Business Sustainability (Beyond ISO/FDIS 9004:2009)

Today, I participated a training course entitled “Business Sustainability: Key to Long-term Success” organized by HKQAA. Sustainable success is a result of an organization’s ability to achieve its objectives in the long term with balanced consideration of the needs and expectations of all its stakeholders (including customers, investors, employees, suppliers, partners, etc). The workshop is based on ISO/FDIS 9004:2009 guideline. Dr. Ali AL-Zubaidi is the trainer who is a business improvement professional based in UK. Moreover, Dr. Ali is a CQP and Fellow of CQI.

I would like to share what I have learnt during the workshop.

What is the different between ISO 9001 and ISO 9004?
ISO 9001 is a requirement. It uses the word “SHALL” for the meaning of mandatory.
ISO 9004 is a guideline. It uses the word “SHOULD” for the meaning of up-to-business.

Dr. Ali briefed the history of quality movement that:
i) QC (focus on inspection – ISO 9001:1987)
ii) QA (focus on Procedure – ISO 9001:1994)
iii) QMS (focus on process approach and continual improvement – ISO 9001:2000 / ISO 9001:2008)

What is Sustained Success?
Sustained success is a result of the ability of an organization to achieve and maintain its objectives in the long term under dynamic organization’s environment.

Organization’s environment is a combination of internal and external factors and conditions that can affect the achievement of an organization’s objectives, and its behaviour towards its interested parties.

The process-based Quality Management System Model was also introduced.



The foundation of sustainable success is based on eight quality management principles. They are “Customer focus”, “Leadership”, “Involvement of people”, “Process approach”, “System approach to management”, “Continual improvement”, “Factual approach to decision making” and “Mutually beneficial supplier relationships”. The following table shows the most significant linkage between principles and ISO 9001 clauses.

The key benefits and outcomes of applying the 8 management principles were discussed. Then we focused on business environment for managing sustained success (ISO 9004 – clause 4).
It is recognized continually changing environment and it needs to monitor and analyze organization’s environment constantly in order to:
i) obtain data and information on which it can identify need for change,
ii) make decisions in a timely manner for organizational change and innovation, and
iii) maintain and/or improve its performance.

Top management should have the following actions to manage sustained success:
i) long term planning,
ii) constantly monitor and analysis of uncertain organization’s environment,
iii) identification of all its relevant interested parties and keep them informed of the organization’s activities and plans,
iv) consideration of mutually beneficial relationships with suppliers, partners & others,
v) identification of associated short term and long term risks,
vi) anticipation of future resource needs,
vii) regularly assessment of compliance with current plans and procedures,
viii) learning organization culture for maintaining the vitality of the organization, and
ix) processes for innovation and continual improvement.


The following table is an example of interested party and their needs.

The strategy and policy (ISO 9004 – clause 5) is focused on the followings:
i) Planning for business strategy
ii) Formulation a specific actions
iii) Deployment those actions
iv) Communication with all parties


Resources Management is extended to the following items (ISO 9004 – clause 6):
i) Financial
ii) Human resources
iii) Suppliers & partners
iv) Infrastructure
v) Work environment
vi) Knowledge, information & technology
vii) Natural resource

Let’s discuss how to identify, maintain & protect Knowledge and Learning. Several methods would be adopted to achieve the goal such as:
i) learning from failures, near miss situations and successes,
ii) capturing the knowledge and experience of people in the organization,
iii) gathering knowledge from customers, partners and suppliers,
iv) capturing undocumented knowledge (tacit and explicit) that exists within the organization,
v) ensuring the effective communication of important information content, and
vi) managing data and records.

Process Management (ISO 9004 – clause 7) includes Inputs, Outputs, Resources, Planning and Control.
For process planning, it can determine the need for the organization to develop or acquire new technologies; develop new products/services for added value.
In order to ensure that its processes and practices are effective and efficient, it should perform activities such as monitoring, measuring, analyzing, reviewing and reporting.

Monitoring, Measurement, Analysis & Review (ISO 9004 – clause 7) are imported in which will be performed through “Key performance indicators”, “Self-assessment”, “Internal audit” and “Bench-marking”.

Finally, Improvement, Innovation & Learning (ISO 9004 – clause 7) are discussed and it should be applied to:
i) products,
ii) processes and their interfaces,
iii) structures,
iv) management systems,
v) human aspects and culture,
vi) infrastructure, work environment and technology, and
vii) relations with relevant interested parties.

Applications of eight management principles though ISO 9004 guideline could enhance organization maturity. Lastly, “Understanding and satisfying needs & expectations of interested parties” and “Monitoring changes in organization’s environment” are considered to be successful factors for business sustainability.

Photo with Dr. Ali

For more information, please visit http://www.imsa-ltd.com/, http://www.hkqaa.org/.

Reference:
ISO 9001 (2008), Quality Management System – Requirement, International Organization for Standardization, Geneva.
ISO/FDIS 9004 (2009) or ISO 9004:2000, Quality Management System – Guidelines for performance improvement, International Organization for Standardization, Geneva.

Building a Sustainable Future of Hong Kong through Technology Development

Tonight, I attended a Technical Seminar entitled “Building a Sustainable Future for Hong Kong through Technology Development”. The seminar was organized by Electronics Division and IT Division of HKIE.

Ir. Peter Yeung (Chairman of Electronics Division – HKIE & Sr. Manager, BDTS – HKSTP) gave welcoming remark and the introduction of the speaker, Mr. E Anthony TAN.


Mr. Tan is the CEO, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation. He shared the view on new technology development and its application in Hong Kong.

First of all, he commented that the business in HK should be diversified so that the Hong Kong Economy can exclusively be developed. Technology and Innovation was suggested to be one of the themes. His speech was divided into three parts. In the first part, the technology development in Hong Kong over the last 10 years was reviewed. Then the role of HKSTP was secondly introduced. In the last session, he discussed the opportunity for technical engineers’ development.

ASTRI and HK R&D Centers establishment were developed. It caused the amount of R&D personnel increased significantly, as well as R&D projects which increased about 86% between 2001 and 2007. During that period, Innovation and Technology Fund increased 1.5 times. Mr. Tan added that the R&D expenditure increased 2.8 times within 6 years. However, Hong Kong has still fallen behind the other developed countries.

The table 1 shows the quality development roadmap in Hong Kong. Government has supported Technology and Innovation since 2000. (See Reference)

In part 2, Mr. Tan stated the mission of HKSTP that is “Providing infrastructure (hardware) and services (software) to enable Hong Kong to become a world-class technology hub on our chosen clusters.”

Electronics, ICT, Precision Engineering, Biotech and Green Technology are five major technology clusters that HKSTP would create clustering synergy. Moreover, integration and application of licensed technology in China and Asia Pacific is the major direction. HKSTP services, including laboratories service and incubation support, were also introduced.

The importance of engineer during technology development and the opportunities for engineers’ development were discussed in the last section.

Mr. TAN indicated several important fields for Engineers. They are Automotive IC, Green Technology (e.g. Solar panel), Mobile Phone Production (e.g. wireless, LCD, etc.) and RFID (e.g. logistic application).

He continued with some opportunities for engineers, like Hong Kong and Mainland China growing cooperation including 24 projects under Shenzhen-Hong Kong Innovation Circle.

Lastly, he summarized three major directions which demonstrate the sustainable development of technology in Hong Kong and region.
i) HKSAR task force on economic challenges (Six high potential economic pillar industries)
ii) Shenzhen-Hong Kong Innovation Circle (24 Cooperation projects)
iii) Hong Kong Science and Technology Park (Development of five technology clusters)


Q&A Session

IT Division Chairman presented a souvenir to the speaker.

Reference:
Lai, Lotto K.H., Chin, K.S. & Tsang, A.H.C. (2007) “Quality Movement and Evolution in Hong Kong: A Critical Review” Proceedings CD-ROM of The Fifth ANQ Congress, paper A7-03, pp.225 - 238.

HKQAA Carbon Conference

HKQAA Carbon Conference was held in City University of Hong Kong on 12 May 2009. Its theme was “Carbon Emission Reduction – The Right Thing to Do”. Some key speeches were summarized.


The first speaker was Mr. Edwin Ginn (Sr. Scientific Officer, Climate Change and Climate Forecasting Division – Hong Kong Observatory) and his topic was “Global Climate Change, its Impacts and Relevance to Hong Kong”.

Mr. Ginn stated Climate Change is the most important issue in the 21st century. Further, he explained the different between climate and weather (i.e. Climate is what you expect; Weather is what you get). Then he showed many scientific evidences and demonstrated how critical it was!

There are three observations of global changes:
i) Rise in mean surface temperature
ii) Rise in global mean sea level
iii) Decrease in Northern Hemisphere snow cover


The concentration of CO2 has been increased significantly which can be demonstrated in different locations, e.g. West China.

Temperature increasing rate in Hong Kong was +0.12oC per decade from 1885 to 2008. The mean of rainfall has been predicted to increase and with large variation. In future, the number of “Hot Night (>28oC)” and “Thunder Day” would increase in Hong Kong, but that of “Cold Day” would decrease.

The second speaker was Ir. Colin Chung (Executive Director, Parsons Brinckerhoff (Asia) Limited) and his topic was “Green Design for Reducing Carbon Emission”.

Mr. Chung indicated the amount of Hong Kong Green House Gases (GHGs) (44.8 Million Tonnes CO2 generated per year) and a comparison of CO2 generation with other countries.

He explained the characteristics of “A Low Carbon Emission Building”:
· Reduction in use of Fossil Fuels
· Reduction in Electricity & Energy Use
· Water Conservation and Re-use
· Adoption of Renewable Energy
· Waste Minimization and Avoidance
· Use of Recycle Building Materials

Example of Adoption of Renewable energy

The emission factor of Electricity, Towngas, Fresh Water and Sewage in Hong Kong were also demonstrated.

To have “Low Carbon Building Design”, Mr. Chung pointed out 4 factors that should be considered, namely “Building Orientation”, “Building Form/Geometry”, “Building Envelope” and “External Shading”.

Finally, he concluded his speech by encouraging people to design low carbon emission buildings so as to reduce carbon footprint. Act Now or it’s too late!


Then the third speaker, Ms. Connie Sham (Sr. Manager, HKQAA), presented “Carbon Audit”.

Ms. Sham described Carbon Audit which is “A means of measuring (accounting or quantification) and recording (reporting) the Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) emissions of an organization [in tones of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) equivalent]. It is also called “Carbon Footprint’.

Carbon Audit is carried out based on Kyoto Protocol (latest ratified by UN membership in 2007) in which reduction of the combined GHG emissions by at least 5% compared to 1990 levels in the period 2008 to 2012, is stated. It is the targets for industrialized nations.

In addition, Connie shared the main steps to do a Carbon Audit.
1. Define Organizational Boundary (It separated into two approaches: Management Control Approach and Equity Share Approach.)
2. Define Geographical Boundary (e.g. site boundaries of building)
3. Establish base year (data collected by Single base year / Average of several year / Rolling base year)
4. Define Operational Boundary (e.g. specific activities emit GHG)
5. Identify GHG Sources
6. Choosing Calculation Methodology (It separated into two approaches: Calculation-based approach and Measurement-based approach.)
7. Choosing Emission Factor (EF) & Global Warming Potential (GWP)
8. Collect Data
9. Calculate Emission
10. Develop GHG Inventory (example: Connie Pizza & Noodle Shop)
11. Reporting (including “Total GHG Emissions”, “Carbon value per employee (per job/project/dept.)” and “Power used per square foot (offices)”)

She affirmed the GHG target can be a planning tool to drive GHG reduction and showed some famous companies target such as Polaroid, Shell, Intel and CLP. Moreover, she indicated the improvement action by “GHG Removal”.

By the end, she emphasized Carbon Audit is the fist step of the carbon management (e.g. Wal-Mart).

Ir. Roger Lai (President, The Hong Kong Association of Energy Engineers) was the forth speaker and his presentation title was “Overview of the Energy and Carbon Audit”.

He agreed Connie that the immediate action for carbon reduction is “Carbon Audit”. Besides, “Carbon Trading” and “Clean Development Mechanism – CDM” are also important.

He summarized several institutional hurdles (barriers) as follows:
· Traditions, established practices and designs
· Market structure and condition may not encourage adoption of innovative products
· Habits

Lip service will not help! In order to overcome institutional hurdles, speaker suggested that:
i) Change has to be driven by management.
ii) Legislation for Mandatory Building Energy Code will help alleviate the second hurdle.
iii) Entrepreneurs to put in greater investment in manufacturing of energy saving equipment and systems.
iv) Everybody needs to involve.


The fifth speaker, Mr. Henry Chan (President, The Hong Kong Institute of Housing), presented the topic “Green Practice in Property Management Industry”.

At the beginning, he introduced Hong Kong Institute of Housing which was established on 29 Nov 1988 and aimed to promote and enhance the professional in housing management.

He believes that the success green property management should be supported by owner, tenant and management staff. The role of property management on green practice includes planning, persuading and analysis, as well as, implementation.

During implementation, the concept on reducing waste and improving environment should be applied. There are many practices such as “Recycle”, “Reduce” and “Reuse”.

Examples are lighting, construction materials, etc.

The sixth speaker was Ir. Cary Chan (Head of Technical Services, Swire Properties Management Limited) and his topic entitled “Energy Saving vs Carbon Reduction, How Swire Properties Acts Differently”.

He clarified the difference between “Energy Audit” and “Carbon Audit”. “Energy Audit” focuses on electricity consumption and “Carbon Audit” covers boarder, including transportation, fuels, waste, water, refrigerants, etc.

Then he illustrated the “Low Carbon Economy” characteristics including “More stringent regulations”, “Expectations from the society”, “Demand from customers”, “Detailed disclosure of emissions”, etc.

Swire’s related measures were shared, such as “Waste minimization at planning”, “Materials form sustainably managed sources”, “BEAM employed”, “Organic waste management”, “Using Refrigerant storage unit”, “Recover CO2 during testing of fire extinguishers”, “Supply chain management”, “Use of renewable energy”, etc.


The Energy Management employs “knowledge base energy management approach”, by which all related data is analyzed using a precise computer system.

Swire has established Energy Research Funds with universities (e.g. Tsinghua University in 2008 and Hunan University in 2009) to promote energy efficiency of buildings.

He ended with his experience on the way to change mindset from “Energy Audit” to “Carbon Audit”. They were:
· From Cost Saving to Carbon Reduction
· From I to We
· From Profit to Survive
· From Now to Future
· From Home to Earth


The seventh speaker was Mr. Yu Shuk Man (Head of Business Development – Engineering, Hong Yip Service Company Ltd.) and he presented “Environmental Policy in Property Management”.

Mr. Man suggested 3 ways to improve carbon footprints:
i) Less water and electricity consumption
ii) Greenhouse gas reduction
iii) Waste reduction and recovery

He then introduced some measures that were employed in the property management such as solar power and wind energy. He said the trial application of renewable energy was for education purpose.

He identified six major green tasks to be employed:
i) Green Policy
ii) Waste Management
iii) Energy conservation
iv) Air Quality Monitoring
v) Green Procurement Policy
vi) Green Education and Promotion

He showed the flow chart on conducting energy audit.

He concluded environmental property management can be success by enforcing environmental protection policy and active participation.



The eighth speaker was Mr. Fung (EMSD) and he presented “Buildings Energy Efficiency Funding Schemes under Environment and Conservation Fund”.

He briefed some projects for promoting buildings energy efficiency and a low carbon economy (which based on low energy consumption and low pollution).


Environment and Conservation Fund reserved HK$450 million to mobilize the public to take concrete actions to enhance buildings energy efficiency through two projects.

The energy-cum-carbon audit projects and the energy efficiency projects were subsidized HK$150 million and HK$300 million, respectively.

Lastly, Ms. Connie Sham (Sr. Manager, HKQAA) presented another topic entitled “Carbon Reduction Labeling – A Pledge for Achieving Carbon Zero”.

She introduced the HKQAA carbon management system certification scheme (CarboMSTM) which aims to provide organization with a management system framework in combating climate change. She explained the scheme was developed based on ISO 14001 & ISO 14064.

She pointed out some benefits by applying the scheme such as demonstration of organization commitment to environmental responsibility, towards carbon neutral, reduce GHG emission, etc.


Q&A Section

Mr. Fung replied participant that the energy efficiency project is subsidized 50% per single building with ceiling or 50% for multi-building without ceiling.

The second question is how to influence tenant to participate the energy saving program? According to Mr. Cary Chan, Australia professionals tried to use Green List but the result was not significant. It can’t help but promotion of energy audit / carbon audit to tenant.

HKIE Electronices Division 30th Anniversary Dinner

I was pleased to congratulate the HKIE Electronics Division on the 30th Anniversary Dinner held on 08 May 2009. I recorded some key points from different speakers for memory.

Welcome Speech by Chairman (Ir. Dr. Wilton Fok Wai Tung)



The first guest speaker was Ir. Stephen Chan (EMSD, HKSAR) and his topic was “Evolution of Applications of Electronics in the Government in the past 30 years”.

He pointed out three important elements for Information Communication Technology (ICT) in Hong Kong:
i) ICT Awareness
ii) ICT Usage
iii) ICT Capability

He also introduced the ICT development index, which is a survey conducted in 154 countries by using 16 indexes. Hong Kong was ranked No. 11 in 2007 and South Korea was No. 2 in 2007.

Finally, he stated three important directions for ICT development. They are:
i) New technology adaptation
ii) Engineer understanding globalization
iii) Information security


The second guest speaker was Prof. O Yue (Scientific Advisor, Innovation and Technology Commission, HKSAR) and his topic entitled “Innovation and Technology of Electronics Technology in HK”

He reviewed the ITC mission and different funding which support local innovation and technology development. 1313 projects were supported by ITC and it cost a total of HK$3.85 billion (where EE ~28%, IT ~26, Biotech ~11%, etc.).

He mentioned the cooperation between Mainland and Hong Kong is very important. He encouraged government to support IP protection, cooperation with Shenzhen in Electrons Industries.

I was delighted to have a chance to talk to Prof. Yue. He said that he had serviced Bell Laboratory about 30 years ago. Prof. Yue told me that many fundamental scientific researches could be done if the researches relates to telecommunication directly or indirectly. It was because Bell Lab was under AT&T group in that time. We believe that Bell Lab and Silicon Valley are excellent examples for Hong Kong to develop science and technology.

Then, Legislative Councilors Forum entitled “Technology and Engineering Develop in Hong Kong in the next 30 years” was moderated by Ir. Jolly Wong and Ir. Peter Yeung. The guests of forum were Ir. Dr. Raymond Ho, Mrs. Regina Ip and Ir. Dr. Samson Tam.

Mrs. Ip indicated the importance of ICT has been observed. To develop ICT, both “Cooperation with China” and “IP protection” are critical. Thus, we need to work closely with Shenzhen famous companies such as ZTE Corporation and Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

Dr. Tam affirmed Electronics Engineers would focus on the cooperation with Shenzhen and Guangdong in the next 30 years. He also quoted Bill Gate that the future ICT leader would be found in Asia (especially in China). Moreover, he said freedom in internet was very important in Hong Kong based on our legal system. Finally, he supported “Digital” innovation industries.

Dr. Ho said the most important issue for government is to set strategies for industries and also for young engineers. Nevertheless, the development of Lok Ma Chau Loop(河套區) cannot be ignored.

Souvenir presented to all guests.

Trophies presentation to past chairmen

Ir. SW Cheung received the trophy (He is Past Chairmen, EN in HKIE and Past VP, BDTS, HKSTP)