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.

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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.

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.

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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.

Root Cause 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 op-eration

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.

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

5W+1H METHOD IN DEFINING THE PROBLEM

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INTER ADAPTER KIT SOLUTION

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.

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.

COMPARISON BEFORE AND AFTER ICC IMPLEMENTATION

Number of suction hose bracket replacement for a year:

Before : 4 After : 1

Maintenance cost per year:

Before : RM530,100 After : RM208,300

Availability of catch basin vehicle:

Before : < 100% After : 100%

Average number of customer complaints:

Before : 92 After : 18

Cost saving per year:

Before : 0 After : RM426,500

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