The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
With the start of the day shift on February 27, Snow Lake's New Britannia Mine attained one-year with no lost time accidents (LTA). A feat that has been accomplished in the past, but this time it is a much more significant milestone when one considers the uncertainty that has faced the mine's workforce over the same period says New Britannia General Manager Mike Kelly. "One of the key things that everyone is well aware of is that over the last year we have been experiencing pretty tough times at New Britannia," said Kelly. "There has been a lot of uncertainty and stress, making it difficult to focus on the job, so when you look at what has been achieved in that same period, it becomes quite an accomplishment. Hats are off to the employees for being able to stay focused and not becoming complacent. It's hard when you don't know what the future will bring." In discussing this latest safety success, it is obvious that Kelly feels the majority of the credit for the achievement, and other safety milestones the mine has attained, should be placed solidly at the feet of the employees. "You have to give the credit to the workforce and certainly the supervisory personnel. It's a two way street there," he said. "You also have to have very strong safety program," he added. "Not just something that is written down, but a program that is actually implemented in the workplace. Certainly (Human Resources and Safety Officer) Norm Ladouceur has done an exemplary job there, in terms of getting our programs off of paper and into the workplace." The general manager realizes that talk can be cheap in terms of safety and says that anyone can pay lip service to a program, but if it isn't actually implemented, followed through with, and harped upon, it just won't be successful. "From day one at New Brit' the success of our program has been very proactive and has involved contributions from both the staff people and the workforce," said Kelly. The mine's program follows the Neil George five-point safety system, which involves: - checking the entrance to the place of work; - asking one's self if the workplace and equipment is in good order; - determining whether they, themselves, are working properly; - correcting safety deficiencies; - rechecking to make sure everything will continue to work properly. The mine also conducts routine safety huddles at least once on every working set, and also involves employees in discussions of mishaps in other operations as well as their own. Achievements such as one year no LTA are not uncommon for New Brit', which is the only operating gold mine in Manitoba. See 'Safety' P.# Con't from P.# The summer of 2004 marks the 10th year of operation for the mine and to have been able to set the kind of records that they have without any fatalities, is impressive. The mine gained their first safety record, working one year without a LTA in November of 1996. (A lost time accident is a mining accident of a serious nature, when an employee is unable to return to work for his or her next shift because of injury.) Two years later, New Brit' celebrated three years without a LTA. They also attained one million man-hours without a LTA and two million man-hours without a LTA, with that ongoing record eventually ending at 1,386 days. In the past seven years, New Brit' has also been awarded the Western Canada Regional John T. Ryan Trophy for low accident frequency three times in addition to the All Canadian Metal Mine National John T. Ryan Award in 1997. To acknowledge this latest one-year accomplishment, all employees will be receiving jackets. Kelly says that considering the financial difficulties that the mine has been suffering, this is no small cost. However, he asserts that it is well worth that expenditure for their excellent performance over the year. There are some potential savings to the company as well. The general manager explains that if an employee has a serious injury and is off work for an extended period of time, the company's Workers Compensation (WCB) premiums for the following year are reassessed to reflect major payouts that may have been made to that employee. "So it is also a big incentive to the company to be safe from a financial standpoint," said Kelly. "It's a win - win for everybody when there is no lost time."
