With Datuk Dr Ahmad Sabirin Arshad helming SIRIM, the 57-year old aerospace engineering expert and technopreneur is well poised to push the agency to achieve its vision as the “best partner for innovation” for its key stakeholders – namely the government, industries and society.
“Apart from that, we also hope to address problems such as insufficient experts and capabilities, limited source of funding to invest in new technology, and long development time to produce one product. “Eventually, SIRIM as a digital factory and open innovation hub aspires to be able to rapidly tailor products to the individual needs of its diverse customers as well as respond instantly to changing demands and trends,” he said.The government is targeting Malaysia to achieve high-income status and be the centre of technology and innovation for frontier technology. This is to attract the best local and foreign talent to deliver solutions for the various industries’ issues and challenges.
“SIRIM and Turkish Aerospace also hoped to develop the International Strategic Technology Business Framework in relation to aerospace industries and identify total solution for implementation of Industrial 4.0 smart manufacturing projects,” Ahmad Sabirin said. In driving frontier technologies, SIRIM needs to implement digitalisation programmes which require organisations to change and improve their information technology infrastructure and business systems completely and drastically.
One example is SIRIM’s Industrial Centre of Innovation in Sensors which developed the Kelulut Integrated Information System using IoT technology that measures the temperature and humidity of kelulut hives in real time so that the colony stays productive to produce honey. The Hybrid Green Energy Kiln solution incorporates three technological interventions to improve energy efficiency and is expected to save up to 60% of the overall energy costs involved in timber-drying operations.
SIRIM also provides technologies and solutions to help SMEs upgrade themselves by improving their manufacturing productivity and quality. For example, the Hybrid Green Energy Kiln project with the Association of Malaysian Bumiputra Timber and Furniture Entrepreneurs incorporates three technological interventions to improve energy efficiency and is expected to save up to 60% of the overall energy costs involved in timber-drying operations.