The journey to create new value
Behind each model and initiative from this contest is a story about the initiative, creativity, and aspiration to renew themselves of workers who are operating production machines day and night. This is truly a journey to create new value from the hands of workers - people who seem to be used to chains and machines - but have been proving that they can be the masters of innovation.
In particular, 8 outstanding initiatives from 6 enterprises entered the final round, attracting the attention of the technical community, enterprises and trade union organizations. The participating ideas range from energy saving, improving production equipment, to digital transformation applications, waste treatment and improving the working environment.
alone, Foster Electronics Company Limited (Da Nang) has had two initiatives that made it to the final round - "Reducing energy consumption and reducing CO2 emissions" and "Digital transformation in enterprises" - demonstrating the connection between the goal of greening production and modernizing governance. Meanwhile, the initiative "Automatic components by robot" of Key Tronic Vietnam Co., Ltd. clearly demonstrates the trend of automation to help reduce labor and improve working conditions.
It is also impossible not to mention specific technical solutions from areas that are less noticed by the media such as fishing rod manufacturing, electronic equipment or textiles. There, small adjustments in the production process - such as "Improving 2 processing knives to 1 knife" (Daiwa Vietnam Co., Ltd.), or "Mastery of raw material plaster supply" (Telala Company) - have helped save time, reduce machinery wear and tear, increase accuracy, and significantly improve work productivity.
These initiatives are not created in the laboratory, but arise from the workshop itself, where workers directly feel the inadequacy, recognize the bottleneck and seek improvement. This shows an important principle in production innovation: creativity does not only come from the engineer sector - but also comes from the very operators of machinery, as long as they are empowered and encouraged.
Trade unions sow seeds for a culture of innovation
A noteworthy point is the outstanding role of the Trade Union organization in discovering, nurturing and spreading the creative spirit among workers. The contest is chaired by the Trade Union of Da Nang High-Tech Park and Industrial Zones (old), organized systematically with preliminary - final rounds, public scoring according to scientific and practical criteria.
Not stopping at awarding awards and prizes, highly applicable initiatives will continue to be supported to complete documents and propose to be considered for the "Creative Labor" certificate of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor. This is an important step so that ideas are not forgotten but are truly put into production, bringing practical value to businesses and workers' lives.
In the current context, when labor productivity becomes a vital factor, every small initiative can bring great value. A production tool improvement model that saves 2 seconds/operation can be equivalent to hundreds of working hours per month if multiplied throughout the entire line. So the difference of this year's competition does not lie in the number of awards, but in the way the initiatives are seen as an essential part of production activities, not a "them" in the emulation movement. That has helped unblock the creative source from workers - a force that was once considered a " momentum" in innovation, but now has become the core of technical innovation.
More importantly, the contest has contributed to promoting the change of thinking in enterprises: From considering workers as pure implementors, to considering them as innovation partners - people who contribute to improving the competitiveness of the enterprise itself. This is an indispensable step if we want to move towards smart manufacturing, sustainable and humane development.
The success of the Technical Innovation Competition in Da Nang is not only limited to the following numbers: 8 teams, 6 businesses, dozens of initiatives. The greatest value is to create a space for recognition, honor and support for workers who dare to think - dare to do - dare to innovate. Also from here, a strong message spreads: Innovation is not something far away, but starts from the most intimate things, such as a shortened machine operation, an improved equipment, a cleaner, less dusty working environment.
That is the journey of "asking for the nation", as the theme of the contest has inspired, not starting from large conference rooms, but from the factory floor, from the sound of the machines and the hands of workers.
