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Mining Weekly reports that Kumba Iron Ore safety and sustainable development executive head Philip Fourie says that the mining industry’s efforts to achieve zero harm are achievable.
But that will need a fundamental change in mindset from mine leadership, including a relentless focus on managing catastrophic and fatal risks. “By addressing the leading indicators for fatal accidents, they will be automatically eliminated. We know the fatal risks facing us, and we need to manage them properly,” he said in a statement. A step-change in the way Kumba views safety has resulted in a considerable drop in serious incidents and injuries across its operations, with zero fatalities since 2016. High-potential incidents were reduced by 77% and total recordable cases by 45% for the first half of this year. According to Fourie, the elimination of fatalities approach recognises that fatality prevention and accident prevention are two different issues that demand a complete focus on managing fatal and catastrophic risk. “The traditional thinking is that several lost time injuries turn into a fatality. That’s simply not the case. The circumstances that cause fatalities are totally different to those that cause accidents,” said Fourie. He outlined a six-point approach to achieving zero-harm, starting at the top. At Kumba, safety results now form part of employee key performance indicators (KPIs) and, as such, affect their performance-based remuneration.
- Read the full original report at Mining Weekly
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