Quality Service Towards Betterment Of Society

Quality Service Towards Betterment Of
Society
By Nur Hanim Abd. Ghani & Cham Yin Hwa
The local authority plays an important role in the
management of urban areas. One of the most
significant services provided by them is the
management of solid waste to ensure a healthy and
clean environment. This service is crucial for an
effective city management as the generation of waste
simultaneously increases with the expansion of
population as well as economic development. Some
aspects of concern that the local authorities face
include contaminated water, breeding of insects and
rodents, flash floods due to blocked drainage system
and an uncontrolled amount of rubbish disposal as well
as improper waste handling. Not only that, improper
waste management leads to greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions. This emission is known as a concerning
factor in climate change.
Collaborations
between
local
authorities
and
environmental management companies usually bring
about a better management of solid waste
management. This methodology provides an integrated
waste management system that a city needs through
specific mix of waste management options. Alam Flora
Sdn. Bhd. (AFSB) is one of the leading environmental
management companies in Malaysia which has
collaboration with 13 local authorities in providing
public sanitisation and waste management for 33
scheme zones.
AFSB was incorporated in 1995 and it is a wholly-owned
subsidiary of DRB-Hicom Berhad. Being one of the
largest concession holders of Malaysia’s solid waste
management and conducting private public
sanitisation project, AFSB serves areas of certain
regions in Peninsular Malaysia such as Pahang, the
Federal
Territory of Kuala Lumpur and
Putrajaya.
Every year, AFSB collects
and disposes an average of
1.3 million tonnes of waste.
The company is dedicated and
committed in managing and
reducing waste with minimal
environmental impacts which
is believed to benefit the waste
industry, community and the
ecosystem in a whole.
Quality Enhancement Through Innovative And
Creative Circle (ICC)
As the number one solid waste management company
in Malaysia, AFSB has manifested continuous
investment in developing its own human capital. This
is to ensure that all 3,500 employees are able to
deliver excellent services which are of quality at all
times. With twenty years of experience in managing
solid waste, AFSB had undergone a magnificent
journey in providing the best solid waste management
services to the 3.2 million customers in managing a
total of 1.3 million tonnes of waste annually. AFSB has
continuously aimed towards excellence and complied
with the operation schedule and requirements made
by The Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local
Government (KPKT), Jabatan Pengurusan Sisa
Pepejal Negara (JPSPN) and SWCorp Malaysia. All
these are done to ensure that the work process is
embedded with quality.
At AFSB, many improvements are accomplished in
providing a positive ambiance towards enhancing
customer satisfaction. The management is committed
to the development of skilled, dedicated and
knowledgeable workforce. All staff are required to
involve in innovative activities in making AFSB an
organisation of excellence. Engaging innovation in
work processes facilitates in the reduction of cost and
increases work efficiency. Initiatives on generating
ideas and works towards betterment of organisation
are carried out through activities in Innovative and
Creative Circle (ICC). AFSB is committed in bringing
more ideas into reality through the establishment of
the ICC team that involves all its employees. ICC
guides the teams in identifying the problems and
coming up with solutions. It provides a room for
brainstorming and generating ideas and this indirectly
improves communication among employees. These
structural activities are supported by specific tools
and techniques from ICC for the development and
improvement at AFSB.
In 2014, FMD 1 Heart was established as one of the ICC
teams from the Management Unit. The team used
PDCA (Plan, Do, Check & Action) cycle in completing
their ICC project. Eight members were selected
ranging from various expertise. They were all grouped
together for the purpose of enhancing quality,
delivery, morale and safety while minimising the cost
of operations.
As a start, FMD 1 Heart brainstormed for problem
identification. Fourteen problems were identified at
the first round of the ICC activity. They had further
used Multi-Voting chart, Weightage matrix and Pareto
diagram to verify the most important problem for
problem solution. The findings revealed that the
maintenance cost for catch basin vehicle had
increased
tremendously,
amounting
to
RM366,600 for January until August 2014.
The team had collected
relevant data for verification and
they found that barrel chip and
bracket of a suction hose was
always damaged that had
contributed to the increase in the
maintenance cost of catch basin
vehicle. Therefore, the team had
decided to resolve the problem of
high frequency replacement of
catch basin suction hose and
targeted to achieve a cost
saving of RM150,500 from
this project.
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Implementation Of Ideas Into Reality
Suction hose is a tool to vacuum garbage from the
catch basin. The barrel chip and bracket of a suction
hose is always damaged during the suction operation
and this happens due to high frequency of collision at
the bent area. This ultimately led to the drainage
issue at the catch basin. In 2014, it was recorded that
AFSB paid an amount of RM50,500 for penalty imposed
for drain cleaning by the authorities. This damage also
contributed to a high possibility of flash floods when
rubbish was not disposed as usual.
The team knew that the problem had significantly
affected the reputation of AFSB. However, AFSB took
this issue positively and aimed to implement the best
solutions using ICC tools. They utilised Fishbone
diagrams
and
SMART
(Specific,
Measurable,
Attainable, Realistic & Time-bound) analysis for
Root Cause
root causes identification of the problem. The possible
causes were categorised under man, material, method
and machine. The Why-Why analysis was further used
to finalise the issue. It was identified that there were
three causes leading to this problem.
First, was the limited storage capacity to store catch
basin suction hose. Second, the heavy duty of catch
basin cleaning which also contributed to the damage of
the suction hose. Finally, they realised that the inner
spiral was unable to meet overstretch at bend area
during the suction operation. All these were the
factors that contributed to the problem of high
frequency replacement of catch basin suction hose.
The team continued with several brainstorming
sessions to identify solutions for each cause. They then
further gathered and distributed all information for a
clearer picture. The table below explains the root
causes, proposed solution and actions taken towards
resolving this issue.
Proposed Solution
Action Taken
Limited storage capacity
Rearranging store for more space
1. 5S implementation to store suction hose
properly.
 Spare parts are well arranged and easy
to get/obtain after 5S activities.
Heavy duty of catch basin
cleaning
To monitor maintenance of the
catch basin
2. Adopted the concept of Preventive
Maintenance Vehicle (PMV) programme.
 Forecast the operation demand yearly
and monitor daily vehicle availability
versus holding for repairing process.
 Develop master schedule of vehicle
maintenance and follow the schedule.
 Introduce vehicle health check program.
 Eliminate downtime of repairing
process.
Inner spiral was unable to
meet overstretch at bend
area during the suction operation
To prevent inner spiral from
damage during the suction
operation
3. In-house design and the development of
adapter kit (a cylinder installed inside the
suction hose bracket).
 Material:
 Flange tube (mild steel solid;
thickness : 2mm) for body.
 Collar clamp (thickness : 8mm) to
allow overstretch at bend area and
prevent leaking during suction
operation.
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5W+1H METHOD IN DEFINING THE PROBLEM
INTER ADAPTER KIT SOLUTION
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Analysis Of ICC Project In AFSB
The implementation of the ICC project at AFSB has
brought tremendous changes in the reduction of the
maintenance and operation cost. The installation of
adapter kit saves a total amount of RM426,500
annually. This is supported by the reduction in
maintenance cost from RM530,100 previously to
RM208,300 per annum. Furthermore, the number of
complaints have reduced to 18 as compared to 92
previously. These implementations have also reduced
the frequency of replacing new suction hose from four
to only one in a year.
The availability of catch basin vehicle has also
improved to 100 percent after the implementation of
the Preventive Maintenance Vehicle (PMV) programme.
Now, AFSB is able to meet the demand of this vehicle
especially during the peak seasons. Based on this
achievement, it is not a doubt that ICC is one of the
best platforms to implement innovation at workplace.
This will be able to drive the organisation towards
improvement that leads to cost saving and
productivity. It is indeed an undeniable fact that an
efficient and clean environment will lead to a
healthier society and contribute to a quality life. This
is very much important for the future generation as
well.
COMPARISON BEFORE AND AFTER ICC IMPLEMENTATION
Maintenance cost per year:
Before : RM530,100
After : RM208,300
Availability of catch basin
vehicle:
Before : < 100%
After : 100%
Number of suction hose bracket
replacement for a year:
Before : 4
After : 1
Average number of
customer complaints:
Before : 92
After : 18
Cost saving per year:
Before : 0
After : RM426,500
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