Page 55 - Advances In Productive, Safe, and Responsible Coal Mining

Zero Harm coal mining 41

6. Proximity of miners to the working face and active equipment where coal is mined. The
advent of semiautonomous and fully autonomous mining equipment, particularly mobile
equipment such as load-haul-dumps (LHDs), longwalls, roof bolters, continuous miners,
and shuttle cars in underground mines; haul trucks in open pit mines; and drills in both sur-
face and underground environments, lessens the risk by increasing the separation between
operators and the equipment. However, this separation does not help those maintaining the
equipment and is in itself dynamic and dependent for the most part on operator judgment and
therefore human error. It is incomplete or absent for certain mining jobs such as in-shop and
in-mine mobile and fixed equipment maintenance, surveying, and utilities crews. Sensors
help to detect proximity zone incursions, but are susceptible to a variety of faults and
failures.
7. The human element. Miners are at the center of mining safety and their decisions and behav-
ior have a substantial impact on effectiveness of overall mine safety as well as their own
individual safety and that of their coworkers [18]. A number of prominent incident causation
theories identify human error and behavior as a very significant contributor to negative out-
comes such as injury and property damage. It is easy to assume that thorough training, clear
standard operating procedures, and effective supervision should minimize the potential for
human error in the form of unsafe behavior. In the vast majority of instances, this is true;
however, while important, these systems do not guarantee compliant behavior and correct
decision making. Error in the form of poor decisions and/or at-risk behavior occurs daily in
coal mines and, despite common beliefs that these outcomes are under the complete control
of miners, there is evidence that human error has been a contributing factors in many coal
mine disasters and it is not isolated to miners alone [19]. Managers are also susceptible to this
form of risk. Many types of controls have been introduced in the coal industry from
behavior-based safety (BBS), behavior modification, progressive discipline, human perfor-
mance management, and values-based interventions, among others, with varying degrees of
effectiveness. Research suggests that human error is not always preventable, but the best
opportunity to do so involves an understanding of the sources of error and developing con-
trols to mitigate its negative impacts on safety. Some error is intentional and person centered,
other is person centered but outside the conscious control of the person (i.e., they are
unaware that their actions are in error). There are also human failures for which the primary
contributing factors are related to engineering, managerial, systems, and operational defects.
These seven characteristics are important as they help to refine risk assessment and
management processes and to improve awareness both for miners and managers
[20]. There is no such thing as zero risk in mining, including coal mining. As such,
any serious approach to zero harm must not focus exclusively on not having incidents,
but on managing operational and human risk to a level that will minimize the potential
for incidents to occur.

3.6 Risk management and acceptable risk

The focus on risk management is a relatively new development even if the conse-
quences of risk have been viscerally understood by people in their daily lives for
millennia. Humans have been practicing risk management since the dawn of man
as an inherent human tendency to recognize, understand, and avoid the consequences
of risk.