The National Productivity and Competitiveness Council (NPCC) culminated the National Productivity and Quality Convention (NPQC) 2018 today at Le Méridien Hotel with an award ceremony that saw the participation of representatives of different organisations that took part in the convention.
The award ceremony was the final leg of a three-day convention that took place at the same venue where the organisations came to present their projects related to productivity and quality through Quality Circles, Innovation, Business Excellence, Productivity Improvement and Lean Management.
The entries were divided into three categories, namely Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), large companies and public sector organisations. NPQC 2018, which was launched in April this year, attracted an encouraging number of participants. A total of 114 entities had taken part in the convention, which required them to present projects and initiatives that would bring in higher productivity, quality and innovation in their operations.
NPQC 2018 intends to become a platform for quality and productivity practitioners to conduct networking and help them showcase their value creation projects. The convention actually aims at rewarding teams from private businesses and public sector organisations for outstanding productivity and quality improvement initiatives.
The organisations were provided with continuous assistance by NPCC consultants so that they could present their projects according to the standards set for the convention. A panel of local jurors was constituted to assess the projects that were presented on Wednesday 1 and Thursday 2 August at Le Meridien Hotel. The participants competed for the Gold, Silver and Bronze awards.
On Friday 3 August, another panel of jurors, comprising Mr. D.K. Srivastava, the Executive Director of the Quality Circle Forum of India, Mr. PengYong Tan, the Vice President of the Singapore Productivity Association and Prof. Daniel Khan, O.B.E, Chief Operation Officer of the Institute of Productivity, UK, assessed the best projects out of which six were chosen as the grand winners.
The grand winners of NPQC 2018 are as follows:
SME: Kanhye Health Foods Co Ltd and CheeKips Ltd
Large companies: Cervonic Ltd and Sofap Ltd
Public sector organisations: Central Electricity Board and Haemophilia Association of Mauritius
“The first edition of the NPQC is intended to be a trendsetter in inspiring and motivating organisations to adopt a culture of productivity, quality and innovation. The six grand winners will now participate in the International Convention for Quality Control Circles (ICQCC 2018) in Singapore from 22 to 25 October 2018. They will be offered the opportunity to meet with representatives of global companies and learn from others’ experience, benefitting from a significant exposure at an international event,” the Executive Director of the NPCC, Mr. Deepak Balgobin, said in his welcome address.
It is also worth noting that this first international participation of teams from Mauritius will pave the way for the NPCC to become the 14th ICQCC member. Mr. Balgobin has already established contacts with the Singapore Productivity Association, the organizer of the ICQCC 2018. This membership will open opportunities for future networking between the NPCC and the other member countries.