At MKO we are very proud of our safety performance and endeavours. The site has achieved in excess of 12 months Lost Time Injury free (our last LTI was recorded in October 2003) - a significant improvement on 2003 performance, when eight lost time injuries were recorded. The number of Medically Treated Injuries (MTI) has risen slightly to 12 in 2004 compared with eight in 2003. Some of the main occupational groupings where these injuries occurred were mobile equipment operators, village kitchen staff and boilermaking activities. For these groups of employees, specific preventative actions were implemented. For example, ergonomic assessment of vehicles and muscle therapy programs have been implemented for equipment operators.

Definitions
LTIFR	Lost-time injury frequency rate - the number of lost-time injuries per million hours worked.
MTIFR	Medically-treated injury frequency rate - the number of medically-treated injuries per million hours worked.

In addition to lost time and medically treated injuries, we also report ‘serious potential incidents’. These are incidents that (regardless of actual consequence) are considered to have had the potential to result in serious physical harm. Analyses of the 19 serious potential injuries for 2004 and the reported injuries indicated that major focus areas were electric shocks and falling objects in the process plant, and vehicle interactions and driver fatigue in the mining operation. Once again, specific action plans were developed for each of these areas.

In the process plant, the long-standing electrical safety education program was supplemented by a significant capital expenditure program to address electric instrumentation and structural integrity. In the mine, a detailed fatigue management program was developed for employees. The program included awareness sessions conducted by specialist consultants where individuals were encouraged to develop their own personal profiles detailing sleep patterns, diet and other factors that influence fatigue. Strategies for individual fatigue management were then identified and shared. Specialist assistance is being provided for employees with sleep-related disorders. Vehicle operation and road traffic control systems were also upgraded.

During 2004 we also successfully completed three major shutdowns of the processing plant. These shutdowns employ up to 400 short-term maintenance contractors. Safety performance was excellent during each of these shutdowns with no lost time or medically treated injuries occurring. To facilitate a high level of MKO-specific safety awareness and preparedness, contractors involved in shutdowns undertake a day of safety training at the Mt Keith Village before coming on to the site. There was also particular emphasis on safe working at heights during one of these shutdowns due to the nature of the work involved and a specialist professional trainer was brought in to assist work teams in planning jobs requiring working at height.

Safety Management

Back to Basics

Midway through 2003 MKO suffered a higher than normal incidence of injuries involving lost time or medical treatment. In addressing this trend, at the time, we sought to get back to the basics of safety and to ensure that everyone on site was well equipped with the knowledge, skills and support needed to plan and work safely. Supervisors and Managers led safety sessions with their work teams to discuss performance, review issues and identify, on a team-by-team basis, what needed to be done to improve safety performance.

This initiative continued on into 2004, with some great ideas and feedback emerging from the safety sessions. These were consolidated and resulted in part in the development of site Positive Performance Indicators (PPI). For the Management Team at Mt Keith these include the number of workplace inspections conducted, completion rate for DMS actions, and the number of Positive Safety Contacts conducted. Other teams were asked to review the list of PPI and identify those relevant for inclusion in their own team action plans.

Other Initiatives

Other initiatives introduced in 2004 to improve safety included the establishment of a system of positive safety contacts to formalise peer assessment of task performance. This involves workmates checking and giving feedback on the appropriateness of Task Hazard Analysis, personal protective equipment and tools used during a task and an improvement to our working-at-heights safety equipment with a ‘fall restraint’ system now in place as opposed to the previous ‘fall arrest’ focus.

Elected Health & Safety Representatives

The opportunity to participate in safety programs is open to all employees and they are actively encouraged to participate through specific work area safety plans and tool box safety meetings. Each work area or team meets on a monthly basis with the team supervisor, safety representatives and all contractors or employees in the team involved. There are approximately 20 work teams on-site.

Each work team also elects a Health & Safety representative who has a specific role defined within the Mining Act. Elected Health & Safety representatives are invited to attend the monthly Site Safety Committee meeting where issues of interest are discussed and resolved. Meetings are minuted and agreed actions recorded in the EHS Data Management System for follow-up and closeout.

Emergency Preparedness

An Emergency Response team is maintained at MKO. The 20-strong volunteer team participates in one to two training exercises per month, with each member required to complete a minimum of 72 hours training each year. Training content is reviewed regularly and covers various scenarios involving fire fighting, rescue at heights, emergency response, chemical hazards and medical training.

Mt Keith has a purpose-built training area on site for its emergency response teams. In 2004, the team had a one-day training session on Garden Island with the Australian Navy Emergency Response team to further enhance skills. The team have also attended a number of motor vehicle incidents on the Goldfields Highway to provide assistance.

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