According to a Resources Safety and Health Queensland investigation, more than half of the serious injuries reported this year on coal mines were finger injuries.
The serious incidents reported resulted in injuries such as amputations, severed tendons, degloving, crushing and severe lacerations.
Two thirds of these incidents occurred during maintenance tasks carried out on coal mines, with the remaining third involving workers operating plant or undertaking manual handling tasks.
So what’s behind one of the mining industry’s most common injuries?
After investigating 28 finger incidents on coal mines this year, the Regulator noticed a number of similarities. In many cases the injuries were preventable and were occasioned due to inadequate job planning and provision of suitable tools. Other common factors included inadequate risk assessment and implementation of controls; inexperience coupled with inadequate supervision; poor communication between workers and supervisors; and failure to follow procedure.
The Regulator made a series of recommendations aimed at reducing serious finger injuries. Below are a handful of them.
Site senior executives should:
- review supervision and manning requirements for tasks
- review and communicate site risk management, isolation, lifting and communication procedures
- provide suitable tooling to eliminate the need for hands to be in any pinch points or crush zones
- make sure procedures for tasks are developed, available and utilised.
- implement a “hands free” work initiative:
- Identify tasks where hands are involved and alternate methods that eliminate or reduce the need for hands to be in pinch/crush points.
Shift supervisor should:
- communicate and reinforce mine risk management processes
- plan and adequately resources tasks
- make sure jobs are planned and risk assessed prior to proceeding.
Coal mine workers should:
- follow mine risk management procedures. This includes completing on the job hazard analysis
- utilise specialised tools to eliminate need for hands to be in any pinch or crush zone
- where tasks being undertaken change from the plan, stop and re-evaluate risks following the mine procedures
- actively practice risk management strategies with fellow workers.
The full list of recommendations can be viewed in the investigation.