TUBA, BENGUET – The safety of the workers and employees is of primary importance at the Philex Padcal mine site. (Photo by Darwin O. Sardez)

Philex achieves first Safety Milestone for 2017

Philex Mining Corp. has successfully achieved the first Safety Milestone set by its Safety program of 2017. Last May 21, the workers of the Philex-Padcal mine site accumulated 3, 020, 393 Man-hours Worked (MWH) Without Lost-time Injury (WLTI). 

A lost-time injury occurs when a person fails to perform normal work due to complications caused by injuries, permanent injuries, and injuries resulting to disabilities. The counting of lost-time injury starts from the time the injured person fails to report for work.

The Safety program for the year 2017 was planned by Philex-Padcal Operations on December 2016. One of the strategies was to set several milestones throughout the year which would be measured on Man-hours Worked Without Lost-Time Injury.

A target of 3 million MWH was scheduled to be achieved on May 31. In addition, targets of 5 million MWH and 7 million MWH were also set for Sept. 15 and Dec. 31, respectively.

The Safety Summit held last Jan. 31 kicked off a series of activities planned for the successful implementation of the Safety program. It was followed by the Safe Start Orientation for 0 to 5-year tenure employees conducted from Feb. 13 to April 20, which was attended by 1389 employees.

There were also three batches of reporting on User Orientation on Risk Management Module for the improvement of Non-Conformance, Risk Register & Objectives, Targets & Programs last March 23, as part of the Occupational Safety and Health Management  Standard of the Integrated Management System.

Furthermore, two Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) hours with Philex Mining CEO and President Eulalio B. Austin were held on Jan. 13 and May 18.

Should the first milestone be achieved on schedule, Austin promised during the SHE hour last May 18 that a kilo of cañao meat from an ethnic thanksgiving ritual shall be given to each Padcal employee as a token of appreciation of their efforts and contribution. As such, the cañao meat distribution was done by the management from June 8 to 10.

Philex Mining Corp. has more Safety activities lined up for the rest of the year as it continues to stay true to its commitment to the safety of the employees.