Potash Corp teams test their mettle at mine rescue competition
PotashCorp knows it takes teamwork, training and skill to create a top-notch Emergency Response or Mine Rescue team.
And this year it was exceptionally proud when teams from two of its mines – Lanigan and Patience Lake – earned top honours at the 48th Annual Saskatchewan Mining Association Emergency Response/Mine Rescue Skills Competition, held at Saskatoon’s Prairieland Park at the beginning of June.
The competition drew 18 teams from mines across the province, competing in either the surface Emergency Response or underground Mine Rescue category. While parts of the competition involve written tests, a significant portion sees the teams demonstrating their practical skills in several specialized disciplines, including firefighting and first aid. Another portion of the event evaluates how the teams respond to a simulated mine emergency that requires a variety of skills to safely navigate.
“This competition allows us to showcase our skills and put them to use in a competitive setting. And the public is able to come out and see just exactly what a mine rescue team does,” said Jason Hanley from the Patience Lake team.
For example, in the first aid portion of the event, teams are judged on how they respond to an incident in which they encounter workers suffering various injuries. They have 20 minutes to work and are judged on how well they assess injuries and administer first aid treatment, as well as how effectively they communicate and work as a team. In the mock mine problem, teams enter the “mine” and attempt to locate and rescue missing workers, extinguish and control fires, examine the mine for dangerous gases and “restore the mine to its original safe condition,” according to the competition guidelines.
Scoresheets for this test are several pages long, evaluating all aspects of the team’s response, from its team discipline (following Captain and team protocol) to whether it followed proper procedure (were hazardous areas fenced off?).
“This competition is really good for team-building because each problem is quite involved. There’s a lot of details, there’s a lot of pretty critical skills that need to be performed,” said Jeremy Hiebert from the Patience Lake team. “The only way to really succeed is for everyone to know their job and to do it well.”
On the scene at this year’s event in Saskatoon, it’s clear that teams have their game faces on. While friends and family have come out to watch, teams are not allowed to communicate with anyone outside their group, to ensure no one gets advance knowledge of an upcoming event. Infractions result in significant scoring penalties.
Outside at the firefighting venue, a few dozen spectators on temporary bleachers watch as one team after another readies, or “charges”, its fire extinguishers with dry chemical, then attempt to put out a series of three fires. Strategies differ, with teams deploying their members alone or in groups of two or three. It’s a windy day and the flames are stubborn. When one team manages to subdue all three fires before its extinguishers are exhausted, there’s appreciative applause from the crowd.
After scores from each test are tallied at the end of the day, awards are presented at an evening banquet to the top finishers in each discipline – and to the overall winners.
This year, the Overall Underground Winner was PotashCorp Lanigan. “It always starts with the group of people we have,” said Mark Nivon from the team. “We’ve got a huge commitment to the process here.”
PotashCorp Patience Lake was the Overall Surface Winner, the ninth time in 12 years it has achieved first place.
PotashCorp’s Allan, Cory, and Rocanville mines also participated in the competition in 2016; each of the sites has won the overall title at least once since 2003.
Mike Nelson, who was on the Rocanville team in 2016 and in 2014 when it won the overall title, says it’s satisfying to work together and do well at the competition, knowing that it represents hard work and support from the entire site.
“It’s definitely a sense of pride and a sense of accomplishment.”
“The teams are an important part of PotashCorp’s operations,” says Mark Fracchia, President of PCS Potash, which includes the company’s five Saskatchewan mines.
“Thanks to these teams, our employees can go to work each day knowing there are trained, knowledgeable responders on site if ever needed.
“We are grateful for their dedication and commitment to emergency response and for the high level of expertise they have acquired.”
“Thanks to these teams, our employees can go to work each day knowing there are trained, knowledgeable responders on site if ever needed.” Mark Fracchia President, PCS Potash