At Phu Bai Spinning Joint Stock Company (Phu Bai Spinning), innovation doesn’t always start with large-scale investment projects or costly technologies. Two initiatives “Motion Sensor System for Detecting Sliver Breaks in Blending and Drawing Machines” and the “Power View IoT Energy Monitoring System”- demonstrate a different approach, one that starts with specific production bottlenecks, draws on in-house technical expertise to design solutions, builds technological ownership, and gradually turns data and equipment into tools for improving quality, reducing costs, and enhancing factory management efficiency.
“Made in Phu Bai” Sliver-Break Sensor: Preventing Quality Deviations at the Drawing Stage
At Phu Bai Spinning, Mr. Le Van Trinh, leader of the Electrical and Electronics Team under the Mechanical and Electrical Department, together with the technical team, researched and developed a motion sensor system to detect sliver breaks in blending and drawing machines. The initiative was designed to monitor sliver breaks and missing joins — issues that can distort blending ratios and affect the quality of CVC and TC blended yarns.
A key highlight of the initiative is that the entire circuit, circuit board, printed circuit board, and sensor housing were designed and manufactured in-house. The solution can replace the sensors installed on FA306/FA316 machines and is intended for application across other types of drawing machines.
The economic benefits are clear: each in-house sensor costs less than VND 100,000 to produce, compared with more than VND 2 million for a commercially purchased sensor. More importantly, when a sliver break is detected, the system immediately stops the machine, preventing incorrectly proportioned material from entering further production. This helps reduce defective products, minimize reprocessing and customer complaints, and avoid the unpredictable losses associated with customer relationships.
Power View: When Energy Data Becomes a Tool for Factory Management
Phu Bai Spinning’s Power View is an IoT system developed in-house, replacing manual energy recording with real-time, data-driven energy management. The system automatically collects data from electricity meters via IoT, sends it to a server, and displays the information on a website and mobile devices.
Key applications:
- Energy management: Monitors energy consumption, costs, instantaneous power, load, and peak demand (Pmax), supporting the optimization of operating schedules and preparations for the two-component electricity pricing mechanism.
- Equipment monitoring: Integrates motor temperature monitoring and anomaly alerts, helping detect early signs of potential overload, bearing failure, lubrication issues, or inadequate heat dissipation.
- ESG management: Converts energy consumption data into CO₂ emissions, providing a basis for greenhouse gas inventories, ESG reporting, and green manufacturing requirements.
Cost savings: The in-house system costs approximately one-quarter of an outsourced solution, while eliminating recurring licensing fees and making maintenance and future expansion easier to manage internally.
Ready to Experiment with Small Ideas
At Phu Bai Spinning, the spirit of innovation has been organized into a systematic initiative. In August 2024, Phu Bai Spinning established an Innovation Team, led by Mr. Le Quy Hanh, Director of Spinning Factory No. 3, to gather ideas, address real-world challenges, and encourage younger employees to experiment with new ways of working.
Cross-functional collaboration: The team currently has 15 members from various functional departments and factories. To date, 18 initiatives have been developed, 15 of which have already been implemented, focusing on energy savings, productivity improvement, quality control, automation, and operational efficiency.
Innovation starts with the factory’s own challenges: The sliver-break detection sensor system and the Power View IoT energy monitoring system are notable examples, demonstrating Phu Bai Spinning’s proactive approach to developing solutions suited to its needs using in-house resources, rather than relying entirely on external technologies.
From individual initiatives to enterprise-wide innovation capabilities: This model reduces reliance on a small number of experienced individuals while creating an environment in which younger employees can develop their capabilities in technology, research, and problem-solving. However, for innovation to generate lasting value, it must be underpinned by professional expertise, analysis, and systematic research.
Linking innovation to customer needs: Bringing the Sales Department into the team helps connect market perspectives with engineering and production. Based on customer feedback, the company can develop solutions for traceability, identifying the “DNA” of yarn products, cotton quality control, and data transparency from raw materials through to finished products.
