FATAL HAZARD PROTOCOLS – Lesson 13

Background

A review of the Fatalities and Significant Incidents in the Barberton mines organization over the years, the Company has identified the Key Fatal hazards to it’s employees.

The “Fatal Hazard Protocols”, pertaining to 12 areas in the organization are considered to have a Threat to the safety of employees and potential for loss:

1. Energy isolation.
2. Working at heights.
3. Confined spaces and irrespirable/noxious atmosphere.
4. Mobile equipment.
5. Ground/strata failure
6. Electrical safety.
7. Emergency response.
8. Lifting and cranage.
9. Fire and explosion.
10. Explosive and shotfiring.
11. Tyre and rim.
12. Inrush and outburst.

FATAL HAZARD PROTOCOLS

ENERGY ISOLATION

My Contribution:

• Operations and Projects must develop, implement and maintain an Isolation Procedure for relevant energy sources.
• The Energy Isolation Procedure must, as a minimum, contain the 12 Step Isolation Process flow chart for all isolations.
• Particular emphasis must be placed on:
  • Identification and dissipation of all relevant energy sources;
  • Isolation and securing; and verification of the isolation, i.e. test for dead/zero energy.
  • Group Isolation Permit and High Voltage Permit must be used whenever required.

WORKING AT HEIGHT

My Contribution:

• Personnel must not work above two (2) metres without appropriate guarding or fall restraint.
• Personnel working at height must not work alone.
• All safety harnesses, lanyards and accessories must be appropriate to the type of work being conducted and meet the relevant design standard.
• Anchorage points on apparatus should, where practical, be above the head of the worker and in any event not below waist level.
• If a person, is to work from a ladder, fall restraint or arrest devices must be used, unless three points of contact can be maintained and the task does  not involve overreaching.

CONFINED SPACES

My Contribution:

• Confined spaces must be signposted.
• All access to confined spaces must be in accordance with a permit system that includes a pre-entry risk assessment and clearly defined conditions of entry.
• Atmospheric monitoring equipment must be used, be of an approved type, be listed on a register, and be inspected, tested and calibrated.
• Area with the potential for irrespirable/noxious atmosphere must be part of a routine inspection programme. Establish a rescue management plan.

MOBILE EQUIPMENT

My Contribution:

• A Traffic Management Plan must be developed, implemented & maintained.
• Operations and Projects must make rules that relate to Safe travelling and parking distances.
• Operations and Projects must construct and maintain safety berms/windrows that consider the height, density, material type and profile to act as an effective barrier.
• Wherever possible consideration is to be given to the separation of heavy and light vehicles, particularly around workshops and stockpiles.
• A risk assessment must be conducted to identify the risks associated with mobile equipment including the interaction of heavy and light vehicles and pedestrians.

GROUND/STRATA FAILURE

My Contribution:

• A Ground/Strata stability risk assessment must be undertaken and a Ground/Strata Stability Management Plan developed, implemented and maintained.

The Management Plan must include:

• The appropriate factors of safety in the mine design; and
• Stability rules.
• No person shall enter zones with ground/strata stability hazards.

ELECTRICAL SAFETY

My Contribution:

• All electrical work must be conducted by competent and authorised personnel.
• Safe isolation procedures must be followed in accordance with the Operation/Project Isolation Procedure.
• Electrical safety devices such as earth leakage and overload protection must be installed on all final distribution circuits.
• There must be an assessment of over head and underground power lines and a system in place to control the risks.
• Operations/Projects must develop, implement and maintain a High Voltage permit system.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE

My Contribution:

• A risk assessment must be conducted to identify potential emergency situations, and an Emergency Response Management Plan developed, implemented and maintained.
• Once alarms is raised or encountered please proceed to the nearest refuge chamber immediately.
• There must be adequate emergency equipment, including escape and rescue apparatus (readily accessible and clearly signposted) and appropriate transport and response vehicles.
• There must be effective and robust communication devices and procedures for the initial notification of personnel of the emergency situation and for ongoing two-way communication.
• Duty cards must clearly identify each of the responsible persons, their duties, functions and reporting relationships in the event of an emergency.

LIFTING AND CRANAGE

My Contribution:

• Persons must NOT under any circumstances enter an area under a suspended load.
• Crane/lifting equipment must have at least 20 metres clearance from all power lines unless a risk assessment is undertaken to determine controls to allow for operations within 20 metres.
• Tag lines must be used where a load requires steadying or guidance.
• Equipment used for towing must not be used for lifting activities.
• All crane hooks must be fitted with a positive safety catch, unless exempted.

FIRE AND EXPLOSION

My Contribution:

• Fire and explosion detection/monitoring systems must be installed commensurate to the fire and explosion related risk in all appropriate locations.
• All fire monitoring, detection, suppression, firefighting and emergency response/rescue equipment must be listed on a register.
• A permit system or process must be developed, implemented and maintained for use whenever a fire or explosive monitoring, detection or suppression system is offline.
• Hot work must be continuously monitored for a minimum of two (2) hours and up to four (4) hours, dependent upon the risk after completion.

EXPLOSIVES AND SHORTFIRING

My Contribution:

• Loaded shots must be barricaded to prevent unauthorised and/or inadvertent access by person(s) and equipment.
• Quality control measures must be implemented and maintained for drilling loading, stemming and tie-up
• Exclusion zones must be established and procedures developed, implemented and maintained for pre-blast inspection, clearance and sentry placement  to ensure the safety of all persons(s) and equipment.
• Procedures must be developed, implemented and maintained for the loading of explosives into hot or reactive ground.

TYRE AND RIM MANAGEMENT

My Contribution:

• Procedures for managing specific hazards relating to tyres and rims must be developed and implemented.
• Tyres with split rims must be deflated to zero prior to removal or dismantling.
• Operations/Projects must establish a clearly demarcated restricted work area for changing tyres and rims to protect other personnel.
• Tyres must not be left unattended during inflation.
• No welding, cutting or application of  heat sources to be applied to a rim or wheel fitted with a tyre, whether inflated or deflated.
• A Tyre and Rim Management Plan must cover lifting, testing, maintaining and changing tyres and rims on mobile equipment.

INRUSH AND OUTBURST

My Contribution:

• An inrush risk assessment must be conducted to identify potential sources, and once identified; a Management Plan must be developed, implemented and maintained.
• Where appropriate, a geotechnical assessment must be undertaken to determine the nature and magnitude of potential inrush/outburst sources.
• Inrush control zones(i.e. stand-off distances or barriers) must be established.
• A permit to Mine approval process must include a requirement for regular surveys and inspections.