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- Speech by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean at MINDEF PRIDE Day 2009
Speech by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean at MINDEF PRIDE Day 2009
2 June 2009
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Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
The PRIDE movement aims to make MINDEF a learning organisation that continuously seeks innovation and improvement. Innovation should be an instinctive part of our daily work culture that involves all servicemen and servicewomen, so that our operators and engineers, trainers and administrators are always thinking about ways to make things work more efficiently and effectively, and to cut costs. The theme of this year's MINDEF PRIDE Day is Simple Ideas, Big Difference. Being innovative does not require us to provide complicated solutions to complex situations. More often than not, the solution starts with simple ideas. Let me illustrate.
Until recently, cleaning artillery gun barrels was a time-consuming and labour-intensive business. You had to pull a long and heavy cleaning brush through the barrel numerous times to make sure the gun barrel was clean. It was tiring. You also needed enough space to swing this long brush around. Team MORWITS from 6th Army Maintenance Base found a way to lighten the task and speed things up by automating the cleaning process. They adapted a motor-driven winch that pulls the cleaning brush through the gun barrels mechanically. This simple idea not only significantly reduced maintenance time, it also saved a great amount of manpower and space needed when cleaning guns. I am told that the gunners in the Navy are now also using this system for their naval guns.
Similarly, team TANDEM RAIDERS from the Air Logistics Group-Rotary Wing came up with an idea noted for its simplicity. They found that the A-shaped support frames used to off-load the Chinook helicopter blades were cumbersome and its sharp edges sometimes scraped the blades and body of the helicopter. 12 man-hours would then be required for repairs. So the team designed a new “H-frame” with a few new features. Its sharp edges are now fillet-lined, using styrofoam. Also, the top half of the frame is detachable. This reduces the size, making it easier to carry around and store away. In addition, fewer people are required to set up the frame during aircraft maintenance. The helicopters are now less likely to be damaged, and our technicians spend less time on maintenance and unnecessary repairs. Finding simple solutions that can make a difference also helps us get better value for our defence dollar. This attitude led team RECTIFIER from Changi Maintenance Base to collaborate with engineers from Singapore Technologies (Electronics) to develop a new LCD monitor that can be used for all our shipboard consoles. Previously, the need to stock a variety of monitors was logistically cumbersome. Today, the Navy needs to maintain only a single one-size-fits-all monitor type. This not only makes inventory management easier, it also saves S$1.7 million over five years for the Navy. The number of quality WIT projects has grown steadily over the past few years. Unit participation in the MINDEF Innovation Programme has increased from 35 in 2005 to 271 in 2008. More units are also relying on operational experimentation to validate and enhance the effectiveness of their innovations. The Innovate@MINDEF Fund, set up in 2004 to provide seed funding for prototyping and trials of projects, has made good progress. 26 experimentation projects have benefited from the scheme, 15 of which were funded last year. In recent years, MINDEF and SAF Work Improvement Teams have won an increasing number of national and international awards. For instance, at the National Innovation and Quality Circle Convention in 2008 our WITs clinched 8 Gold awards, two more than in the previous year, as well as our first Star Award since 2005. This award was won by the RSAF team TWISTED MINDS that modified old chaff/flare magazines from the retired fleet of F-5 aircraft for use in our F-16s. In the international arena, team SPARTANS from the 6th Singapore Infantry Regiment won the most prestigious Excellent Award for their project titled "Versatile Trolley" at the 2008 International Convention on Quality Control Circles Competition in Dhaka, Bangladesh. More than just winning awards, I am also pleased to note that 274 MINDEF/SAF units have achieved at least one national or international accreditation for organisational excellence, such as the ISO certification, Standards Assurance from the Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS), the Singapore Quality Class, Innovation Class and Service Class. This reflects the importance that our people place on adopting best practices and benchmarking against world-class standards of performance.
I would like to congratulate the five MINDEF Star Service Award winners. Ms Pauline Loh from GS(Ops) Army, Mr Ling Yew Ming from the Air Force School, Mr Lim Kian Huat from Changi Naval Base, Ms Linda Teo from the Defence Finance Organisation and Mr Choo Song Huat from Gombak Base have been exemplary in setting high standards of customer service, treating every customer with great earnestness, care and courtesy. Two projects - the "Alternative Sourcing for Communications Batteries" by HQ Maintenance and Engineering Support, and the "Alternative Sourcing for F-15SG Support and Test Equipment" by Air Logistics Department - will be receiving the Savings and Value Enhancements (SAVE) Award, which recognises efforts to stretch the defence dollar. Through these and other similar cost efficiency and economy drive efforts, in Financial Year 2008 we achieved cash savings of S$139.6 million for MINDEF. For Organisational Excellence, I would like to congratulate Air Logistics Group-Fixed Wing 1 for winning this year's Minister for Defence Award; and the two winners of the keenly contested MINDEF Excellence Award - Naval Logistics Organisation and the 6th Army Maintenance Base.
This year, we have introduced the MINDEF Innovation Award to recognise units and project teams that most exemplify a strong culture of innovation and creativity. Changi Maintenance Base and three project teams, MORWITS, T55 EMPIRE and PROBLEM RAIDERS, from the Army, Air Force and Navy respectively, will be receiving this new award today. A ready, capable and flexible SAF requires a strong culture of innovation and learning among our people. This cannot be built overnight. Recognising this, the MINDEF Innovation Council and the Learning, Empowerment And Renewal Committee have been merged to form the I-Learn Committee. This will more closely integrate the Suggestion Scheme and WITs with our drive for innovation. A strong culture of innovation and learning will allow the SAF to make better use of its resources so that the SAF is better equipped, better trained, and better supplied and maintained. And ultimately, an SAF that is creative, innovative, and able to think out of the box to win decisively in battle. I wish everyone a productive and rewarding year ahead. Thank you.