East Perth, WA 6004 info@synergic.com.au

Mech Failure Investigation – Mining Operations

Mech Failure Investigation – Mining Operations

THE CHALLENGE:

Our client had recently experienced a high potential incident onsite where one of the site vehicles had suffered a mechanical failure. Following on from the site investigation, the site safety manager engaged EnterpriseIS to conduct an independent investigation to validate the root causes and submit recommendations that will enable the site to avoid future incidents.

THE SOLUTION:

EnterpriseIS spent a week onsite in order to conduct a first hand review of the evidence, interview personnel and analyse data. This included the conduct of the following specific tasks:

  • Analysis of vehicle specifications against operational requirements
  • Review of vehicle maintenance history
  • Review of site operational guidelines
  • Review of site incident history and related incident data
  • Analysis of heavy vehicle braking regulations and Australian standards

The findings of the investigation were presented to the site safety manager for submission to the mines safety inspectorate. These findings were also noted to be relevant to all open cut mining

THE RESULT:

As a result of the investigation, the following action areas were identified:

  • Site testing procedures for safety critical equipment, in this case vehicle brake systems, require improvement in order to ensure vehicles are safe to operate;
  • Future vehicle procurement programs need to address the safe working requirements of the vehicle fleet, with regards to braking systems selection methodology;
  • Improvements to driver training

The investigation findings have enabled the site to satisfy the mines inspectorate requirements and implement actions, which will improve the safety of mining operations across all sites.