Reducing accidents in the mining industry—an integrated approach

Fatal accidents in the North-West mining region of South Africa have increased significantly since 1999 (see Figure 11). During 2002 the North-West region experienced the worst ever year in terms of total fatalities, which is one indicator of safety performance*. The fatality rate (deaths per 1 000 employees) increased from 0.61 in 2001 to 0.86 in 20021. In 2003 it was again 0.63. However, the platinum industry, which is mostly based in the North-West Province, has been expanding in the past few years and is subsequently facing the risks associated with increased mining depths as well as longer tramming distances. Figure 2 shows the number of fatal injuries associated with platinum mines in South Africa1. While expansion is critical for employment and economic growth in South Africa, it cannot be done at the expense of health and safety. Under the Mine Health and Safety Act (MHSA)2, the primary responsibility for ensuring a healthy and safe environment rests on the employer. Employers depend a great deal on safety management systems (SMSs) in their endeavours to eliminate unsafe conditions. This, however, does not effectively address at-risk behaviour that, according to Schutte3, contributes to 88% of workplace accidents. To combat this threat, many organizations are implementing what is referred to as behaviour-based safety (BBS) programmes. The purpose of this research project was to develop an integrated safety management system (ISMS), which incorporates the aspects of BBS with conventional safety management practices.