May/June 2010 - Keppel Offshore & Marine

BUSINESSInnovation tops15 teams from Keppel FELS did thecompany proud by bagging threeGold, nine Silver and three Bronzeawards at Singapore’s NationalInnovation and Quality Circles(iQC) Convention 2009.Management and the winnerscelebrated the achievement at anawards ceremony held on 24 May2010. The awards were conferredbased on an assessment by theSingapore Productivity Association.semisubmersibles since firstquarter of 2009 and has enabledthe company to save some$5 million so far.Another Gold award-winningproject was by STARNOVARooms for improvementfrom Production (Electrical &Instrumentation) department.The team designed a newstorage rack for cable drumsthat has raked in man-hour savingsin cable-pulling activities andbetter housekeeping.The teams were selected to enterthe national convention afterperforming outstandingly atKeppel FELS’s annual in-houseiQC Convention, organised bythe Quality System departmentduring Innovation Month inSeptember 2009.Then, 48 teams had pitched a slewof creative proposals that couldgenerate collective savings of up to$5.24 million per annum.Ideas flow and garner momentum at i-Corners in Keppel FELSVincent Neo from the SubcontractManagement department, whoseteam Q-Box won Gold, sharedthat management’s support wasimperative. “We received greatsupport from our bosses and alsothe co-operation of colleaguesfrom other departments andsections,” he said.Q-Box’s solution to restructureelectrical unit rates by cabletypes was implemented on sevenThere is always room forimprovement at Keppel FELSand the yard has taken a literalstep towards increasing effortsto promote innovation forimprovement by setting asidea dedicated room in each of itsworkshops for idea-generation.In these special rooms, which arenamed i-Corners, employees areencouraged to exchange ideasand discuss suggestions thatcan better any aspect of theirwork, adopting the KFELS “3A’s”approach to innovation – Adopt,Adapt, Advance.Knowledge is shared with othersthrough presentation materialsthat are showcased at thei-Corners.24OffshoreMarine May – June 2010