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