In February 2009, BHP Billiton forecast a full-year production target of 130 million tonnes of iron ore. On 6 May 2009, the BHP president, Ian Ashby, has admitted that the company will be a “few million tonnes short”. The reason? Workplace deaths. Ian Ashby was talking at a conference yesterday and pledged to improve safety … Continue reading “The real business cost of safety”
Thanks to all those readers of SafetyAtWorkBlog, particularly those who make the effort to comment. As well as these blog postings you will see articles appear in RTWMatters in support of its relaunched website as well as through the LabourStart website, a news site primarily for trade unionists and labour advocates. There is also a … Continue reading “Writer and commentator services”
There have been several incidents recently that illustrate the unenviable pressures on inspectors and Australian OHS regulators. The Tasmanian Coroner found that the mining inspectorate of Workplace Standards Tasmania was “inadequate” and incapable of “of carrying out its core function of inspecting and enforcing best safety practices within the mining industry.” Two inspectors for that … Continue reading “Role of OHS Inspectors”
Australian Standards can have a major role to play in the management of safety in workplaces. They apply to equipment, documents, decisions and can have legislative credibility if required by specific regulations. Australian Standards are regularly referred to in guidances issued by OHS regulators adding further credibility. The highest selling standard for many years has … Continue reading “Two different approaches to risk management and safety in Australia”
The 11 November 2008 edition of The Australian includes a page 2 story where the previous manager of the Beaconsfield Mine has been called on to be held responsible for the management failures that led to the death of Larry Knight in 2006. The call was made by counsel for Larry Knight’s family and the … Continue reading “Mining fatalities and accountability”
Over the last few days at the Tasmanian inquest into the death of Larry Knight, several geotechnical consultants and experts have been going through their reports to Beaconsfield Mine management. These assessment reports were undertaken before the collapse that caused Larry Knight’s death. The impression from media reports is that mine management listened to, or … Continue reading “Who manages safety – employers or inspectors?”
On 24 July 2008 the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) announced that it has fined the operator of the Crandall Canyon Mine in Emery County, Utah, $1,340,000 for violations that directly contributed to the deaths of six miners in 2007. According to MSHA’s media release, Agapito Associates Inc., a mining … Continue reading “Crandall Canyon Mine Investigation Report”