Tacloban City (October 6) -- The Leyte Geothermal Power Plant of the National Power Corporation is the first National Power Corporation Power Plant to get an Integrated Management System (IMS) Certificate from an International Organization for Standartization (ISO).

This was revealed by Engr. Gilberto A. Gabon, the head of the Compliance Section of the National Power Club- Leyte Geothermal Power Plant, during the opening program of the National Statistics Month Celebration on October 2, 2006.

Engr. Gabon said that the Leyte Geothermal Power Plant was awarded the Integrated Management Certificate in 2005. Earlier, the Leyte Geothermal Power Plant was also the first power plant to receive the Quality Management System (QMS) Certificate in 1997.

Engr. Gabon said that the framework of ISO Standard entails the plan, do, check, review and act scheme. This means documenting the knowledge and the experiences of people and more importantly, he said, is to document the best practices for replication.

He said that the Leyte Geothermal Power Plant did not obtain the ISO certification overnight. It took years before the Power Plant reached the standards of the International Organization Standards.

He bared that the early management programs which the Power Plant adopted and implemented was the Managed-Maintenance Program where the management determined what equipment is scheduled for maintenance at a periodic time in such a way that the operations will not suffer.

The next program, he said, was the Operations Maintenance Program which focused on operation and where the ISO certification begun.

Among the significant changes observed in the process of obtaining the accreditation, is the change in people where the employees and staff showed heightened awareness in wearing the necessary Protective Plant Equipments, increased level of quality, environment, health and safety consciousness and all out support for and sense of involvement in the IMS.

Engr. Gabon added that the Non-Lost Time Accident rose to 200% in 2005 and that there was no increase in Lost Time accident Non-fatal. These significant changes for the better in the people and in the organization paved the way for the issuance of the ISO in 2005.

Engr. Gabon that the NPC-Leyte Geothermal Power Plant continues to face the challenge of improving the organization's management efficiency and productivity in its mission to provide quality and sustainable electricity.