Taking Coal Safety from Good to Great

Tahmoor Mining embarked on a safety journey several years ago with the goal of enhancing safety across its global operations. With a structured safety action plan and a more direct line to the Global Safety Group, Tahmoor has effectively implemented the global safety strategy and improved safety on site. And with the introduction of Safety Connect, our behavioural safety program, and increased leadership engagement, Tahmoor is making significant strides in safety.

Safety Connect, which was piloted in Tahmoor in September 2021, has seen participation from over 220 employees, representing around 40% of the workforce. The program is strongly supported by Tahmoor Senior Managers, with Clint Mason, Head of Coal Operations, opening every session across all shifts. This personal involvement from the senior leadership team shows just how important the program is to the Tahmoor site and how much they support the Safety Connect messages of intervening, reporting, and looking out for each other.

The impact of Safety Connect and leadership engagement is evident in the reduction of not only recordable injuries but all injuries. The increase in proactive reporting rates and percentages of unique reporters strongly correlates with the reduction in injuries, indicating that more interventions are happening, and more people are stepping in. Tahmoor is now exploring options on how to display and share the personal safety commitments that are developed as part of the program, with options such as creating a photo wall and including them on the shirts of employees currently under discussion.

Enhancing engagement and communication has been a focus for Tahmoor, and the company is taking several steps to improve the effectiveness of the Health and Safety Committee. Better representation and more buy-in and action are being implemented to ensure that employees take ownership of safety.

Another engagement initiative was implemented during Covid; Tahmoor found a simple way to harness technology to improve the feedback loop on hazard reporting. When an employee reports a hazard in myCority, a text message is generated and sent to the person who raised it to acknowledge the report with a summary of the action and who is responsible. This practice has continued today and is a key part of the ongoing communication process of hazard reporting.

Tahmoor today – Tahmoor is working to further improve its safety performance and reduce injuries. To do this, they have developed an action plan with focus groups assigned to specific areas of the site. Each group is responsible for analysing the safety data and identifying trends and opportunities within their nominated area. This is then used to brainstorm to come up with a strategy to respond to the findings, including engagement and communication with the work groups. This approach is already seeing excellent engagement from staff across the site as well as the implementation of safety improvement solutions and initiatives.

The progress made by Tahmoor in implementing its global safety strategy and enhancing safety on-site is truly remarkable. The company’s commitment to safety and its focus on engagement and communication are paying dividends, and the results are evident in the reduction of injuries. Tahmoor’s approach to safety can serve as a model for other mining companies, and we can only hope that they will follow suit and prioritise safety in the same way. With ongoing commitment and dedication, Tahmoor is on track to achieving its safety goals and creating a safer workplace for its employees.