Knowledge Management Infostation
Course charted to identify 'lessons learnt'
What he wants to put on the database are, in KM terms, "lessons learnt", which were put on files following wash-up meetings or action reviews, all tucked away in Regions, Districts, Divisions or other sources.
Mr Cheung knows that given the size of the Force and the multifarious nature of its work, there are thousands of such files, and much more will need to be done before "lessons learnt" can be made available online to officers. He, therefore, has enlisted the assistance of two volunteers, Superintendent Cheung Kin-kwong from CAPO NT and Senior Inspector Yip Wing-lam from Commercial Crime Bureau, for his secondary duty as a KM Champion.
SP Cheung kin-kwong and SIP Yip readily offer their assistance in their free time because they are as eager as SSP Cheung to contribute in whatever way they can to promoting KM among officers. The trio also considers it an honour and privilege for them to be associated with a very worthwhile project.
"We have wash-up meetings or action reviews following operations or major activities to see whether there was anything that was not done properly, so that we can do better next time. To find a good system to store such information as references for officers is a step in the right direction," said SSP Cheung.
"It's a meaningful project to promote KM to enable officers to have access to information, even if it will take up much of my free time," said SP Cheung kin-kwong.
Always searching for information on POINT in the course of his work and being responsible for looking after CCB's e-Library, SIP Yip knows only too well the benefits of sharing knowledge. "Storing and sharing knowledge are vital to our operations!" he asserted.
Following several work meetings, SSP Cheung and Service Quality Wing's KM Team have reached a consensus on where to make a start in identifying "lessons learnt".
To start with, he said he would focus on UB operations. From this category, he will look for "lessons learnt" from crowd management operations, which include those involving public order events, rice distributions, fireworks displays, and events related to sports, religion, festivals or charity.
"We've many such operations every year; it will be a waste if the experiences we gained from the operations are just put on files. They should be stored on a database for the benefit of everybody!" SSP Cheung noted.
In addition, he will also identify "lessons learnt" from other UB operations, such as anti-crime operations, traffic enforcement operations, operations against pornography, joint operations with Immigration Department or Customs and Excise Department, or multi-departmental operations.
For SSP Cheung, administration work is also a good source of "lessons learnt". He noted: "In administration, there are areas where past practices can be reviewed and improved, for example handling bail money, property, auditable documents or persons in custody," he said.
Lastly, he will also take a close look at complaints prevention, which, he said, is essential to improving services to the public. "We'll study CAPO's analyses of the reasons leading to complaints and suggestions of preventing complaints. Tips for smart cops have been put on the KM Portal, POWER, and hopefully some behavioral guidelines can be uploaded too," he said.
Uploading restricted information and determining access right for restricted information are matters that SSP Cheung is trying to sort out with the KM Team. He said the Information Systems Wing and Service Quality Wing were working together on a template for uploading restricted information.
Speaking of the same subject, SP Cheung kin-kwong said: "There may be two databases - one open database for everybody and a restricted database with restricted access right. The initial idea is to make restricted information available to inspectors and above only."
"Information has to be sanitised before being put on the database. The main purpose of this is to make sure that the Personal Privacy Ordinance will not be infringed and information sources will not be jeopardised," he added.
Another matter that SSP Cheung is trying to figure out is the design of a database. He commented: "I hope that if it is technically feasible, some sort of an automatic system would be used, whereby one can access Internet without going through too many steps. An example is electronic uploading, which is being used by some Formations or Districts, without providing hardcopies. Some are using templates for uploading and updating. I hope the same can apply to 'lessons learnt' eventually."
"As long as there are determination and a common vision, technicality can be ironed out, and we'll have a very good database before long," he added.
Finally all the three officers are confident that the current KM efforts would be rewarded handsomely, with more officers benefiting from a good KM system.
KM Related News
In order to enhance the KM awareness in the Force, the KM Co-ordinating Committee is now organising a "KM eLearning Top-Scorer" competition, details as below:
Audience :
All serving Force members, including regular, civilian, auxiliary and contract staff.
Prize :
The five top scorers in all the three Management Scenarios and the five top scorers in all the three Operation Scenarios will receive a USB Memory Stick.
(Should the same top score be obtained among members, the prize will go to the officer who obtains the score first.)
Duration :
The last date to register a score is October 31.
For more details, please check the running banner at POWER.
As a Knowledge Management (KM) Champion, HKI Senior Superintendent (Operations) Cheung Tak-keung has already charted the course of his goal of having a database for officers to find mistakes made in the past and ways of rectifying the mistakes.
SSP Cheung (centre), SP Cheung kin-kwong (left) and SIP Yip have no doubt that KM efforts will be handsomely rewarded