Although already recognized as a leader in safety within the mining industry, Newmont is a company that strives for continuous improvement. Ours is an industry in which significant and unacceptable levels of risk present daily, on-the-job challenges.
Our focus on improvement led to the appointment of a Safety Task Force, comprised of eight Newmont leaders and two external subject matter experts. Charged with researching new ways of eliminating workplace fatalities and serious injuries, the Task Force developed a strategy and plan to break through Newmont's current safety "performance plateau."
The Safety Task Force's first focus was to conduct a global survey that would provide a baseline of the company's safety culture: 67 percent of our workforce participated in the survey. The high response rate and the survey findings indicate that our employees and contractors assume a high degree of personal accountability for their safety and that of their co-workers and vice versa.
In the survey, employees also challenged Newmont to address less-favorable safety perceptions. They asked to be more engaged and involved in future site safety programs. Task Force members have listened intently to this feedback and are working on strategies and recommendations that will not only address any concerns expressed by the organization, but also further support and strengthen Newmont's safety culture.
Other Safety Task Force initiatives include:
Evaluating recent accident trends and patterns;
Identifying behaviors that help improve safety outcomes at all levels;
Partnering with contractors and the community to make progress on safety;
Launching a health, safety and loss prevention process, tools and technology review;
Benchmarking safety standards and performance
metrics with recognized leaders in our industry; and,
Engaging employees in the development of targeted
activities and actions that will accelerate our transformation to the "ownership" level of our Safety Journey model.
"Some might argue that a company as large as Newmont, involved in a business as risky as mining, should accept fatalities and injuries as an unfortunate part of the mining business," said Richard O'Brien, Newmont's president and CEO. "Our management team wholeheartedly rejects this notion and is fully committed to making Newmont the first mining company to prove this argument wrong."
