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Fatigue management prevents accidents, enhances output

ALERTNESS TEST 
Workers undergo a 60 to 90 second alertness test that evaluates their fatigue levels

Predictive Safety manager Marcus Wichmann talks about the dangers of fatigue in mining and how to prevent it. Camerawork and Editing: Nicholas Boyd.

ALERTNESS TEST Workers undergo a 60 to 90 second alertness test that evaluates their fatigue levels

13th May 2016

By: Victor Moolman

Creamer Media Writer

  

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Fatigue has to be managed throughout a mine to ensure everyone is functioning at peak, especially when working under the hazardous conditions prevalent in the industry, to achieve optimal production results, says fatigue management specialist Predictive Safety.

“This is where our fatigue management system is most effective. By using new technology that actively monitors fatigue levels, educating mineworkers on the importance of nutrition and implementing new shift schedules, we can accurately identify who is suffering from fatigue,” explains Predictive Safety consultant Dr Douglas Potter.

Accidents, which result in stoppages at mines, hindering output, are often the result of human error, owing to high fatigue levels. Such accidents can also lead to the loss of limbs or lives, states the company, which notes a 35.7% increase in production at a client’s forestry project after workers and other staff had been educated on the value of nutrition and the dangers of fatigue.

“We want to prevent the loss of life and reduce accidents. To accomplish this, we have to understand a person’s physiology. What is in [the miner’s] diet and [does the miner] exercise? When a person is alert, [the person is] more productive, which also reduces accidents by 30% to 40%,” emphasises Predictive Safety manager Marcus Wichmann.

South Africa is at the forefront of fatigue management systems, states Potter, explaining that, along with Australia, it has the director’s duty of care law, which makes employers liable for the condition of their workers. This has led to mines taking better care of their workers, as well as truck drivers, over the past seven years, he highlights.

“We look at living conditions, hours worked and time spent on breaks. Everything that affects the condition of a mineworker is considered. . . Predictive Safety is moving from a reactive system to a predictive system,” comments Wichmann.

He explains that the fatigue levels of mineworkers can be managed through the implementation of certain procedures, such as mandatory rest periods; however, there are some risks involved when a mine owner tries to overcome fatigue levels at a mine by allowing workers to sleep during working hours.

“Naps can be effective when countering fatigue, but they have to be taken in controlled environments. This means that the amount of time you have slept for, the way and when you wake up to resume work are controlled and monitored,” says Wichmann.

Uncontrolled napping results in more accidents taking place, he elaborates, adding that shift work at most mines interrupts the circadian rhythm – which controls the alertness and sleep patterns of humans.

“As your activity level reduces during the day, so does your body temperature, owing to your circadian rhythm,” Potter notes, elaborating that this is the reason for some cultures taking a daily afternoon nap, or siesta, to account for natural ‘fatigue zones’, which refers to the periods when you are most likely to feel tired and unresponsive.

He explains that there are several different fatigue zones throughout the day. For the normal office worker these fatigue zones are between 13:00 and 15:00. However, because mineworkers often work in shifts, their fatigue zones are constantly changing.

Mineworkers can experience fatigue zones at 13:00, after 01:00 and during the first hour after they have woken up. Potter says these are the most dangerous times for a mineworker to experience fatigue.

Those who work on normal shift patterns as in openpit mines, where they work from 06:00 to 18:00, have fatigue zones that are easy to measure and require only some information to help decrease fatigue. However, at underground mines, where mineworkers mine 24 hours a day, each individual’s fatigue level has to be monitored.

Once Predictive Safety has installed a system and an accident occurs, its cause can easily be determined. The systems can monitor the life style of a mineworker, whether the miner gets enough sleep at home or whether there has been an event that affects his/her mental capacity.

“The tools that are in place consider the schedule of a mineworker and analyse it to help us understand whether [the miner was] in an optimal state of mind or whether [his/her] ability to react to an accident was impeded by fatigue,” explains Wichmann.

Three of Predictive Safety’s fatigue management systems are currently used in South Africa by the Anglo American-owned Mogalakwena platinum mine, in Limpopo, and the Kumba Iron Ore-owned Kolomela iron-ore mine, in the Northern Cape. A third is installed at the Minersa Group-owned Vergenoeg Mining Company, in Gauteng. Potter points out that these mines use “unique fatigue management systems” that have helped to improve their productivity.

“We are converting tearooms into fatigue mitigation facilities to better prevent fatigue from causing accidents at these mines. Before the miners can start working, they have to undergo a 60 second to 90 second test to calculate their alertness levels,” he concludes.

Edited by Tracy Hancock
Creamer Media Contributing Editor

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