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All the latest in mine health and safety in NSW
Weekly incident summary
To report an incident or injury call 1300814609
Weekly incident summary - week ending 25 March 2022
41 reportable incidents, 2 summarised below

Dangerous incident | IncNot0041896

Open cut coal
Summary: A hydraulic shovel was set up to change rollers. Two stands were put in position to support the shovel. Additional repair works to the bucket were then identified which required the shovel to be moved. While repositioning the bucket, the shovel became unbalanced and slid off the support stands. The stands were pushed into two load rollers, breaking their mounting bolts and causing them to become dislodged.
Comments to industry: When a machine is sitting on support stands and must be operated, a risk assessment should be conducted and additional controls required put in place prior to proceeding. When planning multiple maintenance tasks on a piece of equipment, risk assessments must be undertaken to ensure that workers carrying out one task do not introduce risks to workers undertaking other tasks.

Dangerous incident | IncNot0041898

Underground metals
Summary: A haul truck was travelling on a decline and pulled into a return air drive to allow another vehicle to pass. The truck struck a poly Y coupling on the ventilation ducting, tearing the duct, which resulted in a large amount of dust being stirred up. As the operator exited the haul truck, the poly coupling, weighing approximately 200 kilograms, fell from the headboard of the truck and struck the operator. The operator was knocked to the ground but was uninjured.
Comments to industry: When developing control measures to manage the risks of roads or other vehicle operating areas, the interaction between mobile plant and fixed structures must be considered. This includes overhead ventilation ducting and accessories.
Factors to consider include:
  • roadway height and width 
  • load height and width 
  • location of services suspended from the roof
  • loss of clearance due to additional material on roadways.
Mine operators and suppliers should review how services such as ventilation Y couplings are hung and supported. Mine supervisors should conduct frequent physical inspections of mine roadways to ensure there is adequate clearance for plant to operate. Equipment operators must remain alert to operating heights and clearances around their vehicle.

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 (fatal)

Resources Safety and Health Queensland
Fatal accident underground working with suspended load
Coal mine workers at the Moranbah North underground mine were conducting infrastructure activities involving the dismantling of conveyor equipment underground. This required the movement of a suspended load, using block and tackle, lever hoist (cumalong) and slings. The activity at the time of the incident involved a heavy load of an estimated 4 tonnes. The load shifted during the activity and resulted in fatal injuries to a coal mine worker.
Details
 

National (other, non-fatal)

Agency - WA government
Accident and injury statistics 2020-2021
Total serious lost time injuries (LTIs) rose more than 6 percent to 402 across Western Australia's resources sector between 2020 and 2021 compared to the previous period. Nearly 96 percent of these serious LTIs occurred in metalliferous mines while the rest happened at coal operations. A further nine serious LTIs were reported for exploration, down nearly 4 percent on the previous period. The department revealed most underground serious injuries were to the hands (18 percent), arms (14 per cent), ankles, back and other body parts. More than a third (36 percent) of serious injuries were to the arms, legs and trunk.
Details
ISR22-12 | Go to the website

 

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
*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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