Weekly incident summary
19 July 2018 | ISR18-28 | 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 18 July 2018
Reportable incidents total: 45
Summarised incidents: 8
Incidents of note for which operators should consider the comments provided and determine if action needs to be taken.
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Dangerous incident | SinNot 2018/01151
Summary: A worker suffered second-degree burns in a welding incident. While preparing the task, solvent was used to clean up grease before starting on an oxy cutting task. When the workpiece was cleaned, a pool of solvent was missed. The scene was not preserved and the incident not reported immediately.
Recommendations to industry: The risk of using solvents as preparation for hot work should be included in the risk assessment for the task and controls put in place to protect workers. The Notification of incident and injury guide is available to assist mines in meeting their obligations of the Work Health and Safety (Mines and Petroleum Sites) Act 2013 when notifying incidents.
Dangerous incident | SinNot 2018/01138
Summary: A light vehicle rolled at an open cut coal mine. The vehicle operator reported they had a micro sleep. The operator was traveling on a haul road at 5:30 am when the ute rolled onto its side.
Recommendations to industry: The Resources Regulator is concerned with the increase in fatigue-related incidents being reported in open cut coal mines. Mines should review their fatigue management plans and workers’ understanding of these plans..
Dangerous incident | SinNot 2018/01137
Summary: At an underground coal mine, an operator was sprayed with oil on the face and neck when a roof bolter feed hose failed on a continuous miner. The fluid release protocol was followed and the worker was cleared of injury.
Recommendations to industry: Hydraulic hose management must include routine inspections of hose routing, protection and guarding.
Dangerous incident | SinNot 2018/01136
Summary: At an underground metalliferous mine, a collision occurred between a drill rig and a light vehicle. The light vehicle sustained significant damage.
As the light vehicle approached, the operator stopped but was unable to make radio contact. The drill continued to drive and the boom made contacted with the windscreen. The driver and passenger in the light vehicle were not injured.
Recommendations to industry: The risk of collision when vision is restricted is well documented and reasonably foreseeable. Suitable risk controls such as cameras and vehicle escorts should be used when tramming large items of plant with restricted visibility around mine sites.
Dangerous incident | SinNot 2018/01135
Summary: While recovering longwall roof supports, two operators were sprayed with oil when an interchock hose failed. The operators were two supports away from where the failure occurred. The mine investigation identified the hose had been damaged when recovering the adjacent roof support.
Recommendations to industry: The risk assessment for longwall equipment recovery should include the risk of damage to hydraulic components and appropriate controls should be implemented.
Dangerous incident | SinNot 2018/01130
Summary: While bogging out a cuddy (stub) an operator saw an ignition of gas that resulted in a one metre pulsing flame. The gas was being emitted from a drill hole. There was no response when emergency was called by the operator and supervisor. Subsequent calls raised the alarm.
Recommendations to industry: When controlling gas emitting from boreholes, the effectiveness of sealing arrangements should be reviewed before starting other works. Mines must have an emergency management system in place that ensures workers are capable of rapidly raising the alarm in an emergency.
Serious injury | SinNot 2018/01128
Summary: Two shot firers were treated at hospital after completing a shift spent charging a shot. They returned to their accommodation camp at 7 pm and at 11.30 pm took themselves to hospital. The cause of illness was unknown at the time of writing. Potential causes were ammonium-related, heat-related or pre-existing flu-related factors.
Recommendations to industry: The safety data sheet and handling instructions must be made available so that adequate controls can be implemented to manage the exposure of workers to hazardous substances. When used underground, the ventilation required should be assessed.
When working in hot areas, controls must be in place to manage the exposure of workers.
Dangerous incident | SinNot 2018/01127
Summary: At an open cut coal mine, a light vehicle rolled after losing control on a freshly watered section of a haul road. The driver was uninjured and was put under observation in the first aid room at the mine. Drug and alcohol testing was undertaken. The scene was preserved with normal operations undertaken on an alternate circuit.
Recommendations to industry: Following several similar incidents, SB1809 Overwatering of roads leads to vehicle incidents was issued. Mines should review the recommendations detailed in this safety bulletin.
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Number of incident notifications, by commencement month and incident type
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Other safety publications of note
| Publication |
Issue / Topic |
DNRME Qld
Alert reported in MinEx NZ |
- Fatality resulting from kinetic energy release of springback plates during maintenance.
- Details
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| MSHA |
- METAL/NONMETAL MINE FATALITY – On June 13, 2018, a 65-year old truck driver with 4 years of experience was fatally injured when his truck travelled over a berm and into an impoundment of water. Divers recovered the victim in 20 feet of water.
- Access the MNM Fatality Alert here
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| Worksafe NZ alert reported |
- Articulated truck roll-overs
- Details
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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: resourcesandenergy.nsw.gov.au/safety
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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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