Department of Industry and Handicraft, Ministry of Industry and Commerce visited the roof-sheet factories across the country

During 13-25 March 2023, the Department of Industry and Handicraft team led by Mr. Vaiyakone Sisavath, Head of Division of Industrial Chemicals and Environment in conjunction with officials from the Provincial Department of Industry and Trade visited all roof-sheet factories in Laos – there are currently 8 factories situated in 6 provinces including Vientiane Capital.

The objectives of this visit are to collect general information, monitor the factories’ environment, inspect the air quality, advise for better products to meet standards and be more competitive and also insist on the importance of keeping and improving labour and environment safety such as floor washing, storage of raw materials, and waste management. Along with this activity, DIH distributed safety masks to the factories for use by factory workers to perform their tasks.

In the past, DIH regularly went to monitor and inspect the roof-sheet factories. As for this time, it could be seen that factories have listened and improved their factory environment to follow the safety standards despite their challenging business operating conditions such as the global economic slowdown, the favouring of foreign-made products and the quality of workers in Laos.

Through this factory visit and inspection, the Department of Industry and Handicraft gathered much useful information that will be used for planning for the future activities specially to help promote Lao industry and factory safety for the workers and the environment.