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10 Years of Technical Innovation
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| SESCo Power Generator |
What does it take to stay together as a team for a decade, going on to 11 years?
Some may say sharing of common interests or values, while others may think it
is due to long term friendships or business partnerships. Many would be surprised
to know the reason to be because of quality, as Mr. Peter Ngiam, Station Manager
of
SESCo Power Station, Jalan Belian, found out about Go 2020 - the station’s
Quality Control Circle (QCC) team.
“I am surprised that Go 2020 has been active for 10 years,” said Mr.
Peter Ngiam, and added, “During my travel with them to the recent National
QCC Convention in Kuala Lumpur, I can see the bond between the members …
they showed good team spirit and cooperation.”
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| The M2000 Lapping Tool |
Go 2020 chipped in, “We have stayed together for 10 years
because each member knows his own roles and responsibilities in the group. The
division of jobs among the members also reflects on our spirit of teamwork.”
Formed in 1993, Go 2020 has 8 members including the Facilitator. Leaders are rotated
amongst the 7 members for each project that is unanimously chosen by all members.
This year is their 10th Anniversary and they have thus far accomplished 8 technical
projects during the period. All 8 projects have been implemented within their
work place and are still being regularly fine-tuned for better performance.
“Our best achievements were when we received the Overall Champion Award during
the State QCC Convention in 2001, and the 3 Gold Stars Award during the National
QCC Convention in 1997,” Go 2020 reflected. However, each achievement of
the team has been earned with much personal sacrifices and efforts in terms of
commitment, time, discipline and courage from every member. One example is the
extra time put in by the team to meet and work on projects outside of their shifts
and office hours.
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| Demonstrating traditional lapping by hand |
For 2003, the team’s 8th Project, which took 1 year and 1
month to finalize, was initiated to ‘Reduce Excessive Leakage of Fuel Oil
from the Fuel Injection Pump’. It involved the invention of the M2000 Lapping
Tool. To give a brief idea of the workings of the fuel injection pump, it powers
the generation set, which in turns generates the electricity we need on a daily
basis. If the surfaces of the pumps become uneven due to prolonged operation
and high pressure, fuel oil will leak and cause the pumps to become inefficient
or malfunction.
Previously smoothing the surfaces of the fuel injection pumps is performed manually
(hand lapping) but this method is not effective enough to reduce leakage of fuel
oil. With the M2000 Lapping Tool, that combines rotational and horizontal movements,
the uneven surfaces of the pumps are effectively smoothed and leakage of fuel
oil was minimized by a whopping 86.2%. In addition, the time taken to smooth these
surfaces is reduced significantly from 58 to 24 minutes per pump.
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| Power Cables at the station |
“One of the many benefits of QCC is that it makes work more
convenient and effective. There is less wastage of time and we are able to meet
the target time for maintenance of engines,” stated the team of Go 2020.
In the long term, the savings in material, time and efficiency during any workprocesses
also translates to cost savings for SESCo, who rewards the team and staff with
various incentives.
“We really appreexperiences. ciate the support and recognition given to the
group from the management. The incentive trip to Singapore in 2000 where we attended
the International QCC Convention as observers was an eyeopener and a valuable
experience,” Go 2020 said with enthusiasm.
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| Mr. Peter Ngiam, Station Manager of SECSo Power Station |
For Go 2020, their formula of success as an active team is many
folds but they also realize that more efforts are required to work together
cohesively as well as improve their public speaking skills and knowledge of
Information and Communications Technology (ICT). This is because SESCo’s
standards of quality are getting higher every year and the team has to match
those standards.
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"I was influenced to join from observing
other QCCs during their presentations. After joining Go 2020, I
have improved a lot on the technical side and gained more knowledge
from the projects. My courage and confidence has also improved through
public speaking. I am also now better versed in computers, especially
using Powerpoint. But there is more rooms for improvement and I
am still at a learning stage.
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| "It was a challenge for
me when I was the leader for a previous project, particularly with
regards to chairing meetings. However, the experience of speaking
during presentations has greatly improved my skills in public speaking.
I also have the chance to learn computers and gain exposure as well
as experience in this area. In addition, my problem solving skills
at home has improved too."
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"I realize that one person cannot do everything
alone. Being a QCC member has improved my technical knowledge, which
in turns has improved my work processes. The standardization of
work maintenance and procedures allows everyone to follow so the
process is transparent and everyone has a chance to improve. I would
like to see all staff participating in QCC. I have also enriched
my family life from the brainstorming skills gained through meeting
as a group."
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"It has been a challenging job for the past
10 years. I hope that I have contributed as a Facilitator for the
group and performed my role properly. I can see the differences
between those who are involved in QCC and those who are not in terms
of how each person deals with colleagues, friends and the public.
But there is still room for improvement especially brushing up on
the computer skills. The group can also observe other QCC presenters
during the national and international conventions, as the exposure
will provide opportunities to improve their personal appreexperiences.
I hope that Go 2020 will remain as a group for future projects."
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"QCC is an effective tool to handle criticism
as we can improve ourselves from knowing our weaknesses. QCC is
not just for the work place but also could be used in public and
at home. I am able to develop myself and be more creative and innovative
with QCC. I hope that QCC could be promoted widely as there is aneed
to expand QCC awareness and participation in the younger generation."
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