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SCMP Reporter

MODERN quality management ideas and methods are explained in a series of bilingual publications produced by the Industry Department.

   They are mainly targeted at chief executives of Hong Kong's manufacturing and service sector companies and are a useful guide and a reference tool.

  All are available from the Quality Services Division of the Industry Department.

  The Industry Department's primary role has been to provide Hong Kong's manufacturing industries with the support needed for industrial development.

   The Role of Management; Quality In Manufacturing; An Executive's Guide to the Use of International Standard for Quality Systems and Leading the Way - A Quality Guidebook for Chief Executives are the authoritative references currently available from the department.

  An Executive's Guide to the Use of International Standard for Quality Systems has been published in collaboration with the Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency (HKQAA).

   In all the books, case studies have been included to illustrate how companies in Hong Kong can make the best use of good business management practices.

    Case studies are drawn from some of the leading companies in manufacturing and service sectors - ranging from electronics and electricity, to clothing and construction.

    Some of the companies highlighted have been making a valuable contribution to Hong Kong for decades.

  Motorola Semiconductors, a company that has been profiled, was set up in the territory in 1967. Another firm, Johnson Electric (manufacturer of micro motors), has been operating since 1959.

   According to the Industry Department, the publications are another important step in the campaign to raise awareness of quality.

   Executive officer (quality assurance) of the Industry Department K. C. Kwan said: 'We will be releasing more books from April to June. All our publications are free. Anyone can get them from us.'    The next set of publications, A Company-wide Quality Culture; Quality for Small Businesses; International Requirements for Quality and Quality Costs, will be available from April.

   In almost all publications, most topics discussed and analysed are directly addressed to managers who are expected to lead the way in defining the goals of companies and drawing up strategies to achieve their targets with the participation of the workforce.

    The publication, An Executive's Guide to the Use of International Standard for Quality Systems, has been fully devoted to examining the ISO 9000 series of standards in detail.

    It details the background, the constituent parts of the International Standards Organisation (ISO) 9000 classification series, purposes and also the different elements of the ISO 9001 series.

    These quality system elements are presented in a question and answer format.

    The publication informs that the guide 'indicates major specifications necessary for the establishment and conduct of a quality assurance system geared to producing goods and services of consistent quality'.

    Details of the all the requirements of the standards can be obtained from the Industry Department's Product Standards Information Bureau.

    The book also contains an extensive list of organisations that provide services for companies to improve quality. Contact numbers and brief descriptions of services provided by these organisations are given.

    For example, the Vocational Training Council provides courses on a wide range of quality assurance topics on a part-time and full-time basis.

    And the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering of the University of Hong Kong has placed particular emphasis on quality assurance in both the BSc (Eng) and MSc (Eng) degree courses.

   In addition, the department is well equipped for teaching, research and consultation work in quality assurance.

   Support organisations include - apart from the Industry Department - the Hong Kong Q-Mark Council, Hong Kong Society for Quality Control, University of Hong Kong, Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Productivity Council, among others.

   One publication, The Role of Management, highlights the experience of several Hong Kong companies in Total Quality Management (TQM).

   It explains TQM, details the benefits and offers managers advice on the concept.

   Case studies of companies and the benefits they derived from TQM are provided in a separate chapter.

   For example, Swire Technologies, which provides testing and assembly services for integrated circuit chips, reduced defects by 800 parts per million in the moulding process and built closer relationship with suppliers, through its TQM programme. These were just a few of the benefits it derived from TQM.

  Apart from these publications, a newsletter, Quality Quest, is published by the Industry Department's Quality Services Division.



Bilingual publications are useful guide and reference tool