Equipping next generation of miners on how to identify and reduce risks

Since 2020, the mining industry has seen a shift in the workforce delivering the needed products to an ever-consuming world, with many people transitioning from nonindustrial backgrounds to the industrial world of mineral production. This shift, unfortunately, has led to increased injury and fatality rates at many operations. I often hear comments like “people just aren’t recognizing risk” and “anyone should have known not to do that.” With this understanding that much of our workforce does not have previous heavy-industry experience, I want to share some insights into how we might help employees recognize and treat risk more proactively to reduce injuries and fatalities. Every 1/18th of a second, our brains absorb approximately 1,850 bits of information from our senses (that is about 32,000 bits of information every second). Our conscious brains, which absorb and respond to information, can only respond to 7±2 bits of that information. The brain will prioritize these 32,000 bits of information for response by the hierarchy of what is dangerous, important, pleasurable and interesting (DIPI), in that order. (Sentis Pty Ltd, 2009) Without going into more of how the brain works, the most important thing for us as mining professionals is to have our workforce recognize and respond to the signals that will help keep them safe. Without having background into the consequences of exposure to the high energies involved in mining, it is difficult for someone to understand the dangers that these hazards pose. Telling newer employees that high-energy hazards could cause serious injuries or fatalities may not be enough. I wonder how effective it would be to bring back some of those safety meeting presentations we had 30 years ago where we showed photos of what the consequences of these high energies can do to a person. I know those are not popular for many reasons, but I think as leaders we can respectfully show those images and tell our personal stories that will engage that emotional response to pay attention to those danger signals. Identifying things that can hurt us as the enemy When we look at the importance of information that a miner may perceive, this is where we as mining leaders have the most potential for impact. We all know that what is important to the boss is something to which we should pay attention. So, what is important to the boss? It is what the boss always asks about and has a passion to follow up. As a leader in the mining industry, what is important to you and how do you show that? I am confident that if you continually follow up on the fatal risks in your business, miners will know that it is important, and they will pay attention to it. There is a lot of conversation that “safety” includes workplace exams (WPEs), preshift equipment inspections and job risk assessments (such as JRA, JSA) — what you do before you really get to work. All this just seems like paperwork and something to get through. What if we, as leaders, do something to make these tasks pleasurable? I have heard hazards and risks referred to as alligators, gorillas, boogers and gremlins. I love this concept because that identifies what can hurt us as the enemy. I totally support those programs that incentivize things that identify things that can hurt us. As a mining leader, how do you support and recognize identifying and eliminating these hazards? I know this is not easy, because it means at times we must sacrifice production. Understanding what you do and why you do it — why it is important Understanding the bigger picture of what we achieve by our efforts is interesting because it impacts us personally. Knowing that hazards can prevent us from providing for or achieving what is most important to us will make the information, particularly safety information, interesting to miners. It is important that we help link miners’ labor to the value and benefit they provide to the lives of others. When miners know how important their efforts are to the lives of others, especially those who are most important to them, information that will help them work safer and more successful will become interesting. I encourage all of us to share more information with our workforce that will help them understand that being a miner is much more than just a job. Miners provide materials that enhance the quality of life of everyone. To close this share, I hope that I have inspired our mining leaders to think about how we equip the next generation of miners to identify hazards, evaluate the risk and apply treatment to reduce risk to as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP). It all begins with identifying hazards. How we communicate information to our new miners that will make it DIPI has never been more essential. We have a newer workforce and at the same time we have emerging safety challenges with things like artificial intelligence and automation. Mining has a history of overcoming monumental challenges, and I believe that the mining community will rise to the challenge once again.

Equipping next generation of miners on how to identify and reduce risks

Authored by: Matthew Main

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To view the past issues of the UCA magazine you must be a member of SME/UCA.

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