Mining Vehicle Interactions With Power Lines
The NSW Resource Regulator has reported of two recent mining vehicle interactions with live power lines on NSW mining operations. Luckily, these incidents did not result in casualties. However, they are a reminder that these types of incidents continue to occur amongst the mining industry:
Incident 1: A dump truck with its tray raised hit and pulled down live overhead power lines. The truck continued to drive forward.
Incident 2: An articulated dump truck operator raised the tray to clear some hung-up product. The tub made contact with overhead 11kV power lines. The operator was unaware of the contact but did notice a flash at the right rear tyre. As he drove away he noticed a flat tyre and stopped. An inspection identified a split in the tyre and burn marks on the tyre and on the ground near the power
lines.
Most mining operations have stringent procedures, as well as signage, in place to address this risk. Height ind
RTSM Consulting provides mining organisations with a ‘fresh set of eyes’ to identify hazards and improve safety on their operations. Contact us to discuss how we can help you.icators are also sometimes used. However, experience suggests that incidents of this nature can result from ‘blindness’ caused by over-familiarity with site conditions which affects the thoroughness of internal risk assessments.
