Focus on mines safety: Repeating the same mistakes

In the April 2021 edition of Th!nkSafe, the Department featured an article titled Four focus areas for Mines Safety highlighting specific areas of concern within industry identified by Mines Safety inspectors. These areas include:

Hazardous manual tasks - Is your site proactively managing hazards associated with manual tasks?

Repeat hazard exposure - Are hazards and risks being managed appropriately to prevent reoccurrence?

Contractor management - Is your site appropriately managing the health and safety of contractors?

Mentally healthy workplaces - Are psychosocial hazards and risk factors proactively managed?

Mines Safety inspectors are focusing on instances where workers have been repeatedly exposed to a workplace hazard – such as vehicles over edges. Inspectors will be investigating whether hazards have been suitably identified and understood, suitable methods of control are in place, and taking appropriate action where necessary.

Repeating incidents: Mobile plant falling into underground voids

Since April 2008, the Western Australian mining industry has suffered three fatalities as a result of manned load haul dump (LHD) machines 1 falling into underground voids, or stopes. The latest fatality occurred in July 2020, when an LHD went over the edge of an open stope and fell approximately 25 metres. In this instance, the operator was preparing to build a safety bund near the stope edge.

There have also been a number of near misses where mobile plant has gone over a stope edge, but the operator has survived.

After each of these fatalities, the Department published significant incident reports (SIRs) to alert industry to the initial findings that led to each incident and recommended actions to prevent similar occurrences. Unfortunately, the appropriate controls have not been applied consistently within industry and these kinds of serious incidents continue to occur.

Applying controls

Sites should apply the strongest hierarchy of control measure first, which involves eliminating exposure to hazards where possible. Where this is not possible, sites should minimise the risk by working through the hierarchy from most to least reliable measures.

If the falling hazard is not able to be eliminated (e.g. by using an alternative mining method), then the operation needs to critically assess the type of mobile plant used near underground voids, with consideration given to readily available technology such as remote controlled equipment. Additional controls include developing safe systems of work to place physical barriers prior to the void creation, and to use appropriate visual markings, delineators and barricades to identify the void location.

To help combat this issue, the Department is developing an appropriate audit tool to examine how this hazardous activity is conducted in underground operations, starting with the site’s policies and procedures and their application by the operator. Auditing is recognised as a systematic method to monitor, review and check whether a safe working environment is provided and maintained.

After the tool is trialled at selected underground operations by Mines Safety inspectors, it will be made available to the rest of industry who will be encouraged to self-audit to determine whether they meet best practice principles in this area.

Significant incident reports

SIR No. 283 Manned loader falls into open stope – fatal accident

SIR No. 265 Manned loader falling into an open stope

SIR No. 234 Light vehicle driven partly over edge of open stope

SIR No. 199 Manned loader drives into open stope – fatal accident

SIR No. 149 Loader falling into an open stope – fatal accident

Guidance available

Frequently asked questions on self-auditing of mining activities – information sheet

Vertical opening safety practice in underground mines – guideline