A FATIGUE-RELATED night-time collision at the Bulga open-cut mine, in which one 160-tonne dump truck drove into the rear of another at 40km/h, did not breach any workplace health and safety regulations, an investigation has found.
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Although the NSW Resources Regulator found no breaches of the relevant safety laws, it noted that mine owner Glencore had "further strengthened its risk controls in relation to the monitoring and management of worker fatigue" after the collision, which happened at 3.30am on Monday, July 23, 2018.
Glencore declined to comment on the investigation into the collision, but fatigue-related problems with mine workers falling asleep during long overnight shifts - or in their vehicles on the way home from work - have long been a problem for the coal industry.
Records show the truck accident was only four weeks after another major night-time incident at Bulga, in which a mine worker had a narrow escape on the night of Tuesday, June 26, when his drilling rig was left suspended over a 50-metre drop.
The Resources Regulator also investigated that incident.
On both occasions, the mine worker involved was a trainee.
In its report released on Tuesday, the regulator said the truck driver had been a trainee with contractor WorkPac.
He had been at Bulga since October 2017, and had been signed off as "competent" just hours before the collision.
The report said an empty Caterpillar dump truck was stopped at an intersection on one of the mine's main haul roads to give way to other vehicles.
The trainee, whose Caterpillar truck was also empty, saw the other, stationary, vehicle and began to stop. He then became "unresponsive".
"It is possible that the driver suffered a micro-sleep or a medical episode that rendered the driver unresponsive," the report said.
Vehicle data records showed he hit the truck in front of him at 41km/h in sixth (top) gear, with no indication he tried to steer or brake to avoid the collision.
The rear tray of the truck in front pushed the pillars of his cabin towards him, trapping him with his right foot twisted between the brake and accelerator and breaking his shin-bone.
The force of the collision pushed the front vehicle forward by about 20 metres.
Had the vehicles been laden, each could have been carrying as much as 218 tonnes of coal.
The report said that under Bulga's fatigue management plan introduced in September 2017, it was up to individual workers on shifts of less than 14 hours to assess their own symptoms of fatigue.
As a result of the collision, a fit-out of Bulga's trucks with fatigue monitors - including cabin cameras, vibrating seats and speaker alerts - was brought forward by six months, and finished in December 2018.
Soon after resuming full duties in January, the driver recorded "fatigue events" on consecutive night shifts.
After meeting with management to discuss the events, he gave two weeks' notice on January 18.
He recorded another "event" on January 21, on day shift, and left the job that day.
The regulator's acting director of regulatory services, Steve Orr, said that after the Bulga investigation, the regulator wanted all mine operators and contractors to have "strategies in place to eliminate or minimise risks associated with fatigue".
"We've recommended operators implement real-time fatigue monitoring systems, encourage workers to self-report fatigue and medical conditions, and review roster cycles," spokesperson Steve Orr said.
"We also recognise workers must take reasonable care of their own health and safety and remind them to always speak to their supervisors when they are fatigued and to report any medical conditions that could affect them."
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