Being imbued with Uncle Ho’s teaching to the Navy soldiers: “You have to constantly study and strive to improve yourselves and build the Navy”, Factory X48 has drastically and synchronously implemented measures to improve its technical assurance of weapons and equipment to meet the requirements and tasks of building a “revolutionary, regular, elite, and modern” Navy.

Factory X48 under the Department of Engineering of the Navy has the tasks of repairing military ships, marine vehicles, weapons, and technical equipment and producing a number of specialised technical materials used in naval technical assurance. In recent years, as the tasks of building the Navy and protecting the national sovereignty over seas and islands have developed, the need for equipment and naval technical assurance has sharply increased. Meanwhile, there are various drawbacks, such as the factory’s outdated infrastructure conditions, old technological equipment with low productivity, limited technological capability, scarce alternative resources, etc. Besides, the number of technical officers and staff fluctuates, with uneven qualifications and there is a lack of high-quality force. Being faced with that fact, the Factory has invested in upgrading its infrastructure and technological equipment; coaching and training technical officers and staff; stepping up the movement to promote technical innovations as well as production utilisation; well implemented policy work, etc. to create internal strength and synergy, thus successfully fulfilling all assigned tasks. This is an important content in the implementation of Directive No.05-CT/TW of the Politburo (12^th tenure) carried out by the Navy’s Party Committee and the whole army.

First, the Factory actively participates in the development and implementation of programmes and projects to improve the capability of maintenance and repair of weapons and equipment, and production of alternative materials. Thoroughly grasping Resolution No.382-NQ/ĐUQSTW of the Central Military Party Committee (now the Central Military Commission) on leadership in technical work in the new situation and the policy of building the Service straight towards modernity, the Factory coordinates with functional agencies to develop and implement projects, such as enhancing the capability to repair military ships and produce technical materials, improving technical infrastructure, upgrading administrative and living areas, fortifying warehouses and workshops, etc. Thereby, a number of new technical assurance systems are added to the production lines, such as condenser-making machines, press dies, medium-frequency melting furnaces, plasma cutting machines, CNC cutting machines, magnetic drilling machines, rolling machines, edge banding machines, etc. to practically enhance the capability of repairing military ships, building new aluminium boats and producing materials and spare parts that meets high technical requirements and precision, such as oil and air condensers, vessel cooling condensers, anti-corrosion electrodes for ship hulls and other parts in contact with sea water, etc.

Testing of gun aftern maintenance

Additionally, the Factory well coordinates with technical centres inside and outside the Army in sharing information and exchanging skills and experience in order to improve production efficiency, repair machine parts and manufacture and supply technical materials, thus well serving mobile repair, especially in exchanging experiences, determining technical needs, and setting out the proper development direction for the Factory’s technology and engineering. Besides, the Factory strictly maintains the regime of preservation, inspection, maintenance, and repair of equipment in accordance with the term and cycle of exploitation, promptly repairing all unexpected damage; ensuring the quality and time of repair for materials; regularly maintaining technical hours and days, etc. meeting the requirements of good maintenance, durable use, and effective exploitation of invested facilities and equipment. From 2012 to 2021, the Factory repaired and supplied 111 turns of weapons and ships as well as 165 sets of equipment, produced 105 condensers and nearly 32,000 anti-corrosion electrodes, etc.

In order to “make constant progress” according to Uncle Ho’s teachings, the Factory has focused on building a high-quality contingent of technical officers and staff. Accordingly, in each field and stage of production and repair, selecting and arranging workers according to their capability, forte, specialisation, and professional ethics. Priority is given to the position of quality inspection and product acceptance. To improve the quality of human resources, over the past years, together with sending technical officers and staff to advanced training at colleges inside and outside the Army as well as higher echelons’ training and maintaining the exams for raising worker’s professional qualifications, the Factory has promoted the movement of self-study and self-improvement, especially for workers who have just graduated from college and have little experience. Focus is put on new and weak areas, such as occupational safety and hygiene, mastering of new equipment and anti-corrosion zinc production line, effective exploitation of aluminium welding machines, CNC plasma cutting machines, CNC milling machines, wire cutting machines, especially the CNC machining centres, etc. For technicians, focusing on guiding and handholding during maintenance, repair, and operation of equipment to ensure that this force has a firm grasp of the process and operations, achieving high accuracy. For officers, encouraging their self-study of documents and acquisition of new technologies while they coordinate with technical staff to practice complex contents that require highly analytical thinking. To achieve high efficiency, the Factory directs agencies and workshops to develop annual training plans according to their tasks and organise training before, during, and after performing tasks under the motto “practical, timely, synchronous, and effective”. Besides, focusing on organising contests and sports festivals to test the ability to independently exploit technological equipment and issue professional certificates according to regulations. In the 2012 - 2021 period, the Factory trained more than 1,600 people, including 145 training courses for low-level workers and 70 courses for high-level workers, granting certificates of independent exploitation of equipment to 110 people. Moreover, they provided intensive training courses on ship engine repair for 18 people, casting technology for 5 people, and mechanical processing for 10 people, thus making an important contribution to improving the quality of staff. As a result, each stage of production, maintenance, and repair is carried out properly, limiting waste of products, materials, and effort.

Thoroughly grasping Uncle Ho’s teachings: “Science has to stem from production and, in return, has to serve production and the masses in order to improve productivity…”, the Factory has paid special attention to promoting scientific and technological activities, creating breakthroughs in cost saving and mastering of new weapons and equipment. On the basis of inheriting the traditions of self-reliance, self-study and strictly implementing Resolution No.791-NQ/QUTW issued on 30^th December 2012 by the Central Military Commission on “Leading the scientific, technological and environmental work in the Army until 2020 and beyond”, the Factory has focused on leading and directing to promote the movements of encouraging initiatives and technical improvements in association with the movement of “Good and creative labour”. Importance is attached to researching topics of increasing productivity, quality of military ship repair, production of technical materials as well as transforming and applying domestic technology and autonomy in innovation, modernisation, and technical assurance. On an annual basis, the Factory’s Scientific Council develops plans and organises for agencies and units to register their topics and initiatives; conducting appraisal and assigning tasks; regularly checking, urging, helping, and deploying more topics during implementation. Besides, forming research groups for topics of the same major, production chains, and technology chains to coordinate and share knowledge during implementation, thus saving materials and time. Promoting propaganda on the role of science and technology in technical autonomy, eliminating foreign dependence, especially when the supply chain is broken, and technical materials are scarce. Thereby, creating favourable conditions for all technical officers and staff to fulfil their responsibilities and tasks and actively research, create, and support the completion of some topics and initiatives ahead of schedule, such as manufacturing Klimat water welding condensers, perfecting the production process of metal anti-corrosion protectors for ships, designing and manufacturing ICAF anti-corrosion electrode systems as well as cooling tower for medium-frequency melting furnaces, etc. From 2012 to 2021, the Factory has 117 topics recognised at the grassroots level, 5 of which won Service-level awards, 2 won the Nguyen Phan Vinh Award, and one won the Military Creative Youth Award, 40 sets of technological processes were compiled and applied, etc. Technical improvement initiatives not only solve difficulties in ensuring technical materials and exploiting modern equipment but also contribute to perfecting the process of exploiting newly invested technological equipment, thus improving the qualifications and skills, especially innovative thinking for technical officers and staff.

To ensure progress, work efficiency and “save human labour, save time, and save state budget...”, the Factory has focused on improving the quality of management of technical assurance activities. First, promoting the decentralisation of technical management and progress of activities; strictly maintaining the regime of making and managing plans, briefings, and reports, thus promptly solving problems and limiting overlapping. At the same time, well planning the factory premises and functional subdivisions, being ready to invest to build and install new equipment. Setting regulations on placement of technological equipment and places to store materials, tools, and spare parts after dismantling; adding tables of internal rules, safety instructions, requirements for using machines, timetables, responsibilities, and duties, sheets of technological processes, technical documents, etc. to save money moving materials and human resources as well as looking up technical standards in production and repair. The implementation process is circularly regulated, from surveying, making estimates, supply of materials, maintenance and repair, monitoring and logging the operation of machines, etc. to checking each stage and manufactured product, thus limiting faulty products. Moreover, the Factory has developed a plan and schedule for repairing machinery; strictly maintaining the regime of preservation after working hours; timely maintaining and inspecting technological equipment, especially those requiring high safety; applying a quality assessment system to assess individual work and manage labour, thus maintaining the progress of all activities, saving a great deal of time, effort, and money.

Along with taking the above measures, Factory X48 always attaches importance to education and training for “worker soldiers” in professional ethics, provides specific allowances and well implements policies to maintain workers’ health and work morale and retain and attract talents, strengthening the human foundation. By doing so, it is ready to receive and fulfil all assigned tasks, meeting the requirements and tasks of building a “revolutionary, regular, elite, and modern” Navy, firmly protecting our sacred national sovereignty over seas and islands.

Colonel TRAN DINH TUYEN, Director of the Factory