Page 63 - Advances In Productive, Safe, and Responsible Coal Mining

Zero Harm coal mining 49

critical risk controls, human error management, and fit-for-purpose management sys-
tems, all based on a foundation of culture, driven by effective leadership development
that expects safety excellence and makes the necessary decisions in terms of mine
design and operation to achieve the desired results.
These challenges will not be realized solely through the concerted efforts of mining
companies and their partners, the regulators. It will require the full cooperation and
collaboration of the coal-mining community sharing a common vision, the willingness
to recognize an optimal overall strategy, and the transparent sharing of achievement
and lessons learned from the implementation of that strategy.
Certain future trends will foreshadow the wholesale shift in the thinking and poten-
tial to achieve zero harm in all its variations.

l There is need of more leadership in setting industry expectations regarding safety manage-
ment and performance. Company will achieve the level of performance they come to expect
(and for which they are willing to manage accordingly). Safety should not control coal-
mining companies, the companies should control safety.
Regulatory compliance is not sufficient to assure zero harm. Mine safety regulations cannot
l
prescribe culture and leadership, nor minimize human error.
The industry needs a tripartite debate and decisions made regarding policy that defines the
l
most effective structure for coal mine safety regulation in relation to current knowledge
about how to achieve safety excellence and not just what is most expedient in terms of
enforcement.
l The closer a mining company comes to zero harm, the more important the sociotechnical
aspects of mining risk management become. There is a need to better understand how to
achieve this type of organizational development; i.e., culture enhancement and leadership
development.
l There needs to be greater collaboration and transparency within the mining community to
ensure lessons learned within any one company are learned collectively.
l There is need of a common, global taxonomy of root causes to facilitate the sharing of infor-
mation regarding how to improve the industry’s safety and health systems.
l There is need for a global consensus regarding the appropriate body of knowledge for effec-
tive safety and health management that, based on the perspective found herein, is more com-
plex and multifaceted than the usual content of safety regulations. The body of knowledge
will need to be known by both safety and health professionals and line management alike.
l There is need of consensus regarding acceptable risk that guides coal companies toward
safety excellence, including zero harm, across the entire life cycle of mines.
l There is need for better funding for and industry access to research to enhance understanding
of safety and health management system intervention effectiveness.

References

[1] Asfaw A, Mark C, Pana-Cryan R. Profitability and occupational injuries in US under-
ground coal mines. Acc Anal Prevent 2013;50:78–786.
[2] Grayson RL. Safety vs. productivity and other factors in US underground coal mines.
SME-AIME Trans Min Eng 2001;8:41–4.
[3] Kasap Y. The effect of work accidents on the efficiency of production in the coal sector.
S Afr J Sci 2011;107(5/6):77–85.