The operator was half in, and half out, of the cab when he realised that he had not properly engaged the park brake. The park brake on the hire truck differed to those of the permanent site trucks. The hire truck did not have the brake alarm fitted to site trucks.

“Although the truck operator had been made aware of the difference in park brake activation between the hire truck and site truck, he has been habituated in the use of the standard site truck,” Mine Safety said.

“Mine operators must consider human factors when identifying risks. Generic pre-starts and contractual specification of the hire truck did not mandate a park brake alarm as per site standard. Mine operators should ensure that standards are maintained and new equipment is subject to a stringent pre-use audit against site requirements.”

In another incident, a blasthole drill was being trammed to a location suitable for the drill to be refuelled away from drilled holes.

After travelling 30m the drill collided with a parked light vehicle, pushing the vehicle 3m before being alerted to stop by another drill operator. The driller was focussed on avoiding drill holes while tramming the drill.

The light vehicle had been parked there earlier in the shift by the same operator.

“Mines should review vehicle parking arrangements for all relevant areas of the operation,” Mine Safety NSW warned. “The parking arrangements should allow for safe movement of operational vehicles clear of those that are parked-up.”