Chapter 1

NATIONAL MINERALS INDUSTRY SAFETY AND HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT GUIDELINE (NMISHRAG)

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Chapter 1
1. Introduction and Background
	1.1 History of risk assessment in the minerals industry 1.2 Rationale for the new guideline 1.3 Guideline objectives 1.4 Relationship to Australian Standards and other resources
1.	Introduction / Background
	IIn 2001 the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) initiated a national project to derive helpful “good practice” guideline for risk assessment in the minerals industry. The Minerals Industry Safety and Health Centre (MISHC) at The University of Queensland was commissioned to draft the guideline working closely with a representative cross section of the industry. Those representative organisations are listed below.
	Anglo Coal BHP Billiton Newcrest Newmont Australia Rio Tinto Roche Mining WMC NSW Minerals Council QLD Minerals Council Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA NSW Department of Minerals Resources QLD Department of Natural Resources and Mines WA Department of Minerals and Petroleum Resources NSW Mine Safety Council QLD Mining Safety and Health Advisory Council WA Mining Occupational Safety and Health Advisory Board (MOSHAB)
	The derivation of this guideline was greatly assisted by the results of a survey completed by the above organisations. The survey examined a proposed guideline framework and content, seeking consensus and comment from the respondents. The response rate to the survey was 100%, probably indicating the degree of interest in the topic.

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	1.1	History of risk assessment in the minerals industry Formal risk assessment has a longer history in industries other than mining. For example, the petrochemical, nuclear, military, aviation and space industries have applied various formal risk assessment techniques for over 30 years. This proactive approach to improving risks, as opposed to a reactive "fix-it-when -it-breaks" mentality, was in most cases triggered by a major public disaster such as the Flixborough chemical plant disaster (1973), Three Mile Island nuclear plant event (1979) and others. Today all of the previously listed industries would see risk assessment as an inherent part of their business. Though not as lengthy, risk assessment has had a significant history in the Australian minerals industry. The Australian industry has applied formal, systematic risk assessment more extensively than minerals industries in other countries. With a history of over 10 years in many parts of the industry, there has been a rapid growth in the use of the methodology. However, the growth of methods and competency has been erratic in many ways leading to issues with the quality of risk assessment application.

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	1.2	Rationale for the new guideline
		The minerals industry is committed to improving the quality and consistency of risk assessment conducted across the industry. There is also a need to introduce more sophisticated methods and their associated benefits to the industry, therefore providing the opportunity to achieve a "step change" in the effectiveness of risk assessments. This guideline provides information to help standardise the methodology, recognised and supported by industry representative organisations.

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	1.3	Guideline objectives
		This guideline is intended to:
			Help various users achieve effective and efficient deliverables from risk assessment,
			Outline various risk assessment approaches to achieve deliverables ranging from informal risk assessment and Standard Operating Procedures SOPs through to Formal Safety Assessments and Catastrophic Risk Management Plans,
			Provide a robust, process-based methodology to risk assessment that will assist in making a step change in risk assessment,
			Suggest that risk assessment scoping or design is critical to achieving quality deliverables,
			Assist in checking the potential (scopes / proposals) and actual quality (reports) of risk assessment projects,
			Help establish risk assessment as part of “the way we do business” .

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	1.4	Relationship to Australian Standards and other resources
		This guideline is not intended to replace existing Australian Standards, regulatory information (such as NSW MDG 1010¹/1014²⁾ or other guidance but to supplement with more complete and process oriented information. ¹MDG 1010 Risk Management Handbook for the Mining Industry NSW Department of Mineral Resources ²MDG 1014 Guide to reviewing a Risk Assessment of Mine Equipment and Operations NSW Department of Mineral Resources The content of this guideline is consistent with the intent of AS 4360³ and is generally based on the Risk Management model in AS 4360 (below).


		Figure 1.1 Risk management process model.

		³AS/NZS 4360 (2004) Risk Management AS 4360 defines Risk Assessment as “the overall process of risk analysis and risk evaluation”. For the purposes of this Guideline, the term Risk Assessment will refer to all the steps inside the dotted line. In AS 4360, "Establishing the Context" includes 5 key areas:
			The strategic context,
			The organisational context,
			The risk management context,
			Develop risk evaluation (and acceptance) criteria, and
			Decide the structure.

		These areas, and specifically the last three, are extensively addressed in this Guideline as the Scoping or Design Phase of the Risk Assessment. Based on the aforementioned survey, the industry believes that this is a critical part of this guideline.
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For more information about the risk assessment guidelines (NMISHRAG) please contact the author:

Prof Jim Joy
Director, Minerals Industry Safety and Health Centre (MISHC)
Phone: 3365 8334
E-mail: j.joy@mishc.uq.edu.au

Chapter `1 is part of
National Minerals Industry Risk Assessment Guideline (NMISHRAG)

| LESSONS LEARNED| CASE STUDIES| USEFUL LINKS|

This document was last reviewed on 14/1/2005

Minerals Industry Safety & Health Centre (MISHC)
The University of Queensland
Brisbane, Queensland 4072 Australia
E-mail: mishc@mishc.uq.edu.au Phone:(61) 7 3365 9787
Created by: Dr Guldidar V Kizil E-mail: g.kizil@mishc.uq.edu.au
Authorised by: Prof Jim Joy
Last Modified:14/1/2005
@Minerals Industry Safety & Health Centre (MISHC)

Provides examples or illustrations of problems that can arise throughout the risk assessment process. They are mostly examples of past issues in the minerals industry.

Lessons Learned
Case Studies
Useful Links