Mine sites are inherently dangerous by virtue of the sheer size of the machinery and structures necessary to drill, dig and mine for coal, especially in the Bowen Basin....

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Once extracted the coal is transported from the mine working face to the processing plant, then to rail for transportation to port and then for loading onto ships for export.

Associate Professor Gopinath Chattopadhyay

A recent safety audit of some 46 mine sites in the Bowen Basin identified, amongst other things, maintenance which was haphazard or not adequate, particularly in braking systems on heavy haulage vehicles brought onto site.

The report concluded that 2 fatalities that have occurred can be linked to similar problems on those vehicles.

CQUniversity Associate Professor of Industrial Asset Management, Dr Gopinath Chattopadhyay's research has developed tools and techniques for quantitative decision making based on return on maintenance investment (ROMI) and the RAMS system, standing for Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Safety.

The system looks at many factors associated with profitable and safe operation, and is similar to a cost/benefit analysis covering acquisition, maintenance of assets and asset replacement, which links with the breakdown, associated downtime, asset laws, injuries and compensation-related matters where injury and/or fatalities are involved.

Dr Chattopadhyay said, "The program offers lots of advantages which save cost and reduce risks."

He said the RAMS system can be applied and can save the business costs but, more importantly, reduces risks. "There is a need to change the corporate culture, because in many organisations, maintenance is treated like a cost and asset management is viewed as OK if needed, not utilised in an integrated way."

Postgraduate students apply PAS55 which are publicly-available specifications for asset management developed by the British Standards Institute and which integrate decisions at the corporate level leading to strategy direction. It then facilitates examination of asset management portfolios, capital investment required and optimal life cycle activities, to enhance productivity and improve safety.

Associate Professor Chattopadhyay said, "Management of those assets for sustained performance is then better achieved, leading to cost and risk reductions, and life cycle management; it's a whole integrated approach, and based on those quantitative, risk-based approaches and not just compliance-based decision making."