Annual Report 2009 - Asian Productivity Organization

INDIVIDUAL-COUNTRY PROGRAMS
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a few model companies and/or organizations are
selected each year. They receive management advice
from APO experts who visit several times per year or
stay in the country for a longer duration in the case
of APO/United Nations Volunteer experts. At the
end of the project, a local dissemination seminar is
organized, and a manual and video CD are produced
and distributed to other companies and organizations
to share the achievements of the model companies/
organizations.
Bilateral Cooperation Between NPOs
(BCBN)
The APO sponsors NPO participants who wish to
become involved in training courses, conferences,
and other special programs organized by other NPOs
through the BCBN Program. Opportunities are also
provided for high-level officials, policymakers, and
opinion leaders in APO member countries to visit one
or more other developed member countries to gain
knowledge from their experiences and transfer such
knowledge to participants’ home countries.
OSM
The Individual-country Observational Study Mission
(I-OSM) Program aims at enhancing the capabilities
of NPOs and member countries in their pursuit of
productivity improvement. Under this program,
member countries depute a mission(s) to one or more
other member countries to study and observe recent
developments and best practices in a particular area of
interest relevant to the needs of the deputing country.
To assist the capacity building of the requesting
countries effectively, I-OSMs are aligned with the
identified needs of each country. This helps member
countries build their capacity and be more competitive
by learning best practices from other member
countries.
In 2009, eight I-OSMs were organized in cooperation
with the host NPOs. These included the Philippines
to Thailand (12 members) on OTOP benchmarking,
Sri Lanka to Malaysia (17 members) on public-sector
productivity, Nepal to India (14 members) on rice
mill technology, the Republic of Korea to Japan (six
members) on industrial educational organizations,
Malaysia to the Republic of Korea (seven members)
on natural farming, Nepal to India (eight members)
on gemstone extraction technology, Vietnam to the
Republic of Korea (eight members) on the customer
satisfaction index, and Indonesia to the Republic of
Korea (12 members) on productivity improvement in
organizations. The duration of the missions ranged
from five to 10 days. Each comprised site visits to
model organizations to observe the best practices and
hold meetings with productivity experts.
TES
In 2009, 44 experts were deputed to conduct 37
projects under TES. The member country that benefited
the most was the Republic of China with seven,
followed by India and Malaysia with five. Fourteen
experts came from Japan, while 11 were from the
USA, four from Malaysia, three from Australia, two
from India, and one each from Canada, Costa Rica,
Hong Kong, Republic of China, Republic of Korea,
Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, and the
UK. Some of the subject areas for which expert
services were requested were knowledge management,
the balanced scorecard, and food safety management
systems.
Development of Demonstration Companies/
Organizations
The demonstration projects undertaken by the APO
are to demonstrate practical application of productivity
tools and techniques in the industry, service, and
agriculture sectors. Demonstration companies convey
success stories on the development and implementation
of productivity improvements and initiatives
undertaken to all stakeholders. Demonstration/model
organizations, companies, and communities showcase
the tangible results of productivity improvement
programs and encourage others to undertake similar
efforts.
Japanese expert (center) advising staff of demonstration model
companies and MPC officers, Malaysia
In 2009, two demonstration company projects were
undertaken, each of 12 to 18 months’ duration in
Malaysia and Vietnam in association with the MPC
and VPC, respectively. The Malaysian project focused
on total quality management systems under the thrust
area of enhancing applications of productivity and
quality in the country. The demonstration companies
are M/s Zamria Sdn. Bhd., M/s Autokeen Sdn. Bhd.,
and M/s Selia-tek Industries Sdn. Bhd., all in Selangor.
The project in Vietnam focused on the application
of lean Six Sigma in the service sector, and the dem