2019 Conference Presentations

Michelle Ray CEO and Founder, Certified Speaking Professional, Lead Yourself First Enterprise Born in Australia and now residing in Vancouver, Michelle is a health and safety speaker renowned for her expertise on leadership, accountability, influence and building outstanding safety cultures. Michelle has worked with hundreds of leaders and their teams in diverse industries including occupational health and safety within private and public enterprise, construction, mining, as well as oil and gas. She demonstrates a deep understanding of team dynamics, interpersonal communication and personal responsibility. As an in-demand conference presenter, Michelle utilizes a dynamic, interactive and highly engaging style. She has earned the Certified Speaking Professional Designation, held by less than 800 people worldwide.

Dean Barr A/Director, Coal Mine Workers’ Health Scheme Kerri Melkersson Director, Health Surveillance Unit, Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy Since the re-identification of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis in Queensland in 2015, and reforms resultant from the Monash and UIC independent expert review of 2016, the department has implemented improved screening methods for the detection of respiratory disease in coal mine workers. As at March 2019, more than 30,000 chest x-rays have been dual read to International Labour Organisation (ILO) standards, resulting in 99% returning a negative result for disease. Of the 1.0% which screened positive, 15 have resulted in a diagnosis of disease.</p . The department receives reports of cases of mine dust lung disease (MDLD) through a number of pathways; doctors, mine operators and the workers’ compensation scheme all provide confirmation of diagnoses within the mining and quarrying sectors. As at March 2019, 99 cases of MDLD have been reported across all sectors since 1984 (89 since 2015). Separate to the reforms implemented in the mining regulatory framework, the Queensland Parliament is considering a Bill to establish a Notifiable Dust Lung Diseases Register to be administered by Queensland Health. This will provide a further mechanism to ensure the incidence of disease is understood. This paper provides an overview of the current screening pathways to detect MDLD in Queensland mine workers.

Dr Rhiannon McBean, Research Coordinator, The Wesley Dust Disease Research Centre Coal Mine Dust Lung Disease (CMDLD) is a term for of all lung diseases caused by inhalation of coal mine dust. CMDLD includes pneumoconiosis; coal workers’ and mixed dust pneumoconiosis (CWP; MDP) and silicosis, as well as inflammatory-type diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). CMDLD was undetected in the Queensland coal industry from 1984 to 2015. We aimed to understand the spectrum and severity of disease in recently diagnosed CMDLD cases (n= 79) by reviewing medical imaging, charts, lung function and occupational history. CMDLD pneumoconioses were diagnosed in 71% of cases; CWP was most common (34%). Advanced disease was observed on medical imaging for 24% of subjects. Lung function results were equally split, 47.2% normal and 52.7% abnormal. On average, the tenure in coal mining was 26 years (range 6-45). The majority of subjects (44%) had only worked in underground coal mines. Surprisingly, 27% of subjects reported to have never worked in an underground coal mine. We observed a diverse spectrum of diagnoses and severity ranged from mild to severe. Occupational history in terms of tenure and mine type varied across the subject group. It is hoped these findings will boost awareness of CMDLD

Assoc. Prof. John Schneider Occupational Physician, James Cook University, Mackay Clinical Campus Increasing awareness of workplace dust exposure due to media reporting of pneumoconioses such as “black lung” and silicosis, has resulted in increased health surveillance, radiological investigation and notification of possible work related lung disorders. The most common chronic lung condition associated with significant occupational dust exposure however, are not the pneumoconiosis. Subsequent decisions associated with the workers continuing employment can pose problems in both human resource and occupational health supervision and management. The reporting of changes in pulmonary imaging do not necessarily need to result in departure from the industry. With comprehensive medical management including Pulmonary Rehabilitation if necessary, and coordinated Pulmonary Protection programs involving both the workplace and treating medical practitioner many workers can continue to work productively within the industry until retirement.</p . The presentation will consider managing the health and workplace risks associated with continued employment of workers reported with positive health surveillance findings, including:-

• Work Related Lung Disorders
• Current dilemmas in employment management
• Interpretation and significance of medical reports
• Assessment and importance of lung function
• Pulmonary Rehabilitation
• Fitness for Work
• Occupational Rehabilitation
• Pulmonary Protection Programs
  • Risk management
  • Control of hazardous work exposures
  • Medical involvement in health management

Larnie Mackay Operations Scheduler, Anglo American-Moranbah North Mine Anglo American has introduced Australia’s first certified, electronic tablet device for use in underground coal mines. The device provides real-time access to CITECT data for Hazard Awareness and system monitoring, as well as Anglo American’s latest Safety and Health Management processes and documentation. Developed in collaboration with a tablet manufacturer, the device was developed and tested to achieve International Group 1 Certification together with Queensland Government’s SIMTARS safety in mines certification. The underground tablet can be used as a portable video communication device (via Skype) to instantly access expert technical advice. Not only does this accelerate operational fault-finding, it also allows a live video link to paramedics in the case of an emergency. The tablet allows real-time environmental monitoring; provides up-to-date equipment resetting requirements; displays risk-categorised Strata Defect locations pictorially on the Mine Plan; and allows short interval control on the actual plan. The introduction of the tablet is a major step towards the removal of all underground paperwork and the electronic lodgement of statutory and production reports.

Bill Haylock Director, Green Ticket All mine sites have two things in common—workers and risks. Their workforce, the company’s biggest asset, need to be trained efficiently and effectively on hazards’, risks’ and incidents’ management. Mine site workers handle highstakes machinery and dangerous substances in high-risk settings. The success of risk procedures for a company depends on how well workers understand, accept, and implement these procedures. Without appropriate knowledge and specific tools workers are at high risk of impacting their safety and health, while also undoing corporate compliance measures implemented by management. To mitigate this, we need cost-effective and time-efficient tools. We need targeted, pertinent, specialised training. This raises questions about what tools contractors need to do the job and how these tools can effectively and efficiently be created and delivered. Questions to address:

• What is the decision-making process undertaken to create a targeted, pertinent, specialised training program?
• What is the problem?
• Who is at risk?
• What are the regulations?
• Who is the target?
• What are the methods of delivery and desirable frequency?
• What locations?
• What are the workers’ levels of literacy?
• And most importantly, what decision-making processes help to answer these questions and get cut-through to the workers?

Jenny Krasny Senior Customer Safety & Fatigue Consultant, Caterpillar Inc.- Caterpillar Safety Services Sleep deprivation, abnormal sleeping patterns, long commute times, and highly repetitive, sustained and monotonous tasks are common predictors of fatigue across the mining industry. Fatigue is a reality that our industry faces, and while all would agree that it is a critical risk that must be managed, understanding the severity of that risk and developing the associated controls has been a challenge… until recently. Using wearable devices, the condition of our operators, employees and managers can be assessed easily and accurately, enabling solutions for fatigue mitigation and management to come to the fore. The dilemma, however, is that solutions developed for one operation do not always apply to other operations due to the unique differences in rosters, sleeping conditions, commute times and a multitude of other variables. Having worked across four continents, supporting various mining operations identify, mitigate and manage their fatigue risk, Jenny Krasny will present to you not only the state of fatigue in our industry, but also some of the unique and innovative solutions customers are adopting to manage fatigue risk.

Dr. Daniel Bongers Chief Technology Officer, SmartCap Technologies Operator fatigue monitoring has been embraced in mining operations worldwide, with one glaring exception – Queensland Coal Operations. Why? Legislation requires workforce consent when introducing any initiative that the incorporates a criteria of assessment of a coal mine worker’s fitness for duty. This presentation will detail an early 2019, two-site initiative to navigate this process, with a particular focus on workforce engagement, the communication process, consultation with workforce representation, concerns, challenges, and results.

Mathew Haddrick Site Safety and Health Representative Brent McKay BMA Saraji Mine The mining industry has historically managed fatigue in an ad hoc fashion. A majority of leaders simply told their employees to “toughen up and deal with it” this is all part of the job. The slightly better leaders would encourage their employees to focus on sleep and preparing for work when they were away from the job. Most employees accepted that they were paid well and “being tired is simply part of the job and why they get the big bucks”. This presentation will focus on the journey Saraji mine travelled to develop our current fatigue culture, procedures and education materials. Currently the site has a solid process, a good education program, and strong tools for managing fatigue. The current culture has improved but it is a long journey and many employees still haven’t embraced the fatigue policy fully. The journey was initiated by the site SSHR, through bipartisan support of Management, incorporating key work force participation. Site was able to learn and understand that our miners were struggling throughout the shift and were exposing themselves and other road user to an increased risk of a fatigue related accident. This presentation will share some details on the journey Saraji has embarked on to achieve a common objective of reducing fatigue related events.

Ben Carnell Principal Consultant, Sentis Accurate and timely reporting of safety incidents is a crucial component of a positive safety culture. These invaluable learning opportunities allow us to adapt, make improvements and prevent future injury. Yet, recent Australian data has found that on average, 31% of incidents go unreported and in some organisations this figure rises as high as 53%*. And it’s not just frontline workers failing to report; leaders and managers also underreport at alarming rates. Session outcomes:

• Explore insights from a global research study of 12,460 participants, including mining specific results and case studies
• Discover underreporting rates across team, leader and management levels
• Understand the three key drivers of underreporting and the risks to your business
• Learn strategies for addressing underreporting in your business

*based on a sub-sample of 6,899 participants in Australia.

Assoc. Prof. Geoff Dell Head of Transport and Safety Science Courses, Central Queensland University Accidents and injuries in Australia are at epidemic proportions, the annual direct costs to the economy are now over $80 billion and the associated long term social impacts and suffering of individuals and their families are immeasurable. Clearly, existing strategies and interventions are at best holding back the flood gates and there is a need to re-think the problem and devise new and more effective programs and solutions. The high consequence low probability (HCLP) industries, like the airlines and rail, have contributed only 0.4% to these costs. So, what are the lessons from the HCLP industries which could inform effective intervention in the others? One of the key differences between HCLP industries and others is in the way safety management is regulated, especially in relation to safety management systems, their content, implementation and effectiveness. This paper will present a clear picture of the accident and injury epidemic and contrast the key differences in the way LCHP industries typically manage safety and respond to issues, hazards and incidents. It will also offer some reasons why this epidemic may have evolved and yet largely remained under the radar of government and industry leaders and provide some guidance for the future of accident prevention and regulation in order to deliver a step change reduction in accident and injury occurrence.

Bipin Parmar Principal Engineer, Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy The potential for a gas or dust explosion, arising from misuse, failure or lack of maintenance of electrical equipment in underground coal mines is high. In order to reduce the risk of a failure, pre-overhaul audits on the Explosionprotected (Ex) certified equipment are conducted. Occasionally Simtars is involved with investigation or inspection of equipment after a failure resulting in an incident or accident. This paper will present various methods of collecting and analysing the information/data prior to the event, the actual event and post event activities. Examples of investigation or inspection work, conducted by Simtars, will be presented. These are:

• Investigation of circuit breaker failure
• Failures of electrical cable used in underground and open cut coal mines
• Fire Resistance and Anti-Static (FRAS) compliance of non-metallic materials used in underground coal mines

Results of incident investigation conclude with recommendations for the manufacturer or for the end user. In the examples presented, the circuit breaker failure indicated a manufacturing issue. The example associated with electrical cables indicated cable insulation being compromised probably due to cable crushing (vehicle run over) or poor handling practice. The FRAS issue indicated potential hazard for static discharge when used with compressed air in underground coal mine.