The NPO Bangladesh and APO Secretariat organized an In-country Development of Demonstration Companies (DMP) project on Application of Lean Management (LM) Systems in the Chemical Industry for Bangladesh in Chittagong and Dhaka. Online sessions with four demonstration companies were held 20 and 25 July and 5, 13, and 17 September, with face-to-face sessions held 13–16 August, facilitated by a resource person from Japan and the NPO Bangladesh.

LM is an approach to managing and organizing work to improve performance. This DMP project is helping companies under the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) improve productivity by identifying waste and streamlining processes. During the face-to-face sessions, one resource person and one APO Secretariat representative visited the demonstration companies to conduct workshops on problem assessment and analysis, setting LM goals, and identifying and prioritizing LM projects.

These sessions completed Stage 1 of the project, which consisted of planning and analysis to identify issues such as machinery breakdowns and low productivity. Stage 2 will involve the implementation of improvement plans, while Stage 3 will disseminate materials developed by the NPO Bangladesh and demonstration companies. Those materials and outputs will be shared at a conference in Bangladesh in February 2024 attended by other companies in the chemical sector in Bangladesh.