Government of Western Australia
Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety
REPORT
Vehicle collisions in the
Western Australian
mining industry
2015-16
Government of Western Australia
Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety
REPORT
Vehicle collisions in the
Western Australian
mining industry
2015-16
II
Disclaimer
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provided in good faith and believed to be reliable and
accurate at the time of publication. However, the
information is provided on the basis that the reader will
be solely responsible for assessing the information and
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howsoever, for any loss sustained or incurred by anyone
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misleading.
In this disclaimer:
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and each employee or agent of any of them.
Information includes information, data, representations,
advice, statements and opinions, expressly or implied
set out in this publication.
Loss includes loss, damage, liability, cost, expense,
illness and injury (including death).
Reference
Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety,
2019, Vehicle collisions in the Western Australian
mining industry 2015-16 – report: Department of Mines,
Industry Regulation and Safety, Western Australia,
17 pp.
ISBN 978 1 922149 64 0
© State of Western Australia (Department of Mines,
Industry Regulation and Safety) 2019
This publication is available on request in other formats
for people with special needs.
Further details of resources safety publications can be
obtained by contacting:
Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety
100 Plain Street
EAST PERTH WA 6004
Telephone: 1800 SAFEMINE (1800 7233 6463)
+ 61 8 9358 8154 (publication orders)
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Email: [email protected].au
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III
Contents
1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 1
1.1 Aims .................................................................................................................................................................................. 1
1.2 Background ......................................................................................................................................................................1
1.3 Keyndingsfrompreviousreviews ............................................................................................................................ 1
1.4 Signicanceofvehiclecollisions ................................................................................................................................ 2
1.5 Approach .......................................................................................................................................................................... 2
1.6 Structure of the report ................................................................................................................................................... 3
2 The Safety Regulation System (SRS) ................................................................................................ 4
2.1 Legislative requirements ............................................................................................................................................... 4
2.2 Quality assurance of data held in SRS ........................................................................................................................ 4
3 Methodology ..........................................................................................................................................5
3.1 Data collection................................................................................................................................................................. 5
3.2 Grouping data ..................................................................................................................................................................5
3.3 Limitations ...................................................................................................................................................................... 5
4 Vehicle type ............................................................................................................................................6
4.1 Types of vehicles involved in collisions ...................................................................................................................... 6
4.2 Main secondary vehicle types in vehicle-on-vehicle collisions ............................................................................. 7
4.3 Main non-vehicle secondary contact types in vehicle-on-other collisions ......................................................... 8
4.4 Repeat incidents ............................................................................................................................................................. 8
5 Causation factors .................................................................................................................................9
5.1 Causation factors associated with vehicle collisions .............................................................................................. 9
5.2 Main causation factors for vehicle-on-vehicle collisions ...................................................................................... 10
5.3 Main causation factors for vehicle-on-other collisions ........................................................................................10
5.4 Repeat incidents ...........................................................................................................................................................10
6 Location and area of mine ................................................................................................................11
6.1 Main areas of mine and activities for vehicle-on-vehicle collisions ....................................................................12
6.2 Main areas of mine for vehicle-on-other collisions ................................................................................................13
6.3 Repeat incidents ...........................................................................................................................................................13
7 Activity of primary vehicle .................................................................................................................14
7.1 Main primary vehicle activity for vehicle-on-vehicle collisions ............................................................................14
7.2 Main primary vehicle activities for vehicle-on-other collisions ...........................................................................15
7.3 Repeat incidents ...........................................................................................................................................................15
8 Recommendations .............................................................................................................................16
8.1 General risk assessment ............................................................................................................................................. 16
8.2 Specicfocusareas ..................................................................................................................................................... 16
Appendix 1 Summaries of near-collision incidents .............................................................................17
Vehicle collisions in the Western Australian mining industry 2015-16 – REPORT
IV
Vehicle collisions in the Western Australian mining industry 2015-16 – REPORT
1
1 Introduction
This report examines the 172 collisions and near
collisions involving 292 vehicles, as reported to the
Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety
(the Department) from January 2015 to December
2016. It is an extension of the suite of publications by
the Department that provide information and analysis of
accident and incident data to identify causation factors.
1.1 Aims
The aim of this report is twofold:
• to develop a more detailed understanding of the
factorsthatinuencevehiclecollisions
• used as an exemplar project to determine how the
incident data can be used to develop a taxonomy for
identifying hazards in Western Australian mining.
This vehicle collision study shows:
• vehicles involved in collisions
• collision causation factors
• areas where collisions occur
• activities in progress at the time of the collisions.
This information should assist stakeholders in
identifying problem areas at their mining operations and
todevelopimprovedsystemsoftracmanagement.
1.2 Background
The West Australian mining industry employs over
100,000 people and has a highly complex hazard and
riskprole.Itis,therefore,essentialtohaveanup-to-
date understanding of hazards and risk exposures to
achieve consistent safety improvements.
The Department has conducted reviews of information
on fatalities and serious injuries captured in its
databases to assist employers and employees to
identify and reduce hazards in Western Australian
mining in accordance with Section 3 of the Mines Safety
and Inspection Act 1994.
Importanthazardshavebeenidentiedinthe
Department’s fatality and serious injury reviews.
These reviews demonstrated distinct areas where
common causation factors contributed to repeat
accident scenarios. In recent years, the Department has
published two hazard registers and two reports on the
analysis of fatality and injury data:
• Fatal accidents in the Western Australian mining
industry 2000 – 2012: What lessons can we learn?
• Hazard register for all Western Australian mining
fatalities from January 2000 to December 2017
(fatalities hazard register)
• Analysis of serious injury data in the Western
Australian mining industry, July – December 2013:
What lessons can we learn?
• Hazard register for serious injury or other serious
incident investigations from January 2011 to
December 2016 (serious injuries and incidents
hazard register)
Thendingsfromthesereviewswereincorporatedinto
Safety Regulation Group’s strategies such as the Mines
Safety Roadshow and Registered Managers Forum
to focus attention on important safety areas. This
information should be used by employers and workers
to assist in the development of safe work practices on
mining operations.
1.3 Keyndingsfromprevious
reviews
Fatality reviews
In 2014, the Department published a report on
fatal accidents in the Western Australian mining
industry from 2000 to 2012. The review was based
on 52 detailed investigation reports prepared by
inspectorsofmines.Thereportidentiedthe10most
important repeat causation factors for the 52 fatality
investigations considered and established both active
failures and underlying conditions.
The fatalities hazard register was published on the
Department website in January 2017, to identify
ongoing causation factors leading to fatal accidents.
The register lists all Western Australian mining fatalities
from2000to2017,andtstheminto20hazard
categories. The register also includes critical activities
andcriticalcontrolsidentiedtoreducetheriskofa
repeat event.
Serious injury reviews
The Department published a report on an analysis of
serious injury data in the Western Australian mining
industry in 2015. The report considered a sample of
837 injuries for the period July to December 2013. The
samplesetincluded655injuriesthatwereclassiedas
serious. Consistent statistical compliance was noted
for six-monthly and annual samples going back to
2002, indicating repeating trends of common causation
factors. The review showed limited improvement in
injury statistics between 2002 and 2014 for high-level
serious injuries such as amputations, fractures and
crush injuries.
The serious injuries and incidents hazard register was
published on the Department website in May 2018. The
registerpresentsthendingsfrom53highlevelserious
injury or serious incidents selected for investigation
by the Investigations Services Branch over the period
January 2011 to December 2016 in the Western
Australian mining industry.
Vehicle collisions in the Western Australian mining industry 2015-16 – REPORT
2
The incidents were assessed according to the same
20 categories as for the fatality hazard register with an
additional two categories included.
1.4 Signicanceofvehiclecollisions
Accordingtothefatalityhazardregister,trac
management hazards contributed to four of the main
causation factors (Table 1) in West Australian mining
between 2000 and 2017. These vehicle-related hazards
contributed to 16 of the 67 fatalities:
• Vehicle collisions (5)
• Vehicle over edge (4)
• Vehicle runaway (4)
• Vehicle rollovers (3)
Table 1 Hazard categories for mining fatalities from
2000 to 2017
Hazard category Number of deaths
Fall from heights 11
Maintenance procedure
deciency
8
Underground rock fall 5
Vehicle collision 5
Machinery movement – crush 4
Vehicle runaway 4
Vehicle over edge 4
Vehicle rollover 3
Electrical contact 3
Inrushofuids/material 3
Tyres – Pressure and gravity 3
Heat exhaustion 3
Falling equipment 2
Open pit wall failure or
subsidence
2
Suspended load 2
Engineering design 1
Explosionsandres 1
Explosives 1
High pressure equipment 1
Natural event 1
Total 67
Vehicle collisions involving haul trucks or light vehicles
resultedinfourofthevefatalaccidentcollisions
recordedinthefatalityhazardregister.Thefthfatal
vehicle collision was a head-on collision involving two
road trains on a haul road.
Thevefatalaccidentcollisionsaresummarisedbelow,
and includes the fatality hazard register identity number
for each incident.
• A road train driver was killed when two road trains
collided head-on on a haul road. [25]
• A worker was killed while spotting a haul truck into
close proximity of a stationary haul truck to connect
jumper leads between the two vehicles. [26]
• A drill operator was killed when his light service
truck collided with a parked-up drill service truck in
a park-up area and drill rods protruding from the drill
service truck struck the drill operator. [30]
• A haul truck driver, engaged in waste tipping, was
driving down a ramp at an open pit when he lost
control of his vehicle and was killed when his haul
truck collided with a parked-up dozer. [36]
• Aheavydutytterinalightvehiclewaskilledina
collision with a haul truck entering an intersection
on a haul road. The light vehicle was shielded behind
another turning haul truck and was not visible to the
haul truck driver involved in the accident. [39]
Allminesuseaeetofvehiclestoconductmining
operations and the hazard of a vehicle collision is a
feature of operations on the mines. There are common
hazard exposures at many mines, but each site may
havedifferentcharacteristicsandoperatingproles.
Strategies to reduce the risk of injury to workers can be
developed once the causation factors are understood.
1.5 Approach
ThereissucientrawdataintheDepartment’sSafety
Regulation System (SRS) to enable ongoing quantitative
analysis of key performance areas. Previous studies
have shown that grouped data containing 100 or more
like events can be used to identify key problem areas.
The approach used in this report builds on the serious
injurystudywheredatawasgroupedintospecicareas
for analysis.
In analysing the data, the focus has been on identifying
which factors (e.g. vehicle types) accounted for high
numbers of collision incidents.
Vehicle collisions in the Western Australian mining industry 2015-16 – REPORT
3
1.6 Structure of the report
There are legislative requirements that determine
theincidentinformationnotiedtotheDepartment.
NoticationsaremanagedandstoredinSRS.Chapter2
outlines the reporting requirements and how the data is
processed.
Chapter 3 outlines the methodology used in the data
collection and analysis.
Chapters 4 to 7 describe how the data was analysed
andpresenttheresultsandkeyndings.
Chapter 8 presents strategies for industry to reduce the
incidence of vehicle collisions.
Links to charts depicting the data are spread throughout
the report. Click on the link and hover the cursor over
the bars of the charts for detailed information.
Vehicle collisions in the Western Australian mining industry 2015-16 – REPORT
4
2 The Safety Regulation System (SRS)
2.1 Legislativerequirements
The Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994 (the Act)
and Mines Safety and Inspection Regulations 1995
(the Regulations) require mining operations to report
certain types of injuries and occurrences to the district
inspector.
Thereportableincidentsaredenedinsections76,78
and 79 of the Act.
• Section 76: any accident, which results in an injury
to an employee that prevents the employee from
performing their normal duties.
• Section78:occurrencesareadenedlistof
incidents that must be reported, whether or not an
injuryoccurs.Theterm‘occurrence’hasaspecic
legal meaning in the Act.
• Section 79: potentially serious occurrences which,
in the mine manager’s opinion, could have caused
serious injury or harm, even though no injury
occurred.
Injuriesandoccurrencesaresubmittedasnotiable
incident reports via SRS.
2.2 Quality assurance of data held in
SRS
When mining operators submit incident reports via SRS,
a quality assurance process is undertaken during which
coding standards are applied to each report against a
setofdenedcategories.
The 15 categories in SRS (SRS incident type
descriptions are derived from legislative requirements)
have been in use and unchanged since 1994, and are
limitedtothegroupingsdenedinss.76,78and79of
the Act (Table 2).
Table 2 SRS incident description categories
Legislation SRS incident type description
s. 76 (2)(a) 1. Serious or appears to be serious
injury (including fatality)
s. 78 (3)(a) 2. Extensive subsidence, settlement or
fall of ground or any major collapse
s. 78 (3)(a) 3. Earth movement caused by seismic
event
s. 78 (3)(b) 4.Outbreakofreaboveorbelow
ground
s. 78 (3)(c) 5. Breakage of a rope, cable, chain
or other gear by which persons are
raised or lowered
s. 78 (3)(d) 6. Inrush of water
s. 78 (3)(e) 7. Dust ignition below ground
s. 78 (3)(e) 8. Presence or outburst of potentially
harmful or asphyxiant gas
s. 78 (3)(f) 9. Accidental, delayed or fast ignition
or detonation of explosives
s. 78 (3)(g) 10. Explosion or bursting of
compressed air receivers, boilers or
pressure vessels
s. 78 (3)(h) 11. Electric shock or burn or
dangerous occurrence involving
electricity
s. 78 (3)(i) 12. Poisoning or exposure to toxic gas
or fumes where persons are affected
s. 78 (3)(j) 13. Loss of control, failure of braking
or steering of heavy earth moving
equipment
s. 79 14. Potentially serious occurrence
r. 6.36 15. Incidents affecting registered
plant
Note: the groupings used for the sample came from
the s. 79 notications internal quality assurance coding
process. The events recorded under s. 79 are coded in
subgroups and these were used to extract the sample of
collisions used for the study.
Vehicle collisions in the Western Australian mining industry 2015-16 – REPORT
5
3 Methodology
3.1 Data collection
This review analysed incidents involving vehicles for the
two-year period from January 2015 to December 2016.
Thefollowingpre-setltercategoriesinSRS(under
SRS incident type description 14. Potentially serious
occurrences) were used to obtain a total vehicle sample:
• light vehicle incident
• truck or mobile equipment collision
• truck or mobile equipment NOC (not otherwise
classied).
These incidents were then manually assessed to extract
those which involved a collision (or near-collision) of a
vehicle with another vehicle or object.
By reading each description and extracting those which
identiedavehiclecollision,adatasetof172collisions
was obtained. There were 120 vehicle-on-vehicle
collisions (including nine near-collisions) and 52 vehicle-
on-other collisions.
Although only nine near-collisions had been reported,
they were included in the data set. The hazards
associated with these incidents remain relevant to
collisions. Refer to Appendix 1 for summaries of these
incidents.
3.2 Grouping data
Seven categories of factors that formed part of the
collision incidents were derived from the industry
description for each of the 172 incidents. These
categories provide the basis for the analysis:
• primary vehicle type
• secondary contact types:
– vehicle
– non-vehicle
• causation factor
• location (surface or underground)
• area of mine
• activity of the primary vehicle at the time of the
collision.
In this report, the primary vehicle is the vehicle that
impacted a secondary contact, either another vehicle
(secondary vehicle), object or person. ‘Other secondary
contact’ refers to any non-vehicle object or pedestrian
struck by the primary vehicle.
In addition to identifying the main contributors in each
group, the data was also analysed to identify trends of
repeat collision types.
3.3 Limitations
Although there is a wealth of data on occurrences
available in SRS, samples of data cannot be extracted in
sucientdetailbyautomaticmeansduetothelimited
coding process for occurrences. Any review involves
human analysis rather than an automated search
methodology.
For this review, a sample of incidents was extracted
from SRS. The incident description provided by the
mines was then manually analysed and tagged
according to an assessment of the factors involved in
the collision.
Vehicle collisions in the Western Australian mining industry 2015-16 – REPORT
6
4 Vehicle type
4.1 Typesofvehiclesinvolvedin
collisions
A total of 292 vehicles were involved in 172 collisions,
either by driving into a vehicle or object, or by being
struck by another vehicle.
Of the 172 collisions:
• 120 collisions involved a secondary vehicle
• 52 collisions involved a non-vehicle secondary
contact
Table 3 Totals for all vehicles involved in vehicle collisions reported
See Ch 4 - Vehicles in collisions
tab in the Vehicle collisions report
graphs for more details.
Vehicle type Primary vehicles Secondary vehicles Total vehicles
Haul trucks – surface 51 31 82
Light vehicles
1
35 36 71
Haul trucks – underground 16 5 21
Loaders – surface 15 5 20
Load-haul-dump trucks (LHD) 15 4 19
Dozers
2
13 5 18
Water carts 2 8 10
Diggers
3
3 5 8
Graders 2 5 7
Road trains 4 2 6
Elevating work platforms (EWP)
4
3 2 5
Service trucks 3 1 4
Cranes
5
2 2 4
Autonomous haul trucks (AHT) – surface 1 3 4
Bowl scrapers 1 2 3
Vacuum trucks 2 0 2
Buses 1 1 2
Integrated tool carriers (ITC) 1 1 2
Stemming trucks 1 1 2
Charge-up trucks – underground 1 0 1
Skip trucks 0 1 1
Totalvehiclesinvolvedincollisions 172 120 292
Notes:
1. Includes maintenance vehicles
2. Includes wheel dozers and track dozers
3. Includes excavators and shovels
4. Includes forklifts and scissor lifts
5. Includes pick-and-carry cranes, slew cranes and
telehandlers
Vehicle collisions in the Western Australian mining industry 2015-16 – REPORT
7
The main six vehicle types involved in 172 collisions are:
• Surface haul trucks (30%)
• Light vehicles (20%)
• Underground haul trucks (9%)
• Surface loaders (9%)
• LHDs (9%)
• Dozers (6%)
These vehicle types are used on most mines and
represent major hazards with regard to the potential for
a collision.
Five of the six main vehicle
types involved in collisions
are large machines and have
thepotentialtodosignicant
damage or cause serious injury
during a collision. From a priority risk prevention
strategy, a focus on these vehicle types offers
the greatest opportunity to reduce the risk of a
collision.
Surface haul trucks (82) and light vehicles (71)
represent more than half of the total number of vehicles
involved in collisions. Together with underground haul
trucks (21), surface loaders (20), LHDs (19) and dozers
(18), these six vehicle types account for 231 of the 292;
that is, 79% of vehicles involved in collisions.
Haul trucks (35%)
Surface haul trucks (82) and underground haul trucks
(21) account for 103 of the 292 vehicles involved in
collisions.
A surface haul truck is the most common vehicle
involved in collisions, with 51 incidents as the primary
vehicle and 31 as the secondary vehicle.
Underground haul trucks account for 21 collisions,
with16incidentsastheprimaryvehicleandveasthe
secondary vehicle.
Light vehicles (24%)
Light vehicles account for 71 of the 292 vehicles
involved in collisions, with 35 incidents as the primary
vehicle and 36 as the secondary vehicle. A light vehicle
was the primary vehicle in all three of the collisions
where pedestrians were contacted (Table 4).
Loaders (13%)
Surface loaders (20) and LHDs (19) account for 39 of
the 292 vehicles involved in collisions.
Surface loaders were involved in 20 collisions, with
15incidentsastheprimaryvehicleandveasthe
secondary vehicle.
LHDs were involved in 19 collisions, with 15 incidents as
the primary vehicle and four as the secondary vehicle.
Dozers (6%)
Dozers account for 18 of the 292 vehicles involved in
collisions, with 13 incidents as the primary vehicle and
veasthesecondaryvehicle.
4.2 Mainsecondaryvehicletypesin
vehicle-on-vehiclecollisions
The main three secondary vehicle types involved in 120
vehicle-on-vehicle collisions are:
• light vehicles (30%)
• surface haul trucks (26%)
• water carts (6%)
See Ch 4 - Primary secondary type
tab in the Vehicle collisions report
graphs for more details.
The most frequently contacted
secondary vehicle type is a
light vehicle. A light vehicle was
contacted by a much larger vehicle in 33 of 36
collisions, and was parked-up or stationary in 13
of those incidents.
This is a major hazard area as the primary
vehicle is invariably much larger in the majority
of vehicle-on-vehicle collisions.
Vehicle collisions in the Western Australian mining industry 2015-16 – REPORT
8
4.3 Mainnon-vehiclesecondary
contacttypesinvehicle-on-other
collisions
The main non-vehicle secondary contact types are:
• bunds (44%)
• tunnel walls (17%)
It is a concern that the objects
designed to contain vehicles are the
objects most frequently involved in
collisions.
All three incidents involving pedestrians were with light
vehicles. However, all areas where vehicles operate
are high-risk areas for pedestrians and it is imperative
that vehicle and pedestrians are separated as much as
possible. It is particularly important that large vehicles
alert others in the area before they start moving.
Table 4 Non-vehicle contacts involved in vehicle-on-
other collisions
Secondary contact
(non-vehicle)
Number of collisions
Bunds
1
23
Tunnel walls
2
9
Pedestrians 3
Warehouses
3
2
Power poles 2
Safety railings 2
Conveyor structures 1
Embankments 1
Gatehouses 1
Hoppers 1
Lighting plant 1
Pillars 1
Storage cabinets 1
Fixed beams 1
Stockpile walls 1
Stockpile water cannons 1
Trees 1
Total 52
Notes:
1. Includes windrows and trac islands
2. Includes decline walls and haulage drive walls
3. Includes sea containers
4.4 Repeat incidents
In 46 of 120 (38%) vehicle-on-vehicle collisions,
the same primary vehicle type impacted the same
secondaryvehicletypemorethanvetimeseach
(Table 5). The main vehicle types involved were:
• haul trucks – surface (32)
• light vehicles (22)
• dozers (9)
• haul trucks – underground (5)
Table 5 Repeat collisions where the same primary
vehicle type impacted the same secondary
vehicletypemorethanvetimeseach
Primary vehicle Secondary
vehicle
Number of
collisions
Haul truck –
surface
Haul truck –
surface
15
LHD Light vehicle 9
Dozer Haul truck –
surface
9
Haul truck –
surface
Light vehicle 8
Haul truck –
underground
Light vehicle 5
Total 46
Vehicle collisions in the Western Australian mining industry 2015-16 – REPORT
9
5 Causation factors
5.1 Causation factors associated
withvehiclecollisions
Causation factors are any behaviours, omissions or
decienciesthat,ifcorrected,eliminatedoravoided
would have prevented the incident. Allocation to groups
of causation factors was based on an assessment of
the factors that formed part of the collision incidents
provided in the incident descriptions from the industry
submissions.
Table 6 Causation factors associated with the vehicle collisions
Causation factor Number of vehicle-
on-vehicle collisions
Number of vehicle-
on-other collisions
Total number of
collisions
Parked-up or stationary secondary
vehicle
25 1 26
Communication breakdown
1
18 0 18
Failure to stop or give way or slow down 15 2 17
Visibility obscured
2
15 2 17
Fell asleep or micro sleep or medical 2 14 16
Loss of concentration 2 14 16
Rear view unchecked 9 2 11
Distance misjudged 9 1 10
Deviated
3
3 4 7
Oncoming vehicle
4
6 0 6
Traction loss
5
3 2 5
Loss of control on bend 0 4 4
Brake failure
6
3 0 3
Crossing AHT permission line 3 0 3
Crossing in front of vehicle 2 1 3
Drivingundertheinuence 1 1 2
Loss of control on descent 1 1 2
Loss of control (mechanical fault) 0 1 1
Parked vehicle runaway 1 1 2
Rock obstruction 1 0 1
Singlelanenotidentied 1 0 1
Protruding structure 0 1 1
Total 120 52 172
Notes:
1. Includes radio break-down and miscommunication
2. Includes vehicle blind spot
3. Includes drifted or veered to avoid obstacle
4. Head-on contact collisions with no additional
information provided in the incident report
5. On wet or greasy surface
6. Includes a brake pedal obstruction
Vehicle collisions in the Western Australian mining industry 2015-16 – REPORT
10
Causation factor
Parked-up or stationary secondary vehicle
5.2 Main causation factors for
vehicle-on-vehiclecollisions
The main causation factors for 120 vehicle-on-vehicle
collisions were:
• associated with a parked-up or stationary secondary
vehicle (19%). Over half (13 of 25) were reversed into
• due to communication breakdowns (15%)
• failures to stop, give way or slow down (12%)
• due to obscured visibility (12%).
Surface haul trucks, dozers, light vehicles and LHD were
the main vehicle types involved.
See Ch 5 - Collision cause tab in the
Vehicle collisions report graphs for
more details.
All these factors should be
incorporatedinthetrac
management plan (TMP). Mine sites
should ensure that the TMPs include
parked-up or stationary vehicles and obscured
visibility.
5.3 Main causation factors for
vehicle-on-othercollisions
The main causation factors for vehicle-on-other
collisions were:
• fell asleep or micro-sleep or medical (27%)
• loss of concentration (27%)
• deviated to avoid obstacle, drifted or veered (7%)
• loss of control on bend (7%).
Surface haul trucks, underground haul trucks and
light vehicles were the main primary vehicles involved
in these collisions. The main secondary non-vehicle
contacts involved in collisions were bunds, windrows,
tracislandsandtunnelwalls.
See Ch 5 - Vehicle other cause tab in
the Vehicle collisions report graphs
for more details.
5.4 Repeat incidents
Repeat incidents are represented in the infographic
below for each causation factor. The primary vehicle is
on the left and the secondary on the right.
The highest repeat vehicle-on-vehicle collisions where
the same primary vehicle collided with the same
secondary vehicle associated with the same causation
factor were:
4
Primaryvehicle
Surface haul truck
Secondaryvehicle
Surface haul truck
4
Primaryvehicle
Surface haul truck
Secondaryvehicle
Light vehicle
4
Primaryvehicle
LHD
Secondaryvehicle
Light vehicle
There were equal number of repeats for each of these
primary vehicle x secondary vehicle combinations.
Main repeat vehicle-on-other collision events where the
same primary vehicle collided with the same secondary
non-vehicle contact type associated with the same
causation factor were:
Causation factor
Fell asleep or micosleep or medical
6
Primaryvehicle
Surface haul truck
Secondary contact
Windrow/bund/
tracisland
Vehicle collisions in the Western Australian mining industry 2015-16 – REPORT
11
6 Location and area of mine
For all vehicle collisions:
80% occurred on the
surface
20% occurred
underground
This trend is consistent for both vehicle-on-vehicle and
vehicle-on-other collisions.
Tables 7A and 7B show where vehicle collisions occur
on mine sites.
Table 7A Area of mine for vehicle-on-vehicle collisions – surface
Area of mine – surface Number of vehicle-
on-vehicle collisions
Number of vehicle-
on-other collisions
Total number of
collisions
Roads 8 15 23
Waste dumps 15 4 19
Intersections
1
12 6 18
Pitoorsandbenches 17 0 17
Stockpiles, yards and sheds 13 3 16
ROM pads 12 3 15
Ramps
2
11 3 14
Park-up areas
3
4 1 5
Buildings (surface)
4
1 4 5
Workshops 3 1 4
Tailings dams 1 0 1
Unloading areas 0 1 1
Total 97 41 138
Notes:
1. Includes junctions and level crossings
2. Includes switchbacks
3. Includes go-lines
4. Includes processing plants
Vehicle collisions in the Western Australian mining industry 2015-16 – REPORT
12
Table 7B Area of mine for vehicle-on-vehicle collisions – underground
Area of mine – surface Number of vehicle-
on-vehicle collisions
Number of vehicle-
on-other collisions
Total number of
collisions
Declines 12 8 20
Drives
1
4 2 6
Levels
2
4 1 5
Passes
3
2 0 2
Pass and load points 1 0 1
Total 23 11 34
Notes:
1. Includes access and ore drives
2. Includes crosscuts
3. Includes tipples
The areas of mines where the majority of the 172
vehicle collisions occurred are:
• Roads (13%)
• Declines (12%)
• Waste dumps (11%)
• Intersections (10%)
• Pitoorsandbenches(10%)
• Stockpiles, yards and sheds (9%)
• ROM pads (9%)
• Ramps (8%)
On the surface, while most collisions occur on roads
(eight vehicle-on-vehicle and 15 vehicle-on-other
collisions),pitoorsandbenchesarethemainareaof
mine for vehicle-on-vehicle collisions (17).
Underground, most collisions occur on the decline (12
vehicle-on-vehicle and eight vehicle-on-other collisions).
Vehicle types associated with repeat vehicle-on-
vehicle collisions in the decline are haul trucks, light
vehicles and LHDs. The limited vision around LHDs is a
signicantfactorinactivitiesintheseareas.
6.1 Main areas of mine and
activitiesforvehicle-on-vehicle
collisions
See Ch 6 - Area vehicle collisions
tab in the Vehicle collisions report
graphs for more details.
The main areas of the mine where 120 vehicle-on-
vehicle collisions occurred are:
• Combined waste dumps, ROM pads, and stockpile,
yards and sheds (33%)
The main activity in these areas is tipping dirt from
haul trucks. The main secondary vehicles involved
in these events were wheel dozers, loaders and light
vehicles. In six of the 40 incidents, the secondary
vehicle was parked-up or stationary.
• Combined intersections, ramps, roads and go-lines
(29%)
The activities in these areas can be regarded as
normal driving activities. In six of the 35 incidents,
the secondary vehicle was parked-up or stationary,
with two on a bend. In three of the 35 incidents, the
collision was head-on.
• Pit oor or bench (14%)
Activities associated with haul trucks being loaded
by shovels or diggers predominate. Dozers also
feature in the events and are associated with clean-
up and levelling work. The secondary vehicle was
parked-up or stationary in four of the 17 incidents.
• Decline (10%)
In three of the 12 incidents the secondary vehicle
was parked-up or stationary. In two of the 12
incidents the collision was head-on. Other causation
factors include communication breakdown, brake
failure, visibility obscured and distance misjudged.
Vehicle collisions in the Western Australian mining industry 2015-16 – REPORT
13
Together these areas contribute 104 incidents and 87%
of the total.
See Ch 6 - Area vehicle cause tab in
the Vehicle collisions report graphs
for more details.
Vehiclecongestiononpitoors
and in tipping activities is a
signicantcausationfactor.This
clearly highlights areas for further
assessment on individual mines. Segregation of
vehicles during this type of work is a precaution
to reduce the risk of vehicle contact.
6.2 Main areas of mine for
vehicle-on-othercollisions
See Ch 6 - Area other collision tab in
the Vehicle collisions report graphs
for more details.
The areas of the mine where 52 vehicle-on-other
collisions occurred are:
• Roads (28%)
• Declines (15%)
• Intersections (11%)
• Waste dumps (7%)
• Surface buildings (7%)
See Ch 6 - Area other cause tab in
the Vehicle collisions report graphs
for more details.
6.3 Repeat incidents
The highest number of repeat vehicle-on-vehicle
collisions where the same primary vehicle type
impacted the same secondary vehicle type in the same
area of mine were:
Area of mine
Waste dump
7
Primaryvehicle
Dozer
Secondaryvehicle
Surface haul truck
Area of mine
Ramp
5
Primaryvehicle
Surface haul truck
Secondaryvehicle
Surface haul truck
The highest number of repeat vehicle-on-other
collisions where the same primary vehicle type
impacted the same secondary non-vehicle type in the
same area of mine were:
Area of mine
Decline
6
Primaryvehicle
Underground
haul truck
Secondary contact
Tunnel wall
Area of mine
Junction/intersection/levelcrossing
6
Primaryvehicle
Surface haul truck
Secondary contact
Windrow/bund/
tracisland
Vehicle collisions in the Western Australian mining industry 2015-16 – REPORT
14
7 Activity of primary vehicle
7.1 Mainprimaryvehicleactivityfor
vehicle-on-vehiclecollisions
This chapter describes the activity of the primary
vehicle at the time of the collision event.
Table 8 Activity of primary vehicle at the time of collision
See Ch 7 - Activity vehicle tab in the
Vehicle collisions report graphs for
more details.
Reversing (42 collisions) is the primary vehicle activity
that accounts for the largest number of collisions, with
38 of the 120 vehicle-on-vehicle collisions and four of
the 52 vehicle-on-other collisions. Approximately a third
(31%) of the vehicle-on-vehicle collisions that occurred
while reversing were with a parked-up or stationary
secondary vehicle.
Surface loaders and dozers were the main primary
vehicles inv
olved in the 42 reversing incidents, and
the main areas of mine were on stockpiles and waste
dumps.
Visibility and communication issues account for two
thirds (67%) of these 42 collisions:
• communication breakdown (10)
• rear view unchecked (10)
• visibility obscured (8)
Segregation of vehicles during this type of activity is a
precaution to reduce the risk of vehicle contact.
The next main category of vehicle-on-vehicle collisions
occurred while travelling on the road (14%), with just
under a third of those due to a failure to stop, slow
down or give way.
Activity of primary v
ehicle Number of vehicle-
on-vehicle collisions
Number of vehicle-
on-other collisions
Total number of
collisions
Reversing 38 4 42
Travelling on road 17 18 35
Entering or exiting intersection 11 4 15
Travelling on decline 9 6 15
Travelling on ramp 10 5 15
Pulling in or out of a work area 10 3 13
Negotiating bend or turn 4 6 10
Loading 5 0 5
Travelling on drive 2 2 4
Dumping 3 0 3
Tipping 2 1 3
Overtaking 2 0 2
Parking 1 1 2
Spotting 2 0 2
Delivering 0 1 1
Filling 1 0 1
Grading 1 0 1
Moving EWP 1 0 1
Scraping 1 0 1
Spraying 0 1 1
Total 120 52 172
Vehicle collisions in the Western Australian mining industry 2015-16 – REPORT
15
See Ch 7 - Activity vehicle cause
tab in the Vehicle collisions report
graphs for more details.
7.2 Mainprimaryvehicleactivities
forvehicle-on-othercollisions
The main activities of the primary vehicles in 52 vehicle-
on-other collisions are:
• travelling on road (34%)
• negotiating a bend or turn (11%)
• travelling on decline (11%)
• travelling on ramp (10%)
Light vehicles and surface haul trucks were the main
primary vehicles involved in these incidents.
See Ch 7 - Activity other tab in the
Vehicle collisions report graphs for
more details.
Causation factors of fell asleep or micro-sleep or
medical (44%) and loss of concentration (33%)
accounted for three quarters of collisions that occurred
while driving on a road.
See Ch 7 - Activity other cause tab in
the Vehicle collisions report graphs
for more details.
7.3 Repeat incidents
The highest number of repeat incidents involving
the same primary vehicle type impacting the same
secondary vehicle type, where primary vehicle is
conducting the same activity were:
Primaryvehicleactivity
Reversing
6
Primaryvehicle
Dozer
Secondaryvehicle
Surface haul truck
Primaryvehicleactivity
Travelling on ramp
6
Primaryvehicle
Surface haul truck
Secondaryvehicle
Surface haul truck
The highest number of repeat incidents involving the
same primary vehicle type conducting the same activity
when striking the same secondary non-vehicle contact
type were:
Primaryvehicleactivity
Travelling on road
5
Primaryvehicle
Surface haul truck
Secondary contact
Windrow/bund/
tracisland
4
Primaryvehicle
Light vehicle
Secondary contact
Windrow/bund/
tracisland
Vehicle collisions in the Western Australian mining industry 2015-16 – REPORT
16
8 Recommendations
A clear understanding of critical problem areas is
essential to direct resources towards the development
of effective solutions.
8.1 General risk assessment
Each vehicle type has the potential to cause a collision
in a particular set of circumstances. Because each
site is different, for a total risk management strategy,
all vehicle types should be considered to identify all
possible accident scenarios. The following general risk
management actions are recommended.
• Mines should develop risk assessments for all
vehicle types to include potential contacts and
interaction with workplace and equipment in the
workplace.
• Mines should incorporate the concept of critical
tasks and activities within their safety system
methodology. This method can be enhanced within
a framework of principal hazard management plans
and high impact function auditing.
• Planned inspections should be developed for
each work area and task observations conducted
for critical tasks based on an individual mine risk
assessment.
• Inspection processes should carefully examine
physical aspects of workplaces such as stockpiles,
waste dumps, benches, go lines and ramps to
understand vehicle interactions and physical
conditions.
• Task observations should be applied to critical
activities such as working around the digger, tipping
on stockpiles, entering intersections and waste
dump activities to focus on key problem areas.
8.2 Specicfocusareas
Thefollowingspecicriskreductionmeasuresto
reduce the risk of vehicle collisions are recommended.
• Ensure awareness of separate work activities in
a common area. People should be aware of other
work activities in their area. It is often not only their
own actions which put them at risk, but the actions
of others, or their actions that put others at risk:
– identify all tasks or activities happening in each
area
– clearly communicate tasks or activities
happening in the same area to all relevant
workers (e.g. at pre-starts).
• Separate or isolate light vehicles from interaction
in areas such as ROM pads and stockpiles, where
large vehicles such as loaders and dozers work
continuously.
• Segregate areas for pedestrians and vehicles, where
possible. Where pedestrians have to move around
in areas where there are large vehicles (especially
inconnedspacessuchasworkshops),ensure
procedures are in place to alert others before
large vehicles start moving (both forwards and
backwards).
• Highlight the hazard of parking close to corners and
bends and prohibit parking in those locations.
• Implement adequate fatigue management
measures(e.g.sucientbreaksduringshifts).
• Reduce the risk of vehicles contacting windrows,
bunds,tracislandsandstructuresby:
– making a careful assessment of where
windrows,bundsandtracislandsareneeded
and how they are constructed and delineated
– limiting access and minimising speed where any
obstruction is close to vehicle routes
– considering roadway routes and minimising the
number of junctions and intersections when
developingtracmanagementplans.
• Provide clear delineation of roadways, intersections,
bends and declines.
• Improve underground visibility by clear demarcation
on tunnel walls at regular intervals, with structured
passing bays and level breakaways.
• Identify blind spots around vehicles in work areas
and ensure training and procedures are in place to
provide “no go” areas and vehicle spacing.
Vehicle collisions in the Western Australian mining industry 2015-16 – REPORT
Appendix 1 Summaries of near-collision
incidents
• A surface haul truck was driving along a wet waste
dump ramp when the truck lost traction and spun
out of control. The truck slid about 70 metres before
coming to a stop.
• A light vehicle failed to stop at an intersection on a
haul road and narrowly missed colliding with a haul
truck.
• A light vehicle failed to stop at an intersection on a
haul road and almost collided with a haul truck.
• A water cart had to slow down to avoid a collision
with a light vehicle that failed to give way at an
intersection on a haul road.
• A haul truck slowed down as it approached an
intersection on a haul road to avoid a collision with a
light vehicle crossing in front of it.
• A haul truck driver had to brake to avoid a collision
when a light vehicle failed to give way on a haul
road.
• A light vehicle had to brake hard to avoid a collision
when a road train failed to stop at an intersection of
a haul road.
• A crane had to take evasive action to avoid a
collision with a loader at an intersection on a haul
road when the loader failed to give way.
• A light vehicle had to slow down and stop to avoid
colliding with a vacuum truck at an intersection on a
haul road when the vacuum truck failed to stop.
RSDJan19_191012
Government of Western Australia
Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety
Safety Regulation Group
Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety
100 Plain Street
EAST PERTH WA 6004
Telephone: + 61 8 9358 8001
NRS: 13 36 77
Email: [email protected]v.au
Website: www.dmirs.wa.gov.au
