Samarco once again promoted the Annual Recognition Event, this Wednesday (Apr-06), which recognized and rewarded initiatives from the Ideas de Valor (Ideas of Value) and Redução de Custos (Cost Reduction) programs. The teams of employees participating in the action submitted their proposals to the evaluation of a technical panel and to the vote of employees who elected the Best of the Crowd, for the two programs. The initiative is part of the Movement for Innovation launched last month.
“Our aim is to recognize people and invite everyone to join the Movement for Innovation. This is the idea, to generate a movement that engages everyone. Innovation, the cultural trait that we want to promote with this event, is very important for the sustainability of our business and the purpose of making mining different, safer and more sustainable”, highlighted the Samarco CEO Rodrigo Vilela.
In the Ideas of Value program, ten projects were selected, after evaluation by the internal committee, which analyzed the work for five months. Of these, five ideas received the award. Criteria such as originality, impacts and benefits, results and sustainability were considered. In all, 237 proposals were implemented from June 2020 to June 2021.
The Cost Reduction Program aims at promoting improvements in the drive to reduce waste, the optimization of consumption and reduction of outsourced services. Criteria such as economic return achieved, application of methodology, adherence to cultural traits and quality of presentation were evaluated. Of the total of 13 projects developed throughout 2021, five were presented for classification between 1st and 5th position.
Ana Maria is one of the award-winning employees. She presented the project “Automation of mineralogy analysis and test error reduction through image analysis script”. I am very happy! It was a job developed with a lot of love and dedication. I am very honored to be part of the company, for the opportunities I had and the support I received from the management and the team that worked with me. It is satisfying in every way. It took years of studies and dedication to get here. It is a recognition,” she celebrated.
The evaluation panel was made up by the Head of Corporate Innovation at IEBT, Rafael Pelli, the manager of Digital Business Intelligence and Innovation at Águia Branca, Jadson Picoretti and the director of Innovation at Metal7 – Canada, and a former employee of Samarco, Alexandre Goncalves. During the event, Samarco launched the Continuous Improvement Program, which aims at promoting advances in the company's operational and support areas, among the actions of the Movement for Innovation.
Awarded projects:
Ideas of Value
1st place: Adilson Bernardo (GPU) - Development of an enclosure system for the transfer towers
2nd place: Ana Maria Guilherme (GEA) - Automation of mineralogy analysis and test error reduction through image analysis script
3rd place: Ana Maria Guilherme (GEA) - Automatic determination of the type of corrosion by measuring the diameter of the corrosion cavity under an optical microscope
4th place: Hamilton Portela (GMG) - Water intake system for concentrator III
5th place: Magno Charles (GMI) - Remote monitoring of cathode protection potential
Best of the Crowd – Hamilton Portela (GMG): Water intake system for concentrator III
Cost reduction:
1st place: Ana Maria Guilherme – Optimization of the input matrix using inventories
2nd place: Sérgio Luis Vasconcelos – Reduction of electricity consumption in Germano
3rd place: Fabricio Hupp - Reduction of maintenance down time in Ubu
4th place: Airton Antônio – Reduction of mobile equipment rental costs in Germano
5th place: Leandro Ferreira Pacheco - Cost reduction in Process Engineering laboratories
Best of the Crowd - Leandro Ferreira Pacheco - Cost reduction in Process Engineering laboratories
Movement for Innovation
The Movement for Innovation reinforces the company's mobilization to move forward in its purpose of making mining different, more sustainable and safer. A series of actions will be carried out to support employees in understanding what innovation means for Samarco, as well as to facilitate the use of institutional practices that contribute to new solutions. The actions of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program are part of the Movement for Innovation. The implementation of the pipeline, the filtration, the Monitoring and Inspection Center (CMI) and the management of dams are some examples of innovation projects already in progress. The Movement is an important milestone for cultural evolution.