HKSQ Study Mission for Service Quality Management in Singapore (Part 2)

Hong Kong Society for Quality (HKSQ) is organizing a study mission to visit Singapore include a half-day seminar / sharing session at Singapore Quality Institute (SQI) regarding service quality in Singapore and technical visits to Universal Studios Singapore, which arranged by SQI, from 20 to 24 Feb 2013. This study mission will enable delegates from Hong Kong organizations to learn the best practices of high service performing organizations in pursuit of performance excellence. I would like to summarize the trip for sharing below.

Program 2 - Visit Universal Studios Singapore (USS) on 22 Feb 2013
We gathered in the guest room of Universal Studios Singapore (USS) and took a group photo.

Mr. Leong Yue Weng (Assistant Director, Park Operations of USS) briefed the service quality in USS. They would like to bring value from money in terms of customer experience and they expected the customer visited the park at least 3 times through annual pass ticket. Moreover, Mr. Leong introduced their standard named "Three meter & One meter Rule" meaning that staff are aware customer in 3m distance and smile in 1m distance. They had a Training & Development Department to train their staff in four factors. They were Safety, Theme, Service and Operational Effectiveness. Mr. Leong briefed they had different service such as family room, pray room, single rider queue and mobile charging service. Nevertheless, they recognized people such as birthday and special day, as well as, they recognized staff contributions such as staff suggestion on program sheet for customer.

Mr. Sean Durney (Assistant Director, Park Operations of USS) discussed the ticketing system and queue information to customer such as how many minutes to be queued. Another important think was guest recovery. They had front line staff empowerment to repair the relationship. Once incident happened, they brought out the problem off site and let the operation continuous during the complaint handling. Sean also mentioned they would perform a customer survey using questionnaire (about 104 questions). I questioned how to ask customer to fill so long questionnaire. Sean replied that they would ask parent when they waited their sons/daugthers for the game.
Sean also mentioned about their Park Ambassador who walked and talked with guests as well as keeping the park clean which was one of duties for all staff included managers. (During the tour, I saw Sean to pick up rubbish by himself.)

After the talk, our Chairman Mr. Karson Chui presented a HKSQ flag to Sean and Leong.

Then we had a tour around the Park.

We took a group photo in front of Ancient Egypt Zone.

We had lunch in Chinese Restaurant and Karson gave appreciation message to Mr. Leong and Mr. Sean Durney.

HKSQ members photo in the restaurant.

I took a photo with two speakers for memory.

After the lunch, it is free time for members to enjoy the facilities of USS and we played Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure which was a water raft system for thrill-seekers. Our chairman (Karson) was wet completely!

At night, some of members joined together to try the chilli crab which was very famous food in Singapore.

In next day (24 February 2013), we visited National Orchid Garden.

We saw a Golden Tiger Orchid.

Before going to airport, we visited the ION Orchard Shopping Mall in Singapore.

HKSQ members are satisfied the study mission in Singapore and learnt their service quality.

Reference:
Universal Studios Singapore (USS) - http://www.rwsentosa.com/
USS blog - http://www.rwsentosablog.com/

HKSQ Study Mission for Service Quality Management in Singapore (Part 1)

Hong Kong Society for Quality (HKSQ) is organizing a study mission to visit Singapore include a half-day seminar / sharing session at Singapore Quality Institute (SQI) regarding service quality in Singapore and technical visits to Universal Studios Singapore, which arranged by SQI, from 20 to 24 Feb 2013. This study mission will enable delegates from Hong Kong organizations to learn the best practices of high service performing organizations in pursuit of performance excellence. I would like to summarize the trip for sharing below.

We arrived Singapore Changi Airport on 20 Aug 2012 afternoon. We took a group photo in the airport.

Then we visit the Merlion Park and took a photo in front of the Merlion. There are large and small Merlion in the park.

Program 1 - Visit Singapore Quality Institute (SQI) on 21 Feb 2013
We took a group photo in front of SQI office.

Mr. Kenneth Liang (Chairman, SQI) gave a welcome speech.

Mr. Kitson Lee (Hon. Secretary, SQI) introduced SQI to use. SQI's mission is to be the World Class Leader for Advancing, Learning and Sharing Knowledge on Quality and Its Best Practices. Moreover, SQI's activities included seminar, training, study mission and conference were mentioned. SQI Certified Couses were included Certified Quality Manager, Certified Quality Engineer, Certified GD&T Engineer, Certified Quality Supervisor, Certified Quality Technician, Certified Quality Inspector, Certified Service Quality Executive, etc.

After that Our Chairman Mr. Karson Chui (Chairman, HKSQ) introduced Hong Kong Society for Quality. HKSQ's mission is to promote greater awareness of the need for quality in Hong Kong for ensuring product and service excellence through continuous improvement of quality and customer satisfaction, and to provide continuing education to professionals involved in the quality and reliability disciplines.

Karson also introduced our ex-co members to SQI, most our ex-co members and former chairmen were participated in this study mission. Kenneth appreciated our members commitment.

The Sharing talk entitled "Overview of Service Initiatives in Singapore" was presented by Kitson. Kitson said the services industry contribute about 64.8% to overall GDP of Singapore. Kitson quoted Mr. Teo Chee Hean (Deputy Prime Minister) statement to explain the public service that "The Public Service must strive to deliver its services with excellence. In return, customers must understand that the Public Service has to balance serving the needs of individual customers against the collective needs of the public."

The he briefed the principles of public service (since 1995) that CARE which mean Courtesy, Accessibility, Responsiveness and Effectiveness. Since citizen had higher expectations of the public service, government engaged citizens to Co-create Solutions to benefit all Singaporean.
Then some case examples were discussed in Public and Private Sector as follows.
Healthcare for Public Sector: POLYCLINICS (S.M.I.L.E. - See Me In Line) and SingHealth;
Private Sector: ion Orchard, Triumph - Mood Lighting, and Singapore Post.

After the talk, our chairman presented a souvenir to SQI for appreciation to their arrangement and hospitality.

And also presented a souvenir to the speaker to appreciate his talk on service initiatives.

Then we had 撈起 (Lo Hei).
Yusheng, yee sang or yuu sahng or Prosperity Toss, also known as lo hei (Cantonese for 撈起) is a Teochew-style raw fish salad. It is a food for Chinese New Year in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.

We had buffet lunch in SQI.

Minda and I took a photo in SQI.

After that we visited Marina Bay Sands and took a group photo in SkyPark.

We also took a group using Sands service. The night view of Marina Bay background was added artificially.

Reference:
SQI - http://www.sqi.org.sg
Sands SkyPark - http://en.marinabaysands.com/Sands-SkyPark/

ASQ InfVoices - No Pain! No Gain!

Rocky's “No pain, no Gain” attitude reminds us that Pain comes from taking a risk, Gain if we overcome it.

ASQ InfVoices - Failure is the Mother of Success

The Topic of ASQ Influential Voice in Chinese New Year is "Risk, Failure & Careers in Quality" which raised by Paul Borawski (CEO, ASQ). Paul pointed out that teens are afraid of taking risk pursuing Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) careers. Moreover, he would like to discuss how much risk quality professionals are willing to take to find solutions to quality challenges.

"Failure is the mother of success (失敗乃成功之母)" is one of popular Chinese proverbs. Most Chinese teens understand this proverb. However, few teens will take risk in their study. Teens selected STEM field depend on their interest and capability. It is also affected by environment. In Hong Kong, most students would like to select Business Study in secondary school and university. It is because Hong Kong is one of financial hubs in Asia and the World.

For Scientists or Qualitologists, "Try and Error" is one of common problem solving tools but it takes a risk to waste time for wrong direction. Therefore, we employ Design of Experience (DOE) or Theory of Solving Inventive Problems (TRIZ in the Russian abbreviation - теория решения изобретательских задач) to reduce the risk for solving scientific or quality problems. As quality professionals, we alway face the risk. We don't be afraid it but manage it in systematic manner. Good quality come from sufficient risk management. That's what Deming said in "Out of the Crisis".

I would like to share for risk management and crisis management. ISO 31000:2009 is one of international standards for risk management. Risk Definition in this standard is"Effect of Uncertainty on Objectives". Its principle, framework and process diagram are showed below.

Another standard named ISO 22301:2012 for Business Continuity Management System (BCMS) where PDCA model is applied to BCMS processes. Some seminars related to ISO 22301 and BS25999 are listed into reference.

There are four risk treatment activities stated in ISO 27005:2008.
A)  Risk Reduction
- The level of risk should be reduced through the selection of controls so that the residual risk can be re-assessed.
B)  Risk Retention
- The decision on retaining the risk without further action should be taken depending on risk evaluation.
C)  Risk Avoidance
- The activity or condition that gives rise to the particular risk should be avoided.
D)  Risk Transfer
- The risk should be transferred to another party that can most effectively manage the particular risk

Don't be Afraid of RISK! Manage it!

Reference:
ISO 31000:2009 - Risk management - Principles and guidelines
ISO 22301:2012 - Societal security - Business continuity management systems - Requirements
ISO/IEC 27005:2008 - Information technology - Security techniques - Information security risk management
TRIZ related seminar - http://qualityalchemist.blogspot.hk/search?q=TRIZ
Remember Dr. Genichi Taguchi, Creator of Taguchi Method (DOE) - http://qualityalchemist.blogspot.hk/2012/06/remember-dr-genichi-taguchi-creator-of.html
HKQAA Seminar on ISO 22301 Business Continuity Management System - http://qualityalchemist.blogspot.hk/2012/10/hkqaa-seminar-on-iso-22301-business.html
Implementation of Business Continuity Management (BS25999) - http://qualityalchemist.blogspot.hk/2008/10/implementation-of-business-continuity.html

HKQF the 3rd TIC-ITAC Meeting

The 3rd meeting of Testing, Inspection & Certification Industry Training Advisory Committee (TIC-ITAC) under Hong Kong Qualification Framework (HKQF) was held on 5 Feb 2013. I was honor to be one of members in TIC-ITAC again in 2012-2014. Moreover, I also participated in the sub-working group (Quality and Operations Management ) to develop the Specification of Competency Standards (SCS). It is my first time to attend the meeting in the Central Government Offices (Tamar Zone Substation, 1A Tim Mei Ave, Admiralty, Hong Kong).

The most recently information of SCS was presented from Mr David Yu (Senior Manager, Qualifications Framework Secretariat) and Mr Chapman Chan (Convener of SCS Drafting sub-working group (Electrical Testing), ITAC of Testing, Inspection and Certification Industry) with the topic "The Development of Competency Standards (SCS) for Testing, Inspection and Certification Industry Professionals" during OUHK Testing and Certification Day in 3 Nov 2012.

After the meeting, I met Prof. Nora FY Tam (Chair Professor, BCH Dept., CityU) who taught me twenty years ago. Prof .Tam was invited for environment related meeting.

Reference:
Members of Testing, Inspection and Certification Industry Training Advisory Committee (ITAC) at http://www.hkqf.gov.hk/guie/com_ITAClist_TIC.asp
OUHK Testing and Certification Day - http://qualityalchemist.blogspot.hk/2012/11/ouhk-testing-and-certification-day.html

Technical Seminar of Medical Device Manufacturing and Technologies

The Technical Seminar of Medical Device Manufacturing and Technologies was organized by Manufacturing and Industrial Engineering Section, IET Hong Kong, and co-organized by MILES Alumni Association of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The seminar aims to discuss and share the latest trends and technologies in design and manufacturing of medical devices. The summary was shown below.

In the beginning, Dr. Augus Cheung (Chairman, Branch Committee, The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Hong Kong) gave a welcoming speech. He expressed that Technology is very important in Hong Kong and Bio-engineering is the one of future opportunities.

Souvenir presentation and group photos with speakers and supporting organizations.

The first speaker was Ir. Professor John Mok (Founding Chairman of Hong Kong Medical and Healthcare Device Industries Association; Co-founder and Chairman of Automatic Manufacturing Limited) and his topic named "The Opportunities and Challenges of Medical Device Industry in Pearl River Delta Region".

Prof. Mok briefed the overview of medical device industry, its opportunities, situation in China and the future trends of the industry. He said ageing population increased and more needs for healthcare globally. The different risk levels of medical device with samples were mentioned.

Then Prof. Mok described the Medical Device Design and Development Cycle. He pointed our the Design for Excellence through IQ, OQ, PQ, etc. Its requirement was much higher than traditional manufacturing product (such as toys).

He also explained the why medical device technology and market was in Blue Ocean but not in Red Ocean. It was because its market demand is more than supply with Four High included technology, entry barrier, margin and risk. After that Prof. Mok introduced the production of medical device in China. Pearl River Delta was mainly for modern medical equipment development which was a combination of high technology achievements in these areas. Future of Pearl River R&D would focus in medical high-tech electronic products, more R&D centers and clincial study with Hong Kong doctors.

Finally, Prof. Mok said the start-up Medical Device industry should have Technical partner and Marketing partner before seeking for investor (e.g. Angel or VC). He also recommended Hong Kong Government should fund Science Park to setup:
a) animal laboratory
b) a small scale factory complying GMP standard to provide pilot-run service (molding, SMT, casing assembly, final test & calibration, packaging, sterilization)
c) a Phase I clinical trial centre for 20-80 patients (whereas Phase II for 100-300 patients) It is because China SFDA made GMP mandatory for medical devices before clinical trials since 2011.

The second speaker was Mr. Bryan MK So (Senior Consultant, Automation Service, Hong Kong Productivity Council) and his presentation was "Recent Development of Regulations & Harmonized Standards for Medical Devices".

Mr. So introduced Global Harmonization Task Force (GHTF) on Medical Device which was established in 1992. However, GHTF was dismissed in 2012. Then International Medical Device Regulators Forum (IMDRF) had conceived in Feb 2012 which built on the work of GHTF but it included only regulators of governments without industries representatives in the Forum. IMDRF management committee members included EU, US, Canada, AU, Japan and Brazil.

The Mr. So introduced Regional organization named Asian Harmonization Working Party (AHWP) which established in 1995. AHWP had 23 member economies by 2012. Finally, he briefed the regulatory updates in Hong Kong that government conducting Business Impact Assessment on the proposed statutory regulation of medical devices from 2011 to present.

Ir. SL Mak (MIES - IET representative) introduced IET membership and its professional qualification.

Ir. MK Lam (Vice Chairman, MILESS) introduced the membership and benefit of MILESAA.

The last speaker was Prof. Raymond KY Tong (Professor, Interdisciplinary Division of Biomedical Engineering) and this topic entitled "Robotics for Stroke Rehabilitation: An Intention Driven System using EMG".

Prof. Tong briefed the background that active initiation and participation in the rehabilitation is a key of success. The Hand Robot would motivate patients (stroke or brain injury) to actively interact with the system during the task-related training regime.

Some videos were showed how good the training using the Hand Robot.

The sample hand robot was circulated and I took a photo for memory.

At the end, Mr. Samson Lam (Chairman, MIE Section, IET Hong Kong) gave a closing remark.

Reference:
IET (HK) - www.theiet.org/hongkong