Building Factory Capability: Lean Manufacturing

Worker shortages and production lead-times are amongst the top challenges facing manufacturers when it comes to supply chain stability. Factories who have limited resources can struggle to try new ways of increasing productivity and reducing risk of supply chain disruption. To help factories respond to these challenges, IETP organized a free seminar in November 2019 which introduced the idea of lean manufacturing to over 100 participants. Lean manufacturing is a systematic approach to minimizing waste in the production process. Through using tools to plan and execute production, factories can minimize defects and eliminate waste which will increase the productivity and efficiency of a production line, leading to increased profit and competitiveness of a factory. The one-day seminar focused on the fundamental concepts of Lean Manufacturing, it focused on introducing the core concepts of lean manufacturing to participants as well as highlighting the various types of waste that can occur in production (e.g.: defects, overproduction, waiting, motion). Participants learned the skills needed to managed lean manufacturing in their business and were shown best practice examples from the toys and games industry to learn from. This is not the first time IETP has organized seminars on topics beyond ethical manufacturing and compliance to meet the needs of its program users. Earlier this year in June, when the interest of establishing subsidiaries in Southeast Asia caught the attention of the industry, IETP hosted a seminar to share insights about operating a business in Vietnam. At the seminar participants heard from factories based in Vietnam who shared tips from their own experiences. We would like to hear from you about future training topics you would like us to cover, please email us at info@ethicaltoyprogram.org with your suggestions. Sign up to IETP’s newsletter and follow our WeChat (ICTI_EthicalToy) to receive invitations to future events.