THE FIRST PRIORITY FOR AUSTRALIA’S MINING INDUSTRY
ISSUE 5 - OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2019
Virtual reality The future of safety
Respiratory protection
Materials handling
Technology
Mining equipment
Comment Making safer mines a (virtual) reality VIRTUAL REALITY HAS THE POTENTIAL TO REVOLUTIONISE THE MINING INDUSTRY IN A NUMBER OF WAYS. ENCOURAGINGLY, SAFETY IS ALREADY PROVING TO BE THE AREA WITH STANDOUT ADVANTAGES.
BEN CREAGH
T
he benefits of virtual reality from a safety and training perspective have expanded at a rapid pace as the technology has evolved to support the mining industry. It has become a common sight at mining exhibitions to see well-known suppliers diversifying into VR or new entrants come into the market to try their hand at commercialising the technology. The VR headsets developed by these companies are difficult to miss and are a drawcard for attendees of these events. In this edition of Safe to Work, we talk to a number of companies which are developing opportunities for mining companies to introduce VR at their operations. These companies and others are giving mining an exciting edge that not only makes the industry safer and smarter, but also more attractive for the techsavvy next generation of workers. Mining is an inherently dangerous industry for a multitude of reasons. However,
ANDY EWE Tel: (03) 9690 8766 Email: andy.ewe@primecreative.com.au PUBLISHER CHRISTINE CLANCY MANAGING EDITOR BEN CREAGH Tel: (03) 9690 8766 Email: ben.creagh@primecreative.com.au JOURNALISTS ALEXANDER GLUYAS Tel: (03) 9690 8766 Email: alexander.gluyas@primecreative.com.au
VANESSA ZHOU Tel: (03) 9690 8766 Email: vanessa.zhou@primecreative.com.au CLIENT SUCCESS MANAGER JANINE CLEMENTS Tel: (02) 9439 7227 Email: janine.clements@primecreative.com.au SALES MANAGER STEFAN DUBOCANIN Tel: (02) 9439 7227 Mob: 0432 574 669 Email: stefan.dubocanin@primecreative.com.au
VR can help alleviate the risks by providing a safe training environment that is also often a more accurate representation of real-life conditions than physical testing grounds. A virtual representation can also be designed to push training exercises to the edge of realism, equipping workers for challenging scenarios. VR also allows for endless repetition of training exercises at a much lower cost by simply strapping on a headset. These few elements alone can be applied to myriad mining activities, including maintenance of machinery, the operation of heavy equipment and underground mining. Beyond the safety and training benefits, VR is also proving useful to improve efficiencies across the mine life cycle. At sites across Australia and the world, VR is being used to integrate data for the design and planning phases of projects, the management of resources, and even for social licence stewardship. Essentially, mining is
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SAFETOWORK.COM.AU 3 OCT-DEC 2019
just getting started with the application of VR and safety has importantly been one of the first areas of the industry to realise the benefits it offers. While there have been pioneers in the marketplace, as well as the emergence of supporting government initiatives, the industry can expect to see major development in this space.
Ben Creagh Managing Editor
FRONT COVER Technology suppliers are bringing virtual reality to mining, making the industry smarter and safer.
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In this issue Features 20 Ensuring tyre safety
A preventative maintenance approach
54 Follow the underground fly
20
Unveiling the Firefly Smart Lighting System
24 I nside out care for miners
56 Best practice in mine road
Healthcare provider Work Healthy Australia
safety
ARRB explains the gaps in road safety
28 AR/VR light the future
58 Simplifying safety warnings
Honeywell’s safety solution
REDARC and Hummingbird’s combination
30 Experiencing the expanses of
60 Bolle Safety’s lens technology
mine sites
The creation of the HazID platform
The importance of polarised lenses
32 Unity’s new era of mine
63 Enhancing conveyor safety Flexco’s lightweight cleaner pole
safety
Using VR for training simulation
34 A third eye on mine sites Ifm’s O3M sensor
64 Turning used tyres into a resource
46 A gamechanger at Mt Owen Nivek’s new Lift Arm assist
38 A journey in safety culture Boart Longyear celebrates one-year LTI-free
48 On track to improve mine safety
Using telematics and data
42 A pioneer in footwear safety Blundstone’s story of innovation and research
44 Managing extreme mining conditions
50 Battling the silent killer
Kal Tire’s recycling facility
66 A third eye in the sky Drones monitoring mine sites
69 Capturing incidents of dust diseases
Australia’s first dust disease register
How mining can tackle silicosis
52 Breathing safely at mine sites
54
The pathway to nearly zero exposure
Blackwoods helps protect miners from heat
48
REGULARS
7 NEWS
16 PRODUCTS
SAFETOWORK 4 OCT-DEC 2019
70 EVENTS
140 Y
EARS
AT BLACKWOODS, WE KNOW THAT SAFETY ISN’T JUST ABOUT EQUIPMENT. It’s about having the specialist expertise and relationships to assess your hazards, the range to equip you with the right gear, and the training to ensure you know how to use and maintain it correctly. When you work with Blackwoods, you’re dealing with an expert team focused on ensuring Australian workers make it home safely every day. As Australia’s largest industrial and safety supplier, we are well positioned to meet the unique challenges across mining, resources and heavy industry. We understand the importance of driving productivity on large-scale projects, and have the proven experience in mobilising solutions in the toughest environments.
BLACKWOODS KNOWS MINING SAFETY For further information, visit blackwoods.com.au/safety
blackwoods.com.au
13 73 23
News BHP pledges to largest safety undertaking in NSW BHP has committed to the largest safety undertaking ever in New South Wales at the Mt Arthur coal mine near Muswellbrook following its safety breach in August 2017. A Mt Arthur worker was severely injured two years ago when a diesel fire started while he was refuelling a tyre handler at the mine’s heavy vehicle refuelling facility, according to chief investigator Steve Orr. The enforceable undertaking, valued at almost $1.1 million, will deliver significant engineering improvements at Mt Arthur, industry training and
monetary support for the region’s Rural Fire Service. Mt Arthur will deliver a $793,000 engineering upgrade to its heavy vehicle refuelling facility and other diesel distribution facilities. It will also donate $200,000 towards the implementation of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service’s initiatives. BHP is obliged to complete the undertaking within 24 months. “This is the highest value mining work health and safety undertaking accepted in New South Wales to date,” Orr said. “The regulator accepted the
enforceable undertaking as it will deliver tangible benefits to the workforce and community that could not be achieved through prosecution action alone.” Lessons from the investigation have been shared widely with the mining industry using digital animations to demonstrate exactly how the incident happened. These animations are the first of their kind to be developed by a work health and safety regulator anywhere in Australia and are aimed at helping the industry address safety issue.
Lithium Australia successfully recycles lithium from batteries Lithium Australia is recovering lithium from spent lithium-ion batteries (LIB), providing a sustainable solution for batteries sent to landfill. Adrian Griffin, Lithium Australia managing director, said there were few recycling operations around the world that could recover lithium from LIBs. “LIT’s process has the potential to not only improve the sustainability of LIBs but also ease future supply constraints that may prove problematic to the industry,” Griffin said. Envirostream Australia provides mixed metal dust (MMD) to LIT to recover lithium. MMD is generated from battery electrodes during the battery shredding process. Refined lithium phosphate is produced from spent batteries for use in new lithium-ferro-phosphate (LFP) cathode material. The LFP cathode material will then be used to make coin cells for performance testing of the cathode materials. “The company’s ability to employ
LP in the direct generation of LFP is a significant technical achievement, one that reduces the number of process steps required to manufacture the cathode powder,” Griffin said. “That’s great news, because LFP is the perfect battery configuration for
energy-storage systems suitable for the harsh Australian environment.” In the process, cobalt, nickel and copper have also been recovered. Lithium Australia’s goal is to “close the loop on the energy-metal cycle in an ethical and sustainable manner.”
Lithium Australia’s Brisbane laboratory.
SAFETOWORK.COM.AU 7 OCT-DEC 2019
News Eight more QLD projects get 100% FIFO ban
The FIFO ban is aiming to support the local economy.
The Queensland Government has put a ban on employing a fully fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) workforce at eight more large resource projects, taking the number of projects affected by the ruling to 69. Its 100 per cent FIFO ban on these projects aims to support more jobs in local communities, with 295 nearby regional communities to benefit from these declarations. The latest projects included are Baralaba North (Baralaba Coal
Company), Barbara (Round Oak Minerals), Bauxite Hills (Metro Mining), Century zinc (New Century Resources), Cook Colliery (Bounty Mining), Mount Colin (Round Oak Minerals), Mungana (Auctus Resources) and Olive Downs (Pembroke Resources). “We want to see more regional jobs stay in our regions,” Queensland Minister for State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning Cameron Dick said.
“Fifty-nine regional communities will benefit from these (latest) declarations, including protections under the antidiscrimination provisions in the Act relating to the future recruitment of workers for the eight new projects.” The nearby regional communities include Baralaba, Blackwater, Glendale, Rockhampton, Middlemount, Eton, Coppabella, Weipa, Bluff and Moranbah. The Queensland Government has also put a FIFO ban on the Grasstree and Moranbah North mines (Anglo American), Peak Downs and Saraji (BHP), Ernest Henry (Glencore), Dugald River (MMG Dugald River), New Acland (New Hope) and North Goonyella (Peabody Energy). A project is classified ‘large’ under the Strong and Sustainable Resource Communities Act 2017 when it has at least 100 operational workers. Round Oak Minerals’ Mount Colin mine and Barbara project in Queensland are, however, exceptions to this rule to allow residents of Mount Isa and Cloncurry benefit from the mines’ operations.
Anglo American scores $2m win for QLD mine safety Anglo American will purchase a $2 million winder, a mobile truck-mounted emergency egress system, to assist rescue crews in the event miners are trapped underground. The company will wholly fund the purchase for the Queensland Mines Rescue Service (QMRS) to use across the Queensland mining industry. Anglo American chief executive of metallurgical coal business Tyler Mitchelson said the QMRS provided a crucial emergency response service to the mining industry.
“It’s crucial that we arm them with the resources they may need to undertake potentially life-saving work. As the largest underground coal miner in Australia, we understand how important it is to have this type of equipment available in case of an emergency,” Mitchelson said. “We are making a significant investment in this critical piece of mines rescue equipment, not just for the safety of our own people, but for all of those who work in the Queensland mining industry.”
SAFETOWORK 8 OCT-DEC 2019
QMRS CEO David Carey said the funding was a welcome commitment from Anglo American. “While we hope we never need to use it, this life-saving equipment will likely form part of the emergency response plan for every mine site in Queensland,” Carey said. “It’s a significant donation which will improve emergency response capabilities across the entire Queensland mining industry, and we extend our sincere thanks to Anglo American.”
FIREFLY SMART LIGHTING SYSTEM
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News QLD looks to knock out silicosis WorkCover Queensland has engaged Monash University and the University of Illinois to research best practices that support workers diagnosed with silicosis. The lung disease is caused by breathing silica, a mineral that is part of sand, rock and mineral ores. Professor Malcolm Sim from Monash University and Professor Bob Cohen from the University of Illinois will research the treatment, rehabilitation and retraining options that are available to improve workers’ capacity to work. The research will also study the mental health impact and issues preventing a return to work and ensuring a safe work
environment to protect the long-term health of workers. Minister for Industrial Relations Grace Grace said both teams brought experience in dust diseases management and best practices for return to work. “Queensland is leading the nation in responding to the threat of silicosis,” Grace said. “In September 2018 when the government received advice on the troubling spike in cases of silicosis in the engineered stone benchtop fabrication industry, it acted immediately, issuing a public alert about the risks of engineered stone and reminded industry of the
prohibition on uncontrolled dry cutting of this stone. According to Grace, audits have been conducted on engineered stone benchtop fabricators in Queensland, health screening has been arranged for 1023 workers, forums for workers, employers and the medical community have been held, and counselling has been arranged workers and their families. “We have also established an expert medical working group to develop clinical guidance and an Australianfirst Dust Lung Disease register, and a new Code of Practice is close to finalisation,” Grace said.
KCGM enhances flexible work arrangements Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KCGM) has made significant changes to its parental leave policy, allowing employees to take up to 22 weeks paid parental or adoption leave. The policy also allows for a four week return-to-work payment and 10 days paid secondary carers leave. These changes will help address the gender pay gap that often occurs when parents are out of the workforce for extended periods, according to KCGM. The company stated that it was proud to offer access to family-friendly flexible work arrangements. KCGM will also provide 10 days paid
domestic violence leave, giving critical financial support to affected employees who may be victims of violence. KCGM’s parental support business resource group (BRG) team leader Julia Rowatt said the procedure set it apart as an employer of choice. “The parental support BRG’s mission is to improve parental support for all employees. We also work with those currently on parental leave to assist them in staying connected with the business and ensure a smooth transition back to work,” she said. “We’re thrilled that KCGM has become an industry leader in parental and other
KCGM is providing staff with flexible work options.
SAFETOWORK 10 OCT-DEC 2019
leave needs. Our employees all live locally and it’s important that KCGM is a family-friendly employer, enabling flexibility to get the best from home and work life in Kalgoorlie-Boulder.” Additional parental leave benefits will also include superannuation and long service leave accruals, which will be paid on return to work, with both primary and secondary carers, regardless of gender, able to qualify. It will also include people in a de facto relationship, regardless of sex or gender, and a graduated return-towork on full pay and return to work incentive payment.
News Mining to benefit from national research centre Australia will welcome a $12.5 million national mining research and training centre led by the University of Adelaide to bolster the country’s future mining operations. This centre will use advanced technologies to deliver enabling tools and train the next generation of scientists and engineers in advanced sensors, data analytics and artificial intelligence. The Australian Government has submitted $3.7 million of funding, in addition to the support of other research and industry organisations. The University of Adelaide deputy vice-chancellor (research) Mike Brooks has welcomed the
funding announcement. “Underpinned by world-leading research, our new high-tech training centre will help to shape the very future of mining operations in Australia,” Brooks said. “Combining our expertise in advanced sensors, data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, the new centre will deliver vital tools, training and workforce needs to help ensure Australia and key industry players lead the world.” The training centre will be housed within the University of Adelaide’s Institute for Mineral and Energy Resources. Other participants of the training centre include the University
of South Australia, Curtin University and 22 industry and government organisations. The University of Adelaide professor of mining engineering Peter Dowd said the training centre addressed the critical needs of the mining industry. “This funding award recognises the world-leading concentration of mining research in South Australia, placing us at the forefront of developments that will transform the mining and processing of complex resources,” Dowd said. “Australia has a unique opportunity to become a world leader in integrated mining and a hub for mining equipment, technology and services.”
Students to learn EV manufacturing through Minecraft Australian students will learn about the minerals industry and electric car assembly with the launch of the mine solar car lab, a new 3D digital game for Minecraft’s education edition. The program was launched by the Minerals Council of Australia and the University of Queensland (UQ), creating an Australian first in the industry. It allows primary and secondary school students to use the world-famous Minecraft education platform to work together to collect raw materials, then use the giant machines to build an electric car. UQ mining engineering program leader Mehmet Kizil said the game would be accessible on Windows 10, iOS and Android devices. “Teachers and students will collaborate in the Mine Solar Car Lab virtual environment to learn about different minerals and metals sourced from Australian mines,” Kizil said. “By introducing students to a modern electric car in a collaborative, interactive
way, mine solar car lab aims to excite children about the way electric cars are built and spark interest in learning more about this rapidly-changing industry.” Kizil said that determining the strategies for managing resource scarcity and sustainability were key issues over the coming years and decades, which was important to introduce to students who might someday consider a career in engineering.
In the game, students visit the fictional institute for voltaic propulsion, a research facility full of researchers and enormous machines. They are tasked with mining and collecting raw materials used to build major parts of an electric car, then correctly inserting them into machines that will combine them into the finished components via an abstract version of a car factory.
Minecraft is being used as a tool to educate students about mining.
SAFETOWORK.COM.AU 13 OCT-DEC 2019
News Western Australia cracks down on worker safety Western Australia has launched a $12.9 million initiative to protect workers through new workplace safety laws and initiatives. Twenty-four additional full-time equivalent staff, including 21 additional inspectors, will be employed by WorkSafe. This increases the total number of inspectors to 120, bringing Western Australia in-line with New South Wales and Queensland, with a ratio of 1.0 full-time equivalent inspectors per 10,000 employees. Inspectors will conduct more safety inspections, enforce workplace safety, provide more education and awareness support, and investigate fatal and serious incidents. Better Worker Safety, a worker safety campaign, will also be developed. The campaign aims to put safety front of mind and improve workplace safety and health outcomes. A Work Health and Safety Bill will be launched to modernise workplace safety laws, better protect workers and hold those responsible for any workplace deaths accountable. The main features of the bill are the
introduction of two new offences for industrial manslaughter. Class one industrial manslaughter is the most serious offence under the new scheme. It includes a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment for an individual conducting or undertaking a business. Meanwhile, industrial manslaughter class two includes a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment for negligent behaviour. The offences will also carry a fine of up to $10 million for a body corporate. Western Australia Premier Mark
McGowan said safety was one of his highest priorities. “The death of one worker is one too many, it’s time we introduce industrial manslaughter laws to make sure Western Australians are protected at work,” McGowan said. “Prison time sends a powerful message, but we don’t want it to come to that. “We would much rather everyone came home safe from work, and that’s why we are boosting the number of safety inspectors, to put more cops on the beat.”
Worksafe is boosting the number of mine inspectors in WA.
Fortescue creates original safety systems across sites Fortescue Metals Group’s maintenance team has developed an innovative system for dump truck servicing at the Cloudbreak iron ore operations in Western Australia. The maintenance team has developed a ‘push in’ handrail, a safer system that addresses the risk of working at heights when accessing certain areas of the 789C and 789D model dump trucks. “Fortescue encourages a culture to continually challenge the way our teams work, to create change and find
practical alternatives to improve safety in every day work tasks,” Fortescue’s Cloudbreak maintenance manager Graham Howard said. At Christmas Creek mine, employees have developed an air tool through the ‘Participate to Eliminate’ initiative, which encourages team members to submit safety ideas. This air tool removes the potential for injury when replacing teeth on ancillary mobile plant buckets. “The level of involvement we have seen from this program has been
SAFETOWORK 14 OCT-DEC 2019
exceptional and it demonstrates that our teams are safety focussed,” Fortescue general manager at Christmas Creek Jim Herring said. In addition, Fortescue has worked with its contracting partner, Rema Tip Top, to complete 30,000 replacements of conveyor rollers injury free. This activity has historically had high potential to cause hand injuries. “By working together, we are continuing to progress towards our goal of becoming global leaders in safety,” the company stated.
Virtual reality training is up to 4.5 times more effective than traditional methods – let HazID show you how Drive Better Safety Adherence and Behaviour HazID provides an accessible platform for you to build powerful VR based safety training programs. Taking employees through this immersive, context rich and guided experience, will ensure more focus and awareness is given to critical safety processes.
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Track, Analyze & Improve Coupled with powerful analytics, heat maps & reporting, HazID will revolutionise the effectiveness & efficiency of delivery of hazard identification training in your organization.
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Products BOLLÈ RELEASES MERCURO SAFETY EYEWEAR Mercuro safety eyewear has been developed to provide eye protection for general working conditions with dust or flying particles and the sun. The safety glasses have a wrap-around design, PVC nose bridge and bi-material temples for added comfort. Mercuro’s bold styling coupled with Platinum anti-scratch and anti-fog coating (on CSP and Smoke lens) provides maximum protection and performance. The polarised Mercuro comes with anti-scratch coating and is designed to eliminate intense glare and improve visual comfort. Bollè delivers the highest quality sunglasses for performance and protection. Bollè refines its trademark combination of fit, fashion and comfort resulting in the most technologically advanced eyewear. bollesafety.com.au
AQUILA RELEASES HIGH-COMFORT IMPACT PROTECTION GLOVES Aquila has considered many materials and types to develop high-performance impact gloves before arriving at impact pads. Primarily made of thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), otherwise known as thermoplastic rubber (TPR), they aid wearability and enhance dexterity. This helps ensure users keep their gloves on, providing glove comfort when both worn and during put-on/tale-off without compromising the operator’s ability to properly handle the equipment. The TPE/TPR is excellent for impact protection even though more costly compared with PVC, which rapidly ages and hardens, leading to heard, brittle protection and increased hand fatigue over time. The Aquila TOG4B/G is a TPR impact resistant glove with cut four level (ISO 13997 level E) protection developed for high-performance hand protection. For protection against blunt force impacts, Aquila’s TOG6W range offers cushioned silicone protection shielding with an unusually high degree of comfort. aquilaglove.com
PDS ROLLS OUT SAAS FOR ASSET MANAGEMENT Productivity Development Solutions (PDS) asset management software is an affordable software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution, designed to meet the specific asset reliability needs of the resources and bulk handling sectors. There are four modules – inspect, wear, idler and complex – each designed to capture condition monitoring inspection data and to report on asset health in user-friendly, industry specific manner. Use of these PDS tools results in reduced unplanned downtime, and improvements in productivity and profitability. PDS, a cloud-based, multi-platform solution, is available for web, iOS and Android. Modules are also adapted for phone, tablet and PC. The solution eliminates paper and complicated spreadsheets, taking data from the pit to boardroom seamlessly. pdsglobal.com SAFETOWORK 16 OCT-DEC 2019
MOBILARIS UNVEILS MOBILE RADAR FOR MINE SAFETY Epiroc subsidiary, Mobilaris, has launched Mobilaris Onboard, a mobile application that allows high accuracy positioning in underground mines without any positioning infrastructure. The technology acts as a mobile radar showing oncoming traffic, while also making miners aware of the whole real-time situation in the mine. Mobilaris Hybrid Positioning allows users to know the position of a vehicle with five to 10 metres accuracy. The technology increases transparency and safety while decreasing traffic congestions by helping users avoid other vehicles or giving miners a warning when meetings occur. Epiroc global business manager Ulla Korsman-Kopra said Mobilaris had made large strides in terms of safety, productivity and smooth traffic flow by visualising the traffic situation from
inside the cabin of vehicles and mobile mining machines. “All miners understand the huge value of advance notice of on-coming traffic. They will all have higher certainty of the actual situation in the mine and that is a benefit that cannot be understated,” Korsman-Kopra said. mobilaris.se
CONTROLEDGE PLC: BETTER CONTROL GIVES YOU AN EDGE Honeywell’s PLC is part of the ControlEdge family, a next-generation family of controllers providing unprecedented connectivity through all levels of process
and business operations. The result is optimised operations and maintenance efficiencies that release personnel from manual processes. ControlEdge PLC dramatically reduces configuration, integration, and support costs, while decreasing risk with embedded cybersecurity. Designed to work with any SCADA system, ControlEdge PLC becomes a superior solution using Experion, leveraging common station hardware and HMI, LEAP project execution, faster field device commissioning and improved device diagnostics. The PLC is perfect for any mining project that requires a high degree of flexibility, compact size, and accommodating significant changes to design even after commissioning. ControlEdge PLC is one of the first controllers supporting Honeywell’s IIoT-ready initiative and a variety of communication protocols to integrate smoothly with other systems on site. honeywellprocess.com/PLC
IO-LINK ALLOWS THE PROCESS OF VALUES AT A GLANCE The IO-Link display increases plant transparency as a flexible solution to display process values, texts and messages in a plant. It displays up to four assigned process values, alarms and warnings. Clear text and as an option a colour change of text and background can be used for a quick overview. Users can also trigger control actions of the programmable logic controller (PLC) or acknowledge messages. The IO-Link display is connected to an IO-Link master and controlled via PLC, requiring no special software for configuration. Texts and settings can be predetermined via an IO-Link device
tool such as the Linerecorder Sensor. Texts and settings can be adapted even during operation via the PLC. Ifm.com/au/en
SAFETOWORK.COM.AU 17 OCT-DEC 2019
Products TED IS AN ESSENTIAL PIECE OF SAFETY GEAR TED (Tracked Elevating Device) is a self-propelled, remote controlled, belly plate jack designed to take the weight out of belly plate removal and removing fitters from the deadly crush zone. The device tracks and front blade allow access to a wide variety of terrains, making field service a safe alternative to costly haulage in some cases. TED’s range of smart attachments has allowed TED to also take the weight out of steer cylinders, tie rods, cutting edges, axle stands, track rollers, steering idlers, y-links, sumps, pumps and sound suppression. Used in conjunction with the Lift Assist 40 tooling manipulator arm, TED allows cutting edge, efficient and safe maintenance. Whether you’re doing regular maintenance or complete shutdown or rebuild, TED helps keep fitters safe and improves efficiency shift after shift. Join the hundreds of mines and workshops over the world
experiencing the benefits TED has to offer every day. TED users include Rio Tinto, Thiess, BHP, Anglo American, Downer, Peabody Energy, South 32, WesTrac, Komatsu, Yancoal, Glencore, Mineral Resources, Newmont, Lend Lease, Alcoa and more. nivekindustries.com.au
RILEY STREAM EVO UNVEILS SAFETY GLASSES Stream Evo safety glasses provide comfort and ‘wearability’ with a range of lens options to suit a variety of conditions. The safety glasses have a single wraparound polycarbonate lens, soft ventilated TempFLEX temple tips, with slim temples that increase comfort and create a secure fit. United Kingdom-based Riley has released a brand-new range of high-performance safety eyewear designed to deliver the perfect combination of comfort, protection and style. The safety glasses are created by a dedicated team of safety eyewear experts with decades of experience. They are engineered using the latest safety eyewear technology, innovative designs and unique performance features, making them ideally suited to a wide range of applications. riley-eyewear.com
A BARRIER TO MINING’S SAFETY RISKS The Dropsafe barrier is a permanent or temporary solution designed to prevent objects falling from elevated work platforms (EWP). The Dropsafe barrier panels attach along the inside of the guard railing of elevated walkways, stairways, access ways of permanent or temporary structures, utilising a universal attaching system. Its impact resistance, coupled with the small honeycomb apertures of the barrier panels, prevents loose items falling from height where the barrier is installed. The barriers are designed for high winds, have high impact resistance and are suitable for harsh environments. Dropsafe is an instant safety solution that is fully tested and certified that closes the gap in human error with fast and easy installation. dropsafe.com/industry/mining SAFETOWORK 18 OCT-DEC 2019
STRATA LAUNCHES LEAKY FEEDER SOLUTION Strata Worldwide has unveiled DigitalBRIDGE Plus+, a solution to improve existing leaky feeder systems by digitising the network and expanding connectivity capacity in the mining industry. The solution, produced through an established partnership with Australian-based RFI Technology Solutions, enables mines to upgrade their existing leaky feeder systems to achieve digital high-speed Ethernet capabilities without losing VHF (Very High Frequency) voice communications. Characterised by tough working conditions and hazardous environments, underground mines require reliable 24/7 communication systems throughout the entire infrastructure to ensure smooth operations and optimised safety. DigitalBRIDGE Plus+ takes typical leaky feeder solutions one step further. Bi-directional line amplifiers (BDA) with Ethernet
BREATHE SAFE HEPA FILTRATION Breathesafe systems first use a Turbo Pre-cleaner (Pre-Filter) to remove up to for 90 per cent of airborne debris via centrifuge. It then pressurises and filters the pre-cleaned air with the use of
means mines can interface with their existing fibre networks to inject high-speed digital data to their leaky feeder network. DigitalBRIDGE Quadports can then be placed anywhere along the cable, with each providing four Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) digital ports for the attachment and powering of any Ethernet devices. strataworldwide.com
custom made high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters. As per EN1822, the filters are tested individually and graded at H13 or H14. Breathesafe further improves and delivers solutions where aerosol contaminants are present, including gases and vapours, with custom made HEPA filters with activated carbon. Activated carbon has a wide range of uses in purification and other wide range of industrial application and works by adsorption, or, retaining airborne compounds. It traps wanted material while not changing in size where other absorbing compounds swell in comparison. breathe-safe.com.au
ESS 40NB SPRAY BAR The ESS 40NB Spray bar is designed to remove sticky adhering material from the conveyor belt surface by use of a high velocity, low volume, knife edge spray. The spray bar is designed for use in conjunction with a belt cleaning system with added benefits of keeping both the primary and secondary cleaners free of material build-up when positioned appropriately, as well as assisting in dust suppression. The solution is constructed from 40NB stainless steel pipe, with wash jet spray nozzles poisoned along the centreline of the pipe. This method allows plants to contain dust, decreasing risk of increased wear and shutdown periods, component replacements and reduced production. esseng.com.au SAFETOWORK.COM.AU 19 OCT-DEC 2019
Site visit
TyreDoctor co-director and tyre repair manager Harvey Hester inspects injuries on 63-inch tyres.
A preventative approach that ensures tyre safety THERE IS A WAY TO REDUCE RISK AND PREVENT FIVE-FIGURE MINING TYRES FROM LIVING A SHORT AND COSTLY LIFE – PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE REPAIR. VANESSA ZHOU VISITS TYREDOCTOR’S NEW SOUTH WALES REPAIR FACILITY TO FIND OUT HOW THE COMPANY FACILITATES THIS MAINTENANCE STRATEGY.
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t is barely 10 degrees Celsius at TyreDoctor’s tyre repair centre in Leeton, New South Wales on a winter Tuesday. TyreDoctor co-director and tyre repair manager Harvey Hester is inspecting injuries in a row of 63-inch mining truck tyres in the open yard as the brisk wind continues to blow at close to 20 kilometres an hour. This sight may be puzzling for some. Why does a person in Hester’s senior position remain so hands on, supervising each and every tyre that comes into this large and busy operation, when the team is particularly busy with the opening of a tyre repair facility in Mackay, Queensland? In fact, there are up to 330 ultraclass mining tyres repaired in the New South Wales facility each month.
Just one injury requires a multi-step process, including cutting out, filling, patching, cooking and shaping in the tyre workshop, to achieve the postrepair quality and outcome required by mining companies. Most tyres that come to the facility even have multiple injuries to attend to. Hester’s first-hand involvement in tyre repairs is just “standard daily operations” at TyreDoctor, a secondgeneration family-run business founded by his father and senior director Sel Hester in 1986. When Sel Hester started his business, its focus was to provide hot vulcanised tyre repairs for the agricultural industry and earthmoving contractors through the Riverina region of New South Wales. With 32 years’ experience,
SAFETOWORK 20 OCT-DEC 2019
TyreDoctor has perfected the craft of hot vulcanisation, a technique that requires an in-depth understanding of tyre construction and first-hand knowledge of the harsh operating conditions in mining environments, both on the surface and underground. Fast forward three decades and TyreDoctor has evolved into a fullservice off-the-road (OTR) tyre and rim specialist with a customer base that includes Glencore, BHP, Evolution Mining, Yancoal and Peabody Energy. Although the company has found its place working with some of Australia’s largest mining corporations, it still continues to service the agricultural sector. The agricultural industry has helped put TyreDoctor on the tyre repair map, and the mining industry took notice
in due course. For this reason, the company remains loyal to the agricultural industry, according to Hester. “Agricultural tyres are all small by comparison, so you’re getting only a third of the money for doing one of them compared with a mining tyre repair. But agriculture got us started on the road to where we are today, and we’ll always appreciate that,” he tells Safe to Work. The range of work that falls under TyreDoctor’s watch demonstrates the company’s capacity to provide hot vulcanised repair of OTR tyres in sizes ranging from 24 to 63 inches. TyreDoctor sends technicians from its OTR repair team to major sites for prerepair inspections each month, ensuring that each repair is viable before the tyre leaves the site. This is done to avoid wasting transport resources on tyres with injuries that are deemed unfit for repair. “The beauty of preventative repairs is recognising a tyre injury when trucks can still be driven safely to a spot to carry out removal and repairs,” Hester says. “Today’s trucks are running faster, their tyres are designed to go quicker, and mining operators are driven by production key performance indicators (KPIs) to transport more product and achieve a maximum output.” This puts a lot of strain on certain parts of a tyre considering today’s mine designs are characterised by sharp corners and steep declines, Hester continues. Harsh mining conditions put excessive weight on a truck’s front tyres over their recommended load capacity, while having to endure a longer running time. As tyre temperature increases, the instance of tyre separation becomes far more prevalent, Hester says. “A separation inside a tyre is caused by an untreated impact into the tyre’s tread, allowing moisture and other elements to get in and enlarge the injury as the truck is being put into
use,” Hester explains. “Separation causes friction, which leads to heat and possibly a thermal failure event. If the original injury had been caught and tended to, a mining operator would have been able to prevent this safety hazard and the tyre wouldn’t have to go into disposal.” This is where preventative repairs come in and play a part in avoiding the serious consequences that come with an unrectified tyre injury. A minor problem can pose dangers to the truck driver and other road users, cause premature failure and prevent the mine site from achieving the proper tyre
between the two teams, according to Hester. “The reason why a tyre crew or tyre management team need to keep up with today’s preventative repair needs is to stop a tyre injury from suddenly becoming an unnecessary failure and the possibility of a disaster occurring,” Hester explains. “Ultimately, a tyre is quite simply a pressure vessel. It involves huge loads and forces, and its potential for a safety incident is very, very real. “Understanding and implementing preventative maintenance tyre repairs should be a core function in TyreDoctor’s repair service handles up to 63-inch ultra-class 63-inch mining tyres.
life expectancy, loading capacity and haul performance. In comparison, a preventative repair program prevents mining operations from experiencing tyres failures and the consequences for lost production over the long term. Hester believes that every mobile fleet maintenance team needs to have the awareness and training to recognise the potential dangers of leaving a tyre injury untreated. The tyre crew, meanwhile, needs to be aware of the production demands imposed by a mining operator. This will then facilitate better collaboration
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the tyre management of any mining operation. It’s critical for operational safety and creates significant scope for operational savings at the same time. It’s a win-win scenario, but you have to have proper understanding and commitment across both the maintenance and production teams to make it happen.” This forms the foundation of TyreDoctor’s preventative maintenance repair programs on 57- and 63-inch tyres for major mining fleets. TyreDoctor works with site teams to build an understanding of the tyre repair process and what it can achieve,
Site visit while customising key factors such as inspection timing, repair lead times and transport schedules to support implementation at the site.
There is no-one-size-fits-all approach for the hundreds of mining tyres that come into TyreDoctor’s facility each month.
Safe means to a safe end TyreDoctor has purpose built its OTR repair facility with customdesigned tyre handling equipment that challenges the standard of OTR tyre repair operations in Australia. The company has, in fact, invested in advanced technology and custom solutions to carry out its tyre repairs with uncompromising precision. Its tyre repair hoists, for one, are bred from in-house design and aim to make tyre repairs safe and efficient, featuring automatic ability to elevate, rotate and put down ultra-class tyres weighing up to 6.5 tonnes. The only time a tyre comes on and off the hoist is when it arrives in the workshop or finishes its repair. A tyre under TyreDoctor’s inspection will stay on the hoist at all other times, with minimal handling being a critical factor in ensuring safety during repair. “We couldn’t find anything in the market that fulfils these needs, so we designed the hoist and engineered all the critical components ourselves,” Hester says. “Though it doesn’t look like anything remarkable, the hoist allows us to lift a tyre up on a stand and out of the way without any risk of the tyre moving or lowering, even if there is hydraulic failure. That’s one of TyreDoctor’s own unique designs.” TyreDoctor also eliminates all chances of cross contamination from dirty tyres by putting them through a wash bay before entering the workshop, as “nothing comes in the workshop dirty.” In a separate but adjoining facility, TyreDoctor’s wheel and rim repair workshop also features an automated
shot blasting chamber. The hi-tech machine gives a better and faster result than the more traditional sandblasting process does, while taking people right out of the line of danger, according to TyreDoctor development manager Jay Stewart. The automated blasting chamber uses steel shot to completely strip a rim and have it ready for non-destructive testing within eight minutes, instead of the average 45 minutes required by manual sand-blasting procedure, he continues.
Solution focussed The cherry on the cake for TyreDoctor’s tyre and wheel repair service customers is the gate-to-gate service the company provides. TyreDoctor has its own fleet of ultraclass tyre transport rigs and on-site fitting trucks that can handle up to 63inch tyres. “Operating our own dedicated fleet is certainly not the cheapest freight option out there, but we proved time and again it’s the only way to provide a complete solution and retain full control of our service lead times,” Stewart says.
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“As a service provider, we need to ensure we can provide a reliable, timely service from pick up right through to the delivery back to the site. This is as important to being a dependable partner as our tyre repair expertise. “We recognise that transport and supply chain reliability is often half the battle in a mining operation, so we decided that it’s not an option to be dependent on third parties for such a critical part of our service operations.” Within one site visit by Safe to Work, TyreDoctor has effortlessly demonstrated its standout tyre repair expertise. The company takes no heed of a one-size-fits-all approach, but continues to evolve and take in new possibilities and approaches to tyre and wheel repair needs across the mining sector. After all, a company director that takes on the role of a tyre repair manager should ensure a custom solution is adopted for each unique case. And the case for preventative repairs is certainly not a fad, but a proven service strategy founded on expert knowledge in the tyre repair space.
. N IVE
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ole P ind. t h m g i n i e ghtw safe lifting i L l a s ith iver n w U d e S ’ n O g FLEXC arket, desi m on the
Tested and proven to withstand the harshest mining conditions in Australia. The universal faceplate makes the pole compatible with most of Flexco’s primary and secondary cleaners.
Flexco (Aust.) Pty. Ltd | 10 Solent Circuit, Norwest | NSW, Australia, 2153 Tel: 612-8818-2000 | Fax: 612-8824-6333 | E-mail: salesau@flexco.com
www.flexco.com
Health and wellbeing
Inside out care for mineworkers GIVING WORKERS THE INDIVIDUAL CARE THAT THEY REQUIRE ISN’T SO HARD ANYMORE, THANKS TO ALL-ROUND HEALTHCARE PROVIDER AND CONSULTANT WORK HEALTHY AUSTRALIA. SAFE TO WORK REPORTS.
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s isolated as mine sites can be, Work Healthy Australia proves that the concept of wholistic healthcare isn’t such a far-fetched idea anymore. By making consultation, training and on-site treatment available, employees get to enjoy the benefits of a wholistic approach to injury prevention and management. Safe to Work speaks with the company founder James Murray, who has changed the health expectations of many people over the past 20 years. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO FIND OUT THE CAUSE OF PRODUCTIVITY ISSUES? Workers compensation, absenteeism, income protection and having people on internal light duties for a long period of time is an inefficiency. When you have 350 people to cover a job that needs only 300 people, your payroll is 15 per cent more than it needs to be. Low productivity is a very costly issue to deal with in the workplace. The reality is, all employers in Australia have to create meaningful and effective rehabilitation journeys for their people. When we’re not being effective at this, we can’t get our people back on duty, and they might feel they’re being given a meaningless, made-up job. Then we fail our duty of care and can put ourselves in line for prosecution,
damages, claims – the cost of failure is astronomical in this space. By partnering with the employer and figuring what the burning issues are – what is driving these absenteeism and inefficiencies – we’re able to get those people off light duties through on-site rehabilitation, and then back to meaningful work. HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THE IMPACT YOU’VE MADE NOT ONLY TO THE WELLBEING OF WORKERS BUT ALSO THEIR WELFARE? When we’re ill or injured as a human we’re quite distressed and emotional. It badly affects our home life, sleeping pattern and self-esteem. Let’s say we’re not managing our diabetes very well. What happens is we’re distressed, and then we get stressed, we’re not very much fun around our loved ones and work colleagues. By partnering with us, we can assess the workers, run a care plan and get them a treatment or home management plan to resolve their underlying health issues. We refer people to diabetic nurses, asthma coaches and psychologists all the time. We send people out for imaging and pathology. We partner with their GP, and then we do their rehabilitation in concert to improve their health care. A lot of the workers we see don’t have a doctor, they don’t
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Work Healthy Australia managing director and founder James Murray.
have a GP, they don’t see anyone. We’re the closest thing they get to healthcare in the year that we’re there. IT’S IMPRESSIVE YOU GET TO CONNECT WITH SO MANY DIFFERENT HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS. ONE PERSON MAY HAVE MORE THAN ONE HEALTH ISSUE, ARE YOU ABLE TO TACKLE THEM UNDER ONE SERVICE UMBRELLA? Absolutely. If we have people who are struggling because they’re older or because their work role has gone through a change, we can go out and assess their work environment and demands, and put together a
rehabilitation program. That may include structured exercises, seeing a dietician or whatever else that’s required to get them from point A to point B to ensure their rehabilitation is successful. HOW HAVE WORKPLACE HEALTH CONCERNS CHANGED OVER THE PAST DECADE? It’s really interesting, because if you look back to 15 years ago, it was very much about sprains and strains – it was about the soft tissue injury. People would say, “I was doing this task, and then something happened.” They could tell you how they hurt themselves. Now in the last five years, we’ve got psych issues and a prevalent ageing workforce. If you crunch the data over the last 15 years, you will
“The last three to four years, I’ve seen employers getting much more pragmatic and saying, ‘Let’s just sort it out and help the person to get back to their full duties. We’ll do whatever it takes.’” see something interesting. Someone under a two-week rehabilitation plan is usually a male, who’s been employed for less than six months, under 21 years old and suffering an injury to his leg. If you look at diabolical injuries
Successful rehabilitation raises productivity in the workplace.
SAFETOWORK 25 OCT-DEC 2019
that require a 12-week care plan, it’s usually a female who’s over 40 years old, has worked for the same employer for five years and has a complex injury to her upper limb. They either have an underlying psych issue or workbased grievance.
Health and wellbeing “We’re the closest thing they get to healthcare in the year that we’re there.” DO YOU FORESEE A SHIFT IN FOCUS FOR WORKPLACE HEALTH IN YEARS TO COME? Employers now understand they have to deal with the whole person. That might be counselling, whether that be financial or emotional, to help employees get on top of their health, sickness, sleeping or weight issue. Workers understand they used to live in a world where employers were very much focussed on denying liability – employers spend a lot of time saying their workers’ health isn’t their problem. But the last three to four years, I’ve seen employers getting much more pragmatic and saying, “Let’s just sort it out and help the person to get back to their full duties. We’ll do whatever it takes.” Those are great employers for us to partner with. HOW DID YOU START YOUR JOURNEY IN THIS SPACE? I initially started out specialising in non-surgical treatment for carpal tunnel. A big food manufacturer in northern NSW sent two of their injured workers who have got carpal tunnel in both wrists, and I fixed them both up. I saved them four surgeries. They went back the following week asking if I could come on site. So I flew up to northern NSW and started treating onsite back in 2000.
Work Healthy Australia sends out healthcare professionals for onsite treatment and rehabilitation.
HOW HAVE YOU FOUND THE JOURNEY SINCE THEN? I PRESUME THE NEED STILL EXISTS IN THE INDUSTRY? It’s been 19 years and we’ve successfully rehabilitated well over 100,000 patients. They’ve been able to stay at work, remain engaged and not had to go on work cover. When workers encounter a recruitment, mental health, supervisor or psychological issue in the workplace,
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we analyse and present the data to the employer, and partner with them in rolling out intervention programs to reduce these risks. It’s really unusual, right. Not only do we get to do the work that we love, but employees also get to receive amazing healthcare at no cost to themselves. And with the employer getting into partnership with us, it gets to make a difference to its people’s lives. Everyone is a winner, which is really unusual in business.
Virtual reality
AR/VR light the future in mine safety HONEYWELL COMBINES THE BRIMMING POTENTIAL OF AUGMENTED REALITY AND VIRTUAL REALITY INTO AN OUTCOME-DRIVEN SAFETY SOLUTION FOR THE MINING INDUSTRY. VANESSA ZHOU REPORTS.
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echnology giants Google, Apple and Facebook are leaping on virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to elevate their browsers, apps and content. They offer so much potential that Facebook has constructed five Facebook Reality Labs to drive AR/VR technology into the future. VR and AR are touted for their ability to elevate people’s perception of reality. They are hailed for their potential ability to transform the way people live and work. Mining companies are not excluded from these benefits. The emerging technologies are and have already impacted the way mining companies undertake professional training and operations. Once a VR headset is placed over someone’s head, it closes the person’s vision of the reality into a designated place and expands his senses within. AR, on the other hand, takes the current reality and adds elements to it. So what happens to the “reality” created by the two technologies when they are combined? American multinational Honeywell is not afraid to venture into the possibilities of AR/VR integration with its global in-house expertise backing the safety ambitions. “We work with partners that develop the hardware for us, but most of our AR/VR technologies are developed in-house,” Honeywell
Honeywell integrates virtual and augmented reality into one platform.
regional business director Aonghus Keegan tells Safe to Work. “We have a very strong commitment to technologies that enhance the connected and safe worker, lifting worker productivity and that of their businesses.” Honeywell’s core technologies and solutions are continuously driving increased personnel safety, physical safety and cyber safety, she continues. So the team looks at specific applications of VR, which its regards as a great, safe way to experience the real world, Honeywell global marketing director – products Annemarie Diepenbroek says. “It’s a very exciting but also a natural progression in safety. That experience is not available in any other way except for being on the job,” she adds. “The scenarios you capture on VR are occurring less often or are an
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emergency response that you don’t want to be exposed to.” When Honeywell started its VR/ AR journey three years ago, its first application of the technologies was intended for a single asset or environment. The team then realised that it needed a solid, integrated platform to deliver the solution on a large scale and in a costeffective manner. And so Honeywell embarked on the journey with a platform that provides virtualisation for an asset that can be used during the lifetime of that asset. “We started very early because we were great believers in the technology. And we also wanted practicality. We’re a company that wants to deliver outcomes – that’s clear to us,” Diepenbroek says. “It’s going to be a natural progression
for any industry. We have no doubt about its success.” The combination of VR and AR have, indeed, proven to deliver productivity and safety results for Honeywell customers. Diepenbroek sees a dramatic improvement in field efficiency as operators have been trained on how to complete a task. She also expects reduced field preparation time because operators can be prepared faster before going into the field. In some recorded scenarios, AR/ VR users such as tunnel operators and mobile field operators only take minutes to complete a work scenario where they’d previously taken several hours. Operators end up bringing a broader scope of responsibilities because they are better trained and more effective, according to Diepenbroek.
A trainer and trainee can be in two distant places but still collaborate live.
Honeywell’s VR/AR solutions work by facilitating close collaboration between a trainer and trainee, and also among trainees however distant they may be. “The platform is able to remotely and instantly connect people. The trainer might be thousands of kilometres away from the trainee, and
BUILT TOUGH. BLUNDSTONE.
they still collaborate live on a virtual mode,” Diepenbroek says. “That makes it powerful because you’re not specific to a location. We always focus on collaboration in learning because people learn best by collaborating. And users love that aspect of this solution.”
Virtual reality
Experiencing the expanses of mine sites here and now A DRIVE TO OVERCOME THE BARRIERS OF ENTRY TO VIRTUAL REALITY TECHNOLOGY HAS DRIVEN THE FORMATION OF A STRATEGIC, INTERCONTINENTAL PARTNERSHIP THAT HAS CREATED THE HAZID PLATFORM. SAFE TO WORK WRITES.
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isk management and IT specialists are together ushering in the fourth industrial technology revolution with a virtual reality (VR) platform that challenges the industry’s notion of the investment required. Understandably, this investment refers to time, something that humans can’t get back, and money, equitable to time in the popular phrase, ‘time is money.’ With virtual reality, a third aspect usually comes to the fore. And that’s technical aptitude. Mining companies may be tempted to implement tech-forward innovation in their operations to guard the safety of their people, if only one or all three components don’t get in the way and dissuade their safety goals. It has taken a strategic partnership between a United Kingdom-based risk management services company and a leading global technology firm with offices in Melbourne, Victoria to disrupt this conventional, but prohibitive approach to virtual reality. With Satarla’s expertise in risk management and Business Science Corporation’s (BSC) forte in safety science and VR platform development, a hazard identification tool that significantly reduces the cost of VR ownership has been born. Mining operators can replicate their real work environment, put their people through an immersive experience and
HazID allows employees to be trained without real life exposure to harsh environments.
prompt a behavioural change thanks to improved learning retention through the HazID platform. HazID does not require a software developer and takes only three steps to build content. Alcoa, Gold Fields and Mining3, together with the addition of two other Australian sites, are pioneering mining companies that are looking into adopting this solution as a way of driving better and safer working environments in a sustainable and cost-efficient manner. “A lot of the VR training space is custom-built, but HazID is entirely selfmanaged,” BSC managing director Tony Savides tells Safe to Work. “It takes only a three-step process where you capture a 360-degree image of your environment using our
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camera, upload this picture into the HazID Library on cloud and add points of references that directs your users to points of interest.” This is contrary to training content that is extremely generic, or unrelated to the work environment at all when conducted at a specialist training centre, according to BSC associate partner and South Africa product principal lead Darren Cohen. HazID, for instance, gives operators the ability to sustainably manage their training content irrespective of workplace environment changes or a safety incident without requiring the help of a third party. Once the content is finished, the VR headset is simply deployed to users, who collaboratively receive the content and participate in a range of activities,
including induction training, safety awareness, hazard identification or a review of a safety event. “VR is a fully immersive technology. You feel the depth perception in a workplace environment when you put the headset on,” Cohen says. “That allows us to simulate very dangerous, impractical and hazardous conditions that would otherwise be too expensive to recreate in real life.” Immersing people in hazardous situations, experiencing what those situations feel like and practicing the right procedure under such circumstances, allows the acquired skills to become second nature, according to Cohen. The immersive mode of learning significantly improves engagement with the content compared with training-based exercises, lectures or two-dimensional videos, increasing
information retention by a whopping 90 per cent, he adds. Operators can also get their team members to practice any possible work situation as many times as it takes in a safe and controlled environment. Such a learning privilege is no longer restricted by the absence of detailed and custom VR training that takes several months or a large chunk of a safety budget. “That’s why we bring down the barriers to entry when it comes to deploying a VR solution – by doing that in a cost-efficient and rapid manner,” Savides says. “The three-step process makes VR training really simple, and therefore accessible. There’s been a lot of investment and effort in safety in the last five years, and it’s been fruitful – having moved the incident needle downwards.
But you want to ensure you keep pushing this needle in a cost-efficient, effective and sustainable manner.” Thanks to HazID’s analytical competency, operators can track where a user is looking at in the platform, whether she or he gets the questions right, the time she or he takes to answer the questions and in what order, Cohen adds. This way, mining operators can develop a risk profile for an individual, recognising their strengths and weaknesses when working in a particular environment. Operators can also use this feedback to improve training content or context. The deal is made even sweeter with an Oculus virtual reality headset that costs only 15 per cent of the average headsets in the market – not that a sweetener is needed.
Virtual reality
A new era of mine safety becomes reality MINING COMPANIES ARE CAPITALISING ON THE ABILITY TO CONDUCT TRAINING SIMULATION AND PLANNED MAINTENANCE THROUGH VIRTUAL REALITY SOFTWARE. SAFE TO WORK WRITES.
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ntil recently, the training of workers at mine sites was conducted on the ground, in the elements or using old training modules. Concerning safety, people often don’t know how they will react to a
continued to look towards innovation and technology to enhance safety, virtual reality (VR) has become an increasingly enticing option. Unity, the world’s most widely used real-time 3D development platform, allows mining companies to safely train
Training in progress using VR set-up.
dangerous situation until they are confronted with it, rendering the ability to train staff for hazardous circumstances difficult. As mining companies have
employees by creating VR experiences to allow miners to engage in a virtual safety training environment that mimics the one they will operate in. Through Unity, companies can
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create an immersive, interactive training experience that increases the speed of knowledge transfer, while reducing the dependency on physical proximity to assets. This has led to a lot of training and simulation programs with seemingly real visualisations being created. Due to benefits like time and costsavings, and a decrease in on-site injuries, the mining industry has been one of the more prominent industries to adopt virtual training software. By using Unity’s real-time technology, mining companies can train any employee at any time, even with dispersed teams, due to the nature of interactive 3D technology. “Instead of sending people to a mine, Unity allows for a remote kind of training – you can imagine the benefits to companies in health and safety,” says Sebastien Thevenet, Australia New Zealand country lead at Unity Technologies. “The beauty of Unity is it’s a flexible development platform, which companies can use to develop once and deploy anywhere.” An example of how this can relate to mining companies is the ability to train staff to work safely in hazardous scenarios, such as working at heights. Through the creation of a 3D animation, which replicates a dangerous environment, users are challenged to identify relevant and specific hazards.
Depending on the hazards chosen, real-life consequences occur virtually, which provides users with immediate and visual feedback. VR software is also useful for planned maintenance, given its ability to develop a 3D planning visualisation tool to assist in planning and communicating hazards during recurring on-site shutdowns. This enables clients to visualise how personnel and equipment potentially interact on simultaneous tasks in close physical proximity to minimise safety and scheduling conflicts. Shutdown safety is therefore improved due to a better understanding of isolations, exclusion zones, people and equipment interaction. Unity’s high-quality graphics, combined with its sophisticated, easy-
to-use software, is the key advantage of Unity in the competitive market. “If you don’t have any coding experience you can still use Unity, we are moving into a codeless experience with visual scripting,” Thevenet reveals. Despite this, the company still offers training by Unity experts and online resources for beginners through Unity Learn, a free learning portal available for any Unity user. If industry professionals are looking for more in-depth, tailored learning content, Unity Learn Premium is available for free for Unity paid users. Unity also allows for flexibility. Using Unity’s scriptable render pipeline allows flexibility in graphics optimisation, which includes responsive performance when scaling vision for mobile. The beauty of creating VR
applications in Unity is that Unity partners with platforms meaning developers can build their apps once, and deploy to several platforms, like Android, iOS, Windows and many more. “Perhaps the most attractive aspect of Unity to the mining industry, however, is the ability to import past data to create a digital 3D visualisation,” according to Ruud Luttikhuizen, Australia New Zealand business development manager, at Unity Technologies. “The capability of importing cache data into Unity and to visualise the physical assets based on the latest drawings is crucial for the mining and oil and gas industries.” It’s an exciting time for Unity as it continues to ramp up in the mining market, and also for those companies who engage in the benefits it offers.
Reduce LTI’s and proactively prevent workplace injuries. Work Healthy Australia are specialists in developing early intervention programs and risk management strategies.
HEALTH ASSESSMENTS AND REPORTING
EARLY INTERVENTION INJURY MANAGEMENT
www.WorkHealthyAustralia.com.au 1300 734 643 HelpingYou@WorkHealthyAus.com.au
SUPERVISOR TRAINING PROGRAMS
Technology
The O3M sensor notifies vehicle operators of potential hazards.
A third eye on mine sites AS VEHICLES GET BIGGER AND MORE IS EXPECTED OF OPERATORS, IFM IS ENHANCING SAFETY AT MINE SITES THROUGH ITS O3M SENSOR. SAFE TO WORK WRITES.
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obile machines being used on today’s mine sites are being asked to do more than ever before in order to increase efficiency, meaning vehicles are now colossal in size. Naturally, this leads to additional blind spots for operators that are tasked with the challenge of manoeuvring these machines through mine sites. To avoid collisions, operators often need an extra set of eyes to monitor blind spots and alert drivers when they come into close proximity of surrounding objects or even people. Issues like this are commonplace on mine sites around the world and ifm electronic has been at the forefront of businesses striving to enhance operator safety. The company’s product range is an illustration of its position as a supplier of technology that prevents safety incidents before they occur, according to national product and brand manager Glenn Thornton.
“A lot of equipment on mine sites are susceptible to safety hazards as they are within the crushing, loading and moving processes,” he says. “Safety involves removing any danger before an accident actually happens. There is fairly heavy directives regarding safety, however, it is very difficult for any piece of machinery to present no risk.” Thornton, however, reflects on just how far safety has come in the mining industry, due to an increased focus from companies and regulators alike. “Go back to the early 90s when there were far fewer safety standards, you’d have a two kilometres conveyor with people grabbing stuff off it,” Thornton reminisces. In the present day, however, ifm has ensured it keeps up to date with the latest machinery and vehicles in order to provide safety alternatives to those on mine sites. The company’s O3M 3D smart sensor is being used an “an extra set of eyes” on vehicles to assist with
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looking into the blind spots that are often difficult or impossible to reach. “The O3M sees the environment the way we do in full 3D unlike a single beam sensor, which can miss objects or unlike single plane laser scanners,” ifm’s national technical manager Dan Buzatu says. “It provides all necessary information for the vehicle and its operator in order to make the best decisions.” While mine sites are often susceptible to harsh environments, ifm has tailored its product range, including the O3M to withstand a variety of weather conditions. “Often you have big machines driving around underground in darkness, where it is dusty, wet and there is tired personnel,” Thornton explains. “You’ve got 50-tonne trucks picking up crushed rock and it is often hard to see other staff, so having these sensors in place is crucial.” The 3D sensors are based
on ifm’s PMD technology, which uses time of flight (ToF) principles, allowing for use in both indoor and outdoor environments, including exposure to full sunlight. The sensor can monitor the closest point within a given region of interest, which simplifies the approach of vehicles to specific targets or obstacles, reducing the potential of a crash. It is as Buzatu describes, a third eye that does not sleep or suffer from fatigue and is essentially a “trustful assistant.� The intelligent sensor detects the position of objects related to a machine and evaluates them in relation with the machine’s own movements. Detected objects are then highlighted in colours on the
A ‘third eye’ on mine sites helps identify blindspots.
display, which are also flagged by warning symbols, with drivers only being warned of objects that are directly in its path or in the collision
course of the vehicle. On a mine site where the main vehicle types include haul trucks, dozers, light vehicles and loaders, the O3M is an example of ifm’s commitment towards achieving optimal safety at mine sites. While the most obvious benefit of mine site safety is avoiding injury or even the potential loss of life, Thornton explains that the benefits to business also shouldn’t be underestimated. “There is an extraordinary cost of injury to mining companies, say for example if a staff member suffers a fatal injury,� he says. “It’s disastrous for the company’s reputation and the cost of investigation, downtime, insurance could all be fixed by spending a bit extra on safety devices.�
The weight is over
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A journey in safety culture BOART LONGYEAR HAS ACHIEVED 10 MILLION CONSECUTIVE MAN-HOURS WORKED WITH NO LOST TIME INJURIES. THE MILESTONE REFLECTS YEARS OF HARD WORK ON ITS ENGINEERING, SYSTEMS AND PEOPLE. SAFE TO WORK WRITES.
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oart Longyear is a global mineral exploration company with an extensive history that dates back to 1890. Fast-forward almost 130 years, and the company now employs approximately 4900 personnel, including supervisors, drillers, mechanics, technicians and welders to name a few, making its most recent achievement even more remarkable. In July this year, Boart Longyear announced a company-wide global accomplishment of more than 10 million consecutive man-hours worked with no lost time injuries (LTI) and one-year
completely LTI-free. The milestone, however, hasn’t been a swift feat, but rather a product of many years of developing a safety culture that has supported staff and even today, continues to build momentum. “This fantastic milestone is the result of many years of hard work,” Boart Longyear regional director drilling services Asia Pacific (APAC) John Kirkwood says. PEOPLE Boart Longyear credits this achievement first to its people. The company recognises that its first responsibility is
to provide employees a safe working environment. “For us, it starts with the right culture in the business and deliberately working on that culture consistently,” Kirkwood says. The culture that is now pervasive throughout the company’s global operations is one that Kirkwood emphasises is based on the fundamental belief that staff should always feel comfortable and safe at work. “People deserve to leave their family and personal life and earn a living where they feel respected, secure and safe,” he says. The MDR500 underground drill rig helps lead the way in safety through its design and control systems.
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“From day one on the job, Boart Longyear employees feel like they can talk to anyone about any safety concerns they may have.” This culture is one that Boart Longyear environmental, health, safety, and training (EHS&T) manager, APAC, James Laws says is evident the moment new staff members enter the business. “Our culture is consistent around the world. When people join the business, they walk in and understand what is acceptable through the behaviour of others, leaders in the business modelling the behaviour and setting everyone up with clear expectations,” Laws says. “New employees complete an extensive range of 31 training modules, detailing the way the company works and how to manage risk, so we all make it safe, make it personal, and make it home.” Both on-the-job and online training modules are managed through the Boart Longyear integrated training system and provides a systematic way of managing training needs within the business. The safety focus becomes evident during day-today operations, exemplified by the adoption of pre-shift meetings that occur daily, where staff can safely plan for the shift ahead. “We have field personnel working 12-hour shifts, so the first thing we do at the beginning of every shift is hold a safety meeting,” Kirkwood says. “These meetings address the tasks they will perform in the day ahead, allows them to express any concerns and review any standard work procedures and fill out any field level risk assessments (FLRA) to identify all the steps of a task, brainstorm potential hazards associated with each step of that task and the controls needed to safely complete the task.
Surface coring driller Lyn Ferrai (centre) with Boart Longyear colleagues.
Workforce management “Supervisors are trained to listen in these meetings, provide guidance and help ensure the tasks for the shift will be performed safely. This also makes supervisors accountable for the safety of their crews.” SYSTEMS A safety focussed database repository and a robust learning management system are part of the tools the company uses to continually improve safety, the safety culture and helps keep employees safer at work. Each component of safety is recorded, tracked and monitored in this database. The system syncs with an app that makes reporting available on mobile devices either offline or online – so sites without internet access can create a new record. Reporting from this system helped Boart Longyear identify critical risks. The introduction of Boart Longyear’s critical risk management programs and simplified company field standards have been the latest driver in its safety culture. Boart Longyear defines critical risk
as potentially fatal or with permanent damage. Boart Longyear’s critical risks have been identified through a taxonomy analysis of 10 years’ worth of incident data. These risks are the focus of the Boart Longyear’s critical risk management program. The Boart Longyear critical risk management program consists of EHS standards that outline critical controls, critical risk training modules – delivered through the company’s online learning management system. Critical control verification are expected to be completed by leaders and are tracked through the safety database. Simplified field standards are found in the EHS management system field reference. The collection of standards and reference material is for quick reference to company expectations. EHS standards apply to all employees working in a safety sensitive work environment, which includes drilling services field employees, shop and field mechanics, shop floor manufacturing operators, warehouse employees, and any visitor to these areas. The LX16i surface coring drill rig enhances safety by removing personnel from line of fire incidents.
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The safety systems incorporate safety programs such as the ‘stop work authority’, which authorises and mandates employees to immediately stop any work that does not comply with safety standards. “This program tells new staff and reminds existing ones that they have the authority and the responsibility to stop anything any time with no repercussions to ensure that everyone feels safe on the job site,” Kirkwood says. “With direct reports, this system encourages the team to stop, and speak to supervisors about potentially dangerous activities before an accident happens.” This program exists alongside others such as the THINK acronym, standing for the process used to act when coming across a risky situation. It involves first taking the time, recognising the hazard, identifying the risk, applying necessary controls and keeping safety first. As such, Boart Longyear measures the success of its safety compliance through a mix of leading and lagging indicators, allowing the company to measure its safety performance against values rather than metrics. Supervisors and those who are senior to them, are required to perform critical control verifications each month whenever an employee is completing a task that exposes them to a critical risk. These are then entered into the company’s safety system to count against key performance indicators online, or through the system’s app. It highlights a proactive approach which is being used on the ground at sites through environment, health and safety (EHS) technology, which is another tool being used to reduce hazardous activity. Boart Longyear’s heavy investment in technology gives every rig and supervisor access to a suite of EHS
tools on app based digital platforms, meaning all inspections, verifications, risk assessments and training materials are available on an smartphone or tablet. ENGINEERING The safety culture is backed by Boart Longyear capitalising on innovative solutions and the implementation of leading equipment to reduce the risk employees face on drilling sites. The company has a team of 40 engineers globally to design safer equipment. Its introduction of remotely-operated drills removes personnel from the line of fire and interaction with live equipment. This too, is a result of a culture of continuous improvement with the company expecting to enhance its fleet of industry-leading equipment in the coming year.
The Boart Longyear team in Laos, on target for 10 years LTI free.
It is a combination of these three crucial factors – people, systems and engineering – that has contributed to this latest safety milestone. The safety culture at Boart Longyear isn’t, however, even close to reaching a pinnacle, as Kirkwood insists that the focus going forward is
on continuous improvement. “While we’re very proud of our achievement, this is just the start and it’s gaining momentum,” Kirkwood says. “We are on a journey which started many years ago, but the job is never done with regards to safety, we are always looking for ways to improve.”
PPE
A pioneer in footwear safety THE JOURNEY OF BLUNDSTONE’S RISE TO THE PINNACLE OF WORKPLACE SAFETY FOOTWEAR HAS BEEN CHARACTERISED BY DECADES OF INNOVATION, CONSULTATION AND RESEARCH. SAFE TO WORK WRITES.
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Underground mines require protective apparel due to the exposure to harsh conditions.
he harsh Australian landscape, with its extreme weather fluctuations that range from sweltering heat to icy winds, makes the country’s inhabitants vulnerable to health and safety risks. Add this to a typical mine site environment, where heavy machinery spits out chemicals and materials by the second, and it can be a dangerous mix. One of the keys to maintaining staff safety at mine sites is ensuring clothing can withstand the rigours of a variety of conditions. Since 1870, safety boots supplier Blundstone has capitalised on its specialised knowledge of the Australian landscape, having been owned and operated in Tasmania for nearly 150 years. The combination of local understanding, constant innovation and a global supply chain means the company is in a unique position to capture the Australian mining market. Blundstone’s ability to tap into a plethora of ideas, materials and designs across its international network has enabled it to create a wide range of products suitable for different environments. The company’s boots are now synonymous with work sites around the country, protecting staff against impact and penetration, chemicals, heat, rolling
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force and other foreign stimuli. Mine sites are increasingly turning to Blundstone’s #980 mining-specific boot, given the footwear has been developed directly alongside those working at mining operations, allowing the company to gain insight into the environment the boots must withstand. As such, the company’s designers were able to create a purposebuilt boot that stands up against the toughest of conditions and subsequently make it a pioneer in how mining companies are approaching the reduction of safety risks. The #980 has attracted plenty of attention and been recognised with awards, including the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences award and best in category (product designcommercial and industrial) at the coveted Good Design Awards – Australia’s oldest and most prestigious award for design and innovation. Judges of Good Design Awards 2015 say, “the 980 Underground Mining Boot represents a true understanding of the end user. This is design excellence in every regard. For a project to be recognised at this level means without doubt, it is the best of its kind in the world.” The comments highlight Blundstone as a market leader in work and safety footwear and as such, place the company in a unique position to offer
advice regarding footwear over a number of industries and environments. For increased heat resistance, Blundstone recommends a safety boot with a sole that is manufactured to withstand up to 300 degrees Celsius (in the surface temperatures the boots will be standing on) and can provide slip resistance. The sole should be resistant to cuts, abrasion, oil, acid and organic fat. Blundstone recommends mining companies look for heavy duty tread patterns, which enhance stability in muddy, rugged and outdoor conditions, due to their ability to self-clean and naturally dislodge small rocks and dirt. Additionally, a superior thermal regulating lining such as bamboo is anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, breathable, quick-drying and deodorising. This is imperative to ensure long-term foot
The award winning 980 boot has revolutionised mine safety.
health, according to Blundstone. While the company’s history is rich and its global reach is profound – currently selling to over 50 countries
across five continents – Blundstone continues to retain its Tasmanian roots as it supports the safety of miners both at home and abroad.
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Turning down the heat on managing extreme conditions at mine sites AUSTRALIAN MINE SITES ARE SYNONYMOUS WITH EXTREME HEAT. BLACKWOODS TECHNICAL SAFETY SPECIALIST CAITLIN DEBIASIO TELLS SAFE TO WORK THERE ARE A NUMBER OF CONTROL MEASURES THAT CAN BE TAKEN TO PROTECT MINE WORKERS EXPOSED TO EXTREME TEMPERATURE CONDITIONS.
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he human body is comprised of over 60 per cent water and when performing strenuous activities in hot environments, workers can sweat more than two litres in an hour. In Australia, this is an issue all year round in the country’s northern mining regions, including the Pilbara and Far North Queensland. Mine workers are faced with a number of health and safety risks due to these challenging conditions, according to Caitlin DeBiasio, technical safety specialist at Australian industrial and safety supplier, Blackwoods.
“The risks are constant if you’re a miner due to the various climatic conditions that occur across mine sites,” DeBiasio says. The rest of the country fares marginally better, with regions such as the Goldfields in Western Australia sweltering during summer months. “You still have risks at mine sites in cooler southern states though due to unusual peak weather. It can depend on the level of work being done and other factors such as the length of shifts and how intense the work is,” DeBiasio says. So, the answer many mining
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companies must ask is how can they keep workers hydrated so they are both healthy and working at optimum efficiency? The answer, however, is not as simple as it seems. While sweating is the body’s technique of cooling down, it opens up the possibility of dehydration, which severely affects not only the performance of workers, but also their overall health. At a two per cent loss in fluids, performance is already being impaired and from there, the effects only get worse. A six per cent loss in fluids leads to
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fatigue and exhaustion; an eight per cent loss can see workers become disoriented and even begin to hallucinate. A common misconception is that the issue of dehydration is simply resolved by drinking litres of water and while this is crucial, the human body also needs certain amounts of electrolytes, such as sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium, to stay adequately hydrated. Electrolytes are primarily consumed through fluids and foods, and work together to maintain water equilibrium. Maintaining a concentration of electrolytes is therefore essential for proper fluid balance, nerve function, muscle contraction and other physiological processes in the body. But even with constant hydration
and electrolytes it may not be enough to withstand the rigors of the heat that mining workers are regularly exposed to, DeBiasio says. “You can be very well hydrated, but you can still be in a situation where your body still cannot cool enough,” DeBiasio says. “Wearing appropriate protective apparel is also an integral part of keeping the body at the right levels of comfort.” FOLLOWING THE HEIRACHY OF CONTROL Hydration and heat stress can be managed through a number of tactics and products that are available for mine sites. Sources of heat can be eliminated or substituted for by scheduling work
outside the hottest periods of the day. Additionally, engineering and isolation controls can be used to remove heat, including fans that have the ability to circulate air. Erecting barriers to protect workers from heat sources is also a viable option. Hydration and personal protective equipment are recommended to be a part of any heat stress management program too, particularly when heat sources cannot be eliminated. Cooling products such as cooling jackets, neck ties and hardhat inserts are all designed to lower body temperature. When dampened, these products increase the body’s natural ability to dissipate heat through evaporation. For more extreme thermal environments, ice or cooling vests are used to freeze liquids to keep the body’s core cool. “In the mining sector we’ve been aware of the risks of heat for a while and it’s now focussed not just on the peak seasons but also throughout the year. It’s about ensuring that people have the right levels of hydration and supplements for 365 days in the year and highlighting the importance of that to workers,” DeBiasio concludes.
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Mining equipment
Lift Assist arm changes the game for fitters at Mt Owen CIMIC GROUP’S GLOBAL MINING SERVICES PROVIDER, THIESS, STRIVES TO KEEP EVERYONE SAFE EVERYDAY, EMPOWERING ITS TEAM TO CONTINUALLY EXPLORE SAFER WAYS OF WORKING. VANESSA ZHOU TRAVELLED TO THE MT OWEN COAL MINE TO FIND OUT MORE.
TED assists with cutting edge replacement on Mt Owen’s dozer.
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he practical design partnership between the Thiess Mt Owen team and Nivek tackled the weighty challenge of tooling – specifically the issues fitters had handling heavy tools for long periods in often cramped conditions. The teams collaborated to develop the ingenious new Lift Assist 40 (LA40) tool manipulator arm. Thiess maintenance coordinator David Crick says the LA40 arm is designed to take the weight out of a wide range of tooling, including rattle
guns, impact drivers, pneumatic torque guns, air sanders and more. With a safe working load (SWL) of up to 40 kilograms, the LA40 allows heavy tools to be suspended by the LA40 arm, relieving the strain from the operator. “At Thiess, we’re passionate about keeping everyone safe everyday – that’s number one,” Crick says. “The goal of the LA40 is to keep fitters’ hands safe at all times and keep fingers and hands out of crush zones – especially when loosening and tightening nuts and bolts.”
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Fitter Jess Briggs works at the Mt Owen maintenance workshop and says the safety benefits of the LA40 arm are clear. “Previously, you’d be bolstering yourself up and pushing into something that’s vibrating back at you. It’s bad for your posture and the weight of the torque gun is substantial against your body, so the LA40 has made a big difference,” she says. “You’re hardly doing a fiveminute job – when you’re doing a series of maintenance jobs, it could
be hours at a time. Holding and using heavy tools is more physically demanding. The LA40 is designed to reduce fatigue and improve productivity every shift.” Thiess workshop trainer Adam Geosits says using the LA40 in conjunction with TED is a great solution – fitters can reach all the bolts on a D11 cutting edge only moving TED once in the process “Jess is able to do two things at once: putting the cutting edge back on the dozer using the cutting edge cradle mounted to TED’s turntable and bolt it in place with the assistance of the LA40 arm attached to the front of TED,” Geosits says. “The LA40 has turned cleaning dozers into a one-person job rather than two, and that’s a huge efficiency.” Thiess’ maintenance crew were directly involved in the development of the LA40, visiting Nivek’s workshop several times throughout the design and trial process. “Having the team from Mt Owen come to the workshop was a massive benefit. Before our products hit the market, thorough, real world trialling is an important part; we want to make sure that they don’t just look good, but that they perform reliably
The LA40 tool takes away continual vibrations of fitters’ arms during operational maintenance.
in workshop and field situations,” Nivek Industries marketing manager Rachel Fraser says. “We want to make sure that they are simple to use, that they are quick to set up, that they’re not going to break down, and won’t be shelved.” Although the arm can be mounted to any vertical surface via the four-bolt plate, its greatest ally in
the field is Nivek Industries TED – Tracked Elevating Device. When mounted to this mobile work platform, the LA40 can be used almost anywhere as TED provides greater access to confined or elevated jobs. When it comes to practical, fieldtested, durable design, the LA40 arm can prove itself every hour of every shift.
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Mining equipment
On track to improve mine safety CTRACK MANAGING DIRECTOR JIM MCKINLAY EXPLAINS HOW TELEMATICS AND DATA CAN INCREASE VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARDS. ANDY EWE WRITES.
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etween 2012 and 2016, 369 workers were killed by vehicle collisions across all industry sectors in Australia. Seventy-six people died in 2016 alone, accounting for 42 per cent of all fatalities that year, according to Safe Work Australia. Prevention of vehicle collisions is an issue constantly put under the spotlight by the Australian and global mining sector to improve safety in the industry. According to analysis of patterns in mining haul truck accidents by the United States National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health, the key causes that lead to fatalities include driver error from loss of control or inadequate performance. A standout way to prevent these risks is through the use of telematics solutions, which have been shown to improve the safety and fuel-efficiency of drivers after they received feedback, coaching and rewards, according to the US-based professional association for the mobility industry, SAE International. The study by SAE revealed a 55 per cent reduction in unsafe events, a 60 per cent decrease in severe unsafe events
and a 42 per cent decrease in speeding by applying telematics. Telematics and data are evidencebacked methods of increasing safety by improving driver behaviour, Ctrack managing director Jim McKinlay tells Safe to Work. Data alone, however, is not sufficient in creating safer workplaces, McKinlay adds. The data needs to be analysed for patterns that can be used to provide feedback to drivers. “The problem is that mining companies have too much data and it’s hard to analyse,” McKinlay says.
Where the cameras and sensors are located on a typical truck.
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Future accidents can be predicted by analysing data to find patterns that can limit dangerous situations that drivers encounter. “If there’s a place that is particularly dangerous with high incidents of accidents, we can warn drivers that they’re entering a dangerous zone or divert them altogether,” McKinlay says. Ctrack’s technologies track driver behaviour to reduce dangerous driving, such as harsh braking and accelerating, providing actionable analytics for companies to be proactive in avoiding accidents. Immediate feedback is also provided to drivers through Ctrack’s dashboard and analytics system. “All of the data collected from drivers provides meaningful data that companies can use to decrease accident costs, along with maintenance and fuel costs,” McKinlay says. Ctrack’s solutions provide full fleet visibility through its fleet management software. It is communicated simply through its analytic and dashboards, allowing information to be easily understandable. These tools are key in providing actionable insights to clients who then use it to coach and improve their drivers, increasing the safety of its fleet.
The technology also increases efficiency by 30 per cent, according to Ctrack, because of its route optimisation and job scheduling capabilities. Ctrack’s latest Iris camera solution delivers a 360-degree view of trucks and mining equipment, especially important in mining as hazards can come from any direction. Iris provides a live video recording of the cabin, as well as road-facing and additional external cameras. Ctrack’s new camera capabilities and telematics solutions enable a company to keep track of its drivers and determine if drivers are suffering from fatigue, using a phone and more. “Iris is our high-end solution, there can be multiple cameras analysing data including facial recognition and driver behaviour data,” McKinlay says. “The data is communicated back to the companies in real time, giving them information about driver behaviour and flagging anything unsafe which can be used to train the driver later on.” The technology also includes a safe hands-free communication system where the control room can communicate with drivers. In the event an accident does occur, the control room is notified immediately, allowing rescue staff to help as soon as possible.
The camera analyses data including facial recognition and driver behaviour.
Iris is the culmination of three decades of expertise and experience, with its technologies proven in other industries. Its applications range across industries from yellow equipment to airports. “When you look at airports, there are nonpowered assets, powered assets solutions, yellow equipment and more that all utilise our technology,” McKinlay says. “All of this technology and knowledge is transferable to the mining industry.” One death is too many in mining and technology and data are the way forward in improving safety, McKinlay stresses. “We’re providing new and innovative technology through our analytics and dashboard systems to increase driver safety and reduce costs. We get people home safe and that’s the ultimate goal,” McKinlay concludes.
Respiratory protection
Battling the silent killer RST OPERATIONS AND TECHNICAL DIRECTOR DAVID HANDEL EXPLAINS HOW MINING CAN TACKLE THE SILICOSIS CRISIS WITH EFFECTIVE AND COST-EFFICIENT DUST MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS. SAFE TO WORK WRITES.
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ilicosis has re-emerged over the past decade as a major issue for workers in mining and other industries where dust is prevalent. In Australia, for example, approximately 587,000 workers were exposed to silica dust in the workplace in 2011, with 5758 people estimated to develop lung cancer as a result of that exposure. The occupations at the greatest risk include mining, construction, farming and engineering, according to the Cancer Council Australia. Silicosis is an aggressive and serious lung disease caused by breathing in silica, a mineral found in sand, rock and mineral ores. It causes shortness of breath, chest pain, fatigue and a severe cough. It can go undetected for years as symptoms are not present in the early stages of the disease. Silica dust has become an occupational health concern similar to the black lung disease that is faced by coal workers, according to Reynolds Soil Technologies (RST) operations and technical director David Handel. “They’re calling it the silent killer,” Handel tells Safe to Work. “All of a sudden people retire at 65 years of age and they’re finding out that they have silicosis.” Currently, regulated exposure limits stand at 0.1 milligrams per cubic metre over eight hours. In response to the silicosis crisis, Victorian Workplace Minister Jill Hennessy has lobbied to drop the limit to
RST’s additives to water increase dust control effectiveness.
0.02 milligrams per cubic metre. Handel says the whole industry is changing its stance on silica dust, including legislation, accountability, monitoring and the response to dust. “The mines are taking this matter very seriously in the best interests of workers and are working towards establishing new and improved safety industry standards,” Handel says. “It’s not just about passing regulations to continue mining; they’re focussed on
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the health and safety (of workers).” In the past, dust control has been driven by workers on the ground who saw the issue first-hand, according to Handel. Now, as the true dangers of physical dust particles are revealed, change is being instigated from the top-down within the mining houses. “It seems to be a global initiative. What they’re doing in Australia is also what they’re doing in Colombia, Chile
Symptoms of silicosis can go undetected for years.
and other countries through the big mining houses,” Handel says. However, current practices are insufficient in limiting silicosis in the mining industry. Dust is a difficult problem to solve as it has many different sources, with the most dangerous particles invisible to the naked eye. “If you can see the dust, that’s an issue, but that’s easier dust to control. The dust you can’t see poses a serious threat to your health,” Handel says. The current approaches to dust control usually involve water as the “great dust suppressant,” but water alone is ineffective, inefficient and wasteful. “Water doesn’t work well on most of these applications because you can create other problems like stickiness, slipperiness or introduce more moisture into the material, which affects the quality (of the product),” Handel says. RST Mining and Civil Solutions aims to improve water’s performance through
its additives, which Handel says typically double the effectiveness of water by reducing the fine particles in the air. “A mine was watering 10 times a day on a haul road, but we were still chasing their tails, receiving phone calls and complaints. After using our additives, now they’re watering twice a day and receiving no complaints,” Handel says. It’s important to deliver quantifiable results in a cost-effective and easily manageable way. This can be challenging
as each mine site is different and requires varying solutions. “The water and minerals are different on every site. You can’t use certain chemicals and on minerals because it can affect processing,” Handel says. “It’s important to understand the mining industry to recognise the downstream effects that may occur when solving the original problem.” RST has been operating for more than 30 years and aims to provide tailored solutions to mining companies that are simple and economical. “We’re not just about selling a vast array of products. We’re a solutions provider and we strategically match our products to effectively resolve our clients’ problems,” Handel says. “It’s about dust suppression practices. Systems can be put in place that make the operations work better, such as adjusting the speed of vehicles, delineating sections ofroads on waste dumps, the design of dumps and crushers, looking at prevailing winds, and using predictive weather.” Eradicating silicosis requires the joint effort of the mining industry and regulations. The ‘silent killer’ cannot be allowed to attack the health of miners. “When you’re in a job and you’re dealing with it every day, it’s not an occasional event. The biggest thing is understanding what dust it is, identifying it and minimising risk to a greater extent,” Handel concludes. Silicosis is a threat to the coal industry.
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Respiratory protection
Breathing safely at mine sites – from dust to life BREATHE SAFE DIRECTOR AND FOUNDER NICHOLAS JOHNSTONE OFFERS A PATHWAY TO PRACTICALLY ZERO EXPOSURE AT MINE SITES. THE GOOD NEWS IS, IT’S ACHIEVABLE. SAFE TO WORK REPORTS.
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lack lung diagnoses are increasing among workers in the resources industry. One may ask, why? Workers were not properly screened for lung disease in parts of Australia for over a decade. And now their X-rays must be examined by a team led by the United States-based expert on occupational and environmental medicine, Robert Cohen, who specialises in lung disease. The availability and proficiency of health professionals is, therefore, one reason black lung disease and other minerals dust-related lung diseases are being detected more and more in Australia, Breathe Safe director and founder Nicholas Johnstone tells Safe to Work. “To be clear, it’s been here all along, only workers have not been screened correctly,” Johnstone says. As workers are increasingly taking proper tests and have their X-rays examined by qualified personnel, so have the number of black lung and other lung disease’s diagnoses. Greater awareness of occupational lung diseases among workers have also driven those who are experiencing shortness of breath, chest irritation or persistent cough to undertake voluntary checks with their general practitioners (GP), according to Johnstone. This may not have been the case in years gone by, he continues. As workers move from one site
Most OEM machines often have either low-grade or no air filters that are designed to remove inhalable or respirable dust.
“We know that inhalable and respirable mineral dust is harmful to the human body. There’s no grey area about that.” or state to another, or even from one country to the next, health surveillance also gets trickier. “Most miners would only be working in one place for one to two years before they move on to another mine. You have miners who were working in Kalgoorlie one year, South Australia the next, and then Queensland the year after. This isn’t the most ideal situation when you are dealing with a prevalent disease,” Johnstone says. When workers are in one place only for a short period of time, it doesn’t give enough clue of where the disease
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was contracted as it may appear decades after the exposure. Regardless of the site or type of mine the workers are in, they may be overexposed not only to coal mine dust, but also to silica and diesel particulate matter (DPM), which has a high probability to lead to pneumoconiosis or black lung disease, according to Johnstone. Over the years, clusters of miningrelated lung disease cases have been related to exposure from working in a certain mine. Many of these workers are also residential mine workers.
There are several operations in Australia where many staff are not flyin, fly-out (FIFO). Workers who suffer from an occupational respiratory disease can then be identified for contracting the disease at the mine site. “However, one of the things that is keeping the black lung discussion going is benchtop workers being diagnosed with silicosis of the lungs,” Johnstone says. “Safe Work Australia has recently announced the exposure limit for silica is reduced to 0.05 milligrams per cubic meter over an eight-hour shift. However, this is being phased in three years, and there are comments in the media that it will cost lives. It is the employers who must ensure workers are not being harmed at their workplace. “We know that inhalable and respirable mineral dust is harmful to the human body. There’s no grey area about that.” This pushes the founder of the air filtration and cabin pressurisation systems company to encourage mining companies to aim for zero exposure, and not think about the allowed limit to one specific substance. It is Breathe Safe’s goal to provide a safe working environment, and the company is running tests and trials to work out the best way to achieve that. “At this stage, I am not aware of any trials that are being carried out on working sites,” Johnstone says. “The longer it takes to do these trials, the longer it will take to work out what the best practice is. Breathe Safe is looking to partner with research institutions, mine site operators and the regulators to gather the data required to develop an Australian standard.” Johnstone also believes the technology to undertake such a trial is available with the assistance of realtime remote monitoring.
HEPA H-13 grade filters remove over 99.9 per cent of all kinds of inhalable and respirable dust.
A continuous personal dust monitor (CPDM), for example, is a readily available technological advancement that checks the mass concentration of dust in real time. This can be used along with valid methods of dust monitoring devices that still require laboratory analysis, despite taking days for the data to be produced. “The technology is here to monitor what’s happening inside a cab in real time and work out what the best practice should be. So why are we not doing it?” Johnstone says. “There is no point telling someone that they were overexposed two weeks after they were exposed. Real-time monitors will tell them as soon as they are coming close to being overexposed – in real-time, no delay.” Johnstone also reports that less than five to 10 per cent of Australia’s current mining fleet has an engineering control, with any brand of HEPA grade filtration installed. The remaining 90 to 95 per cent of mining vehicles reportedly do not offer any protection from inhalable or respirable dust. “If you install a dual HEPA system,
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it means the fresh air that’s used to pressurise the cabin and the recirculated air are both HEPA filtered. You will then dramatically reduce the three levels of worker exposure to inhalable and respirable mineral dust,” Johnstone says. “The three causes of exposure are contaminated ambient air, contaminated air inside the cabin and contamination that can impregnate their clothes and boots. HEPA grade filters are the only filters that can pull up inhalable and respirable dust.” Johnstone has also come back from what he refers to as “a very eyeopening trip” to Canada, where the resources industry is only at the start of its journey toward zero exposure. But he believes Canada will not be five years behind much longer. “I spoke to a couple of really big players in Canada. Within three months of seeing our system, they have already installed trial units,” he says. “So if you ask me the two things we can do right now, they would be ensuring practically zero exposure in mine sites, and starting real-life trials promptly.”
Lighting
Follow the underground Firefly MINEARC SYSTEMS AND IOT AUTOMATION HAVE PARTNERED TO UNVEIL THE FIREFLY SMART LIGHTING SYSTEM, USING AN UNTAPPED RESOURCE IN UNDERGROUND MINE SAFETY. ANDY EWE WRITES.
MineARC’s refuge chamber provides a ‘go to’ area in emergencies.
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ccurate and fast communication to underground miners is of the essence in emergency situations. Traditionally, stench gas and radio communication have been the main solutions for communicating danger to underground miners. Even though these traditional communication systems have their benefits, shortcomings still exist, requiring a complementary system to boost safety. The immediate safety situation of the mine was not being communicated to underground personnel in real time, IoT Automation managing director Robin Paine tells Safe to Work. Lighting is an untapped safety resource in situations to improve
worker safety, leading to a real-time system that can use illumination to communicate safety situations in mines. IoT Automation has partnered with MineARC Systems to commercialise the patented Firefly Smart Lighting System, which uses intelligent illumination to communicate critical information to the underground workforce. Firefly provides a robust and reliable solution for visual navigation and alerts in the underground mining environment. “Firefly smart lighting helps people navigate their way during an emergency,” Paine says. “In an emergency event, it will provide guidance lighting to a chamber or safe zone. Lights will cascade
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along the tunnel to the nearest refuge chamber or alternatively to a primary or secondary escape way, providing a ‘follow-me’ visual lighting effect.” Firefly complements MineARC’s existing range of industry-leading refuge chambers, which provide a safe and secure ‘go-to’ area for underground personnel to gather and await extraction when evacuation is not safe or practical. The Firefly lighting system also supplements MineARC’s GuardIAN Intelligence Network, an integrated suite of advanced tech products, including real-time chamber diagnostics, site-wide gas detection and tracking – all of which can be monitored from the surface. “We now have a product range that encompasses the major human senses in alerting a worker to an emergency event. You have stench gas for smell, radio and communications through GuardIAN for sound and now we have visual,” MineARC chief innovation officer Brent Pearce says. Due to the often-harsh nature of underground mines, lighting solutions need to be fit for purpose. This is especially true of emergency solutions. “There wasn’t anything existing on the market that was appropriate as far as underground mine lighting and emergency lighting was concerned,” Paine says. “We looked at new ways of
getting workers back to refuge chambers in emergencies. We always have to think about things in the worst circumstances, not a perfect environment.” According to Paine, most other systems are not built for underground mining, while the Firefly is engineered specifically for the industry. “Every design choice – from the materials selected for the housing, connectors, optics and LED components, through to the design of the electronic circuits – were all made with the objective of withstanding the underground mining environment,” Paine says. “It’s important because there are extremes of temperature, blasted fly rock and percussion waves, twisting and heaving ground and of course big mobile machines that smack into the walls and roofs of drifts.” The product has universal
“The ultimate goal is to be proud and say we helped the industry be that little bit safer - to help workers do their jobs and get home.” applications in industrial environments across the world, including hard rock mining, coal mining (non-IS) and tunnelling construction operations. Firefly also has the inbuilt flexibility that miners need to deploy it quickly and make it easy to use and support. “All the different layers of dangers in a mine, we want to make sure that it works for the escape strategies and for the mine operations,” Pearce says.
The Firefly is fit for purpose in underground mining.
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“There’s no point having a lighting system deployed when no one can see it, same goes for gas detection measurements.” MineARC works closely with mining companies individually to provide tailored solutions from their mix of products. “Every client is going to require something different. They have varying problems and needs when it comes to their site,” MineARC marketing manager Lesley Emery says. “Our products have always been about safety and we’re not compromising on that.” Paine’s passion to help mine workers stay safe stems from the deep personal ties he has with the mining industry. He says his grandparents were underground miners, while his uncle owns a drilling company. “When I finished school, I wanted to go and work for those companies, but they said go away, get smart and come back and help the industry,” Paine says. “We are optimistic that the Firefly technology can become another industry best practice. Hopefully, it is heavily adopted by our industry and adds another layer of safety for our underground brothers. “The ultimate goal is to be proud and say we helped the industry be that little bit safer – to help workers do their jobs and get home.”
National Safe Work Month
Moving on a path to best practice in mine road safety MINING EQUIPMENT IS MOVING ALL DAY LONG, A SAFETY RISK THAT HAS THE ATTENTION OF AUSTRALIA’S NATIONAL TRANSPORT RESEARCH ORGANISATION. ARRB’S DAVID MCTIERNAN TELLS VANESSA ZHOU WHERE THE GAPS ARE IN ROAD SAFETY.
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ith the year edging to a close, it’s time for the mining industry to recognise National Safe Work Month in October. It’s a pivotal time to draw people’s attention to why safety is the number one priority in the industry. There is a popular phrase that everyone deserves to go home safely each day. The statement, as cliché as it may sound, holds weight up to this day because of the truth it carries. National Safe Work Month initiator, Safe Work Australia, has dedicated the campaign to endorsing safety performance at a best practice level. The Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) is a “safety champion”, as Safe Work coins it, that ensures safety ambition is realised on every project it works on. “The National Safe Work Month is a great initiative because it raises the awareness of safety issues on mine sites. From the ARRB’s perspective, it’s certainly raising the profile of road safety issues,” ARRB state technical leader New South Wales and national leader transport safety David McTiernan tells Safe to Work. Road safety has been ARRB’s welltrodden path as the company verges on
celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2020. ARRB has built its road safety knowledge through decades of research into the construction, maintenance and management of public roads, ushering the privatelyowned company into a new space that is the mining sector. “With over 20 years of conducting road safety audits and reviews, we found many common issues in all the mine sites we went to, and so we developed a two-day workshop around the topic of mine haul road safety and design,” McTiernan says. “We have been delivering that workshop since 2012, and it has generated a lot of interest in the sector to make mine haul roads safer. But there is always more to do, with new mines coming online and changes in operations and technology occur.” The road design and traffic management pundit, who previously spent 16 years in the local government, now enjoys a fruitful collaboration and the opportunity of working with a room full of mine engineers and superintendents eager to understand how they can make the roads on their sites safer. These mining professionals have
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the chance to influence ARRB’s recommendations and push the company’s custom solutions in the direction of what is safer and practical in their operations, McTiernan says. Though mine sites face common problems when it comes to road safety, it doesn’t mean there is a one-size-fitsall solution for them. Based on ARRB’s experience conducting road safety audits in more than 50 mine sites globally, there are lots of issues that mining operators should pay attention to. “You’ve got to take into consideration the size of the mobile equipment operating on site, the type of mining workforce involved and ultimately the constraints of the site operations,” McTiernan says. They include light and heavy vehicle interactions, which at times may not be properly considered during the design of the mine’s haul road network and its support facilities, such as processing plants, railheads and even port facilities. Different design configurations, including at go-lines, are also necessary to minimise pedestrian access and the interaction between light and heavy vehicles.
Road signs are a key part of intersection design.
The risk of having light vehicles run over by a haul truck can be eliminated by controlling interactions or developing layouts to take light vehicles off the haul road altogether, McTiernan suggests. “Road design and traffic management is a specialised area where miners don’t usually operate,” he says. “But mine haul roads are a vital part of every mine, and they do more than just get the product from pit to port. “For example, there are lots of issues pertaining to safety on mine haul roads and the management of traffic that are common in all Australian and international operations.” McTiernan sees familiar cases where traffic signs aren’t used in mine sites, or when they are, they were incorrectly used. A haul truck operator or a mine supervisor driving down a public road will understand the meaning of a particular road sign, but it may have a different meaning when used incorrectly at a mine site, he adds. There’s also reason to suspect that fatigue may be a significant contributing factor in mine vehicle crashes more than it is an issue on the
public road network. Unsurprisingly, mine drivers experience a higher level of fatigue as they operate on a 24/7 basis. In addition, driver fatigue can lead to an even bigger problem when coupled with poor road arrangements and lighting, according to McTiernan. “It’s really important to make sure that road design is predictable, and that proper advice, warning signs and delineation of the road have been highlighted. Remember that mine drivers operate different sizes of vehicles in all sorts of weather conditions day and night,” McTiernan says. In a recent mine incident investigation, ARRB found that fatigue wasn’t so much the cause of a light and heavy vehicle collision, but rather the condition of driving at night and being exposed to different forms of lighting that caused confusion. The drivers were fortunate the incident didn’t result in a fatality, but McTiernan says it’s important to always challenge the way something is done. “Just because it has always been done a certain way doesn’t mean it can’t be done better and without impacting
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productivity,” McTiernan challenges. Australian mine operations have, nonetheless, been the leaders of road safety around the world, he says. ARRB has been able to take its Australian road safety experience, in particular in intersection designs, to overseas operations in Canada, Chile, Papua New Guinea and Peru. International mine sites, which are facing common industry issues in the road safety space, have been the destination for ARRB’s application of Australian knowledge in investigating and preventing similar incidents from occurring. After all, ARRB has mastered the rules of road design, delineation and signs in intersection design to optimise mine road safety. “This is why our collaboration with mine sites helps us deliver the best solution to each individual operation,” McTiernan says. “Mining operators take away the company’s input for adoption or even adaptation, but one thing for sure is, they always come back saying they’ve learned something new or gained a new perspective on the way they have done things in the past. And that’s what ARRB tries to do.”
Innovation REDARC and Hummingbird have joined forces to improve mine safety.
Simplifying safety warnings for equipment operators REDARC AND HUMMINGBIRD HAVE COMBINED TO CREATE A ‘POWERHOUSE WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE’ THAT IS BEING USED TO ADDRESS COMMON SAFETY ISSUES AT MINE SITES. SAFE TO WORK WRITES.
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perating the colossal vehicles on mine sites is a task that comes with a huge amount of responsibility given the consequences that can stem from an accident. This has been a consistent theme in the mining industry of late, with federal and state governments cracking down on safety regulation at mining operations around Australia. Hummingbird Electronics, part of the REDARC Group since May 2015, has taken on the role of putting the safety talk into practice, noticing the grave consequences that can result from mining accidents. The benefits of being proactive with regards to safety to personnel can not only save lives, but also has huge economic upside, according
to Hummingbird national sales and marketing manager Mark Bruce. “My question is, what is the cost of safety to a business if you don’t employ devices to reduce the risks?” Bruce says. This very observation is what has led to Hummingbird’s introduction of a product range that is based on minimising the risk of accidents occurring on mine sites, through direct consultation with those that are on the ground. “We directly consult with mine sites, find out what is concerning them and then provide them with innovative solutions,” Bruce says. “It’s no good us bringing out a product that we think mining company’s need, instead, through consultation we can create exactly what is required and
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develop it with them.” This mindset coincides with Hummingbird noticing trends of hazardous behaviour that could potentially lead to injury, a method that was crucial in the development of their audio alert system. An incident on the Sydney Harbour Bridge a number of years ago led to the innovation that is now widely being considered by mining companies across Australia. In this example, a bus was stuck in peak hour traffic, the driver was confronted with a flashing light and buzzer on the bus’ dashboard. It was one of a plethora of lights and buzzers that the driver was faced with and dangerously, the driver was oblivious to what it meant. As smoke engulfed the bus, it soon
“When accidents occur on mine sites such as a heavy machine rolling over, it results in increased downtime, costs of replacing the vehicle and a serious hit to the reputation of a business.” became clear that the engine was on fire and luckily, all the passengers and the driver escaped unharmed. The result, however, could have potentially been catastrophic and is also a highly relevant safety issue for mining equipment operators, which are confronted with myriad lights, buzzers and symbols on various machine dashboards. Learning from this near disaster led to the introduction of the Hummingbird-developed audible warning system, which presents clear verbal messages that improve on the incumbent warning systems for heavy machine operators. Basic messages such as ‘please fasten your seatbelt’ or ‘apply handbrake’ have the potential to save lives and lead to a significant reduction in injuries, according to Bruce. “When accidents occur on mine sites, such as a heavy machine rolling over, it results in increased downtime, costs of replacing the vehicle and a serious hit to the reputation of a business,” Bruce says. “Above all however, these devices could help save lives and significantly reduce the number of injuries on mine sites, which could have been prevented by implementing advanced warning systems such as these.”
Hummingbird is also striving to solve another prominent issue on mine sites: airborne diseases such as Black Lung that operators develop working in dusty coal environments with the presence of airborne pollution. While it’s one thing to have an effective filtration system, Hummingbird’s cabin pressure monitoring systems provide both an audible and visual display to operators with a readout of the performance Preventing vehicle rollovers is one safety issue being explored.
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status of their cabin filters and/or cabin seal integrity. Put simply, it indicates when positive pressure in the cabin is too low or high as the dangers of having either extremity presents risks to operators. Low cabin pressure will not provide sufficient protection from dust and other harmful particles entering the cabin. So too, allowing the pressure to be too high can result in operator fatigue or headaches. This approach of working directly with mine site operators to address safety issues coincides with the “powerhouse wealth of knowledge” that REDARC and Hummingbird combine to create. Having worked in the industry for more than 30 years, Bruce epitomises the technical knowledge that is required to pick up trends in the mining industry relating to safety. These facets of the company along with both producing and supporting products within Australia has the future looking bright for Hummingbird and the REDARC Group as mining safety continues to rise to prominence in companies across the country.
Eye protection
Bollé Safety minimises workplace hazards with lens technology WORKPLACE SAFETY SHOULD PARTICULARLY FOCUS ON PROTECTION FOR THE EYES, WHICH ARE AT A HIGH RISK AT MINE SITES. SAFE TO WORK SPEAKS WITH BOLLÉ SAFETY ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF USING POLARISED LENSES.
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topographical map of Australia shows that a considerable portion of the country is comprised of desert territories. These regions reach high temperatures throughout the year. When facing a 40 degrees Celsius temperature, workers experience compounding levels of heat emanating from the equipment they use and the physical work itself, coupled with the impact from the bright sun. When workers are mining and operating machinery above ground, while dealing with the reflection of water, the road and other surfaces, having clear vision allows them to keep control over the working environment, according to Bollé Safety sales territory
manager in Western Australia, Wade Mardon. In addition, he says the intense light and glare can reduce an eye’s visibility when working outdoors, posing risks to worker injury and for general safety. “Polarisation, however, will provide you with the best protection for your eyes, which are your most vulnerable organs,” Mardon tells Safe to Work. “Polarised lens technology is the best protection you can get for your eyes. It eliminates glare and reflection, whether you’re operating machinery, working on roads, over water or in very high glare environments. “Eliminating the glare in your eye reflection gives you maximum benefit when you’re tired or when your eyes are strained. The technology eliminates all
forms of solar radiation and is the only product you want to wear outdoors.” All safety polarised lenses designed by Bollé Safety are injection moulded, which means they’re optically precise and have a polarised film that is embedded into the lenses. This ensures the lenses won’t wear off. Bollé Safety has designed its latest polarised glasses, Mercuro, to not only ensure worker safety, but also improve their productivity. Mercuro is an ultra-modern, wrapped around, stealth looking design that features Bollé Safety’s superior anti-scratch coding. “The big point of difference with our glasses is that just having a laminated film, without polarisation that’s injection moulded or embedded into polycarbonate, may scratch off. You are getting maximum benefit from injected mould lenses,” Mardon says. Polarisation also improves colour perception, visual comfort and the view of contrast and depth, according to Mardon.
Mercuro protects eyes with polarised lens technology.
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Bollé Safety considers the mining industry’s need to work in dusty environments by providing a variety of lens options, including mirror lenses and a dust field version, which come in 14 frame designs. The sealed versions of Bollé Safety’s polarised range is suitable for a highdust environment as they eliminate the risk of airborne particles coming in to the eyes. The stylish mirror lenses, on the other hand, are suitable for areas where there is potential for low light, giving clearer vision to see objects. Simply put, “We like to complete our range by innovation and technology,” Mardon says. “We’ve gone from a harder based frame material to the latest in comfort and soft texture, which is critically important for someone who is wearing glasses during eight to 12-hour shifts. “Mercuro gives constant assurance that workers will be protected without having to sacrifice their comfort. These glasses are designed to hold straps and feature co-moulded side arms to provide comfort around the back of the ears and the temples. “We strive to make more modern designs and we understand it’s also a fit-for-purpose product – it can fit all head shapes.” The polarised glasses are developed with thermoplastic rubber (TPR) material, which is made up of a combination of rubber and plastic, giving it a very soft texture. Its flexible, non-slip material is resistant to extreme temperatures, impact and vibrations. This revolutionary material makes the product innovative, according to Mardon. The frames come in a variety of different colours that make up a unisex range. End users are guaranteed to experience ultimate satisfaction, thanks to Mercuro’s universal fit.
Having polarised eyewear is critical to working outdoors. © Bollé Safety - Dan Soderstrom
“Mercuro is a fit-for-purpose product that offers style, fashion, performance, reliability and comfort,” Mardon says. “We’ve been servicing the mining and resources industry to understand user comfort, industry requirements and risk areas.” Bollé Safety protective eyewear is distributed and worn in many parts
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of the world, proving its position as a global manufacturer of quality eyewear with an extensive eyewear range. Maintenance is made very simple. The glasses can be cleaned with soapy water then dried with a soft cloth to avoid scratches. However, Bollé Safety B-Clean products are available to clean more effectively.
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Materials handling
Lightweight cleaner pole enhances conveyor safety FLEXCO’S CONVEYOR EXPERTS HAVE DEVELOPED A UNIVERSAL LIGHTWEIGHT CLEANER POLE THAT IS DELIVERING MUCH-NEEDED RELIEF FOR MAINTENANCE WORKERS AT MINE OPERATIONS. SAFE TO WORK WRITES.
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educing the impact that manual handling of heavy objects has on workers is an ongoing aim of mining companies as they strive to improve their safety performance. Manual handling accounts for 30 per cent of Australia’s workplace injuries, according to Safe Work Australia, a statistic the mining industry is determined to lower. For workers in the conveyor sector, a manual handling activity that has historically caused concern is when they are required to carry heavy cleaner poles. In general, workers are required to manually remove the entire cleaner pole for maintenance every 12 to 16 weeks during conveyor shutdowns and then must re-install it. Weighing more than 75 kilograms in some cases, cleaner poles can cause considerable stress on the bodies of workers during manual handling. Flexco Australia has focussed on reducing the health and safety risks that the manual handling of cleaner poles pose for workers. The company’s development of a solution accelerated when it was engaged by a Pilbara iron ore company to design a lighter pole. “The safety department of the company acknowledged it as an area where improvement was needed and asked if we could design a lighter pole,” Flexco Western Australia manager Adam Wright tells Safe To Work. From late 2017, Flexco spent six
months on research and development of the new poles, before designing a solution that was up to 60 per cent lighter than the standard mild steel and stainless steel cleaner poles already being used. Flexco trialled the lighter poles at sites in some of Australia’s harshest mining environments for almost a year to ensure they were structurally sound and met all safety requirements. The company’s team finished the trial period convinced that the product was easier to lift, carry and install, giving operators an opportunity to introduce safer lifting procedures on site. Flexco commercially launched the newly-named Universal Lightweight Cleaner Pole in July, much to the delight of the mining companies it works with. “They could not believe what we had done. I can’t say the lighter pole alleviates all of the safety risks of the previous poles, but it has certainly reduced the risks of manual handling that lead to an incident,” Wright says. While safety was the first priority in the development of the new cleaner pole, a by-product of the project that improved operational efficiencies emerged for Flexco. The company’s heavy duty specialist and engineer that developed the pole realised they could
also build a universal face plate design that supported a variety of primary and secondary cleaners. “The new face plate means that users can put mostly all Flexco components that they want on the poles,” Wright says. “Previously, numerous standard poles were needed in stock at sites, now they only need one for each belt width because the majority of our cushions and components fit on the new lightweight pole. “The versatility of the plate makes it easier to stock the poles in the case of unscheduled downtime.” The value of the universal plate is an added bonus of the lightweight pole that will streamline how they are used, improving the productivity of conveyor operations. But for Wright and Flexco, the key value of the lightweight poles will always be the way they enhance the safety of the operations the company works at. “Our value is that safety is No 1 – that’s why no one pushed back when we committed to designing a lighter cleaner pole. It was needed in the marketplace and was something that we wanted to bring to the market first,” Wright concludes.
Flexco’s Universal Lightweight Cleaner Pole.
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Waste management
Moving used mining tyres away from waste KAL TIRE IS DEVELOPING A MINING TYRE RECYCLING FACILITY IN CHILE THAT COULD END UP BEING AN OPPORTUNITY THAT ALSO EMERGES IN AUSTRALIA.
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yres are one of the final frontiers of waste management at mine sites. Somewhere at every mine there will likely be dozens, if not hundreds of tyres piled up in a waste dump after reaching the end of their operating lives. Imagine if mining companies had no need for these piles of waste and they could instead convert them into a resource for reuse. This reality is emerging in Chile where Kal Tire will commission its first thermal conversion tyre recycling facility at Antofagasta in the fourth
quarter of 2019. Chile, a jurisdiction that Kal Tire has operated in for more than 20 years, represents a prime location for the Canadian company to launch the initiative. The South American country is home to many of the world’s largest copper mines, which have disposed of an estimated 500,000 tonnes of scrap tyres in recent decades. Chile’s government first acted on this environmental concern in 2012, starting discussions to introduce tyre recycling legislation. From 2021, the legislation will
Kal Tire has almost launched the initiative in Chile and has hopes for Australia too.
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become law, with 20 per cent of all mining tyres to be recycled to start with, before this percentage progressively ramps up in the following years. In spite of Chile’s moves, Kal Tire had ambitions to develop a solution that allows recycled tyres to be recovered for use in other products or reused for the same purpose, for example, steel to steel or fuel oil to fuel oil. Thermal conversion, which uses heat in the absence of oxygen to decompose organic materials and turn tyres into steel, carbon black and oil, offered the ideal technology for these aspirations. By 2015, Kal Tire was developing
a relationship with the Chilean Government and started to design its first thermal conversion facility with engineering partners in Italy. Four years later in May this year, the company broke ground at the Antofagasta site where a 20,000-square-metre plant with the capacity to recycle 20 tonnes of tyres each day is being constructed. Kal Tire director of recycling services Scott Farnham views mining tyres as the last key waste stream that mine operators need to find a management solution for. “Mining companies don’t pile their garbage up but with tyres it has been okay up until now because there has not been a solution,” Farnham says. “We really want to get a circular economy going with mining tyres. Scrap tyres are a valuable commodity because of what is in the tyre. This process (thermal conversion) can extract the materials.” A 63-inch mining tyre, for example, comprises four key materials after thermal conversion – carbon black (1600 kilograms), steel (750 kilograms), oil (1900 litres) and gas (350 cubed metres). The oil can be upgraded to diesel, which could potentially fuel the mining trucks that had the tyres previously running on them. Carbon black also has many uses, the main being used in the production of tyres and plastics. Another use that stands out to Farnham is its value as an ingredient in rechargeable batteries, an emerging driver of mining machinery. “For me, personally, I see electrification of transportation, whether it’s skate boards or mining trucks, as the future,” Farnham says. “We want to add value to waste streams and battery material is going to be in high demand, and lots of it. “Every major manufacturer is releasing a half dozen new electric models – it is amazing. The potential to be part of that
Kal Tire’s tyre conversion facility, designed in Italy.
supply chain is very interesting.” An independent study has also shown that Kal Tire’s solution for the production of recycled carbon black, steel and diesel generates significantly lower carbon emissions compared with the output of conventional materials. Australia may not have official plans to introduce mining tyre recycling legislation, but the country’s mining industry does present a similar opportunity to Chile, given the scale of local mines and the number of tyres being used. A growing push for Australian mining companies to become more sustainable is also expected to increase the focus on initiatives such as tyre recycling. Kal Tire Australia managing director Darren Wilson believes it isn’t just the development of government legislation that will push Australian mining in this direction, but also the growing need to be more socially responsible. “It will certainly help customers be more sustainable, in terms of the requirements they are going to have, whether it is legislation or corporate responsibility within their own organisations and the communities
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they work in,” Wilson says. “We can potentially provide them with not only a solution around sustainability, but also a value add back in either fuel or carbon black. “We won’t be coming to the market here with something that is a hypothetical either, so we are starting to make the Australian market aware that there is a solution for mining tyres when there hasn’t been before.” Traditionally, shredded mining tyres have sometimes been shipped to countries with less restrictive emissions standards to be burned and then used as tyre-derived fuel to replace coal. In other cases, used tyres have simply gone to ground as landfill with no other alternatives being available. Kal Tire’s recycling program provides not only an improvement on these methods, but also an alternate way to power mining operations in the future. “If we can send the materials of mining tyres back to the mine in place of something they are already buying – like diesel with recovered diesel – how good a story is that,” Farnham concludes.
Drones
Drones give mining a third eye in the sky MINING COMPANIES HAVE TURNED TO DRONES TO MONITOR DIFFICULT TO REACH AREAS, ALLOWING FOR DECREASED INTERACTION WITH HAZARDOUS ACTIVITIES. SAFE TO WORK WRITES.
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ine sites are often located in remote areas with machinery and equipment that is controlled by operators that can be thousands of kilometres away. In contrast, it remains common for operators to be working onsite despite the need to access hard to reach spaces, keeping the potential for hazardous activity high. Should something go wrong, it is difficult to communicate issues and then receive assistance that is often urgent. Recognising these issues, most of the world’s biggest mining companies have introduced remote controlled drones to inspect and monitor
operations. A drone’s versatility is allowing the majors to carry out a plethora of activities that humans cannot, while maintaining the required level of safety. This includes accessing isolated areas to monitor equipment and operators, as well as providing image data that can be used to observe the health of assets at mine sites. For Rio Tinto, the introduction of drones at its Kennecott operation in Utah has enhanced safety through high wall mapping and rock fall analysis. The technology is allowing the company to see things that used to be inaccessible, using thermal diagnostic capabilities to identify equipment problems to recognise hazards before
Drones help monitoring hard to reach assets.
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they turn into injuries. An example of this for Rio Tinto is identifying high friction rates on equipment in real time, allowing staff to notify maintenance teams of issues that need to be addressed. Similarly, South32 has deployed drones at its Worsley Alumina operation in Western Australia, removing humans from dangerous jobs such as working in confined spaces and at heights. The company has gone as far as introducing a dedicated team to the operation of drones, camera systems and other robotics around the site. Equipped with high definition cameras, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are also becoming increasingly important for equipment supplier Beumer
Group, which provides bulk material conveyors, elevators and loading equipment to a range of mine sites. Beumer project engineer overland conveyor Eugen Doberstein says the company has been working with drone technology for about three years, including in the mining industry. He believes that drones have now become almost “standard equipment” that is used for measuring sites or operating and maintaining facilities. “One of the main reasons for the increased use are the higher standards in occupational safety. Only a few people are on site and could be exposed to possible hazard,” Doberstein says. “In general, the use of these aerial vehicles is becoming more and more important for many companies in very different industries.” BHP is another miner that has been a leading exponent of drones to make its operations safer in both mining and petroleum. The company has used drones at coal mines in Queensland to ensure areas are clear before a blast takes place and to track fumes post blast. Drones are also used to improve road safety at BHP’s sites by monitoring traffic, road conditions and hazards. In addition to the safety benefits, BHP has deployed drones fitted with military-grade cameras to provide realtime footage and 3D maps of sites. Capturing data from drones is also being capitalised on by Alcoa, which has introduced the practice across its Western Australian operations. It has allowed for more accurate maintenance planning, exact scaffolding requirements and are widely accessible on iPads across the site. The use of drones on mine sites extends to providing up-to-date data that can detect whether a new building has been erected or traffic routes have shifted within a mine, giving operators
The construction of assets being monitored by a drone.
current information on areas that can be accessed safely. Perhaps the most important safety factor, however, relates to actually removing personnel from dangerous zones in mine sites. “We benefit significantly from less effort and thus manpower amongst other things and this is also reflected in costs,” Beumer manager of plant design, bulk materials handling systems Lukas Paul says. The lack of human contact on mine sites is provided by a drone’s ability to have a route planned for them through computer systems. By using appropriate software, staff can calculate the exact flight path, giving the drone direction to fly in its pre-determined route. They can also be controlled through smartphones or tablets, naturally meaning less people on mine sites and therefore, a reduced susceptibility to injury. Drone technology itself has developed rapidly over the past few years and they are now smaller and have improved quality, according to Doberstein. “The cameras being used are becoming more compact and are delivering increasingly high-quality images,” Doberstein says. “The stabilisation systems have been improved too, the aerial vehicles are now
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able to connect to certain satellites and thus access GPS data to maintain their position – even strong gusts of wind can no longer drive them away.” The types of drones being used are also diverse and a particular interest within the mining/quarry industry is copters. A similarity to helicopters allows copters to stand still in the air thanks to their rotors. They are particularly suitable for narrow take-off and landing areas or when they have to perform at low speed. “Users can control them manually and they mainly fly over medium-sized and small building sites. In addition, they are used for quarry faces in quarries,” Doberstein says. “Due to the fact that we only need to measure one corridor for a belt conveyor, we use a copter for our projects. If the route is over several kilometres, we divide it into several segments, as the drone is only able to fly over the route in sections due to its limited flight time.” Beumer head of conveying and loading systems sector Andreas Echelmeyer says the use of drones is “already part of our everyday work routine.” This trend only seems to be growing in popularity as technology enhances the ability of drones and mining companies to become more creative in ways to keep staff safe onsite.
THE FIRST PRIORITY FOR AUSTRALIA’S MINING INDUSTRY
ISSUE 5 - OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2019
Virtual reality The future of safety
Respiratory protection
Materials handling
Technology
Mining equipment
Throughout the cycles of the mining industry there is one constant for everyone involved in the industry – safety. A safe workplace is critical to the continued success of your business. Launched in 2018, Safe To Work provides a high-quality, multi-platform publication for the Australian mining sector, with safety as its key focus.
Safe To Work’s promotional features deliver a forum for organisations to showcase the role each aspect of safety plays in helping the industry achieve the industry’s No. 1 priority.
TO BOOK IN SAFE TO WORK CONTACT STEFAN DUBOCANIN NOW STEFAN.DUBOCANIN@PRIMECREATIVE.COM.AU | 0432 574 669
Health and wellbeing
Queensland’s dust disease register: Is it the solution? ALL CORNERS OF THE MINING INDUSTRY ARE FIGHTING A COMMON BATTLE AS THE OCCUPATIONAL LUNG DISEASE SPIKES UP. SAFE TO WORK WRITES.
A
ustralia has finally welcomed its first notifiable dust-related disease register in Queensland. The dust disease register will capture incidents of occupational dust diseases in answer to the sector’s cry for better health protection of mine workers amid this “emerging crisis.” The initiative requires prescribed medical practitioners to notify the health department of the Queensland Government, Queensland Health about cases of notifiable dust lung disease, according to Lung Foundation Australia advocacy and policy manager Judy Powell. Dust lung diseases such as silicosis and pneumoconiosis (or black lung) are making headlines across multiple industries. Over 100 stonemasons in Queensland were diagnosed with accelerated silicosis, a preventable lung disease caused by an exposure to silica dust, in six months ending April alone. Around 230 workers are also estimated to die each year from lung cancer caused by exposure to crystalline silica, though there isn’t information that indicates what proportion belong to miners, Cancer Council Australia chair, occupational and environmental cancer committee Tim Driscoll says (at the time of interview). Contracting a lung disease may cause high levels of distress to not just
the patient, but also family members. “The National Strategic Action Plan for Lung Conditions identifies occupational lung disease as a priority lung condition,” Powell tells Safe to Work. “Occupational lung diseases have an enormous health, social and economic impact, hence the urgent need for interventions such as awareness raising and education to halt the increasing number of people being diagnosed with preventable lung conditions.” Driscoll says Queensland’s dust diseases register should provide a much more accurate indication of the extent of ill health arising from exposure to silica dust at work. This is important because these diseases were thought by most people to have been almost eradicated. “It is very difficult to avoid exposure in many occupational circumstances in the case of silica,” Driscoll continues. “Cancer Council continues to try and lower exposure through a submission made to the SafeWork Australia Committee that are reviewing the silica exposure standard to set the new standard at 0.02 milligrams per cubic metre.” Lung Foundation Australia chief executive Mark Brooke, on the other hand challenges the Australian Government to take action and introduce a consistent national approach, rather than the “fragmented state by state response.”
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Former and current mine workers and stonemasons should undertake a health screening.
Without any understatement, Brooke further recommends company directors be prosecuted when failing to provide safe workplaces and lifesaving equipment for employees and contractors. Driscoll underlines that other initiatives should go alongside the dust disease register initiative, such as using water to dampen the material to stop silica dust getting into the air, and having proper ventilation to remove silica that does become airborne. This highlights that the protection of workers’ health are a responsibility of both employers and themselves.
Events CONFERENCES, SEMINARS & WORKSHOPS EVENT SUBMISSIONS CAN BE EMAILED TO EDITOR@SAFETOWORK.COM.AU
GASTECH VICTORIAN MINES RESCUE COMPETITION (VMRC), LATROBE VALLEY, OCTOBER 20-22
CORROSION AND PREVENTION CONFERENCE, MELBOURNE, NOVEMBER 24-27
From humble beginnings 20 years ago, the VMRC has emerged as a highly competitive national event that combines mines rescue and emergency response capacity building exercises. The event tests theory, firefighting skills, search and rescue, first aid, rope rescue, breathing apparatus as well as featuring the Spence Herd Challenge. The challenge is designed to test, encourage and develop team cohesion and values by completing a number of tasks in a short time frame, while the team carries its captain on a stretcher. The VRMC sees mines rescue and emergency response teams from mine sites across the country competing against each other in a variety of simulated emergency situations. • minerals.org.au/victoria/victorian-minerescue-competitions-vmrc
The Australian Corrosion Association is a not-for-profit, membership Association which disseminates information on corrosion and its prevention or control, by providing training, seminars, conferences, publications and other activities. Corrosion and Prevention is the largest Corrosion Conference and Exhibition in the Southern Hemisphere. The next staging of the event will be from November 24 to 27 in Melbourne. The Corrosion and Prevention 2019 conference provides a range of technical papers on all subjects related to corrosion. • conference.corrosion.com.au/
MINING EMERGENCY RESPONSE COMPETITION (MERC), PERTH, NOVEMBER 22-24 Experience the action that is the ninth annual Mining Emergency Response Competition (MERC) by coming down to Langley Park, in the City of Perth, from November 22 – 24. One of Australia’s premier mining safety events, it won’t disappoint. This exciting free community event showcases amazing real-life demonstrations of emergency rescue by emergency response volunteers from across Western Australia. With a record 18 competing teams, 60 sponsors and more than 120 volunteers last year, MERC has established itself as a premium industry event in the state’s resources safety calendar. • themerc.com.au/
UNDERGROUND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE NEW FRONTIER, PERTH, MARCH 25-27, 2020 A flagship event in AusIMM’s calendar, the Underground Operators (UGOPS) conference will return again in 2020. Bringing together mining engineers, mine operators, technical service managers and consultants, UGOPS sets the benchmark for sharing underground operational experiences and industry best practice. With deposits getting deeper or lower in grade, there is increased pressure to find smarter and more cost-effective ways to extract orebodies. With key discussion topics for UGOPS 2020 centred around the evolution of digital technologies, automation and artificial intelligence and how these innovations are making it possible to mine at greater depths and lower grades. The conference will feature: selected technical papers with a strong operational focus, mine
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tours to see how other operations work and specialised workshops providing additional professional development opportunities. • undergroundoperators.ausimm.com
SLOPE STABILITY CONFERENCE, PERTH, MAY 12-14, 2020 One of the world’s leading Slope Stability Conferences, ‘Slope Stability 2020’ will return to Perth in 2020. The Slope Stability Conference will provide a forum for open pit mining and civil engineering practitioners, consultants, researchers and suppliers worldwide to exchange views on best practice and state-of-the-art slope stability technologies. The slope stability conference will explore best practices with respect to pit slope investigations, design and implementation. Experts will analyse the physical principles that underlie both the most frequently used computational methods and some less common methods. • slopestability2020.com/
MINE WASTE AND TAILINGS STEWARDSHIP CONFERENCE, BRISBANE, JULY 28-30, 2020 The Mine Waste and Tailings Conference 2020 aims to be the benchmark for sharing knowledge and experience on mine waste and tailings management, sustainable practice and closure in Australia and the rest of the world. As a lead into the conference, there will be several workshops held involving experts. The two-day conference will feature a number of keynote speakers and four expert panel discussions covering current themes and paper presentations. • tailings.ausimm.com/
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