Jason Blee, aged 33 years, died on Monday 9 April 2007 (Easter Monday) while employed in an underground coal mine. He died from a pelvic crush injury when he was trapped between a shuttle car and the rib. Jason was the miner driver in a place change bord and pillar section of the mine. The roadway had been recently narrowed to improve strata management. Jason became aware of a fault with the miner and instructed the shuttle car operator to return to the conveyor. As the car moved away from the miner Jason became trapped between the car and the rib. He later died of his injuries.
The Recommendations are contained in the Coronial Inquest report. They are summarised below.
1. That the Department resolve the outstanding issue of notification to next-of kin with Queensland Police Service as a matter of priority.
2.That the Minister for Mines give serious consideration to amendment of the Coal Mining Safety and Health Act to provide for tripartite investigations involving the employer/coal mine operator, Department and ISHR, into serious accidents involving grievous bodily harm and all fatal incidents.
3. That all coal mines include in Alcohol and other Drug Policies a requirement for all workers involved in fatal incidents or those involving serious bodily injury, be tested for the presence of drugs and alcohol.
4. That underground coal mines review arrangements in relation to the interaction between pedestrians and machinery and, following a suitable risk assessment process, revise and to the extent necessary, establish No Go and Restricted Zones to govern the interaction.
5. That coal mining operations equip each underground district with airbags of sufficient capacity to move or lift the heaviest equipment in the district. Operations should conduct a risk assessment to establish the most likely causes of trauma to coal mine workers, which as a minimum contain a trapping which may result in a crush injury.
6. That all coal mining operations urgently audit the efficacy of their management of change standard and if one does not exist, it should be immediately developed.
7. That coal mining operations and the Department (as the approval body) move quickly with manufacturers and other appropriate bodies to have developed, tested and approved proximity detection devices for use in underground coal mines to detect the presence of pedestrians in and around mobile equipment including shuttle cars.
8. That the Department move to ensure that any uncertainty which may exist in the legislation, that there be one safety and health management system at a coal mine, be removed.
9. That a working party comprising the Department, coal mine operators, workers, Union representatives and other interested organisations form to meet with manufacturers of shuttle cars to review and discuss, with the intention of designing out or improving the design of some of the concerns related to the ergonomic and/or safety factors and control surfaces of shuttle cars.
10. That manufacturers of coal mining machinery and stakeholder groups investigate whether the regulations and regulatory bodies governing modification to design of machinery are unnecessarily prohibiting or delaying the implementation of innovation within the reasonable time frames.
11. That the Department liaise with emergency service providers (police, ambulance, fire, rescue service providers and where appropriate medical personnel) to establish an ongoing program to familiarise emergency services personnel who are based in mining communities with mining operations. Where practicable, this may include relevant personnel receiving generic inductions to mining operations. Mining companies should take all reasonable steps to assist in the successful implementation of such a program.
12. That the coal mining industry adopt a system (whether through a central database or otherwise) whereby a coal mine worker, on departure from an operation, is provided with a full copy of their competencies, tickets and authorisations achieved whilst employed on that site. Further, that those documents be requ