Creating a Safety Culture at Prominent Hill

Client – Oxiana Location – 135km SE Coober Pedy Status – Greenfield, startup

Creating a Safety Culture at Prominent Hill

E N THE MINE Open Pit (final) 1.4km x 1.2km x 510m deep Copper/Gold Strip ratio 6.25:1

Creating a Safety Culture at Prominent Hill

THE CONTRACT – 6 YEARS Mobilize September 2006 Start Mining 1 st October Stage 1, Mining Infrastructure – Dec 2006 (completed) Stage 2, Ore to ROM – March (mine depth 100m) 40bcm in 18 months

Creating a Safety Culture at Prominent Hill Mine Infrastructure - WORKSHOP

Creating a Safety Culture at Prominent Hill THE EQUIPMENT Progressive Mobilization Key Components 3 x Liebherr 996 Exc 24 x CAT 793Ds

Creating a Safety Culture at Prominent Hill A big difference!

Creating a Safety Culture at Prominent Hill Another big difference ! 100tonnes 135tonnes 225tonnes

Creating a Safety Culture at Prominent Hill At the Start - THIESS OBSERVATIONS Mining culture not widespread in SA Few experienced open pit mining operators Support in SA for large scale open pit mining limited

Creating a Safety Culture at Prominent Hill THIESS CONCLUSIONS ! Recruit 75% experienced operators Focus the recruiting of operators outside SA Import mining knowledge from outside SA Experienced management, supervisory team to be imported 25% SA 75% outside SA Proposed employment distribution at Prominent Hill

Creating a Safety Culture at Prominent Hill RECRUITMENT REQUIREMENTS Overall Numbers – 150+ Staff Desire of Oxiana to maximise SA recruitment Oxiana sponsored trainees from Coober Pedy Required levels of experience Advertising National press - “Crow Eaters come home” State and regional press

Creating a Safety Culture at Prominent Hill RECRUITMENT REQUIREMENTS High standards set from the start Candidates put through high level of scrutiny Reference checks Medical, including drug and alcohol Physio - full muscular skeletal Psychological

Creating a Safety Culture at Prominent Hill RECRUITMENT OUTCOMES Poor response generally outside SA Huge interest in SA Successful candidates from SA - 89%

Creating a Safety Culture at Prominent Hill RECRUITMENT OUTCOMES Wide regional spread in SA 9% Northern Region SA 33% Country SA 13% Coober Pedy 11% Non SA 34% Adelaide

Creating a Safety Culture at Prominent Hill RECRUITMENT OUTCOMES Experienced or not? Only 23% judged to have required level of experience 39% Limited or nil Experience 38% Some Experience 23% Experienced

Creating a Safety Culture at Prominent Hill PROMINENT HILL AT THE START Very large open pit Very large mining equipment Critical targets High level of inexperienced operators New management/supervisory team

Creating a Safety Culture at Prominent Hill PROMINENT HILL AT THE START What was the impact of these factors on safety?

Creating a Safety Culture at Prominent Hill WAS THIS A CRISIS? No of Recordable Injuries No of Staff on Site = LTI = RWI = MTI

Creating a Safety Culture at Prominent Hill EARLY OBSERVATIONS Operators Level of experience was not as planned Level of information required to be absorbed by operators too much Training Industry standards Extent of “Greeny” levels Supervision gave mixed messages imported cultures an issue Morale & enthusiasm on site still high!

Creating a Safety Culture at Prominent Hill EARLY OBSERVATIONS Poor understanding of and application to procedures People believed they were doing the right thing for the company – shortcuts ! Too much information too quickly Heaps of enthusiasm Realisation “Rome not built in a day”

Creating a Safety Culture at Prominent Hill OUR CONCLUSIONS We needed to act immediately and Our ability to influence culture was at its highest

Creating a Safety Culture at Prominent Hill THE NEED FOR “INTERVENTION” Belief that changing behaviour was crucial Focus people on the consequence of choice Ensure our systems became entrenched Take advantage of good morale Re focus our training

Creating a Safety Culture at Prominent Hill ACTIONS AGREED Stronger, more measured application of training Procedural Hazards identification Mobilise senior safety professional Senior management led “Day of Action” Introduction of Training Simulator

Creating a Safety Culture at Prominent Hill THE DAY OF ACTION What did we set out to do? Demonstrated that management cared Put a “line in the sand” Look at the implications of behaviour & choice Reinforced our ‘Safety Messages’ Safety is Everyone’s business Safety is not a choice – it is the way we do our business Everyone needs to demonstrate safety by their actions

Creating a Safety Culture at Prominent Hill THE DAY OF ACTION The Process 1) We asked people to Look at what has happened so far on the project Tell us what they thought was good or bad on their work site Tell us what they thought could be improved Make personal commitments 2) Management made commitments

Creating a Safety Culture at Prominent Hill DAY OF ACTION Messages Used humour Reality

Creating a Safety Culture at Prominent Hill Training Simulator

Creating a Safety Culture at Prominent Hill OUTCOMES SINCE “THE DAY OF ACTION” 120 identified actions – 95% closed out The strength of feedback Significantly less incidents - minor Productivity improved

Creating a Safety Culture at Prominent Hill No of Staff on Site No of Recordable Injuries = LTI = RWI = MTI The benefit of Intervention !

Creating a Safety Culture at Prominent Hill FOLLOW UP – WHERE TO FROM NOW ? Another ‘Day of Action’ Simulator Continuing reinforcement of Procedures Management contacts to continue Up skill Supervisors - ‘Field Leadership Programme’ Captain and the Coach Programme

Creating a Safety Culture at Prominent Hill “The Captain and the Coach”

Creating a Safety Culture at Prominent Hill OVERALL CONCLUSIONS The time to influence a mine site culture is at the beginning Focus on behaviour Harness enthusiasm and committment Senior management intervention is powerful Commitment by employees is better achieved if feedback is continuous and issues raised closed out