Each year MSHA release the details of mining-related fatalities from the previous year. In July last year we reviewed the 2009 fatality statistics and found three key lessons we could learn. 

A review of the 2010 preliminary mining fatality data (for the USA) shows us that inexperience is a fatality risk factor in the mining industry – including inexperience in the industry, inexperience on the particular site, or inexperience on the task being performed.
 

Upper Big Branch Disaster

The most obvious feature in the report data is that 60% of the fatalities in the US coal industry in 2010 came from one single incident – the mine explosion at Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia – where 29 miners were killed.  (Read our 2010 Mining Year in Review Post)

For the purposes of the interpretation of the data used in this article, and to make the results comparable with 2009 results, the UBB fatalities have been removed from the analysis.

 
 

Inexperience Continues to be a Major Risk Factor

The key findings from analysis of the 2010 data are exactly the same as the findings from the 2009 data:

  1. Around 50% of fatalities involved someone with less than 5 years experience in the mining industry.
  2. Over 80% of fatalities involved someone with less than 5 years experience at the particular mine site on which they died.
  3. Around 70% of people killed in the mining industry in 2010 had less than 5 years experience in the task or job they were doing at the time. 

While our analysis is limited as we are looking at absolute percentages and don’t have the relative industry breakdown in each category to compare against, we can see that time in the industry, time on the particular mine site, and experience with the particular job or task all have an impact on reducing a person’s fatality risk. 


 

The Class of 2009 was a High Risk Bunch!

There is one very interesting variation in the 2010 statistics compared to 2009. From 2009 to 2010 the percentage of fatalities occurring in the “less than 5yr experience” range for each category of experience has not changed very much (the results mentioned above).

What has changed, is that the amount of fatalities in the “less than 1 year experience” range has dropped substantially. 

For example, when we look at the amount of experience a person had on the task or job they were doing when they were killed, we found that last year 51% of fatalities involved someone with less than one year experience, while 28% involved someone with 1 – 5 years experience (for a total of 79% of fatalities in the 0 – 5 year range).  In 2010 the breakdown was reversed – only 22% of fatalities were from the less than one year range, while 47% were from the 1 – 5 year range (although the total for 0 – 5 years remained similar at 69%).

We can certainly argue of the statistical validility of this, but if it is a correct interpretation, then we could say one of two things:

  1. In 2010 the mining industry got a lot better at looking after inexperienced people (to the industry, their site, or the specific task).
  2. The people that entered the industry or changed jobs in 2009 were a higher risk bunch and now they’ve moved into the 1 – 5 year category, the statistics are worse in that range!  

I’m kidding about point number two of course, but there is food for thought as to what has driven the dramatic drop in fatalities related to people with less than one year experience, and increased the percentage related to people with 1 – 5 years experience.

I'm interested to hear what you think – please leave a comment below.


 

Summary

These results continue to tell us that inexperience is a fatality risk factor in the mining industry.  We must make sure that our systems and leadership continue to focus on people in these higher risk categories, and particularly those who might fall into all three categories (i.e. new to the task, new to the site, and new to the industry – “clean skins”, or “green-skins”).

Have a safe and productive week – click here to download the original document I received containing the fatality statistics and a description of each fatality.

 


- Jamie Ross

Mining Man - Great Safety, Leadership and Productivity Ideas for the Mining Industry

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All images from MSHA Fatalgrams:  MSHA Coal Fatalgrams   MSHA Metal Fatalgrams
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Links:

MSHA Coal Fatalgrams  
MSHA Metal Fatalgrams

8 International Mining Reforms To Improve Safety And Save Lives:
http://listicles.com/2011/02/8-international-mining-reforms-to-improve-safety-and-save-lives/