Mine safety competition marks 50 years
The Saskatchewan Mining Association (SMA) continues to strike gold with a creative initiative to promote safety in the industry.
The SMA’s annual Emergency Response/Mine Rescue Skills Competition is now in its 50th year. The event brings together representatives of the province’s potash, coal, uranium and gold mines to compete in a series of safety-focused challenges.
“This event has contributed to the safety culture of Saskatchewan mines by having highly trained personnel that are able to respond to incidents before they can escalate into extremely severe situations,” said James Ferstl, competition chair. “These capabilities also spill over into our communities, as many of our mine rescue personnel are also volunteer firefighters, paramedics and first responders.”
During the competition, participants are tested in a variety of areas, including surface and underground mine problems, practical skills, proficiency, first aid and firefighting. The competitors are judged on their ability to carry out the tasks as assigned or developed by the co-ordinators of the event.
In the surface competition, teams compete in a confined space, extrication or other industrial type situation. Two mock mines are constructed for underground teams and a scenario is developed for each one that teams have to tackle. The practical skills component is a demonstration of the team’s skills, because teams do not have prior knowledge of the type of problem that they will encounter. The proficiency portion of the competition is made up of a written exam, bench test and practical demonstration of gas testing techniques.
In the area of first aid, teams must demonstrate their skills in an industrial type accident. Teams are judged to St. John Ambulance Intermediate Level Standards, which includes oxygen administration, airways and spinal immobilization.
The firefighting competition requires team members to demonstrate proper techniques in extinguishing three different props and recharging two extinguishers.
“The purpose of these events is to enhance the training of mine rescuers, so they are better prepared to deal with real-life emergencies,” Ferstl said. “They are placed under pressure to see played a part in the provincial and national mining safety movement over the past five decades. “Over the years, the competition has been refined and improved,” he said. “A competition guideline was developed in the early 2000s to capture improvements but also to assist competition committees in the planning and organization of the event.
“Various events have been added over time in order to continually challenge the competing teams. New equipment and technologies have been introduced into the competition to reflect changes in the industry. The training that the competitors receive has also changed over the years and reflects the changes in mining operations, equipment used and change in processes.”
The competition takes place this year on June 2 in Moose Jaw at Mosaic Place and Moose Jaw Exhibition. Admission is free and Ferstl noted that the public is encouraged to come out and see highly trained personnel test their emergency response skills in very real “simulated” scenarios.
With it being the 50th year of the competition, there are some big plans in the works.
“The competition committee is publishing a 50th anniversary book that celebrates the men, women, families, suppliers and companies that have played an integral part in the development and evolution of the competition,” Ferstl said. “It’s truly an honour to be hosting the 50th anniversary of the competition and we are extremely excited to be hosting it in Moose Jaw for the first time.” how they react in scenarios where it’s as close to a reallife incident without there being an actual incident. The competition also provides a means to evaluate the effectiveness and quality of the emergency response program.”
The competition has