2003 Singapore Quality Award Winner 3M Singapore Pte Ltd (Woodlands Plant)
3M Singapore Pte Ltd (Woodlands Plant) manufactures flexible circuits (circuits on flexible substrate) that are used in computer inkjet printer cartridges, hard disk drives, and liquid crystal display applications for handphones. 3M is one of the industry leaders in flexible circuit manufacturing. Key customers include such companies as Hewlett Packard, Seagate, and Philips. The leadership team at the Woodlands Plant is dedicated to continuous improvement. The team ensures that the entire organisation understands the overall vision and objectives for the Plant. The team sets clear direction for every level in the Plant. In addition, the team members "walk the talk" and serve as role models for all employees. The personal leadership of the Plant management is evaluated regularly through a Plant employee opinion survey and multi sourced feedback from different segments of employees. Six Sigma is an important tool to help the Plant achieve its objectives. The senior Plant management champions and sponsors Six Sigma projects and facilitates new ideas to fill the "hopper" for future Six Sigma projects. The Six Sigma brainstorming sessions involve everyone including engineers, supervisors and support staff. The whole Plant works together to generate ideas and initiatives that will help to achieve the Plant's objectives. Input is also taken from key customers. Data from these projects are used to address critical issues within the Plant. The 3M Woodlands Plant has a strong belief in human resource excellence. The Plant places much emphasis on the development and needs of its 800 employees. A Leadership Development Programme has been established to identify high potential staff at the supervisory level. This tool helps coach and prepare young leaders for managerial appointments in the worldwide 3M network. Competency models for each job group in the Plant have been developed to provide guidance and coaching for employee development. Cross-training is another important tool. As a result of the work done with cross training the percent of Manufacturing Assistants possessing more than four skillsets has risen from zero in 2001 to 40% in 2002. The training expenditure as a percent of payroll in 3M Woodlands Plant was 6.5% in 2002, compared to the national average of 3.6%. 3M Woodlands Plant has built on 3M's corporate innovation initiative. It has a culture which encourages employees to take initiative and act upon their creative ideas. These ideas are captured in the programmes such as "I-Suggest" employee idea programme, Six Sigma programme, and the Lighthouse forum, which is a platform for engineers to share ideas about the industry. The Management of Change process in 3M Woodlands Plant is considered a best practice within the 3M Company. As a result of its focus on innovation, the Plant has introduced more than three dozen new product technologies and capabilities over the period 1999 to 2002.
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