Aspiring to be leader of the industry, Sepang International Circuit (SIC) has turned to the internationally-recognised Continuous Improvement Process (CIP) programme in its efforts to transform the company by injecting stronger values within its workforce in pursuit of excellence and a zero-error working culture.

“Our vision is to be a leading organization employing various best practices as well as always looking for opportunities to exceed customers’ satisfaction,” SIC Chief Executive Officer Dato Ahmad Razlan Ahmad Razali said in announcing the decision to embrace the new programme.

Engaging the services of TQS Management Sdn. Bhd for the purpose, Razlan said there was an urgent need for SIC to have such programme in view of the new challenges that it faced in the industry and also as part of his personal mission to take the circuit to a higher plane and world class status.

Established in 1998 with a mandate by the Government to be the catalyst for development of Malaysia’s motorsports and its related industries, and to jumpstart the country’s motorsports, the company started from the roots from a Malaysia Airports Berhad (MAB) motorsports unit before being formalized into its current entity in January, 1999 where it remained as a subsidiary of MAB, which is now Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad.

Its first event was the Proton International 300km Merdeka Race in August, 1998, which was held as a test run for new circuit that eventually grew to become the benchmark of new racing circuits in the new millennium. Prior to the inaugural F1 race in October 1999, SIC hosted its first Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix in March and both races had continued until today to become the circuit’s top two major events.

Taking office as the circuit’s second CEO in its history on October 5, 2008, Razlan said: “Since there have not been any recognized practices internationally or otherwise in SIC at present, the need to adapt such practices has been the motivating factor for me. Hence, the introduction of the CIP related programs whilst keeping in mind the sustainability and profitability of SIC as its vision.

“The goal of this exercise is to meet the needs of the fast-changing market, meeting the highest standard of customer satisfaction; thus maximizing the value of all the company’s stakeholders,” said Razlan, who declared at on his first day at the job was to showcase Sepang Circuit to the world as an entertainment value and a facility more than just for motorsports.

An accountant by profession and a die-hard motorsports fan at heart, Razlan said: “Continuous Improvement Process is a management tool that can be loosely translated as ‘change for the better’. Although it focuses on processes, emphasis is given more towards people and their potential in solving problems.

“CIP is an ongoing, never-ending sequence of small optimization steps covering everything from the initial idea to customer relationships, and it involves everyone – the workforce, executives and senior management and etc,” Razlan said, adding that CIP would let the employees recognize their shortcomings and give them the opportunity to address and correct them.

Without specifically stating the targeted percentage of improvement in the overall operations of the company, Razlan stressed that what was most important was for the staff to learn from their mistakes and recognizing them.

“Learning from mistakes is a learning opportunity! By recognizing errors, we automatically become aware of shortcomings and issues related to processes. It’s essential that we work towards a corporate culture in which mistakes are not swept under the rug, but are openly discussed in the group with the goal of bulletproofing our processes and ensuring that we never make the same mistake twice,” he said.

While recognizing the massive experience possessed by majority of SIC staff and their overall commitment towards work, Razlan stressed implementation of the CIP was still necessary.

“In SIC, we have a committed work force and majority of them, has been with us for many years. However we must never lose sight of the fact that nobody makes mistakes deliberately … they only occur because the description of the process itself is inadequate or increases the likelihood of errors.

“As a rule, they are not the fault of the employee. Many of us still have to work on approaching such issues openly, without pointing the finger at individuals,” he said, stressing that there was always areas of improvement and betterment

“I always believe that there will always be areas for improvement … that is the hallmark for any organization to strive for betterment. Areas for improvements are aplenty; and they mainly lie in work processes and documentation.

“By documenting and standardizing work flows and business process, a lot of shortcomings will be minimized,” he said, pointing out that the issue of downsizing does not arise at all in embracing the CIP by the SIC staff.

“Our aspiration is that in the long run our staffs will learn and adapt best practices in line with the global demands,” said Razlan, who prior to his appointment at SIC was running a motorcycling racing team and actively involved in entertainment world.

On the appointment of TQS Management Sdn Bhd, the 39-year old Razlan said that he had full confidence in the ability of the company, which is headed by renowned management consultant R. Narendranath.

“We were confident and comfortable that TQS Management Sdn. Bhd. will ride this journey of improvement together with us. Mr Narendran and his company are proud owners of many awards and accolades and their record speaks for itself,” said Razlan.

Narendranath was awarded the First Malaysian to Achieve BRC’s Global Food Standard Third Party Auditing by The Malaysian Book of Records in 2004.

In 2005, the company was awarded the 4th Asia Pacific / Malaysia e-Entrepreneur Excellence Award, and SMI SME Worldwide Network. In 2006, it added the Golden Bull Award and appointment in the Malaysia Canada Business Council as among its achievements

TQS Management Sdn Bhd was again accorded the Golden Bull Award in 2008 and appointed to the Malaysia Canada Business Council as well as council members in the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs and the Malaysian Trade and Industry Organization. In 2009, TQS Management Sdn Bhd was awarded the prestigious 50 Enterprise award.