HP bags three trophies at the SBR Management Excellence Awards 2021

The company secured the Team of the Year, Innovator of the Year, and Employee Engagement of the Year awards for Manufacturing.

HP Inc., Singapore was triumphant at the 2021 SBR Management Excellence Awards, earning recognitions as the Team of the Year, Innovator of the Year, and Employee Engagement of the Year for Manufacturing. 

The digital printing company’s Team of the Year award for Manufacturing was attributed to HP Singapore’s Laserjet R&D team. Through the group’s contribution, HP Singapore has expanded its capability from its core inkjet printer development to being recognized as the Center of Excellence of both Inkjet and Laserjet development.

“Despite the challenges brought by the pandemic and the group being new to Laserjet research and development, the team managed to keep the innovation spirit alive. Several breakthrough improvements from the predecessor products of our company were conceived and made into reality,” Cheryl Wu, HP Director of LaserJet R&D and NPI Program said.

Despite having time constraints and geographical challenges, the Laserjet R&D team had shown its tenacity as they pushed the boundaries to maintain, and even exceed its position, as a world-class leader in the digital printing industry.  It was also through the group’s efforts that HP was able to penetrate and introduce technological advancements within the printing industry in areas including mechanical, electrical, chemical, firmware and software. 

Furthermore, gaining knowledge and experience with these industries allowed the company to strengthen its spot as a digital service provider, opening other services for high value customers including: systems integration, frictionless print, cyber security, cloud computing and Internet of Things (IoT) data management. 

“The Laser Print R&D group started from scratch in November 2019 with about 20 engineers. The team only had two weeks of face-to-face knowledge transfer sessions with the team from another site in December 2019,” Cheryl explained. “Despite the COVID-19 restrictions, the team successfully navigated through these challenges while continuing knowledge transfer through virtual sharing. Moreover, the team managed to expand resources and capabilities and maintain R&D activities consistently going,” Cheryl added.

According to Cheryl, the Laser Print R&D team has been given more focus after showing progressive results. The team has also expanded its scope to several other new products which will be introduced in the coming years.

Meanwhile, the Innovator of the Year award for Manufacturing was given to HP’s Wang Deyang, a seasoned engineer with more than 14 years of printer hardware design experience. The recognition was awarded for his impact in the printing industry, revolutionizing the way printers are engineered and manufactured.

“Over the past two years, Deyang has two patents granted, two patents submitted and pending for result, and five invention disclosures. Patent rights are the highest affirmation to an individual when it comes to invention protection. This is testament to Deyang’s innovation spirit at HP,” Vincent Ong, HP R&D Director of Emerging Market Home and Micro Business Lab explained.

According to Vincent, Deyang’s professional endeavors were mainly focused on developing practical and affordable quality service for its clients. It was because of this mindset that he was able to direct his R&D career at HP, leading the engineering team to deliver inkjet printers for micro and small business users, helping customers to fulfill their business printing needs.

The seasoned engineer also takes interest in sharing his knowledge with younger colleagues, inspiring them to work on their innovative ideas and to continue working at their best. 

“He strongly believes in HP’s mission to create technology that inspires ambitious and meaningful progress. Also putting the company’s belief into action, Deyang continues to inspire young engineers that one thoughtful idea has the power to change the world,” Vincent said.

HP was also recognised for its three consecutive years of high employee engagement, showing the strong trust its workforce has in the organisation. 

HP SIO successfully maintained the high engagement of employees using data gathered from VIA surveys. Using employee feedback, the leadership team determined the needs of their employees, as well as the factors affecting morale. An internal taskforce was to help understand specific points and challenges within the organisation and identify key focus areas for improvement. With this, it was able to win the Employee Engagement of the Year in the Manufacturing category