我的二零零九年大计

This is my 2009 plan that I publish on 10 Dec 2008. It is the time for me to review my achievement versus the plan. Lets see what I achieve for myself. Updated item in Red color text

二零零八，这看起来吉祥的数目字经过了无数多灾多难的日子，即将成为过去。也好，坏的不去，新的不来。期望将来的二零零九年会是一个美好的一年。

The year 2008, although it comes with a nice number, but it is not as good as what we expect. So many bad incidents happen within a year. Anyway, things that happen in the
past has become a reality, we can’t do anything. It is going to be in the history anyway. Let’s put our hope in the coming New Year.


每年的十一月，都是我检讨过去一年的得与失以及为将来一年作打算的季度。今年也不例外。其实这样的习惯已经维持了好几年了，我比较喜欢有规划的人生。庆幸我有这样的习惯。

As usual, I like to review my achievement throughout the year as well as listing down my to do list for the coming new year. I had been continue the practice for many years, I make sure I do the same in the coming years. Fortunately I keep the habit to plan ahead, so that I can enjoy my life in a more systematic way.


我已在早前的post总结了我在我二零零八年的得与失了，所以我不想再重复同样的课题了。

Since I posted my gain and loss in the year 2008, I do not want to repeat the same story again.


好，就谈谈我明年（二零零九年）想做的事情吧。

Well, let me just focus on my to do list for year 2009


继续开发Kidsilands的sale。我每天都在法白日梦，如果能够为Kidsislands close 一个一百万的sale回来，那该多好啊。

Continue develop the Kidsislands market. I used to have day dream, how wonderful if I able close a million sale for the online business.

I know, scoring a million dollar sale for Kids Islands still an unachievable target at this moment, anyways, the business grow for Kids Islands is on the right track. I am happy with the outcome.

Conclusion - Target achieved

在现有的工作上，我必须要交出更亮丽的成绩。既然跑不了，那就应该在原地创造出一些价值。或许，在不久的将来又会出现一个意想不到的惊喜。

I want to do better than yesterday. Since I committed to stay for another 1.5 years, I should put in more effort to create more value for what ever I do. May be, I manage to secure any surprise. Who know?


Overall, I believe I deliver the value that I commit. I may do better, no doubt, but some personal attitude problem do pulling me to do better. Anyway, I am happy with the score from my year review and the positive comment from my business devision. I believe, I can score another surpise in the coming year.

Conclusion - Target Achieved

Six Sigma training – 一直以来我都很想搞些 Six Sigma 的活动，去年没什么看头，希望今年会有些改变。

Six Sigma training – is an important activities I would like to involve, I didn’t do much in the past 1 year, however, I will continue do something, and hopefully I manage to see some result in the coming year.

Finally, I offer a chance to give a talk regarding Lean at MMU. Not so happy with the outcome, but it is a good start and I achieve what I want.

Conclusion - 70% Target Achieved

为二零一零年换车的计划开始筹钱

I have to start keeping enough money for my new car in year 2010

I manage to buy a new car for myself in June this year

Conclusion - Target Achieved

一定要在股市里赚点钱回来。

I fail to gain a single cent in the stock market. I must earn something in coming year


I stuck quite amount of money in the stock market at end of 2008, I work very hard to recover most of the losses, yet, there are still small amount I need to work on for the coming year.

Conclusion - 70% Target Achieved

好了，二零零九年该做的是就那么多。

Well, these are the important task I must fulfill in the coming new year.

In general, 2009 is not too bad to me, I should appreciate the hard time that I past through since 1998, that build me strong to be a survival in the challenging year.

The Toyota Way 14 Management Principles

刚刚读完了这本书；

The Toyota Way 14 Management Principles from the World s Greatest Manufacturer
By Jeffrey K. Liker

作者详细的列出十四项Toyota的生存之道。很 Practical，目前正积极的学习如何把这十四项生存之道运用在我么日的生活上。


Principle 1. Base your management decisions on a long-term philosophy, even at the expense of short-term financial goals.

Principle 2. Create continuous process flow to bring problems to the surface.

Principle 3. Use pull systems to avoid overproduction

Principle 4. Level out the workload (Heijunka). (Work like the tortoise, not the hare.)

Principle 5. Build a culture of stopping to fix problems, to get quality right the first time.

Principle 6. Standardized tasks are the foundation for continuous improvement and employee empowerment.

Principle 7. Use visual control so no problems are hidden.

Principle 8. Use only reliable, thoroughly tested technology that serves your people and processes.

Principle 9. Grow leaders who thoroughly understand the work, live the philosophy, and teach it to others.

Principle 10. Develop exceptional people and teams who follow your company s philosophy.

Principle 11. Respect your extended network of partners and suppliers by challenging them and helping them
improve.

Principle 12. Go and see for yourself to thoroughly understand the situation (genchi genbutsu).

Principle 13: Make decisions slowly by consensus, thoroughly considering all options; implement rapidly (nemawashi)

Principle 14: Become a learning organization through relentless reflection (Hansei) and continuous improvement (Kaizen)

My Six Sigma Project Of The Year - Improve & Control Phase

Improve
I can’t do much in this phase as I assign the kits installation job to workshop. But I tell them my expectation up front. I want all the kits must be firmly bolted with bracket, I m not accept cable tight mounting on those critical equipment. In general, they did the job exceed my expectation.

Engine tuning is the most difficult step in the installation, we spend two hour running engine in various condition, and fine tuning it to the optimum condition to minimize jerk and power loss.

Finally, I happily drive my car back at 9:00PM 9/11/2009





Control

I m still in the Control phase at this point of time. I need to tune my driving habit a little bit to compensate the power loss due to the natural characteristic of NGV. It is not so difficult for me to change. I m still monitoring the radiator temperature, surprisingly, I do not observe significant temperature increase as most NGV user reported.

Well, this is just another Six Sigma project in my life.

My Six Sigma Project Of The Year - Analyze Phase

I always has some concern about the safety of NGV, in general, it is a high pressure tank or in otherworld, I m carrying a bomb running around the street. There are 3 cases of explosion happen in last year, when the fuel price hitting RM2.70 per liter, giving a deep impact to the general public. Anyway, the root cause of the explosion is due to the misuse of cooking gas tank as a CNG reservoir.

My second concern about the safety of the NGV is, the rigidity of the tank. Will the tank able to withstand the impact if the car involve in an accident? In fact, I spend most time considering and find out a safer location to mount the tank, mainly to reduce the direct impact if somebody hit me from behind.

The drawback of the CNG is the size of the tank that will be occupied the storage space of my MPV. I will loss the flexibility I like and I may have problem to put in a bicycle that I used to carry around.

In order to make myself understand more about the CNG kits, I search through the internet, read through the NGV user experience and some technical write up by the expert. From the search, I understand more about the CNG kits and the system fit well to my car. I notice most use comment about the issue of power loss, engine instability and over heating after CNG conversion, fortunately, it is not the end of the world, there are solution recommended by the technical expert.

You may not believe if I tell you I really note down the issue and solution in a FMEA format.

In fact, I can’t convince myself about the safety of the tank based on the information through net search. Seem like not many NGV user aware the pressure control mechanism installed to maintain tank pressure stability. I need to understand this; it is my biggest concern in my mind that I must clarify before decision making. Therefore, I walk into few NGV installer, ask them explain and show me how the system maintain the tank pressure. Surprising, non of them able to give me an answer, until I walk into a workshop, where the technician able to explain to me every single detail of the system design, the tank pressure control mechanism, how the safety valve release the extra pressure to the ambient when the tank pressure is higher than the limit, how they guide the natural gas goes out from the cabin in case any leakage and the insulation material they use are meeting the industrial standard.

I like the explanation and my double being clarified. Without further elaboration, you know to whom I finally assign the CNG installation job to.

Finally, I finalized the deal with the workshop for a Pelmag mixer system and a 78L BTIC semi fiber tank for RM3500 inclusive Puspakom and JPJ certification.

The CNG cylinder system with a pressure relief valve and the air vent that trash the gas out from the cabin.

My Six Sigma Project Of The Year - Measure Phase

Measure:
My current expenses in fuel : RM450 – RM500

Targeted a 50% fuel cost saving after conversion of CNG.

Recommended conversion cost for my car, inclusive of CNG kit, installation and JPJ approval, and range around RM3500

Targeted ROI : 17.5 month ( based on RM200 saving )

Project target : I have to get my decision finalized and installation done before December 2009.

My Six Sigma Project Of The Year - Define Phase

Problem Statement

Prime Minister announcing the decision of reviewing fuel subsidy structure in the past 2010 budget release. In directly, the PM is giving a strong signal to the citizen, there is high change of quantum jump of fuel price in the coming year.

I don’t like the news, but I can’t do anything to stop the government decision. As Malaysian fuel price well known heavily subsidized by the government, therefore, it is among the cheapest in the world. RM1.80 for Ron 95, RM 2.00 for Ron 98 and RM 1.70 for Diesel.

I m spending about RM450 –RM500 monthly in petrol with current fuel price, it is considerable high proportion of my income. I can’t imagine the impact to me when the new petrol subsidy structure release in the early next year.

Because of that, I tell myself; it is time to review the plan to invest in Compressed Natural Gas ( CNG ) kit before the price hike of petrol and the CNG kit.

Quality Function = Policemen?

I call a project review meeting with a group of engineers from various functions. A quality engineer ( a lady ) told me that her function in the project is a policeman to ensure the project management compliance.

This is not the first time she told me that, she is a police. In fact, some other colleague from the same department do told me the same story. In their mind, the “Quality” function is just like a police, summon the peoples that violating the rule and regulation. Unfortunately, I don’t buy the idea and we end up in a debate each time the topic brings up.

My point is simple, I m a professional project manager, I manage my project according to the project guideline that set by the project office and I deliver result that meeting organizational target. Why do I need a team member only act as a police, only counter check my work? I don’t need a police who only eat up my project budget, but never deliver value. What I need, is someone who can add value to the project activities.

I need a Quality function in my project to support product reliability requirement and risk assessment support when team is challenging some technical limit. This is what I want, but I don’t see her capability after few round of meeting with her.

Per my understanding, the role of Quality function is to in contact with customer, document what the customers’ expectation and transfer it into a internal operational guideline. Oh yes, this is what I did when I was a manager of a quality department. I have to ensure we deliver the service that the customers expect, inspection is just an unhealthy quality control function, I only do that when something goes wrong. I spend most of my time collecting product quality information from my customer, understand it, and share it with the product development team and setting a right specification for manufacturing.

As a quality engineer, you must able to quantify the impact to customers if defective parts being delivered. With this, only you can communicate to the peoples in the operation and drive for continuous improvement. This is what I expect.

I hate the peoples who only highlight concern and risk, but can’t even quantify the impact. Working in a transcontinental project team, conflict is unavoidable, each team member are free to void up their concern or opinion, but bottom line, concern or opinion should follow with the quantitative impact. If someone only highlighting his concern without a quantitative business impact, in fact, he is no different like making a noise in the project.

Do you agree ?