Australasian Mine Safety is the leading voice for all key decision makers within Mining company's and major contractors. Delivering the latest industry news as it breaks.
Issue link: http://ebook.aprs.com.au/i/52244
3 The Australasian Mine Safety Journal Summer 2011/12 Editor's letter A new year, a new vision for safety F Welcome to the new, harmonised Australia. That's right! In case you missed it, the safety industry reached a new milestone with the introduction of harmonised OHS laws on January 1st. irst brought to the forefront by the Whitlam Government in 1974, the harmonisation of occupational health and safety laws has been a long time coming. Soon it is anticipated that all Australian mining sites will be operating under the same federal occupational health and safety legislation – under the banner of the National Mine Safety Framework (NMSF). It is anticipated the implementation of harmonised laws will not only improve the safety of workers at mine sites, but also improve the effi ciency of occupational health and safety regulation and the ability to identify health and safety trends in the Australian mining industry. The seven strategies originally identifi ed by the NMSF steering group as the most benefi cial to the mining industry are: • A nationally consistent legislative framework; • Competency support; • Compliance support; • A nationally coordinated enforcement protocol; • Consistent and reliable data collection and analysis; • Effective consultation mechanisms; and, • A collaborative approach to research. CFMEU Mining and Energy general secretary, Andrew Vickers, was a member of the NMSF steering group. He spoke to the Australasian Mine Safety Journal about the draft legislation, and said although the NMSF implementation has been delayed until July he is confi dent the mining regulations will be improved through more industry consultation. Federal Minister for Resources and Energy, Martin Ferguson, has welcomed the mining industry's commitment to harmonisation, and said it will help in achieving zero harm. "Australia is a world leader in occupational health and safety performance in the mining industry. But we still have further to go to reach the goal of zero harm – a goal we all continue to pursue," he told sister publication Australasian Mining Review. "The National Mine Safety Framework brings us closer to achieving that. A more nationally consistent occupational health and safety regime aims to bring about the improvements we need. Greater consistency fosters labour mobility and greater certainty on legislative and regulatory responsibilities." Although it's early days, some research conducted late last year reported that Australian managers believed the harmonised OHS laws will be a positive impact to their organisation's overall operational sustainability in 2012. A survey conducted at last year's Sydney Safety Show by workforce management software company, ComOps, found that 87 per cent of managers believed that the new safety laws will be of benefi t to their organisation. At the same time, 68 per cent of respondents believed that the harmonisation model will achieve a true harmonisation of OHS laws in Australia for the fi rst time while 60 per cent of organisations believe that the law's personal liability provisions will be positive to their business. For more information on the NMSF and its implementation, you can read our full interview with the CFMEU's Andrew Vickers on page xx. Also inside this edition of the Australasian Mine Safety Journal, Dr Dean Laplonge writes about gender in mining, and says it's time to get stuck into some serious action and not be stifl ed by the existing practices of gender that currently shape the mining industry's culture. Hugh Shannon and Professor Tony Parker write about sustaining a healthy workforce and argue that communication methods need to be effi cient, high impact and timely to be effective in the complex and challenging mining environment. We explore traffi c hazards on mine sites. Damir Vagaja says that if conducted on a regular basis road safety audits can assist mining organisations to minimise the risks for their road users. We also explore mining, fl uid power, MDG-41 and hose safety. Neil Martin reports that fl uid injection injuries can be lethal and therefore fl uid power systems, and those who work with them, should be treated with the seriousness they deserve. Craig Donaldson looks at what OHS professionals can do to reduce slips, trips and falls in the workplace. Salih Mujcic explores how the mining industry has responded to the ever-growing challenge of containing risk and illustrates how organisations can further improve safety metrics by understanding the attributes that predispose some individuals to act unsafely, and how to harness the power of psychometric assessments to improve workplace safety. Lastly, Daniel Coad and Clinton Jury report on fi rst aid at mine sites and says the importance of applying effective fi rst aid in the fi rst minutes after an accident is paramount to the outcome of the casualty. I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on any of the mine safety issues featured inside this edition, so please drop me a line at: editor@aprs. com.au or follow me on Twitter: @KathrynEdwards. Kathryn Edwards Editor