The year 2010 has been a year of mixed fortune for safety in the global mining sector, says international business continuity management (BCM) services company 42 Consulting.

In October last year, the San Jose copper mine, in Chile, made global headlines after 32 miners were rescued after being trapped underground for almost three months.

By contrast, 29 miners recently lost their lives in a mine blast on a colliery in South Island, New Zealand, and 47 miners were killed in an incident on a coal mine in the central Henan province, in China.

Loss of life and the impact on communities is a reminder that in commerce, business continuity translates to survival on a number of levels, says 42 Consulting CEO Dean Horner.

He notes the fundamental aspect of BCM is that decision makers not only manage the business effectively through a crisis, but do so to continue operations.

As such, management at 42 Consulting provides an end-to-end BCM service that includes crisis management, emergency management, business and information technology continuity and recovery.

Generally, the mining industry is good in terms of emergency management, but lacks follow-through and efficiency as far as business recovery is concerned, he adds.

“The mining industry is set up to control and effectively deal with an emergency – which are really a part of what is known as normal operational failures. The challenge this industry is faced with is that while emergencies are dealt with quickly and effectively, operators often struggle with the long-term impact on business recovery and continued operations.”

“The fact is, in terms of BCM, decision makers have to differentiate between what are normal operational failures and what are crises. This will differ depending on the nature of the industry,” Horner explains.

To help clients understand the dynamics of BCM, experts at 42 Consulting ask the principle question of what will happen to one’s business if they experience a major crisis.

“In many cases, the company has a strategy or plan on paper. These are really impressive-looking documents that detail all actions and responsibilities to be followed in the event of a crisis. The problem with this scenario is that everything looks fine on paper, but in terms of practical application, most do not know what to do because the knowledge rests with a few and is often not communicated effectively to the rest of the organisation,” he says.

Horner is emphatic about the need to empower clients through the delivery of business continuity capability. This means should a crisis unfold, everyone that is affected knows exactly what to do in practice, when, where and how.