The Workshop in 2014 focused on exploring theoretical and practical thinking, suggesting solutions and leaving the participants with the question: “What is the particular model for each type of business”. This year, the workshop connected lean thinkers to share practical model applied in enterprises in Vietnam, proposed specific ways to apply and expand the “Vietnamese lean model”, applicable to conditions of Vietnam.

The workshop was well received by researchers, experts and leaders of enterprises, many of whom are pursuing the “made in Vietnam - made by Vietnam” lean management of the research team. The workshop was also attended by Japanese scholars and Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

 
Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nguyen Hong Son - Rector of the UEB made the opening speech at the workshop

 
Mr. Mizuno Takashi - Counselor of JICA hoped its activities in supporting application of lean management in Vietnamese enterprises will contribute to the industrialization of Vietnam  

The Workshop opened with the leading discussion of Dr. Nguyen Dang Minh - Head of the research team “Lean management in operation of organizations in Vietnam”, Faculty of Business Administration, UEB. The discussion highlighted the core idea of Vietnamese lean management, using intellectual power to minimize waste and improve efficiency.

Dr. Nguyen Dang Minh emphasized the model “Psychosphere”, which is the centered element in building lean tools such as 5S, Kaizen, visual management, mapping, Jidoka etc. The “Made in Vietnam” lean management was also mentioned with key factors including: (1) commitment of leaders, (2) participation of employees, (3) training programs with timely reward and encouraging program. The role of the leaders within the organization is the fundamental element of sustaining the progress of lean thinking and engaging the employees in the process.

Those ideas of lean thinking was once again highlighted in the next discussion of “Commitment, Engagement and Education” presented by Prof. Hiromitsu Takemi - Japanese expert. The discussion went deeper into the ideas of “Made in Vietnam - Made by Vietnam” lean management and the “Psychosphere” model, which was internationally recognized.

 
From the left:  Prof. Hiromitsu Takemi, Dr. Nguyen Dang Minh, Ms. Tran Thi Ai Van and Ms. Le Kim Ngan

At the workshop, practical application of lean management was represented by representatives of the two companies: Foundation Engineering and Underground Construction JSC. (Fecon) and Midway Metals Ltd. Co.

Ms Tran Thi Ai Van - Managing Director of Fecon shared the experiences in applying PDCA (Plan - Do - Check - Action) at Fecon. Accordingly, planning, tracking, job performance, improvement and standardization were all in rigorous and detailed manner. The timely and motivating award program encouraged employees to participate in waste elimination. Ms Tran Thi Ai Van also talked about her experiences in training and developing “Psychosphere” model for employees of Fecon.

“Man is the center, employees are the company’s greatest asset” is the model shared by Ms Le Kim Ngan - Managing Director of Midway Metals. 5S, Kaizen and visual management were the lean tools that Midway Metals chosen after researches of applicability, practicality and demands of the company. After 6 year of applying, this model has brought significant success, including increase in revenue and benefit, customers’ satisfaction, improvement etc. “Psychosphere” was throughout understood and implemented by all leaders and employees of the company, which created success and outstanding point of the company.

“Psychosphere” and the role of the leaders in application of lean management is the main issues attracting interests from participants in the discussion session. Experts and participants all agreed that leaders are the fundamental element in creating “Psychosphere” for the whole company.

The workshop also received questions and problems from representatives of enterprises about difficulties in applying lean management in Vietnam - especially with Vietnamese, how to apply lean management for enterprises with distributed workforce, can “Psychosphere” understood as “corporate culture”? etc.

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