Lessons learnt from the Beaconsfield and Pike River disasters will be among key presentations delivered at the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia’s (CME) annual Safety and Health Conference.
Beaconsfield captivated Australian’s during the 2006 mine disaster. CME has brought to Western Australia one of the heroes of the rescue, Darren ‘The Gun’ Flanagan to address the Conference.
Nicknamed ‘the Gun’, Darren charged and fired 65 shots of specialist explosives, to blast his way towards Todd and Brant who were trapped 925 meters underground. This heroic, high-risk rescue method had never been used before, but after every other method to reach the trapped men had failed it was their only hope. Darren will share his story and, in doing so, demonstrate the capacity of ordinary people to show unrelenting spirit and perform under extreme pressure when faced with a set of extraordinary circumstances. He will also discuss the massive mental stress this rescue took on him and others involved in the rescue.
The Pike River Royal Commission released its report in late 2012. Commissioner Stewart Bell will present on the key findings and in particular issues relating to ventilation, gas monitoring, training and emergency response.
The Conference is also the forum where the CME Safety and Health Innovation Awards are presented. Open to all WA-based resource companies, operations and contractors, the awards showcase the best in creativity and ingenuity with the goal of improving local workplaces.
CME’s Chief Executive Reg Howard-Smith congratulated all those who had become finalists.
“These companies are at the forefront of finding innovative solutions to improve workplace safety – industry’s number one priority,” Mr Howard-Smith said.
“It was pleasing to see that the WA resource sector was fatality free in 2012. Despite this great outcome, everyone acknowledges there is no room for complacency in regard to safety. The resource sector will remain vigilant and work hard to ensure everyone gets home safe and well after finishing work,” Mr Howard-Smith said.
“Industry is always looking at ways of doing things better and these awards showcase that innovation,” Mr Howard-Smith said.
Category winners will be announced at the conference dinner on 8 April, along with the Industry Choice Award judged by conference delegates.
The Conference runs for two days this week over on Monday and Tuesday at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre.
To view the full conference program visit www.cmewa.com
Media enquiries
Bruce Campbell-Fraser | b.campbell-fraser@cmewa.com | 0437 156 127