Western Australian Consolidated Regulations Western Australian Consolidated Regulations (1) The principal
employer, and every other employer, at a mine must ensure that, in respect to
any plant in the mine —
(a) a
system is implemented to identify any hazards associated with the plant, and
assess the risks of an employee being exposed to those hazards; and
(b) all
practical measures are taken to reduce those risks,
in order to ensure
that the duties of employers under Part 2 of the Act to provide and
maintain a safe working environment in relation to plant is carried out
successfully and effectively.
(2) As a minimum,
consideration should be given to the following methods of risk
reduction —
(a)
ensuring that the plant is manufactured, inspected and, where required, tested
according to the relevant Australian Standards and having regard to the
designer’s specifications;
(b)
ensuring that if after supply to a mine, any plant is found to have a fault
that may affect safety or health, as far as is practicable, the person to whom
the plant was supplied is advised of the fault and what is required to rectify
it;
(c)
ensuring that there is sufficient access and egress to the parts of the plant
that require cleaning or maintenance, and to the operator’s workstation
for normal and emergency conditions;
(d)
providing emergency lighting, safety doors and alarm systems, if access to the
plant is required as part of its normal operation and persons may become
entrapped and at risk of being exposed to hazards due to heat, cold or lack of
oxygen;
(e)
attempting to reduce, as far as is practicable, any risk of exposure to a
hazard created by dangerous parts during operation, lubrication, adjustment or
maintenance;
(f)
ensuring that any guarding provided for plant and its operation
comprises —
(i)
a permanently fixed physical
barrier — where no person requires complete or partial access
to the dangerous area during normal operation, maintenance or cleaning;
(ii)
an interlocked physical barrier — where a
person may require complete or partial access to the dangerous area during
normal operation, maintenance or cleaning; or
(iii)
a physical barrier securely fixed in position by means of
fasteners or other suitable devices, sufficient to ensure that the guard
cannot be altered or removed without the aid of a tool or key (but only where
a guard in accordance with subparagraphs (i) or (ii) is not practicable),
but, if none of the
guards described in subparagraphs (i), (ii), or (iii) are practicable, by
providing a presence sensing safeguard system;
(g)
ensuring that operational controls are —
(i)
suitably identified on plant so as to indicate their
nature and function;
(ii)
located so as to be readily and conveniently operated by
each person using the plant;
(iii)
located or guarded to prevent unintentional activation;
and
(iv)
able to be locked into the “off ”
position to enable the disconnection of all motive power and forces;
(h)
ensuring that —
(i)
if practicable, the plant does not need to be operating
while maintenance and cleaning is taking place; or
(ii)
operational controls which permit controlled operation of
the plant are provided, if it is not practical to eliminate the need for plant
to be operating while maintenance and cleaning is taking place;
(i)
ensuring that plant that is designed to be operated or
attended by more than one person, and which has more than one control fitted,
has multiple controls of the “stop and lock‑off” type, so
that the plant cannot be restarted after a stop control has been used unless
each stop control has been reset; and
(j)
ensuring that emergency stop devices —
(i)
are prominent, clearly and durably marked, and
immediately accessible to each operator of the plant;
(ii)
have handles, bars or push buttons that are coloured red;
and
(iii)
will not be affected by electrical or electronic circuit
malfunction,
as may be appropriate
to the particular case.