Occupational safety risk management in Australian mining

In the past 15 years, there has been a major safety improvement in the Australianmining industry. Part of this change can be attributed to the development and applicationof risk assessment methods. These systematic, team-based techniques identify, assess andcontrol unacceptable risks to people, assets, the environment and production. Theoutcomes have improved mine management systems. This paper discusses the risk assessmentapproach applied to equipment design and mining operations, as well as the specific riskassessment methodology. The paper also discusses the reactive side of risk management,incident and accident investigation. Systematic analytical methods have also been adoptedby regulatory authorities and mining companies to investigate major losses.