Greg Glennon – Operations Manager, Otraco International Pty Ltd
ABSTRACT
Tyres are pressure vessels, potentially containing several hundred tonnes of force, and they are continuously exposed to operational damage. The risk of a fatality during a tyre maintenance activity on an Australian mine site is in the order of ten times higher than that for a non-tyre related vehicle maintenance event.
In 2015/2016, Otraco International performed an extensive review of tyre maintenance related fatalities and life threatening injuries in the mining industry worldwide, their causes and the controls that need to be implemented to eliminate them. The review was used as the foundation for the Otraco Critical Control Program (CCP), an integral part of our Risk Management process and has since been implemented across our Australian and international projects. Our CCP is supported by tyre related bowtie risk reviews which assisted with the identification of critical controls and mapped the level of interface with other operational and safety programs to build resilience.
Otraco has learned that there is no “silver bullet’ for managing critical risks, they require total integration of safety, quality and operational roles, empowering workers to be part of the solution. Through ‘ground up’ solutions development supported, promoted and made visible by all levels of management, our controls that are seen as practical and are applied every day.
Dr Rolf Gomes, Cardiologist, Founder of Heart of Australia
Dr. Rolf Gomes
Founder and Cardiologist, Heart of Australia Corporate Health Initiative
Despite the enormous resources committed by the Mining Industry in developing workplace health and safety initiatives, the average health of the mining workforce still lags white collar employees.
Drivers of poor physical and psychological health amongst mining workers are often ‘external’ and lifestylerelated, commonly developing during the ‘crunch years’ (i.e. 25-50 when juggling increasing workplace and family responsibilities). These preventable health issues not only impact the growing burden of chronic illness in Australia but increase health and safety risks and contribute to diminished workplace performance.
Traditional attempts to address this issue have not commonly delivered long-term tangible outcomes for the individual or organisation. A more effective early intervention approach is required, incorporating contemporary biomedical, lifestyle, social and organisational research data. As well as having a rigorous clinical underpinning, new health screening programs need to be packaged into cost-effective and operationally efficient delivery models that enable democratised access across large workforces.
Successful early-intervention health programs across the Mining Industry offer significant mutual benefit to employees, workplaces and local communities alike (particularly via ‘network effects’ that exist within close-knit mining communities). Although currently lagging, the Mining Industry has the potential to become a recognised leader in this critical workplace and societal issue.
Jodi Goodall, Head of Organisational Reliability, Brady Heywood Pty Ltd
Jodi Goodall,
Brady Heywood
Jodi Goodall
Brady Heywood
Ravindu Goonawardene
Geology Geotechnical Superintendent
Chris Crosby
Surrey Superintendent, Anglo American Grosvenor Mine
The risk of fatalities due to roof and rib failures is still prevalent in underground coal mines which highlights the fundamental importance of monitoring roof and ribs in underground roadways.
Monitoring strata deformation and convergence in underground roadways is a key metric for measuring instability of excavations. Visual inspections, tell tales, extensometers and instrumented bolts are some of the methods used to quantify strata deformation.
The significant limitations of the current methods only provide a point-measurement along the roadway. Using laser technology allows the mine to scan and measure large regions of roof and ribs across continuous regions with millimetre accuracy.
The Maptek SR3 laser scanner has been used as a control during the rib optimisation trial at Grosvenor. This technology provides a baseline scan and subsequent scans to ascertain the extent of deformation throughout the active development mining areas. Thus, allowing geotechnical engineers to assess the adequacy of the trialled support system. Moreover, this technology allows geotechnical engineers to better analyse geological anomalies (fault orientations, dips, throw), bolting tolerances and excavation dimensions in an effective manner.
Ravindu Goonawardene
Geology and Geotechnical Superintendent, Anglo American – Grosvenor Mine
Chris Crosby
Surveying Superintendent, Anglo American – Grosvenor Mine
The risk of fatalities due to roof and rib failures is still prevalent in underground coal mines which highlights the fundamental importance of monitoring roof and ribs in underground roadways. Monitoring strata deformation and convergence in underground roadways is a key metric for measuring instability of excavations. Visual inspections, telltales, extensometers and instrumented bolts are some of the methods used to quantify strata deformation.
The significant limitations of the current methods only provide a point-measurement along the roadway. Using laser technology allows the mine to scan and measure large regions of roof and ribs across continuous regions with millimetre accuracy.
The Maptek SR3 laser scanner has been used as a control during the rib optimisation trial at Grosvenor. This technology provides a baseline scan and subsequent scans to ascertain the extent of deformation throughout the active development mining areas. Thus, allowing geotechnical engineers to assess the adequacy of the trialled support system. Moreover, this technology allows geotechnical engineers to better analyse geological anomalies (fault orientations, dips, throw), bolting tolerances and excavation dimensions in an effective manner.
Rav Goonawardene
Geology and Geotechnical Superintendent, Anglo American – Grosvenor Mine
Ben Elliot
Trainee ERZ Controller, Anglo American – Grosvenor Mine
A series of floor heave and gas inrush events have occurred during the development mining process in MG103 and MG104 at Grosvenor Underground Coal Mine. These events have exposed coal mine workers to elevated levels of methane preventing safe mining operations.
The presence of an undrained source of gas in the immediate floor, geotechnical floor characteristics, loading environment and various other factors have contributed to the dynamic floor failure. Methane released during these events are originating from the underlaying thin Goonyella Middle Lower (GML) seam which is a thin carbonaceous layer with high ash content. The 1m – 5m interburden thickness between the GM seam and the GML has an increased likelihood of the floor gas release events.
Based on the analysis of these gas events, creating a conduit in the interburden between the GM seam and GML will allow the gas to freely release to the development roadway during development drivage. This will prevent the build up of gas within the interburden creating a floor gas release event.
The proactive interburden fracturing was initiated using water pressure generated from a longwall salvage pump. The current UIS drilling equipment was retrofitted with a series of subs, packers and a fracturing tool to initiate a hydro fracture within the drilled UIS borehole. Once the packers are fully inflated and in position, a diversion valve is then activated to allow the fracturing tool to inject high water pressure to the desired location. Thus, given the complexity of predicting verticality of the hydro fracture in the interburden, a UIS borehole was drilled in the lower section of the GM seam as proving hole to check the effectiveness of hydro fracture.
The main benefit of the proactive interburden fracturing process is having the ability to reduce the likelihood of exposing development coal mine workers at the face to high methane levels.
Garry Gosling
Joint Action Solutions