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| Blazing
the trail for excellence |
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| Ms Tan
Ai Ling receiving the Outstanding IQC
Manager Award from Associate Professor
Ho. |
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Having
bagged awards in three of the five National Innovation
and Quality Circle (IQC) Award categories in
2002, the Housing and Development Board (HDB)
is undoubtedly at the forefront of innovation
and quality improvements in the public sector.
HDB received the Outstanding IQC Organisation, Outstanding IQC Manager and Million
Dollar Project Awards during the International Exposition of Innovation and Quality
Circles organised by SPRING Singapore.
Another public organisation, the Ministry of Defence, was the only other multiple
award winner. It claimed the Outstanding IQC Manager and Million Dollar Project
Awards.
But in case you think the awards are only for the public sector, 9 of the 19
awards presented to organisations, individuals and circles for exemplary achievements
and contributions to the IQC movement went to the private sector.
Highlighted here are some of the award winners. For the full list of winners,
visit www.spring.gov.sg.
Outstanding Newcomer IQC Organisation Award
This award recognises the achievements of organisations that have successfully
implemented QCs for less than two years.
The sole winner in 2002 was Singapore Oriental Motor Pte Ltd. The company introduced
a series of activities to promote its Quality Improvement Circles. These included
study trips to learn from good circles during the National QC Carnival, a knowledge
exchange session with facilitators and leaders, and learning sessions to upgrade
leaders’ and members’ knowledge.
Outstanding IQC Organisation Award
There were four winners, including HDB. Another winner was Singapore Technologies
Engineering Ltd. Over 70% of its staff participate in IQC programmes, which include
Kaizen, Six Sigma Teams, Quality Action Teams, EVA Teams and IQC Teams. The benefits
include $14-million savings from product and process improvements in 2001, and
a more innovative and cohesive workforce.
Outstanding IQC Manager Award
Senior Executive Administrative Officer Tan Ai Ling from HDB’s Toa Payoh
Branch Office was one of the four winners. Under her able management, 10 IQCs
at her branch office had won over 200 awards at in-house and national competitions.
The 10 circles also successfully completed over 40 projects in each of the last
three years. In fact, the number of projects completed by an IQC per year at
her branch office rose from 1.5 in FY 96/97 to 4.0 in FY 01/02.
Million Dollar Project Award
This award is given to circles that have achieved at least $1-million savings
in manpower, equipment and other costs in a single project. One IQC from the
private sector and three from the public sector won this award. One of the teams
was Nine Plus One from the Maritime and Port Authority. Their project helped
to enhance the safety of port users and resulted in cost savings exceeding $1.77
million.
Eureka Award
This was conferred on six circles that had completed highly innovative projects
that have created value and enhanced their organisations’ performance.
Highway IQC from the Singapore Civil Defence Force won the award for successfully
installing decontamination facilities on fire engines, while PICAT team from
KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital was awarded for their idea to
use cool water mattresses to reduce high fever in critically ill patients.
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By
SPRING Singapore
Next: Towards innovative QCs
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| Related
Articles |
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| Do
you know that there are over 30,000
QCs from 520
organisations registered with SPRING
Singapore? These circles comprise over
240,000 members or 13% of the workforce
- possibly the highest participation
rate in the
world! |
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