Inspectorate probes safety reporting dive

The Coal Inspectorate has launched an audit across Queensland coal sites to root out under-reporting of High Potential Incidents (HPIs) after a significant drop in those logged last financial year. The number of HPIs reported by Queensland coal mines in 2020/21 was 25.7 per cent less than the previous year, and the reporting frequency rate - HPIs per million workhours - also dropped by 22 per cent. CFMEU Queensland health and safety representative Jason Hill said the Resources Safety & Health Queensland Coal Inspectorate bulletin on the issue should concern everyone in the industry, their families and communities, as it showed dishonesty in dealing with people's health and safety. No room for 'rogues or cowboys' in industry says union "If people are under-reporting and being dishonest in how they deal with things then they don't deserve to be in charge of a mine, or be in charge of people's health and safety," he said "They need to be named and shamed and they need to be out of the industry. We don't want rogues or cowboys in our industry. ....we're living on luck that we haven't had more fatalities in te past 12 months." Over the past six month, the Coal Inspectorate has requested copies of operations' internal incident reporting data, which it received from 20 per cent of mines, including underground and open-cut coal mines. Analysis showed there had been incidents occurring that were not reported as HPIs, when evidence suggested they were HPIs as defined by section 17 of the Coal Mining Safety & Health Act 1999, the regulatory authority stated. Examples included: steering mechanism failures on operating mobile equipment in surface mines (tie rods separating etc.)wheels separating from light vehicles whilst travelling in surface coal minesfalls of ground in underground minesbraking mechanism failures on mobile equipment occurring whilst being operated in surface minessignificant structural failures occurring on mobile equipment whilst being operated in surface minesflameproof enclosures compromised in underground minesisolation breaches that have resulted in an energy source not being positively containedsignificant strata failures in surface minescollision near misses in surface minesuncontrolled movement of mobile equipment in surface minesfatigue events such as microsleeps occurring when operating mobile plant in surface mines. In a safety bulletin issued this week the Inspectorate said the remaining 80 per cent of coal mines would be audited. The audit project is checking mine incident reports against the HPI reporting requirements to ensure all HPIs are being reported to the Inspectorate, enabling learnings to be communicated to industry. Related: Safety alert after blasthole rig topples over "This continuous learning from incidents is a key part of any High Reliability Organisation or industry. It is also a key finding in the 2019 Brady Review into fatal accidents in Queensland, and that of the 2021 Coal Mining Board of Inquiry," the bulletin stated. A high potential incident at a coal mine is an event, or a series of events, that causes or has the potential to cause a significant adverse effect on the safety or health of a person. When asked if differing interpretations of what constituted a HPI may be a factor in under-reporting, Mr Hill said he believed the legislation had been around long enough for people to understand the definition and what was required. "In the alert the RSHQ has sent out, it's obvious that there are certain companies and bosses around that are being dishonest and not reporting the events as required," Mr Hill said. In some cases the number of HPIs a unit clocked up affected people's bonus payments, which could act as a monetary disincentive to reported, he said. Downplaying or covering up incidents also avoided that level of investigation and potential downtime, he said. The RSHQ bulletin on HPI under-reporting listed recommendations including: Coal Mine Operators to review their processes for reporting HPIs.Coal Mine Operators should implement the reporting standards adopted by High Reliability Organisations.Coal Mine Workers are encouraged to make confidential complaints concerning HPIs not reported, enabling the Inspectorate to investigate such under reporting and take appropriate action.

Inspectorate probes safety reporting dive

Industry Queensland

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