En route for a legacy of safety

02/13/2009



TVIRD’s new Safety manager to build on firm’s good safety record

He has only been in his post for one month and yet he already
speaks about his desire to leave a legacy: for employees of TVI Resource Development
Philippines Inc., (TVIRD) to be proud that their company values life; that it
provides its employees with a safe workplace and ensures that they are always
conscious about work safety.

And Arturo Abad, Jr., TVIRD’s new Safety Manager, has
both the experience and track record to achieve what he desires. He is a recipient
of the 2008 Safety Milestone Award from the government Department of Labor and
Employment (DOLE) Bureau of Working Conditions (BWC) for spearheading the safety
initiatives of his previous employer that helped it post a “no-lost time
or no recordable accident” record.

Art
Abad, Jr. (in white hard hat) with workers of a contractor: “we
should help them understand why it is important for them to abide by a
safety plan so that they will be able to identify risks in their work
areas before starting the day’s activities,” he says.

Surely, Abad will not find it difficult to duplicate his feat
with TVIRD. After all, the company has had a good safety record itself –
particularly during the construction of the Sulphide Project production and
support facilities from June to November last year – before he came on
board. But now that he is at the helm of the Safety Department, Abad says he
will help further instill a safety culture not only among the management and
staff of TVIRD’s operations in Canatuan, but also among the company’s
contractors and members of the host Subanon community, many of whom are TVIRD
employees themselves.

“A safe environment boosts employee morale which in turn,
increases productivity and efficiency,” Abad explains. “This is
why we should help them understand why it is important for them to abide by
a safety plan so that they will be able to identify risks in their work areas
before starting the day’s activities. This is one of the most effective
ways to prevent accidents.”

The
t-shirts say it all. Abad (in grey shirt and white hat) says a safe environment
boosts employee morale.

Already, Abad has met with members of TVIRD Canatuan’s
Central Safety Committee and has shared with them his views on safety. Together
with the Committee members, he has made an assessment of the company’s
safety record.

“The plan right now is to lay the safety foundation by
going back to the basics so the safety culture we want to leave in Canatuan
will be internalized by employees,” he says. “This can only be done
by disciplined employees. However, before that, safety policy, procedures and
plans must be communicated down the line so the employees will be able to identify
work hazards. If employees know the hazards in their work area, they will understand
why they must wear his personnel protective gears.”

Art points out that under the law “all employees have
the right to work in a safe environment, to perform work without being injured,
to leave work each day in the same condition as when they arrived, to stop work
if there is a perceptible risk of getting hurt, to stop another employee from
working if they are observed to be putting themselves at risk by working unsafely,
and to have protective gears and receive safety training so they can perform
their work safely.”

The
safety warrior prays for, of course, safety. Abad starts a morning meeting
with TVIRD personnel and contractors with a prayer.

Born and raised in a mining community, Abad earned his bachelor’s
degree in electrical engineering in 2000 at St. Louis University in Baguio City
in the northern Philippines. His father, Art Senior, raised and educated all
his children from the paycheck he earned when he was still a mining professional
at Philex Corp., the country’s biggest local mining firm, in its Benguet
operations. Art Senior’s father also brought up his children through mining.

Abad’s joining TVIRD is his first time working with mining
concerns and in faraway Mindanao in southern Philippines. An accredited safety
practitioner of DOLE-BWC, he has eight years of experience in the safety field
working for different companies in various industries. It was with Johnson Controls
IFM, an American consulting and management firm in Manila, where he earned his
safety award from DOLE last October. As Johnson’s safety manager for more
than four years, Art managed the company’s implementation of, and ensured
compliance with, environmental, health and safety, and safety-related corporate
programs. He was also responsible for developing safety training modules and
programs not only for the company, but also for its clients here and abroad.

Now that he is with TVIRD where, at 32, he is the youngest
member of the Canatuan management team, Abad is busy outlining his safety plans
for the year to be able to achieve his goal – one that he hopes will someday
be his legacy in this remote mountain village.

He is married to Florence Joy, a Certified Public Accountant.
The couple has two children: Arwen Rae, 4, and Leeane Eira, 2. (Lullie Micabalo)

Art
Abad, Jr. with wife Florence Joy and children Arwen Rae and Leeane Eira.