Unitedwestand
Combined forces best approach to safety
Andrew Chaplyn
Mines Safety Director
Department of Mines
and Petroleum
With zero fatalities during 2012 across all Western Australian
minesites, the significance of this milestone achievement
would indeed be a cause for celebration, were it not for the
hundreds of serious injuries that occurred in the same period
and a work-related death in the state’s north in August 2013.
In this article, DMP’s Mines Safety Director, Andrew Chaplyn,
reviews the state of safety in WA’s mines including an account
of the department’s activities in this crucial field, and
emphasises the importance of continuing the collaborative
approach between industry and government.
Government and industry cannot rest on its laurels and must
continue to work together to further improve Western Australia’s
safety records.
Most companies inWestern Australia’s resources industry have
committed to working with the safety regulator, the Department of
Mines and Petroleum (DMP), to reduce the number and severity of
serious incidents in the workplace. These companies are making
positive changes to improve their safety culture and this approach
proved highly successful last year when the state recorded its first
fatality-free year since records began in 1896.
With 105,581 people directly employed in the resources sector
in 2012, it was a notable achievement. However, 405 workers
were still seriously injured in 2012, and were off work for two
weeks or more.
Both government and industry want to see continued
improvement in safety outcomes and the mines inspectorate is
supporting this with a proactive regulatory approach.
DMP, through the Resources Safety division, has boosted its
focus on safety compliance activities in a number of areas. These
include recruiting and training inspectors with the requisite
qualifications and experience to supplement and complement the
existing skill set, increasing the number of site visits, expanding
expert representation on the Mining Industry Advisory Committee
(
MIAC), promoting interaction between industry and DMP through
meetings on specific issues, as well as events such as road shows,
feedback sessions and working group meetings.
Industry input and feedback is actively sought for new guidance
material, ranging from the code of practice for exploration drilling
to a guideline on managing diesel emissions in Western Australian
mining operations.
DMP Mines Safety Director Andrew Chaplyn said that while
the department had an enforcement role if companies breached
legislation, its main objective was to work with industry
and the workforce to ensure employees’ safety and health.
Barrick’s Yilgarn 1 team takes on the confined space
event at the CME’s 2013 Surface Mine Emergency
Response Competition, held in Kalgoorlie
At the end of the day,
it is the company’s
responsibility to ensure
workers go home safely,
and the majority of
companies in WA perform
to a very high standard.
Minesite 2013
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