Most Important Part of Safety at Mines is the Miner

Safety Committee Update
Most Important Part of Safety at Mines is the Miner

By Wade Johnston & Steve Schauwecker,
TMRA Safety Committee Co-Chairs

Hello TMRA members. As you read this month’s newsletter, I hope that each of you have been able to stay safe and healthy during the COVID19 pandemic. The world as we know it, has now changed and companies are having to address health concerns that they have never had to address before. To ensure employee health and safety, I am certain that your company has had to develop and implement new strategies for employee protection. Strategies such as employee temperature checks, employees working remotely, social distancing practices, adding masks and gloves as part of required PPE, limiting and/or forbidding travel and emphasizing the importance of handwashing. Hopefully, your company has been able to avoid the worst of this pandemic.

The theme for this month’s newsletter is “Safety, Key to Success.” Any of us can go to the MSHA website and obtain all kinds of safety materials, safety tools and statistics to implement at our mines in an attempt to make us safer. Routine topics such as training, power haulage equipment, electrical safety, pre-op inspections, respiratory protection, tailgate talks, etc. seems to always be discussed and highlighted, but the most important part of safety at our mines is the miner. The key to success starts and ends with the miner. Engaging the miner and acquiring their buy-in is crucial in obtaining a safe workplace.

A recent study by Gallup on how engagement affected safety showed that employees who were engaged had 70 percent fewer incidents, naturally took pride in their work, wanted to follow best practices and felt their work was important compared to those that were disengaged. Various leaders have suggested that companies can make progress in obtaining engagement by allowing their employees to have a seat at the table in decision-making, allow employees to become a part of things outside of their job description, recognize and reward employees, allow employees to be creativity and to look for new ways of doing things and “ask employees” instead of “tell employees.” Until next month, stay healthy and safe.

Sincerely,
Wade Johnston & Steve Schauwecker
TMRA Safety Committee Co-Chairs