Through all stages of project development and operation, VBNC not only meets but, where possible, surpasses standards set by applicable legislation.  In the absence of legislation, best management practices are applied at all our facilities and projects to minimize risks to occupational and public health and safety. We have worked hard to nurture a strong safety culture, in which our people take care of themselves and watch out for each other.

At VBNC, we believe that all accidents are preventable. Our goal is zero incidents. We set our targets high because excellence cannot be achieved without effort; without motivating the entire workforce to make safety a top priority. While our safety record has been strong, there is still room for improvement. Through a variety of safety programs and a program of continuous improvement, through which we learn from incidents and near misses, we are working diligently to achieve a record of zero incidents.

Labrador

Construction Program

During 2005, the otherwise strong construction safety record at the mine and concentrator was compromised by an unfortunate accident. On January 11, 2005, a fatality occurred at the construction site, when a contractor employee was struck by a front-end loader during snow clearing operations.  There was a thorough investigation into this incident, and a number of modifications were made to further enhance safety, including the creation of designated walkways and implementation of more highly visible safety apparel and reviewing the hazards of working around mobile equipment with all workers.

Notwithstanding this unfortunate accident, VBNC’s efforts to achieve a strong safety culture at the Voisey’s Bay construction site were largely successful. In fact, the lost time injury frequency rate (LTI) for 2005 was 0.5, which compares well against the construction industry average of 3.8 and mining industry average of 1.2 in Newfoundland and Labrador for 2004 (the last year for which statistics are available).

Operations

VBNC is committed to achieving and maintaining a safe and healthy workplace during mine and concentrator operations in Labrador. Numerous measures have already been taken toward achieving this objective, including implementation of an Integrated Health, Safety and Environmental Management System based on international standards, and to ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 principles.

“We have also developed and implemented a set of standard operating procedures that apply to more than 300 job tasks at the site, to ensure that they are performed in a safe and environmentally responsible way,” said Environment, Health and Safety Superintendent Patricia Coombs. “These procedures, which are supported by training where necessary, apply to all of our employees and will be reviewed in 2006 to ensure that they are achieving optimal results.”

Just as VBNC is governed by safety legislation, there are numerous rules and regulations in place at the work site that are intended to ensure safe work practices, Coombs explained. “However, this is just a starting-point. You cannot create a safe workplace through the implementation of rules alone. We also have an ethical responsibility to ensure that safety awareness is reflected in the work habits and behaviors of our people.”

Extensive and ongoing safety training is provided to all employees, Coombs explained, with the goal of creating a ‘safety culture’ wherein everyone takes a leadership role in improving safety performance. To help achieve this goal, the STOP safety program has also been implemented in Voisey’s Bay (see sidebar). There are numerous other safety measures and procedures in place, some of which are outlined below.

All new hires at the site must participate in a two-day orientation program with an emphasis on safety, before they can proceed to the work site. This is in addition to any job-specific training the employees would receive. 

An emergency response plan is in place to facilitate a quick and effective response to any emergency situation, staffed by a team of more than 30 volunteers who are trained to specific roles, including high angle rescue, confined space entry, fire fighting, first aid, hazardous materials management, and more.

Crew meetings are held daily, in which the safety ramifications of all work to be performed that day are thoroughly reviewed, along with any recent incidents and near misses. A Job Risk Assessment must take place before any occasional task – one that is not encompassed in standard procedures – can be undertaken by employees or contractors.

The Site Safe electronic incident reporting system was introduced in 2005.  Site Safe is a networked database in which all incidents and near-misses that could cause injury to people, damage to equipment or loss of process are reported electronically. Action lists are generated and alerts sounded if corrective measures are not taken within a fixed period of time.

There are two full-time safety coordinators and a safety trainer working at the mine and concentrator site. As well, an industrial hygienist was hired in 2005 to implement a monitoring program for employee health. There is also a fully equipped medical clinic on the site, staffed by qualified nurses.

“Ensuring a safe workplace also means having a healthy workforce,” Coombs said. “We have programs in place to ensure the well-being of our workers, including flu vaccines, healthy food choices in the cafeteria and excellent recreational facilities. We also have an Employee Assistance Program to help individuals deal with substance abuse problems or other personal challenges. We have zero tolerance for drugs and alcohol. Our goal is to ensure that everyone goes home at the end of every shift, healthy and injury-free. If we can achieve that, then we’ve really achieved something.”

Argentia

Construction Program

“We had an effective safety management system in place that motivated every member of the construction team to remain keenly aware of their own personal safety, and to watch out for the safety of everyone around them,” said Bob Kelly, Construction Manager at the Demonstration Plant.

Safety performance was also achieved through on-site training and orientation programs, which delivered training in confined space entry, hazardous materials handling, fall protection, first aid, fire fighting and more.

Operations

After several months of commissioning, the Demonstration Plant started operations in October 2005 without incident, and closed out the year with zero disabling injuries. Supervisors and employees develop safety awareness during field activities and work together at developing and maintaining a safe work environment.

A range of fundamental safety programs are in place at the Demonstration Plant to protect workers, chief among them the STOP safety program (see sidebar). Other safety precautions include orientation programs for workers and visitors, the lockout/tagout system, which warns operations and maintenance personnel away from equipment that could present an unexpected safety hazard, and the incident and near-miss reporting system, which applies the lessons learned from incidents and near misses to prevent future incidents.

Emergency response procedures are in place at the Demonstration Plant, with a volunteer team of workers ready to assume emergency roles in the event of an emergency. A range of safety training programs have been delivered to operations employees, including hazardous materials handling, fall protection, first aid and advanced first aid, self-contained breathing apparatus training, safe operations of man lifts, aerial platforms and fire extinguisher training. Environment, Health and Safety staff have worked closely with the training department to facilitate the safety training programs on site with the assistance of outside agencies as required.

There is an Occupational Health and Safety Committee in place at the Demonstration Plant, comprising employees, contractors and management, who work together to strive towards continual improvement in the workplace.

The Demonstration Plant will be used to gather baseline data in numerous areas, with findings applied in the design of the commercial plant, and this applies from a health and safety perspective as well. Operations will be closely monitored and design modifications made as necessary to ensure that the Commercial Plant workplace is as clean and safe as possible.