The QIANG Way Forward

Stream Peak International, the largest desiccant converter in Singapore, is one of the organisations that has benefited from the "SME Quality Initiatives to Assist, Nurture and Grow" (SME QIANG) programme SME QIANG is a new customised productivity and innovation training programme under Productivity Initiatives in Services & Manufacturing (PRISM) which is a cluster of productivity-related Continuing Education and Training programmes .

Mr Jeffrey Foo, General Manager of Stream Peak International shared, “At first it was difficult to identify the areas for improvement. But after a few workshops with the Singapore Manufacturers’ Federation consultants , where we did project scoping and data collection together, we realised that the underlying problem was two under-utilised high performing machines that we had.“

Through the programme, they identified their immediate goals of increasing the Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE) for both machines and improving the workflow. With clear goals in mind, the project moved along rapidly as all team members participated eagerly, contributing new ideas to address the problems and increase the machines’ performance.

To achieve the goals, the team looked into reducing the cycle time of the machines by minimising unnecessary movements on the process flow as well as improving the overall system to maximise the number of working hours. For example, the company installed a central bell to standardise work activities.

Through the implementation of 5S, a workplace organisation technique that includes the maintenance of a clean and tidy work environment, the company designated proper locations for raw materials, empty containers, waste bins and finished goods, and workflow has correspondingly improved.

The strong team collaboration combined with, process standardisation, and improved workflow via implementation of 5S techniques, eventually helped the company achieve 25% of overall productivity gain through the programme.

As part of future activities to sustain the company’s productivity gain, Stream Peak International has plans to provide staff training on the importance of adopting lean thinking. 5S audits will be scheduled regularly to ensure that the 5S technique is applied and carried throughout daily work processes. Moving forward, the company also intends to apply the knowledge gained from the SME QIANG programme to increase the OEE performance of the rest of its machines.

For more information on PRISM and SME QIANG, click here.