Mintech recognizes that safe work practices are essential to our community and company, not only to protect the public and our employees, but also to enhance the quality of our work, boost employee satisfaction, and increase profitability.

Quality Assurance/Quality Control

QA

Mintech's QA programs assess the following QA attributes and needs for each project.

1. Project description: Identifies the purpose of the program, the type of work to be performed, and the client's goals and objectives.
2. Project organization and responsibilities: Designates the parties responsible for project management and engineering, establishes peer review and technical support personnel and procedures, identifies the general health and safety requirements and responsibilities, and establishes the coordination links between the client, Mintech, and any subcontractors.
3. QA objectives: Establishes QA methods to ensure program objectives are attained, erroneous data are minimized, and accurate conclusions and recommendations are developed.
4. Sampling and analytical procedures: Defines the protocols that will be employed in handling and preparing samples for testing and analysis. Also specifies the analyses to be performed, the analytical methods and sensitivities, and the laboratory that will perform the analytical work (if other than Mintech).
5. Calibration procedures: Establishes calibration parameters for the equipment used in the research program. Equipment for measuring mass, volume, temperature, pressure, and flow rates are considered in the calibration plan.
6. Data collection, reduction, validation, and reporting: Defines procedures for obtaining, consolidating, and reporting accurate data and identifies the key personnel responsible for ensuring data quality throughout the research program.
7. Corrective actions: Ensures that accurate and valid data are produced from the test program. Corrective actions can include investigating test data to identify possible sources of errors, repeating test work, and repeating analyses, if required. Repeat work will be reviewed and discussed with the client before being conducted.

Safety

Mintech values safety and believes that safety is a critical component to producing high-quality work for our clients. In support of this commitment, Mintech completes a pre-project health and safety checklist with all assigned project personnel. The checklist includes reviewing the process flowsheet and chemistry, establishing the personal protective needs and exposure monitoring requirements for each task, and discussing compliance with applicable safety and environmental regulations. A process hazard analysis is also conducted, the scope of which depends on the complexity of the project. Before startup, a process inspection and readiness review, including calibration and leak testing, is conducted.

All new Mintech technical personnel complete a 24-hour safety, health, and environmental training course. This training is updated with at least 8 hours of current and refresher topics anually. Other project-specific safety and environmental requirements are established by the Mintech Project Manager and the Manager of Safety and Environmental Affairs.