Dong Nai, 12 September 2017

With the aim to improve the quality of practical training workshop management at the Vocational College of Machinery and Irrigation (VCMI), a full-day coaching workshop was jointly organized by the college and the Programme Reform of TVET in Viet Nam,Deutsche Gesellschaftfür Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in Dong Nai on 12 September 2017.

Participating in the coaching workshopwere the management of the college,department heads and teaching staff directly responsible for workshop management atthe Department of Mechanics, Department of Electrics-Electronics and Department of Automobile Engineering, and Mr Claus Bader, the Development Advisor working at VCMI. Mr Johannes Frey, Development Advisor working at LILAMA 2 International Technology College (LILAMA2),and Mr. Bach Hung Truong, Senior Programme Officer of the Programme Reform of TVET in Viet Namwere the trainers in thecoaching sessions. The objective of the workshop was to help the participants understand and be able to use the tools that were developed in the previous phase of the Programmeto assess and manage practical training workshops sustainably.

In the morning session, the two trainers provided an overall introduction on workshop management and maintenance for the participants and shared practical experiences and lessons learnt in developing and utilizing the 5S tools to improve the practical training workshops at LILAMA 2. In the afternoon, with the hands-on support of the trainers, VCMI managers and teaching staff went through the first two steps of 5S to conduct a workshop analysis for two selected workshops, using the tools prepared by the trainers. Based on the resultsof the analysis, overall plans as well as detailed plans were developed on overall management and maintenance of machines, equipment and tools. The plans will help the teaching and management staff in following-up on the tasks to create and maintain well organized, clean, tidy, highly effective and high quality practical training workshops. In addition, the participants were also instructed how to maintain the machines (e.g. conventional lathe machine, air compressor), produce and stick labels on machines, equipment, cabinets (including draws) accordingly.

Speaking at the workshop, Mr Bach Hung Truong emphasized: “It’s important to understand the 5S, but it’s more important to implement them practically and systematically as part of daily workshop management practices”.