N.Z. MINES REPORT . Many Injury Claims Spurious, Says Expert

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31865, 18 December 1968, Page 1

N.Z. MINES REPORT . Many Injury Claims Spurious, Says Expert

After reviewing the number of compensation accidents in New Zealand mines, an American mining safety authority said he could only come to the conclusion that many of the injury claims were spurious.

This authority’, Mr M. J. Ankeny, said it was also a “sad commentary” on the part taken by the medical profession that there was no apparent effort by the doctors who attended the compensation claimants to segregate the spurious claims from those that were made in good faith.

In his report on I safety conditions and ‘ practices prepared for the Minister of Mines (Mr Shand), Mr Ankeny said that although lie found ; during his two-month inspection that mines I were being managed

in accordance with regulations, the number of accidents and injuries in New Zealand mines was “unbelievable” and. in the Greymouth district, “shocking.” In the Westport area the; accident ratio was one acci-j dent to four men: Greymouth,' three to four: southern dis-! triet, one to four: and Nor-1 thern district, two to four. “Undoubtedly many of the claims are made in good' faith: however, the extremely liberal compensation and! miners’ relief provisions lend encouragement to persons; who wish to be absent from! work at no cost to them-!: selves,” said Mr Ankeny. i Lost-time Injury |1 An educational programme;! must be directed towards “thet development of safety con-i sciousness on the part of I' workmen and subordinate offi-;' cials which is not in evidence; at the present time,” he said.: “For example, in one of the; larger mines during 1967 threej. men out of every four employed was on the lost-time in-: jury rolls during the year. “In all New Zealand mines one person out of every two; was on the lost-time injury' rolls during 1967. A reasonably acceptable record would l be one lost-time injury in 12; employed for the year,” he! said. Miners should be convinced of the high cost to themselves of accidents and should be aware that the cost of accidents leads to higher costs of coal, thus making coal a less competitive fuel, said the report Greatest Need Education in safety was the greatest need in New Zealand mines, said Mr Ankeny. Mr Ankeny’s report lists 43 recommendations to amend mining practices, to improve management and inspections,! to clarify mining law and re-! gulations, and to replace obso-' lete equipment. Education would be one of! the functions of the safety division Mr Ankeny proposes B should be established in the Mines Department, with head-' quarters in Wellington and a safety director responsible to! the Under-Secretary for, Mines.

[ This division would supervise all safety activities in ithe mining industry, including education, mine inspections, injury statistics, medical and compensation matters, rescue organisation, safety competi-! tions, and first-aid training. Mining Law The safety’ director should ibe the final arbitrator in dis-

putes between inspectors and mine management, he said. Magistrates might have little knowedge of coal mining. Mr Ankeny’s report covers inspection and reporting procedures, ventilation and dustcontrol practices, blasting methods, fire hazards, and safety’ organisation. He critiicises the “confused" state of mining law in the Coal Mines ■ Act. and Regulations; he al- , I lows that the safety provi■lsions in the law are basically ■isound but doubts whether a ! layman could determine pre-: •Icisely the legal requirements; |!for safety. Although Mr Ankeny ap-i liproves the skill, care, and in-: telligence of many mine workers, he deplores the poor ! “housekeeping” in most imines. Commending the use of hydraulics for shifting icoal from mines wherever 'this is practicable, Mr Ankeny .said that the haulage operaition in New Zealand mines 'contributes to more injuries 'causing loss of time than any 'other cause of accidents. j Mining Grades “This is partly due to the 'widespread use of many I ropes, winches and jigs,” he said. Their use was practically necessary in the three .mining districts of the South • Island. In North Island imines, where grades are more favourable, this equipment ! was not used extensively. !{ In most of the working :areas, and in some of the [ main haulage roads, the walk- ; ways, or what should be walk- ! ways, were virtually clogged ! with discarded and new tim- ' her, props, rails, bags of rock ; dust, and unused machinery ■ stored in a haphazard manner, and coal and refuse spilled from cars, said the report. Mr Ankeny calls for a ! strenuous effort by mine manl agements to improve housekeeping, and suggests that ! managers should support the ‘ adoption of hydraulic mining wherever this is feasible. j Danger Signs The report recommends the; ! provision of standard danger •'signs for underviewers and 'deputies to mark unsafe places in mines and the classifying of mines into “gassy” and “non-gassy” mines. Mr Ankeny advocates the replacement of obsolete flame safety lamps by magnetically-locked

i lamps for gas-testing, and recommends that each under- | viewer have a methanometer i for daily checks. Mine air samples should be promptly checked in the field, he said. He suggested that mine rescue stations might be equipped for this work. To reduce the risk of explosions Mr Ankeny makes a number of recommendations on the control of coal dust ■ by the use of water on the 1 cutting bars of mining inach- ! ines, at the face areas before ■ and after blasting, and dur--1 ing the loading of coal. Ventilation procedures 'should be modified where j necessary to avoid the con- ! lamination of clean air by I gases before it reached workI ing areas, he said.

Management Team

Other recommendations on the working of mines deal with detonator lead wires and special safeguards if electrical machinery is introduced into more mines.

Dealing with management, he said that underviewers and deputies should become part of the management team “with mutual industrial objectives.” “District and mine managers, underviewers and deputies are well qualified to carry out their duties imposed by law; but because underviewers and deputies are organised to bargain collectively with management their position is inimical to management."

Mr Ankeny believes “that the majority of mine workers are hard-working and competent, with much skill exhibited by those engaged in pillar work. Since much of the work is on a contract basis there is the human tendency to hurry and to take short cuts that lead to accidents. “There is evidence of an attitude on the part of the mine workers that safety is strictly a management function and that any effort on the part of the individual, such as attendance at safety meetings, and first-aid training, or safety training courses, should be paid for by the State. Every effort should be made by the management to dispel this attitude,” said Mr Ankeny. First Aid “A general programme to train all workers in first-aid has never been carried out. It is a recognised fact, proven statistically in the United States, .that an employee trained in first-aid is less likely to be injured than one who has not been so trained,” he said. During his inspections, Mr Ankeny visited most coal mines in New Zealand and conferred with State mine inspectors, district and mine managers, and union officials. In the preface to his report he says his recommendations have been based on what he believes necessary for the safe working of mines, and without regard to cost.

Little had been found wrong with safety regulations and their administration in New Zealand mines, the Minister of Mines (Mr Shand) said today in releasing Mr Ankeny’s report.

‘Valuable Job’

Mr Ankeny was engaged after the Strongman mine disaster to report on mine safety regulations and the atittude of miners and staff of mines to safety. The Minister said that Mr Ankeny had done a valuable job in sharply criticising careless attitudes towards work practices which could lead to accidents. “I think Mr Ankeny’s criticisms are justified and I propose to have these matters investigated,” Mr Shand said.