H&S INITIATIVES

Investigating incidents: The ICAM process

Incident Cause Analysis Method (ICAM) is an investigation methodology used as our corporate standard for our internal Significant Incident Reporting (SIR) process. The ICAM investigation process aims to identify both contributing factors and organizational failures in our operating cycle that contribute to various types of incidents. The real benefit of this process is to improve our understanding of the causes of significant incidents, which will then allow us to build error-tolerant defences to help prevent their recurrence.

Table 1 SIR Trend: Organizational Factors Contributing to Significant Incidents (2008–2011)
  2008 2009 2010 2011 Total
Procedures 28 19 31 24 102
Organizational 12 14 27 24 77
Design 16 10 17 9 52
Hardware 16 8 16 6 46
Training 9 14 17 19 59
Communication 6 15 17 17 55
Incompatible Goals 9 3 7 5 24
Maintenance 3 5 10 9 27
Housekeeping 6 6 3 4 19
Change Management 1 2 6 6 15
Contractor Management 1 2 4 8 15
Total 107 98 155 131  
Table 1 SIR Trend: Organizational Factors Contributing to Significant Incidents (2008–2011)

Incident Reporting: The Significant Incident Report Process (SIR)

Significant Incident Reporting (SIR) is a risk-based reporting process that is triggered when a serious injury has occurred on site, or an event has occurred that had the potential to result in a fatality. This reporting process requires a full ICAM investigation, with a review of the causes and corrective actions occurring between the CEO/COO and the senior management on the site where the incident occurred. The intent of this process is not to be punitive, but to focus on how senior management can understand and support the site’s corrective actions designed to prevent reoccurrence.

The lessons learned from each incident are circulated throughout the company and also shared among peers in the industry, via the Mining Safety Roundtable.

External Partnerships: Mining Safety Roundtable

IAMGOLD was invited to participate as a member of the Mining Safety Roundtable in 2011. The group is comprised of senior health and safety leaders from some of the world’s major mining companies including IAMGOLD, Newmont, Barrick, Goldcorp, Inmet, Debeers Canada, Anglogold Ashanti, Freeport Morgan, Teck Cominco, and Kinross.

The companies representing the Mining Safety Roundtable are committed to eliminating fatalities and major incidents by sharing strategies and best practices that address industry hazards and risks.

External Partnerships: Mining Association of Canada: Towards Sustainable Mining

The Mining Association of Canada has developed an audit protocol known as ‘Towards Sustainable Mining’ that provides audit guidance on key parameters of best practices within sustainability. In 2011, a new component of the audit was created to address health and safety. This has given us the opportunity to deploy the health and safety portion of the audit and measure performance on a site-by-site basis, which can then be validated externally. The validation process for 2011 is scheduled for early 2012.