Hello, I’m Han Kangbeom, Production Manager at Syngenta Korea’s Iksan manufacturing plant.
Syngenta Korea is a fully-owned subsidiary of Syngenta AG, headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. With around 240 employees working nationwide, we are dedicated to advancing Korean agriculture through specialized research and manufacturing of agricultural chemicals.
As a production manager, my primary focus is overseeing all production processes in our chemical manufacturing plant, ensuring safe and efficient production of quality products. My role involves strict compliance with domestic regulations and internal company standards, while continually improving our production activities.
I’m also spearheading our Smart Manufacturing project, implementing digital checklists and real-time monitoring for Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) to enhance the efficiency of our production lines.
→ Difficulty in “Monitoring Production Lines” and Human Errors from Manual Processes
At our facility, we operate over 20 production lines, manufacturing more than 200 products. Each process involves numerous guidelines and safety protocols. These are not only essential for producing quality products but, more critically, are directly tied to ensuring the safety of our on-site personnel.
However, with so many production lines, it’s challenging for managers to physically monitor every site. This makes it difficult to verify if guidelines and safety measures are being properly implemented on the ground. Regular inspections and safety checks might still miss critical issues simply due to the scale of operations.
Most routine inspections are conducted manually. Teams carry around file folders or attach checklists directly to equipment to record findings. While this method allows for documentation, it doesn’t provide real-time visibility into whether safety measures or production protocols are actively being followed. The lack of a digital system often results in these activities becoming procedural formalities, leaving gaps in real-world application.
Manual record-keeping is also prone to human error, sometimes resulting in discrepancies between actual performance and reported data.
The biggest question I constantly grappled with was:
“Are production processes and safety measures genuinely being followed on-site, or are they just remaining as checkmarks on paper?”
I firmly believe that safety, production, and quality checks shouldn’t just exist as documentation but must be meaningfully implemented in practice. This realization drove my search for a better solution.
One of the biggest challenges in manufacturing is the limited accessibility of PCs in the field. Production floors are filled with machinery and materials, making it inconvenient to access or install computers. Even in areas with PCs, workers often need to jot down data on paper before transferring it to the system, adding unnecessary steps to their workflow.
Shopl stands out as a mobile-optimized platform that allows on-site workers to handle reporting tasks directly from their phones. For example, capturing and attaching photos—a crucial aspect of production, safety, and quality reporting—is far more seamless with a mobile device. Previously, reporting via photos involved multiple cumbersome steps, but Shopl eliminates those barriers.
Its compatibility with both mobile and PC platforms offers flexibility based on user preferences and tasks. Moreover, the platform's intuitive interface and user-friendly design ensure that even non-technical team members can quickly adapt and use it effectively.
At Syngenta Korea’s Iksan factory, which spans 83,000㎡ and houses 27 production and packaging lines, physical separation between field workers and management is inevitable. Visiting and monitoring every production line in person simply isn’t practical.
Shopl bridges this gap by enabling real-time reporting directly from the field via mobile devices. Field workers can quickly share updates, while managers can instantly send out critical notifications or instructions. This instant and two-way communication improves clarity and responsiveness.
Unlike phone calls that lack documentation, all communications on Shopl are automatically logged, providing a transparent record of discussions. This makes it easier to track actions and avoid miscommunication.
During our trial phase, one of the most impressive aspects of Shopl was its stability and speed. Many systems we tested before suffered from slow updates or frequent glitches, which hindered real-time communication. Shopl, on the other hand, delivered fast notifications and seamless updates without any issues, reinforcing its value as a reliable tool for our operations.
In a manufacturing environment like ours, which involves numerous facilities, equipment, and processes, regular and ad-hoc inspections for safety, quality, and production are a must.
Previously, inspection schedules were tracked and executed manually, leading to occasional oversights. This was a significant concern, as these inspections are critical to ensuring worker safety, production efficiency, and product quality.
Now, with Shopl’s To-Do feature, repetitive tasks are scheduled and automatically assigned to team members. The system sends reminders with guidelines to ensure inspections happen on time. Employees complete the tasks and submit them via the app, while managers can monitor progress in real-time.
The clarity in task delegation has greatly reduced the need for follow-up questions about when or how to perform inspections. This has eliminated task omissions and streamlined communication, allowing us to focus on more critical issues.
In the past, our safety and production checks relied on paper-based records. Checklists were physically attached to machinery, and team members would tick them off. This method made it challenging to track the status of equipment or processes without visiting the site. Moreover, it lacked transparency regarding whether actions were taken post-inspection.
With Shopl’s Report feature, the status of equipment and production processes is now visually and transparently tracked. The system allows us to customize inspection templates, enabling workers to submit detailed reports with text, photos, and even videos directly from their mobile devices.
We’ve embraced visual reporting tools like photos and videos, which are particularly useful for tracking the status of facilities or verifying label data. Reports include date and time watermarks, making it easy to trace histories for audits or reviews. Shopl has eliminated the need for managers to be physically present for updates, as the real-time reporting feature offers a comprehensive view of the production floor. This visibility has significantly enhanced our confidence in the consistency and safety of our operations.
At Syngenta, we’ve leveraged Shopl’s Board feature for two key purposes: sharing training materials and tracking on-site issues.
Centralized Training Materials
Previously, training materials for processes like production and packaging were shared through emails or printed handouts. This approach was not only cumbersome but also inefficient, as materials were scattered across platforms, making it hard to locate past resources for reference.
Now, with Shopl’s Boards, we’ve organized training resources by team and topic, creating a centralized hub for all educational content. Photos, videos, and documents can be easily uploaded and accessed by everyone. The result? Team members can quickly find the materials they need without wasting time searching through disorganized files or email threads..
Real-Time Issue Reporting and Resolution
We’ve also implemented Shopl’s Issue & Resolve Board to streamline how we manage and track on-site issues. Unlike traditional bulletin boards, this feature acts as a digital issue ticketing system. When a problem arises during production, employees can report it directly on the board with detailed descriptions, photos, or videos.
Managers and HQ teams can immediately review the report, provide guidance through comments, and track the status of the issue in real-time. Once resolved, the system logs the resolution, creating a complete history of the problem from detection to resolution.
“I personally like to call Shopl our Baby MES (Manufacturing Execution System). Thanks to Shopl, we can now visually monitor the status of our facilities and production lines. It’s allowed us to pay closer attention to the finer details of our production sites that were previously hard for HQ to grasp. If you’re looking to work seamlessly with your field operators, I highly recommend Shopl. For production managers (PMs) who truly care about safety, production, and quality control, there’s no reason not to use it.”
— Han Gangbeom, Production Manager, Syngenta Korea Iksan Plant —
