In October 2020, Wild Geese Group (WGG) was contracted by Vale Minerals Malaysia (VMM) to supply a team of emergency response personnel at their iron ore blending facility in Seri Manjung, Perak. The contract was originally scheduled to run for 36-months, but in fact went on for 51-months. The contract involved WGG supplying VMMs emergency first responders on a 24/7/365 basis. The scope of work that was included within the contract was not well defined and over the 51-month period WGG took on more and more responsibilities and enacted a considerable number of value-added services to the scope. Under the guidance of WGGs Chairman, the IT department were constantly working new electronic reporting systems. WGGs Trident system managed all of the reporting and recording systems. WGGs Operations Level of Competency (OLOC) system was put to use at VMM and Trident was used to store and maintain all staff records, accreditations, attestations etc.
WGGs background is greatly influenced by owner’s military backgrounds, and the VMM contract was run very much with a military influence. An important part of each day were the handover periods. WGG put in place a face-to-face handover between the two shifts, twice in every 24-hour period. After the formal handover, team members got to interact with their opposite numbers, so that the transfer of information was done in a more intimate manner. This proved to be very beneficial to all concerned.
During the life of the contract, WGG responded to 378 Emergency Response Call Outs (ERCOs). These ERCOs included responding to emergency alarms being triggered, equipment fires, bush fires, personnel injuries, wildlife encounters etc.
In order that WGGs personnel knew how to manage every type of emergency situation, there was an ongoing programme of practice drills which addressed every possible eventuality. Over and above these practice drills, physical fitness programmes were run daily, in order to keep the teams fully fit.
As the contract progressed, WGGs Emergency First Responders became more and more involved in supporting VMMs site safety management. WGG developed several services where our teams engaged with all site workers to promote safety awareness. These safety initiatives were quickly adopted and integrated within VMMs overall safety programmes. WGG initiated a safety patrol system which was recorded on WGGs Trident System. This was eventually uploaded onto the Telegram platform and was updated every hour of the day and night. During the contract duration, WGG spent 248,584-manhours at site without one Lost Time Incident (LTI)
WGG kept a fleet of vehicles to support the operation at VMM and as with everything associated with WGG, these were kept in tip-top condition at all times.
As this was the first time VMM awarded a contract for Emergency Response Personnel, it took a little time for other VMM Business Partners to understand WGGs role on site. As we moved through the 51-month period, people began to learn what the Incident Command System was all about and therefore, what WGG were all about. When this was realised WGG became an inspiration to other VMM Business Partners through our regimented and detailed approach to all that we did. Leading by example is probably a good description.
