Taiwan, Vietnam Tech Leaders Partner To Digitalize Factories

TaiwanPlus News

Tech advocates from Taiwan and Vietnam are working together to turn traditional factories into smart ones, as Vietnam aims to digitally transform its economy.

Transcript

00:00By scanning a QR code, Deputy Production Manager Kim Thuy logs how many screws have been made

00:08in the factory line.

00:11She works at Anchor Fasteners, a Taiwan-owned company in southern Vietnam.

00:16Every day they make tens of thousands of screws of varying shapes and sizes for top-tier motorbikes

00:23from auto giants Honda and Yamaha.

00:26On this computer, Kim can track each piece, at different stages of production, on a centralized

00:32online system, a process that used to involve filling out stacks of paper spreadsheets.

00:44This is all part of the factory's effort to go digital.

00:48Getting production lines online is a way to stay competitive in Vietnam, a nation working

00:53to rebrand itself from a cost-effective manufacturing hub to one capable of high-tech projects.

01:01Social scientist Trinh Thi Mong Thuyen has watched her country evolve and says digital

01:06transformation is crucial if Vietnam wants to become a developed economy.

01:11We already have some significant results, especially in the e-commerce, digital banking

01:19and online tourism.

01:21The middle income is also increasing dramatically in Ho Chi Minh City, so we can see more and

01:27more high-end services, and it's never happened before.

01:35Vietnam is looking to pull off an industrial revolution, using the world's latest smart

01:40factory technology and artificial intelligence.

01:46To help with the modernization of the fastener factory, its general director Shi Bo-Chang

01:52turned to mechanical engineer Kenneth Chen.

01:55Chen, who formed the A1 Smart Factory Alliance, custom-makes roadmaps for firms intending

02:01to go digital.

02:03Most of the factories or companies, they are not ready for the so-called digital transformation.

02:09They don't even have the basic foundation yet.

02:12In Vietnam, you have more opportunities because people have no burden, no background, so they

02:18are used to accepting new technology.

02:22Chen says the key is to start small and do it in stages, like computerizing data from

02:27different parts of the factory and gathering them in a way machines can process and in

02:32the future act on.

02:34This frees up employees from simpler, repetitive tasks and lays the foundation for more ambitious

02:40upgrades.

02:42One example of how this factory can up its digital journey is with those cameras up there.

02:48Right now they are part of a surveillance network to monitor the shop floor, but these

02:53cameras could have another purpose in the future by integrating AI.

02:58What that would look like is that an AI-trained camera can see a gesture or motion like this

03:07and automatically signal to machines to change a control.

03:11Ultimately, for factory head Shi, upgrades must make sense for the business and be practical

03:17for employees.

03:27Execs like Shi and Chen are working with other tech advocates across different sectors, from

03:32software developers to professors training the next generation of engineers.

03:37The goal?

03:38To find the right high-tech tools to up each firm's ability to contribute to Vietnam's

03:43increasingly rapid growth.

03:46Yixin Chen, Alison Nguyen, and Joyce Tsen in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, for Taiwan Plus.

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