Using the Potential of The Employees' Expertise and Awareness of Occupational Hazards in The Mining Industry

Abstract

The paper highlights the results of a study that examined the employees' expertise and
awareness of occupational hazards in their work environment. The research involved a survey conducted
in the form of a short questionnaire among employees responsible for loading and hauling of excavated
material in an opencast mine. Among 23 major hazards that were thus identified, there were global hazards
(affecting the entire mining process) as well as local, task-specific hazards. Depending on the number of
responses, 10 local and 3 global hazards were identified in the analyzed area, involving noise, stress and
dust. Active participation of the crew in the risk identification process helped in the assessment of their
criticality levels, according to employees carrying out various task, highlighting the benefits of such
approach for effective work safety management in a mining company. The conducted research
demonstrated yet another goal to be achieved - i.e. the comparison of criticality levels of hazards as
identified by employees and those reported in occupational risk assessment reports in the mine.