PCS Nitrogen Ltd is to be awarded the company of the year award by the Society of Tribologists and Lubricant Engineers (STLE). STLE collaborated with the Faculty of Engineering at the University of the West Indies to host a conference, between March 24 to 27. The education training aspect of the conference is entitled, Maintenance, Operation and Troubleshooting of Gas Turbines and Compressors. Kuarlal Rampersad, STLE's professional development officer, said the award presentation recognises companies and individuals that have strictly adhered to safety and health rules, with the minimum of injury or accidents.
"We would be giving out a company of the year award to PCS Nitrogen. PCS Nitrogen stands out because their safety records were up to par and no employees were injured based on STLE's criteria and standards.
"There were four criterias for selecting the company of the year award. The first criteria was the safety performance of the company. "Secondly, the extent to which the company got involved in preserving the environment, like cleaning the beaches. Thirdly, the support provided to STLE, and fourthly, is how much the company impacted on the gross domestic product in the country," Rampersad said. UWI principal, Prof Clement Sankat, would be presented with the STLE international honorary membership award. Prof Sankat would be the second Trinidadian and Caribbean national to receive that honorary award. The first was President George Maxwell Richards.
At the conference, 15 "up and coming" engineering students would be given the opportunity to present their final-year projects to employers who would be part of the audience. "The youth forum is designed to give engineering students an opportunity to present their work to an audience comprising of chief executives, human resource representatives and other stakeholders in the energy and non-energy sectors, so they can select prospective employees," Rampersad said. He said the students did projects on maintenance and reliability programmes which look at safety, health and equipment and plant reliability.
Rampersad, who is an engineer, is also responsible for training technicians, craftsmen and others who want to climb the corporate ladder, but cannot do so because they do not possess the qualifications.
"I design the professional training courses for them to participate in, once they have completed the course, they must sit an assessment exam. The exam would tell them whether they passed or met the requirements.
"These courses are approved by UWI Faculty of Engineering, the STLE and the International Association for Continuing Education and Training.
PCS Nitrogen responds
Ian Welch, managing director, PCS Nitrogen, said the company's success is due to commitment to sustainability. "While we continuously invest in innovative solutions to improve our performance, we never compromise the safety of our people and the protection of our environment. "Through the utilisation of state-of-the-art lubrication technology, we are able to meet our goals and remain true to our values," Welch said.
He said there is a training component to the company's success, which includes training in lubrication technology. Welch said lubrication technology enables PCS Nitrogen to improve their performance while keeping focus on the safety of people and the protection of the environment. "At the end of the day, even if you acquire the best technology, your efforts will not bear fruit unless you place it in the hands of the best trained people," Welch said.