The Phinma Group formally launched its Business Continuity Management (BCM) Program

The Phinma Group formally launched its Business Continuity Management (BCM) Program in a Kick Off Forum and Training held last June 20, 2013 at Microtel Mall of Asia, Pasay City.

As stated in the BCM Policy Statement, which was signed by Mr. Ramon R. Del Rosario, Jr., President and CEO of Phinma, Inc., and Mr. Roberto M. Laviña, Senior Executive Vice President and COO of Phinma, Inc., Phinma “aims to ensure  that all its companies are able to achieve their respective strategic business objectives by safeguarding its processes and operations with business continuity management plans.”

Highlight of the activity was the signing of the Phinma Business Continuity Management Pledge led by Mr. Oscar J. Hilado, Chairman of Phinma, Mr. Ramon del Rosario, Jr., Mr. Roberto M. Laviña, Mr. Victor J. Del Rosario, Phinma Chief Strategy Officer and UGC Vice Chairman and CEO, and other executives from Phinma’s Business Units.

UGC was represented by SVP Pines Roranes, VP - Manufacturing Romy Salanga, AVP -Comptroller German Costales, AVP - Rollforming & Distribution Manny Alvior and AVP - Customer and Technical Services Nono Delid. Together with 6 other executives from Phinma’s other ‘business units, they also signed the BCM Pledge and attended the one day orientation training/seminar conducted by SGV and Co. (Ernst and Young).

In the UGC BCM organisational set-up President Art Florendo will be the BCM Champion, German Costales as BCM Coordinator and Pines Roranes, Romy Salanga, Manny Alvior and Nono Delid as Process Owners. They will form the core group of UGC in this program.

Woody Manner and His American Dream Car

Flashback: 1986: Bethlehem Steel, Burns Harbor Plant, Indiana, USA

Woody Manner was a retired cold rolling mill operator of Bethlehem Steel and was working as a BIEC/USX consultant. (Bethlehem International Engineering Co./ US Steel Consultants). Standing at over 6 feet and well past 60, he's from Baltimore who spent the best and the longest years of his life in a steel plant.

We met Woody Manner in spring of 1984. We were sent by our company, National Steel Corporation to train on the operations of Bethlehem's 5std cold rolling mill which we bought. From March to May, daily except on weekends, we would meet Woody in a mobile house converted to training center inside the steel complex. He was our lecturer, trainor and mentor.

Woody drives a big American car, a Chevy 6 cylinder (or was it 8 cylinder?) with wood grain dashboard and interiors. He loved this car---big, long, spacious, but most of all, fast and powerful. He would brag to us about this to which we would always sneer and reject. "But Woody, it's gas muzzzler. And why would you like a fast and powerful car when you can't run it at top speed because you have speed limits. Bring it to the Philippines and you can run it to your heart's content. The limit there is just according to you to your limit."

But Woody then would not budge. To him, Americans love big American cars.

Woody's story somehow reminds me of the crisis American car companies are facing today. His attitude in fact sadlly reflected why the Americans lost their grip in the automotive market to the more efficient and convenient Japanese cars. Moral of the story? Well, look up continuous improvement and what does this really mean.