Dr Dave Collins and James Forsyth
Synergetics Consulting Engineers
Use of compressed air to clean electrical equipment is a routine maintenance task in heavy mining equipment (HME) across the Queensland Mining Industry. During cleaning elevated levels of harmful dust can engulf the compressed air cleaning operator for extended periods and increase the risk of developing lung diseases including pneumoconiosis and silicosis.
In 2017 the Queensland Mines Inspectorate (Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy, 2018) reported that approximately 50% of all respirable dust and Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS) exceedances in surface coal mines were directly related to the use of compressed air for compressed air cleaning of equipment prior to maintenance.
Respiratory protection has historically been viewed as the primary control to protect the health of compressed air cleaning operators, as higher order controls such as engineering controls have not been considered feasible.
The principal of applying engineering controls for compressed air cleaning of haul truck electrical cabinets was reported and demonstrated at the Queensland Mining Industry Health and Safety Conference in 2018 (Worland, Stream, Brett and Collins). Here the electrical cabinets were converted into full enclosures under negative pressure resulting in a physical barrier between the worker and the dust generating compressed air cleaning task.
This paper describes the further development and field testing of engineering controls over the intervening 12 months. Safe compressed air cleaning has now been demonstrated for a broad range of HME including trucks, excavators, dragline MG sets and stationary equipment. The controls incorporate continuous monitoring of airborne particulate with feedback systems to shutdown compressed air and demonstrate that safe compressed air cleaning is achievable.
Warren Smith
Executive Consultant, Dekra Insight Australia
Organisations commonly put controls in place to address typical workplace exposures that can cause harm. They also attempt to make use of human performance tools and other measures that aim to address human error. Unfortunately, these efforts often don’t yield tangible results as evidenced through operational upsets and unplanned events.
This session will explore Brain-Centred Hazards and will demonstrate how accurate, consistent and sustainable hazard recognition and situational awareness can only be achieved by first addressing these Brain-Centred Hazards in our workplaces. In particular, the audience will explore the difference between traditional hazard identification and an approach that increases deep noticing for optimal hazard ID.
Additionally, the audience will learn the hidden dangers of cognitive fatigue and how it diminishes situational awareness and hazard recognition, and simultaneously produces higher risk-taking actions that can lead to injury, upset, catastrophe, or reputational damage.
Information deficiencies during emergencies is increasingly seen as a critical issue for emergency response. Information should be gathered to provide “intelligence” about the underground conditions after a major incident, such as an explosion or rock fall. This project investigated four key areas related to information gathering:
Post explosion atmosphere monitoring:– An industry study into available, low powered, sensors were conducted. The study was to identify commercially available equipment to sample the mine atmosphere post an underground incident.
Ultra-resilient communication system:– An investigation was undertaken into the feasibility of components for a robust and resilient mine communication network. The network must survive an underground incident and be able to transmit information in and out of an underground mine environment.
Blast protection (or blast resilience):– The blast protection was evaluated through subjecting different shapes of enclosures to actual blasts, in an explosion propagation tube.
Navigational aids:– A series of test were undertaken to determine the suitability of using visible light, infra-red as well as radar to aid in self rescue. All test were undertaken in a “dusty”, or low-visibility, environment.
This paper will present the results obtained for each of the key areas and highlight the potential of such a system in an underground coal mine environment.
James Pearce
Advocate, Black Lung Victims Support Group
The re-emergence of Dust Diseases in Queensland’s coal industry is having a devastating effect on workers, their families and mining communities. More than 100 employees have been diagnosed as suffering from different forms of pneumoconiosis, predominantly Black Lung and silicosis. There are many more Victims being regularly identified.
While the main challenge facing our entire industry is the effective prevention of Dust Diseases in our coal mines, the identification of all Victims is a moral obligation on all stakeholders in the industry. This involves not only world’s best practice testing of the present workforce but also of those who have retired from the industry and those who have left it before retiring.
While prevention and identification of Black Lung are essential, the most pressing issue at the present time is the treatment and health care of those who have been, and will continue to be, Victims of these Dust Diseases. This paper on behalf of Black Lung Victims will outline our proposals for how the industry working with government can provide for the life-long medical care needed for the best possible quality of life for sufferers. We owe them at least that.
The aim of the Workshop is to provide an interactive forum where approaches to fatigue management may be discussed with experts and peers, with participants having the opportunity to take part in a fatigue risk assessment exercise.
The Workshop will be led by:
Prof. Naomi Rogers
Specialist Fatigue Consultant, Naomi Rogers Fatigue Consulting
John Tate
Barrister, Crown Law
Katie Harrold
Health, Safety and Emergency Management Advisor, Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal Pty Ltd
Industry Representatives from the Mine Inspectorate, Management and Workforce
In November 2018, the Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999 was amended to introduce a number of significant reforms.
A number of the changes were aimed at improving the focus on contractor management and safety. We discuss these important changes and their practical implications for the industry.
Terry Crick
Director, Customer Engagement and Strategy, Kognent
During the 12 months to the end of September 2018, 169 people died from 152 fatal crashes involving heavy vehicles across Australia. The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) has developed and administers, in consultation with industry, the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) to improve safety, efficiency, and productivity.
Under the changes HVNL that came into effect on October 1 2018, all parties have a primary duty to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the safety for their transport related activities.
Unfortunately, far too many organisations across the mining industry believe they don’t have Chain of Responsibility (CoR) requirements as they don’t operate on public roads – they are wrong.
So, how do the HVNL and CoR relate to our industry?
Have you taken the time to consider how equipment, supplies, or even your workforce get to your site?
It’s likely they are being transported to site on a vehicle over 4.5 tonnes (gross vehicle mass) which would equal legal liability to the organisation and the individuals playing role/s under the CoR involved in that transport-related activity.
CoR compliance is imperative to greater safety across your transport-related activities.
Joel Gray
Senior Mining Engineer – Operations, Cannington Mine, South32
Several paste backfill bulkhead failures over the space of 12 months demanded that paste inrush risk at Cannington be re-evaluated. The resulting risk assessment led to the introduction of a set of new operating rules for high risk filling conditions to ensure safer use of the popular backfill method at the mine.
This paper will talk operators through the high potential incidents which occurred, the primary causes and the risk assessment which followed. Implementable actions utilised at Cannington are shared, while challenging other operations to consider their own current level of risk with regards to the use of paste backfill.
Chris Hall
Superintendent Geotechnical, Cannington Mine, South32
Cannington mine is a silver lead zinc operation located in north west Queensland. The operation has been in production since 1997. Ore is primarily moved through an underground material handling system comprising of a crusher, conveyor and hoist. The underground crusher and conveyor system were sited in lower grade ore when the mine was first commissioned and a mine design exclusion zone was established around them. As the mine matured, stopping fronts advanced towards the crusher, resulting in an increase in damage of rock mass and ground support within infrastructure areas in the lower parts of the mine.
In response to preliminary observations of crusher chamber deformation, additional ground support was designed and installed. As the rate of damage began to exceed the rate of rehabilitation, monitoring of rock mass became the predominant control to ensure that exposure to personnel working in the crusher chamber was appropriately safe. The intensity of the monitoring regime continued to increase as the rockmass deformed to the point that new laser scanning technology was implemented to provide short interval monitoring. Ultimately, the monitoring system enabled a safe and controlled closure of the chamber.
Prof. Naomi Rogers
Sleep and Fatigue Specialist, Naomi Rogers Fatigue
John Tate
Barrister, Crown Law
Prof Naomi Rogers
Naomi has an international reputation in the areas of circadian disruption, sleep loss and consequences on neurocognitive function and health. She has received numerous awards, including an NHMRC Howard Florey Centenary Research Fellowship and a Tall Poppy Award. She is a past President of the Australian Society for Medical Research, and past Director of the Australasian Sleep Association and the Sleep Health Foundation and served on the Executive Committee of the World Federation of Sleep Societies.
She works as a Specialist Fatigue Consultant in various industries including coal mining in Queensland and NSW, maritime, transport, defence, NASA and health care; and has served as an expert witness in coronial inquests and other legal cases. Naomi works extensively within the Queensland Mining Industry, with various companies and mine sites, the SSHRs and IHSRs and the Inspectorate.
John Tate
John was admitted to practice law as a Barrister and Solicitor in 1981. He has practiced both privately and in government in a number of Australian jurisdictions – in New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Norfolk Island and Queensland.
Since 1996, John has acted as Counsel Assisting in Mining Warden’s and Coronial inquiries in virtually all mining, explosives, petroleum and gas fatalities in Queensland. Additionally, he has been retained in a range of other fatality inquiries where the primary issue has concerned hospital misadventure, aircraft failure, fatigue, or the suspicion of murder. To this point, John has acted as Counsel Assisting in over 90 public fatality inquiries.
For many years, John’s interests and experience have focused on the critical review of safety and health management and training systems, on accident investigation methodologies, and on compliance issues.