Experience in successfully applying Kaizen improvement tools at Thanh Chat Company

Thanh Chat Company successfully applied Kaizen tool to improve productivity and quality. This is an important job that leads to the success of the Project in Phuong La Craft Village.

Thanh Chat Textile Garment Export Mechanical Co., Ltd (Thanh Chat Company) was established in 2002 in an industrial village cluster of Phuong La commune, Hung Ha district, Thai Binh province. Currently, Thanh Chat Company is located in Dong Tu new industrial park with a large factory and streamlined internal space, regulations on labor protection and professional hygiene. Up to now, the company has produced a wide range of high-end cotton towels offered in restaurants and hotels. The market for cotton products in Thanh Chat now is mainly from fastidious markets such as Japan, Korea, Taiwan (China). During the process of formation and development, with long-standing experience in textile and weaving mechanics, the management team and inheritors of the long-standing traditional craft villages have contributed to the creation of many Thanh cotton towel products. Quality and reputation in the market.

The project “Supporting village enterprises to apply Kaizen improvement tools to improve productivity, quality and business efficiency” of Foreign Trade University from 2019 and has been widely deployed. more than 05 craft villages in localities in the North including: La Phu craft village (with knitwear and food production and processing), Tram Cau Bedding and Cushions trade village (with products being blankets, sheets , pillows and cushions), Turtle Mechanic Craft Village (with mechanical products), Bat Trang Ceramics Craft Village (with ceramic and porcelain products) and Phuong La Craft Village (with towels).

Thanh Chat Company of Phuong La trade village was selected as one of the enterprises to implement the Project. Thanh Chat Company with the spirit of continuous improvement, willingness to learn and apply new management models to the production chain, the successful deployment of Kaizen improvement tools to improve productivity and quality , the efficiency of production and business in the company is important to the success of the Project in Phuong La Craft Village.

The process of producing towels at Thanh Chat Company consists of the following main stages: Importing and distributing yarns: Purchasing department proceeds to import weaving yarns, sewing threads to the fiber warehouse; Weaving: Conducting weaving yarn into rustic towels as ordered; Warehousing carpentry: The carpentry department checks and imports woven towels into the warehouse; Bleaching: Conducting bleaching process of carpentry towels; Sewing cutting: Towels have been dyed in the form of a large sheet of cloth undergone longitudinal, vertical, cross-cutting, horizontal sewing and sewing threads at the sewing factory; Classification: Finished towels are transferred to the warehouse to carry out the sorting and checking process; Packaging of finished towels.

The project has implemented a Kaizen improvement model in the company in two stages. In the first phase, the project advised the company to improve the handling of inventory, change the arrangement of warehouses in a logical and scientific manner. In the following period, the project continued to support the company to improve the cutting, sewing and grading parts to optimize the entire system, improve productivity and product quality.

The specific activities of the Project at the company are as follows:

Firstly, the Project implementation team conducted a survey to find out the situation and identify limitations at Thanh Chat Company to have a basis for proposing improvement solutions focusing on improving production capacity and product quality. With a surface area of ​​only 3000m2, the workshop is reasonably organized with a management team and technicians with experience and high skills. Thanh Chat towel products are invested in quality, variety of designs and packaging, which have created much sympathy for consumers. However, Thanh Chat towel product has not made a breakthrough in the consumption market. The main reason is that the company’s management team has not yet applied a uniform and unified quality management system. In addition, at the workshop there is still a state of unscientific storage, the layout of the warehouse is not up to standard (internal walkways are not clear, production areas have not been differentiated) affecting the quality of goods. goods and wasting time loading and unloading, searching when unloading. Productivity of carpentry inspection compared to similar products is still slow and the process is not scientific, leading to wastage of operation and transportation in the warehouse. Besides, enterprises still lack detailed set of regulations in labor management, solidarity movement is not clear.

Secondly, the team implemented the detailed consultancy project for enterprises on the application of Kaizen improvement tools, specifically as follows: Organizing introductory and training courses on Kaizen Philosophy: Application training Kaizen Gemba in improving the scene for all officers and employees to raise awareness and improve the field;

Quality management system: Applying Kaizen 5S tools, screening and arranging on pallets to improve the quality of hundred towel warehouse, improve the quality of input picking and sorting; Overcome the situation of too long and degraded congestion in carpentry warehouses, set up a process to guide the inspection of carpentry towels to improve the productivity and quality of carpentry inspection Post business information on Foreign Trade University website and invite businesses to join the trade village business club to connect the media and build corporate culture;

Motivation system for employees: Additional adjustments to the salary and bonus policy to encourage motivation and management of workers to overcome the situation that freelance workers leave their jobs halfway enterprise; Building a regular dialogue mechanism between the Board of Directors of the company and employees through managers or directly; regularly professional training to improve skills for newly recruited workers; strengthen diligent and productive reward mechanisms; supplementing the health insurance policy and other social security benefits; Organize emulation activities and cultural activities.

After 03 months of deploying the model of Kaizen improvement tools in production under the consultancy and support of the Project Team, enterprises have obtained the following results: Introduction and training courses on Kaizen philosophy: 100% of employees will raise their awareness about the application of kaizen improvement tools in producing cotton towels of all kinds; After the training, the Board of Directors and employees were more sympathetic and more conversant to agree on issues, increasing 20% ​​of the number of hard-working workers who were loyal to the company, followed the rules and attached to the company.

Quality management system: Analysis of unreasonable performance and fire flow at the hundredth towel warehouse to reduce 75% of the poor quality towel in the hundredth towel warehouse; Adjust the inspection process, limit errors and increase productivity by 25% of the inspection department for input woodworking; 30% reduction in cycle time and sorting time by improving inventory movement and storage.

Motivation system for employees: Increasing 50% of the number of employees entitled to health insurance paid by the company and building a grassroots emulation movement; Increasing 2.5 times the incentive terms to create conditions for employees to pay bonuses and allowances.

Positive results obtained after the implementation of the Project “Supporting village enterprises to apply Kaizen improvement tools to improve productivity, quality, production and business efficiency” of Foreign University They have optimized the production process, improved productivity and quality, thereby bringing the company to develop and expand the presence of Thanh Chat brand of cotton towels to the international market.

Productivity and Quality Office