In March 2017 SMART Myanmar launched a third round of the SCORE program, an ILO designed enterprise training method. Four locally owned factories joined and after three months of on-site coaching support SMART Myanmar arranged this 3rd joint training session on 16th June 2017. Productivity, quality management, safety at work and productivity through cleaner production are all topics covered during this session. The workshop was led by four of SMART’s local SCORE certified trainers, who taught each topic respectively. 13 participants attended from the 4 factories with whom SMART is presently conducting the SCORE program. All participants took part actively in group work, knowledge and experience sharing, as well as all other activities. The first session of the day was led by Ms. Hay Mar Oo and focused on theoretical knowledge based on real life experiences to demonstrate productivity management and lean manufacturing concepts. This session also included experience and achievement sharing among the participants. In the afternoon section the trainers addressed problem solving methods, quality tools and SOP (Standard Operating Procedures) for quality control by doing group work. Mr. Ye Hein Htet continued by explaining occupational health and safety issues in the work place. In the last session Ms. Min Mon Myat lectured about cleaner production and environmentally friendly practices in factories.

During the morning section, Ms. Zin Zin Wai (Factory Manager) from Belle Maison Maple factory presented their progress during the SCORE program. She said that before joining the SCORE program with SMART “There was no 5S system in the factory before and workers did not know about it either. Now the factory is applying 3S practices according to our factory situation. I always talk about the importance of 3S in the weekly meetings and put up posters showing the meaning of 3S on the factory’s notice board. Thereby, workers now recognize what 3S means, they keep these methods in their mind and practice them in their working areas. This is one of the improvements which was achieved in cooperation with SMART Myanmar in the SCORE program”. In the afternoon session Ms. Thet Thet San (QC supervisor) from Cho Cho Phyu factory in Shwe Pyi Thar shared her experience on the Quality Assurance 7.0 Audit System which was introduced in late April, 2017. She said that “We now apply it in our daily practice in the factory after getting to know this method. It is more effective than our previous method. We are able to detect more types of defects and at the same time our rework rate has decreased and productivity is better than before”. More still Ms. Than Than Aye, Factory Manager from Sandar Hein, expressed the difference before and after joining the SCORE program. She said that “We see great achievements in the warehouse area which is now re-arranged according to the 5S system. We also separated the specific areas for reused things from unused things in the store room which was messy and untidy before”. The day’s session concluded with an evaluation. All the participants gave positive feedback and indicated they were highly satisfied with the training approach.