Occupational Safety Training in Footwear Manufacturing Industry

1. Overview of the footwear industry

a. What is the footwear industry?

• Shoes are an item worn on human feet to protect and cushion the feet while performing various activities. Shoes are also used as a decorative item.
• The design of shoes has become extremely diverse and rich over time, culture, and purpose of use. In addition, fashion also dominates many design factors.
• Simple sandals can be very thin and consist of only a single strap. While modern fashion shoes can be made from very expensive, complex materials.
• Modern footwear varies greatly in purpose of use, style, and price.
• The footwear industry is the industry that performs various stages such as designing, dyeing, cutting, sewing, embroidering, and applying chemical glue to complete a footwear product.
• And the factory is the place to perform the process steps to create those shoes and sandals. Currently, footwear factories all apply modern machinery to perform in a uniform and mass manner.

b. Types of machinery for footwear manufacturing

A footwear manufacturing workshop or factory today has all kinds of modern machinery and equipment. Therefore, having skilled workers to operate them is an important factor. Besides, industrial machinery is something that always harbors the risk of unsafety, so training on how to identify potential hazards is essential.

• Hydraulic press machine is used to stamp material panels into pieces according to a pre-designed template. The hydraulic press machine allows for suitable, fast and effective stamping on many different materials such as genuine leather, artificial leather, synthetic fibers, paper sheets, and foam

• Steam press machine is an industrial device that uses steam heat and electric heat to press material pieces together

• Automatic glue pump machine is a glue applicator used in the finishing stage of footwear products, used for the purpose of brushing glue on shoe edges, applying glue to the middle sole of the shoe or applying glue to the whole thing.

• Heel shaping machine is used to shape all types of shoe heels accurately, without deforming them after the glue application process.

• Shoe last-making machine is a machine used for lasting the waist and heel of shoes: it is fully automatically controlled by a computer, ensuring the shoe upper is firmly fixed.

c. Typical enterprises in the footwear industry

Some typical enterprises in the footwear manufacturing industry in Vietnam include:

• Dong A – exports high-quality footwear to the European, US, and Japanese markets.
• Biti’s – a large commercial brand of footwear in Vietnam, famous for its sports shoes and back-strap sandals.
• May 10 – a company specializing in the manufacturing of fashionable leather shoes for the export market.
• TBS Group – a company specializing in manufacturing shoes for famous brands such as Adidas, Puma, Clarks, and Under Armour.
• K-Swiss – an American company, with a shoe factory in Vietnam, whose main products are sports shoes.

In addition, there are many other enterprises such as Ben Thanh Shoes, Thien Phuoc Shoes, Lien Phat Shoes, WSS Shoes, Hong Thai Shoes, Vina Giay, etc.

d. Specific jobs in the footwear industry

Specific jobs in the footwear industry include:

• Shoe design: designing styles, colors, materials, coordinating decorative details and calculating technical details.
• Leather cutting: measuring, determining the cutting template, arranging, marking, cutting and dividing the leather into parts, meeting the requirements for accuracy.
• Shoe sewing: sewing parts of the shoe by machine or by hand, including sewing the sole, sewing the upper and sewing decorative accessories.
• Sole bonding: bonding the shoe sole to the shoe upper, using sole glue or sewing thread.
• Shoe accessories manufacturing: manufacturing decorative accessories for shoes, including various types of shoe buckles, laces and buttons.
• Quality inspection: inspecting shoes to ensure product quality, including checking durability, sturdiness, gloss, color and size.
• Packaging and transportation: packaging shoes and transporting them to stores, retailers or final customers.

In addition, in the footwear industry there are other jobs such as production management, quality management, sales and marketing, market research and analysis, finance and accounting.

2. Overview of footwear industry safety training

a. What is occupational safety training in the footwear industry?

• Occupational safety training in the footwear industry consists of training sessions to equip workers with an awareness of how to prevent labor accidents. Accordingly, workers in the footwear industry are subjects belonging to group 3.
• The occupational safety training course will help workers recognize and prevent dangers, and limit the risk of labor accidents during work.

REGISTER FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY TRAINING SERVICE

b. Training time

• First-time safety training time
  • The total training time is at least 24 hours, including the inspection time.
  • 8 hours of theoretical study on the system of policies and laws on occupational safety and hygiene
  • 8 hours of theoretical study on basic knowledge of occupational safety and hygiene
  • 4 hours of theoretical study on specialized training content
  • 2 hours of practical study on specialized training content
  • 2 hours of theoretical inspection at the end of the training course

The safety training center will distribute the time into many training sessions depending on the time arrangement for employees. But normally, there will be 6 training sessions, and the course will take place in 3 days, provided that the manufacturing business can arrange continuous study time.

• Periodic safety training time
  • Before the occupational safety card expires, if workers want to renew it, they must undergo a periodic occupational safety training course, with the periodic safety training time being at least 50% of the first-time safety training time.

Explanation: the total periodic occupational safety training time is at least 12 hours, including the inspection time. After completing the periodic training course and passing the test, the worker will be re-issued or renewed their occupational safety card.

c. Content of the training course

See more training content of 6 groups

d. Occupational safety training certificate

• After completing the occupational safety training course and at the same time passing the test, the worker will be issued a Group 3 occupational safety certificate .
• In which, the occupational safety card will clearly show information such as: full name, date of birth, specific job and working environment. At the same time, it also has the training time, red stamp and signature confirming the completion of the training course.
• According to the regulations on issuing safety cards specified in clause 2 Article 24 of Decree 44/2016/ND-CP, it is divided into 2 cases:
  1. In the case that the employer and the employee have a labor contract with each other, the employer must sign, stamp and seal the safety card for the trained person in Group 3 after undergoing the training course from the occupational safety training unit, and at the same time passing the test.
  2. In the case that the worker is a freelancer, a seasonal worker, and does not have a labor contract, the training unit must sign, stamp and seal the safety card for the worker after undergoing the training course from the occupational safety training unit, and at the same time passing the test.

3. Identifying hazards in the footwear industry

Footwear manufacturing factories are a working environment where industrial machinery is the main tool for production. Therefore, the potential hazards from machinery are always a matter of concern. Not to mention the dangers from an unreasonable space arrangement.

And the subjects directly affected by the risk of unsafety are mostly in group 3. The following are the hazards that can cause labor accidents in footwear manufacturing factories.

• Risk of fire and explosion from flammable footwear manufacturing materials.
• Glue and chemicals will cause injury when they come into contact with eyes and skin
• Getting hands and feet crushed when working carelessly with a hydraulic press machine
• The production environment has high noise levels, affecting the hearing of workers
• Getting an electric shock due to a broken machine, or arbitrarily repairing a machine without expertise
• Getting sleeves, pants, hair, hands caught in moving mechanisms, causing labor accidents.
• Dust from the process of handling footwear materials causes respiratory diseases
• Skin burns due to accidental contact with the heat-dissipating part of the press machine.

4. Safety measures for the footwear industry

Footwear manufacturing factories are places with a high risk of fire. The reason is the raw materials used to create shoes and sandals. In addition, the fact that machinery participates in the manufacturing process is not too strange, and the risk of unsafety is always present. Therefore, businesses need to have internal regulations and preventive measures to minimize labor accidents.

• Businesses need to have internal regulations and safe production processes for workers
• Fully equip personal protective equipment according to quality standards.
• Organize occupational safety training according to Decree 44/2016/ND-CP for the footwear industry
• Workers need to check their safety knowledge and must pass the test to get a Group 3 safety card
• Organize periodic health checks for workers
• Arrange a spacious, airy, well-lit working space with fresh air
• Have safety measures such as: limiting, reducing harmful factors such as noise, smoke, dust, chemicals, etc.
• Arrange goods, machinery, equipment, and work tools scientifically and securely to ensure safety and convenience for moving and working
• Periodically organize work environment monitoring in factories and enterprises, collect and analyze harmful factors for workers, thereby adjusting to reduce the harmful level to prevent occupational diseases for them.

5. Benefits of the occupational safety card in the footwear industry

An Toan Nam Viet provides businesses with great benefits after completing occupational safety training courses according to the regulations in Decree 44/2016/ND – CP on occupational safety and hygiene, companies, factories, businesses.

• Workers can identify the potential risks of labor accidents, thereby having preventive measures to avoid labor accidents.
• Businesses can establish risk prevention measures in the production, operation and maintenance process.
• Minimizing costs when there is a risk of occupational safety loss.
• Uninterrupted production process will help increase labor productivity and product quality.
• Complying with the correct regulations on labor safety law, avoiding legal risks.
• Creating prestige and professionalism in all aspects, thereby enhancing the brand for your business.

An Toan Nam Viet’s training courses are the solution to prevent and combat external factors affecting each individual so that they can avoid dangers that can lead to injury or, more seriously, death.

REGISTER FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY TRAINING SERVICE

6. Customer feedback after completing the training course

An Toan Nam Viet has many years of experience in the mission of accompanying many businesses in Vietnam in general and in the southern provinces in particular. And that responsibility is something very precious to An Toan Nam Viet, which is why An Toan Nam Viet’s Occupational Safety Training work is increasingly focused on being professional. And the motivation for An Toan Nam Viet to grow strongly to the present comes from the positive feedback and suggestions from businesses. Below are the feedbacks from our partners that we have served.

KOSIA E&C Co., Ltd.

“I am very satisfied with An Toan Nam Viet’s safety training service, the teaching quality meets the standards we set. It helps our company reduce a problem that needs to be handled, so we can focus more on our expertise.”

Lee Ki Hwa / General Director

Bac Nam E&C Investment Construction Joint Stock Company

“The first time I used the service at An Toan Nam Viet, I was very surprised by the enthusiastic 24/7 support of the consulting team. The class organization was very quick and convenient for our company, thank you very much for An Toan Nam Viet’s service!”

Nguyen Thanh Binh / Director

Hoa Dat Construction and Trading Joint Stock Company

“An Toan Nam Viet’s service has helped us a lot in simplifying occupational safety and the work of completing safety records to serve the work process. The consulting team is enthusiastic and timely in answering our questions. 5 stars for An Toan Nam Viet”

Truong Ba Ngoc Minh / Chairman of the Board of Directors

See more customer interviews after using An Toan Nam Viet’s service

7. Capacity for Occupational Safety Training of An Toan Nam Viet

An Toan Nam Viet is a reputable and quality occupational safety training center in Vietnam today. With occupational safety training sessions continuously held at production workshops, factories or construction sites across the country (63 provinces and cities in Vietnam).

REGISTER FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY TRAINING SERVICE

• Occupational safety training license
  • An Toan Nam Viet has been inspected and granted a certificate of eligibility for occupational safety and hygiene training activities by the Safety Department of the Ministry of Labor – Invalids and Social Affairs. This further strengthens our capacity for occupational safety training.

• Documents and lectures
  • Before the occupational safety training materials are put into the occupational safety courses, they have been reviewed and censored to ensure that the lectures are always correct in terms of knowledge and effective when applied.
  • The teaching method of the lecturers is synchronized according to the teaching standard of An Toan Nam Viet, which is a method that experts on occupational safety and hygiene training have researched and accumulated during the teaching process to bring the highest knowledge acquisition efficiency to students.
• Facilities
  • Controlling the factors in the classroom that affect the training process will increase the teaching performance and the effectiveness of students’ knowledge acquisition.
  • Our facilities to support the training course always arrange spacious classrooms that meet the standards for area, lighting, training equipment … etc…

8. Reputable and quality national safety training center

• At An Toan Nam Viet, we always prioritize the professional dedication to occupational safety training. For us, imparting knowledge to workers to know how to protect themselves so that they can have a safe journey on their path to making a living is a contribution to building the country.
• To ensure that the training is effective, we prepare carefully and meticulously every little thing, no matter how small. From preparing tools, equipment, teaching equipment to textbooks, documents, sound, and light.
• Our occupational safety training lecturers are experts with many years of experience in the field. They even have research projects identifying hazards in all professions and how to prevent them.
• The lecturers’ lectures are drawn from practice and conveyed in a vivid and easy-to-visualize way to workers. These factors help workers feel comfortable during their study time and absorb our teaching knowledge well. Of course, the knowledge conveyed always closely follows Decree 44/2016/ND-CP.
• From there, they grasp many measures to prevent dangers and how to protect themselves. At the same time, they also apply it in the most appropriate way in their actual work.
• Our safety training center is proud to be a reputable and professional provider of occupational safety training services with the following advantages:
  • Competitive training costs but training quality is still guaranteed.
  • Flexible training schedule with the production situation of the Company business.
  • Quick and legal procedures for granting occupational safety training certificates.
  • The training lecturers are people with many years of experience in the profession.
  • The classroom is controlled for factors affecting the training process to increase teaching performance and the effectiveness of students’ knowledge acquisition.
  • The lectures are compiled to be suitable for occupational safety work at businesses.
  • An Toan Nam Viet works dedicatedly and professionally to support customers accurately and as quickly as possible.

9. Refer to more occupational safety training materials

• Occupational safety training materials for the leather, feather, and silk industries
• Occupational safety training materials for the mechanical industry
• Occupational safety training materials for the chemical industry
• Set of occupational safety training test questions for Group 3
• Occupational safety multiple-choice test for the footwear industry
• Occupational safety materials for the footwear industry
• Slides of the occupational safety training lecture for the footwear industry

10. Occupational safety training activities

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