Occupational health & safety management at PPC's

6th International Conference on Sustainable Development in the Minerals Industry, 30 June – 3 July 2013, Milos island, Greece

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Occupational health & safety management at PPC's lignite mines N. Galitis Director, Human Resources Dept. Mining Business Unit, Public Power Corporation, Greece

A. Dimitriou Ass. Director, Human Resources Dept. Mining Business Unit, Public Power Corporation, Greece

Th. Vlachos Director, Assistant to General Manager of Mines, Public Power Corporation, Greece

ABSTRACT For Public Power Corporation S.A. respect for the society and the environment, is not just a legal obligation, but a fundamental corporate goal, a key part of the broader business policy and a cornerstone of corporate social responsibility. Human Resources is the most important factor and the main lever to achieve the production and development objectives of the lignite mines. All measures and precautions are taken to ensure the protection of human life and the physical and mental health of the mine workers. The fundamental principles and objectives are: - Continuous improvement of working conditions in the mines. - Continuous reduction of accidents and occupational diseases. - Consolidation of safe work behavior among employees. - Information on risks and training of staff for working safely. - Continuous improvement of methods and working tools for risk reduction. - The commitment of external partners to apply PPC’s security policy in the Mines. - Ongoing consultation to improve the workplace conditions. From the analysis of OH&S performance measurement set annually by PPC’s Lignite Mines and comparing them with similar measurements of mining companies worldwide, it was determined that PPC's lignite mines could

be classified among the safest workplaces worldwide. 1. INTRODUCTION Public Power Corporation S.A. (PPC) is the leading producer and supplier of electricity in Greece, with approximately 7.5 million customers. Its infrastructure extends from lignite mines to power stations. The installed capacity of generating units amounted in 2011 to 12.760 MW corresponding to 70% of the total installed capacity in the country. Its subsidiaries, Hellenic Distribution System Operator SA, Independent Transmission System Operator SA and PPC Renewables SA own and operate the distribution system, the transmission system and Renewable Energy installations respectively. Fuel for the power stations includes lignite and natural gas, while the autonomous island stations use oil. These results in the following fuel mix (2012) as shown in Table 1. PPC’s Mining Business Unit (MBU) consists of the Department of Mines Studies and Development, the Planning and Performance Management Department, the Environmental ProtecTable 1: Greece’s fuel mix (PPC, 2012)

Sources Lignite Natural Gas Oil Hydroelectric Renewables Interconnections Total

Percentage (%) 47.7 23.9 8.2 6.2 10.6 3.4 100

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6th International Conference on Sustainable Development in the Minerals Industry, 30 June – 3 July 2013, Milos island, Greece

tion Department and the Human Resources Department, which are located in Athens, the Lignite Center of Western Macedonia in Northern Greece - Macedonia and the Lignite Centre of Megalopolis in Southern Greece - Peloponesse. The most important open cast lignite mines of Greece are located in these areas. The overall lignite output is mainly used for electricity generation. Five open cast mines are located at the Lignite Centers with an annual lignite production of about 62Mt (2012), an amount nine times greater than that for 1970. According to the amount of lignite produced, Greece holds the 3rd place in EU’s lignite production and ranks among the 10 largest lignite producers in the world. PPC’s Mining Business Unit (MBU) employs approximately 4,850 employees. Out of them 3836 are the permanent personnel and 1008 are the temporary personnel, of whom 97% are employed at the mines of the Lignite Center of Western Macedonia (LCWM) and the Lignite Center of Megalopolis (LCM) (PPC, 2012) The mission of the Mining Business Unit is:

2. ORGANIZATION OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

- To ensure the safety of supply of power plants with minimum cost, and - To formulate plans for the strategic development of mines for optimal exploitation of lignite deposits.

- Auxiliary Mine Equipment (bulldozers, loaders, graders, hydraulic excavators etc) - Handling, storage and use of lubricants

MBU’s Operational Plans provide as a first key objective "the improvement of working conditions in order to raise the necessary consent and participation of all employees in achieving the business objectives of the mines”. The necessity of this goal is based on years of experience whereby "the achievement of the business plan’s objectives, especially productivity increase, requires a high level of safety at work." In complex and complicated operations with large numbers of workers, such as PPC’s lignite mines, the above is a strategic business objective, because its effectiveness depends entirely on the optimal management of its more valuable resources which are their employees.

The MBU has established at the Lignite Centers, special sectors having the responsibility of Occupational Health & Safety and Training. At MBU’s headquarters level, the Human Resources Department supports, coordinates and monitors the implementation of policies, programs and all measures relating to health and safety at work. Under the new Code of Mining and Quarrying Operations according to article 38, for the main equipment of the lignite mines (bucketwheel excavator, conveyor belts etc.) it is required to draft and submit for approval to the relevant Ministry Special Safety Rules. Following this obligation, the MBU has issued the following Special Safety Rules for: - Main Mine Equipment (bucket-wheel excavators). - Conveyor Belts. Beyond its obligations, the MBU has also implemented Special Safety Rules for:

These Special Safety Rules cover all the technical requirements and specifications of safe usage and handling of the aforementioned equipment and are issued to all technical personnel at the mine sites. 2.1 Risk Assessment Studies (RAS) According to the relevant legislation, the MBU has proceeded to identify risks at each mine site. Risk Assessment Studies (RAS) were conducted for all mine sites. RAS address the issue of risk assessment and risk classification. Risk assessment and classification is inherently about the management of unplanned events, such as accidents and collapses, which may occur on a mine site. Risk Assessment Studies include matrices of: - “seriousness of injury” and “rate of risk”, - severity escalation,

6th International Conference on Sustainable Development in the Minerals Industry, 30 June – 3 July 2013, Milos island, Greece

- possible damages, - remedy measures, - residual risk. Their purpose is to reduce the risk to acceptable levels. The Human Resources Department in cooperation with PPC’s Health & Safety Department in 2012, proceeded to the review process of the Risk Assessment Studies for the mines. 2.2 Emergency Response Contingency Plan (ERCP) The Mining Business Unit has established and maintains plans and procedures to identify the potential for, and responses to, incidents and emergency situations. Within this framework, the Human Resources Department, in close cooperation with the Lignite Centers, designs Emergency Response Contingency Plans (ERCP) and reviews emergency preparedness and response plans and procedures, in particular after the occurrence of incidents or emergency situations. They also periodically test such procedures in cooperation with external organizations such as local Fire Department. An ERCP aims to: - minimize the interruption of operation due to unplanned events, - limit the extent of losses and disasters and prevent their escalation, - implement in advance alternative operation modes, - train mine stuff in emergency procedures, - plan for the fast and smooth recovery of operation, - minimize financial implications. The Emergency Response Contingency Plan provides a number of properly trained employees so as to react immediately in an emergency in order to address the effect of it. 2.3 Vocational training In order for MBU’s personnel to be competent to perform tasks that may impact Operational Health & Safety, PPC organizes seminars, Workshops and Conferences.

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In 2012 the MBU organized, in cooperation with PPC’s Health & Safety Department, as part of the annual celebration of the European Week for Health and Safety at Work, two workshops at the Lignite Centers of Western Macedonia and Megalopolis on "Risk Prevention at Mines through commitment of all involved parties". The purpose of the workshops was to emphasize the OH&S culture in a holistic approach among employees and executives of the Mining Business Unit and to promote the European campaign in 2012-2013, regarding the participation of all involve parties in preventing risks at the workplace. It must be emphasized that PPC shows a growing concern, for vocational training of its employees. Between 2008 and 2011 there was a rapid increase in the percentage of personnel who had participated in technical and Health & Safety seminars as shown in Table 2. 2.4 Health & Safety Management System (OHSAS 18001) Integration of the planning, management and performance evaluation of Operational Health & Safety issues is the development of a Health & Safety Management System according to international standard OHSAS 18001, through the implementation of OHSAS specifications at PPC’s lignite mines. The implementation procedure is in progress. After their certification, the Lignite Centers of Western Macedonia and Megalopolis will be the largest industrial facilities in Greece in which OHSAS 18001 is implemented. The philosophy of Health & Safety Management System is focused on continuous improvement, adjusted to the size and peculiarities of PPC's lignite mines. It is worthwhile to mention that the design and the development of the Health & Safety Table 2: Percentage of MBU’s personnel who have attended seminars (PPC, 2008-2011)

Years 2008 2009 2010 2011

Percentage 25% 45% 50% 64%

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Management System is exclusively conducted by MBU’s personnel, without any guidance or assistant by external consultants.

8,00 7,00 6,00 5,00

3. ACCIDENT RATE ANALYSIS

4,00

An analysis of accident indices is given below, as recorded for the last twenty years (1993 – 2012) at PPC’s lignite mines (PPC 1993-2012; Kavouridis et al, 2006)

2,00

Figures 1 and 2 show the Incidence Frequency and the Severity Rate respectively, pertaining to the mines of the Lignite Centers of Western Macedonia and Megalopolis. A gradually descending trend in both indices is evident for both the Lignite Center of Western Macedonia as well as the Lignite Centre of Megalopolis, due to effective implementation of MBU’s OH&S policy and the safety culture 20 18 16 14 LCWM LCM

10

RWE

3,00

Incidence Frequency Rate and Severity Rate

12

PPC

TREND (LCM)

1,00 0,00 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Figure 3: Incidence Frequency Rate for PPC and RWE.

among PPC’s employees, committed to the doctrine of "Safety First". Despite continuous efforts and the clear trend of improvement, there is still space to be covered. Figure 3, shows a comparative presentation of the Incidence Frequency Rate for PPC and RWE, one Germany’s largest lignite producers. Figure 3 shows that the Incidence Frequency Rate for PPC and RWE are on the same level. In Germany the accident figures of all companies in the lignite industry are well below the average for the German economy (Maassen and Suffer, 2012). A comparison between the above incidence rates shows that PPC’s lignite mines classify among the safest workplaces in Europe.

TREND (LCWM)

8 6

4. PRODUCTION AND SAFETY

4 2

20 11

20 09

20 07

20 05

20 03

20 01

19 99

19 97

19 95

19 93

0

Figure1: Incidence Frequency Rate for LCWM and LCM. 600

500

400 LCWM LCM

300

TREND (LCWM) TREND (LCM)

200

100

20 11

20 09

20 07

20 05

20 03

20 01

19 99

19 97

19 95

19 93

0

Figure 2: Severity Rate for LCWM and LCM.

The prevailing misconception of the past, that working safely is to the detriment of production, has no place today. The results of modern industries demonstrate that efficiency, productivity and quality are inextricably linked to high standards of safety at work. Figure 4 shows the correlation between the Incidence Frequency Rate for PPC’s lignite mines and the lignite production for the period 2003-2012. The trend shows that, despite the increase of production, the Incident Frequency Rate is reduced, confirming the effectiveness of measures taken by the MBU, so that the high level of safety to keep pace with the increase of production.

6th International Conference on Sustainable Development in the Minerals Industry, 30 June – 3 July 2013, Milos island, Greece

80000

16

70000 12

50000 40000

8

30000 20000

4

Incident Frequency Rate

Lignite Production

60000

Lignite Production Incident Frequency Rate Trend (Lignite Production) Trend (incident Frequency Rate)

10000 0

19 94 19 96 19 98 20 00 20 02 20 04 20 06 20 08 20 10 20 12

0

Years

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efficiency and high productivity are in consistency with the high level of OH&S issues. Summarizing, PPC's Mining Business Unit business culture for Operational Health & Safety is based on three axes: - Operational Health and Safety is a priority and a strategic objective. - Human capital is the most important resource of PPC’s lignite mines. - Production and Safety are two sides of the same coin.

Figure 4: Correlation between the Incidence Frequency Rate and Lignite Production.

REFERENCES 5. CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT Within the framework of continuous improvement in Health & Safety issues, the Mining Business Unit is redefining its strategy through: - Management commitment. - Employee involvement and continuous consultation. - Continuous evaluation and review of Health & Safety initiatives. - Management of OH&S on the basis of carrying out risk assessment and ongoing reviews. - Encouraging effective 'bottom-up' communication. - OH&S performance measurement and monitoring. Seeking a holistic approach not only on OH&S, but also on Business Continuity, the Mining Business Unit developing a Risk Management System, according to International Standards ISO 31000 and ISO 22301. The Management of Health and Safety at work is included in these standards. 6. CONCLUSIONS The evaluation of the level of OH&S according to statistics (incidence frequency rate, severity measure etc.), classifies PPC’s mines among the safest mine sites across Europe. The long-term operation perspective of PPC’s lignite mines shows beyond doubt that

PPC (1993-2012), Public Power Corporation: Internal Reports. Kavouridis, C., N. Galitis and J. Karambakakis (2006). “Operational Health & Safety management at PPC’s open-cast lignite mines”, Mining and Metallurgical Annals 2/2006. Maassen, U. and H.-W. Suffer, (2012). “Germany’s lignite industry in 2011” World of Mining-Surface & Underground 64, No.3.