The emergency scenario was devised by a team of industry experts and is part of the state’s statutory requirements for testing a mine’s emergency systems. They have been run by the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines for the last five years.
The Safesim software was designed to allow mines to test their emergency preparedness to a gas problem under real-life conditions. Using a replication of the actual mine monitoring system, Safesim generates gas alarms and uploads gas values to the mimic system in real time. (The mine’s existing monitoring system continues to function separately with no information crossing over between the two systems.)
It worked like this. Using the mine’s ventilation software, Ventsim, and the actual mine plan, Martin Watkinson, Simtars mining engineer, introduced a fire into the mine (on computer). Normal ventilation information was used to work out how long it would take for smoke to reach detectors and tube bundle sample points and what the pollutant intensity would be. The designed scenario was modeled and debugged prior to being run at the mine.
The benefit of being able to test the system using what looks like real data, provides the opportunity to build greater awareness of what happens in a control room. It also highlights the limitations of monitoring systems, such as tube delay – the time taken for a gas sample to travel in the tube to analysers. The information available provides the incident management team (IMT) with realistic data for decision-making.
While the final results of the Crinum exercise are still undergoing review and are not yet publicly available, Watkinson was able to make a few observations on the functioning of the IMT – the group that manages the emergency. Previous emergency exercises identified deficiencies in the IMT processes, such as how fatigue was managed, and changeover to relieving personnel. How IMT’s handle emergency situation remains a key challenge for industry.
Watkinson, who observed the unfolding ‘emergency’ at Crinum noted that the mine’s ventilation officer was part of the IMT.
“While he played a key role in the IMT it was clear that if he was actively involved in the IMT then he couldn’t properly do the job of interpreting gas information and running projections. Because he was an integral part of the IMT, gas information and interpretation may not always be readily available. But I don’t know the absolute solution for what the team should be composed of,” Watkinson said.
While Simtars is focused on minimizing the number of emergencies that involve gas, fires and explosions, emergency preparedness is critical to lowering the potential impact of a serious incident.
David Reece, senior inspector of Mines (Coal) at the Queensland department of Natural Resources and Mines, said he hoped to finalise the results of the Crinum emergency exercise by early November.
In NSW emergency preparedness training during a week long course is a requirement of being granted a manager’s or undermanager’s statutory certificate. These theoretical courses are run by the Mines Rescue Board of NSW and will be offered in Queensland in November this year.
“We are considering various options for further training in emergency preparedness for Queensland managers and incident management teams,” Reece said.
