Weekly incident summary
11 April 2019 | ISR19-13| Go to website
To report an incident call 1300 814 609 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
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Week ending 5 April 2019
High level summary of emerging trends and our recommendations to operators.
Reportable incidents: 38
Summarised incidents: 5
This incident summary provides information on reportable incidents and safety advice for the NSW mining industry.
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Dangerous incident | IncNot 0034319
Summary: A fire occurred in an underground coal mine. A supervisor who was conducting inspections smelled smoke. A flame was seen dropping from the drive pulley of a temporary conveyor. The fire was smothered with stone dust. A mine investigation identified the mounting bolts had failed and were the incorrect grade bolt.
Recommendations to industry: Fires initiated by conveyors must be addressed in the fire and explosion principal hazard management plan. MDG 1032 Guideline for the prevention, early detection and suppression of fires in coal mines should be reviewed to confirm appropriate controls are in place for fires on conveyors.
Dangerous incident | IncNot 0034314
Summary: While carrying out an inspection in a shaft, a winder started unexpectedly. The winder driver activated an emergency stop. Emergency plans were activated and the cage was manually driven to a lowered level. Initial investigations indicate that a worker in the cage bumped the cage control.
Recommendations to industry: Appropriate protection should be in place where control devices are prone to being knocked or bumped.
Dangerous incident | IncNot 0034294
Summary: A fire occurred on a load haul dump machine while it was being operated remotely. The fire suppression system automatically activated. The remote operator then called a supervisor who was near the loader. The supervisor identified that the fire had not been extinguished. The fire was extinguished with a hand-held extinguisher.
Recommendations to industry: When plant is operated remotely, controls must be in place to monitor and respond to fires. Automatic fire suppression systems should be designed, installed and maintained to allow for a range of fire scenarios.
Dangerous incident | IncNot 0034292
Summary: A worker suffered an electric shock in a metalliferous processing plant. A water leak was spraying over the pump control station. The worker activated an emergency stop and suffered an electric shock. The worker was cleared of injury. An investigation identified water ingress into the switch which had made contact with the 110-volt supply. As there was no earth connection within the switch, it remained live.
Recommendations to industry: In areas prone to water spray, electrical equipment should have a suitable IP rating. Where 110-volt control systems are installed, earthing arrangements should be confirmed and the use of extra low voltage control systems should be assessed.
Dangerous incident | IncNot 0034291
Summary: A dozer rolled while working in an open cut coal mine. The operator was working on a bench when a request was made to clean up the pit floor by an excavator operator. The operator reversed the dozer along the bench to access the floor, when the left-hand track slid off the side of the bench and the dozer has rolled on its left side. The driver was not injured..
Recommendations to industry: Suitable windrows must be in place to protect mobile plant from accessing edges of benches.
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You can find all our guidance and incident related publications (that is, safety alerts, safety bulletins, incident information releases, weekly incident summaries and investigation reports) on our website: resourcesregulator.nsw.gov.au
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*While the majority of incidents are reported and recorded within a week of the event, some are notified outside this time period. The incidents in this report therefore have not necessarily occurred in a one week period. All newly recorded incidents, whatever the incident date, are reviewed by the Chief Inspector and senior staff each week and summarised in this report. For more comprehensive statistical data refer to our Annual Performance Measures Reports.
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