A safety case study is presented involving two major contracts: a 1000 m shaft recovery and rehabilitation, and the development of a drainage gallery in a large open pit operation. In the early stages of the contracts, there were a number of incidents that created tension between the owner and contractor, which resulted in the contractor being placed on a final warning with potential termination. As a result of this, a focused safety recovery plan as a ‘last chance’ was initiated.
Over a period of two years, the engagement and subsequent performance of the contractor was turned around, steadily working to set it up for success, such that in one of the contract work areas, a record of One Year LTI (lost time injury-free) was achieved. The journey involved the owner and contractor teams working cohesively to educate all parties in the safety requirements and, most importantly, providing the context and understanding for certain requirements being put in place. Early on in the process, it was recognised that the Owner’s Team did not fully understand the safety requirements, and so was not able to lead the way for the contractor effectively. This hurdle took a good deal of effort to resolve. The journey to rectify the situation was supported and followed up by focused engagement with the Project Team, which generated progressive improvement in what was a very challenging environment.
It is noteworthy that the contractor turnaround in safety performance was so significant that realising their existing systems needed improvement, they ultimately exported some of the site-based systems to other contract sites.
