Occupational Health Improvements in Rio Tinto Aluminium
Strategic Health Action Plan 2005-2008
In 2004 the RTA Strategic Health Action Plan was developed and adopted within Rio Tinto Aluminium. This states:
"Rio Tinto Aluminium (RTA) believes that good health is good business, because healthy people are more active and productive both at and outside work. RTA's objective is that through protecting and promoting the health of our people, RTA becomes a leader in health management. RTA has committed to achieving Rio Tinto's health targets."
Rio Tinto Aluminium used the introduction of the Rio Tinto Occupational Health Standards to lower potential health exposures across the business. Initially a cross site team of subject matter experts wrote the One Comalco Occupational Health Standards which built on the Rio Tinto standards and focussed on those relevant to Bauxite mining, Alumina refining and Aluminium smelting.
Two steps on the path to achieving health leadership are outlined including improving control of workplace exposures and improving the overall health of our employees and their families.
The first step is to reduce workplace exposures of concern so minimising the potential affects of work on health. This will be achieved by leveraging off the work done to implement the One Comalco Occupational Health Standards. Good occupational health practice is about anticipating hazards, measuring exposures, assessing health risks and putting appropriate controls in place to lower the risk to the desired level. Once controls are put in place their efficacy is assessed and measures are taken to make sure they are maintained.
Occupational health surveillance programmes will help in the early identification, treatment and mitigation of work related health conditions. Similarly systems are deployed to minimise the potential for employee or contractor health conditions to negatively impact their health and safety, the health and safety of colleagues, or cause harm to plant or the environment. This first step equates to getting health on paper understood and working (health in the head).
The importance of risk assessment in the standards was emphasised at site level and the opportunity was taken to review or complete potential health exposure characterisations. Initial hazard inventories were validated by walkthrough surveys with operations and maintenance personnel. Initial risk assessments then identified where additional occupational hygiene testing was required. In addition health surveillance and occupational illness incidence data were reviewed to identify exposures of concern. At many sites occupational hygiene testing and health surveillance are scheduled simultaneously in a work area allowing for in depth review and feedback.
From all these data, each exposure with potential to cause health effects control was identified and forms completed and signed off by the accountable managers. These control forms summarise the current exposures occurring and identify potential improvements based on the hierarchy of control i.e. elimination, substitution, engineering, administration and lastly PPE. Essentially the form considers improvements in order of efficacy and requires the managers to record when and by whom identified improvements will be done or state why these improvements are not proceeding. The identified improvements then feed into the area's annual health improvement plan for the next year, this in turn feeds into the site capital-spending plan.
In addition, an annual summary of the results of exposure monitoring, health surveillance and illness incidence is prepared for each output team. This gives employees information on the potential health hazards in their work area, rates the exposure as low medium or high and outlines the critical controls in place to protect their health. These summaries are presented to employees at meetings and generate a lot of interest and information sharing. Plans for improvements based on projects identified in the control forms are also discussed. The significant exposures chosen for particular attention going forward are noise, vibration and manual handling.
Wellness
The second step was the promotion of improved overall health by a developing and implementing a corporate-wide wellness programme.
Traditionally, company physicians looked at the prevention of workplace related ill-health. It is now recognised that to achieve the very high levels of safety and health performance RTA requires, we must have programmes to work with our employees to target mainting there general levels of fitness and health and improving them when possible.
RTA formed a strategic alliance with Good Health Solutions to develop and help deliver a workplace health promotion programme targeting the main health risks in the workforce. Site based healthcare professionals were trained by Good Health Solutions to deliver the programme at their sites. The backbone of the programme is a health risk assessment using "FiTech" software to generate health risk profiles which are discussed with the employee and used to develop individual health improvement plans. Talks on healthy lifestyles and more detailed workshops are also planned.
The underlying belief is that many are not aware of our personal health risks. Learning about our health status and understanding the different health measures puts us in a better position to avoid health problems and get more out of our lives. In particular, simply by eating well and exercising regularly, we can add years to our lives - and life to our years!
A very successful pilot programme was undertaken at Brisbane HQ in May when site based personnel were trained. The BSL site has taken the lead and scheduled 100 Health Risk Assessments, HRAs, this year. The interest at site was overwhelming and the HRA's have been very well received.
The plan is to run HRA's Healthy Talks and Workshops and cover all site employees every two to three years.
Specific examples of outcomes
BSL and coal tar pitch
Aluminium smelting requires the use of Coal Tar Pitch, this contains Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, the oldest known human carcinogens. A One Comalco Coal Tar Pitch Protocol was developed to mandate best practice across RTA smelters. This has led to a six sigma project which has significantly reduced exposures using projects from each hierarchy of control at BSL.
Skin disease prevention at Weipa
Weipa bauxite mine in far North Queensland is in an area with a high risk of skin cancer and heat related illness because of sun (UV) exposure and humidity. The Weipa Health and Safety team have developed a sun smart uniform and initiated health surveillance/education programmes. Skin cancer screening was offered to all employees and dependents. Of the 345 people who took part in the programme:
- 121 people required treatment (lesion removal);
- 20 benign lesions were removed (not cancerous, not malignant);
- 37 lesions were pre-malignant (identified before they became cancerous);
- 29 lesions were Basal-cell carcinomas (non melanoma skin cancer)
- 13 lesions were Squacel-cell carcinomas (non melanoma skin cancer); and
- Six melanomas were removed.
Prevention of heat cramps
The amount of fluid in the body was tested and information sessions arranged to demonstrate the importance of adequate fluid intake to prevent heat cramps, exhaustion and heat stroke. Several high risk situations were averted by these sessions identifying dehydrated employees / contractors before heat exposure occurred.
Other programmes
- Comalco Alumina Refinery took the bold step of being a totally tobacco smoke free site. The transition occurred after construction and was managed successfully.
- Bell Bay has a best practice manual handling vibration reduction process.
- BSL have introduced new 3 M full face respirators and Sonomax moulded hearing protection based on employee preference.
- NZAS is undertaking a six sigma project on work related musculo-skeletal problems.
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