Skip to main content
Conference Proceedings

International Mine Management 2016

Conference Proceedings

International Mine Management 2016

PDF Add to cart

How Robust Are Your Asset Integrity Management Processes?

The mining industry continues to have major disasters (Bingham Canyon, Pike River, Upper Big Branch, Mount Polley and Samarco), which often have a devastating effect on the enterprise, in terms of personnel deaths and injuries, environmental destruction, and financial and reputational loss. These disasters are not imposed from outside the business or organisation, they are almost always a function of loss of control of the management of the organisation's critical assets and processes that they contain or to which they are exposed.Asset integrity is discussed as an effective response to business risks in order to mitigate, control and recover from loss scenarios that could expose a mining operation to significant property damage and business interruption, or even total loss. Vital to this process is the identification and control of risks to critical assets. Components of a critical asset assurance program are presented for discussion.Formal risk assessment has a longer history in industries other than mining, egpetrochemical, nuclear, military, aviation and space industries. Risk assessment is a structured, proactive approach to understanding and improving risks, as opposed to a reactive fix-it-when-it-breaks' mentality. Risk assessment techniques were triggered by major public disasters, such as the Flixborough chemical plant disaster (1973), Three Mile Island nuclear plant event (1979) and others.Today, most industries see risk assessment as an inherent part of their business, but do mining sites capture business risks that are related to major loss scenarios, which could have a significant impact on the operation?Does your risk assessment process:- involve a team having the right skill set so that the discussion is both stimulated and technically sound?- use generic assessment when a site-specific assessment is needed?- fail to consider all possible outcomes, including maximum foreseeable loss (MFL)?- fail to identify all hazards and controls associated with a particular activity?- fail to monitor controls effectively?This paper addresses the issues identified by these questions and provides some direction for developing a risk management process where business risk associated with critical asset integrity is integrated with other business and safety and health risk processes to provide a robust method for managing your business. Case studies and common findings from critical asset failures are used to support the need to include critical asset assessments as part of business risk management processes.CITATION:Wallace, J, McCamley, M and Cannings, R, 2016. How robust are your asset integrity management processes? In Proceedings International Mine Management Conference, pp 53-64 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).
Return to parent product
  • How Robust Are Your Asset Integrity Management Processes?
    PDF
    This product is exclusive to Digital library subscription
  • How Robust Are Your Asset Integrity Management Processes?
    PDF
    Normal price $22.00
    Member price from $0.00
    Add to cart

    Fees above are GST inclusive

PD Hours
Approved activity
  • Published: 2016
  • PDF Size: 1.289 Mb.
  • Unique ID: P201605006

Our site uses cookies

We use these to improve your browser experience. By continuing to use the website you agree to the use of cookies.