News and Events

Fiji Business Excellence Evaluators’ Training 2017
5 Jun – 9 Jun 2017, Suva, Fiji

Mr. George Wong facilitated a 5-day workshop for the 2017 Fiji Business Excellence Awards (FBEA) Evaluators. It’s a wonderful platform for collective learning, experiences sharing and team-bonding amongst the experienced and new evaluators.

Asian Productivity Organisation (APO):
Training Course on Business Excellence for Senior Assessors
29 May – 2 Jun 2017, Nadi, Fiji

Mr. George Wong was deputed as the APO Chief Resource Person to facilitate mutual sharing and learnings amongst delegates from 14 countries on the Business Excellence Framework criteria, scoring system, evaluation and the self-assessment process.

Asian Productivity Organisation (APO):
Training Course on the Development of Productivity Practitioners: Basic Program
11 May - 19 May 2017, Manila & Tagaytay, Philippines

Mr. George Wong was deputed as the APO Resource Person to share his knowledge and experiences in the Productivity Tools & Techniques, Total Quality Management, Innovation & Quality Circles, Suggestion Scheme and Industrial Engineering to develop participants from 16 countries to be competent Productivity Practitioners.

Asian Productivity Organisation (APO):
Developing Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) – KAIZEN Entrepreneurs Project
19 Dec – 30 Dec 2016, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Mr. George Wong served as the APO Technical Expert to share his practical knowledge and experiences in developing Productive and Competitive Micro Enterprises as well as Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

Asian Productivity Organisation (APO):
LEAN Manufacturing Project
5 Dec – 16 Dec 2016, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Mr. George Wong was deputed as the APO Chief Expert to facilitate the development of trainers and consultants to design and implement LEAN systems using practical approaches in the management and improvement of manufacturing systems.

Asian Productivity Organisation (APO):
LEAN Management for the Service Sector
14 –18 Nov 2016, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Mr. George Wong served as the APO Technical Expert to facilitate and share the application of LEAN Management for the Service Sector - Hospitals, Banks and Administrative Organisations.

Asian Productivity Organisation (APO):
Training Course on Lean Manufacturing Systems
15 Feb – 26 Feb 2016, Kuala Lumpur and Kuantan, Malaysia

Mr. George Wong was deputed as the APO Resource Person to facilitate and share practical approaches in implementing the Lean Philosophy comprising systems, tools and techniques for nurturing the desired Lean Culture and innovating business processes to create higher Value Added (VA) for their organisations. Delegates from 16 countries participated and formulated roadmaps to transform their respective organisations to achieve higher productivity, profitability and business growth.

Asian Productivity Organisation (APO):
Observational Study Mission on Innovation and Competitiveness in SMEs
30 Nov – 4 Dec 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Mr. George Wong was deputed as the APO Chief Resource Person for a 5-day Study Mission to delegates from 14 countries. The mission provides the knowledge and best practices to achieve sustained business operations and competitiveness in SMEs through Innovation, productivity and quality initiatives and business excellence framework.

Asian Productivity Organisation (APO):
Total Quality Management and Productivity/Quality Program for Technical University
16 Nov – 20 Nov 2015, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Mr. George Wong was deputed as the APO Technical Expert for a 5-day TQM and Productivity/Quality Program for Education. The philosophy, concepts and components of Total Quality Management (TQM) were shared followed by the implementation phases to achieved higher Productivity and Performance Excellence in Education.

Asian Productivity Organisation (APO):
e-Learning Course on Business Excellence for the Service Sector
9 Nov – 12 Nov 2015 (Session 1) and 14 Dec – 17 Dec 2015 (Session 2)

Mr. George Wong was deputed as the APO Chief Resource Person for delegates from 12 member countries over two sessions. The e-Learning course was designed to enable SMEs in the Service Sector to appreciate and adopt the Business Excellence Framework to attain higher Productivity and enhance their business performances. Criteria and best practices on the various management systems and processes were shared in the 7 categories of Leadership, Strategy, Customer, Measurement, Analysis & Measurement, Workforce Focus, Operation Focus and Results during the lectures and site visit.

International Exposition on Team Excellence (IETEX) - 2015
9 Sep – 11 Sep ’15, Resort World Sentosa, Singapore

Mr. George Wong served as a Lead Judge in this annual event that provides an opportunity for Quality Circles practitioners, Quality Experts and enthusiasts to learn and share their experiences and good practices of international organisations and teams to showcase their innovative and diverse projects. The teams are assessed based on the criteria for the American Society for Quality (ASQ)’s International Team Excellence Award.

Teams participated in this year’s IETEX include Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore .

Asian Productivity Organisation (APO):
Training Course on Management Consultancy with Special Focus on Green Productivity
27 July – 5 August 2015, Nadi, Fiji

Mr. George Wong facilitated as the Chief Resource Person for the 10-Day Course on the framework of management consultancy and Green Productivity applications to 25 participants from 16 APO member countries. The training course was designed to enhance the competency of consultants from the National Productivity Organisations, Public and Private sectors in the area of management consultancy with Green Productivity.

Team Excellence Competition 2015:
Innovation & Quality Circles (IQCs) and Work Improvement Teams (WITs)
23 Jun 2015, Lifelong Learning Institute, Singapore

Mr. George Wong was appointed a member of the Lead Assessor Panel at the 2015 Annual Team Excellence Competition. This year, the top 10 Teams participated were Housing & Development Board, Institute of Technical Education, MINDEF (Navy), MINDEF (Army), Nanyang Polytechnic, National Heart Centre, Singapore Police Force, Singapore Turf Club and Yokogawa Electric Asia.

Fiji Business Excellence Award (FBEA) Evaluator Training Workshop
1 Jun – 4 June 2015, Suva, Fiji

Mr. George Wong conducted a 4-Day Business Excellence Training course to the 2015 Fiji Business Excellence Award (FBEA) Evaluators. The program was very well received and complimented by all the participants comprising Senior and New Evaluators from both the public and private sectors.

Asian Productivity Organisation (APO):
Training of Trainers in Total Quality Management for SMEs
18 – 22 May 2015, Nadi, Fiji

Mr. George Wong facilitated as a member of the Resource Team from India, Malaysia and Singapore for 24 participants from 16 APO member countries. The workshop enabled participants to have greater in-depth understanding of the TQM Philosophy, Tools and Techniques and its linkage with the Business Excellence Framework. The aim was to enhance the knowledge, skills and experience of the participants to become competent trainers in Total Quality Management (TQM) for the SMEs.

Asian Productivity Organisation (APO):
3rd APO Benchmarking Research Project for the Logistics Sector (Warehousing Sub-sector)
3 Mar ’15 to 15 Dec ‘15

Mr. George Wong serves as the APO Chief Expert together with National Experts from 5 Asian Countries (Republic of Korea, India, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore) for a 9-month Benchmarking Research Project for the Logistics Sector (Warehousing sub-sector). The 3-day Study Meeting was held from 3-5 Mar ’15 to discuss and formulate survey questionnaires, KPIs and action plans for the research project. It was an enriching mutual learning and sharing session for all.

Asian Productivity Organisation (APO):
Workshop & National Conference on Productivity Gainsharing and Fair Distribution of Productivity Performance
24 - 26 November 2014, Jakarta, Indonesia

Mr. George Wong served as the APO Technical Expert on “Productivity Improvement and Productivity Gainsharing” and presented at the National Wage Conference 2014.

Asian Productivity Organisation (APO):
Workshop on Promoting Sustainable Economic Growth through Fair Distribution of Productivity Gains
10 - 14 November 2014, Bogor, Indonesia

Mr. George Wong served as the APO Chief Resource Person for delegates from 12 Asian Countries to gain insights and best practices to help SMEs prevent and sustain business operations in the event of external natural disasters and changesThe delegates from 15 Asian Countries gathered at Jakarta, Indonesia to be trained as competent trainers in Total Quality Management (TQM)…understanding the TQM Philosophy and Principles and applying its suite of Tools and Techniques to enhance the Productivity Levels and Growth Rates of SMEs in their countries. TQM philosophy further reinforces the foundation of Productivity and the Business Excellence Journey of companies.

Asian Productivity Organisation (APO):
Multi-Country Observational Study Mission on “Resilient SME Networks in the Asia-Pacific”
6 - 10 Oct 2014, Taipei, Taiwan

Asian Productivity Organisation (APO):
Training of Trainers in Total Quality Management (TQM) for SMEs
25 - 29 August 2014, Jakarta, Indonesia

Mr. George Wong facilitated as the APO Resource Person for this 5-day Course. The delegates from 15 Asian Countries gathered at Jakarta, Indonesia to be trained as competent trainers in Total Quality Management (TQM)…understanding the TQM Philosophy and Principles and applying its suite of Tools and Techniques to enhance the Productivity Levels and Growth Rates of SMEs in their countries. TQM philosophy further reinforces the foundation of Productivity and the Business Excellence Journey of companies.

Asian Productivity Organisation (APO):
Research on Benchmarking Indexes for SMEs (Food Manufacturing Sector)
24 - 26 Jun 2014, Singapore

National Experts from 6 Asian Countries (Republic of China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand) together with Chief Expert, George Wong, were involved in a Study Meeting to discuss and formulate action plans for a Benchmarking Research Project for the Food Manufacturing Sector in Asia. Benchmarking indexes and Best Practices from the research study will be determined and shared to assist SMEs in enhancing their Productivity and Business Performance. It was indeed an insightful platform for mutual sharing and learning throughout the 3-day Study Meeting.

Asian Productivity Organisation (APO):
Workshop on Business Excellence for Assessors
2 - 6 Jun 2014, Nadi, Fiji

Delegates from 15 countries participated in a 5-day Business Excellence for Assessors Workshop to share and learn from each other on their experiences and successful applications of various Business Excellence Frameworks that they have. The visit to 2 Award Winners were insightful and provided opportunities for the delegate to collectively discuss/share best practices in the various categories of the Business Excellence Framework. Roadmap for follow-on strategies and actions to enhance greater application the Business Excellence Framework were also developed by all the delegates. This APO workshop was facilitated by Mr. George Wong together with Mr. Paul Steel (USA) and Mr. Matao Ishii (Japan) in the APO Resource Team.

Team Excellence Competition 2014:
Innovation & Quality Circles (IQCs) and Work Improvement Teams (WITs)
16 May 2014, Singapore

10 successful Innovation & Quality Circles (IQCs) and Work Improvement Teams (WITs) Finalists from various organizations participated in this year’s Team Excellence Competition 2014 organized by the Singapore Productivity Association. Mr. George Wong was appointed as one of the Lead Judges for this Annual Competition Event. The 10 Finalists who had participated in the Competition were Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, Ministry of Defence, National Heart Centre, Nanyang Polytechnic, Siltronic Silicon Wafer Pte Ltd, Housing & Development Board, Singapore Turf Club, Institution of Technical Education and the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

Getting Real with Productivity Forum 2014:
* Organised by MediaCorp
* Supported by National Productivity and Continuing Education Council (NPCEC), Singapore
16 April 2014, Suntec Convention & Exhibition Centre, Singapore

Mr. George Wong participated, as one of the panel members, at the National Productivity Forum to discuss how the four key pillars of Productivity (Processes, Innovation, Technology/Automation and Manpower Optimisation) can bring about that much needed Productivity boost for organisations.

Asian Productivity Organisation (APO):
Multicountry Observationary Study Mission on Resilient SME Networks in the Asia Pacific
16 – 20 Dec 2013, Taipei, Republic of China

Mr. George Wong facilitated as the Resource Person for the well-received 5-day Study Mission comprising participants from 12 countries to learn and examine best practices for revitalizing and restoring SME networks after external changes in the Asia Pacific countries. It was a wonderful platform for all to share, learn and develop action plans to become resilient SMEs and better prepare their operations and supply chains against natural and unforeseen disaster risks.

Asian Productivity Organisation (APO):
Benchmarking & Best Practices Workshop
14 Oct – 18 Oct 2013, Suva, Fiji

Participants learned the Benchmarking Process and shared their experiences and practices with each other during a 5-day Benchmarking workshop facilitated by Mr. George Wong, the APO Technical Expert. Learnings were further reinforced through 2 company visits in the service and manufacturing sectors. Everyone commented that it was an enriching and insightful workshop for enhancing Productivity and achieving Business Excellence!

Asian Productivity Organisation (APO):
Workshop on Development of Productivity Practitioners (Advanced Level)
16 Sep – 27 Sep 2013, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

It was a wonderful and memorable in-country workshop that Mr. George Wong had experienced as he facilitated, as one of the Resource Persons, on the topics of Total Factor Productivity, Productivity Measurement, Performance Management and Business Excellence Framework & Best Practices. The enthusiastic learning spirits and active participation level by all the participants were indeed commendable and motivating!

Graduation Ceremony of the 1st Inaugural SPRING Singapore – Japan Productivity Centre (JPC)
Training Programme on Productivity Consultancy (with emphasis on Retail and Food Services)

30 Aug 2013 was a memorable day for the first batch of 18 graduates who had successful completed the intensive 9-month programme (with emphasis on Retail and Food Services) jointly organized by SPRING Singapore and JPC, supported by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA). The programme covered both strategic and operational aspects of productivity improvements frameworks, models, tools and techniques to enhance Productivity and sustain Business Growth of companies.

Asian Productivity Organisation (APO) Workshop on:
Productivity Gainsharing and Fair Distribution of Productivity Performance in the Business Sector
26 Aug – 30 Aug 2013, Jakarta, Indonesia

Mr. George Wong facilitated the workshop as the Chief Resource Person together with Resource Persons
from Republic of Korea and Indonesia on the various aspects of Productivity Gainsharing Framework, Models,
Scheme and Best Practices to enhance and sustain higher Productivity and Competitiveness in the Business Sector. It was an enriching and insightful workshop as participants learned and shared their respective
country’s successful applications as well as from the company visits.

Action plans and roadmaps for follow-on implementations were also being developed.

Asian Productivity Organisation (APO):
Training Course on Basic Productivity Tools for SMEs
2 Jul – 5 Jul 2013, Seoul, Republic of Korea

Mr. George Wong was appointed the Resource Person to share on the subjects of “Quality Control Circles”, “Tools for Improvement” and “Achieving Total Quality and Business Excellence through Teams” at the workshop to 19 participants from 17 countries (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Fiji, IR Iran, India, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam).

The objective of the workshop is to enable participants to learn and observe actual applications of basic productivity and quality improvement tools and techniques to gain and sustain market competitiveness.

Asian Productivity Organisation (APO):
Training Course on Total Quality Management (TQM) for SMEs in the Service Sector
24 Feb – 28 Feb 2013, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Mr. George Wong was appointed as the Resource Person to share on the subjects of “Promotion of Business Excellence” and “Best Practices of Service Quality” at the workshop to 19 participants from 13 countries (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Republic of China, Fiji, IR Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam).

The objective of the workshop is to enable participants to understand the concept, tools and practices of Total Quality Management (TQM) in the Service Sector. Participants are expected to implement TQM in their own organisations and disseminate the knowledge of colleagues and other organisations in their countries.

Asian Productivity Organisation (APO):
Training of Trainers in Total Quality Management (TQM)
10 Sep – 14 Sep 2012, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

A total of 22 participants from 16 Countries (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Republic of China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, IR Iran, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam) attended the 5-day workshop. The program, facilitated by
George Wong as the Chief Resource Person, enables participants to have in-depth understanding of the concept and implementation of
Total Quality Management (TQM) through case studies, field visits and group works so as to enhance their competencies as TQM Trainers
and Practitioners in their respective countries.

Asian Productivity Organisation (APO):
e-Learning Courses on Lean Production System and Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
23 Jul – 26 Jul 2012 and 30 Jul – 2 Aug 2012, Singapore

Mr. George Wong was appointed as the local coordinator of the APO’s series of e-Learning Workshops on “Lean Production System”
and “Customer Relationship Management”. Besides the lectures by the APO Resource Person, participants from Singapore were able
to interact with other participants from the various countries to share their experiences, as well as the opportunities to visit 2 organisations
with Best Practices on Lean Production System and Customer Relationship Management.

Asian Productivity Organisation (APO):
Study Meeting on Innovation in the Service Sector – Specific Subsector (Retail and Food Services)
24 July – 26 July 2012, Singapore

Mr. George Wong facilitated as the APO Resource Person to 16 participants from 8 countries in the Study Meeting to review and finalise the KPIs and Milestones for the follow-on 1st APO Benchmarking Research Project for the Retail and Food Service Sectors.

International Exposition on Team Excellence (IETEX) - 2012
Theme: "Productivity through Team Innovation
27 Jun – 28 Jun ’12, Resort World Sentosa, Singapore

George Wong, once again, served as a Judge in this yearly event that provides a platform for Quality experts, Quality Circles practitioners and enthusiasts from all over the world to learn and share their experiences and good practices of international organisations and teams. Delegates from Thailand, India, Taiwan, China, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Singapore participated to showcase their innovative projects.

The subjects for the presentations covered interesting aspects of Team Excellence, such as:
·       Team Excellence in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
·       Business Strategy and Team Excellence
·      Team Excellence in Service Sector
·       Innovation and Quality
·       Management Roles in Teaming Activities
·       Team Excellence and Value Creation
·      Assessment on teaming activities

Asian Productivity Organisation (APO):
Workshop on Development of Benchmarking Index for SMEs in Service Sector
focusing on Retail and Food Services
19 Dec – 23 Dec 2011, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

A total of 21 participants from 14 countries (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Republic of China, Fiji, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam) attended the 5-day program.

The objective of the workshop is to provide an interactive platform to discuss the performance measurement indicators and challenges of SMEs in the Retail and F&B Service Sub-sectors; kick-start regional initiatives to develop an effective forum to perform benchmarking at the enterprise and sector levels, and to share best practices of SMEs in the Retail and F&B service sub-sectors.

Asian Productivity Organisation (APO):
International Exposition on Team Excellence (IETEX)
Theme: "Team Excellence - Enabling Innovation and Productivity

Mr. George Wong, once again, served as a Lead Judge at the recent International Exposition on Team Excellence which was held in Singapore from 14-17 Jun 2011.

This year’s event was again well supported by many quality professionals and teams to present and share their projects achievements, successes and experiences in Productivity, Innovation and Team Excellence.

Teams participating in the IETEX Competition were assessed using the American Society for Quality (ASQ)’s Team Excellence Assessment Methodology in the following 5 areas:
·        Project Selection and Purpose
·        Current Situation Analysis
·        Solution Development
·        Project Implementation and Results
·        Team Management and Project Presentation

Asian Productivity Organisation (APO) Workshop:

Training Course on Strategic Management Consultancy with Focus on the Service Sector

27 Sep – 8 Oct 2010, Tokyo, Japan

George was appointed by the Asian Productivity Organisation as a Resource Person to present a paper on “Improving Customer Satisfaction in the Service Industry” and to assist in facilitating group discussions after the various company visits.

It was indeed an insightful programme for everyone to learn best practices from the various highly successful Japanese service organisations as well as mutually sharing of experiences among the participants from 17 APO member countries.

Asian Productivity Organisation (APO) Workshop:
In-country Programs for Productivity and Quality Practioners
Sep/Oct 2010, India and Lao PDR

Mr. George Wong was assigned as a Chief Resource Person for the in-country programs in India and Lao PDR on the “Productivity and Quality Practitioners Program”.

The objective of the workshop is to provide productivity and quality practitioners with an integrated set of basic and advanced tools and techniques to achieve higher productivity.

22 to 25 June 2010
Theme: “Teaming for Success”

9 to 12 June 2009
Theme: “Innovating Through Teams”

Mr. George Wong has been serving as a Team Excellence Judge since the inception ofIETEX in Singapore.

Teams participating in the IETEX Competition are assessed using the American Society for Quality (ASQ)’s Team Excellence Assessment Methodology.

IETEX, with the support from SPRING Singapore (Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board, Singapore), provides a platform for quality experts, quality circle practitioners and enthusiasts from all over the world to learn from the experiences and good practices of international organisations and teams.

The objectives of IETEX are to:

· Share knowledge on best practices in promoting teaming excellence in organisations

· Provide an opportunity to learn from the "best of the best" circles and scale new heights

· Network and exchange ideas, knowledge and experiences, on continuous improvement and innovation through the power of teams

Asian Productivity Organisation (APO) Workshop:

SME Management Model: Strategies for Sustainable Growth and Competitiveness

2-6 Nov 2009, Republic of China

Mr. George Wong was assigned as a Resource Person to the APO Workshop for delegates from 13 Asian Countries on the topic of “Fostering Innovative SMEs: Opportunities and Challenges”.

The objectives of the Workshop is to examine global and regional best practices of SME management as well as to identify and formulate new strategies for sustainable development of SMEs.

SMEs constitute the most numerous business entities and are important in accelerating economic growth and development in the region. They play a vital role in the development of national economies. Most SMEs have adopted several quality practices such as certification in international standards, practising productivity improvement initiatives like Total Quality Management (TQM), Quality Circles (QCs), Kaizen, 5S Housekeeping, among others to improve overall performance and competitiveness. However, to sustain competiveness and growth, SMEs also need capabilities in other important areas of management such as product development, strategic planning, financial management, leadership and human resource management. Therefore, an integrated management framework is needed to build up these capabilities.

Mr. George Wong participated at the Study Meeting together with 19 delegates from 12 Asian Countries.

The objectives of the Study Meeting are to review the status of Knowledge Management (KM) in the service sector and highlight best practices; to explore the possibility of customizing the APO KM Framework and implementation approach in the service sector, and to recommend practical methods for promoting and implementing KM in the service sector of APO member countries.

Knowledge Management (KM) is an integrated, continual and systematic process of identifying, creating, maintaining and nurturing an organisation to make best use of information assets, including databases, documents, policies and procedures to generate competitive advantages and organisational value.

Many organisations from various industries have used KM as the foundation for business excellence and gained substantial benefits from its implementation.

Official Launch of the Practising Management Consultant (PMC) Certification Scheme

Mr. George Wong is one of the pioneer batch of Consultants to receive the certified Practising Management Consultant (PMC) recognition from Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Magad (Member of Parliament, Pasir Ris Punggol GRC) at the official launch ceremony.

The Practising Management Consultant Certification Scheme is based on international standards and best practices (aligned to ISO/IEC 17024 standard on accreditation requirements for entities performing certification functions). The Scheme is fully supported by government agencies, like SPRING Singapore, International Enterprise (IE) Singapore and the Workforce Development Agency (WDA).