Safety

At industry level

Safety is one of the biggest issues facing the South African and international mining industries, and local experts have set new goals and deadlines for getting the statistics in line with global standards.

In 2003, the mining sector set a series of sector targets on safety and health, with the goal of reducing injuries and fatalities by 20% per annum for the following 10 years. When members met at a summit in 2005, they realised not much progress had been made.

Accordingly, the chamber has adopted a Mining Occupational Safety and Health best-practice system, with the deadline of 2013 for achieving these industry-wide goals. Four task teams will address particular issues, namely noise, dust, falls of ground, capacity building and leadership. One example of the work being done by a task team is investigation into a fogging system that could reduce dust in mining operations.

At Exxaro, we are working towards a 30% per annum overall safety improvement. We are earning from processes used abroad, and focusing on adopting the new system identified by the chamber.

Keeping our people safe

Our target is zero injuries and, therefore, zero fatalities. Our aim is to achieve this through stringent application of management protocols, programmes and systems. Formal management-worker health and safety committees are in place at all operations, and meet regularly to ensure we reach those targets.

Immediate management action is supporting our drive towards zero harm, with highlights already recorded at these business units including:

• Staffing high-risk areas with additional safety practitioners
• Retraining safety representatives
• Coaching and reinforcing the practice of using mini-HIRAs (hazard identification and risk assessments) before every task
• Implementation of a structured visible felt leadership (VFL) programme (a formal and monitored process in which leaders spend time with employees at work to focus on safety, reinforce positive behaviour and correct negative actions).

Although key risks differ by operation, the challenges are vehicle incidents, energy and safety machinery isolation, and risk awareness and discipline at all levels. Skills shortages effectively exacerbate these challenges and ensuring the group has sufficient trained people remains a priority.

A number of initiatives were launched in 2007 to address these risks, supported by corporate audits and incident investigations in the review period. Results to date have been satisfactory:

• The roll out of revised I Care fatal risk controls is ensuring special emphasis on the risks responsible for fatalities at Exxaro and the preventive measures in place to manage these risks better
• Revised HIRA standards have been rolled out to all operations and are ensuring a higher level of risk identification and mitigation
• Vehicle safety – revised standards have set a minimum compliance level for vehicles to operate on company property or be used for company business
• Visible felt leadership – improved communication and understanding of key safety risks between management and employees to improve risk awareness and proactively address and mitigate safety risks on the floor before accidents occur.

An initiative focused on incident notification, investigation and communication is in the final stages of development. This will include proper application of lessons learned.

All lost-time injuries are investigated by the relevant business unit manager. All fatalities are investigated by a committee with the appropriate skills, headed by an independent chairman. Each business unit tracks its adherence to standards and legislation through a programme of self-assessments and corporate audits.

Exxaro’s contractors at all operations as part of a formal programme:

• Contractors are managed as part of Exxaro’s workforce
• Corporate contractor management standards are in place and adherence is enforced by each manager
• Monthly inspections to ensure compliance
• Induction and medicals are required by all contractors before starting work
• Contractors participate in monthly SHE meetings at operations.

A policy is in place that details Exxaro’s approach to identifying, preparing for and responding to emergency situations affecting employees and surrounding communities. This spans all known types of emergency including fire, fl ood, bomb threats, etc. Emergency situations that have occurred have been well handled, demonstrating the comprehensiveness of both policy and training.

Exxaro set a target of zero fatalities and lost-time injury frequency rate (LTIFR) per 200 000 man-hours worked of 0,21 for 2008, a 30% reduction on the LTIFR target for 2007. While there has been a steady reduction in the LTIFR from 0,52 in 2005 to 0,36 in 2007, actual performance was 0,39 in 2008. In risk-specific terms, the leading cause of injuries was lifting and materials handling, followed by energy and machine isolation, vehicle safety, ground control and working at heights. We are disappointed that we again missed our target in a year when the focus was on completing the integration of the former Eyesizwe and Kumba Resources’ systems, standards and procedures. The safety of our people is fundamental to our business, and we will not rest until we achieve our safety goals through collective responsibility, commitment and ongoing focus.

The fatality frequency rate per million man-hours worked in 2008 was 0,13. Our target remains zero, as any death is unacceptable. Despite excellent safety performances at several mines, we regrettably lost five colleagues during the year, four of whom were employed by contractors at Exxaro operations. There were two fatalities at Matla – one in March and one in November, and one each at Hlobane in February, Grootegeluk in September and Leeuwpan in October (non-reportable incident that happened outside working hours). Each case was thoroughly investigated, and lessons learned incorporated into our safety programmes to create an injury-free work environment.

The improved safety performance in the final quarter of the year could indicate that initiatives implemented throughout the year are beginning to have an impact on behaviour.