In a Nutshell, ICC

Iligan City, hailed as the industrial capital of the Philippines, is home to a myriad of industrial and chemical plants. The industries range from metallurgy to food, caustic soda to pulp and paper, and of course- cement. Here in Iligan City, there are two cement plants, and one of them is Iligan Cement Corporation.

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Figure 1. The arresting cement silos. The first silo is for Type 1, the second for Type 1P and the third for Type P cement.

What is Iligan Cement Corporation?

ICC, as what the corporation is fondly called, started as an expansion program of the Mindanao Portland Cement Corporation (MPCC). Later however, the multinational company Lafarge bought it out. ICC is one of the top ten cement manufacturers in the Philippines. Established on February 19, 1971, ICC Cement plant is the 16^th cement processing plant to be established in the country and the only cement plant with an automated loading system for bulk and clinker exports.

ICC is certified for its QUALITY, ENVIRONMENT, HEALTH and SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (ISO 9001, 14001 and OHSAS 18001) - the first in the Lafarge Philippine group.

Note: Lafarge is the largest manufacturer of cement and concrete products in the world. Lafarge is also present in the Philippines. In concrete roof tile, CPAC Monier Inc. In gypsum, Boral Plasterboard.

The Plant

A. Location

The ICC plant is located in Kiwalan, Iligan City, 9.0 kilometers from city proper.

A. Safety

Figure 2. The cumbersome yet necessary PPE, with Jelyn and a fellow trainee.

The plant is known for their strict and tight implementation of health and safety rules and regulations, with their aim of having zero lost-time injuries. As such, the management requires mandatory Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when working at specific points in the plant particularly in the process line. These are hard hats, safety footwear, high visibility clothing, dust mask and gloves. Also, anyone who enters the plant, whether employee or visitor, is given a safety badge, on which the H and S regulations of the plant is found. The badge will be punched every time a safety regulation is violated, corresponding to a certain sanction.

A. Products

ICC manufactures three types of cement:

1. Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) or Type 1

2. Portland Plus Cement Type 1P

3. Pozzolan Premium Type P

These are marketed under the brand name Mindanao Cement.

B. The Process Flow.

Quarrying. The ICC quarry is accessed 3-4 km from plant via MPCC road. The 519 hectares of quarry area houses 169.92 million MT of limestone and 25.25 million MT of shale.

Crushing. The crusher is composed of a primary jaw crusher and secondary crusher with a production rate of 310 tons per hour (tph). The feed enters at 800 mm average diameter and exits at 40 mm average diameter.

Drying. The plant utilizes 2 drum dryers with a production rate of 150 tph. The drying medium is heated air through a rectangular furnace heated with ricehulls and hot gas from preheater exhaust. The feed moisture, from 13% becomes 3% for limestone, 26% to 13% for shale and 26% to 13% for pozzolan. The fuel usage is at 90 kCal/kg dried materials and alternative fuels constitute 35% of the fuels used.

Proportioning. After drying of raw materials, proportioning is done before they are feed into the raw mill. The standard proportion is 76% limestone, 20.9% shale, 4% silica sand and 0.1% cinder.

Raw Milling. The mill is a Kawasaki-make ball mill, with a drive of 2200 kW and a production rate of 140 tph. It is operated closed-circuit with bucket elevators. The average power of the mill is 21 kWh per ton of dried materials.

Figure 3. The commanding raw mill silos.

Clinkering. After the raw mill product is homogenized, they will be fed to the kiln which comes in the four-stage suspension preheater type, with a rated capacity of 1580 tons per day. The preheater is composed of 4 cyclones, with the feed reaching different temperatures at each. At 100 degrees Celsius, which is roughly t

he temperature of the first cyclone, water is removed. Next, the chemically combined water is removed at the next cyclone at a temperature of about 500°C. At 900°C, on the other hand, decarbonation and CaO formation occurs at the third stage. Furthermore, the hot meal proc

eeds to the rotary kiln where at 1220°C, C₂S. C₃A and

C₄AF and C₃S are formed. Then finally at 1450

°C clinker is formed.

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Figure 4. The towering preheater.

Figure 5. JanMell and the amazing rotary kiln.

Cooling. Since the product from the kiln is extremely hot, this stage is needed. The plant’s cooler is a conventional reciprocating grate type cooler with a rated capacity of 2500 tons per day. It has 6 chambers with beam aeration at first chamber only and there are 8 cooling fans installed.

Proportioning. The proper proportion of clinker and additives dictates the type of cement produced. For Type 1 cement, clinker constitutes 93%, limestone 4% and the remaining 3% is gypsum. For Type P, clinker is 63%, pozzolana is 34% and the 3% is gypsum. The other type, Type 1P Portland Plus composition is not disclosed.

Finish Milling. The plant has two finish mills, one located in the ICC plant (for TP and T1P cement) and the other located at the adjacent MPCC plant (for T1 and T1P cement). They are all ball mills with a production rate of 65 tons per hour, operating closed-circuit and with a drive of 2200 kW.

Packing and Shipping. The packing is accomplished by 2 Roto packers and 1 line packer with capacities of 3500 bags per hour. Each cement bag weighs 40 kg approximately. As evident, there are 3 cement silos corresponding to the three cement types, with each silo having a capacity of 12,000 MT. The dispatching is done in the overland through trucks and offshore through ships.

Iligan Cement Corporation is one of the top cement manufacturers in the Philippines and is one of the contributors of economic boost in Iligan City. Today, Iligan cement’s plant manager and VPO is Mr. Danilo Trugillo, a graduate of Chemical Engineering and Ceramics Engineering. He took up his CerE in MSU- Iligan Institute of Technology. His leadership, collated with the previous and current managers and personnels, contractors, employees and yes, apprentices has made Iligan Cement on top of its game. “For our dreams, trust only Mindanao Cement.”

[06.23.10]

Best of Both Worlds

It was a rather balmy morning and by some kind of miracle the OJT Orientation managed to make me feel motivated I could almost sprint all the way to the venue without minding the almost 10 kilometer distance at all.

“Please welcome, our Senior Process Engineer, here to discuss about the cement process flow. Let us all give him a hand.”

Certainly! At the sound of his position, I even thought he could also have my feet. He thanked us, and his next statement hit home.

“I am a Chemical engineer by profession...”

Surprised? No.

Amazed? Na-ah.

Rather, I was happy that a chemical engineer by profession is a senior process engineer, and not a laboratory detainee.

It is a common foreknowledge amongst incoming OJT’s that the stigma brought by the word chemical is very much pronounced even when appended with the word engineering. Hence, I’d already projected to the will of universe that time that even though my course is harder to spell, and takes longer to fully write, I’d still end up doing B.S. Chemistry stuff. And true enough, by the incontrovertible law of attraction, the universe projected it back.

Don’t get me wrong. I love being in the Quality Assurance Department. My supervisors, and of course the manager, are people you can easily get along. They were a very kind group, and somehow, now that the training is over, I miss them. I miss how I greet them good morning when I time in, arguing that a minute before noon is technically, still, morning. I miss how I was asked by the manager to make a calendar of events and how he was surprised by the apparent expertise of how I constructed it, not knowing there are plenty of calendar templates available for download. I miss the feeling of apprehension every time the phone rang simply because I might become my unrefined self and brush telephone etiquette away. I miss being practically drowned in cement samples waiting to be analyzed, and of course, I miss break time moments with employees and fellow trainees alike (especially the free meals and the “kuha lang mog bisag unsa sa canteen, i-charge lang sa akoa” line).

But sentimentality aside, while I was working in the laboratory I felt like singing Streisand’s “A piece of sky,” or Freddie Mercury’s “Break Free.” I have long since harbored the adventurous feeling that chemineers are supposed to crush, grind, agitate, sub-sonically flow, or isenthalpically throttle and not titrate, stir, filter, analytically weigh or precisely standardize. That is, as blatant as Section 4 of Article I of the Chemical Engineering Law which defines chemineering practice as, “… excluding chemical analysis and operation of the chemical laboratory…” However I have to make it clear, that even though at this premise the objective of the training seems to be flawed, I do not undermine the administration’s effort to offer quality apprenticeship and the things I had learned, developed and cultivated during the duration of my worthwhile adventure, and that even though I spent most of my time on the laboratory, there were a couple of instances where I was asked by the process engineers to do nothing short of discharge calibration of conveyor belt for gypsum and maintenance of dryers, valves, cyclones, and other equipment.

The world is not black or white. Having an amazing learning experience both academically and socially doesn’t have to be constrained by the dictums. Yes, I was at the laboratory, mostly, and according to the icy statement it is not definitive of the practice of my profession. But chemical engineering practice does not stop at those criteria. A true chemical engineer is someone who loves being one, who delights in being one, and is proud to declare that he is one despite the apparent misplacement in the laboratory.

“I am a Chemical Engineer by profession…” is insufficient.

“I am a Chemical Engineer by heart…” sums it all.

During my training I was lucky enough to say I had the best of both worlds. True, excursions to the process line might be sporadic due to safety concerns, but the moment it came, I had the most of it. Somehow, my assignment in the lab made me even more eager to discover the art and science of Chemical Engineering.

[06.29.10]

Mactan Rock Adventure Winner

The winner for last week's caption writing contest involving two hapless individuals (Ha ha) is.... (drumroll, please),

Mayekai..

Because, apparently, you're a fan from a far away place, I'll just come to you personally this Tuesday to give you your prize! See you sa classroom.

Bobbie and JP

For the next Caption Writing contest. (Ha ha, can't help it. It's so funny.) Write a caption for this photo, post your answer in comments, and the funniest caption (make it even funnier than the photo itself haha) will get to eat at Kaw Gud! (Oy, Nadz did i spell it right?)

Go. Deadline is next Sunday.

Excited!

I never really watched the animated series like a lizard stuck to the television screen, but I have played the game on PSP and I was amazed by his powers and that arrow on his forehead. Yes, I'm talking about Aang, the last airbender, and before I knew it, it's already a movie.

I first saw the trailer at Studio 23's Quick-E (by the way, Aaron Atayde's hosting is so natural, you'll think he's really kalog in real life plus, the grammar is perfect. Gimme more viral shots!) and I vowed that all hell will break loose, and not even the last airbender would be able to stop me If by any means I would'nt be able to see it.

At least there's a Cinema 2.

Unfortunately, the moviehouses here in Iligan City apparently are a million light years away from other cinemas, such that what movies we see here are those movies shown in cinemas in other cities a million years ago. Nevertheless, one can wait. I don't wanna be disappointed though. I already had much of the disappointment when I failed to watch Emir because I did not know it's already showing ( I thought it would be after a million years or so, I waited too much it got past me) , and when I watched I'll be there with only KC's fashion sense and Jericho's kilig factor to manage me through it.

By the way, Dev Patel (yup, the slumdog boy) will be playing the villain here and and another by the way, when will Gaisano's Cinemas 3 and 4 be finished?

How Ironic!

Recently, I've been fascinated with something I would like to label as a no nonsense comic strip. It's called subnormality, something I found out from idly browsing at cracked.com. It's part of an archive of comic strips at www.viruscomix.com. I could put the comic strips that I like most here, and that would be everything. It's got wit, humor, and it's wicked. I particularly like this one.

Why did you take up Chemical Engineering, huh, JanMell?

BATTLING INNER WARS By JanMell Dugenio

It’s 7:00 pm. You’re hungry, and then you decide to go out for dinner. You’re walking along Tibanga highway with all the eateries and fast-food chains to flood your vision. You walk to, and when you seemingly reach Gaisano mall, you walk your way back again, and find yourself heading home. Then you pinch yourself, and finally settled on Jollibee. Never mind, you say, that you’re Php40 transmuted into a plate of shanghai rolls and the ever scant rice, a glass of fizzy soda, and one peso. You just needed a clean and well-lighted place, so you could sink your mind into something in need of utmost attention, it feels like your dendrites and axons would shred. You were just given an assignment; call it an onus, a yoke, a terrible joke in the form of an interrogative sentence. The kind of joke that makes you smile but your face reads worry. And then you hear it again—clearly now, quite dreadfully, in a very deep, terrifying tone—you’re teacher saying, “Why did you take up Chemical Engineering?” (Put maniacal laughter, lightning and thunder effects here.)

And then you’re in my shoes.

It was neither an accident that I took up chemical engineering nor was it because I let my index finger play into the course list with my eyes closed, and then I said “Stop!”, and behold, “I’ll take that!” I would have to blame my former third year Chemistry teacher, Mrs. Zyhrine Mayormita, for igniting that spark which fueled my interest towards Chemistry (which later on grew to a conflagration), and when she mentioned that Mr. Edmark Icalina (apparently one of her two favorite students, I am the other one. Ha ha) was taking up Chemical Engineering, my curiosity over the course grew. Moreover, my classmate, and one of my best buddies, said that he too, would take it up, and together with the name that sounds high profile, Engr. (attach name here), I decided to place ChE as my first choice on every admissions exams there are, even on one when ChE is not offered at all.

This is one book whom I've always longed to devour. The approach is fundamental, but not layman, and I believe every disciple of Chemineering must read this by heart if he wants to be good in his craft. Stuff toy not included.

But I never really thought of the deeper reasons behind my adventure. Surely, a teacher’s words and a friend’s enthusiasm are mere bagatelles. With only a year more before I finally finish my B.S., I was put back on a reality check with this assignment, (God, this is even more difficult than being questioned why, given that you are a cactus.)and in the rare event of rummaging through the recesses of my brain I found several reasons. I took up ChE because I thought:

1. Civil Engineering is so hackneyed it has become battered and bruised.

2. ME best suits big boys who can carry a car’s V8 engine, and probably the car, too.

3. I don’t want to be electrocuted. Plus, I find circuits too much of a headache.

4. B.S. Bio is so expensive, I pass out at the thought of paying PhP10,000 for a dive. (And in this category, I would never dare to mention B.S. Nursing. Oh, I just did.)

5. B.S. Chem is too feminine, and the Physics area is gloomy and exudes an air of diffidence that I vowed never to place myself near it.

6. All CASS subjects can be self-taught.

And probably, the one with most sense, and not based purely on whims of a 20 year old who thinks he’s still a child,

7. I think ChE would give me more job opportunities, will make me a dignified and exemplary citizen of the world (in short, rich) and will give me an air of immense intelligence such that when I walk by (put wind effect here), you could hear me saying “Get out of my way”, without opening my mouth, and then everybody says “Whoah!”

Basically, that’s it. I wanted to lift my family’s poverty and put some bills on the coffers. The closest solution that I could think of is to choose a college degree that would best serve my purpose, without squeezing me dry of finances, even if it turns my brain into a dried coral. You see, I am not really good in Math of which my course is teeming. In high school, my idea of the inverse of functions is snoitcnuf. But I toiled, and managed not without adventure, to reach 5^th year without losing the main momentum (euphemism for a GPA which is nice to look at and makes you confident to leave your COR open for anyone to gawk.) It is my family’s future, not just mine, which is at stake. I do believe now, quite seriously, that they are the reason why I took up Chemical engineering.

[06.22.10]

The 500 People You Meet In Hell: A random sampling | The Philippine Star Lifestyle Features Young Star

The 500 People You Meet In Hell: A random sampling | The Philippine Star Lifestyle Features Young Star

A Father-Daughter Dilemma

I was watching a replay of the Pilipinas Got Talent Finals on Studio 23 when my phone rang. It was a good friend (Oy,Tors), and she called to inform me that they would be watching KC and Gabby's (and of course, Jericho's!) movie I'll be There. It was already 7:20 pm, and the last full show at the not-so-mall-ish mall starts by 8 pm. My reply: Uhhuh. I'll be there.

I was a little hesitant about watching the movie. For one, I'm not really a fan of emotional movies, much more on movies dwelling with father-child relationships. My relationship with my father isn't rosy, but it's not enough to make the movie poignant. It turned out that I was right.


Nevertheless, I watched. It turned out that the character's dilemma commenced in one Post-it note, where KC's boyfriend announced that he swindled her money (euphemism: this is not working for us anymore) intended for her soon to be opened boutique. The problem was, the money was only lent to her by a fearsome (yes, fearsome) financier played by Celia Rodriguez (no wonder). So she went back to the Philippines, to her long lost father, to claim her share of the family properties. But her father (Gabby Concepcion) can only produce the money in 30 days, so he urged KC to live with him. And the story unfolds with the only thing that was keeping me awake was KC's fashion sense (expected, since her role is a frustrated but promising fashion designer). During the course of the movie, my friends never fail to exclaim how they love to have KC's bags, and how they would look if they would wear KC's top. And oh, how can I forget Jericho Rosales. He's still got that kilig factor, and the killer looks! Mapapa-shet ka talaga. I also got from Jericho the most memorable line from the movie, "Be nice to the world, so the world be nice to you." Kinda like The Secret.


Admit it. The movie is a so-so. It did not even managed to make me feel good (although it made others cry, but not me). Some viewers exited even before the movie ended. (How could they? Haha) However, I just love the STARFISH analogy. Starfishes regenerate lost body parts, if they could only manage to go home. In the movie, KC and Gabby, healed their hearts wounded from past hurts, abandonment and oblivion, by going home to each other. To start the days anew, with a newfound daughter for Gabby, and a loving father for KC. (Yes, sila ni Jericho dun.)


Maybe if I could relate a little more, I would have liked it. But for now, I would like to have a try at the product of Gabby's business venture in the movie- yeah, you got it, lambanog.

We too are stardust.

Astronomers caught a glimpse of a future star just as it is being born out of the surrounding gas and dust, in a star-forming region similar to the one pictured above. (Credit: NASA, ESA)

ScienceDaily (June 18, 2010) — Astronomers have glimpsed what could be the youngest known star at the very moment it is being born. Not yet fully developed into a true star, the object is in the earliest stages of star formation and has just begun pulling in matter from a surrounding envelope of gas and dust, according to a new study that appears in the current issue of the Astrophysical Journal.

For more details, read Astronomers witness a star being born at sciencedaily.com.

I'm supposed to place my very own picture for this post. But I figured I am not what the article refers to. I'm not in the earliest stages of star formation anymore. Hah! So much for supernovas, a star's birth is equally wonderful. If the Big Bang were true, the same material that is in the stars are also present in us all. In the words of Jostein Gaarder, "we too, are stardust."

Mactan Rock Adventures

For my first attempt to get people to visit my blog (it pays to be honest) let me introduce the newest stuff here (drum roll,please) BEST CAPTION COMPETITION. Share a piece of your wicked mind and make us laugh, cry, or just inspire us. (Although I prefer to laugh, especially with the kind of photos I post.) Post your captions in Comments and please don't be anonymous. I accept any language. It doesn't matter though. Unintelligible entries never win. Ha ha.

Write a funny, witty, or any caption for this picture. (Oy, Karl and Wila, peace!) The winner will win a rare metamorphic rock dating back to the Stone Age. Mactan Rock joke. Here's the real deal: you get to eat a sumptuous meal at Mommy Noon's..(Oy Nadz, did I spell it right?). Deadline is next Sunday. Get that cerebrum running.

Bweshet na bekhow na mweyrong latteeerrrkk...

The video comes with a warning. Wag kang humarang sa banyo Inday. Baka sa urinal ako bumigay. (Do not block the C.R. door, I might poop on the urinal.) Ha ha. Gagang lady, you're so gaga.

Strangers and strangers forevermore

At an effort to bring up something interesting in a conversation, my friend the Renaissance painter suggested I visit www.cracked.com. I told him to visit the website of my friend Jessica at www.jessicarulestheuniverse.com and he did, so I thought of trying cracked. Hence, I found this article. Interesting!




The uploaded picture is too small. It reads, THE CLOSER YOU GET, THE FARTHER YOU WANT TO BE.


For a clearer and bigger picture, read The Importance of Not Getting to know Someone at the said website. A little laugh and a poke at your brain cells won't hurt.

The caption says: Keep society together--Zoom Out.


That sent me thinking.

Britain's Got Susan, Pilipinas' Got Jovit

Susan Boyle: Too old for the voice of an angel. Jovit: too young for a voice who reminds you of Freddie Mercury.

These two people can prove to you that prejudice is one of man's most refuted faculty. At first, you'll think as if the judges would pass out their performances as another nuisance to the show's main showcase. Until you heard them. In both cases, the first note nailed it twelve feet over, and twelve feet under. Congratulations, you proved to us that super stardom,( especially here in the Philippines), is more than just having a pretty face and starring yourself in a sex scandal.

Re: a pathetic and repentant note

BATTLING INNER WARS By JanMell Dugenio

It saddens me to confirm that a person's expectations of ideal relationships between his group is never enough to make it come true. We just have to accept that it is very hard, if not impossible, to impose a certain feeling to anyone, who is not willing to empathize. That is, the "Utopic" bond that is referred to in the note, will never be achieved in the truest sense of the adjective. We just have to face that. The real deal is appreciating the most of the happy moments that we all share, directly or vicariously.

True, for most, this may be the last time classmates will experience themselves as classmates, and probably the next time we see each other, we might refer to the word "classmates" as a thing of the past. However, friendship never dwells on the whims of time. It would be such a waste to sulk over things instead of growing up and realizing that SHALLOW CONFLICTS, and the even SHALLOWER REASONS behind them drag us to our immature selves which we want to get away from.

The ChE group is a brew of the different personalities available on earth. We have enough fluidity to mix with each others interests, yet we all want to stand alone. There's no problem with that. The consequence is some people, love the feeling of standing alone more than mingling with others. That's the problem. There's only one solution-- Leave them alone. Mind you, efforts like this actually contribute more to the rapport of the group than forcibly dragging them to group events which they don't wanna go.

The ChE students are intelligent, and we think a lot. That's a very good thing. However, it is IRONIC to say that in the course of thinking a lot, some people ONLY THINK OF THEMSELVES. It is perfectly fine to think a bout oneself. It's normal, it's human, it's Darwinian. But to ONLY think of one's self, that's another thing.

It seems that the whole point of your note is in UNITY. But it seems, as you might have observed, that the ChE lot gave a whole new meaning to that word. I can remember a previous ChE higher year student lauding our batch because they can see that we are tightly bound together. But that was because we are in for something to win. It was because we have a certain ambition which united our ideals. That is the point. Some may not participate in beach parties, or involve in drinking sprees but comfort your mind in the thought that everybody will participate if given an impetus that best serves everyone. It may not be "barkada-like" or it may not be what we love to think about- camping together, laughing, without any hint of hidden hurt feelings, but it is the best that we can expect from the group I describe as coming from different planets who came here to befriend each other. Everyone of us has a different view of friendship and companionship, depending on which planet they came from. One cannot simply inflict his notions on certain things based on his own planet.

We are not united, YES. Just look and examine the fibers. Cheap, Rinjers, Baguio girls, Apao boys, So fakes, and other groups that might pop without my knowledge. It is not a comforting thought, that some still bears the stigma of a previous misunderstanding and some still has certain conflicts. It is even on a sadder note, that everybody has already lived with this, and if there should be a significant turning point towards a UTOPIC bond, I'm afraid it is not on this final year.

We are UNITED, yes. Not in a conventional sense. We share laughs, we share plans, we compete together until our opponents experience hell. This is the closest we could get to the UTOPIC BOND. A conscious effort to patch things up, would only leave a bigger hole. Our goodwill towards each other is not "plastic", it is just the act of mature individuals, who believe that despite differences, everyone should act properly and help each other. A new sense of Unity is called upon, some may refer to it as "fake", but I don't think so and I contend to say it's all we have. No one should be blamed, because everybody's differences equally contributes.


[06.17.10]

Once Again the Day is Safe, and Boring

BATTLING INNER WARS By JanMell Dugenio

Driven with the zeal of a rampaging horde of rogue elephants, I prepared everything spick and span—from my packed lunch to my overly pressed hanky. Thanks to my “baon”, I had something to do for the whole day. It turned out that from 8 to 11:59 am, all I did was wait for lunchtime and from 1 to 5, all I did was digest it.

Hookay, I just love hyperboles. But my point here is that there is not much “action” that day, and by action, I meant something hands on, something that can prevent you from dozing off, or simply put, something I like to do. The supervisors (who are, by the way, all chemical engineers), were generally too busy to even turn an eye on us and I found myself reading a humungous book of PPPs, (duh, its not papalapit, papalapit, panget or what we call layogenic, magandapagmalayo) or procedures, policies, and protocols. Probably the only significant moment was the safety seminar refreshment course conducted once a week in every department. It was in the form of a small group discussion which reiterates the company’s advocacy—safety. In as much as I know, the company’s safety policies equal, if not exceed, the stringiest rules and tenets. I did not expect that the level of attention safety receives from the company is this much. As the speaker said, safety is not anymore above priority, but it is already a way of life. True enough, I learned a lot, of course with the motivation of snacks, of which I ate heartily.

Just as the Roman historian Tacitus once wrote, “the desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise,” which explains the apparent direct relationship of production versus risks. The more the company demands production, the more risks there are- from near misses to first-aid injuries, medical injuries and possibly being crushed by a falling crate. (di kaya ng hard hat yan, which reminds me of Final Destination). To prevent such misfortune, the management always looks for effective ways to enforce and implement safety, and believe it or not, you can actually see safety officers hovering over the whole vicinity of the plant waiting to suck the souls out of disobedient workers. (ala-dementors?)

The safety seminar reiterates one of these ways which more or less seems to be progressive reprimanding, whenever an employee, or contractor violates safety regulations. Encouragement, instead of police force apprehension. As I see it, its about establishing rapport to propagate a certain conduct. How sweet. Something’s brewing in my mind. How about replacing the plant’s slogans, and instead of “Work Safely”, or, “Safety is more than a Priority”, with,

“Take care cause I care”. Or,

“Work safely, we love you.”

In bold, intimidating letters.

I think the company needs me.

[04.19.10]