A SAFETY PIONEER

YANCOAL AUSTRALIA IS AN INDUSTRY FORERUNNER WHEN IT COMES TO IMPLEMENTING A CULTURE OF SAFETY EXCELLENCE.

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When Yancoal Australia rolled out its 'Safe way every day' program in 2019, the company didn't just employ a stopgap measure; it was trying to turn the tide on safety culture in the mining industry.

'Safe way every day' is underpinned by a consistent approach to health, safety and training management that involves simple concepts and tools to empower Yancoal employees to implement their own safety behaviours.

Since the program's introduction, the coal miner has enjoyed a 31 per cent reduction in total injuries, as well as a 37 per cent decrease in days lost to injuries.

Craig Hagan, Yancoal Australia head of training and safety culture, is at the helm of the company-wide program. He likens his experience of developing a safety culture to the upand-down nature of a game of snakes and ladders.

"If you've got the right processes and frameworks in place, your company will continue to climb the ladder towards a culture of excellence, but there will be things that happen along the way that may disrupt that journey," Hagan told Australian Mining.

"That could be a change in management, a change in legislation, or a significant incident - these are the snakes you can land on, and they can all have an impact on where your safety culture sits at any point in time.