JPSCo boss says safety key to profits

Chief operating officer of the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSCo.), Robert Patrick, said industries should view good safety and maintenance programmes as critical elements of cost competitiveness and viability.

The JPSCo. executive urged industry to take a wider view of safety than the simple conventional one of accident avoidance on the job.

The real value of a safety programme, he suggested, was in keeping the most valuable assets of firms, employees, on the job. Safe operations, Mr. Patrick said, reinforced by sound maintenance and operating practices, allow plants to run at optimum efficiency, ultimately maximising returns for the business.

"With the requirement for high utilisation of capital plant there is often very little room for errors. Production systems must be available when required," Mr. Patrick told a workshop at the Heart/NTA Instructors Convention and Quality Service Awards on Friday.

The convention, attended by hundreds of instructors and managers of Heart training institutions across the island, was held at the Renaissance Jamaica Grande in Ocho Rios.

The JPSCo.'s executive was speaking on the effect of issues such as maintenance, safety and environment on competitiveness as part of a paper on The Importance of Bench-marking and Standards in the Global Economy. In spite of the recent snags with inadequate generating capacity after three major units developed mechanical faults earlier this year, JPSCo. has been steadily raising its plant reliability over the past four years from 70 per cent to 85 per cent.

The improvements followed a benchmarking exercise started in 1997 in which JPSCo. compared its operations with those of two similarly sized utilities - Israel Electricity Corporation and the Electricity Service Board of Ireland.

The study found that JPSCo.'s reliability was on par with industry standard but not up to industry best - the target, Mr. Patrick said, the company was aiming at under its new five-year business plan.

"There is still unfinished business. However this represents a good platform from which the company can address the remaining issues," said Mr. Patrick. Under the business plan, JPSCo. will also install another 145 MW of power - 25 MW in 2001 - over the next three years to further improve reliability and meet a projected four per cent annual increase in electricity demand.

JPSCo. is to also invest heavily in refurbishing the customer service facilities as part of the company's new mission to become more customer-focused.

Mr. Patrick also urged businesses to increase their investing in their employees if firms are to continue to experience growth.

"Investments in training and development are an absolute necessity to take industry to the next level. Producers have to be prepared to create knowledge workers who know more than "what" to do. They must know "why" they do it," the JPSCo. executive said. "The success of your operations is inextricably linked to your workforce and their effectiveness in operating and maintaining the business."

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