The quarterly safety statistics collected by MinEx now include reporting of incidents that, but for different circumstances, could have resulted in death or serious harm. The first six months of data shows that Falls and Collisions represent half of the 350 incidents reported.
Falls are a major cause of fatalities in the extractives sector, both in New Zealand and internationally. Of the now eight fatalities in the extractives sector since 2011, five of them were a result of falls. Recent research from Australia, which covered extractives industry fatalities from 16 countries worldwide identified that 34% of fatalities are a result of falls, with objects falling on people being the dominant cause.
MixEx recommend that all sites fully investigate any incident resulting in the fall of a person or object to ensure
adequate controls are in place to reduce the risk of serious harm. You need to ensure that:
? Fall hazards such as slope stability, unsecured tools, screens etc., trip hazards and areas where workers
can fall from height are identified in risk assessments.
? Adequate and effective controls are in place to ensure no-one is exposed to the fall hazards identified.
? Regular workplace inspections are conducted to identify work areas where there are fall hazards and
what, if any, exposure workers have to these hazards.
? Lifting procedures are checked to ensure that no-one is in the fall zone of a lift when the lift is made.
? High risk tasks such as lifting, working at heights, working near unstable faces etc. are adequately
supervised.
