❓ A WA parliamentary question investigates potential safety breaches at the KCGM Superpit regarding haul truck maintenance and road conditions, alleging operator injuries. The Minister's response denies systemic issues but acknowledges some reported incidents.
AnsweredQoN 2365Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the KCGM operations commonly known as ‘the superpit’ in the Kalgoorlie Boulder region, with management from Russell Cole, Dale Oram, Willie Leslie and Mick Harvey, and ask -
(1) Is it true that haul pack operators at the abovementioned operations are forced to operate trucks, with seats that are not maintained to the correct standards of operation required, resulting in numerous injuries including, but not limited to, back, neck and shoulder injuries?
(2) Is it true that haul pack operators at the abovementioned operations, are forced to operate trucks on the pit floor, and the waste dump with roads poorly maintained resulting in numerous injuries including, but not limited to, back, neck and shoulder injuries?
(3) Will the Minister state how many incidents have be recorded, both with the Department of Mines and Petroleum (DMP), and the company’s internal reporting systems, concerning inadequately maintained seats as well as poorly maintained roads within the operations resulting in injury in the previous 24 months?
(4) If no to (3), why not?
(5) Will the Minister state which sections of the
Mines Safety and Inspections Act 1994 and Regulations 1995
would apply, and therefore would have been breached in these incidents?
(6) Will the Minister state the maximum penalty that would apply in relation to these breaches?
(7) Will the Registered Manager, or any other person at KCGM, be prosecuted for these breaches?
(8) If no to (7), why not?
(1) Is it true that haul pack operators at the abovementioned operations are forced to operate trucks, with seats that are not maintained to the correct standards of operation required, resulting in numerous injuries including, but not limited to, back, neck and shoulder injuries?
(2) Is it true that haul pack operators at the abovementioned operations, are forced to operate trucks on the pit floor, and the waste dump with roads poorly maintained resulting in numerous injuries including, but not limited to, back, neck and shoulder injuries?
(3) Will the Minister state how many incidents have be recorded, both with the Department of Mines and Petroleum (DMP), and the company’s internal reporting systems, concerning inadequately maintained seats as well as poorly maintained roads within the operations resulting in injury in the previous 24 months?
(4) If no to (3), why not?
(5) Will the Minister state which sections of the
Mines Safety and Inspections Act 1994 and Regulations 1995
would apply, and therefore would have been breached in these incidents?
(6) Will the Minister state the maximum penalty that would apply in relation to these breaches?
(7) Will the Registered Manager, or any other person at KCGM, be prosecuted for these breaches?
(8) If no to (7), why not?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
15 June 2010
Responded by
Minister for Mines and Petroleum
Response time
41 days
(1) No. The KCGM pre-start checks require 'defective seats' to be reported and to stop the use of the truck.
(2) No
(3) KCGM staff interrogated the company's 'Incident Reporting System' and have subsequently advised that there are no reports which clearly identify the basic cause of any incident as inadequate seat maintenance on haul trucks or poor road conditions causing injury to haul truck drivers.
The KCGM system does show twenty one reports relating to back pain and/or back injuries while driving a range of vehicles. Five of these were reported to the Department.
Two of these reports imply a possible issue with seat maintenance.
There are two incident reports on the KCGM system relating to back injuries relating to employees where the road surface was identified as an issue. The two reports are not for haul truck operators
(4) Not applicable
(5) General duty under Section 9 of the Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994 and regulation 6.2 of the Mines Safety and Inspection Regulations 1995.
(6) No breaches have been detected.
(7) No. No breaches have occurred to the knowledge of the Department.
(8) Not applicable.
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(2) No
(3) KCGM staff interrogated the company's 'Incident Reporting System' and have subsequently advised that there are no reports which clearly identify the basic cause of any incident as inadequate seat maintenance on haul trucks or poor road conditions causing injury to haul truck drivers.
The KCGM system does show twenty one reports relating to back pain and/or back injuries while driving a range of vehicles. Five of these were reported to the Department.
Two of these reports imply a possible issue with seat maintenance.
There are two incident reports on the KCGM system relating to back injuries relating to employees where the road surface was identified as an issue. The two reports are not for haul truck operators
(4) Not applicable
(5) General duty under Section 9 of the Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994 and regulation 6.2 of the Mines Safety and Inspection Regulations 1995.
(6) No breaches have been detected.
(7) No. No breaches have occurred to the knowledge of the Department.
(8) Not applicable.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
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