CMPA FIXED PLANT WORKSHOP

Briony Rowley, CMPA Administration Officer

Wednesday 1st June saw over 70 employers, employees, regulators, educators and manufacturers gather in a wet and windy Lilydale for the third CMPA Hazard and Risk Identification Workshop.

This Workshop, run in a similar fashion to the Drilling Workshop of 2004 and Mobile Plant Workshop of March 2005, focused on the hazards and risk associated with the operation of Fixed Plant Equipment.

CMPA Members and other associated industry personnel travelled from around Victoria to attend the Workshop. From Metropolitan Melbourne to Gippsland to the North Western regional areas of Victoria, a wide cross section of dedicated extractive industry personnel made the effort to attend the Workshop, providing a varied perspective from numerous aspects of the industry.

Attendees arrived at Swinburne University in Lilydale for an early registration and morning tea. The group then moved to the theatre for the morning’s activities consisting of a briefing on the day’s activities, conducted by our enthusiastic and dedicated MC, Mrs Jane Sims, Coordinator of Industry Programs, Box Hill Institute of TAFE.

This was followed by a presentation by Ian McLeod, Melbourne District Manager, DPI, covering background information and guidance regarding Risk Assessments.

The 70 Workshop attendees then piled into two buses for a 5 minute trip to Unimin Australia. A number of Unimin employees volunteered their services and conducted tours of the quarry. It was quite amazing to walk around the site which, being a limestone quarry, meant everything from walls to doors to taps and sinks was covered in a thick layer of the material and gave the place quite a fascinating appearance!

It is quite interesting to view the vast differences between the various types of quarries that our Members own and operate, in that whilst they are similar in their focus, the aspects of their operations are extremely different.

At the conclusion of the site tour the attendees broke into nine pre-determined groups, each of which was specifically focused on an individual facet of the Fixed Plant Operations.

The groups identified the hazards and risks involved with operations relating to the: Primary Crushing Station, Secondary Crushing Station, Screen House Station, Conveyor Systems, Materials Handling and Bag House Systems, Electrical Installations, Interaction between Mobile and Fixed Plant, Mobile Processing Plants, and Maintenance of Plant.

Each group was required to not only identify the risks and hazards they observed on site, but also any other risks and hazards that they could think of, relating back to their own sites, personal experiences and prior knowledge.

After approximately 2 hours on site the attendees boarded the buses again for the trip back to Swinburne University. Upon arrival the 70 attendees moved up to the Swinburne restaurant for a hearty lunch, leaving a trail of muddy footprints behind them.

Following lunch attendees viewed a moving video of an incident which had occurred at a plant in which a child on site was seriously injured after being caught in a conveyor.

This was followed by a presentation made by John Mitas, DPI Operations Manager, on other relevant incidents throughout Australia.

Attendees regrouped into their nine specific groups to review, discuss and combine their thoughts and ideas from the day’s work on site, into a listing of the major hazards and risks identified and brought up on site for presentation to the group.

An elected group representative was then responsible for presenting the major issues discussed to the attendees as a whole. Following the nine group presentations, Jane Sims assisted the groups in the identification of possible controls for the hazards and risks they had identified.

An open forum followed in which attendees were given the opportunity to raise further issues and seek advice from amongst their fellow quarry workers, DPI personnel and suppliers to the industry, on any issues that they may have been unsure about. The Workshop closed with afternoon tea.

The CMPA wishes to express its sincere appreciation towards all those who assisted in the smooth running of the Fixed Plant Workshop, including Unimin Australia, DPI personnel, and Jane Sims of Box Hill TAFE.

Thanks must also go to the nine group leaders who generously volunteered their knowledge and expertise to guide the groups through the hazard and risk identification process, encouraging all attendees to be involved. The group leaders ensured that the best possible results were obtained from each of the hazard and risk identification groups.

Special thanks also to the Associate Sponsors of the Workshop: PVL Engineering, Terex Jaques, Kinder & Co, and WAM Australia for their support and generosity towards the CMPA. Without the funding and support provided by the Associate Members, such CMPA events would be unachievable.

On behalf of the CMPA and all attendees of the Fixed Plant Workshop we would like to express our sincere appreciation towards Unimin Australia, in particular Mr Graeme Woodruff and Ms Charlotte Sell, as without their eagerness and commitment, the Workshop would not have been such a success.

We would like to thank Unimin for the opportunity to use their site for the Workshop and for their assistance and guidance on the day. Details of all group presentations were noted down, along with copies of group notes from the day’s activities being taken.

These results will be combined by the CMPA to produce another Occupational Health & Safety Support Document, similar to that produced from prior CMPA Workshops.

This documentation will be made available industry wide and free of charge in an attempt to assist Extractive Industry personnel in providing a safer and healthier workplace for their employees.

Thanks again to all those who assisted in the preparation and running of the Fixed Plant Workshop, your assistance ensured yet another beneficial and productive CMPA event.

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