The Institute of Quality Management (IPQ) has successfully obtained the Gold Rating in the Annual Quality Enviroment Challenge (AQEC) 2020 organised by Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC) which was held online through GoToWebinar on 26 August 2020.

The results of the competition were officially announced on 3 September 2020 by MPC, Kuala Lumpur.

AQEC 2020 is the first program organised by MPC to provide a platform for organisations to participate in the MPC QE / 5S Certification. In this program, each participant presents and shares its QE / 5S Implementation Best Practices in its respective organisation. A total of 17 organizations comprising the public and private sectors participated in the competition, through two sessions namely 5S Practice Video Preparation and Question and Answer session (Q & A).

The retention of the Quality Environmental Practice Certification (QE / 5S) from 2015 to 2019 has qualified IPQ to compete in the AQEC 2020 competition.

There are seven (7) criteria assessed in the AQEC 2020 program, namely Introduction, Project Selection and Definition, Improvement Opportunity Analysis, Creative & Innovative Proposal as well as Implementation, Monitoring and Standardisation, Achievement and Generation of Values ​​and Presentations. The evaluation of the competition was led by Mr. Izani Ishak and three jurors from the MPC.

The MPC has informed that through the AQEC 2020 competition, a cost savings of RM5.3 million has been successfully recorded by all organisations participating in this program through the implementation of 5S Practices in their respective organizations.

As stated by the Director of IPQ, Prof. Dr. Sany Sanuri Mohd Mokhtar who is also the Patron of the 5S IPQ Committee, "IPQ is expected to be a catalyst for other departments in UUM in the implementation and cultivation of 5S Practices". This success has qualified IPQ to enter the Mini Convention On Team Excellence (MTEx) 2020 at national level.

According to him, by participating in the AQEC 2020 competition, "it is hoped that it will give a significant impact on other departments towards better accomplishments."