Hello there everyone and sorry for not having posted a new blog entry sooner, I’ve just been so busy! This has been such a productive week – work wise and personally!
Monday was my tech training day! What a load of knowledge I learned that day. I think by the end of the day my head was spinning with new understandings and processes that I was able to link together. Andrew the head of tech services here really gave me a lot of insight on what the tech team is responsible for: grading and quality. This team really does a lot. In the second half of the day Andrew took me through the factory with a new set of eyes on things to look for when walking the floor.
That evening I took my first Bollywood dance class. I figured, why not! In the middle of class I started hysterically laughing. I was having an outer-body experience. Here I was, the only American taking a Bollywood dance class in Vietnam surrounded by Vietnamese girls with and Indian instructor. I just had to laugh about it; never in a million years would I think I’d have been in that situation. It was at that moment I knew how lucky I was to have such an amazing opportunity. I mean I had been telling myself that from day one but it really hit me at that point, I am truly lucky and extremely blessed.
I wasn’t that good at Bollywood but am so happy I tried it out.
Tuesday was another busy day at the factory – we went to Esprinta and I got to meet a whole new team of people. In the morning I sat in a hand off meeting where all of the development for SS10 is complete. Once the development is complete and fit approved the garment is then handed off from the factory merchandising team to the Quality Controller. Here they check everything to make sure all of the comments match up with the sketches. The Quality Controller then hand’s it off to the Quality Assistants (QA) who are on the production floor when it goes through mass production. The QA’s know what to look for when they are on the floor so this meeting is extremely important. At this stage size sets are made as well.
We had a huge feast for lunch at a great Chinese restaurant right across the street from the factory. As you see in the above picture we had these huge prawns that looked as if they were still alive. I was daring and ate it; it was just like lobster and so yummy. We also had a fresh fish with lemongrass, eggs with tomatoes, beef with peppers and onions, mushroom/chicken soup, sweet potatoes, and steamed broccoli. Such a treat!
I particularly enjoyed the factory tour at Esprinta. The capabilities are great and I was able to sit behind a flat lock machine and construct two pieces of fabric together. By the end of the day I was pretty pooped. After I worked out I went to this great little market called Veggy’s that has really good veggy’s and fruit. The fruit here is just so fresh and flavorful I can’t seem to get enough of it.
Wednesday was my lowest key day in the office I’ve had so far. We were at the LO in the morning for a staff meeting and then headed back to DTVN – the factory we are mainly based out of. After work I worked out and then headed down to Ben Than market again with Pam to do some gift shopping. As soon as the big market closed down many of the shop owners moved there little areas to the streets right outside of Ben Than, they just keep going! It was amazing to watch them rush closing one shop to run to the street with their goods and re-set everything up…After a very successful shopping trip we had a great dinner at Skewer’s. It was a Mediterranean restaurant that I had read about and couldn’t wait to try. My chicken skewers with grilled veggies were yum yum yum.
Today started off on a sour note. We got word that our head of Global Operations resigned. He’s such a great guy and has been really supportive to the team. He’s a rock in the foundation that is now gone. It was strange to be here hearing the news; I can’t even imagine how everyone took it at HQ. After that, I got to see the third factory out of four I will be working with; QMI. QMI is a much older factory. We drove up and they had a huge Welcome Jennie Rosman sign outside, I felt very VIP!
Today I got to really see how all the factories have the same processes they go through. Fabric comes in from the mill and goes to the Warehouse; the fabric is inspected and then cut. From there the fabric either goes off to get embroidery, heat transfers, bonding, or printing. Then all the fabric is bundled together before it hits the production floor. Each “operator” is charge of only sewing one part of the garment. One sews shoulders together all day, another sews the cuff of a sleeve, etc…In a well organized factory, the line will be set up in order and every operator will always be busy. Once the entire shirt, short, pant, or whatever it may be is fully constructed together one of the workers inspects it to make sure everything is perfect. During this whole process there are targets displayed on a dry erase boards to do x amount of pants in an hour. There are also QA’s and line managers walking around making sure everyone is doing what they are supposed to be doing.
If the garment is approved for inspection, it is then steamed and folded. All the labels are also added and it is then packaged to go through the metal detection room. Every single item has to go through the metal detector to make sure nothing has been tampered with. It would be a huge problem if a needle or something that shouldn’t be in the box got to the retailer or wholesaler. Each box has the PO info on it and the garment goes in its designated box with every other size in its order and goes into the backroom. From there all the boxes are shipped out to its final destination.
So each factory goes through this same process but it’s very interesting to see how different they are in there housekeeping, setting the lines up, and being lean and efficient. Once you know what to look for it’s so obvious how things should be improved. The challenge is getting these points across to the factories; they are very comfortable in their habits and sometimes are resistant to suggestions.
After the work I day I had really been looking forward to taking my first mixed martial arts conditioning class with a UFC fighter instructor. I had read great reviews about this place and figured why not give it a shot. The cab ride was a bit interesting; the fight studio is in a different district than I live in. I’m in D1 and the studio is in D4, I had looked it up on the map to see where it was and knew it would take a bit of time to get there. The cab driver was taking me in circles thinking I didn’t know where I was going and I was getting so frustrated. I was talking to him in English pointing at the map I had and again showing him the address of where I wanted to go and he kept yelling at me in Vietnamese. Finally I made it there.
I walked in to this studio with a bright yellow matted floor, mirrors in the front, and a small ring to the side and of course racks of gloves, punching bags, and a weight training area. I know you already think I was in heaven, but it gets better. Instantly this really hot guy wearing only his shorts to show off his amazing body who was practicing his technique comes over and greets me. I think he could tell I was trying to figure out the place. He showed me around and made me feel instantly comfortable and part of the group. Soon more people started trickling in and class was about to start. Two French IFC fighter brothers run the place. Did I mention they are both really hot too? They both speak English but with French accents…
They pumped up the music and a 10 minute jumping rope warm up began. The class was all mixed ethnicities, everyone understood English. The hour and a half flew by and my ass was kicked the entire time. I was hooked on this class within just having walked in, lol! What made it even better was that Elizze kept complimenting me on my conditioning! I cannot wait until my next class on Monday, what a great thing to look forward to on Monday and Thursdays. Until now I forgot how nervous I had been about going, I just didn’t know what to expect, it was so awesome! I’m sure I will wake up and feel it tomorrow.
This should be another great weekend. Pam and I plan on checking out the Cu Chi tunnels on Saturday. These are tunnels Vietnamese soldiers hide out in during the war. Sunday our country manager invited us to his house for a BBQ. I’m sure there will be lots of other stuff in between.
Thanks for keeping up on my travels and stay tuned!
xxoo
Monday was my tech training day! What a load of knowledge I learned that day. I think by the end of the day my head was spinning with new understandings and processes that I was able to link together. Andrew the head of tech services here really gave me a lot of insight on what the tech team is responsible for: grading and quality. This team really does a lot. In the second half of the day Andrew took me through the factory with a new set of eyes on things to look for when walking the floor.
That evening I took my first Bollywood dance class. I figured, why not! In the middle of class I started hysterically laughing. I was having an outer-body experience. Here I was, the only American taking a Bollywood dance class in Vietnam surrounded by Vietnamese girls with and Indian instructor. I just had to laugh about it; never in a million years would I think I’d have been in that situation. It was at that moment I knew how lucky I was to have such an amazing opportunity. I mean I had been telling myself that from day one but it really hit me at that point, I am truly lucky and extremely blessed.
I wasn’t that good at Bollywood but am so happy I tried it out.
Tuesday was another busy day at the factory – we went to Esprinta and I got to meet a whole new team of people. In the morning I sat in a hand off meeting where all of the development for SS10 is complete. Once the development is complete and fit approved the garment is then handed off from the factory merchandising team to the Quality Controller. Here they check everything to make sure all of the comments match up with the sketches. The Quality Controller then hand’s it off to the Quality Assistants (QA) who are on the production floor when it goes through mass production. The QA’s know what to look for when they are on the floor so this meeting is extremely important. At this stage size sets are made as well.
We had a huge feast for lunch at a great Chinese restaurant right across the street from the factory. As you see in the above picture we had these huge prawns that looked as if they were still alive. I was daring and ate it; it was just like lobster and so yummy. We also had a fresh fish with lemongrass, eggs with tomatoes, beef with peppers and onions, mushroom/chicken soup, sweet potatoes, and steamed broccoli. Such a treat!
I particularly enjoyed the factory tour at Esprinta. The capabilities are great and I was able to sit behind a flat lock machine and construct two pieces of fabric together. By the end of the day I was pretty pooped. After I worked out I went to this great little market called Veggy’s that has really good veggy’s and fruit. The fruit here is just so fresh and flavorful I can’t seem to get enough of it.
Wednesday was my lowest key day in the office I’ve had so far. We were at the LO in the morning for a staff meeting and then headed back to DTVN – the factory we are mainly based out of. After work I worked out and then headed down to Ben Than market again with Pam to do some gift shopping. As soon as the big market closed down many of the shop owners moved there little areas to the streets right outside of Ben Than, they just keep going! It was amazing to watch them rush closing one shop to run to the street with their goods and re-set everything up…After a very successful shopping trip we had a great dinner at Skewer’s. It was a Mediterranean restaurant that I had read about and couldn’t wait to try. My chicken skewers with grilled veggies were yum yum yum.
Today started off on a sour note. We got word that our head of Global Operations resigned. He’s such a great guy and has been really supportive to the team. He’s a rock in the foundation that is now gone. It was strange to be here hearing the news; I can’t even imagine how everyone took it at HQ. After that, I got to see the third factory out of four I will be working with; QMI. QMI is a much older factory. We drove up and they had a huge Welcome Jennie Rosman sign outside, I felt very VIP!
Today I got to really see how all the factories have the same processes they go through. Fabric comes in from the mill and goes to the Warehouse; the fabric is inspected and then cut. From there the fabric either goes off to get embroidery, heat transfers, bonding, or printing. Then all the fabric is bundled together before it hits the production floor. Each “operator” is charge of only sewing one part of the garment. One sews shoulders together all day, another sews the cuff of a sleeve, etc…In a well organized factory, the line will be set up in order and every operator will always be busy. Once the entire shirt, short, pant, or whatever it may be is fully constructed together one of the workers inspects it to make sure everything is perfect. During this whole process there are targets displayed on a dry erase boards to do x amount of pants in an hour. There are also QA’s and line managers walking around making sure everyone is doing what they are supposed to be doing.
If the garment is approved for inspection, it is then steamed and folded. All the labels are also added and it is then packaged to go through the metal detection room. Every single item has to go through the metal detector to make sure nothing has been tampered with. It would be a huge problem if a needle or something that shouldn’t be in the box got to the retailer or wholesaler. Each box has the PO info on it and the garment goes in its designated box with every other size in its order and goes into the backroom. From there all the boxes are shipped out to its final destination.
So each factory goes through this same process but it’s very interesting to see how different they are in there housekeeping, setting the lines up, and being lean and efficient. Once you know what to look for it’s so obvious how things should be improved. The challenge is getting these points across to the factories; they are very comfortable in their habits and sometimes are resistant to suggestions.
After the work I day I had really been looking forward to taking my first mixed martial arts conditioning class with a UFC fighter instructor. I had read great reviews about this place and figured why not give it a shot. The cab ride was a bit interesting; the fight studio is in a different district than I live in. I’m in D1 and the studio is in D4, I had looked it up on the map to see where it was and knew it would take a bit of time to get there. The cab driver was taking me in circles thinking I didn’t know where I was going and I was getting so frustrated. I was talking to him in English pointing at the map I had and again showing him the address of where I wanted to go and he kept yelling at me in Vietnamese. Finally I made it there.
I walked in to this studio with a bright yellow matted floor, mirrors in the front, and a small ring to the side and of course racks of gloves, punching bags, and a weight training area. I know you already think I was in heaven, but it gets better. Instantly this really hot guy wearing only his shorts to show off his amazing body who was practicing his technique comes over and greets me. I think he could tell I was trying to figure out the place. He showed me around and made me feel instantly comfortable and part of the group. Soon more people started trickling in and class was about to start. Two French IFC fighter brothers run the place. Did I mention they are both really hot too? They both speak English but with French accents…
They pumped up the music and a 10 minute jumping rope warm up began. The class was all mixed ethnicities, everyone understood English. The hour and a half flew by and my ass was kicked the entire time. I was hooked on this class within just having walked in, lol! What made it even better was that Elizze kept complimenting me on my conditioning! I cannot wait until my next class on Monday, what a great thing to look forward to on Monday and Thursdays. Until now I forgot how nervous I had been about going, I just didn’t know what to expect, it was so awesome! I’m sure I will wake up and feel it tomorrow.
This should be another great weekend. Pam and I plan on checking out the Cu Chi tunnels on Saturday. These are tunnels Vietnamese soldiers hide out in during the war. Sunday our country manager invited us to his house for a BBQ. I’m sure there will be lots of other stuff in between.
Thanks for keeping up on my travels and stay tuned!
xxoo
Wow Jen...your explanations filled in sooo many blanks for me- for example: I couldn't imagine why there was a metal detection room- now I know...I am so glad you are having such an amazing experience-your blog and pictures help to keep us all informed and up to date- thanks for taking timne out of your busy day to to think of all of us who are missing you and wishing we were there enjoying the excitement! Again- thanks for sharing the factory details-REEBOK is going to LOVE your presentations!!!
ReplyDeleteLove You and Miss You!!! XOXOXOXOXO :-)