A mining executive suspended operations for several hours to reduce the risk of injury, illness and death.
Andrew Cole recently ordered all employees to set down their tools and participate in a day-long safety stop meeting at the Carrapateena mine, 164km north of Port Augusta.
“Cognisant of recent safety performance across the industry and as part of the activities to address the increasing frequency of safety incidents, a ‘safety stop’ was implemented across the company with all members of the workforce downing tools for a day to consider improvements for physical and mental safety,” the managing director and CEO said in OZ Minerals’ latest quarterly report.
Cole revealed discussions stressed the company’s zero tolerance approach to “harmful” workplace behaviours.
“This has been complemented with additional resourcing, leadership presence and site-specific safety improvement programs … [plus] results from the latest workforce survey were also discussed as a business,” he said.
“Workforce discussion circles at Carrapateena were well received and will now be undertaken at the other operating assets. Safety performance has stabilised.”
The remarks came after the proponent held round table talks between management and 25 supplier partners to better understand each other’s expectations.
“[Discussions also aimed] to grow awareness of OZ Minerals’ strategic aspirations and purpose: Going beyond what is possible to make lives better. Participants have expressed a desire for the round table to become an annual event,” Cole said.
News Limited speculates the stop work meeting significantly interrupted output and even “annoyed” market expectations for quarterly tonnes shipped. However, Cole made no apologies for prioritising employee wellbeing.
“This is just about making sure that people understand that their personal safety and their personal mental wellbeing is the most important thing that they need to be thinking about when they are in a workplace,” he said according to the media outlet.
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Yawn……. same old, same old. Doing the same thing and expecting a different result. A feel good exercise for the executive, as shallow as a kid’s pool.