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Mine Health and Safety Act, 1996 (Act No. 29 of 1996)

Guideline for a Mandatory Code of Practice

Quality Assurance Programme for a System of Occupational Hygiene and Ventilation Engineering Measurements

Part C: Format and Content of the Mandatory COP

8. Aspects to be addressed in the mandatory COP

 

8.1. Where the risk assessment of the employer identified the need for a system of occupational hygiene and mine ventilation measurements, a quality assurance programme must be developed and implemented.

 

8.2. The COP on a quality assurance programme for the system of occupational hygiene and mine ventilation measurements must, at the minimum, cover the following key elements, but is not limited to:
8.2.1. Occupational hygiene and ventilation engineering personnel
8.2.1.1. As part of the occupational hygiene and ventilation programme implemented at the mine, the employer must ensure that adequate occupational hygiene and ventilation resources are available to execute the programme through, but not limited to, the following requirements:
8.2.1.1.1. Define the organisational management structure with clear roles and responsibilities and the reporting line for occupational hygiene and ventilation engineering resources.
8.2.1.1.2. Conduct an assessment to determine the resources required, the minimum qualifications and the skills needed based on the occupational hygiene and ventilation management requirements for the operation.
8.2.1.1.3. Determine the training programme for occupational hygiene and mine ventilation engineering personnel, and the required training frequency. The programme should include, as a minimum, sampling techniques, field or transport quality assurance of sampling, analytical methods, specificity, accuracy, precision monitoring, detection limits, potential interferences, uncertainty of measurement and regulatory limits.
8.2.1.1.4. Determine which of the occupational hygiene and mine ventilation assessment activities will need supervision and how supervision will be carried out.
8.2.1.1.5. Define clear roles and responsibilities of the employees (Refer to Annexure A: MHSA minimum requirements for defining the roles and responsibilities) that will be monitoring, eliminating, controlling, and minimising the significant occupational health hazards.
8.2.2. Occupational hygiene and ventilation engineering measuring equipment control
8.2.2.1. The employer must develop and implement a system that will ensure that the occupational hygiene and ventilation equipment is adequately controlled and managed.
8.2.2.2. All the occupational hygiene and ventilation engineering personnel must receive periodic training on the system that will ensure that the occupational hygiene and ventilation equipment is adequately controlled and managed.
8.2.3. Monitoring programme
8.2.3.1. Measurement methods
8.2.3.1.1. The employer must stipulate the following in the COP:
(a) All occupational hygiene sampling or measurement methods that will be implemented by the mine.
(b) All ventilation measurement methods that will be implemented by the mine.
(c) The requirements for the internal and external laboratories that will be used by the mine.
(d) Specifications for a gravimetric weighing room where the minimum requirements for a gravimetric weighing room is stipulated in Annexure B: Minimum requirements for a weighing room and should be complied with.
8.2.3.2. Preparation, handling, transportation, and storage of monitoring equipment
8.2.3.2.1. The employer must develop a procedure on how and where all the occupational hygiene and ventilation engineering monitoring equipment will be prepared, handled, transported and stored, where the procedure will include, but is not limited to, the following:
(a) Minimum requirements where samples and monitoring equipment will be prepared and handled pre- and post-sampling or measuring.
(b) All occupational hygiene and ventilation engineering monitoring equipment being uniquely identified and recorded in an equipment register.
(c) Each field sample to be assigned a unique identifier and such unique identifier being recorded.
(d) A method of sampling assurance for blank, transport and laboratory monitoring to be developed and maintained.
(e) Description of sampling equipment and sample media transportation methods e.g. carrying case.
8.2.3.3. Sampling frequency
8.2.3.3.1. Define the sampling or measuring frequency of each identified occupational health hazard as per the applicable mandatory COPs of the mine. For those occupational health hazards without mandatory COPs, sampling or measuring frequency must be identified as per the risk assessment of the mine.
8.2.3.4. Control monitoring frequency
8.2.3.4.1. Define the monitoring frequency to determine the effectiveness of each control measure implemented as per the risk assessment outcomes and/or the specifications of the original equipment manufacturer.
8.2.3.5. Sampling or measurement duration
8.2.3.5.1. Based on the risk assessment outcomes, define the sampling or measuring duration for each occupational health hazard to be representative of the exposure of employees.
8.2.3.6. Measuring equipment calibration and maintenance.
8.2.3.6.1. The employer must develop a procedure on the calibration and maintenance of all the occupational hygiene and ventilation engineering measuring equipment in use at the mine.
8.2.3.6.2. The employer must demonstrate that adequate resources have been allocated for sampling maintenance, calibration and equipment to be sufficient.
8.2.3.6.3. The procedure must also describe the training requirements to perform in-house calibrations, maintenance and verifications.
8.2.3.6.4. Records must be readily available at the mine of any maintenance performed on the monitoring equipment and who performed the maintenance.
8.2.3.7. Issuing and retrieval of sampling or measuring equipment
8.2.3.7.1. The employer must develop a procedure on how all the occupational hygiene and ventilation engineering sampling or measuring equipment will be controlled, issued and retrieved.
8.2.3.8. Occupational hygiene and ventilation engineering documentation
8.2.3.8.1. Develop and implement a procedure that will ensure, but is not limited to, the following:
(a) A safe area or facility where all the specified occupational hygiene and ventilation engineering documents will be kept, the format of the documents (e.g. electronic or hard copies) and stating the period that the documents will be kept for.
(b) Defining a responsible person that will have access to the documents and if necessary, what will the arrangements be should other interested parties want to peruse these documents.
(c) Define who will be responsible for making any amendments to these documents.
(d) Define the approval process for the relevant documents and reports prior to it being shared with other interested parties, employees, the state, organised labour representatives (if applicable), health and safety representative(s), health and safety committees, etc.
(e) The field sampling data must cover the information as contained in Annexure C as a minimum requirement where applicable (Annexure C: Field sampling information).
8.2.3.9. Uncertainty of sampling/measurements, errors, and sources of errors
8.2.3.9.1. A sampling or measurement method must identify sampling errors and how to control the errors. The sampling or measurement method must at least cover, but is not limited to, the following:
(a) Types and potential sources of sampling or measuring errors.
(b) Detection of sampling or measuring errors.
(c) Requirements on how the uncertainty of measurements will be identified, evaluated and reported.
8.2.3.10. Data validation and interpretation
8.2.3.10.1. A procedure must be developed and implemented to demonstrate how the data will be validated, interpreted and signed-off prior to reporting to the employer and to the PI.
8.2.3.11. Traceability
8.2.3.11.1. A procedure must be developed and implemented to demonstrate that all the sampling or measurement results are traceable through an unbroken chain from planning to reporting, e.g. all the associated sampling or measurement documents to be completed and recorded to provide traceability.
8.2.3.12. Traceability
8.2.3.11.1. A procedure must be developed and implemented to demonstrate that all the sampling or measurement results are traceable through an unbroken chain from planning to reporting, e.g. all the associated sampling or measurement
8.2.3.12. Audits
8.2.3.12.1. The procedure must be developed where the employer must conduct an internal audit on the occupational hygiene and ventilation engineering quality assurance programme of the mine on an annual basis to assess compliance to the procedures of the mine and to this guideline. Such audits must be conducted by a competent person or institution where the competency requirements of such a person or institution will be defined by the employer in the procedure.
8.2.3.12.2. The employer must conduct periodical external audits on the occupational hygiene and ventilation engineering quality assurance system of the mine and such audits to be conducted by an independent competent person or institution as defined by the employer.
8.2.3.12.3. The employer must maintain evidence of the audit outcomes, inclusive of any associated action plan to close out identified deficiencies.
8.2.3.13. Record keeping
8.2.3.13.1. The employer must develop and implement a system to keep a record of the following:
(a) Risk assessment methodology that will be utilised in identifying, assessing and recording all the occupational health hazards.
(b) All measures required to eliminate, control and minimise the health risks and hazards to which employees are or may be exposed to at the mine that requires a quality assurance programme.
(c) Records on the qualifications and training of all occupational hygiene and ventilation engineering personnel.
(d) Occupational hygiene and ventilation engineering measuring equipment register.
(e) Calibration and maintenance register, including copies of external calibration certificates.
(f) Any other procedure(s) required in terms of this guideline.
(g) A register of all occupational hygiene and ventilation engineering measurements reports compiled for the mine with each report assigned a unique identifier or reference number.