Introduction

Safety in the process industries is a fundamental need for the continuous growth of a
certain industry. Safety management must seek to reduce the risks of the incidents that might
occur and may lead to consequences. It aims to ensure the safety of the company and its
people especially in the process plants. It focuses on the right way of preventing accidents in
the plant such as fires, explosions, equipment failures, and accidental leaks of hazardous
chemicals. As aspiring Chemical Engineers, We should be trained to be responsible leaders.
And for us to be effective, It is important for us to learn about Safety management and
familiarize ourselves with the hazard analysis, safety standards, and emergency preparedness.
We can apply these knowledge as we work on different process industries in the future.

There are various process industries in the Philippines that boost the country’s
economic growth. One of them is the Chemical Industry which is one of the country’s largest
manufacturing sectors and supplies products used in other industries such as healthcare,
agriculture, electronics, food processing, and etc. This industry has various opportunities and
is highly diversified. Because of this, our group chose this industry to know the different
processes and safety protocols happening in this industry. And one of the prestigious
chemical industries in the country that interests us the most is Mabuhay Vinyl Corporation. It
is the first and largest chlor-alkali producer in the Philippines and It is the country’s leading
manufacturer of caustic soda and hydrochloric acid and the only company that produces
chlorine in commercial quantities.

In this activity, we will discuss the company’s profile and Industry practices. The
objective of this report is for us to have a deeper understanding of the safety aspects,
standards, and practices of the company that we have chosen.It will help us to identify
different safety strategies that we can use if a certain situation happens on our time. And it
will serve as a guide for the aspiring professionals who also want to work in this kind of
industry. This report is done by pure research which is supported by facts and references from
Mabuhay Vinyl Corporation.

Company Profile
 Mabuhay Vinyl Corporation is the only chlor-alkali producer in the Philippines. It is
the country’s manufacturer of caustic soda and hydrochloric acid and the only company that
produces chlorine in commercial quantities. In addition, it supplies more than 50% of the
country’s requirement for sodium hypochlorite. The products end up in the manufacture of
many useful consumer products that are important in our daily lives. The company is backed
by a team of technically skilled managers with long and extensive experience in the field of
PVC and chlor-alkali production. Through the years, MVC continues to affirm its
commitment to quality.

Mabuhay Rubber Corporation was founded in 1934 by the late Judge Guillermo B.
Guevara. However, when its production facilities were completely razed during World War
II, the company had to cease operations. Two decades after the end of the war, seeing the
need to support the country’s manufacturing base, Judge Guevara and his son Victor revived
the company, shifting to the production of caustic soda and polyvinyl chloride resin—
chemical products used in making a wide range of consumer goods. Currently, MVC operates
a modern, highly-efficient, and environment-friendly manufacturing plant complex in Iligan
City, and the Mabuhay Premium Bleach Plant at the Laguna Technopark in Biñan, Laguna. It
has its own port facilities where salt is unloaded from foreign vessels and liquid products are
loaded through a network of pipelines. To this day, the company has retained the name
Mabuhay Vinyl Corporation, renowned and respected in the industry as the sole domestic
producer and major importer of caustic soda and enjoys a leading position in the hydrochloric
acid, sodium hypochlorite and chlorine markets.

MVC is committed to provide clean, orderly and safe working conditions for the
health and welfare of employees, customers and members of the community. A safe and
clean place of work dignifies workers and instills pride in employment. The company
implements systems and processes that ensure compliance with all laws on Safety, Health and
Environmental standards.
 MVC expects its employees to be well-informed on safety and environmental issues.
All employees and contractors are mandated to undergo environmental and safety training.
They are required to comply with the company’s health and safety rules and regulations.

MVC is certified to ISO 9001:2015 quality standards – the internationally recognized

standard of world-class quality. Its Mabuhay Premium Bleach Plant (MBPB) in Sta. Rosa,
Laguna is also ISO 14001:2015 certified for Environmental Management System while its
Iligan Plant is certified for its Integrated Management System consisting of ISO 9001:2015,
ISO 14001:2015 and BS OHSAS 18001:2007.

I. Occupational Health and Safety (OHS)

Health and safety failings can have grave consequences - and new, larger, fines are reflecting
that.
There are plenty of potential downsides to not getting a handle on your risk management:
from damaging team morale and losing the respect of your customers to inhibiting your
productivity and innovation. Not to mention, of course, the grave potential cost to your staff,
customers and their families. And if that wasn’t enough motivation, the government
introduced new sentencing guidelines for health and safety failures from February 2016, and
fines have shot up in the year since.

‘While you can’t put a value on human life, the level of fines now being handed out
recognises society’s disapproval of serious corporate failures that lead to injury, illness and
death,’ says Shelley Frost, executive director of policy at the Institution of Occupational
Safety and Health (IOSH). ‘But protecting employees and others affected by a business’s
operations can also be key to ensuring and maintaining an organization’s strong reputation
and ultimately contributing to its success.’

Recently, the company was also awarded certification of its Health and Safety Management
System as required by OHSAS 18001:2007 standards.

Being part of the global voluntary initiative of the chemical industry to commit its
management policy to secure and protect the environment, health and safety (EHS) of its
stakeholders, Mabuhay Vinyl Corporation has initiated milestone in support of ethical,
attitudinal, and principled ways of conducting its business and relating the same to the
company’s role in society.
A Responsible Care (RC) Manual has been prepared to enshrine Mabuhay Vinyl
Corporation’s guiding principles, vis-à-vis the RC declarations. Safety, Health and
Environment policies have been revisited and firmed up; proportional activities, orientation
and trainings were extensively implemented to ensure a successful program launching in June
2003.

MVC recognizes that all its effort towards implementing its various Responsible Care
programs and initiatives are always in a “continuous improvement mode”.
The 2016 Evaluation of Self-Assessment provided by the Chemical Industries Association of
the Philippines affirmed this “continuous improvement cycle” as its accounted. “MVC has its
updated result of Self-assessment checklist required by SPIK.
Based on this, they were able to establish their priority issue which is Environment
Conservation particularly on chemical spill/release which has big impact on the environment
and the community.”

Indeed, aligning MVC’s Environmental Management Program with the Responsible Care’s
Codes of Management Practices, not only reverberate the company’s commitment to
responsible product stewardship, but more so, MVC’s innate concern and dedication to gain
the public’s trust to operate safety, profitably and with due care for the welfare of future
generations. This commitment shall persist.

Policy

1. Providing an environment that promotes and supports the physical and psychological
health and wellbeing of employees in the workplace in line with values of Unity,
Respect, Integrity and Excellence and the company’s Code of Conduct;
2. Maintaining a process of continuous improvement of the safety management
framework, systems and processes ensuring safety practices are maintained;
3. Ensuring staff are appropriately trained and educated in the area in line with position
accountability and responsibilities including individual obligations to personal safety;
4. Reflecting expectations within position descriptions, performance development and
planning processes
5. Reporting on performance targets at the organizational, divisional, and departmental
levels;
6. Evaluate performance through analysis of organizational data of best practice and
benchmarking with industry peers;
7. Providing facilities, equipment, resources and services to enable employees to
perform their role safely;
8. Regularly communicating with staff in relation to initiatives and programs that
support a workplace health and safety culture.
9. Ensuring an integral part of all MCV management systems and core operations  

MVC Board

 Oversees legal obligations and the effective implementation of the framework,

systems and processes relating to employee health and safety;
 Remains a strategic priority for the hospital in support of embedding a strong safety
culture;
  Monitor the performance through key performance indicators and regular reporting.

RCH Executive

 Ensure legal obligations and the effective implementation of the framework, systems
and processes relating to employee health and safety are met and maintained;
 Remains a strategic priority for the hospital in support of embedding a strong safety
culture;
 Monitor the performance through key performance indicators and regular reporting  
 Ensure the effective training and education of staff  through the allocation of
sufficient resourcing and operational funding to support related activity; 
 Ensure roles and responsibilities within the Division are effectively communicated
and maintained via positions descriptions, performance development and planning
discussions and management forums; 
 Ensure the physical and psychological health and wellbeing of staff is promoted and
supported through participation in ‘safety walk-arounds’ and programs and initiatives
designed to enhance employee wellbeing; 
 Embed a culture whereby employees are encouraged to discuss health and safety
issues and concerns in a transparent and open manner. 
 Shall have a clear understanding of the key issues pertaining to their divisions
 Be safety leaders and uphold MVC core safety values 
 Actively support the planning and promote the implementation of health, safety and
wellbeing enhancement initiatives. 
 View health, safety and wellbeing as an integral part of daily business activities, and
demonstrate this through their planning, communication and work practices.

Directors/Managers

 Ensure effective implementation of workplace health and safety practices in line with
the framework, systems and processes, templates and checklists that support
expectations and responsibilities of a line manager and the safety of the
department/unit/ward;
 Ensure local procedures are in place for the systematic identification of workplace
hazards and  assessment of their level of risk as well as implementation of controls to
manage risks;
 Lead departmental safety inspections and audits and investigate and report on all
incidents, including near misses 
 Ensure staff are returned to the workplace from a physical or psychological injury;
 Prioritise requirements within the department/unit/ward to ensure a safety culture is
being promoted at all times; 
 Report on performance in line with key performance indicators; 
 Ensure sufficient forums for employees to raise and discuss workplace health and
safety issues in a transparent and open manner; 
 Encourage staff to take accountability for personal health and safety; 
 Participate in training and education and ensure representatives are also enabled to
participate in training obligations as required; 
  Ensure the physical and psychological health and wellbeing of staff is promoted and
supported through participation in ‘safety walk-arounds’ and programs and initiatives
designed to enhance employee wellbeing;
 Establish and maintain the framework for the system in their area of managerial
responsibility   

Employees and volunteers

 Assume individual accountability for personal health and safety including

psychological wellbeing;
 Undertake tasks in accordance with relevant standard operating procedures and/or
work instructions;
 Participate in health and safety consultative forums and contribute ideas to improving
the health and safety of the department/unit/ward/team;
 Where appropriate, participate in workplace health and safety training, programs and
initiatives to embed a safety culture;
 Report all work health and safety breaches, hazards and incidents, including near
misses, to the line manager and assist with actions to reduce and eliminate risks.  

Contractors

 Comply with all requirements set out in contracts 

 Work safely at all times to protect themselves and those working with them;
 Report all hazards and incidents, including near misses to the MVC.
 Take reasonable care for their own health and safety and not place at risk the health or
safety of others;
 Cooperate with others in relation to actions taken by the MVC to comply with
Occupational Health and Safety legislation
 Undertake tasks in accordance with relevant standard operating procedures or work
instructions;
 Wear correct personal protective equipment specified in standard operating
procedures or working instructions as required;
 Seek supervision and guidance from the relevant supervisor for all new or modified
work procedures;
 Where required, participate in health and safety information, training and induction
procedures;
 Implement relevant specific responsibilities described in the MVC health and safety
policies and procedures.

II. International Safety Rating System (ISRS)

ISRS is one of the most comprehensive way audit systems nowadays. ISRS helps to
ensure an effective control of process risks, effective evaluation of the condition of plant and
equipment and improved process safety. ISRS addressed twenty topics. For each topic, there
are set of questions and criteria for the evaluation of the results. It describes the key activities
for effective process safety management including leadership, planned inspection and
maintenance, risk evaluation, critical task analysis and procedure, accident/incident
investigation, system evaluation, training and competence, communication and promotion,
risk control, asset management, materials and services management, emergency
preparedness, engineering and change management, and risk monitoring.
Mabuhay Vinyl Corporation provided a systematic and effective risk management to
ensure that the operations are safe and sustainable. This management system is important to
the operation of the company because it also guides the personnel in the organization. The
Company, through its EHS team, continually identifies ways to improve its processes and
procedures in order to minimize environmental impact in times of emergencies. The
employees and contractors are also mandated to undergo environmental and safety training.
They are required to comply with the company’s health and safety rules and regulations. Just
in case an accident or disaster occurs, MVC takes appropriate action to minimize damage and
notify the relevant departments of the company and government authorities. The company
conducts an appropriate investigation of the accident or disaster and provide the report
required within the company promptly.
MVC provided standardised question during the data collection and fixed criteria in
evaluation of the results. Trained auditors are the ones who assigned for this safety-
performance measurement system. Management conducts a risk assessment and evaluates the
effectiveness of countermeasures every six months.

III. Safety Audit and Inspection

Mabuhay Vinyl Corporation provides a safety program to ensure that all employees
are safe. The company has a time to time inspection for plant machinery and equipment, safe
systems of work with strict compliance of operating procedures, and safety and health
training for employees. The company also provides a suitable protective clothing / equipment
where hazards could be eliminated. The company maintains the welfare facilities – clinics
with doctor and nurse.
 The safety audits of the company are carried out by looking into the safety documents
that consists of operational procedures, manuals, records of implementation and manuals.
This is also followed up by the visit of the auditors to the work place for verifying physically
the implementation of these documents at the work place. The safety audit and inspection
checklists of Mabuhay Vinyl Corporation are shown below.
 During safety inspection, the inspection team examines who, what, where, when and
how. It pays particular attention to items most likely to develop unsafe or unhealthy
conditions because of stress, wear, impact, vibration, heat, corrosion, chemical reaction or
misuse. Inspection must be carried out for the entire workplace area and must include areas
where no work is done regularly.
The inspection team of the company looks at all work place elements such as the
environment, the equipment and the process. The environment includes such hazards as
noise, vibration, lighting, temperature, and ventilation. Equipment includes materials, tools,
and apparatus for producing a product or a service. The process involves how the work men
interacts with the other elements in a series of tasks or operations. Safety inspections are
important since they allow the management to listen to the concerns of workers and
supervisors, gain further understanding of jobs and tasks, identify existing and potential
hazards, determine underlying causes of hazards, monitor hazard controls (personal
protective equipment, engineering controls, policies, procedures), and recommend corrective
actions.