52 | Investing in its people With heavy diesel workshops operating out of the Giles Creek and Strongman mines, and a road truck workshop at its Rocky Creek processing plant, BCML is focused on enhancing its maintenance capability. T T from page 50 Birchfield Coal Mines Ltd MINING Eilish says that because of the nature of open cast coal mining and the risks, the health and safety obligations for a digger operator are much more stringent than a digger operator working in other industries. “The operator must understand how health and safety legislation works, their obligations, the paper work side of things and what they have to do to maintain compliance. “There’s a lot of skilled training that need to happen before we can let someone go out onto the site. “We also get our employees to participate with us in developing policies and procedures, because we want them to be fit for purpose and in line with how the operators see the safest way of doing the work. There’s a lot of collaboration in that sense.” Another benefit of working for BCML is not only the diversity of machinery, but the diversity of brands, which the mechanics and maintenance team learn through on-site training with the various manufacturers of the machinery. And because BCML has become a large company Eilish says it has the scale to run a lot of courses internally. “For example, we get OSH certificates for everyone operating forklifts. The trainer comes up to site and takes the operators through that. We work with West Coast Driver Training, which does onsite course for log books and truck licences. We have two Hiab cranes and our employees have the ability to do a Hiab course. If someone puts their hand up and expresses an interest in a course we’re running we will do everything in our power to get them into a course.” With heavy diesel workshops operating out of the Giles Creek and Strongman mines, and a road truck workshop at its Rocky Creek processing plant, BCML is focused on enhancing its maintenance capability. “Having the inhouse maintenance team means that our vehicles and machinery spends more time operating, and less time parked up. There are lots of different options for apprenticeships. “Our auto electrician has just completed a diesel mechanics apprenticeship so that he can diversify his skills and he is now doing an additional module on road transport so that he can tackle more aspects of a job. “We also have an electrician on site. We have coal processing plants and a lot of what the electrician does is ensuring the computer programming is working correctly. So, there’s a highly skilled computer component to what he does and we want an apprentice to work alongside him so his skills can be passed on.” CABLEPRICE AND HITACHI DELIVER THE RELIABILITY AND UPTIME TO SUIT YOUR OPERATIONAL NEEDS WWW.CABLEPRICE.CO.NZ TO FIND OUT MORE PROUDLY SUPPORTING %LUFKÀHOG &RDO 0LQHV /WG Specialist Manufacturers & Suppliers to Industry Chemicals • Cleaning • Safety Equipment • Aerosols • Lubricants • Spill Kits • Degreasers • Flocculants Manufactured right here on the West Coast E: orders@minehanagencies.co.nz W: www.minehanagencies.com.au 91MainRd, Hari Hari, SouthWestland Barb O’Neill-Nolan | 027 778 0023 Shelly McNee | 021 104 1738 Nathan Hende | 027 194 1738 Ph: 03 768 0914 No job toobigor small at SMHydraulics&Auto-Electrical • Hydraulic & Industrial hose • Components, filters & Vertex hydraulic oil • Reseal hydraulic motors & cylinders • West Coast Wide 24/7 • Century Yuasa batteries of all sizes • Starter motors, alternators & diagnostics • Air-Con repair 144Tainui Street (top of Brewery Hill), Greymouth Phone (03) 7689393
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