Seo Ho-bong, a member of Samsung Electronics' ESG & Smart Factory Support Center (photo), has been involved in smart factory support activities since 2018 and has visited over 50 small business sites to date. Having developed automation equipment in Samsung Electronics' video division and been responsible for training overseas subsidiaries, he jumped into supporting small business innovation with the idea of creating a workplace centered on people rather than technology.
Although he has met many small business owners, in the beginning, there were often cases where they kept their distance due to him being a 'large company dispatched person'.
Seo said, "So I worked harder, getting under the equipment and sweating next to the production facilities." This is a way to build trust by moving together on-site.
He identifies 'improving worker convenience' as the most important starting point in the transition of small businesses to smart factories.
He focuses on solving the discomforts that workers feel on-site before structural improvements like productivity, quality, logistics, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), and '3S 5S (management of location, items, quantity, organization, and tidiness)'.
Seo stated, "Many often endure poor environments, thinking they cannot avoid welding smoke, noise, and odors," and added, "Changing this perception is the beginning." He further mentioned, "When small visible improvements accumulate, management gradually begins to accept the need for change."
Seo continued, "I have always wanted to share the technology and experience learned from large companies with small businesses," and said, "Staying on-site and working directly is the most rewarding thing for me."
[Reporter Park So-ra]
