OPERATIONS
Challenges to be overcome
• The challenges that were faced by
the implementation team were as
follows:
• Changing the habits of the site staff
and getting the ‘buy in’ of new ideas;
• Educating external truck drivers to
adhere to the routes and procedures
while on site. This will be a common
problem for the entire industry;
• Ensuring continued compliance of
the system, it has to be continually
monitored to ensure successful
implementation. Observations are a
crucial component;
• Changing the perception that the
traffic management plan reduces
productivity and loading times.
As a result, the site embarked on a training
programme where all staff were shown how
the plan would be implemented and the
benefits that it would bring to the safety of all
people on site. This was followed up by the
implementation of the plan which was done
over a period. The advantage of this was
that staff were able to adjust to the
changes and they soon realised
what the benefits of the traffic
management plan were.
“External truckers
were and continue to
be trained when they
get to site, and they
are directed to the
correct areas to be
loaded and weighed.
The signage on site
must be clear to
avoid confusion and
misunderstanding.
Compliance by the
external truckers took
some time to achieve,
however the number of non –
compliance incidents continued to
reduce and are uncommon. The drivers
were willing to cooperate and soon became
used to the system.
The loading times on the site were
reduced and the congestion around the
various stockpiles was eliminated. One of
the major advantages of this was that the
front end loaders are now able to move
between stockpiles without having major
congestion and thereby reducing the
amount of interaction between trucks and
machines. This is one of the goals of traffic
management, namely reduced risk.
were busy with the daily tasks. This gives
them a hands-on approach and they will
be able to use actual observations when
designing the routes and flow of traffic. It
is important to make it as easy as possible
for the operators to comply with the plan
as this ensures that the fleet maintains
compliance to the plan. A difficult plan has
an increased chance of failure whereas a
workable plan is easier to implement and
achieve the very important ‘buy in’ from
site staff.
Positive outcomes
Site productivity increased and the risk
of collisions has been reduced. The
Nico Pienaar, director of surface mining
association, ASPASA.
management of all equipment on site is
easier and the ‘feel safe’ environment
has contributed to the staff being more
productive and safer.
Traffic management planning is
a compulsory component of any
operational surface mine and it is
important to implement to ensure
that the operation is able to continue
operating within the requirement of the
MHSA. The implementation of such a
plan is achievable and the cost of this is
affordable to any operation. Ultimately, if
the traffic management plan reduces the
risk of accidents and possible fatalities,
it is well worth the investment and
effort to implement a functional traffic
management plan.
The signage on
site must be
clear to avoid
confusion and
misunderstanding.”
B2Gold manages equipment, operators and traffic in the pit from a control
room at their Otjikoto mine in Namibia.
www.equipmentandhire.co.za
APRIL 2020
27