Sime Darby as the ‘Industry Champion on Productivity’ to spearhead productivity initiatives

AraDamansara, 14 April 2016 – Sime Darby Berhadis participating in the “World Cup” of qualitypractitioners for the second consecutive year.

Malaysia will be represented by the multinational company and four other Malaysian organisations at the World Conference on Quality and Improvement (WCQI) organised by the American Society for Quality (ASQ) in Wisconsin, USA from 16 to 18 May 2016.

Sime Darby is one of 36organisations shortlisted for the prestigious event although there were approximately 140 entries from 30 countries globally. ASQ’s World Conference on Quality and Improvement (WCQI) is the world’s premier event on quality that features world-class keynote speakers and successes by leading organisations from around the world.Also representing Malaysia at the Conference are teams from the Ministry of Education, KhazanahNasionalBhd and Jabil Penang.

The winning entry by Sime Darby through the Carey Owl Knights team is a project that has the potential to reduce cost and boost revenue for a refinery, Sime Darby Austral, by almost RM60 million a year. In fact, Sime Darby Austral has managed to save almost RM30 million in about 5 months, from 15 August 2015 to 31 December 2015. Since Sime Darby rolled out the Lean Six Sigma Business Management Strategy in 2013to improve operational efficiency, the Group had achieved accumulated savings of more than RM360 million.

Adding another feather to its cap, the Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC) recently named Sime Darby as the ‘Industry Champion on Productivity’ to spearhead productivity initiatives at an industry level. The recognition of Productivity Champions is an initiative that aims to cultivate and drive productivity amongst industries.

President & Group Chief Executive of Sime Darby, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Mohd Bakke Salleh said “I am very proud of our team and our achievements. This is the second year that Sime Darby will be participating at WCQI and the first time that we have been recognised as an Industry Champion on Productivity by MPC. It shows our commitment towards constant innovation and sustainability and for that, I congratulate the team for their hard work.”

Director-General of MPC, Datuk Mohd Razali Hussein said that being recognised as an Industry Champion on Productivity is a testament to industry experts who are highly competent and innovative in driving productivity within their respective industries.

“Sime Darby is seen as a leading diversified multinational with core businesses in the Plantation, Industrial Equipment, Motors, Property, and Energy & Utilities industries. Their work in constant innovation and sustainability is an asset and serves a role model for other organisations, besides encouraging the improvement in productivity for industries.

Under the 11th Malaysia Plan, public and private collaboration is required to drive higher productivity at 3.7% per annum towards a target of labour productivity of RM92,300 per employee by 2020. MPC will foster stronger working relationship with various stakeholders to recognise productivity champions at industry and enterprise levels. These champions in their own role and capacity will assist in driving the whole nation towards higher productivity.” he said.

For Sime Darby Austral, it has now become the first refinery in the palm oil industry to test the new phosphoric acid specification, a milestone for the Sime Darby Group. The project, completed in July 2015, involves enhancing the degumming process that uses phosphoric acid, which is an early step in the refining of palm oil.

The focus of the team was on improving the dosage pattern and acid concentration, and enhancing the degumming parameters to an optimum level, while reducing high operating costs at refineries largely contributed by phosphoric acid. The optimisation in phosphoric acid is vital in determining the final quality of the refined oil produced.

This year marks the second straight year that Sime Darby will be representing Malaysia in the competition. The team has also been awarded with the ASQ 2016 International Team Excellence Finalist Award. The International Team Excellence Award session will allow participants to see how other companies from all over the world have used quality tools to positively impact their bottom line through live case studies from a wide variety of industries.

For further information, please contact:

VimalaMuniandy

Corporate Communication

Malaysia Productivity Corporation

Tel: 012-243 5208

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