Creative communications company Unplugged has developed a safety campaign for mining companies using venomous snakes as a metaphor for safety hazards in the workplace.

Unplugged creative director Rick Melvill tells Mining Weekly that the company has been working in the industry for years, and identified the need for fresh ideas in the mining industry, specifically relating to safety.

“Mining companies have been placing great emphasis on zero harm in recent years, but a lot of the time workers suffer from campaign fatigue, and do not pay attention to the message anymore.”

Most recently, Unplugged delivered its Snakes for Safety campaign at a platinum mine, near Rustenburg, with “great effectiveness”, says Melvill.

He explains that the initial concept was developed and expanded over a number of years. The company first used a version of the campaign at Anglo Coal’s Kleinkopje colliery in 2007.

An upgraded version of the campaign was delivered to Sasol Synfuels. “Sasol was concerned that contractors were experiencing high injury rates during the shutdown period. Unplugged decided to use the terrifying reality of live snakes on stage to create a powerful demonstration of the folly of making assumptions about one’s own safety.”

Melvill says that Unplugged’s campaigns are usually tailor-made for the different companies and their needs. “However, over the years, we have developed the ‘Snakes for Safety’ campaign to be a more generic campaign, able to fit into any company’s existing safety campaign.”

The first phase of the campaign combines industrial theatre and audience interaction with live snakes. The snakes are then used as a discussion generator around the hazards in the ‘snake pit’, also known as the workplace.

Melvill says that some hazards are like puffadders. “They lie there camouflaged until you step on them. This is quite a common phenomenon, especially in mines where some dangers are very real, but workers are not alert to them.

“Other hazards are like mambas; they search you out, like methane gas underground. Still others are like pythons, semiharmless when small but, if left, can grow into a big issue.”

After safety issues in the workplace have been identified, groups participate in mass brainstorming around possible solutions using a unique open-space process in which topics raised are posted on a wall. Participants then choose to help solve the issue most relevant to them.

These topics and discussions are captured on a database, which companies are able to evaluate and use to deal with concerns. This can also lead to ongoing discussions and awareness campaigns.