacturing
After graduation, Poonam initially joined Suaan Techmechs Pvt Ltd as a Quality Engineer and within a period of about 6 months, she was offered the position of Design Engineer at Tata Technologies. During the pandemic, she took a break and later joined Minda Corporation. For the past 2 years, Poonam has been working here as a Process Engineer. She is responsible to manage all the manufacturing processes at the shopfloor and ensure a smooth workflow.
While choosing this career, she had to face discouragement from many people who suggested she opt for something ‘more feminine which would suit her. However, she was determined. “None of these comments bothered me as I enjoy what I do. As long as I love my field of work, no one can change my mind into opting for something different,” adds Poonam very confidently.
4-Way Catalytic Converter
Exhaust pollutants from automobiles engines have a negative impact on air quality, human health, and also on the environment. Among all the types of technologies developed so far, the use of catalytic converters is the best way to control automotive exhaust emissions. The catalytic converter is a simple yet effective device that deals with pollutants to help reduce vehicle emissions by converting harmful exhaust gasses into harmless gasses which are then released into the atmosphere.
Poonam and her team have successfully developed a 4-Way Catalytic Converter that aims at the oxidation of harmful carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons through the reduction of nitrogen and carbon dioxide. She explains, “The system comprises a catalytic substrate, heat exchanger, and the Carbon dioxide reduction chamber consisting of alumina balls and a potassium hydroxide solution chamber. The exhaust gas after reacting with catalytic substrate consists of carbon dioxide. As carbon dioxide reacts at low temperature only, it is sent to the heat exchanger to lower its temperature.”
“It then passes through the alumina balls and potassium hydroxide chamber and after going through the subsequent chemical reactions the Carbon dioxide is converted to harmless precipitate. The system thus reduces the CO2 from the exhaust which is a major source of air pollution.” Poonam adds. Poonam and her team have already filed a patent for the 4-Way Catalytic Converter and expect to make it ready for use in all future automotive to reduce air pollution significantly.
Words of Wisdom
Poonam has message for the women who aspire to enter the manufacturing industry: “Go for manufacturing if this is your true calling. If you feel like doing it you definitely should! The spectrum of opportunities in this field is very vast and girls being the minority should exploit this opportunity to its maximum.”
“But do keep in mind that being very polite and friendly might earn you a bad reputation as well and even if you are earning your promotion the right way through hard work, there may easily be talk behind your back that you are taking a ‘shortcut’. Never be disheartened by any such comments. Having a fragile and sensitive heart won't be your stepping stone to success, instead, be bold and straightforward and never settle for anything less than what you truly deserve,” she says.
