Vehicle interaction safety forum charts journey towards a safer industry

Commissioner for Resources Safety and Health and chair of MSHAC Kate du Preez said the forum provided an opportunity for mine and quarry stakeholders to openly collaborate and share learnings on how companies respond to vehicle interaction incidents.

“Vehicle interactions with other vehicles, pedestrians and other plant remain a significant cause of serious accidents in Queensland mines and quarries,” Kate said.

“Vehicle-related incidents account for four of the top 10 causes of serious accidents and high potential incidents in mineral mines and quarries, including collisions with built or natural structures, collisions with other vehicles, rollovers and collisions with people.

“It is clear that vehicle safety and the control of vehicle interaction hazards is an area that can be improved across the industry.”

Kate said some operators are embracing technological innovation including proximity detection systems to reduce these kinds of incidents.

“These technologies can provide an added layer of control to lessen risks from vehicle collisions, operations, but technology is not infallible and can fail,” she said.

“Relying too heavily on technology can pose critical risks if that technology fails or people become over-reliant on the technology, become less vigilant and attentive to their surroundings, or develop a false sense of security.

“Technologies capable of improving vehicle interactions are certainly exciting , but are only part of the solution and must be combined with practical critical control processes which focus on each site’s unique characteristics.”

The forum also saw the launch of its Risk assessment education resource which summarises risk management processes at both the site level and the task level and an example of what good risk assessment looks like for vehicle interaction hazards.

The forum was hosted by the Mining Safety and Health Advisory Committee which advises the Minister for Resources on the safety and health of mineral mine and quarry workers.

A selection of presentations from the forum are included below:

• Risk assessment education resource - C Bofinger
  • Risk assessment education resource (PDF, 1MB)
• Human-systems integration for preventing vehicle interaction fatalities - R Burgess-Limerick
  • Case-study of human-centred design of new technology in mining - R Burgess-Limerick
• AI vision and its use in health and safety - K MacKenzie
• Re-Designing Site Movements, Acceptable Controls and Verification Techniques - C Wilson