Despite undeniable progress, the mining industry remains the scene of serious accidents revealing disregard for occupational health and safety (OHS) and leaving open the debate regarding the safety of its employees. The San José mine last collapse near Copiapó, Chile on 5 August 2010 and the 69-day rescue operation that followed in order to save 33 miners trapped underground show the serious consequences of neglecting worker health and safety. The aim of this study was to validate a new approach to integrating OHS into risk management in the context of a new open-pit mining project in Quebec, based on analysis of incident and accident reports, semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and collaborative field observations. We propose a new concept, called hazard concentration, based on the number of hazards and their influence. This concept represents the weighted fraction of each category of hazards related to an undesirable event. The weight of each category of hazards is calculated by AHP, a multicriteria method. The proposed approach included the creation of an OHS database for facilitating expert risk management. Reinforcing effects between hazard categories were identified and all potential risks were prioritized. The results provided the company with a rational basis for choosing a suitable accident prevention strategy for its operational activities.
References
[1]
MAC (The Mining Association of Canada). Rapport sur la Situation de L'Industrie Minière Canadienne; MAC: Quebec, Canada, 2009; pp. 5–11.
[2]
QMA (Quebec Mining Association); QMEA (The Quebec Mineral Exploration Association). La Filière Minérale au Québec: Contribution Socio-économique au Développement du Québec et de ses Régions; QMA and QMEA: Quebec, Canada, 2010; pp. 3–26.
[3]
Occupational Injuries Among Canadian Employers Under Federal Jurisdiction 2002–2007; Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC): Edmonton, Canada, 2011. Available online: http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/labour/publications/health_safety/oiacfje/page04.shtml (accessed on 14 September 2011).
[4]
CSST (Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail). Statistiques Annuelles; CSST: Quebec, Canada, 2009; pp. 128–143.
[5]
L'Intégration Sécuritaire et Compétente des Nouveaux Travailleurs Miniers; QMA (Quebec Mining Association): Québec, Canada, 2010. Available online: http://www.amq-inc.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=77&Itemid=72 (accessed on 14 September 2011).
[6]
Sweeney, S.E.; Scoble, M. A new approach to mine accident analysis: A case study of a mine cave-in. J. S. Afr. Inst. Min. Metall. 2007, 107, 767–774.
[7]
Foster, P.J.; Parand, A.; Bennett, J.G. Improving the safety performance of the UK quarrying industry through a behavioural based safety intervention. J. S. Afr. Inst. Min. Metall. 2008, 108, 683–690.
[8]
Hermanus, M.A. Occupational health and safety in mining—Status, new developments, and concern. J. S. Afr. Inst. Min. Metall. 2007, 107, 531–538.
[9]
Esterhuizen, G.S.; Gürtunca, R.G. Coal mine safety achievements in the USA and the contribution of NIOSH research. J. S. Afr. Inst. Min. Metall. 2006, 106, 813–820.
[10]
Zhangtao, Z. Analysis on occupational-related safety fatal accident reports of China, 2001–2008. Saf. Sci. 2010, 48, 640–642.
[11]
Ouellet, S.; Ledoux, é.; Cloutier, E.; Fournier, P.S. Conditions D'Intégration des Nouveaux Travailleurs dans le Secteur Minier: Une étude Exploratoire; IRSST: Quebec, Canada, 2010; Volume R-650, pp. 2–38.
[12]
Vernero, F.; Montanari, R. Persuasive technologies in the interface of a high-risk chemical plant production processes management system. Cogn. Technol. Work 2010, 12, 51–60.
[13]
Young, H. Identification of High Risk Evolution and Compensatory Actions in Online Risk Assessment. Proceedings of the American Nuclear Society—International Congress on Advances in Nuclear Power Plants, Reno, NV, USA, 4–8 June 2005; 6, pp. 3484–3489.
[14]
Fera, M.; Macchiaroli, R. Appraisal of a new risk assessment model for SME. Saf. Sci. 2010, 48, 1361–1368.
[15]
Badri, A.; Nadeau, S.; Gbodossou, A. Proposal of a risk-factor-based analytical approach for integrating occupational health and safety into project risk evaluation. Accid. Anal. Prev. 2011. in press, doi:10.1016/j.aap.2011.05.009.
[16]
Gambatese, J.A. Owner Involvement in Construction Site Safety. Proceedings of the ASCE 2000 Construction Congress VI, Orlando, FL, USA, February 2000; pp. 661–670.
[17]
Hallowell, M.R.; Gambatese, J.A. Construction safety risk mitigation. J. Constr. Eng. M. ASCE 2009, 135, 1316–1323.
[18]
Hare, B.; Cameron, I.; Duff, A.-R. Exploring the integration of health and safety with pre-construction planning. Eng. Constr. Archit. Manag. 2006, 13, 438–450.
[19]
Cai, J. Development of a policy statement on safety culture. T. Am. Nuclear Soc. 2009, 100, 421–422.
[20]
Molenaar, K.R.; Park, J.; Washington, S. Framework for measuring corporate safety culture and its impact on construction safety performance. J. Constr. Eng. Manag. 2009, 135, 488–496.
[21]
Mckay, M.; Lacoursière, J.P. Development of a process safety culture of chemical engineers. Process Saf. Prog. 2008, 27, 153–155.
[22]
Kontogiannis, T. Integration of task networks and cognitive user models using coloured Petri nets and its application to job design for safety and productivity. Cogn. Technol. Work 2005, 7, 241–261.
[23]
Huls, D.T. Use of new communication technologies to change NASA safety culture: Incorporating the use of blogs as a fundamental communications tool. Proceedings of the 1st IAASS Conference Space Safety, a New Beginning, Nice, France, 25–27 October 2005; pp. 595–602.
[24]
Cameron, I.; Hare, B. Planning tools for integrating health and safety in construction. Constr. Manag. Econ. 2008, 26, 899–909.
[25]
Fung, I.-W.-H.; Tam, V.-W.-Y.; Lo, T.-Y.; Lu, L.-L.-H. Developing a risk assessment model for construction safety. Int. J. Proj. Manag. 2010, 28, 593–600.
[26]
Gibb, A.; Haslam, R.; Gyi, D.; Hide, S.; Duff, R. What causes accidents? Proceedings of the ICE—Civil Engineering, ICE Virtual Library, London, UK; 2006; 159, pp. 46–50.
[27]
Larry Grayson, R.; Kinilakodi, H.; Kecojevic, V. Pilot sample risk analysis for underground coal mine fires and explosions using MSHA citation data. Saf. Sci. 2009, 47, 1371–1378.
[28]
Hull, L. Keys to the development and long-term retention of the workforce of the future. COLAA 2006, 111, 46–47.
[29]
Gambatese, J.A. Safety constructability: Designer involvement in construction site safety. Proceedings of Construction Congress VI: Building Together for a Better Tomorrow in an Increasingly Complex World, Orlando, FL, USA, 20–22 February 2000; 278, pp. 650–660.
[30]
Kumar, N.; Paul, B. Planning of risk assessment and safety management in Indian surface mines. J. Mines Met. Fuels 2004, 52, 314–317.
[31]
Jennings, N.S. Improving Safety and Health in Mines: A Long and Winding Road?; IIED and WBCSD: England, UK, 2001. Working Paper No. 54; pp. 3–9.
[32]
Bruseberg, A. Presenting the value of human factors integration: Guidance, arguments and evidence. Cogn. Technol. Work 2008, 10, 181–189.
[33]
Jansen, J.C.; Brent, A.C. Reducing accidents in the mining industry—An integrated approach. J. S. Afr. Inst. Min. Metall. 2005, 105, 719–725.
[34]
Schutte, P.C. Ergonomics in the South African mining industry. J. S. Afr. Inst. Min. Metall. 2005, 105, 369–372.
[35]
Terbrugge, B.J.; Wesseloo, J.; Venter, J.; Steffen, O.K.H. A risk consequence approach to open pit slope design. J. S. Afr. Inst. Min. Metall. 2006, 106, 503–511.
[36]
Wang, W.; Zhao, W.; Hao, J. Applied research on risk management in mining shaft construction projects. Proceedings of the International Conference on Wireless Communications, Networking and Mobile Computing, WiCOM, Dalian, China, 19–21 September 2008; pp. 1–5.
[37]
Schafrik, S.; Kazakidis, V. Due diligence in mine feasibility studies for the assessment of social risk. Int. J. Min. Reclam. Environ. 2011, 25, 86–101.
[38]
Hagigi, M.; Sivakumar, K. Managing diverse risks: An integrative framework. J. Int. Manag. 2009, 15, 286–295.
[39]
Owen, M.; Potvin, Y. Exposure of underground mine personnel and equipment to geotechnical hazards. Proceedings of the 12th International Symposium on Mine Planning and Equipment Selection, The AusIMM Publication, Kalgoorlie, Australia, April 2003; 1, pp. 543–551.
[40]
Ghosh, A.K. Risk assessment of occupational injuries in underground coal mines. J. Mines Met. Fuels 2010, 58, 343–348.
[41]
Saleh, J.H.; Cummings, A.M. Safety in the mining industry and the unfinished legacy of mining accidents: Safety levers and defense-in-depth for addressing mining hazards. Saf. Sci. 2011, 49, 764–777.
[42]
Liu, Z.; Guo, C. Study on the risks management of construction supply chain. Proceedings of the IEEE/INFORM International Conference on Service Operations, Logistics and Informatics, SOLI'09, Chicago, IL, USA, 22–24 July 2009; pp. 629–632.
[43]
Guzman, J.; Yassi, R.; Loisel, P. Decreasing occupational injury and disability: The convergence of systems theory, knowledge transfer and action research. WOR 2008, 30, 229–239.
[44]
Lavoie, L.; Marquis, D.; Laurin, P. La Recherche-action—Théorie et Pratique. In Manuel D'autoformation, 1st ed. ed.; Presses de l'université du Québec: Quebec, Canada, 2008.
[45]
Desroches, H. Les Auteurs et les Acteurs. La Recherche Coopérative Comme Recherche-Action; Archives des Sciences Sociales de la Coopération et du Développement: Paris, France, 1982; p. 59.
[46]
Checkland, P. Soft systems methodology: A thirty year retrospective. Syst. Res. Behav. Sci. 2000, 17, 11–58.
[47]
Curaba, S.; Jarlaud, Y.; Curaba, S. évaluation des Risques: Comment élaborer son Document Unique?, 1st ed. ed.; AFNOR: Paris, France, 2009.
[48]
Saaty, T.L. Fundamentals of Decision Making and Priority Theory with the Analytic Hierarchy Process, 1st ed. ed.; RWS Publications: Pittsburgh, PA, USA, 2000.
[49]
Henderson, R.D.; Dutta, S. Use of the analytic hierarchy process in ergonomic analysis. Int. J. Ind. Ergon. 1992, 9, 275–282.
[50]
Padma, T.; Balasubramanie, P. Knowledge based decision support system to assist work-related risk analysis in musculoskeletal disorder. Knowl.-Based Syst. 2009, 22, 72–78.
[51]
Zhang, Y.; Zhan, Y.; Tan, Q. Studies on human factors in marine engine accident. Proceedings of the 2009 2nd International Symposium on Knowledge Acquisition and Modeling (KAM), Wuhan, China, 30 November–1 December 2009; pp. 134–137.
[52]
Ishizaka, A.; Labib, A. Review of the main developments in the analytic hierarchy process. Expert Syst. Appl. 2011, 38, 14336–14345.
[53]
Clarke, S.; Ward, K. The role of leader influence tactics and safety climate in engaging employees' safety participation. Risk Anal. 2006, 26, 1175–1185.
[54]
Baxendale, T.; Jones, O. Construction design and management safety regulations in practice-progress on implementation. Int. J. Proj. Manag. 2000, 18, 33–40.
[55]
Spittler, J.R.; Brown, R.B.; Lattyak, J.F. Managing evidence preservation at a construction accident site. Proceedings of the AACE International Transactions—52nd Annual Meeting of AACE International and the 6th World Congress of ICEC on cost Engineering, Project Management, and Quantity Surveying, Toronto, ON, Canada, 29 June–2 July 2008; pp. 1–8.
[56]
Huang, X.; Hinze, J. Owner's role in construction safety. J. Constr. Eng. M. 2006, 132, 164–173.
[57]
Lingard, H.; Cooke, T. Safety climate in conditions of construction subcontracting: A multi-level analysis. Constr. Manag. Econ. 2010, 28, 813–825.
[58]
Grusenmeyer, C. Sous-traitance et accidents. Exploitation de la base de données EPICEA. INRS 2007, NS 266, 49–81.
[59]
Coppo, R. Risk modeling with influence factors. Proceedings of the AACE International. Transactions of the Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL, USA, 22–25 June 2003; pp. 81–82.
[60]
McLeaod, R.; Stockwell, T.; Rooney, R.; Stevens, M.; Phillips, M.; Jelinek, G. The influence of extrinsic and intrinsic risk factors on the probability of sustaining an injury. Accid. Anal. Prev. 2003, 35, 71–80.
[61]
Rosness, R. Risk influence analysis a methodology for identification and assessment of risk reduction strategies. Reliab. Eng. Syst. Saf. 1998, 60, 153–164.
[62]
Aubert, B.; Bernard, J.G. Mesure Intégrée du Risque dans les Organisations, 1st ed. ed.; Les Presses de l'université de Montréal: Montréal, PQ, Canada, 2004.
[63]
Restrepo, L.-F. Combining qualitative and quantitative risk assessment results into a common risk measure. Am. Soc. Mech. Eng. Press. Vessel. Pip. Div. 1995, 296, 3–14.
[64]
Talmor, D.; Legedza, A.T.R.; Nirula, R. Injury thresholds after motor vehicle crash-important factors for patient triage and vehicle design. Accid. Anal. Prev. 2010, 42, 672–675.
[65]
Hallowell, M. Safety risk perception in construction companies in the Pacific Northwest of the USA. Constr. Manag. Econ. 2010, 28, 403–413.
[66]
Ewing, D.J.; Campbell, J.F. Tolerability of risk, safety assessment principles and their implications for probabilistic safety analysis. Nucl. Energ. 1994, 33, 85–92.
[67]
Frank, W. Challenges in developing and implementing safety risk tolerance criteria. Proceedings of the AIChE Spring Meeting and 6th Global Congress on Process Safety, San Antonio, TX, USA, 21–25 March 2010.
[68]
Marszal, E.M. Tolerable risk guidelines. ISA Trans. 2001, 40, 391–399.
[69]
Kutsch, E.; Hall, M. Deliberate ignorance in project risk management. Int. J. Proj. Manag. 2010, 28, 245–255.
[70]
Ghose, M.K. Generation and quantification of hazardous dusts from coal mining in the Indian context. Environ. Monit. Assess. 2007, 130, 35–45.
[71]
Joy, J. Occupational safety risk management in Australian mining. Occup. Med. 2004, 54, 311–315.
[72]
Kumar, S. Vibration in operating heavy haul trucks in overburden mining. Appl. Ergon. 2004, 35, 509–520.
[73]
McBride, D.I. Noise-induced hearing loss and hearing conservation in mining. Occup. Med. 2004, 54, 290–296.
[74]
Seal, A.B.; Bise, C.J. Case study using task-based, noise-exposure assessment methods to evaluate miner noise hazard. Min. Eng. 2002, 54, 44–48.
[75]
Singh, V.K. An overview of fire hazard and its management in the large opencast coal mines of Northern Coalfields Limited. J. Mines Met. Fuels 2009, 57, 352–361.
[76]
Checkland, P. From framework through experience to learning: the essential nature of action research. In Information Systems Research: Contemporary Approaches and Emergent Traditions; Nissen, H.-E., Klein, H.K., Hirschheim, R.A., Eds.; Elsevier Science Ltd.: Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 1991; pp. 397–403.
[77]
McKay, J.; Marshall, P. The dual imperatives of action research. Inf. Technol. People 2001, 14, 46–59.
[78]
Hales, D.N.; Chakravorty, S.S. Implementation of Deming's style of quality management: An action research study in a plastics company. Int. J. Prod. Econ. 2006, 103, 131–148.
