Solid Earth scores grand slam in PH mining ‘Oscars’
Safest Mining Operations. SEDC director and chief technical adviser Hiroyuki Sakakibara (center right) receives with SEDC operations manager Delfin A. Campo (center left) the 2016 Safest Mining Operations Award, the highest for a mining operator, from MGB central office assistant director Atty. Danilo U. Uykieng (extreme left) and PMSEA president Louie R. Sarmiento (extreme right).
Taiheiyo also earns back-to-back merit for safety process
BAGUIO CITY (Nov. 18, 2016) — Solid Earth Development Corp. (SEDC) made a grand slam tonight during the Safest Mines and Quarries Awards at Camp John Hay in this city.
The company operating in San Fernando, Cebu earned the “Safest Quarry Operations” award for the third consecutive year and the 2016 “Safest Mining Operations,” the highest award for a mining operator.
It also got the recognition for the 2016 “Best Mining Forest” in the non-metallic category, the same classification as the award for safest mining operation, bared Delfin A. Campo, SEDC operations manager.
Safest Mineral Processing. Eng’r. Romeo M. Gebilaguin (center), environment and safety division manager, and safety inspector Eng’r. Bert Yap (center right) receives the 2016 Safest Mineral Processing Merit from (from left) MGB chief of Mine Safety, Environment and Social Development Division Rodolfo L. Velasco, Jr., PMSEA treasurer Dr. Patrick V. Caoile, and PMSEA president Louie R. Sarmiento.
SEDC’s primary client, Taiheiyo Cement Philippines, Inc. (TCPI), also earned a back-to-back merit for operating the “Safest Mineral Processing” in the cement plant category.
Regarded as the Oscars in the Philippine mining industry, the awarding came as the highlight of the 63rd National Mine Safety and Environment Conference of the Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Association (PMSEA).
For 63 years, PMSEA members themselves judge the contenders for the awards through a system similar to that of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the movie industry in the United States.
Consciousness
Witnessed by DENR undersecretary Mario Luis J. Jacinto, concurrent MGB director, PMSEA president Louie R. Sarmiento handed the award to SEDC and TCPI that have been consistent with giving prime value to safety and environmental protection.
SEDC director Hiroyuki Sakakibara received the awards with Campo, human resources and administration head Mitzie Almira I. Carin, and community relations officer Gines T. Boltron.
Eng’r. Romeo M. Gebilaguin, environment and safety division manager, and safety inspector Eng’r. Bert Yap received the award for TCPI and dedicated this to fellow employees.
Both companies behind the production of cement products as Grand Portland, Grand Pozzolan, Grand Premium and Grand Masonry took the limelight from other mining and mining-associated companies that night.
Safest Quarry Operations. SEDC human resources and administration head Mitzie Almira I. Carin (center) receives with SEDC pollution control officer Lester L. Canoy (center right) the 2016 Safest Quarry Operations Award for the third consecutive year from (from left) MGB chief of Mine Safety, Environment and Social Development Division Rodolfo L. Velasco, Jr., PMSEA treasurer Dr. Patrick V. Caoile, and PMSEA president Louie R. Sarmiento (extreme right).
While SEDC bested all other non-metallic mining companies for operating the “Safest Mining Operations” this year, it earned the “Safest Quarry Operations” award in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
It also got recognized for having achieved Zero Lost Time Accident in 2009 and 2010.
Pitched against all cement manufacturing plants in the country, TCPI had previously earned the major award for “Safest Mineral Processing” in 2006, 2007 and 2009, and merits also in 2010 and 2012.
SEDC mines out in San Fernando uplands limestone and alumino-silicate materials such as clay, silica, and gypsum, minerals that TCPI needs to manufacture cement at its plant in South Poblacion.
Lands it mined out since 1993 have all been rehabilitated in better condition that before, turning them into new pocket forests, shared Boltron who received the 2016 Best Mining Forest.
Best Mining Forest. SEDC community relations officer Gines T. Boltron (center left) receives with SEDC quality analyst Roque Louie M. Israel (center right) the 2016 Best Mining Forest Award from MGB chief of Mine Safety, Environment and Social Development Division Rodolfo L. Velasco, Jr. (extreme left) and PMSEA assistant treasurer Annie G. Dee (extreme right).
Champions
Gebilaguin and Campo cited the persistent support and active involvement of management in the safety programs as championed no less by TCPI president and CEO Satoshi Asami and Sakakibara, also chief technical advisor of SEDC.
They dedicated the award to all TCPI and SEDC employees for their unwavering consciousness on safety and commitment to ensure the company operates without causing any harm on anyone.
Asami noted the 2016 awards and those TCPI and SEDC reaped over the years are testaments that the Taiheiyo Group upholds and promotes the standards for the environment, occupational health and safety.
SEDC Delegation. SEDC director and chief technical adviser Hiroyuki Sakakibara (extreme left) leads the SEDC delegation that included (after him from left) pollution control officer Lester L. Canoy, human resources and administration head Mitzie Almira I. Carin, operations manager Delfin A. Campo, quality analyst Roque Louie M. Israel and community relations officer Gines T. Boltron.
TCPI maintains management systems that are updated and certified since 2005 as having attuned to standards set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) based in Geneva.
These are ISO 14001:2015 for environment management, British Standard (BS) 18001:2007 for occupational health and safety, and 9001:2015 for quality management.
Incorporated into a unified and coordinated system, the three systems have since 2006 been fused into an Integrated Management System (IMS) that has also since been recognized by Certification International.
TCPI holds the record as the first cement plant in the Philippines to obtain an ISO 14001 certification for the implementation of its EMS. Its plant also earned in 1997 Business for Environment Award bestowed by the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI).
PMSEA groups mining companies, quarries and cement plant operators, suppliers, service contractors, professional organizations and government agencies.
It has been consistent with its national campaign for occupational safety and against health and environmental hazards of mining and its related operations.
The Safest Mines and Quarries Awards has been meant to create greater consciousness, awareness, and elimination of occupational and environmental hazards in mining operations.
Taiheiyo Group Delegates. With MGB-7 Engineer III Mario C. Bacus (extreme left), they are (from 2nd from left, standing) TCPI ESD manager Eng’r. Romeo M. Gebilaguin, SEDC community relations officer Gines T. Boltron, SEDC human resources and administration head Mitzie Almira I. Carin, SEDC director and chief technical adviser Hiroyuki Sakakibara, SEDC operations manager Delfin A. Campo, SEDC pollution control officer Lester L. Canoy, (seated) TCPI safety inspector Eng’r. Bert Yap, and SEDC quality analyst Roque Louie M. Israel.
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