Organization and Management For starting one brick factory.
Motivation
Brickmaking is labor intensive- it will be tedious and tiring. Workers, therefore, must be motivated to
produce good quality bricks. Benefits may be in the form of fair salaries from the sale of bricks or
benefit to the community. This may be in the form of better quality bricks that can be used to construct
schools and clinics.
Management
Although brickmaking may be considered a simple or low technology, good management is important for
successful brick production. This includes providing an adequate supply of raw materials for the workers,
keeping the equipment maintained and providing suitable facilities for the workers. It also involves
checking the quality of the product regularly, setting up smooth flow of production and having adequate
financial arrangements for purchases and salaries. Also, it is important to make sure there are skilled
personnel, and that the workers have all the tools and information needed.
Assistance
Assistance may be financial, technical or managerial. Financial assistance is needed at startup, as it
may take 3-6 months of no earned income. Technical assistance can be used to improve clay preparation
and molding, as well as firing the bricks. The local public works department can sometimes help with this.
Finally, it is good to have a resource for questions about small business activities, such as development
banks, government ministries or development organizations, as well as churches, schools and chambers of
commerce.