Aijaz Shaikh
About Aijaz Shaikh
Aijaz Shaikh is the Head of Engineering Department at General Mills in Nashik, with extensive experience in production and engineering roles at Procter & Gamble.
Current Role at General Mills
Aijaz Shaikh is currently serving as the Head of the Engineering Department at General Mills in Nashik. In this position, he leads a team of 7 direct engineers and 35 high-skilled maintenance technicians. One of his notable achievements includes delivering secondary packing productivity improvement projects through affordable automation, which resulted in substantial cost savings and efficiency improvements. He has also managed complex statutory compliance projects within stringent timelines and budgets, ensuring zero safety incidents and compliance with all relevant regulations.
Work Experience at Procter & Gamble
Aijaz Shaikh has an extensive background with Procter & Gamble, where he held various positions, starting as a Production Operator from 1996 to 2000 in Goa. He subsequently served as a Warehouse Associate from 2000 to 2003 and then as a Line Leader Operations for the Femcare-Whisper brand from 2003 to 2009. From 2009 to 2014, he was the Production & Delivery Engineering Leader for Femcare-Whisper. His final position at Procter & Gamble was as a Production Manager in Hyderabad from 2014 to 2018.
Engineering Project Management
At General Mills, Aijaz successfully managed the site engineering budget for Capex, ranging from $950M to $1400M. He achieved a 5% year-over-year savings through energy conservation and sustainability projects. Additionally, he spearheaded projects including energy-saving initiatives for air compressors, HVAC systems, and plant lighting improvements. He implemented engineering solutions that supported a zero Total Incident Rate (TIR) for the fiscal year.
Preventive Maintenance and Compliance
Aijaz Shaikh developed 12 Preventive Maintenance (PM) systems to enhance operational efficiency at General Mills. By preparing meticulous plans and procedures, he improved the Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) and reduced the Mean Time To Repair (MTTR), which led to a 3% reduction in unplanned downtime within one year. He also led compliance work involving fire hydraulic calculations, earthing, SLD, layout, and lightning arrestors to ensure safety and regulatory adherence.
Product Launch Technical Readiness
Ensuring technical readiness for product launches at General Mills, Aijaz played a crucial role in the successful introduction of dry mix and frozen products. He collaborated closely with planning, plant operations, and R&D teams to achieve this goal, making sure all platform product initiatives were supported by robust engineering solutions.