A Sociotechnical Approach to the Unintended Consequences of Technical Design in Mining

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cornelius, Kim M. ; Mallett, Launa G. ; Mowrey, Gary L. ; Peters, Robert H. ; Samaarco JJ ; Steiner, Lisa J. ; Turin, Fred C. ; Vaught C ; Wiehagen, William J.
• Description:
  There are numerous emerging technologies within the mining industry. Some of these new technologies are being developed in response to ever more stringent health, safety and environmental regulations. Most are intended to enhance a company's competitive position in a challenging and evolving regulatory environment. The performance of these technologies, if it is assessed at all, will probably be evaluated using some variation of benchmarking (Matters and Evans, 1998). For instance, in the simplest type of benchmarking (internal), a mine might compare production figures and costs for a section trying continuous haulage with those from a section using shuttle cars. Or, having embarked upon a program featuring new personal protective equipment, mine management might track lost time injuries or illnesses compared to industry leaders (functional). Even well-done benchmarking does not guarantee the sort of improvements management might expect. Benchmarking offers comparison measures, and it can help guide organizational change only if the measures are relevant and appropriate. Organizational performance actually depends on a host of technical and social factors such as: (1) management commitment to safety; (2) worker capabilities; (3) the technology employed; and (4) organizational structure (Harrison, 1994:9). Additionally, benchmarking, in and of itself, does not offer a way to assess the unintended consequences of technological change. It only offers comparative insight. An example is the use of injury data. For instance, this data might suggest strongly that injuries and deaths occur when new technology is introduced into a system without an adequate evaluation of potential human machine-environment interactions. Unfortunately, injury data is after the fact (i.e. a reactive measure). A different viewpoint is needed to deal proactively with such an issue. This viewpoint is provided by macroergonomics. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Case Reports Ergonomics Mining Occupational Health Safety Workload
• Keywords:
  Case-studies Management-personnel Mining-industry Statistical-analysis Work-analysis Work-capability Work-capacity Work-performance
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Mining Safety and Explosion Proof Protection
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  PRL - Pittsburgh Research Laboratory
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20027616
• Citation:
  28th International Conference of Safety in Mines Research Institutes, Sinaia, Romania, June 7-11, 1999. Pterosani, Romania: National Institute for Mining Safety and Explosion Proof Protection, 1999 Jun; 2:687-697
• Contact Point Address:
  NIOSH Pittsburgh Research Laboratory, P.O. Box 18070, Pittsburgh, PA 15236
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1999
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  28th International Conference of Safety in Mines Research Institutes, Sinaia, Romania, June 7-11, 1999
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:fbc02b6f0cba389cbc64dd9484bf66523862d16709f7df0b58ed0fdeef98819e92a3cc67d0ffec6fda3449f1cb8d0bc69206f561f9519ecbeedaa9c9f0c82f37
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/221057/cdc_221057_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 4.07 MB ]