["audit and presented four minor non-com- instantaneous.\\\" Approximately a month Producing and measuring pliances in the department. These were and a half later, SIRIM's Standards Com- mittee approved the recommendation for results very promptly addressed during the course accreditation. Going back to the strategy towards of the audit.\\\" Minor non-compliances are normal discoveries in any extensive ISO \\\"... only the tip of an iceberg\\\" achieving their accreditation objective, the 9001 audit, these are then rectified and re- Mohd Yusof Omar, Shell Malaysia's department targeted for the continuous Project Manager for Quality Systems has submitted for auditing. helped to see the company through several development of a well-defined work meth- Chuan added that \\\"What made all of accreditation exercises. On this particular project, he worked closely with the large IT odology. us proud was when they also made two team, especially with Chuan. \\\"Although it To put it succinctly in Alan positiveand encouraging observations. One was that the controls and procedures for is a great achievement, especially since it is Mawdsley's own words, \\\"... to allow con- managing system development work was a regional first for industry, ISO accredita- tion is only the start of a continuous im- sistent results to be produced and to meas- very good, and the other observation was provement and refinement process up the Quality pyramid.\\\" Yusof mentioned that as ure those results against customer satisfac- that the company's planned implementation tion.\\\" Being a business support and service with other ISO 9000 accreditation of software metrics was a very positive unit to other downstream departments \\\"awards\\\", the department is expected to move towards quality.\\\" maintain the high status quo or risk having within the company, the IT department has The department was then recom- the award withdrawn. many internal customers. mended for registration und er category \\\" A\\\" \\\"Constant surveillance checks willbe Measurement initiatives to identify conducted by the SIRIM auditors to ensure which meant that no further visits or audits total compliance with our written proce- improvement targets would include use of dures at all times from now on,\\\" added the formal CAT (Corrective Action Process) were necessary to ascertain total adequacy where appropriate use of the Group's own Yusof. initiatives such as MADE and COMPASS and compliance. The cautionary reminder from their and, as mentionedbyYusof Omar, the'bot- tom-up' process of continuous refinement One of the many executives heavily colleague was never out of Chuan, Zaivlii and improvement. or Chandra's minds. In fact, on the day of involved from the start, Applications Sys- this interview, Chandra had whispered to What now after ISO 9001? \\\"At the tem Head (Marketing Systems), Zaiviji the writer that \\\"They're back!\\\" The internal very least, we now have the right environ- Ismail recalled that many of the depart- ISO 9001 auditors were in the department ment for more quality measurements and ment staff stayed back for the auditors' that day checking for any non-compliance. improvements,\\\" said Chuan, a trained results after that tense second day. \\\"When Quality lead assessor himself. the good news spread around the depart- Further quality measurements in- clude introducing metrics for cost of deliv- ment about the \\\"A\\\" registration, some ad- ering products and services, for servicelevel reporting, for continuously improving how journed to a club for an immediate celebra- things are done - documentation, reports tion! Never mind if the celebration was still rather premature - so much time and effort had gone into the ISO 9001 project that the relief (following the recommendation) was 4 Berita Shell, April 1993","etc and for implementing quality improve- ment projects when necessary. The accreditation has also provided the IT department with an impetus to re- engineer the large unit and the way its personnel carry out tasks and targets. Ac- cording to Alan Mawdsley, the department now adopts a two-step approacl-r to aIl they do. \\\"First, we must be able to measure whatever we do. And secondly, we need to make the changes.\\\" With the quality accreditation, the IT department has also begun to look into high expenditure areas. For instance, the pro- curement cycle is being looked into to get products faster and cheaper. The depart- ment will also get feedback from users as to rvhat services are important to their needs. \\\"We will then look at implementing them. L-r addition, we will draw up a set of criteria to measure the success of the project as rr.eli,\\\" he said. Other areas in IT that will be looked irrto include delivery time, mainframe re- sponse time, systems and applications de- r elopment, and making IT more support- rr-e of the company's goals. (Above) : One of several ISO 9001 accreditation According to Chuan, \\\"We are imple- assessment meetings ::'renting tools for quality monitoring and between lT section heads, Quality :or comparison with other Shell operating focal points and SIRIM consu lta nts. ..rmpanies. We are also iqitiating the \\\"bub- (Left) : Alan Mawdsley :-e r-rp\\\" quality ideas programme which .:'.., oh'es other sections like Facilities and -r,..:a \\\\lanagement.\\\" > Serita Shell, April 1993","What its done for me Photographs by Mohd Redza Ramli. Analyst Programmer Chandra Edward was involved in her department's quest for the ISO 9001 award and shares her personal experience with Berita Shell. THE accreditation exercise itself has benefited all of us in many ways. Although there were as many as 48 of us directly involved and assisting in the project, the entire IT unit stands to gain. There is now an understanding of quality management, what to do and why. There is also a common understanding of our standards among all the staff. Needless to say, team spirit was immensely strengthened as we headed for a common goal! On the business front, we now have a formal base to improve our customer service. Our customeT approach is now consistent : quality = on time, cost efficient and fit for purpose. System changes are now better managed as procedures are more complete and more consisientiy foliowed. Now there are guidelines and procedures for any task and the standards to be applied are clearly stated. Basically, these standards ensure that work produced is of a certain, similar quality. It makes it easier to support the system (the customer) when things are done correctly according to well-documented procedures. In the event of staff movements, these documents are handed over with minimal confusion and waste of time. In ensuring that we keep up to date with our standards and procedures, the internal audits together with the external SIRIM surveillance audits will certainly keep us on our toes! H :,. '.l\u20ac:.:,#:rii .. :.in,,:i$ ::i;: .-:l .tr $* ll- !r. (Left to right) : Mohd Yusof Omar and Chuan Hooi Moh, Berita SheIl, April 1993",":li ': ::_ i-+1*i5.irir' r,* i. a d*-ff\\\"i r ':: iw.:-.lItri+.-' ul ': 'r il- ... ''H. \\\" -q \\\"'n i e: tlfut' !* !i* !. ;,: '!t] -'.:'S. Ancient river channels just ;** ::.:. 14 '*. -l r( \\\"i' ,.:si 's *,*t &+i '*+-'\u20ac :l: i :i:+;+ :.i n:i*.tj:r: '' d! rr : :.r:: r.;*i:: g .B' \\\". rF=. 6 sea-bed, are revealed by 3D seismic, In search of oil and gas Three-dimensional seismic technology simulates 'virtual reality' in the complex industry of oil and gas exploration and production. It is the tool today for explorationists to \\\"see\\\" where the oil is without having to be there. by Lee King Sim and Wong Kah-Luk 1\\\\-HAT IS 3-DIMENSIONAL technologv with more than 85,000 sq km of way?\\\", you may ask. acreage acquired in the Royal Dutch\/Shell SEISMIC? Croup to date through 3D seismic explo- To start with, seismic technology ration happens to be the most important geo- :irensional or 3D seismic is a common physical tool employed in the exploration In Malaysia, some 4,400 sq km of .r1 we hear a great deal about in the for hydrocarbons. It is the only tool avail- marine 3D seismic data has been acquired able today for explorationists to \\\"see\\\" with :rtream sector. It is a geophysical teci-r- by Sheil since the first 3D lr,as acquired in reasonabie accuracy what is beneath the ' . .re n.h.ich is used successfully by most 1984. 1n7992, some 500 sq km of 3D seismic surface of the earth and to help them an- oi1 companies worldwide today in data was acquired offshore Sarar,r,ak and .rir Sabah. \\\"But sti11, what is 3D seismic any- swer the question: \\\"Where is the oil?\\\" .rploration and production of oil and The technique is akin to ultrasound F '-r'i:hret11..hinads been the leader in the devel- applicatio:r of 3D seismic -::: Sheli, April 1993"]
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