Tien Phong Plastic and its continuous improvement strategy

With the goal of becoming the No.1 plastic brand in Vietnam, Tien Phong Plastic Joint Stock Company (NTP) has developed a development strategy based on continuous improvement in product quality, production and export capacity.

High efficiency

According to Ms. Ngo Thi Thu Thuy – Deputy General Director of NTP – in recent years, thanks to continuous technological improvement, applying Lean SixSigma, TPM, 5S , etc. the company’s productivity has been constantly improved; vehicles, machines and equipment are always effective over 90%. In particular, the improvement tool is considered as the “key” to help NTP improve work efficiency and competitiveness for commodity products.

Since 2013, NTP started implementing 5S. With the slogan “Tien Phong Plastic Joint Stock Company commits to implement 5S to create a safe, clean, scientific and efficient working environment”, NTP mobilizes all officials and employees to implement 5S from the first day of launching the movement. In the first phase, company applied pilot at one factory, through implementation can see  effective as well as understanding how to do 5S, employees saw practical results when applied such as: Factory, clear passageway, no obstructions and unnecessary objects; areas that are zoned; tools, details, molds, etc are numbered to identify each type and arrange science. All areas and equipment are marked and have instructions/warnings if there is a risk of accidents; The file system is arranged easily, easy to find; waste and garbage are classified and disposed of in the right place, etc. With significant changes, after one year, company has implemented 5S in all factories.

In addition to applying 5S, NTP also applies TPM for manufacturing plants. In the first phase, the company piloted in KMD114 extruder and J3 injection molding machine. Through basic steps such as: Determining dirty sources, difficult cleaning points; building equipment hygiene standards and self-maintenance; perform standard cleaning, statistical and analysis the cause of stop machines; setting up TPM activity sheet and calculating OEE, etc. Results, details, machine parts of 2 devices have been cleaned, OEE index of devices has reached over 50%.

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For Lean SixSigma, the first phase, NTP is deployed in 14 factories of company, each factory must implement at least one project. The implementation steps are perform by units in the DMAIC sequence (problem identification – measurement – analysis – improvement – control) and have brought very positive results.

In particular in the project “Improving the process of manufacturing PPR door valves”, at the stage of opening of the gate – testing the cylinder – packing – opening the container – closing the gate, time of production has decreased from 65s/10 products to 25s/10 products. At the stage of installing silver valve – adjusted fitting into the mold, the time has reduced from 47s/12 products to 19s/12 products equivalent to reduced in 2.47 waste time. After 6 months of implementation, time of production decreased from 132.3s/product to 102.92s/product, labor productivity increased from 24.7 products/person/hour to 31.3 products/person/hour, reducing production costs from 66,006.3 VND/product to 1,130.1 VND/product, saving more than 1.14 billion VND and reducing 3 production stages.

Ms. Ngo Thi Thu Thuy said that company’s management system has integrated ISO 9001, ISO 14000 and ISO 50001 and 5S, TPM, LSS, Lean SixSigma improvement tools. The success of NTP in implementing productivity improvement tools stems from the determination of the company’s leadership, experienced consultants, employees, etc.

Productivity and Quality Office