The second batch of the Diploma in Peoples Skills facilitated by Nestlé Lanka was privileged to be invited for a field visit to their manufacturing plant located at Pannala in Kurunegala District, Sri Lanka.  The batch consisting thirty undergraduates of the Department of Marketing Management of University of Kelaniya participated for this field visit on the 5th of October 2018, as a part of the diploma learning module.

The field visit program consisted two major parts:  an introductory session as well as a walk around the plant with technical support. After reaching the factory premises the students were warmly welcomed by the staff of the factory, and were directed to a conference room. An introductory session was conducted by the senior staff of the plant with the aid of a PowerPoint presentation. A glimpse about the company history and its growth as a global   brand, a discussion regarding the current product portfolios were included in the session. The session was complemented by a refreshment and was completed with a presentation of the basic safety rules of the plant, as a prerequisite to the plant visit.

The second session was conducted as a practical session, in which students were invited to witness the production processes. They were provided the safety gears including safety shoes, jackets and specific guidelines by a technical staff member. The visit started with the dairy production section. Students witnessed the dairy sourcing process and the quality criterion that the plant follows when they source dairy harvest. Participants’ inquiries regarding the manufacturing process were comprehensively addressed by the staff which really helped to structure the observations and accelerate learning.  The staff extended a commendable service in passing the necessary knowledge for the participants. After finishing the tour in dairy production plant, participants were directed to observe the packaging process of malted drinks, following which, the complete production process of Maggi noodles category was elaborated. The plant visit was concluded with an observation of the packaging department, that handles the final product packaging and dispatching the units for the distribution points. The students were offered lunch and  refreshments by the staff at the plant.