Think HBR

2017 HSEC Conference Award Winners

Mining Awards
The 2017 NSW Minerals Council Health, Safety, Environment and Community Conference Award Winners were announced on 14 August at the Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley.
Each award recipient has been acknowledged for their innovation and excellence in ‘workers health’, ‘mine safety’, environmental sustainability’ and ‘community engagement.'
“As always, our awards entrants were all of a very high calibre, demonstrating mining’s commitment to innovation and the pursuit of excellence,” NSW Minerals Council CEO Stephen Galilee said.
“These awards are an important part of our industry’s continuous improvement and will deliver better outcomes for our industry, our workforce, and local communities.”
 
The winners were:
Health Excellence: NCIG Bounce Program
Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group
In 2012 NCIG introduced a Health and Wellbeing Program called Bounce to positively impact the health and welfare of NCIG employees, contractors and their families by managing safety risk together with overall productivity of the NCIG workforce. The program incorporates assessment, prevention and treatment strategies. However, the key element that sets this program apart is setting health initiatives based on ongoing identified workforce health risks and needs.
 
Safety Excellence: Project Arrive Alive
Evolution Mining - Cowal Gold Operations
In 2016, Cowal Gold Mine identified two incidents had been caused by micro-sleeps. There were a number of employees who had a commute that prevented them from being able to have at least 8 hours sleep between shifts, causing fatigue and in numerous cases stress. During Project Arrive Alive, workplace changes were implemented including a maximum of 14 hours door-to-door, mandatory use of buses where buses operated, fatigue education, sleep and fatigue management through technology and psychological training to help employees understand the long term impact of fatigue.
 
Environment Excellence: NCIG Offset Delivery
Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group
Since 2012, NCIG has progressively implemented its Compensatory Habitat and Ecological Monitoring Program (CHEMP). The program is focused on conservation and offset measures for the endangered Green and Golden Bell Frog (Litoria aurea) as well as species of migratory shorebirds protected under international and federal environmental laws. NCIG has restored degraded land and areas previously occupied by Endangered Ecological Communities (EECs) to sites of high biodiversity value, all within a National Park. This has been done with numerous stakeholders including government and non-government organisations to help deliver enhanced ecological outcomes for the Hunter Wetlands National Park.
 
Community Excellence: Enterprise Facilitation
Rio Tinto Coal & Allied
Coal and Allied’s Enterprise Facilitation program was established in 2015 in response to the economic impact of the previous mining downturn, the need for economic diversification in the Upper Hunter region and as a Social Licence improvement project. Free advice is provided to assist local entrepreneurs, business owners and community groups to establish, strengthen or expand local businesses and social enterprises. This work is supported by a network of volunteers with experience and networks across various business disciplines. More than 100 clients have been helped, at least a dozen new businesses have commenced operation and a number of Social Enterprises have also been assisted.