qBlog

Apr 09

A look back at the 3rd NUS Excellence Day

contributed by Amir Hamid, Office of Quality Management

“In the course of work, it can be hard to realise,” wrote Joe Mullinix, Deputy President (Administration), “that the small things we do, the tiny tasks we perform – day in and day out – have any impact at all”. Joe’s words set the stage for the 3rd NUS Excellence Day held on 22 February 2012 at the University Cultural Centre. The theme was simple: It’s the little things that make us great.

Colleagues from across the University were invited to share their thoughts on an enormous mosaic whose variegated tiled surface was an apt reflection of the sheer diversity of the NUS community.

“Lend a listening ear to staff with problems,” said Eng Eng from the Office of Human Resources.

“Everyone knows that they will be given respect no matter what their roles are,” said Manmohan from Computer Science.

“The smiles. The warm greetings that we see every morning. The little teasing and jokes that we share,” said Abdul Rahman from Pathology.

Four slots in the centre of the mosaic stood empty. At the event’s light-hearted opening ceremony, NUS President Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, Provost Professor Tan Eng Chye, Deputy President (Research & Technology) Professor Barry Halliwell and Deputy President (Administration) Mr Joe Mullinix, added their own tiles to the empty centre, thus completing the mosaic of aspirations.

DPA Joe Mullinix and DPRT Barry Halliwell placing their own tiles on the mosaic.

The opening ceremony was beamed live to the expectant audience in the event’s main hall. The last tile, put in place by NUS President, drew a resounding applause. On that lovely note, the 3rd NUS Excellence Day began.

1. NUS Quality Service Award

The main highlight of the NUS Excellence Day has always been the awards that are given out, to acknowledge excellence in both quality and environmental pursuits.
One of the key prizes conferred at the event is the NUS Quality Service Award, which is an annual award that affirms a superb service attitude and a keen understanding of how to exceed customers’ expectations among NUS staff.

A/Prof Tan Kay Chuan presenting the NUS Quality Service Award to the NUS Enterprise group.

A total of 148 staff from across the University’s administrative and academic offices received the NUS Quality Service Award [more info here].

2. Valued Online Ideas Contributed by Employees (VOICE)

VOICE provides NUS staff with a strong and vibrant channel for voicing their suggestions. Since 2000, VOICE has transformed the way suggestions are contributed and implemented. It has been empowering and inspiring offices, teams and individuals to innovate.

At the 3rd NUS Excellence Day, three people attained the Best Individual Effort of the Year award, three teams attained the Outstanding Suggestion of the Year award, and six departments secured the Outstanding VOICE Participation of the Year award [more info here].

3. Innovation and Quality Teams (IQ Teams)

NUS’ IQ Teams have come a long way from their initial modest achievements. IQ Teams have reaped millions of dollars in cost savings, and have gone on national and international stages to compete with teams from other organisations and countries.

The annual IQ awards recognise teams whose projects are assessed on innovativeness, value creation, results and portability of solutions. In total, eight IQ Teams were conferred IQ awards at this year’s NUS Excellence Day [more info here].

4. National Innovation and Quality Circles Convention (NIQC) and International Convention for Quality Control Circles (ICQCC)

Aspiring IQ Teams are invited to participate at the In-House NIQC Convention every year and have their projects assessed by industry leaders. ICQCC, on the other hand, is the result of a close partnership among IQ Teams, NUS offices and OQM to grow IQ Teams and enrich projects through international exposure.

At the 3rd NUS Excellence Day, 15 IQ Teams received recognition for their extraordinary achievements in both conventions [more info here].

5. NUS Service Class

For NUS offices, attaining the NUS Service Class signals an unqualified commitment to service excellence. Based on the rigorous business excellence framework, the programme has helped departments transform their processes to meet the demands of both internal and external customers. The NUS Service Class enables offices to challenge themselves in reaching their fullest potential.

NUS President with the Directors of offices that attained NUS Service Class. From left: A/Prof Tan Kay Chuan (OQM), NUS President Prof Tan Chorh Chuan, Mr R Rajaram (OAM) and Mr Allan Tan (OHS)

A total of three offices were conferred the prestigious NUS Service Class Award at the event. For the first time since the award’s inception, OQM was proud to secure a place in the NUS Service Class honour roll [more info here].

6. Inter-hall Environmental Award

As part of the Office of Environmental Sustainability’s mission to transform the University into an environmentally responsible campus, the Inter-hall Environmental Award engages the proud heritage of NUS Halls of Residences to take the leap into a green future.

Dr Ng Kah Loon represented Kent Ridge Hall in receiving the coveted 1st Prize trophy for the Inter-hall Environmental Award

This year, three halls were recognised for their tireless commitment to environmental excellence.

For all its solemnity, the event was interspersed with hilarity, courtesy of local comedian, Chua Enlai. Posing as a clueless Thai student Ponsak, he regaled the crowd with examples of customer service, as carried out in Thailand. One act had him training the audience on service etiquette by using, of all things, a ping-pong ball.

Special guest star, Chua Enlai, having fun with ‘victims’ culled from the audience

The Office of Housing Services entertained with their imaginative skit on the different types of customers that their frontline staff faces daily.

The event closed with a sumptuous buffet lunch where NUS colleagues had the opportunity to re-establish old networks and mingle with senior management.

For more photos of the event, visit OQM’s Flickr gallery.
For the webcast of the event, visit NUScast.

Apr 09

NUS Service Class Award 2011

Posted in Blog Tagged awards, nus service class 1 Comment »

contributed by Foo Siew Mong, Office of Quality Management

Departments are assessed according to their capability of delivering distinction in service excellence.

Congratulations to the following three departments for winning the prestigious NUS Service Class in 2011.

From left: A/Prof Tan Kay Chuan (Office of Quality Management), NUS President Prof Tan Chorh Chuan, Mr R Rajaram (Office of Admissions), Mr Allan Tan (Office of Housing Services) receiving the NUS Service Class Award from NUS President

Office of Housing Services (OHS)

Recipient of the NUS Service Class Recognition for Service Excellence
OHS segments their customers and uses many channels – surveys, feedback, meetings – to assess its level of customer satisfaction. The feedback provides actionable data useful for fine-tuning and enhancing service offerings, understanding current needs and issues for different customer groups, and prioritising issues for improvement. In addition, OHS has made use of technology to enable IT-based systems to collect information and encourage sharing and learning through many channels, including channels to solicit ideas and identify problems. This reinforces learning and service improvement.

Office of Housing Services

The leadership team has clear vision, mission and core values for the department, aiming towards ‘creating homes on campus’. The many years of collective service experience by the senior leadership demonstrate its passion and drive towards a strong customer service excellence and a people-oriented environment.

Office of Quality Management (OQM)

Recipient of the NUS Service Class Recognition for Service Excellence

OQM has put in place multiple mechanisms to measure the effectiveness of their services. Channels of customer feedback, both solicited and unsolicited, are reviewed and improvements to services are made where feasible. On account of its small pool of consultants and resources, OQM harnesses technology and leverages on its partners to support the ever-increasing demand for its services. This includes the use of electronic platforms such as qBlog, qKnowledge, OQM Corporate website, emails, NUS Staff Portal, q Journey, VOICES Café, MOTD, and OQM DMS.

Office of Quality Management

OQM has strong leadership, planning and customer-focus management framework. The team has demonstrated its drive to set clear directions for the department, create customer focus, service emphasis, clear and visible values (‘LIVE’), and high expectations for OQM’s quality journey. They develop strategies, systems and methods for achieving excellence, stimulating ownership and learning, building knowledge and capabilities in their consultants.

Office of Admissions (OAM)

Recipient of the NUS Service Class Commitment to Service Excellence

The leadership team has clear vision, mission and core values for the department. The many years of collective experience by the senior leadership team enables it to demonstrate passion and drive towards strong customer service excellence and a people-oriented environment. Its open style of management communication is well-liked by the staff.

Office of Admissions

OAM sets clear customer touch points performance standards and provides customers with easy access to information, conduct business and make feedback, through multiple channels such as its convenient location, call centre, RightNow email system, and website.

Application to NUS Service Class 2012 is now open to all offices. For more information, visit the Staff Portal.

Mar 13

Winners of NUS Quality Service Award 2011

Posted in Blog Tagged customer service, nus excellence day, nus quality service award No Comments »

At NUS, there are many staff members who demonstrate the kind of service excellence that inspires and motivates others, and they help pave the way to a better service culture in NUS.

At the 3rd NUS Excellence Day, 8 individuals were recognised as Service Leaders and Service Champions for their sterling achievements in service excellence. Apart from receiving a badge and a certificate, Service Leaders also receive $600, while Service Champions receive $1000.

At the same event, another 140 individuals were recognised as Service Advocates and Service Achievers. In addition to receiving a badge and a certificate, Service Advocates also receive $200, while Service Achievers receive $400. A framed publicity poster featuring the department’s winners is presented to the office.

To qualify for the award, nominated staff must satisfy the award criteria found in this earlier article. Congratulations to all winners!

Jan 17

The magic of little things

Posted in Blog Tagged event, little things, nus excellence day 2 Comments »

Contributed by Joe Mullinix
Deputy President (Administration)

In the course of work, it can be hard to realise that the small things we do, the tiny tasks we perform- day in and day out- have any impact at all.

They do.

Imagine if all of us switched off the office lights during lunch time. The savings in electricity would be considerable. More importantly though, through very little effort, we would have taken a significant step towards conserving the environment.

Imagine if we served each of our customers with a little more concern and initiative. The savings in avoiding potential complaints and re-work would be substantial. More importantly, though, we would have gone some way in making NUS the university of choice for aspiring students, in having our students, faculty and staff feel that they are part of a caring and supportive community.

Little things matter. Little things make us great. That is what the 3rd NUS Excellence Day is all about, and we want you to be part of the magic of little things.

Make a date with us and usher in another successful year of excellence- only at NUS Excellence Day.

Dec 27

myStarIdea- Winners of September – November 2011 contest

Posted in Blog Tagged contest, myStarIdea, voice No Comments »

The winners for September – November 2011 run of myStarIdea are:

Apple iPad 2

Ng Chwee Hwa (Office of Financial Services), for IQ Project “Auto update of bank account details“.

$50 NTUC Shopping Voucher

Teo Hoon Hwee (Physics), for VOICE Suggestion “Putting safety strips across glass panels facing the wheel chair ramp inside KOFU canteen.“.
Goh Chong Leng, Jenson (Computer Centre), for IQ Project “Towards an interdisciplinary class experience in a Residential College- Implementation of the UTown Module Preference Exercise System“.
Christopher Oh Jian Loong (Psychology), for VOICE Suggestion “Recycling of food boxes“.
Teh Siew Khim (NUS Libraries), for VOICE Suggestion “Request for having a campus map, in bigger scale, of Kent Ridge and Bukit Timah at the Loan Desk in Central Library“.
Lim Kwee Keng, Linda (Office of the Vice President- Campus Infrastructure), for VOICE Suggestion “Light for the Dark Room“.

OQM congratulates all winners for their efforts. Winners will be notified by e-mail on collection of prizes.

The contest goes on with the December 2011 – February 2012 lucky draw!

Dec 22

Post-event summary of NUS In-House National Innovation and Quality Circles 2011

Posted in Blog Tagged awards, events, iq teams, niqc No Comments »

OQM hosted the NUS In-house National Innovation Quality Circles Convention 2011 last month, and it was a runaway success, as IQ Teams from all over University competed to win top honours. Here is a quick breakdown of IQ Teams and projects that helped secure a big achievement for their respective offices.

IQ Team	Department	IQ Project	Award
Residential Life Team	Office of Student Affairs	Residential Life Programme	Silver
FAS ITU	Computer Centre, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences	NUS Student Arts and Social Sciences Club (FASS) elections	Gold
Law and Order	NUS Libraries	Ordering and claiming project (CJKLL orders)	Star
AIS Power	Computer Centre	Developing organisation agility through the shared components project	Star
Waterina	Office of Environmental Sustainability, Office of Housing Services	Water efficiency management in PGPR	Gold
Team UHMS	Office of Student Affairs	Integrated housing solution for effective administration of student housing	Gold
OSHE	Office of Safety, Health and Environment	Safety audit using iPad	Silver
Plant and Systems Engineering Division (PSE)	Office of Estate and Development	Proposed upgrading of 64 numbers of lifts in Kent Ridge campus at NUS	Gold
Plant and Systems Engineering Division (PSE)	Office of Estate and Development	Optimisation of chiller efficiency of central air-conditioning system at AS2 plant room	Gold
Plant and Systems Engineering Division (PSE)	Office of Estate and Development	To convert existing T8 fluorescent light tubes at YSTCM car park to energy saving alternatives with minimal capital cost and optimum energy efficiency	Gold
Utitans	Computer Centre	Towards developing collaborative learning communities – the implementation of the UTown Residential College Admission System	Gold
OSHE	Office of Safety, Health and Environment	Safe and efficient method of transporting hazardous materials by lift	Gold
Utitans	Computer Centre	Towards an interdisciplinary class experience in a residential college– the implementation of the UTown Module Preference Exercise System	Star

As always, we have tons of photos of the event for your viewing pleasure, available through our flickr gallery:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oqmoffice/sets/72157628100735764/

Dec 21

qCalendar for Academic Year 2011/12

Posted in Blog Tagged qCalendar No Comments »

We are grateful for all the compliments that we received over the design and usefulness of our qCalendar. Sadly, we only printed a limited number of these popular poster-calendars, and will continue to do so because we aim to be an environmentally-responsible office.

For those who want to print their own copies of qCalendar, please feel free to download the digital version at this link.

We do encourage you to print non-critical documents on recycled paper, though. For more information on how to make our University an eco-friendly place, visit our friends at Office of Environmental Sustainability.

Nov 25

The making of…The Little Things

Posted in Blog Tagged event, nus excellence day, production, video 1 Comment »

Contributed by Amir
Office of Quality Management

Every year on the calendar, an event called NUS Excellence Day is celebrated. More than just an awards ceremony that recognises achievements in service, operational and environmental excellence, it is also an opportunity for staff from all across campus to come together, and catch up on friendships and re-establish networks. There are very few events like NUS Excellence Day, but there is a particular portion of the event that is my favorite- the screening of the Opening Video.

I have been involved with producing the Opening Video since the beginning, and have always been proud that we are able to tell colleagues: “We made the video ourselves“. From story-boarding, to filming, right down to special effects and post-production; we created the Opening Video in-house. Without a doubt, the Opening Videos of earlier years were amateurish. They were just photo montages, with cheesy music tagged on for added measure. We learned, though, and evolved. Instead of being a solo effort, I now have a fantastic team to work with, and the quality of the Opening Video has shot up exponentially. Since last year, we began to experiment with Digital SLRs (yes, those hulking cameras whose lenses resemble rocket launchers) to shoot high-definition video. The results surprised us, and we never looked back.

Because the media team only comprised of three individuals- a meager number- work on the Opening Video of the 3rd NUS Excellence Day had to begin almost a year ago. The Opening Video’s theme is “It’s the little things that make us great“, so we traveled around campus, capturing moments and snapshots of working life in NUS. It was fun working with NUS colleagues whom we never met before. The university is so large and populated by such diverse individuals, every single session became an adventure. Here are some of the interesting challenges we faced in creating an Opening Video that we hope you will find unforgettable on 22 February 2012.

Amir, who is a member of the media team, getting down and dirty to prep the camera for an extended recording of the state and university flags in front of University Hall.

Despite waiting in the hot afternoon sun for more than an hour, the wind refused to co-operate. The state and university flags outside University Hall remained limp for an uncomfortably long time.

Zhou Qi, who is a member of the video production team, uses a camera to take a panoramic swipe of Kent Ridge’s breathtaking fauna from the rooftop of University Hall

We set up on the curb at Entrance B into the University, in the middle of a blazing day. Fantastic sky, but energy-sapping heat! Waited quite long for a public bus to pass so that we could include it in our video. Barely avoided sunburn. Talk about sacrificing for the art!

Filming this scene, in which our actor, Rama, had to arrange some bricks to form the word CHANGE, was particularly challenging. To make the brick letters reflect better, we used a glass panel that was polished to death. Then we spent a long time trying to position the lights so that it did not reflect off the glass.

Exchange student, Nadia, waiting for filming to start, while we adjusted for the camera’s focus and exposure.

Val, who is a member of the video production team, volunteers to be a test subject while I adjusted the focus and exposure of the camera.

Nov 25

Learning Lean Six Sigma from the Masters

Posted in Blog Tagged japan, lean6sigma, study trip 3 Comments »

Contributed by Siew Mong, Khoon Sin and Amir
Office of Quality Management

Genchi Genbutsu, Hoshin, Heijunka, Yokoten, Muda…alien terms hurled about during a workshop Khoon Sin, Amir and I attended. At times, we wondered if we were going through a crash course in Japanese. But no. Smacked into reality, I found that we were still firmly rooted to the bare, concrete floor of the dojo. We were not learning judo or any form of martial art. Instead, we were part of an NUS contingent that had come to be drilled in the principles of the Toyota Production System. And did I mention that we were in Japan, right in Toyota City?

Khoon Sin and Amir wearing symbolic blue caps- requirements of the Toyota workshop.

In conjunction with ICQCC 2011, the Office of Quality Management (OQM) organised a 2-day study mission (9 to 10 September 2011) for the NUS team to learn from the pioneers of TPS- Toyota Corporation.

We were awed by the 3 veterans and practitioners of the trade – Susumu Minegishi, Mitsuru Fujii and Tadamasa Ishigaki, who conducted a condensed TPS seminar. Despite their age- all of them were easily above sixty- they tempered patience with enthusiasm in imparting their bottomless knowledge of the philosophy and key concepts of TPS. The three are living examples of how heavily Toyota invests in inculcating the culture of continuous improvement in all its employees. Unabashedly, Toyota’s ultimate aim is to make the quality assurance component of the manufacturing process redundant, by building quality right into the process. This is done through a combination of applying Poka-Yoke (mistake-proofing), 5-S principles (organised workspace) and Kaizen (work improvement), up and down the value chain of car assembly. Yet, Toyota takes it further by reducing the tools to a simple but powerful mantra: Profits are made by reducing costs, not raising prices.

One of the venerable trainers at the workshop.

The author Siew Mong (far right), watches as Amir points out the various kinks in an inefficient process.

The trainers then gave us a hands-on experience of the kaizan technique by executing a motion analysis using a model production line. We participated in measuring the cycle time of a mock assembly line that put together car radiators. Our goal was to develop solutions along Kaizen principles that would reduce the cycle time, thus increasing efficiency. While we made many mistakes, the practical lesson demonstrated for us the value of thinking out-of-the-box to come up with cost-saving and time-saving solutions.

NUS colleagues participating enthusiastically in the workshop activity of shaving waste from a process.

To reinforce our learning, a guided visit to the Tahara car-assembly plant was arranged the following day. Here, we discovered that while all successful organisations place a premium on listening to the voice-of-the-customer in corporate strategy, Toyota places considerable, if not equal importance, on the welfare of its employees. At the assembly line, we observed that every operator in the car assembly process works in maximum comfort, no tool or task is ever more than an arm’s length away. Every conceivable corner and activity in a Toyota factory is subjected to either 5S (organised, uncluttered workplace) or Poka-Yoke (mistake-proofing).

The NUS contingent took the opportunity to pose beside some luxury cars in the showroom at Tahara plant.

Amidst the tight schedule, we also visited the Hiramatsu Seafoods, which specialised in producing preserved seafood products. The visit consisted of a short workshop that was facilitated by the Vice-President of Hiramatsu. Ms Izumi Hiramatsu distilled for us the company’s alignment of staff training and performance to the business excellence standards of the food industry. Particularly important was Hiramatsu’s total control over its processes, and the way the company reconciles every step in the value chain to its business excellence standards.

The NUS contingent posing for a photo opportunity in front of the Hiramatsu factory.

Though hectic, the packed 2-day programme has been a great learning experience for the 16 NUS staff. The key learning points are as follow:

Work improvement and innovation programmes must be oriented towards organisational goals to add real value.
Kaizen must focus on measurable key issues, rather than trivial issues. It should also utilise existing resources, rather than introduce new technology from the outset.
Training is an important aspect of empowering staff with the necessary work improvement tools like 5S, identifying the 7 wastes, Poka-Yoke etc.
The performance and training indices of employees must be aligned to business excellence frameworks, like NUS Service Class.
Staff recognition and staff engagement are important factors in the success of work improvement programmes. The loop is closed when work is made more efficient, thus benefiting NUS as a whole.
Build quality into every step of the value chain, so that no defects are passed on to the next step to eventually become a delivered service.

Oct 31

NUS In-House National Innovation and Quality Circles 2011

Posted in Blog Tagged iq teams, niqc, voices No Comments »

Teams all over NUS have been coming up with solutions to work’s most intractable problems. In the process, they have brought down costs and created more productive workflows that are solidly anchored to the needs of their customers. At this year’s In-House National Innovation and Quality Circles (NIQC) Convention, we present the very best of these teams and their invaluable contributions to the University’s goal of attaining administrative excellence. Learn how these teams adopt new work processes, new technologies, and make the leap into greater innovation and productivity. The details of 2011′s In-House NIQC Convention are:

Venue: University Hall Auditorium
Date: 10 November 2011
Time: 8:30 am

If you’d like an overview of NUS’ In-house NIQC, do visit our photo gallery at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/oqmoffice/sets/72157625358336318/.