Introducing New TGI Director…In Carrying on the Existing Policy with Readiness to Upgrade Factory Towards Digital Era in Full Form to Support EEC
Introducing New TGI Director…In Carrying on the Existing Policy with Readiness to Upgrade Factory Towards Digital Era in Full Form to Support EEC
Thai-German Institute (TGI) is a network institute under the Ministry of Industry with a main mission to be a mechanism of the Ministry of Industry in developing and upgrading Thai manufacturing industry to be able to compete in world markets with robotics and automation technology, molds and mechanical tools by promoting the technological innovation development and personnel for entrepreneurs in the targeted industries including being a center for developing and elevating entrepreneurs into Industry 4.0 era.
On this occasion, Manufacturing Review Magazine is honored to welcome Mr. Somchai Jakkareen, who assumes his duties as the current Director of Thai-German Institute (TGI), to reveal the vision and policy of the Institute including the guidelines to support and help drive the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) Development Project. Mr. Jakkareen said, “The main function of the Institute is to be the agency to support the developments and transfers of the production technology to the industrial sector. We have the guidelines to drive the industry with advanced technology, especially, Industry 4.0 technology, to upgrade the Thai manufacturing industry to Industry 4.0 through the Institute’s operational processes: such as; human resource development services, consulting services including the industrial service work. Over in the past, TGI provided services to the industrial sector in four major areas: namely; robotics and automation technology, molds, mechanical tools and predictive maintenance. TGI has provided these services to the industry for more than 20 years.
In respect of the policy of the next phase, TGI will drive the Thai industrial sector to be more competitive with digital technology by variously existing activities from the policy of the former Director, Mr. Somwang Boonrakcharoen, which will continue to be carried on and continuously extended in the new activities. During this period, TGI is developing a service network in the industrial sector so called the Collaborative Solution Platform (CSP) which is a grouping of the government and private sector organizations to become a network to help develop the industry together that relies on the principle of knowledge exchange, learning, supporting each other among the manufacturers, users, experts and researchers in order to strengthen the Industry 4.0 because we are of the view that each organization is a network of different strengths. Therefore, if there should be an integration to elevate level of the industry together, it will continuously result in the industrial sector to grow and be upgraded faster. This is a new service approach of TGI so called the “Total Smart Solutions” to better respond to the needs of the entrepreneurs. This approach by taking the needs of the customers for analysis to find the solutions will be yet another way to solve problems or carry on the developments that covers the needs of all entrepreneurs: for example; in one problem or need, it may requires to use the technology, management and human resource development at the same time by using TGI’s existing technology and expertise as well as the network that participates to jointly provide services to the industrial sector. Currently, TGI’s collaborative networks include a number of the government, university, professional association sector and many private technology owners.”
EEC and New Industrial Changes:
Mr. Jakkareen gives his views that the EEC will drive to cause the creations of all 12 S-Curve industries mapped out by the government, i. e. 5 S-curve being the traditional industries and 5 S-curve being the new industries of the future and another two, i. e. the education industry and national defense industry being the more additions. Therefore, it is expected that there will be a lot of industrial growth in the EEC area and what to subsequently follow are the increase in the job employments in the industrial sector that requires more than one hundred thousand workers. In this connection, there are, in the EEC Development Project, personnel development projects including Up Skill, Re Skill, and New Skill which TGI has participated in such personnel development under the support of EEC HDC: such as; the Project on Unemployment Slowdown Training in Automotive Sector that aims to slow down the unemployment of 9,500 people including a Short-term Training Program in accordance with the EEC’s Model Type B guidelines which TGI has also had a participation role in the training and the development of these personnel, as well.
“Due to the COVID-19 situation which affects the operations and developments of various aspects of the factory, thus, necessitating TGI to adjust its service approach to be more in line with the transition to the new normal, both on the matter of the distancing and digital: for example; TGI’s training has changed to be on more online training and the training approach from the Teaching Factory model to be in a manner of more Learning Factory style to be suitable for online learning while still maintaining the same efficiency of learning as that of the conventional training.
Supporting Personnel and Entrepreneur Developments in EEC of TGI
In addition to supporting the development of personnel in the EEC by working together with the EEC HDC as mentioned above, TGI is ready to support the upgrading of the manufacturing industry in the EEC to move towards Industry 4.0 as well as helping to drive measure on the development of robotics and automation industries as TGI is the coordinating center of the Ministry of Industry’s CoRE (Center of Robotic Excellence) network and carrying on the Smart Factory project of the Ministry of Industry, as well, including the technology transfer from Japan to increase the productivity of the factory with technology 4.0, both on the LASI (Lean Automation System Integrator) project and the LIPE (Lean IoT Plant Management Execution) project. And because of the reason that TGI has sufficient potentials both on the aspect of technology and personnel to provide supports on the developments of medical equipment and parts and rail system industries, TGI therefore has a policy and has been committed to being a Prototype of Manufacturing Center for Medical Equipment and Parts Industry which will help medical doctors, researchers and entrepreneurs who have the ideas to develop medical equipments on their own to have a prototype manufacturing center for working together from the step of designing to model prototyping according to the process of the ISO 13485 standard in order that the business result expansion can be further continued. While on the aspect of the rail system, TGI aims to be a Material Testing Center for Rail System because it is located in the EEC area. Having this Testing Center at TGI will greatly contribute to the development of the rail industry in the EEC. Nevertheless, the Project requires additional government investment in measuring and testing equipments.
All of the above are the concepts and policies for further implementations and developments of TGI by Mr. Somchai Jakkareen, new Director of Thai-German Institute.
