Rio Tinto Recognises the Work of Its Contractors

Every year, Rio Tinto hosts a recognition gala to acknowledge the hard work and achievements of its contractors. This year, a special breakfast gala was held on 23 September. With about 40 guests in attendance, ten contractors were presented with an honorary plaque in recognition of their expertise, having distinguished themselves in nine categories.

Gathered at the Delta Hotel, the winning companies appreciated the intimate feel of the breakfast format. “The event was a chance to meet people and have rewarding conversations, all in a warm and friendly atmosphere,” said Mathieu Roy, Senior Manager.

The guests heard three presentations: one by Régis Tremblay on the outlook for aluminium, another by Mathieu Roy on health and safety and a third by Eddie Martin on the aluminium market.

All Rio Tinto contractors could submit an application to the selection committee in one or more categories, and many of them did so.

The selection committee was made up of various professionals from Rio Tinto. “Depending on the field in question, there was an employee with expertise in, say, HSE, innovation or responsible aluminium, as well as a contractor management representative, a procurement representative and members of management,” explained Julie Boillat, Supervisor, Contractor Management, who was involved in organising the event.

Care was taken to review the methodology used for selecting the winners. The contractors appreciated the company’s rigour in this regard. 

“In a way, the roles were reversed,” said Grégoire Gaudreault, OPEX Procurement Coordinator. “Rather than collecting information to assess and rank the contractors, we asked them to tell us how they had innovated in areas such as environment, health and safety and human resources. We had them talk about themselves. It was amazing to see how much work and heart many of them put into this endeavour.”

After the pre-selection, we had three semi-finalists in each of the nine categories. In total, ten winners were selected, as two contractors tied in the “Employee Health and Wellness” category.

The recognition gala reflects the importance of acknowledging the indispensable contribution that contractors make to Rio Tinto operations. This gesture of goodwill promotes regional expertise and encourages the sharing of best practices.