TITLE:
Introduction of Innovative Equipment in Mining: Impact on Occupational Health and Safety
AUTHORS:
Bryan Boudreau-Trudel, Sylvie Nadeau, Kazimierz Zaras, Isabelle Deschamps
KEYWORDS:
Innovation; Mining Equipment; Occupational Health and Safety; Mines
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Safety Science and Technology,
Vol.4 No.1,
March
14,
2014
ABSTRACT: Occupational health and safety in mining has clearly improved in
developed countries over the past twenty years, but accidents and illness still
occur with unacceptable frequency. The arrival of new mining equipment, bigger,
more powerful and complex and requiring a higher skill level appears also to
increase certain specific risks of accident and work-related illness. The
objective of this paper is to examine the impact of new equipment on
occupational health and safety in underground mining. The injury rate
associated with eight equipment introduction projects was examined. The results
show clearly that the introduction of new equipment with technological innovations
does not automatically reduce the injury rate. The new equipment may even
generate a higher injury rate than the equipment it replaced. Ergonomic
deficiencies were noted in some of the new equipment. We suggest that future
research focus on identifying the mechanisms and conditions that determine
injury rate following the acquisition of innovative as means of improving
occupational health and safety in mining. Successful implementation of new
mining equipment appears to depend on the specific conditions of use.