From risk to rock bottom: eradicating fatality by understanding risk propensity
By Lani van der Merwe, Organisational Development Consultant at OIM Consulting
Mining is notorious for being one of the most dangerous working environments in the world. Consider a ‘workplace’ created by Mother Nature in all her beauty and brutality, coupled with heavy machinery, an often-autocratic leadership style and unrelenting target-chasing, and it’s unsurprising that we’ve seen so many fatalities in the past.
Yet over the last few years, the public and private sectors have poured enormous energy into promoting health and safety within mines, with new safety controls developed and rolled out far and wide.
This approach is showing dividends, and the number of fatalities has dropped significantly since a few decades ago. However, sometimes rigorous checks and balances – while necess...