Please read this before using presentation

This presentation is based on content presented at the Exploration Safety
Roadshow held in December 2010

It is made available for non-commercial use (e.g. toolbox meetings) subject to
the condition that the PowerPoint file is not altered without permission from
Resources Safety

Supporting resources, such as brochures and posters, are available from
Resources Safety

For resources, information or clarification, please contact:
RSDComms@dmp.wa.gov.au
or visit
www.dmp.wa.gov.au/ResourcesSafety
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What’s happening out there?
Industry safety performance
Reporting accidents and incidents
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An accident must be reported:
 if it causes an injury that prevents the person from returning
the following day to the duties they were doing at the time of
the accident
 regardless of whether the person is rostered to work the
following day or not
 if the person has lost time from work, been assigned to
alternate or light duties or been put on restricted hours
Reporting requirement applies to:
 employees
 self-employed persons
 contractors and their employees
3
Injury notification
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Manager must ensure that any injury is reported to:
 District Inspector
 if requested, trade union to which the injured person belongs
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For serious injury:
 notification as soon as possible by fastest method
 subsequently confirmed in writing using occurrence report
form
 may require judgement call about whether person will be
disabled for 2 or more weeks
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Serious injury
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An injury that:
 is disabling for 2 or more weeks
or
 involved unconsciousness from gas inhalation or
asphyxiation
or
 results from an accident, including fuming, arising from the
use of explosives or blasting agents
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Occurrences and
potentially serious occurrences
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Occurrences – Section 78 of Act requires ten occurrence types
to be reported to the District Inspector whether or not the
incident caused an injury or damaged property
Potentially serious occurrences – Section 79 requires the
reporting of any occurrence that, in the manager’s opinion, had
the potential to cause serious injury or harm to health (i.e. near
misses)
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Reporting categories on
occurrence form
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Extensive subsidence, settlement or fall of
ground or any major collapse
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Earth movement caused by a seismic
event
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Outbreak of fire above or below ground
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Breakage of a rope, cable or other gear by
which persons are raised or lowered
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Inrush of water
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Dust ignition below ground
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Presence or outburst of potentially harmful
or asphyxiant gas
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Reporting categories for occurrences
(continued)
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Accidental, delayed or fast ignition or
detonation of explosives
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Explosion or bursting of compressed air
receivers, boilers or pressure vessels
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Electric shock or burn or dangerous
occurrence involving electricity
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Poisoning or exposure to toxic gas or fumes
where persons are affected
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Loss of control, failure of braking or steering
of heavy earthmoving equipment
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Reporting categories for occurrences
(continued)
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Potentially serious occurrence – Section 79 of MSIA
 In manager’s opinion
 “Near misses” not covered by previous ten categories
Other categories on form
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Potentially serious injury – Section 76(2a) of MSIA
 Where someone is injured and it appears likely to be
serious
Incidents affecting registered plant – Regulation 6.36 of
MSIR
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Importance of reporting
Why might reporting be neglected?
What are the consequences if incident reporting is:
 Not done?
 Not done well?
 Not followed up?
 Not recorded (regardless of regulatory requirements)?
 Followed-up but outcome not communicated to workforce?
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Consequences
What sort of safety culture allows this?
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Safety culture spectrum
Type
Characteristics
Vulnerable
Rule followers
In denial
Deal ‘by the book’
Messengers ‘shot’
Conform to rules
Whistleblowers
dismissed or
discredited
Target = ‘zero’
Protection of the
powerful
Information hoarded
Reactive
Repair not reform
Information
neglected
Responsibility shirked
Responsibility
compartmentalised
Failure punished or
covered up
New ideas =
‘problems’
New ideas crushed
Robust
Enlightened
Develop risk
management
capacity
Active leadership
Enhance systems
Competent people
with experience
Improve suite of
performance
measures
Develop action plans
Monitor/review
progress
Clarify/refine
objectives
Safety management
plan widely known
Accountabilities
understood
Advanced
performance
measures
Regular reviews
Range of emergency
responses catered
for
Resilient
Strive for resilience
of systems
Reform rather than
repair
Responsibility
shared
Actively seek new
ideas
Messengers
rewarded
Proactive as well
as reactive
Failures prompt
far-reaching
inquiries
Flexibility of
operation
Consistent mindset
= ‘wariness’
Descriptor
Strategy
‘in disarray’
pathological
‘organised’
reactive
‘credible’
calculative
‘trusting’
proactive
‘disciplined’
generative
Sanction
Direct
Encourage
Partner
Champion
1212
Occurrences reported for 2009-10
~ 2,200 reports for > 70,000 FTEs
80 reports Drill/power shovel incident
631 reports Outbreak of fire
13
Drilling injury statistics for
last 5 years – body part
Eye: 2
Shoulder :4
Arm: 4
Head/Neck: 7
Chest: 2
Hands/Wrists: 6
Back: 6
Abdomen: 1
Fingers: 24
Knee: 5
Leg:14
Foot/Ankle:10
Toe: 1
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SIR 145
Mines Safety Significant Incident Report
No. 145 [2007]
Driller’s offsider struck by dust deflector box or “wear bend”
Fatal accident
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SIR 145
Incident
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A driller’s offsider was fatally injured when struck by a
"wear bend" that became detached from the cyclone at an
exploration drilling site
Wear bend  steel attachment built for connecting the sample hose
to the cyclone
 reinforced with thick metal blocks to withstand abrasive
nature of drill cuttings on return side of reverse
circulation (RC) drilling process
 weighed about 40 kg
16
SIR 145
17
SIR 145
Causes and contributing factors
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High pressure compressed air was used in an attempt to
clear blockage
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Employees were not standing clear of sample hose while
the driller was attempting to unblock it
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Wear bend became detached from cyclone as an
insufficient number of bolts and nuts was installed
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Bolts and nuts used to attach wear bend to cyclone were
too small for intended application and were pulled through
bolt holes on the cyclone
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SIR 145
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SIR 145
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No safe working procedures for
 unblocking a sample hose
 installing a wear bend
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Safety devices for securing wear bend to cyclone in case
of a failure of the bolts and nuts were not connected at
time of the accident
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No proper engineering design for wear bend if subjected
to high pressure compressed air during drilling process
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SIR 145
Some of the recommendations

Properly engineered design process for all components
subjected to high pressures and forces during RC drilling
and sampling process

Provide approved fabrication drawings to those carrying
out the fabrication work, and check work to ensure it
complies with the design
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SIR 145
22
SIR 145
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SIR 145

Valuable tool for safe work procedures – consider actions
recommended in following Mines Safety Significant Incident
Reports




No. 3 Compressed air hose connection – fatal accident, issued 29
September 1989*
No. 92 R C drill rig 3” sample hose connection – serious accident,
issued 23 February 1998
No. 109 Fitting of tile boxes on drilling rigs, issued 9 October 2001*
No. 119 Driller’s offsider blasted with sample dust under pressure,
issued 4 November 2002
* See handout
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Inspectorate view
What has been happening in exploration
over the past 12 months?
25
Mining injury report forms for
exploration activities
Western Australia
61 reports received 1 January to 30 November 2010
34 driller’s offsider
11 driller
12 field assistant
4 other (e.g. geologist, botanist)
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Mining injury report forms for
exploration activities
Kalgoorlie Goldfields
22 reports received 1 January to 30 November 2010
14 driller’s offsider
5 driller
3 field assistant
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Mining injury report forms for
exploration activities
Kalgoorlie Goldfields – Driller’s offsider
14 reports received 1 January to 30 November 2010
7 hand, including fingers
2 arm or elbow
1 back
1 head
1 shoulder
1 ankle
1 heat stress
3 rod handling
1 cut hand on sharp rod
1 crushed hand lowering mast
1 crushed hand unhooking trailer
1 hammer bit fell on finger
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Mining injury report forms for
exploration activities
Kalgoorlie Goldfields – Driller
5 reports received 1 January to 30 November 2010
3 hand, including fingers
1 arm or elbow
1 back
1 crushed finger lifting HQ barrel
1 crushed thumb breaking out rod
1 crushed finger unhooking trailer
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