Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ) has issued a safety alert after identifying a “worrying” trend involving the ineffective isolation of generating and mobile plants on mine sites across the state.
Isolating mobile plants on mine sites prevents unintended movement and hazardous energy release during maintenance. This requires applying lockable battery or starter isolators and verifying zero-energy states before any work begins.
Chief Inspector of Mineral Mines and Quarries Hermann Fasching says inspectors had seen absent isolation facilities, isolation points that could not be locked, and isolation systems that were incompatible.
“Ineffective isolation of generating and mobile plants can lead to serious injury,” Fasching says.
“It creates significant risk because inadvertent energisation during maintenance can expose workers to crush, shear, entanglement, injection, and electric shock hazards.
“Any safety risk to workers is unacceptable, so site senior executives and mine operators should audit all generating and mobile plants in operation at their sites to ensure each item is fitted with an appropriate energy isolation facility.”
Fasching adds that isolation facilities should be clearly marked or labelled as the isolator for the plant.
RSHQ is taking immediate action to alert mine and quarry sites to the danger posed to prevent someone from being hurt or killed.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: RSHQ
