5.3 Issues Identified and Actions Taken

Over the 20-month survey period a number quality control, quality assurance related issues were identified. On all occasions consultation was made with the management team and prompt action taken. Not all issues identified were directly linked to QA, but were investigated and resolved because they related to the ability of the surveyors to meet the required standards.

Documentation

The reports and returns submitted by the QA manager are archived with the survey database, this includes a number of investigation reports.

Safety Related Issues

Section 3.6 of the report deals with safety in general. The survey was conducted under very strict safety guidelines, resulting in no mine / UXO injuries and very few injuries from survey related activity. Safety related issues identified and dealt with by the management team related to how reproducible the activity was:

• Survey reports are village specific. They do not include information about the contamination possibly surrounding the village. Two separate occasions saw QA assessments halted when it was discovered there was no clear access. Consultation with Team Leaders, and Management resulted in amendment to the reporting procedure so that village sketches were reviewed and where access was unclear, the sketch was marked in English – No clear access.



• Navigating through heavily contaminated communities requires local knowledge, skill and experience. While village landmarks and village points may be simply reproduced, no effort should be made to move to benchmarks without the assistance of a local guide.

Discipline Related Issues

The recruitment process, the strong management team, and comprehensive guidelines provided by the SOP's ensured few discipline related issues. The surveyors should be credited for their strong self-discipline as well.

Incidents that occurred and were dealt with by the management team included:

• December 2000 – two surveyors were involved in a motorcycle accident in Battambang province, one surveyor was hospitalised as a result. We discovered they were using the motorcycle only because they had the accident. Action taken by the management included an investigation of the incident, and a disciplinary hearing in accordance with the SOP. The result was that the two surveyors were dismissed for unauthorised use of survey equipment, and failure to comply with safety procedures i.e. travelling without a motorcycle helmet. QA was tasked with the investigation of their previous work performance and identified that there was no impact on the integrity of the survey. The results of both actions were promulgated to all staff.



• February 2001 - it was identified that a detachment had failed to comply with procedures when conducting a survey in Banteay Mean Chey province. Action taken by the management included a discipline interview with the two staff involved, an investigation of their previous work performance and as a consequence of the incident, refresher training was conducted for all surveyors re-enforcing the importance of working in accordance with the procedures.



• August 2001 - two staff were absent from their place of work without authority to be so. Actions taken by management included an investigation and a disciplinary interview. As a result both staff received written warning and placed on probation for three months. There was no recurrence.



• September 2001 - after intensive staff debriefing related to survey activity in the remote regions of North East Cambodia an allegation of corruption was made against two team leaders. Action taken by management included an investigation conducted by the Field Manager, and the QA Manager. The allegations were found to be untrue. It was concluded that poor judgement and not corruption had taken place. Consequently, the surveyors were required to surrender per diems previously paid to them. The results of the investigation and actions taken were promulgated to all staff.



• February 2002 - a Team Leader failed to return to the accommodation at the completion of his daily tasks. This immediately triggered an alert to survey management and local police. The Team Leader in question returned to the accommodation some hours later with the explanation that he had remained in the field to dine with friends and family. Alcohol had not been consumed during dinner. Action by management included an investigation, and a disciplinary interview. In light of his previous work performance and conduct he received a written warning placed on his file.

Equipment Related Issues

The following equipment related issues were identified and resolved:

• Compasses – were initially checked for individual error and all found to be accurate. However during the survey, a number of compasses were replaced due to damage to the body of the compass.



• Protractors – initially not required as the compasses contained roamers in the base plates. The American Defence Attaché provided 100, and 50 were purchased from the Silva company.



• Global Positioning Systems - checked for individual error leading to the replacement of one unit when it failed to be easily reproducible to within 25 metres.

Span of Management for Team Leaders

The initial project design placed four of the Team Leaders supervising eight detachments, one Team Leader (False Negative Sampling) supervising four detachments, for a total of thirty-six detachments. In December 2000 after False Negative Sampling was found to be not applicable in Cambodia, it was identified that the burden on the Team Leaders was excessive and the detachments were reassigned evenly so that each team consisted of seven detachments, and two surveyors reassigned to the Survey Field Office.

Training / Refresher Training

The initial surveyor training in Kampong Chhnang proved critical in establishing the standards that were to be applied through out the survey.

Equally important was the refresher training conducted on ten seperate occasions throughout the survey. Primarily these were conducted at the commencement of every new deployment and time was well spent providing feedback to the surveyors and addressing any problems identified. The time spent in refresher training was crucial to maintaining high standards.