Re-engineering mining safety

When it comes to safety, the mining industry is not plagued by new injuries, but rather with finding new solutions to existing problems. Issues such as vehicular accidents, contamination/pollution, trips and falls, and injuries incurred from falling debris continue to be problems. In fact, the only relatively new issue is ergonomics–how to avoid cumulative traumas such as sprains and strains. Interestingly, many companies have discovered that the systematic changes required to achieve safety goals must be grounded in a new understanding of human performance.

Historically, mines have been managed in a fairly authoritarian mode, placing little value on employee-involvement and brainstorming. As a result, problems are caused by “shadow systems,” the informal set of procedures employees adopt when written procedures seem cumbersome or inefficient. These may be as simple as techniques for pulling away from the dump or as complicated as procedures for working in confined spaces. If everyone has his own system for locks and tags, for driving through intersections or for scaling a wall, it welcomes confusion and disconnects. Shadow systems are often inadvertently reinforced by managers who focus more on output than on methods, resulting in quality and cost problems as well as unsafe work practices.

The no-nonsense world of mining has sometimes relied on fear-based training, which produces only short-term effects, at best. Often, miners resist training that focuses on preventing injury or death, or disregard warnings that do not coincide with their experience. In some cases, they even increase risk-taking to prove to themselves (and others) they are not afraid. For many, this risk actually defines them and soon becomes habitual and necessary for productivity.

By working with employees to identify practical, easily-adopted procedures, however, management can make quantum leaps in their safety management process. Incorporating systematic changes brings the greatest long-term success. Below are four recommendations for mining companies looking to increase their level of safety and productivity.

Identify production problems as safety problems

By uncovering ways to work more efficiently with fewer problems, everyone wins. At APT, we’ve found solutions are often discovered by encouraging employees to identify problems such as delays at the shovel (20% of equipment problems cause 80% of the delays). Once employees clarify the problems from their perspective, it is relatively easy to identify the behaviours to address them.

Identify and eliminate shadow systems

If procedures are vaguely described or listed as “don’ts,” inconsistent and counterproductive behaviours will continue. Employees need help and encouragement to concisely describe the behaviours used to perform tasks. With these descriptions in place, solutions become evident. Several APT clients have found the “safety committee” is the perfect group to facilitate communication between shifts. They work with each crew or shift to find acceptable, productive and safe procedures. When all crews agree on a procedure and managers have agreed on its validity, an observation and feedback process is instated until new behaviours become habitual.

Evaluate and change faulty systems

In a process APT calls “multi-dimensional consequence mapping”, organizations learn to uncover and address the consequences they deliver that cause risk-taking. These consequences may include production meetings in which they focus on results without inquiring about safety, work order systems creating backlogs that convince employees that management is not committed to safety, or merely making comments during inspections that suggest managers expect (or at least tolerate) certain forms of risk-taking. Implementing a process to uncover the consequences that must change, makes safety management easier and more effective.

Develop a positive grapevine

When something goes wrong, most managers ask questions until every detail has been unearthed, yet rarely is the same true for benchmarking success. By applauding success instead of punishing failure, management can see immediate results. One simple way to do this begins with the mine manager asking his managers to relay stories about a worker who did something to help increase the level of safety within the organization. The request works its way down, and the information is passed back up. The result is a wonderful positive grapevine. Imagine how a front-line employee feels to know that three levels of management have been talking about him in a positive way?

Despite the many safety obstacles facing mining companies today, solutions such as these are improving safety above and below ground. Companies can easily implement these changes and benefit from the positive, long-term results.

Betty Loafmann is president and co-founder of Advanced Performance Technologies (APT), a leading performance-based consulting firm. Loafmann and her team at APT harness principles of behavioural science to assist organizations in achieving and exceeding standards in safety, violence prevention, production, quality and cost control.