We’d like to thank industry for its support of last month’s Mechanical Engineering Safety Seminar (MESS) which was a great success with high levels of industry engagement.
COVID-19 had caused the cancellation of the 30th Mechanical Engineering Safety Seminar for the past 2 years running.
The Regulator’s Chief Inspector Garvin Burns was pleased at the level of industry support for MESS and noted it was an opportunity to analyse industry statistics and discuss the need for a good reporting culture. MESS was an opportunity to remind attendees of important aspects of the Regulators’ approach, including the Incident Prevention Strategy and compliance and enforcement model.
Day 1 included quality presentations from miners such as Newcrest, Glencore and Whitehaven, looking at the future of mining, the implementation of a refuge chamber into an underground coal mine, and the ongoing implementation of autonomous haulage equipment at Maules Creek Mine.
Heavy vehicle battery manufacturer 3ME Technology presented material related to managing risk of battery electric vehicles and industry body EMERST talked about making plant “fault tolerant” to human error. The day was rounded out with a truly engaging presentation by Steve Gamble, founder of Man Anchor, who provided sobering statistics on mental health, and challenged all attendees to normalise conversations about mental health.
Day 1 concluded with the event dinner. This year, the Regulator’s Paul Drain, who has been an inspector for 20 years, received some special attention for his service to the industry. Shane Gillett, Engineering Manager Centennial Coal and Mark Fogarty from Safe For Engineering were two attendees to recall and appreciate the mentorship Paul provided to them on their way to being recognised as Managers of Mechanical Engineering.
Day 2 included a wide range presenters from the industry, consultant engineers and the regulator . The topics included functional safety management; case-studies on incidents and equipment failures; applied risk management in structural welding and demolition; lessons from an analysis of mobile plant fire data from NSW, Queensland and Western Australia, and a case study on a safe driving initiative from Santos.
Two hundred and twenty two people attended the event and the feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive. Many commented on the quality of the presentations and their relevance, and all welcomed the opportunity to network with their peers after a 2 year break.
