SD Plantation’s OEIBMS 2.0 was unveiled at the inaugural ‘Sime Darby Plantation Operational & Productivity Excellence Summit’. The event which was jointly organized by the Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC), was officiated by the Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI), YB Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed. The event was also attended by Dato’ Mohd Razali Hussain, MPC’s Director-General, representatives from MPC, as well as PNB Group of Companies and various Small Medium Enterprises. MPC, which has been an instrumental partner to SD Plantation’s pursuit of operational excellence and higher productivity, has pledged to continue its support in the implementation of SD Plantation’s OEIBMS 2.0.

“The Malaysia Productivity Blueprint (MPB) was formulated to boost Malaysia’s economic growth and raise the prosperity of the rakyat in a sustainable manner. It is the aspiration of the MPB for the private sector to drive the nation’s productivity agenda in partnership with the government, and the success of such partnership is crucial as we position the nation for global competitiveness,” said YB Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed, Minister of MITI.

He added, “It is critical for Malaysia to strategise and move from input-driven to productivity-driven growth. Studies undertaken through the MPB revealed that lack of an adequate pool of talent, advancement in technology, a competitive incentive structure for businesses to leverage on, transparent business environment and a productivity mindset had contributed to low productivity growth over the years. However, these challenges can be overcome and become something of the past as the MPB has been structured to overcome these hindrances and steer the economy on the right growth path.”

The MPB was launched by the Prime Minister in 2017 with the aim of achieving 3.7% productivity growth target set in the Eleventh Malaysia Plan (2016-2020). The Blueprint outlines five strategic thrusts, ten national initiatives, 32 sectoral initiatives and 16 key activities. In addition, nine productivity nexus were established to foster greater collaboration among the Government and private sector to boost productivity. It is one of the public-private governance models where the Government plays an enabling role while the private sector leads in implementation efforts on productivity.

Central to SD Plantation’s implementation of its OEIBMS 2.0 is a holistic approach that not only incorporates a vision and measurable target to achieve higher operational excellence and productivity, but also the development of capacity and skills as well as the cultural transformation of its workforce.

Over the course of the last 5 years, SD Plantation has internally developed over 1,500 LSS practitioners and internal consultants, some of which have been certified by the American Society for Quality (ASQ). The Company has also achieved recognitions and awards at various local and international excellence platforms. These include, among others, the Overall Champion at the MPC’s Annual Productivity and Innovation Conference (APIC) 2017, Gold Medalist at the Indonesia’s Operational Excellence Conference (OPEXCON) 2017 and Silver Level Award at the ASQ’s International Team Excellence Award (ITEA) 2017.

More recently, SD Plantation was also selected as a Global Process Excellence (PEX) Awards top five finalist for the Best Improvement Deployment Programme, as well as the top five finalist for the Operational Excellence Leader of the Year Award at the Business Transformation World Summit 2018 in Orlando, Florida.