Weekly incident summary - week ending 7 October 2022
38 reportable incidents, 6 summarised below
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Dangerous incident | IncNot0043138
Underground metals
Ground or strata
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Summary: A rock burst occurred in an underground metals mine. A drill rig was working in the area but the operator was not affected. A seismic event with a magnitude of 1.4 was measured at the mine. The mine operator stopped work, barricaded the area and commenced monitoring.
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Comments to industry: Mine operators are reminded of the update to the Work Health and Safety (Mines and Petroleum Sites) Regulation 2022 Schedule 1 Section 1(1)(x) where mine operators must consider the risk of rock, coal or related pressure burst as part of the PHMP for Ground and Strata failure.
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Dangerous incident | IncNot0043177
Underground coal
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Summary: An electrician was cleaning a proxy sensor on a conveyor roller when their finger was caught between the sensor and the roller. The worker suffered a fractured finger, lost the fingernail and suffered soft tissue damage. The injury required surgery.
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Comments to industry: Workers should never place their hands or fingers near rotating components. When a task involves working near rotating components, the equipment must be isolated first.
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Dangerous incident | IncNot0043142
Underground metals
Fire or explosion
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Summary: An ice machine located near an underground crib room caught fire due to a faulty electrical connection. The fire was extinguished with a hand-held fire extinguisher.
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Comments to industry: Mine operators must have documented life-cycle maintenance strategies for plant and ensure that maintenance is undertaken in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations. Regular inspections and testing must be carried out on all equipment.
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Dangerous incident | IncNot0043153
Open cut coal
Fire or explosion
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Summary: A dozer operator jumped from the deck to the ground to escape flames when the dozer caught fire. The worker saw smoke and flames emanating from the left and right engine bay doors. As the worker tried to activate the fire suppression system from within the cab, the switch unit came away from the panel and couldn't be activated. The worker reversed the dozer to level ground so they could egress safely. When the worker tried to egress, the ladder was impeded by smoke and flames so the worker jumped from the deck to the ground. The worker was uninjured. The investigation identified that the safety clip was looped behind the activation handle. This prevented the safety clip from being able to be removed. The dozer was a hire plant that had a different activation method for the fire suppression system to those fitted other dozers on the site.
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Comments to industry: Operability of fire suppression systems in the event of a fire emergency is critical to the health and safety of operators on mobile plant. Inspections should confirm that fire suppression systems can be quickly activated. Mine operators should review second egress methods and regularly train workers in their location and use. Mine operators should ensure that change management processes identify the differences between new plant introduced to site and existing plant in use at the site.
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Dangerous incident | IncNot0043166
Open cut coal
Roads or other vehicle operating areas
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Summary: An articulated dump truck was travelling around a right-hand corner when the rear tyre contacted the middle delineation island and tipped the tub onto its side. The cab remained upright and the operator was not injured.
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Comments to industry: The stability of articulated trucks is a known risk that should be managed at mines. Factors that truck operators must consider include (but are not limited to):
• speed of operation
• operating grades
• uneven surfaces (holes, rocks, foreign material)
• tipping of loads
• hang-up of loads
• movement of loads.
The risks associated with the rollover of mobile plant was the subject of our compliance priority program in 2018. Refer to the following outcome report for more information:
Articulated truck rollovers and falls from mobile plant
Refer to Safety Bulletins:
SB17-01 Industry reports more truck rollovers
SB18-07 Safe systems of work for mobile plant
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Dangerous incident | IncNot0043177
Underground coal
Ground or strata
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Summary: A slab of coal on the longwall fell forward onto the ranging arm, slid down the arm, spilling over the pan line and struck a worker on the ankle knocking them over. The worker was standing on the front walkway of the roof supports. The shearer was entering the snake in the tailgate. Cutting was done in compliance with the restricted zone limits.
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Comments to industry: Mine operators should consider flyrock and slabbing strata risks when determining restricted access zones for operators on longwalls.
When reviewing controls related to a principal hazard, the impacts from all principal hazards must be considered.
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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)
WA Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety
Mines are required to have a risk-based procedure in place for managing breakthroughs when workings being developed and long holes or exploration holes being bored are approaching an area where other work may be occurring. A drilling procedure checklist should be developed with input and scrutiny from all management departments. Develop the required safety instructions, including the breakthrough control requirements and any plan showing the drilling location and all the underground drives in the vicinity which need to be isolated or barricaded. Surveyors must check the current and historic underground plans for the mine to identify all potential breakthrough areas and carry out any check surveys needed to confirm the position of all areas and locations where a breakthrough is likely to occur.
Read more
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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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