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ST Engg’s pursuit of excellence was well rewarded when it received
the Singapore Quality Award (SQA) in 2002.
Despite the rigorous assessment, ST Engg attained the SQA on its
first attempt as a Group. It is the first public-listed company
in Singapore to receive the prestigious award, which has been conferred
on only 13 organisations since its inception in 1994.
The SQA is the pinnacle award bestowed upon organisations in Singapore
in recognition of their attainment of world-class standards of business
excellence. It provides a comprehensive framework for organisations
to benchmark their performance and a valuable tool for sustaining
their competitive edge. It is widely used by top organisations to
measure where they are in the journey to excellence, identify the
gaps and take action for improvement.
Administered by SPRING Singapore, the SQA is recognised as one of
the premier business excellence awards in the world, on par with
the US Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the European Quality
Award, the Australian Business Excellence Award and the Japan Quality
Award.
SQA applicants are assessed against seven criteria under the SQA
framework. These criteria are: Leadership, Planning, Information,
People, Processes, Customers and Results. They are reviewed regularly
to ensure they reflect leading-edge management practices of world-class
organisations.
ST Engg met the stringent requirements of the SQA assessors in all
seven areas, in no small part due to the commitment, drive and hard
work of its staff.
THE JOURNEY TO EXCELLENCE
Although the journey to attain the SQA was not an easy one, given
the size and complexity of ST Engg's operations, the determination,
hard work and passion of its people in pursuit of business excellence
paid off and the benefits derived from the exercise were many.
For a start, the process created greater awareness among all ST
Engg's staff of what business excellence means to the Group. Because
of the wide coverage of the application, the business management
system of the whole Group was subjected to a comprehensive review,
resulting in the identification and analysis of ST Engg's strengths
and their formalisation into its systems and processes. New improvement
opportunities were identified within the Group, enabling the sharing
of best practices amongst the business sectors, its customers, partners
and other organisations.
Initially, there were several challenges but these were quickly
overcome. The commitment of everyone within the organisation was
secured to ensure that they all understood the rationale behind
the application for the SQA. In addition, all operating units and
departments came to understand the impact of the SQA requirements
and participated actively in the process of meeting them.
Another crucial step was the integration of the various approaches
adopted at the business sector and Group levels, and their alignment
to meet the SQA requirements. While this was difficult, it was achieved
in spite of the challenges posed by the diversity and complexity
of
ST Engg's operations.
Equally challenging was the updating of SQA reports at all levels
on the Group's operations, the effectiveness of its systems and
processes and the results achieved. However, once prepared, these
documents served an even more important function by enabling "knowledge-sharing"
on the operations and directions of the Group.
WORLD-CLASS ORGANISATION
IN EVERY WAY
After 600 man-hours of assessment, the decision to raise ST Engg
into the premier ranks of SQA winners by the assessors was largely
due to the quality of ST Engg's leadership, its ability to exploit
new opportunities and introduce innovative products and systems
in challenging markets.
The leadership shown by ST Engg senior executives revealed a high
level of commitment and focus on building a global organisation
that consistently delivers value to its stakeholders. They set clear
directions and participated actively in planning, communications
and building relations with customers, partners and other groups
of stakeholders.
The strategic planning capabilities of the Group enabled it to exploit
opportunities, leverage on its strengths and move ahead quickly
to meet changing market and customer needs.
ST Engg's emphasis on developing its people into creative, thinking
and innovative individuals and team players working to achieve the
business objectives was considered a national best. Its investment
in training in 2001 far exceeded the national average, with each
employee receiving an average of 56 hours of training and a high
training utilisation rate of 91 percent.
The culture of teamwork and employee participation within ST Engg
was demonstrated by various Total Quality Commitment initiatives
such as EVA (Economic Value Added) Projects, Kaizen Teams, Six Sigma,
Suggestion Scheme, and Quality Action Teams. All these went a long
way to help the Group achieve its organisational objectives and
goals.
ST Engg's research and development capabilities and innovation infrastructure
comprise an Intellectual Property Rights programme, an advanced
engineering centre headed by a Chief Technology Officer, long-term
technology roadmaps, a technology fund and an annual R&D budget
of up to five percent of sales. ST Engg's continuous investment
in innovation, and its ability to creatively adapt and apply technology
between defence and commercial products scored high in the SQA assessment.
IN
SEARCH OF EXCELLENCE
The attainment of the SQA in 2002 marked a major milestone for ST
Engg. While it does not represent the attainment of perfection,
it certainly confirms that the Group is on the right track in its
ongoing quest towards business excellence.
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The
Journey To Excellence
World-Class Organisation In Every Way
In Search Of Excellence
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