Nguyen Tri Thuc has grown from an immature youth to the young, capable man he is today, managing a steel building company, Tri Viet, that he owns with his engineer brother.
Over the last six years Thuc has struggled with the organisation of a large company (now employing over 260 workers) and with relations between management and workers. There were days when Thuc actually tussled with some of the workers before he learned better ways to negotiate needs.
BROTHERS TRANSFORMED
Foreigners in Vietnam often complain about the lack of social and intellectual savvy among Vietnamese, so noting how Thuc and his brother, Nguyen Phi Thuong, have developed and managed their company was an eye opener.
Production at Tri Viet Steel Building thrives today. The factory produces steel components for buildings it constructs, primarily factories now dotting the landscape in southern Vietnam and elsewhere. The company is valuated at $8 million. During the six years of its existence Tri Viet has built 120 factories in the south of the country.
Thuong, Thuc’s brother, graduated at the head of his class in 2000 and was quickly identified by future customers and investors as gifted. The fledgling business took off like a shooting star, but while Thuong designed the buildings Thuc struggled with the financial structure of the company and with workplace relations.
Contrasted with previous times when he easily flew off the handle if a worker lied or didn’t show up or malingered, today Thuc is smooth, measured and listens intently to his workers. He has clearly earned their respect.
How did he do this? Research reports that unless a company has the willing cooperation and commitment of its workers, it doesn’t matter how good the product is, the business won’t grow.
LEARNING FROM OTHERS
Thuc showed me a Japanese handbook he had ordered, which explains how factories in the country use the concept of participatory management to keep workers involved and to learn from them as well as teach them.
In 2004 Thuc and his brother instituted a program that invited workers’ opinions about factory operations. How could some production problems be handled better? Do you have any good ideas you want to share?
Both brothers have learned from their workers and acknowledge them for any contributions they have made to the company over the years. But there was more: their family values are humane and ethical. They believe in respecting others, in keeping commitments, in sharing their wealth with others.
Above all, they are knowledgeable, able and hard workers. In addition to inviting workers to participate in everyday activities and improvements in the factory, they pay workers well and offer ample overtime remuneration.
Workers come to the factory at 8am and leave at 6pm. Overtime is paid in the evenings and on weekends and is double the normal rate. The lunch break is for an hour and recreation activities are offered to provide exercise during lunch or at other times. A volleyball court has been laid out and Thuc and his brother hope to install a swimming pool in the near future.
The two brothers at Tri Viet Steel Building have learned that happy workers are more productive and contribute to the overall operations of a huge business like theirs: they are loyal and committed. Each year the company throws parties for workers and families and creates a sense of family around the business. All these preparations prepare the way for efficient production at Tri Viet.
The factory resembles a massive cavern, with men soldering steel parts, cutting steel templates, refining and washing and painting the rough steel. The stages of steel building in a factory like this are specific and include a number of steps and stations. All components are then checked again one last time and stored indoors for several days to set and dry before being placed outside in the sun to complete the drying process.
When the components are taken to the building site, Tri Viet employees sometimes install the foundations and often the entire building, if it is a small one. Otherwise, a different company is brought in to construct the factory.
Observing production in a mammoth factory like this is fascinating. The wonder of it all is that the process has been so aptly organised that one merely has to follow the raw materials to each station to observe the men commanding the machines to fashion the steel materials into desired forms.
However, nothing works well in a production line like this unless there is close supervision and attention to worker needs. The work inside the 13,000 square metre factory is hard and hot. The large space is well ventilated, and the company has provided all safety equipment, masks, gloves, glasses and clothing to protect the workers (although some still refuse to wear masks, which become hot and stuffy). The owners also trust their workers to take as many breaks as they need when they tire.
But not only is there attention to workers’ physical needs, there is additionally concern and sensitivity to the environment in which the workers labour. Instead of the dark, dingy past days of factories whose only goals were to produce and workers were mere units to facilitate the achievement of that goal, new factories and owners like Thuc and his brother, sensitive to human needs, are revolutionising factory production in Vietnam.
AESTHETIC ENVIRONMENT
In consideration of the general health of the workers, Tri Viet has created an efficient, safe and attractive environment for them and their hard, demanding work. There is ample documentation worldwide on the importance of an aesthetic environment to the mental and physical health of those living and working in those areas.
Located next to an old rubber plantation in Binh Duong, with only empty fields nearby, the factory looks out on a quiet, relaxing landscape. The brothers have planted palm trees throughout the grounds and constructed a handsome office and a charming canteen, both painted in light shades of blue and yellow. The canteen stands high away from the ground, offering a good view of fields and sky and is decorated with smart black tables and chairs next to a large well staffed kitchen.
What has been the result of all this attention to the workers’ health and comfort at the company? Over the past six years Tri Viet has expanded its facility and equipment and employed 170 more factory workers. Notably, employee turnover is minimal.
