Falling counterweight prompts safety alert

WorkSafe Victoria has issued a safety alert after a hoist failure on a mining site caused a 20 t counterweight to fall around 30 m from its operating position. Fortunately, the area below the counterweight was isolated by a fence and no-one was injured in the incident; however, the supporting structure was significantly damaged.

To prevent similar incidents, WorkSafe Victoria recommended that mining operators establish and implement a safety management system (SMS), identifying all mining hazards and health and safety risks onsite, so far as reasonably practicable, and effecting controls to eliminate or reduce those risks, as required under the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017.

Mining operators should also perform regular maintenance and inspections on plants and associated structures and review their SMS as necessary.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Harris Shiffman