The lecturers from Universitas Brawijaya (UB), who are members of the Doktor Mengabdi (DM) Team, hold community service activities to encourage the potential of the metal industry in Gondang Village, Gondang District, Tulungagung Regency, to become superior products.
The people in the village located 117 KM from Malang City are known as producers or craftsmen of knives, sickles, machetes, and various metal agricultural equipment who are members of the Laban Berkarya Association community.
The Head of the UB DM Team, Prof. Dr. Ir. Qomariyatus Sholihah, ST., M.Kes., IPU., ASEAN Eng., in the opening ceremony and introduction to the UB DM program at the Gondang Village Hall, on Thursday, May 25, 2023, explained that the program being carried out was following UB’s RENSTRA of Service.
“This program is following the leading fields and leading themes, that’s community empowerment and economic development, especially strengthening MSME productivity and strengthening marketing strategies,” said the expert in the field of Occupational Safety and Health (K3).
The dedication activity with the title Optimizing the System and Business Management of the Gondang Village Metal Industry in Supporting the Achievement of the Superior Products of the Tulungagung Region will be carried out from May to November 2023.
Apart from Prof. Qomariyatus Sholihah (Faculty of Engineering), this team comprises lecturers from different faculties; Ir Endra Yuafanedi Arifianto ST MT from the Faculty of Engineering, dr Dewi Indiastari SpPD KPTI FINASIM from the Faculty of Medicine, and Edriana Pangestuti SE MSc DBA from the Faculty of Administrative Sciences.
After the opening ceremony, the activity continued with the presentation of material theoretically, including an introduction to the tourism potential of the metal/knife industrial village, the importance of OSH in the metal industry, and marketing strategies.
To find out the level of understanding of work partners, the team also carried out discussion sessions and filled out questionnaires.
Furthermore, the team made direct observations to find out the production process, production floor conditions, production activities, machinery and equipment, raw materials, finished products, industrial waste produced, and potential work accidents.
The head of Gondang Village, Wahyono Hadi Santoso, welcomes the synergy and collaboration between the academics of the UB DM team and the UMKM partners of the Laban Berkarya Association to increase the potential of the leading metal industry in Gondang Village.
“Based on the data we have collected, there are around 30% of households in the knife-making metal industry. This means that one of the drivers of economic growth for the people of Gondang Village depends on the sustainability of the metal industry,” he said.
Push the Potential of the Metal Industry Through 3 Problem Approaches
UB DM Team Member Ir Endra Yuafanedi ST MT said that the team would help the problems faced by Paguyuban Laban Berkarya partners through three approaches.
This approach includes problems in the field of production, problems in the field of management, and problems in the field of marketing.
“Helping problems in the production sector by providing grants for production aids to help produce better quality products,” he explained.
The lecturer in entrepreneurship explained that to solve problems in the field of production, the team will also assist partners in compiling production SOPs which will be a minimum reference for craftsmen.
The UB DM team also helps provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to maintain the health and safety of craftsmen.
“Then to solve problems in the field of management by providing material related to entrepreneurial motivation, the importance of institutional legality of organizations or associations, the importance of K3 in the metal industry, and the potential to prepare a metal industry tourism village (knife),” said the lecturer from Tulungagung.
The UB DM team will also introduce social media’s theoretical and practical use to help with marketing problems.
“The practice of marketing activities will last for seven months with the assistance of students participating in the DM 2023 program. The focus is on developing social media partners and helping upload their products until partners are used to making online sales,“ he concluded. [humasFT]
