Global Clearance Solutions (GCS) celebrated an important milestone yesterday: our Operational Accreditation as a Demining Company in Ukraine. Successfully completing accreditation for Technical and Non-Technical Survey (TS and NTS). Battle Area Clearance (BAC), Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE) and Manual Demining enables GCS to conduct all aspects of mine clearance operations in Ukraine, working with government organisations and international donors on the enormous task of creating safe environments and saving lives. All organisations clearing unexploded ordnance and explosive remnants of war (#ERW) in Ukraine must be accredited by either the Ministry of Defence or The State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SESU), for which GCS operates as a centre of excellence.
As highlighted by Yulia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Economy at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, Ukraine is updating certification procedures for humanitarian demining to speed up and increase capacity for certification. GCS has been at the forefront of accreditation and supports international mine action standards globally. In October last year we completed desk accreditation, followed by four weeks’ training to prepare for the practical accreditation this month, conducted by Ukrainian Ministry of Defence Inspectors.
Throughout the accreditation period, the team spirit was extremely positive despite occasional severe conditions, including temperatures of minus 16°. Lourie Venter, GCS Operations Technical Advisor, explains: “There is a trust between the team that is great to observe, and that is what makes them special. They have to trust one another with their lives, and everyone on the team really wants to make a difference in Ukraine.”
The team, comprising our National Operations Manager, Quality Assurance (QA) Officer, Explosive Ordnance (EOD) Team Leader with eight Deminers, NTS Team Leader with Geographic Information System (GIS) Team Member and Driver, plus our Medical Orderly, also equipped with a Driver, successfully achieved all required standards while adhering to the Standard Operating Procedures. The accreditation exercise included simulations for gathering information from the local, civilian population, a critical element for a Non-Technical Survey to ensure the safety of all involved.