Unit investigator Mark Freeman told delegates at a mine safety conference recently that 39 investigations into mine incidents have led to prosecutions since 1999, with a further 18 cases currently being looked into.
He said the underground coal sector had the highest rate of prosecutions, the majority of which were related to employers breaching the Occupational Health and Safety Act in their general duty of care to employees, while the remaining were as a result of safety issues or individuals' actions onsite.
Freeman revealed the severity of failing to follow OHS guidelines in a series of case studies resulting in the death or serious injury of an employee that have led to successful prosecutions by the investigation unit.
These included major head injuries sustained to an underground coal miner when he was struck in the head after a connector failed during the shortening of the FC chain using the shearer.
The incident involved 36 tonnes of line pull and two chain assemblies placed around the tailgate ranging arm with the connector in the side load that then broke under the strain.
A second longwall prosecution involved two employees riding on a continuous miner during cable recovery.
The machine then pivoted over the canche and pushed the employees into the roof causing severe spinal cord injuries and paraplegia.
A third underground incident causing death involved a contract worker getting a solcenic oil sample from a longwall pump station when he was struck in the face by oil at 303 bar pressure from a manifold.
Freeman said studies of the incidents showed that while there is a quality increase in OHS management in mining operations, there remains a "disconnect" between the system and the actions of supervisors and employees.
He added that risk management systems are being plagued by time-consuming procedures that lead to token compliance and there is a higher rate of contract workers involved in incidents.
Freeman said to combat injuries onsite managers need to focus on alleviating the "disconnect" between work practice and OHS management systems and employ a systematic OHS management approach.
