Mining companies must address the culture of noncompliance regarding health and safety measures to ensure that all employees respect the measures put in place, and the relevant authorities, thereby minimising risk, says training centre Strat Training MD Edwin Stafford.

A recurring challenge is that employees do not prioritise health and safety measures or regulations that are meant to keep them safe, and often view such measures as the employer’s responsibility, disregarding the role they play in ensuring their safety and that of their fellow employees.

An example of noncompliance is how the role and authority of safety representatives is viewed by employees.

The role of the safety representative on mines is to monitor and inspect safety areas and report any substandard safety issues – such as a substandard environment or substandard equipment, personal protective equipment or operations during the extraction and processing of minerals – to the safety officer and safety committee.

Stafford explains that the safety representative’s role was envisioned as a crucial part of mine safety. These representatives may be elected by other employees, rather than nominated by a committee, and are often blue-collar workers who might not have had the necessary education and/or training and, therefore, cannot fulfil the role in the manner intended.

As a result, s/he is not the ideal person for the role and, as such, his/her authority is not respected by other employees.

Stafford says employees do “whatever they want or do not care about what the safety representative says”. If the safety representative then reports such employees, the representative risks being alienated. Therefore, representatives have a tendency to let things be and the opportunity to enhance safety is lost.

Consequently, safety representatives often do not fulfil their role – it becomes “a paper exercise”.

Another instance of noncompliance is in how companies interact with the Mine Health and Safety Act, which was intended to incorporate staff, management and safety committees in a process whereby the safety representatives and management collaboratively discuss strategy and ensure that the voices of mineworkers are heard, adds Stafford.

However, in most instances, matters are not discussed, but management makes a final decision that could, ultimately, be only for financial, rather than safety, reasons.

He says the culture of noncompliance also results in high financial costs, as well as enforced stoppages, hindering productivity.

“Machinery that is not serviced regularly also plays a large role in health and safety and can result in major financial losses, owing to downtime, in addition to it being hazardous,” he says.

Stafford says training can address the culture of noncompliance by providing the skills and knowledge to understand and act accordingly to mitigate or avoid health and safety risks.

However, he stresses that training is not a silver bullet.

“If we can train everyone, instill a new culture and get everyone to understand what safety is, and then, from management downwards, implement this, safety levels will improve.”

He stresses the importance of joint sessions with employees on a yearly or biennial basis to ensure that they understand their role in promoting health and safety measures.

“It is the responsibility of all people on a mine to ensure safety,” says Stafford.

Strat Training creates customised training solutions to facilitate an understanding for blue-collar safety representatives of what is required of them and to equip them with the skills to transfer this knowledge to fellow employees.

The training also helps representatives to create a system whereby employees are accountable to each other to ensure safety for themselves as well as fellow employees.

“We will help to put a strategic plan in place that will assist in making safety a given across the whole mine.”

Companies need to create a safety training culture that is inclusive and ensures that everyone understands and implements safety measures, Stafford concludes.