4 Potential Fatal Dozer Incidents in Qld Coal Mines in one week. What are RSHQ doing?

In less than a week we have had

• A dozer at Saraji roll off a bench it was preparing for the drills with the operator sustaining multiple fractures.
• A dozer back into a water at Curragh.
• A dozer and operator rolled over and buried in the coal stockpile at Moorvale
• A dozer and operator “rolled” at Moranbah North

You would think that four near fatalities, at four different mine sites, run by four different companies in one week would be way more than enough to motivate the RSHQ to at least consider issue wide spread Section 167 Directives to cease operations of dozers.

How many more fatalities do we have to watch coming like a speeding train before the so called Regulator can be bothered to exercise any of the legal powers open to them?

When does lack of action become “Negligence”?

If the efforts of the last 5 to 10 years are any guide we will all be a lot greyer and older before the RSHQ share any relevant lessons.

It is over 4 years since Alan Houston lost his life at Saraji while operating a dozer.

Where is the investigation report?

Just like every other fatality, unless there is a Coroners Court hearing the report will stay secret forever.

Where is any sort of analysis of the circumstances of any of the incidents?

Is everyone just supposed to guess the circumstances involved in incidents

Even when no one dies, the Investigation and its findings still stay secret.

They could not be bothered to suspend any dozer operation at all; even at Saraji where just over 4 years ago Alan Houston died after his dozer went over the wall into an accumulation of mud/water

Instead what do you get?

Vague statements saying they “will share with industry any relevant lessons identified through the investigation when it is complete“, and oh by the way we released a safety alert about Dozer Operations last December.

Resources Safety and Health Queensland are investigating the incidents.

Bulldozer rollover events were a key focus of the RSHQ mine safety wrap for 2022, with a number of serious incidents highlighted.

The RSHQ classifies bulldozer rollovers as preventable ‘high-risk incidents’ that can ‘result in serious injury and death’.

“There have been 10 rollover incidents on Queensland sites since December 2021, including a recent stockpile dozer entrapment incident,” RSHQ said in a safety notice on December 16.

“Three other incidents occurred at surface mines in July, October and November. Six similar incidents occurred between December 2021 and June 2022.

These incidents occurred at nine different surface mines.”

As for the latest incident at Moranbah North the RSHQ would not even comment

This publication asked Resources Health and Safety Queensland for comment but did not receive a response by deadline.

All I can say to my friends at RSHQ is “grow as set”.

Come out of hiding and issue industry wide Directives to at least cease dozer operations at all coal mine affected so far,  and any sister operations at least.

We now have Anglo, BHP/BMA, Peabody and Coronado all the biggest employers in the Qld Coal Industry all with near fatality incidents and what do we get?

PR spin and the silence