1. PURPOSE
The purpose of this standard is to describe an auditable practice at mines for formal risk management studies conducted in the development of the mine safety management system.
2. SCOPE
This standard applies to formal risk management activities conducted as part of the development and application of the mine safety and health management system required under the Coal Mines Safety and Health Act 1999. The standard applies to Principal Hazard Management Plans and Standard Operating Procedures
3. APPLICATION FRAMEWORK
This recognised standard should be applied to risk assessments conducted in response to hazards being present at a mine which require the use of risk management activities to take place for the ongoing safe operation of a mine. The process should be utilised for the development of Standard Operating Procedures required under the Coal Mining Safety and Health Act and Regulation.
4. TECHNICAL GUIDANCE
The essential features of each formal risk management process conducted within the application framework are; Documentation. The information defined below is to be maintained in an auditable form at the mine whilst ever the risk is present at the mine.
A. ESTABLISH THE CONTEXT
a) Mining Environment
A brief description of mine and the physical environment that a mining activity is to take place. This may include geological data, geotechnical data, geographical data, a brief history of similar mining operations in the area and, where relevant, levels of support available from both internal and external providers. It should clearly state the presence of significant hazards identified in mines, which have previously operated, or are continuing to operate, in the geographical area
b) Mining Activity
A description (with diagrams if necessary) of the activity being assessed including, for example, the types of mining machinery and range of mining methods to be used.
c) Persons
A list of all persons contributing to the risk management process together with their organisational roles, experience and role in the process is to be recorded. Persons must be selected in accordance with section 10(1)(a) of the Coal Mining Safety and Health Regulation 2001
B. RISK IDENTIFICATION
Identification of Hazards
The technique adopted to identify hazards should be stated:
Relevant data should be recorded including technical data that identifies and quantifies, where possible, the maximum predicted level of hazard present in the workplace, equipment or area under consideration. (e.g. potential presence of explosive gasses and dusts, potential ignition sources, strength of strata or presence of geological structures etc). This information should be provided in a written form and sets one of the critical parameters, which, if exceeded, initiate a review of the risk controls, as soon as practicable. For Principle Hazard Management Plans, persons providing technical information, should provide and sign off on the identified parameters.
C. RISK ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION
a) Risk Analysis Method
An outline of the method and criteria used to analyse and evaluate the risks should be presented.
b) Assessment of Risks
An outline of the method adopted for assessing the likelihood and consequences of the risks. Two lists should be ranked in a manner which indicate matters in order of priority
- List A - The likelihood of assessed risk occurring and
- List B - The magnitude of the consequences of the risk should it occur
c) Identification of Unacceptable Levels of Risk
Each risk reported to either List A or B is to be evaluated as being either acceptable or unacceptable according to criteria determined at the mine site.
d) Unquantified Hazards
Where data is unable to be substantiated by either scientific of historical means, assumed risk data should be clearly recorded. The assumed figures will need to be confirmed by direct measurement as soon as reasonably practical and if necessary used in a review of the risk assessment .
e) Consensus Matters
All personnel listed in section A(c) above should sign off the final report of the risk assessment. Where consensus is not reached on agreed method to achieve an acceptable level of risk, the concerns of dissenting persons must be recorded in the final report. (Section 10(2)(b) of the Coal Mining Safety and Health Regulation 2001)
D. RISK TREATMENT
a) Actions to Reduce Risk
Actions proposed to control the unacceptable levels of risk recorded in List A&B, in order to ensure those risks are brought to acceptable levels at the mine, are to be recorded. The record will include details of specific controls, equipment, procedures, engineering barriers or other matters to be in place for management of the activities with an unacceptable level of risk.
b) Implementation Plan
A timetable for implementation and completion of all management actions associated in achieving an acceptable level of risk, is to be provided in the report.
c) Persons to be Competent and Accountable
Persons who are identified as being a necessary part of a safety control activities, must be trained and assessed as competent to meet the requirements determined in the risk management process.
NOTE; High-risk activities that are principally controlled by human intervention must address the possibility of human error and where possible, provide appropriate secondary controls
E. MONITOR AND REVIEW
Monitoring of Risk
Mining activities at the mine are to be regularly monitored and evaluated to confirm that the recommended risk control practices are adequate to ensure risks are kept at acceptable levels. Records of the monitoring program are to be kept. In addition, the records must include internal and external auditing of the controls in place for high consequence events.
Where any of the parameters set in the current risk assessment are exceeded, a process for an immediate review of the risk must be clearly defined The report must state who is to monitor that the risk assessment recommendations are in place.
F. DEFINITIONS
- RISK means the risk of injury or illness to a person arising out of a hazard. Risk is measured in terms
of consequences and likelihood.
- HAZARD is the source of potential harm or a situation with a potential to cause injury or illness to a person
- CONSEQUENCE is the outcome of an event or situation expressed qualitatively or quantitatively, being a loss, injury, disadvantage or gain
- LIKELIHOOD is used as a qualitative description of probability and frequency
- FREQUENCY is a measure of likelihood expressed as a number of occurrences of an event in a given time
- PROBABILITY is the likelihood of a specific outcome, measured by the ratio of specific outcomes to the total number of possible outcomes. Probability is expressed as a number between 0 and 1, with 0 indicating an impossible outcome and 1 indicating an outcome is certain
- RISK ANALYSIS is a systematic use of available information to determine how often specific events may occur and the magnitude of their likely consequences
- RISK ASSESSMENT is the process used to determine risk management priorities by evaluating and comparing the level of risk against predetermined standards, target risk levels or other criteria.
- RISK MANAGEMENT is the systematic application of management policies, procedures and practices to the tasks of identifying, analysing, assessing, treating and monitoring risk.