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In the lead up to the OTR Tyre Safety & Maintenance Seminar to be held next month we had the opportunity to ask key speaking contributors Paul Knotts and Heather Bone what they thought were the impacts OTR tyre management had on mining operation’s safety and efficiencies (as well as what they were looking forward to discussing with others at the seminar).
Paul Knotts, Director, Total Injury Prevention Specialists:
Recent programs have identified, prioritised and looked at a range of risks in mining, including tyres and rims, & manual handling. Appropriate and outcome based management systems are critical in high risk industry and I am extremely supportive of any efforts to reduce the possibility of damage to property and of course workers. Although my perspective is heavily weighted towards safe and physically efficient manual handling behaviour across all tasks, any system that assists in preventing a tyre, rim, or any other equipment failure is of great value. If staff involved in tyre management operations work effectively, physically efficiently and of course safely, then mine efficiencies also improve with reduction in operational disruption, and the financial and personal costs of injuries.
I am very happy and look forward to speaking, and wearing my three hats, of Physio, Safety and Rehab/Workers Compensation advisor, I will be interested to hear what specific tasks or factors are being identified by workers and management as priority risk factors. I enjoy problem solving so am interested in the things that hurt and or challenge profitability in the mining and resource sector? Clearly there is always a balance between production and safety. How do we achieve both, so that the company and the workers are both successful? I am always keen to hear what difficulties managers have, and what sort of things might assist in this production-safety balance. Further on the injury management side, what are managers wanting most in this critical and costly area, and how can they and workers work together to maximise health and safety and also a safe and timely return successfully to
work. I am concerned there are still gaps across industry of the workers compensation system, which can lead to issues when injuries occur, so I am keen to learn what strategies businesses have in place in this area.
Heather Bone, General Manager, Otrecycle:
I’m looking forward to meeting other people in the industry and understanding their needs in this space. I would like to gauge interest from other participants in a ‘whole of life’ approach to tyre management, including end of life disposal.
