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Name: Niño Ramon Christopher V. Cordova
Country: Philippines
Country: Philippines
About Niño Ramon Christopher V. Cordova
Nino is a Mechanical Engineer working as a Safety Professional with 11 years of experience in safety-related work. He has experience in heavy equipment inspection/testing, in industries of construction of power transmission/distribution lines and renewable power plants. Currently, he is working as a Health and Safety Manager in a leading renewable energy company in the Philippines.
One of the most challenging aspects of being a Safety Professional is to encourage employees to report and address any identified hazards immediately, and it's one of his top priorities in his role as a Safety Professional.
List the Safety and Health achievements/contributions you have achieved in 2023.
Some of my notable achievements and contributions include maintaining a zero lost-time incidents record for the current year. I obtained the Certificate of Accreditation as an OSH Consultant from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in the Philippines on February 28th, 2023.
In addition, I was recognised as one of the Outstanding Safety Consultants by the Safety Organization of the Philippines Inc. (SOPI) on October 11th, 2023.
Furthermore, I received the Distinguished Alumni Award (Managerial Category) on March 4th, 2023 for my exceptional contributions to the profession. I was also awarded the Driven Change Kudos Award by my current organisation on October 12th, 2023 for demonstrating determination and delivering results with excellence.
Additionally, I was featured as one of the OSH Champion Stories of OSHC Region 6 on their social media for the celebration of World Day for Safety and Health at Work on April 28th, 2023. Moreover, I monitored the implementation and maintained the certification of the organisation's ISO 45001:2018 Occupational Health & Safety Management System, ISO 9001:2005 Quality Management System, and ISO 14001:2005 Environmental Management System.
Outline the Workplace Safety and Health initiatives that have been implemented by you in your workplace in 2023.
I facilitated various health and safety-related trainings to improve the employees' awareness and competence. These trainings included fire and earthquake drills, standard first aid training, snake bite management training, occupational health talk sessions, and other tailored risk-based training according to the requirements of the organisation's industry.
I collaborated with the Occupational Health Nurse and the Human Resources Department to organise various health and wellness activities. These activities consisted of wellness and sports activities such as basketball, badminton, treatment sessions, influenza vaccination drives, and blood donation drives in coordination with the Philippine Red Cross.
I reintroduced the Behaviour-based Safety Programme to promote a safety culture by identifying hazards and recognising positive observations. This program was linked to a monthly and yearly rewards and recognition programme. Additionally, I introduced the Rewards and Recognition System to acknowledge employees and departments for their commitment to making our site a safe and healthy workplace. This was done by consistently reporting and proactively addressing concerns via the HSS Observation Reporting Tool. Lastly, I was responsible for leading the Management Leadership and Workers' Involvement in our organisation by organising monthly health and safety committee meetings, headed by the Plant Manager as the Committee Chairman.
Describe and support in detail on how your influencing capability has assisted in the successful implementation of these initiatives.
As an organisation, we prioritise collaboration and open communication. We involve all key personnel, including management, team leaders, and worker representatives during our health and safety committee meetings to consolidate their thoughts before fully implementing any programmes. This helps us avoid resistance and ensures that we work not only as a safety department but as ONE team.
To report hazards, we're creating a strong safety culture that prioritises safety over blame. We promote a positive safety culture where everyone takes care of themselves and their colleagues. We encourage safe work practices, open communication of safety concerns by reporting safety observations and recognition of employees who demonstrate safe behaviour. This is part of our organisation's journey towards a generative level of safety culture by increasing trust and accountability among everyone involved.
Our goal is to create a community of safety practitioners. We aim to mold our direct supervisors to become safety leaders who will support and influence the implementation of our initiatives and programmes. To achieve this goal, it is important that both the management and individual employees understand the importance of safety. Our department encourages each employee to make safety their own personal goal and work towards it every day.
Describe and provide support on how your initiative impacted the Safety and Health management and performance of your workplace/community/industry that was above and beyond.
Our employees have developed a positive safety culture at our workplace and in their personal lives. They are more aware of potential hazards and can identify and address them before any harm can occur. They have become proactive in their approach to safety by taking on the duties and responsibilities of safety leaders. By promoting safety awareness and recognising safe behaviour, we have been successful in reducing accidents and injuries. A reward system has also been put in place to encourage a positive safety culture within the organisation, making safety a shared goal rather than just a rule.
The management team has shown visible leadership by setting an example in safety practices, which has led to our site maintaining zero lost time incidents. This achievement is a result of the collective effort of our team. We have established open communication between the management and the work line employees, which has created a safer work environment. Employees are not afraid to report any hazards, because they know they will not be penalised or reprimanded. This has made them feel safer and more comfortable working in our organisation.
In your opinion, what are the attributes of a safety influencer? Do share with us on how you have demonstrated these attributes in your daily work that will earn you the recognition of a WSHAsia Safety Influencer Award Winner in your workplace/community/industry.
A safety influencer should be calm and being a good listener to have a better communication to collaborate with colleagues. Involving them during planning and organising to consolidate their thoughts or ideas in every decision or before the implementation of a certain project or programme can avoid the resistance from them. In this way, they may feel that they belong and are accountable on their own.
I collaborate with my colleagues and with partners through constant communication e.g. formal and informal meetings to consolidate their thoughts or ideas in every decision or implementation. In addition, be respectful when we are collaborating with others. We must also know how to listen to them attentively and we must give value and respect to each other.
For any high-risk activities, we are conducting a kick-off and coordination meeting until the completion of the specific task. These were being attended by the plant operations and maintenance team and other subject matter experts’ personnel together with the health and safety team. The last critical activity we discussed at the site was the blade lifting activity of a wind turbine in one of our operating plants. We organised a series of coordination meetings to discuss the completion of the activity, to identify the resources needed, and all the safety requirements as identified on the job hazards' analysis and risk assessment. As a result, we were able to come up with a detailed plan and completed the job safely.