The Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 defines a contractor as \u201cany person, partnership, corporation, subsidiary of a corporation, firm, association or other organization that contracts to perform services or construction at a mine.\u201d Contractors are men and women who contribute significantly to the daily outputs \u2014 the products and services \u2014 required by successful mining organizations.<\/p>\n
Contractor personnel are more \u201cvulnerable\u201d to hazards than full-time mine employees. A recently published article by New South Wales (NSW) Industry and Investment magazine, offered riveting data provided by the NSW Work Cover and Coal Services Pty Ltd. They show that contractors accounted for half of all fatalities in the NSW mining industry between 2001\/02 and 2006\/07. In coal mines, four out of five fatalities (in this same period) were contractors. Almost a third of all serious bodily injuries have been sustained by contractors. (State of New South Wales through Industry & Investment NSW September 2009)<\/p>\n
Employees new to the mining site are less familiar with work procedures, work environment, and habits of the existing workforce. Contractors engaged in high risk areas should be considered \u201cvulnerable\u201d and must be protected with the same vigor as their full-time counterparts. With this in mind, Kennecott Utah Copper (KUC) \u2014 one of the largest copper mines in the world \u2014 took action to improve contractor management, and by implication safety in 2010.<\/p>\n
At the time this program began, contractor injury rates were higher than full time employees. As safety performance is correlated to solid contractor management, KUC and Kepner-Tregoe (KT) partnered to enhance the existing Contractor Management System (CMS). The current CMS outlined policies and procedures for managing contractors, including the recognized need for a well-defined scope of work. However, more precision was needed to ensure that roles and responsibilities were clear, expectations were identified, and Contract Administrators (CA) had tools to support consistent and defined scopes of work as well as safe practices specific to the contractor workforce.<\/p>\n
To create a solid foundation for the program, KT\u2019s robust Project Management and Issue Resolution tools were integrated into daily contractor management practices. In order to sustain improved performance, KUC and KT identified the critical elements necessary to change behaviors. These critical elements \u2014 or \u201cbuilding blocks\u201d \u2014 ensure that this effort will not become a \u201cflavor-of-the-month\u201d training initiative.<\/p>\n
To identify the organization\u2019s starting point, KT conducted a \u201ccurrent-state diagnostic review\u201d and gathered data to identify the organization\u2019s strength as well as areas for improvement. The diagnostic revealed that safety as the number one priority is communicated effectively to all employees. It also showed the process for managing \u201cstandard maintenance\u201d was effective, well understood and controlled with little variance. Opportunities for improvement existed in contractor work definition and contractor management.<\/p>\n
At the close of the diagnostic, there was sufficient evidence to encourage agreement among KUC leaders that improving contractor performance would be beneficial to the health and well-being of all KUC employees. This effort became the \u201cContractor Management Improvement Program\u201d. Work began immediately to identify and develop four tactical initiatives and two sustainability initiatives.<\/p>\n
KUC executive leadership asked the smelter general manager to pilot this project. Careful thought and executive level commitment by several smelter leaders laid the foundation for successful definition, planning, and implementation of the project. Changing behaviors to create positive outcomes is difficult for any organization. Sustaining a positive change requires a laser-focused passion for this program. To ensure the initial and subsequent continued success for this program, several smelter team members were dedicated to \u201cshepherd\u201d the project from initial planning, through implementation. After months of dedicated effort, the KUC smelter team experienced considerable success as a result of this extraordinary project.<\/p>\n
At the conclusion of the project, contractors rate of injury dropped by 4-fold, equal to full-time workers, and continues to show stability well into the future<\/p>\n
The journey which began in the spring of 2010 continues through 2011, with a trend of positive results at the smelter. As a result of the Contractor Management Improvement Program, KUC is looking at other areas of their operation where significant improvement can be realized. According to Clayton Walker, COO at KUC, \u201cZero harm and efficient and effective management of our resources are key areas of interest to KUC. We actively support many safety initiatives as we endeavor to drive KUC to a \u2018Zero Harm\u2019 organization. The Contractor Management Program is a significant example of our determination to make each day a safe one so that all employees and contractors can go home safely to their families.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 defines a contractor as \u201cany person, partnership, corporation, subsidiary of a corporation, firm, association or other organization that contracts to perform services or construction at a mine.\u201d Contractors are men and women who contribute significantly to the daily outputs \u2014 the products and services \u2014 required […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":37477,"template":"","white-paper-type":[],"class_list":["post-37476","white-paper","type-white-paper","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n