They would have wondered what kind of catastrophe was anticipated. As usual, by the unusual hangs a tale. About 1970 our team of rock mechanics researchers had spent the morning underground on essential maintenance work on the ERPM seismic network. As we were waiting underground at 58 level station, G shaft, for transport to the sub vertical shaft and onwards out, a call came from one of the upper levels that a plug of ammonia gas was on its way down to us. Apparently the cooling coil of the refrigeration plant near the shaft head at central shaft had ruptured, and a considerable amount of ammonia had been ingested by the shaft.
WHERE TO HIDE
When one is sitting quietly, resting of necessity, mind in neutral after a hot morning's exertion repairing electronic installations in impossibly hot, humid and cramped conditions, this is the sort of message one could do without. What were we supposed to do? Hide somewhere? We knew there was no place to hide. The ventilation stream and its plug of ammonia would infest every nook and cranny of this section of the mine. Our resident mine captain mulled the situation over, wondering what he could do. He probably knew the ventilation and cooling layout. Some of the air normally aspirated by the shaft would be diverted over the cooling coils, the rest would go straight down the shaft.
CHANCE OF LETHAL LEVEL
So, he wondered aloud, only a portion of the aspirated air would be contaminated by ammonia, and contamination of the diverted portion would depend on the size of the rupture in the cooling coil. There was a good chance that the concentration of ammonia in the approaching plug was not at lethal level. So we sat and waited. After what seemed like ages the first whiffs of ammonia became apparent, and gradually grew more intense. Our eyes shed tears, our nasal passages started to burn. Our transport arrived, we boarded, and the train proceeded down the haulage, into the plug of ammonia, and the intensity increased more rapidly.
IT CAME TO PASS
Nobody panicked. No histrionics or disorder, just the odd cough. Black and white, managers, workers and researchers, moistened their sweat rags from their water bottles, held it over their mouth and nose, closed their eyes and hunkered down, hoping that the inconvenience would soon pass.
'And it came to pass', as the Good Book says. By the time we reached the bank at Central Shaft, there was no further hint of ammonia, just the normal mining smell of silica dust and sweat.
We had come through 'The Ammonia Plug'. In due course we emerged from the mine at the head of Central Shaft and only then did we become aware of the magnitude of this incident. We, who were down the mine, were spared most of the terror of a near disaster.
Brown lawns
A massive cloud of ammonia had enveloped the area in and around the central shaft offices. Staff had to run for their lives. Vegetation in the area, including formerly lush office garden beds and pot plants, was severely damaged.
Poplar tree leaves had turned brown, like the office lawns and flower leaves.
After the cooling coil ammonia had all escaped and dissipated, it emerged that everyone had escaped serious injury and health impacts.
From the next day on, Central Shaft ERPM office was equipped with gas masks.
MINING OBM BOOK
The use of OBM in South African mining is explored in Prof Frankel's a new book, 'Terra Firmer: Behaviour Modification and Safety in South African Mining Organisations', published in January 2011.
He had already published 'Falling Ground: Human Approaches to Mine Safety in South Africa', in 2010. The book analyses mining safety challenges. "Terra Firmer is a logical follow-up, since it deals with ways to manage mine safety problems, as opposed to exploring the problems." A sneak preview of some chapters reveal a set of guides to mine managements and mining stakeholders, in accelerating and sustaining safety behaviour, in terms very different to 'classic' BBS texts.
BEYOND ENGINEERING AND SYSTEMS
"OBM shares with BBS a view that mining safety could not be engineered, beyond a certain point. South African mining is now approaching that point", Prof Frankel explains.
"Any initiative to enhance safety performance, requires customisation, and systematic organisational research into the maturity of a mine, to begin with.
"This research approach stands in direct contrast to BBS, whose retrospectively revealed limited value in addressing mining safety problems, stemmed from a generic 'one size fits all' approach, largely ignorant of massive difference between SA mining society and developed mining economies."
No room for BBS
Prof Frankel's emphasis on organisational maturity, raises the possibility that many SA mines may be institutionally under developed, and would therefore stand to gain little from BBS interventions.
Paradoxically, some of the few organisations with mature safety cultures, believe that they have outgrown BBS. Either way, large and progressive employers are taking note of OBM.
Treat four barriers
"OBM is an integrated and continuous process that organically treats four key barriers to improving mining safety performance." These barriers are;
* equivocal leadership
* emphasis on technical risk management excluding human factors
* fractured communication systems
* aggressive human relations and culture, antithetical to safety culture.
"The new approach says that we could not manage our massive level of fatalities and disabling injuries, now at about 300 per month, by patching up plant and systems.
"'Spray and pray' interventions and occasional safety seminars would not work. We need an ongoing and closed out process of organisational learning, to break workplace behavioural habits of non compliance, high risk acceptance."
Culture versus human impulse
Analysing the new approach, Frankel explains: "An OBM process begins by developing affirmative leadership to 'walk the talk' for safety, demonstrate codes of care for workers, and communicate safety impacts.
"OBM advocates integrated risk management, to address multiple human impulse problems. South African employers now seek anew to establish risk control protocols and effective communication mechanisms."
The new approach examines human inclination to risk taking, due to workplace, organisational and social circumstances. "OBM then improves observation, reporting, recognition, and rewards, to reinforce a new set of behaviour."
Culture sustains behaviour
Learnt behaviour does not necessarily become sustained behaviour. "We should embed new behaviours and cultures in mining organisations, and this requires developing behavioural capacity at all levels, especially among front line supervisors."
OBM also demands "much higher levels of meaningful engagement with all workers." The new approach "provides a raft of engagement, leadership, risk management, HIRA tools, supporting a continuous learning process."
'Terra Firmer' is a hands on guide to mining organisational design, blending behavioural modification theory with the nature and experience of South African mining safety management.
* Prof Philip Frankel is director of the Agency for Social Reconstruction, and contributor to the 2009 presidential mine H&S audit. His books are available worldwide from frankel@iburst.co.za
Gas masks at the office
They would have wondered what kind of catastrophe was anticipated. As usual, by the unusual hangs a tale. About 1970 our team of rock mechanics researchers had spent the morning underground on essential maintenance work on the ERPM seismic network. As we were waiting underground at
58 level station, G shaft, for transport to the sub vertical shaft and onwards out, a call came from one of the upper levels that a plug of ammonia gas was on its way down to us. Apparently the cooling coil of the refrigeration plant near the shaft head at central shaft had ruptured, and a considerable amount of ammonia had been ingested by the shaft.
WHERE TO HIDE
When one is sitting quietly, resting of necessity, mind in neutral after a hot morning's exertion repairing electronic installations in impossibly hot, humid and cramped conditions, this is the sort of message one could do without. What were we supposed to do? Hide somewhere? We knew there was no place to hide. The ventilation stream and its plug of ammonia would infest every nook and cranny of this section of the mine. Our resident mine captain mulled the situation over, wondering what he could do. He probably knew the ventilation and cooling layout. Some of the air normally aspirated by the shaft would be diverted over the cooling coils, the rest would go straight down the shaft.
CHANCE OF LETHAL LEVEL
So, he wondered aloud, only a portion of the aspirated air would be contaminated by ammonia, and contamination of the diverted portion would depend on the size of the rupture in the cooling coil. There was a good chance that the concentration of ammonia in the approaching plug was not at lethal level. So we sat and waited. After what seemed like ages the first whiffs of ammonia became apparent, and gradually grew more intense. Our eyes shed tears, our nasal passages started to burn. Our transport arrived, we boarded, and the train proceeded down the haulage, into the plug of ammonia, and the intensity increased more rapidly.
IT CAME TO PASS
Nobody panicked. No histrionics or disorder, just the odd cough. Black and white, managers, workers and researchers, moistened their sweat rags from their water bottles, held it over their mouth and nose, closed their eyes and hunkered down, hoping that the inconvenience would soon pass.
'And it came to pass', as the Good Book says. By the time we reached the bank at Central Shaft, there was no further hint of ammonia, just the normal mining smell of silica dust and sweat.
We had come through 'The Ammonia Plug'. In due course we emerged from the mine at the head of Central Shaft and only then did we become aware of the magnitude of this incident. We, who were down the mine, were spared most of the terror of a near disaster.
Brown lawns
A massive cloud of ammonia had enveloped the area in and around the central shaft offices. Staff had to run for their lives. Vegetation in the area, including formerly lush office garden beds and pot plants, was severely damaged.
Poplar tree leaves had turned brown, like the office lawns and flower leaves.
After the cooling coil ammonia had all escaped and dissipated, it emerged that everyone had escaped serious injury and health impacts.
From the next day on, Central Shaft ERPM office was equipped with gas masks.
MINING OBM BOOK
The use of OBM in South African mining is explored in Prof Frankel's a new book, 'Terra Firmer: Behaviour Modification and Safety in South African Mining Organisations', published in January 2011.
He had already published 'Falling Ground: Human Approaches to Mine Safety in South Africa', in 2010. The book analyses mining safety challenges. "Terra Firmer is a logical follow-up, since it deals with ways to manage mine safety problems, as opposed to exploring the problems." A sneak preview of some chapters reveal a set of guides to mine managements and mining stakeholders, in accelerating and sustaining safety behaviour, in terms very different to 'classic' BBS texts.
BEYOND ENGINEERING AND SYSTEMS
"OBM shares with BBS a view that mining safety could not be engineered, beyond a certain point. South African mining is now approaching that point", Prof Frankel explains.
"Any initiative to enhance safety performance, requires customisation, and systematic organisational research into the maturity of a mine, to begin with.
"This research approach stands in direct contrast to BBS, whose retrospectively revealed limited value in addressing mining safety problems, stemmed from a generic 'one size fits all' approach, largely ignorant of massive difference between SA mining society and developed mining economies."
No room for BBS
Prof Frankel's emphasis on organisational maturity, raises the possibility that many SA mines may be institutionally under developed, and would therefore stand to gain little from BBS interventions.
Paradoxically, some of the few organisations with mature safety cultures, believe that they have outgrown BBS. Either way, large and progressive employers are taking note of OBM.
Treat four barriers
"OBM is an integrated and continuous process that organically treats four key barriers to improving mining safety performance." These barriers are;
* equivocal leadership
* emphasis on technical risk management excluding human factors
* fractured communication systems
* aggressive human relations and culture, antithetical to safety culture.
"The new approach says that we could not manage our massive level of fatalities and disabling injuries, now at about 300 per month, by patching up plant and systems.
"'Spray and pray' interventions and occasional safety seminars would not work. We need an ongoing and closed out process of organisational learning, to break workplace behavioural habits of non compliance, high risk acceptance."
Culture versus human impulse
Analysing the new approach, Frankel explains: "An OBM process begins by developing affirmative leadership to 'walk the talk' for safety, demonstrate codes of care for workers, and communicate safety impacts.
"OBM advocates integrated risk management, to address multiple human impulse problems. South African employers now seek anew to establish risk control protocols and effective communication mechanisms."
The new approach examines human inclination to risk taking, due to workplace, organisational and social circumstances. "OBM then improves observation, reporting, recognition, and rewards, to reinforce a new set of behaviour."
Culture sustains behaviour
Learnt behaviour does not necessarily become sustained behaviour. "We should embed new behaviours and cultures in mining organisations, and this requires developing behavioural capacity at all levels, especially among front line supervisors."
OBM also demands "much higher levels of meaningful engagement with all workers." The new approach "provides a raft of engagement, leadership, risk management, HIRA tools, supporting a continuous learning process."
'Terra Firmer' is a hands on guide to mining organisational design, blending behavioural modification theory with the nature and experience of South African mining safety management.
* Prof Philip Frankel is director of the Agency for Social Reconstruction, and contributor to the 2009 presidential mine H&S audit. His books are available worldwide from frankel@iburst.co.za
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