AIT GAZETTE
Issue No. 11
5 SEPTEMBER 2000
Report of the 22 August 2000 Reform Process Committee (RPC) Meeting
A. Review and Approval of the 8 August 2000 RPC Report
Members reviewed and approved the draft report of the 8 August 2000 RPC Meeting, which will incorporate the comments and suggestions made at the meeting.
B. Progress on the Reform Implementation Committee Meetings
The Provost informed members of the progress on the following matters:
1. Early-End-of-Employment Scheme
A matrix showing the computed compensation of the early-end-of-employment, expressed as a percentage of annual base salary, based on the remaining years until the mandatory end of employment and years of service of the employee has been prepared and is available at the Human Resources Office for all those interested. An official announcement of the scheme will be made upon approval by the Board in September 2000.
2. Workshops on 'Starting and Managing a Small Business'
As part of the ongoing reform process the School of Management will organize series of workshops on entrepreneurship and starting a small business. The lectures will be delivered by SOM Faculty, led by Dr. Lalit M. Johri, with simultaneous Thai translation by Ms. Uthairat Muangsan, beginning Monday, 11 Sept at 2:15 p.m. in the RCC Auditorium. Attendance is purely on a voluntary basis. Interested persons are requested to contact the HRO Coordinator. 'Legal aspects / procedures' will be included in the list of subject matters.
3. Financial System / Implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
AIT has contacted various universities and organizations in the region who have installed ERP in their operations. The National University of Singapore (NUS), De La Salle University in the Philippines, The University of Hongkong, Chulalongkorn University, Asian Development Bank are among the institutions and organizations which have been contacted. The two most popular ERP software are SAP and Oracle. Among the universities contacted the NUS has implemented a system that is closest to the one envisaged by AIT and have expressed satisfaction in the results. Meetings have also been held with Magnus Consulting Limited based in Bangkok to get further information on the various ERP options available in the market. GTZ funding for ERP installation at AIT is being proposed. It was decided to set up an internal implementation committee to oversee the implementation of ERP. A member suggested that a detailed feasibility study should be conducted prior to any decision.
4. Bus Service
The results of the bus routing optimization study showed that on the average, the utilization rate for the nine buses comes to about 61%. The actual number of bus users is actually higher than the registered number in HRO due to some occasional riders. The optimization study arrived at the following three options:
- Option 1: Reduce the total number of buses from 9 to 7 by combining lines 2 and 8, and lines 3 and 4;
Bus utilization - 78%
Savings to bus riders - Bt0.47 million/annum
Savings to the Institute - Bt0.85 million/annum
Affected - 6 persons
- Option 2: Reduce the total number of buses from 9 to 6 by combining lines 2 and 8, and lines 3 and 4, with a change in some existing routes by combining lines 1, 7 and 9, and then separating them into two lines;
Bus utilization - 88%
Savings to bus riders - Bt0.70 million/annum
Savings to the Institute - Bt1.27 million/annum
Affected - 14 persons
- Option 3: Reduce the total number of buses from 9 to 5 through construction of four new lines;
Bus utilization - 107%
Savings to bus riders - Bt1.18 million/annum
Savings to the Institute - Bt2.12 million/annum
Affected - 50 persons
It was pointed out that not all affected staff would necessarily be affected negatively. For some the new routes may even turn out to be more favorable. The HRO Coordinator was requested to discuss the proposed options with each of the affected staff and to prepare a map of all the routes clearly marked.
5. Child Center / Playschool
While keeping sight of the possible establishment of the Thammasat Demonstration School, it is imperative that a medium-term business plan, at least for the next five years, be developed for the AIT Child Center and Playschool, with a view to making its operations more efficient. The business plan should take into account the phasing out of the Child Center operation and transferring ESL and kindergarten classes to Playschool.
C. Other matters
1. The President informed members that the Staff and Labour Union Representatives would be meeting with the Legal Advisor at the PEC meeting on 29 August 2000 to discuss issues of general concern.
2. Prof. John Tang, Chair of the Group Medical Plan Task Force informed the meeting that the task force has completed its final report which by now has been submitted to the administration.
D. Next Meeting
The next RPC meeting will be held on 5 September 2000, 11:00 a.m. in the Board Room, Administration Building.