Skopje, 13 June 2024 (MIA) — A conference on increasing productivity through the Lean Six Sigma process improvement approach is taking place Thursday in Skopje, organized by Smart Learning Factory Skopje with the support of USAID's Partnerships for Economic Growth Activity project.

According to SLFS director and Faculty of Mechanical Engineering professor Bojan Jovanovski, the conference is discussing ways of improving the performance of people as well as machines and other parts of a company toward boosting its productivity.

Much like focusing on energy efficiency, Jovanovski said, improving people's productivity should be considered given that the country is starting to experience a labor shortage.

He said Faculty of Mechanical Engineering undergraduates had taken active part in implementing the Lean Six Sigma process improvement approach for eliminating inefficiencies and improving work processes in several local companies.

USAID's Partnerships for Economic Growth Activity Director Dejan Janevski welcomed the goals of the conference and said USAID was always supportive of new topics.

"But the topic we are talking about today and handing out certificates for is not new, and we should have had this event a long time ago," Janevski said.

The conference is promoting the first 35 candidates who successfully passed the first Lean Six Sigma training course and implemented the approach to improve their companies' production processes. 

Other conference speakers include USAID Country Representative Jeri Dible.

Smart Learning Factory Skopje was established at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and since October 2023 has taught over 40 participants theoretical and practical knowledge in a highly equipped Lean and Industry 4.0 laboratory. mr/