HVO USES GLOBAL FIRST, REAL TIME, DUST EXPOSURE SOFTWARE TO IMPROVE WORKPLACE SAFETY

Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) is a finalist in the NSW Mining’s 2023 HSEC Awards for its adoption of a global first dust exposure software system to better protect the health and safety of its workforce. The mine, near Singleton in the NSW Hunter Valley, is one of two finalists in the Health Excellence Award Category.

The real-time monitoring application, Exposi, is an advanced software solution developed by Australian workplace health and safety company GCG.

HVO Health, Safety and Training Manager, Joel McLaren, said the system integrates with HVO’s existing approach to workplace health monitoring to provide a more intelligent and faster way of identifying and resolving potential Health issues in the workplace. The Exposi application combines on-person real-time task video capture with advanced analytics and dashboard reporting for better health exposure controls management.

Joel said HVO began piloting the system in partnership with GCG in 2021 and it helped resolve an issue with our tyre fitter team picked up by its existing monitoring system. 

“We already had employees wearing personal dust monitoring devices as part of our health monitoring program. That data is analysed in a laboratory and then used to identify and resolves issues and monitor compliance with health and safety guidelines,” Joel said.

“That monitoring originally picked up an incident of crystalline silica exposure, so we changed the procedure and believed it was resolved following retesting. When the issue reoccurred, we used the Exposi application to better understand the root cause of the problem in real time.”

“While our dust sampling methods are accurate and reliable for full shift monitoring, they provide a single average result over an entire shift. The new system sees staff wearing a GoPro or similar device combined with an on-person real-time monitoring device (which can log results every second) to determine what’s occurring at a task level, such as when a worker is buffing vehicle tyre rims.

“With this integrated knowledge, we were able to identify implement new appropriate controls – including a prewash, ongoing water suppression and the position of the tyre fitter as we were able to identify the source and mitigate its impact directly. Since making those changes, we have had no issues with silica exceedances during tyre fitting, with all results well below 50% of the Occupational Exposure Standard.”

Joel said the Exposi application is now an integral part of HVO’s workplace health monitoring and management system. He said the system brings a range of benefits.

“We can more effectively reduce worker exposure to occupational hygiene risks and enhance worker safety. It reduces regulatory exceedance costs and the amount of downtime caused by uncertain exposure levels, positively impacting productivity.”

“The Exposi application presents information in a more visual and useful way. This makes it more appealing for staff to use and helps them to implement necessary safety measures.”

“At HVO, the health and safety of our workforce is a top priority, and this Australian innovation is another tool for us to keep our workers safer and healthier.”

There are eight finalists in the upcoming awards, across four categories. The winners will be announced in August at the 2023 NSW Mining HSEC Conference and Awards in the NSW Hunter Valley.

The 2023 NSW Mining HSEC Awards Finalists

Health Excellence

• Ampcontrol – DRIFTEX Battery Electric Vehicle for Underground Mining Operations
• Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) – Using Real Time Data to Control Dust Exposure

Safety Excellence

• Newcrest – Cadia’s Stringer Chain Telehandler
• BHP – Remote Control Loader

Community Excellence

• Evolution – Galari Agriculture Company
• Glencore – Bulga Open Cut Leads the Flood Recovery Efforts in Broke and Bulga

Environmental Excellence

• Aurelia Metals – Reportable Environmental Incident Frequency Rate (REIFR) Reporting
• South32/WSP – Tracing The Fault: Investigating the Behaviour of the Elouera Fault in Sydney’s Water Catchment

GCG is one of Australia’s leading workplace health and occupational hygiene specialists. It has been delivering tailored services to clients for more than 15 years. Its RTM App took out the Most Innovative WHS Idea (SME) Award at the 2022 Hunter Valley Safety Awards.

HVO currently employs more than 1,200 people across its HVO North and HVO South mines.