Lihir Primary School gets into Healthy Life!

NCS Lihir sponsored the Lihir International Primary school art competition – the theme of which was ‘a healthy lifestyle’. Students from all age groups produced a total of 36 colourful pictures to convey the message of living and eating healthier.

Catering Operations Manager Alan Bloxwich said that the children did an excellent job and seemed to grasp the theme really well. Their pictures have been framed and are now displayed around the dining rooms on Lihir as a reminder to adults to take care of their health by leading a healthier lifestyle.

The pupils were treated to a meal of healthy fruits, salads and juices as a reward for their efforts.

NCS Lihir celebrates 10 Million LTI-FREE hour achievement

A special presentation ceremony held on the 27th September 2011 was attended by over 700 of NCS Lihir’s employees and also representatives from Newcrest and Anitua – to celebrate the achievement of 10 Million LTI-Free (Lost time Injury) hours.

So what did it take for NCS to achieve this milestone?

Safety culture leads to landmark achievement on Lihir.

Over the last 9 years, NCS Lihir have been diligently following the safety first culture, working with client Newcrest to adhere by the rules established to protect all those on site from serious injury or death. In June 2011 NCS Lihir achieved the landmark 10 Million LTI-free mark!

Across all of PNG, NCS’ operations combined has achieved over 18 million LTI free hours.

On Lihir, Newcrest have set 12 cardinal rules for safety that all business partners must comply with to avoid serious injury or death. NCS is also continually developing its policies, procedures and training programs – for application across the group. Daily tool box meetings, Safety Awareness programs and active training programs are conducted in accordance with NCS’s own requirements.

NCS Lihir’s General Manger Felix Holi, who has been working on Lihir for over 17 years said “It gives NCS great satisfaction in knowing that our work place is safe and that all our employees return home safely to their families.”

“tenkiu tru mipela i hamamas lo ol presen kampani i givim taim mipela i wok seif insait lo ples wok.”

“Our site and operations have grown substantially. Keeping all of our staff trained and with a ‘safety first’ focus requires constant work, constant focus. We have a dedicated HSEQ and Training team that has really done well to ensure that our people are work safe – here on site and at home!” he continued.

The overriding safety message is that Safety is everybody’s responsibility. “We have reached 10 million hours of free LTI – yet there could be an incident/accident at any time. So, we all need to remember to be aware of our environment and work as a team to achieve our goals.” continued Felix.

Newcrest’s Bob Pink and Denis Cowan stood alongside Colin Vale, CEO, Anitua Group of Companies in congratulating staff who received a very “funky” sling bag from NCS and a first aid kit from Newcrest. Receiving this gift of appreciation from “ples work” was appreciated by the staff.

CONGRATULATIONS TO NCS LIHIR,FROM ALL OF YOUR COLLEAGUES AROUND PNG. YOUR COMMITMENT TO SAFETY AND YOUR ACHIEVEMENT IS AN INSPIRATION TO US ALL.

HACCP Certification Achieved

NCS have retained their third party HACCP certification from SAI Global after the Tri annual recertification

Audit on Lihir. The certification covers:

• Standard(s): 9000:2002, 9001:2008
• Relevant Codes (as applicable)
• ANZ2161, ANZ2162, ANZ2163, ANZ5710, ANZ5730, ANZ7866, ANZ9521

Thanks to all for your efforts especially the safety team and kitchen managers for your ongoing efforts in ensuring the safe delivery of food and quality services to our client Newcrest on Lihir.

Lihir’s Lakunbut Village kitchen and dining room opens

On 17 July NCS Lihir opened a new mess and kitchen to support the newly built “Lakunbut Village Resort” a new accommodation village nestled in a picturesque valley near Londolovit on Lihir Island.

As you may have read in past issues of Gadona, Lakunbut was built by NCS Properties and has been a major project – and much anticipated development for Newcrest and NCS Lihir.

This new dining room is temporary and currently seats 300 diners who are residing in Lakunbut Village. This is a big step to relieving the pressure of increased numbers on the other dining rooms that have been servicing the rapidly increasing work force on Lihir, which will only increase as the accommodation complexes are completed and residents start moving in. Phase two of the site will include a bigger, permanent kitchen and dining room complex.

Well done to all of those involved in the recruitment and training of staff for this new facility.

R&R 2010 Presentations on Lihir

On Lihir, 66 NCS employees were the VIPs at a special presentation ceremony at the Lihir Sports Club on Friday 28 January where awards were presented for 5, 10 and for the first time, 15 years of years of continual service for NCS’ 2010 Recognition and Reward Program.

The recipients from NCS Lihir and NCS Properties were joined by their colleagues, managers and executives from Anitua and Newcrest to share in the celebrations of this great achievement.

Newcrest were thanked for their ongoing support over the years in assisting NCS in their drive to be PNG’s number 1 service company.

These sentiments were echoed by Bob Pink who spoke on behalf of Noel Foley and Newcrest who said that he was very moved to think that people had been working for NCS on Lihir for so long.

“It’s highly commendable that people have been working continually for 10 and 15 years. The work you do is extremely hard. We work together as a team and have supported each other during extremely tough times.” said Bob.

“It’s the attitude of service, working together and pitching in that makes our relationship work. That kind of camaraderie is something that we want to foster and endorse – that’s only going to continue to blossom and grow.” he continued.

2010 Recognition & Reward Program

NCS’ Recognition and Reward Program is one of the most important ways that the company acknowledges the loyalty and dedication of employees who reach 5, 10 and 15 years of continued service.

In his welcome address at the Lihir awards event on 28 January, Managing Director Marcus Gosling said that this opportunity is significant for NCS as a family, to celebrate the achievements of its most dedicated ‘elders’, particularly those achieving 10 and 15 years.

“You are a great example to your colleagues and in particular new employees. It’s time to celebrate your achievements and recognise the journey you have all made over these years.” he said.

“The strength of our company and the future we have is displayed in this commitment and shows that NCS has a future based on solid foundations. You all work very, very hard. Hard work translates into achievement and satisfaction.” he said.

Marcus went on to say that NCS has been operating now for over 17 years and this in itself is a great achievement, and we couldn’t have done it without PEOPLE.

“Success and recognition doesn’t come easy – it takes people like you to stick at it during the tough times and rise to the challenges. You olgeta namba wan.” he said.

Presentation events were held in Madang, Kaintantu, Hidden Valley, Lae, Port Moresby and Lihir acknowledging 129 employees for their service to NCS.

NCS’ support helps cancer awareness program on Lihir.

On the evening of 14th August, the Lihir Sports Club was awash in a pink glow as the inaugural Pink Dance was held. The Pink Dance is the first event of its kind organised by Lihir Medical Centre for the community of Lihir. It was not only a fundraising event, but it was also the official launch of the Island’s Cancer Awareness Program.

As always, NCS Catering Manager Felix Holi, and his team worked closely alongside many other members of the Lihir community to ensure that the night was a success as over 220 of Lihir’s community attended dressed in various shades of pink and feasting on an array of delicious finger food.

Graham Potter, Manager of Anitua Security asked for his personal thanks to be passed on to NCS staff at the club.

“The NCS Staff at the club were professional in every manner. The night was a huge success for both the hospital’s fundraising and all who attended. The night was only so successful due to the excellent, world class service from your company.” said Mr Potter.

“Nothing was too much for your staff and the consistent smiles on their faces showed they enjoyed the night as well. A true honour to see – ten points!” he continued.

Over 17,500 PGK was raised during the event – which will go toward implementing cancer education and awareness programs on Lihir.

ABOUT THE CANCER AWARENESS PROGRAM ON LIHIR

The need to have a cancer awareness program became evident after reviewing the LMC Women’s Health Program 2009 which identified a great need for providing education and awareness of a range of diffent kinds of cancers that affect both women and men. The aim of the program is to:

• Provide a means of education & awareness about the prevention of cancer
• Increase the number of Pap Smears and Breast Examinations ensuring early detection of cancer in women
• Promote the importance of regular testing for men for the detection of Prostate Cancer
• Other issues of awareness will be Sun Smart & Quit Smoking.

Celebrating 35th PNG Independence Day – Lihir style

The way we celebrated 35^th PNG Independence Day – 16 September 2010

All around Papua New Guinea, NCS people celebrated the 35^th Independence Day with great pride, joy and of course, feasting!

NCS staff had the awesome responsibility to prepare and serve a feast and a celebration – for their clients, guests and colleagues at our sites across PNG. We hope you enjoy some photos from our celebration album and a few special stories too.

Lihir: Traditional Island-style flavours for Lihir

NCS Lihir wanted to showcase the best of local flavour and style from the islands for this year’s Independence Day banquet. The dining rooms were decorated in local flora and a feast of local delicacies included lobster, mud crab, snapper and shrimp supplied by local fishermen.

Pork Mumu, kau kau and plenty of fruit and vegetables were presented in traditional palm baskets, rice was flavoured with coconut and served in small handmade palm nests, special festive breads and grand celebration cakes were baked in the brand new NCS bakery which opened only the day before.

Particular thanks go to Felix Holi and his family for the many hours of hard work making the traditional baskets for serving the feast and congratulations to all staff who worked very hard to make this

a special celebration.

Lihir’s world-class kitchen and dining room opens

NCS staff on Lihir celebrated with Newcrest Executives and Lihir residents at the long anticipated opening of the new dining room and kitchen complex on 1 October.

Newcrest Chairman of the Board, Don Mercer was joined by Rick Lee and Richard Knight to “do the honours” and cut the ribbon marking the opening of the facility which will be the “belly” of the island as far as food production and service is concerned.

The new kitchen and dining room has been a major project for both NCS Lihir and Newcrest (formerly LGL) with the design of the complex originally conceived in 2007.  It will primarily replace the existing three kitchens which have certainly seen better days – having been in continual use preparing meals for over 3000 people each day for last 15 years.

“This new facility will improve working conditions for kitchen staff and offer our customers even better service efficiency and comfort whilst ensuring the highest qualities in food and service as Lihir continues to grow” said NCS Lihir General Manager, John Honan.

“This is a fantastic result for NCS, bringing together all catering operations under the one roof. Catering to the needs of  residents every day is a remarkable effort by the NCS team.” said John

John went on to say that the beauty of this new facility, apart from the benefits of moving to new equipment, is now we can accommodate our resident meal production under the same roof as the bakery, butchery, vegetable preparation and functions, providing tremendous efficiencies in labour and cost management. Operationally, NCS will now be able to separate areas for various production, improving our productivity and compliance to QA Certification.

“I believe it is the best mining camp facility in the country, if not beyond.  It is equipped with state of the art equipment, fully air conditioned, ample storage and a great ambiance.” he said.

The Dining Room:

• Can currently accommodate 520 diners in one sitting
• Has two dining areas – one with air-conditioning and one al fresco
• 3 main hot servery, 2 crib areas, a cold/ sweet servery and 3 drink stations

The Kitchen contains:

• Main kitchen, butchery, bakery, pastry section
• Functions department
• Vegetable preparation area
• BBQ facilities
• Large refrigerated storage and dry storage area
• Clean up area for washing and refuse

The old kitchen and dining facilities will not go to waste. Camp 1 and 2 will be reassigned by our client for other use during busy construction phases for Newcrest projects, and camp 2 kitchens will continue to be used for Non- resident meals, equating to 180,000 meals for the month of September alone.

WHAT PEOPLE THINK OF THE NEW LIHIR FACILITIES

“It’s good to have new equipment everything is very open and easy to work with.” Policarp Katapurea (Acting Head Chef)

“Very nice bright open space makes a good working environment.” Luke Pas (Chef)

“Everything is clean and bright I am enjoying working here.”    Lucil Balaguan (New Hire second day)

“I must say congratulations on the first meal being served in the mess last night and it is indeed a pleasant environment to be dining in.” Amy Phillips, Newcrest Mining Limited – Lihir

What it takes to feed the thousands on Lihir

Have you ever wondered what it takes to operate and support the day to day living on the 5th largest gold mine in the world? NCS Lihir has been operating consistently for 15 years now and in recent years, the size and scope of our operations has increased to a community of residents, operations and staff of 3,500.

Lihir, NCS’ largest site, is located on Lihir Island – which is in the far north of PNG. This remote location provides significant challenges and can you imagine what kind of organisation it takes to supply, stock, warehouse and manage the vast volume of goods to keep operations running smoothly?

Here’s a glimpse of how we do it.

THE TEAM

The Warehouse Operations Manager, Tony Saldana, is supported by a team of 27 including a leading hand, four supervisors, several storeman, delivery drivers & fork lift operators, office administration staff and three purchasers. This relatively small group ensures that all food & janitorial products are ordered, shipped, stored and eventually delivered to the various camp dining rooms, the local deli and the sports & social club.

That’s an awesome responsibility!

THE WAREHOUSE

The warehouse is the hub of operations on Lihir and is approximately 600 m2, generally holding up to four weeks of stock on hand at any one time. The warehouse is conveniently located close to camps 1&2 and is next door to the new kitchen and dining room which is the final stages of construction.

Think about the kind of stock that needs to be stored in different kinds of conditions.

The main storage area inside the warehouse holds all the dry grocery lines, including many pallets of staple items such as rice, water, long life milk, sugar & biscuits. Outside the warehouse there are numerous other dry containers holding packaging products, paper towels, plus a shed that holds janitorial products and catering equipment.

The warehouse also has a large freezer containing products such as meat & seafood and cold room and reefer containers to store chilled products such as dairy & flour. There is also a section for fresh produce.

Supplies can arrive to site and into the warehouse on a daily, fortnightly and monthly basis. They are delivered by various means ranging from local banana boats to large ocean going container vessels from PNG and overseas. Local suppliers deliver fresh produce each day from communities on Lihir and surrounding islands of Namatanai and Kavieng.

CHALLENGES OF STEADY SUPPLY

Every day we face many challenges to ensure that the operation runs smoothly and many of the issues are logistical.

We often face delays at the wharf, changes to shipping schedules and simply getting containers from the wharf to either the warehouse or the lay down yard can also be a problem.

Due to the present high demand from other companies servicing the mining industry in PNG, we also experience a lack of availability of stock from suppliers based in PNG. So we always have to be on our toes to ensure that we can manage the stock that we have if we can’t get what we need.

Lack of storage space for containers, as well as stock is an issue we are trying to resolve and we are looking forward to our new freezer complex being completed which will allow us more of the much needed storage space.

NCS Lihir prepare for audit

NCS Lihir is now preparing for their yearly audit conducted by SAI – Global which is scheduled for mid July.

The purpose of the audit is to verify conformance to the Management System and associated procedures with the HACCP 9000 standard and to ensure continued customer satisfaction.

In addition, an AS4801 OHS gap audit will be undertaken to identify any deficiencies in the OHS Management system in readiness for future AS 4801 certification audit.

Last year, SAI Auditors commented on the commitment and professionalism displayed by NCS staff. They were especially impressed with the way they knew their jobs and were only too happy to provide further information regarding what they did and how they carried out their duties.

We wish all the staff at NCS Lihir all the very best with their preparations for the Audit

Managing Lihir Shut Down with true NCS Hospitality

An important requirement on mine operations is the regular planned maintenance program or SHUT DOWN.

From 15 August – 4 September LGL, Lihir Island went through its annual shut down and the NCS team made sure that their side of the operations ran smoothly.

Wesley Tengerepa was appointed as NCS Project Manager and it was his job to supervise and manage the 18 crew to ensure that the incoming 480 shutdown crews were transferred to camp, checked in, briefed on camp rules and emergency procedures, fed well and cared for over the three week period.

Many of the NCS crew were thanked personally and also congratulated by LGL Management for their hospitality and service. Congratulations to Gus, Wesley and the team on Lihir for setting the best example for NCS.

NCS Apprentices become Chefs

NCS Apprentices from Kainantu, PNGDF, Lihir and Hidden Valley were in Lae recently to complete their Extension Two studies in Hospitality and Tourism. On successfully completing this block of theory and practical assessments they will be fully qualified Chefs. We wish them all the best with their exams.

Apprentices expressed their appreciation for NCS’s support to attend the Cookery Extension Course as part of the Apprenticeship Training Program.

“This program has enabled us to become skilled in the trade as Chefs and meet the demand of the growing hospitality industry in PNG.” said one participant. “Thank you for giving us the opportunity to realise our dreams of becoming fully qualified professionals”.

“I would not have come this far without your help and support. I hope you will continue to provide the same support you’ve given me to other upcoming Apprentices” said another participant.

NCS Raibus signed up their first four apprentices from the Ramu Nickel site at Karumbukari and there will be four more from the Basamuk site by Christmas.

Training in 2010 will be conducted in NCS’s new training centre on Lihir Island.

Crew of the Sara Lee, Lihir presented with NCS Golden Kina Award

The crew of the Sara Lee are presented their GKA by Catering Manager Craig Wilkins(L) and Group General Manager Marcus Gosling (R)

NCS presented a very special Golden Kina Award to the crew of the Lihir Island Ferry- Sara Lee – on deck !

The Golden Kina Award is a just one of the ways NCS acknowledges outstanding service to our company in helping us with “Meeting the Challenge – Every Day” – in spirit and in ACTION.

The Sara Lee is contracted by LGL to transport workers from Namatani Island six days a week to Lihir and also transporting the 1.5 tons of fresh produce that we buy from farmers on the neighbouring Island to feed the thousands in camp.

The crew of the Sara Lee is responsible for overseeing the loading, discharging, storing and safe handling of all the vegetable and fruit every day.

The journey takes nearly five hours each way, and the skipper and crew of 3 are always on alert. They have become the largest “rescue team” on Lihir, saving nearly 350 lives in the last 22 months. The majority of the rescues are of local banana boat operators who encounter rough seas, run out of fuel or encounter other kinds of difficulties.

“The crew that operates the Sara Lee is integral to our Lihir operations” said NCS Lihir Catering Manager, Craig Wilkins.

We congratulate the Crew of the Sara Lee and thank them for their service and contribution to NCS – it is greatly appreciated.

The Golden Kina Award is a new way for NCS to recognise outstanding service to our business. It’s not just for NCS people. If you know someone who shares the spirit of “Meeting the Challenge – Every Day” and would like to nominate them for a Golden Kina Award , please contact your HR Manager on site or send us an email via the Contact page

NCS Lihir achieves a remarkable safety milestone

The team at NCS Lihir has achieved a remarkable safety milestone of 5.3 million man hours without a single Lost Time Injury (LTI)

NCS Lihir’s Project OHSE Coordinator, Jeremiah Taksir, says this outstanding achievement was made possible because all employees, from supervisors to crew members, take the issue of safety very seriously.

“Our motto that ‘Safety is everyone’s responsibility’ is something that we take very personally. We don’t just talk about it; we take action, whether it is through training, safety talks, inspections, or adhering to our safety systems.

This fantastic result is proof of that,” he says. NCS Lihir has 26 safety representatives working within each work section to ensure that safety procedures and requirements are adhered to at all levels.

Recognising the milestone, Lihir Gold Executive General Manager, Noel Foley, personally thanked NCS Lihir Project Manager, Gus McKenzie.

“Thank you and your team for your commitment to NCS’ safety ideals. It is a pleasure to have you as one of our valuable partners in our business.”

LGL Director, Peter Cassidy was equally complimentary. In a letter written on behalf of the LGL Board, he said that the achievement “sets the benchmark for all employees and business partners throughout LGL’s operations in PNG, Australia and Africa.”

NCS General Manager, Marcus Gosling, says the successful result is one that he is extremely proud of.

“This is an incredible accomplishment by any company’s standards. It amounts to over four
years without any lost time injuries and is a credit to the staff and their safe work habits. It demonstrates their tremendous commitment to safe work practices. Congratulations. Let’s keep up the great safety focus.”

GADONA DECEMBER 2008

Next Page »