Weekly incident summary - week ending 16 September 2022
44 reportable incidents, 4 summarised below
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Dangerous incident | IncNot0042991
Underground metals mine
Roads or other vehicle operating areas
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Summary: A concrete agitator was travelling down a decline when a fire started behind the position 1 tyre. An emergency was called for all underground workers to retreat to refuge chambers. Emergency response attended the scene and extinguished the fire. After removing the postion 1 tyre, it was found that the position 1 brake pack oil cooling line was capped off. This resulted in excessive heat generating from the brake pack. It was suspected that the brake oil cooling line was capped off during an off-site service and was reconnected before returning to site.
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Comments to industry: Following the maintenance and repair of mobile plant, plant should be inspected, tested and verified as fit-for-purpose before being returned to service. Safety critical systems such as braking should be inspected, maintained and tested in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations.
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Dangerous incident | IncNot0042993
Open cut coal mine
Roads or other vehicle operating areas
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Summary: As a truck was tipping a load at a tip head, the material beneath the rear of the truck began to fail. The operator exited the truck and the ground continued to slump until the truck was at a 45-degree angle front to rear. The tip head was about 12 m high.
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Comments to industry: When designing a dump, ground stability should be a primary consideration. Material consistency, wet conditions and water management should be factored into the design. Inspections should verify dump integrity. Areas identified that do not meet the design standard should be demarcated, communicated to the workforce and remediated to meet the standard.
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Dangerous incident | IncNot0042995
Underground coal mine
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Summary: A worker suffered an electric shock while adjusting a conveyor pre-start alarm level. The worker touched a gland and structure and received a tingle across his hand. The mine implemented its electric shock response plan. The worker was assessed by ambulance officers.
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Comments to industry: Mine operators should seek every opportunity to apply the hierarchy of controls when managing electrical equipment in harsh environments.
Using extra low voltage electrical equipment and field devices considerably reduces the risks associated with electric shock.
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Dangerous incident | IncNot0043023
Open cut coal mine
Roads or other vehicle operating areas
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Summary: A loaded dump truck was delivering waste rock to a dump. While turning to reverse to the dump face, the truck drove into an unprotected slot that was dug by a dozer. The slot was about 15 m long, 10 m wide and 3 m deep. The slot had no edge protection established on either side.
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Comments to industry: Hazards created by earthworks should be suitably bunded to protect mobile plant from accessing unsafe areas. Supervisors should communicate changes to operating areas and ground surface to all machinery operators entering the area. Mine operators should review the adequacy of their communication arrangements on shift.
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Other publications of interest
These incidents are included for your review. The NSW Resources Regulator does not endorse the findings or recommendations of these incidents. It is your legal duty to exercise due diligence to ensure the business complies with its work health and safety obligations.
National (other, non-fatal)
Resources Safety & Health Queensland
A fuel truck driver suffered serious injuries which required hospitalisation after being crushed between the rear of a front-end wheel loader and the rear of a stationary fuel truck. The incident is under investigation however the preliminary findings are that the driver parked the fuel truck close to the crushing plant and was fuelling plant in that area. Part of the fuelling task required the worker to be at the rear of the fuel truck and while at the rear of the fuel truck, the worker was crushed between the rear of the front-end loader and the rear of the fuel truck.
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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 Safety Performance Measures Reports and our Business Activity Reports.
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