After a long and hectic week celebrating both PIQC’s 55th foundation day and the SCIMATECH, the grade 11 students were able to take a little break from studying by having our very first immersion last 12 February 2019. We were lucky enough to have been granted the opportunity to visit and tour the Green Cross factory. This trip being our first ever trip as a batch this school year, as well as our first immersion, made us feel very excited and very interested to participate in this event. Once we arrived at the venue, we felt very welcomed because the employees were very kind and accommodating. They started off by giving us an overview of what is to be seen and rules to be observed. We were also given a little snack.
The first place we visited was called Production Gate 5, and this was where they produced the smaller containers of Zonrox bleach, specifically the 250 ml bottles. When we entered the factory, we were greeted by a lot of boxes and a lot of machinery. Here, they taught us the step by step process of making and packing the bottles. It starts by arranging the bottles, filling them with bleach, placing the cap and seal, labeling the bottle, placing them in boxes, then palletizing them. I thought the most interesting part of the process was the palletizing process because the machine doing the job was the first thing that caught my eye. The machine looked more robot-like than the others, and was like a hand when doing its work. This machine reminded me of our technology and robotics classes since we studied programming. It made me think about how the machine was programmed by an engineer, and I started thinking of possible algorithms they used to make it work. It was very nostalgic of our previous classes when we would try and program the small EV3 robots to do simple tasks. After Production Gate 5, we moved on to Production Gate 7, which essentially was the same as Production Gate 5 except there were bigger machines to produce bigger bottles of bleach.
After being shown the production of what we saw physically, we were then taken to the Sodium Hypochlorite Plant to see the production of what we saw chemically. Here, we were taught the processes involved in making bleach, from turning chlorine from gas to liquid, to mixing it with caustic soda to make bleach. This part of the trip was kind of like attending our chemistry class. It contained a whole lot of words and terms that I did not quite understand, but kept me interested because it was intriguing to learn about how these chemicals react with each other to form other chemicals. Aside from teaching us about the production of bleach, they also talked about some precautionary measures when it came to chlorine. It was possible for them to have chlorine leaks, therefore they would have unscheduled drills to test the readiness of the employees. Like our earthquake drills in school, this was done in order to prepare them for when there is an actual leak, and help improve whatever needs improvement. The last part of the trip was a visit to the storage warehouse. From the name itself, this was where they stored all of the products produced in the previous areas. This is also where they load products that are to be sent out to all of their customers.
The next part of the trip was my personal favorite, lunch. We ate at a place called the Palms Country Club, and I loved every minute being in that place. The food was very delicious, with a variety of cuisines from Japanese to Italian. Some of the meals included Shrimp Tempura, Baby Back Ribs, Grilled Lamb Chop, and Goose Liver Pate. Fun fact, Goose Liver actually comes from geese that were raised in France. The geese have to sit still to allow their livers to grow. This explains why they are very expensive. After eating the main dishes, funny enough, my friends and I decided to try out all the kinds of cheese, all the available desserts, and all the flavors of ice cream. I can say we were very full after that. Before we left, we were also able to meet the chef of those delicious meals. He is also the general manager of the place, however to make sure that the meals would continue to be extraordinary, he decided to stay as a chef as well. He was also very kind and welcoming to all the guests.
I would like to express my gratitude to the owner of Green Cross for being generous enough to invite us to that place, as well as offer us free lunch. After meeting him personally, I found him really admirable and inspiring. In our personal development class, we learned about what we call a “whole person” or someone who seems to have already achieved everything. This is what I saw in Mr Anthony Co. He has already reached self-actualization and maximized his potential by creating and working on his business. He has also gone through the level of self-transcendence and is currently using his success to contribute to society and help other people. We are really lucky to have been introduced to him, and someday I would like to contribute to the world the way he has contributed to ours.
In the end, I would say that this immersion is a very memorable experience. I learned a lot of things from the trip, and I was even able to see and apply what I have learned in my classes. I hope that we can have more of these in the future, and I hope the other students will be able to experience this as well because there are really things that cannot be taught within the four corners of the classroom.
Written by: Althea Joelle Ty