Anglo American has released a new, entirely animated training video to educate the resources industry on the “common and dangerous” issue of crane safety.
The project was encouraged by Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ), with the video recreating a 40-tonne contractor crane rolling over – following an incident at the Grosvenor mine in Queensland in December 2024.
The five-minute animation replays the incident in detail, highlighting key missed opportunities and lessons.
The move to improve safety through an analytical evaluation of the incident has been praised by the regulator as a key change in culture and behaviour to de-risking operations.
“We commend Anglo American for creating this animation and proactively sharing learnings for the greater good of the industry,” RSHQ’s chief inspector of coal mines Jacques le Roux said.
“We welcome and encourage other mines to invest their resources in initiatives that improve safety outcomes for all workers.”
Since the incident, the crane contractor has also improved its safety, adding real-time alerts for override events and developing technology that allows site supervisors to review incidents. Data from contractor also shows a decrease in pick and carry crane incidents over the last six months.
The pick and carry crane involved in the December 2024 incident was said to have been operating at 250 per cent of the rated capacity when it rolled over and narrowly missed a worker, with investigations at the time identifying that several safety alarms were overridden.
It was also found that the lift was wrongly classified as ‘routine’ instead of ‘critical’ despite risk and terrain changes between jobs.
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