Health and Safety System Model (San Dimas)*
ACCIDENTS
INVESTIGATION
CENTRAL
COMMITTEE OF
SAFETY AND
HEALTH
DOCUMENTARY
SYSTEM
PREVENTIVE
OBSERVATION
CIRCLES
OF PREVENTION
ZERO
HARM
OPERATION
PROGRAM
SYSTEMATIC
SCALING
GOOD WORKING
CONDITIONS
ENERGY
ISOLATING
KNOWLEDGEABLE
DRIVING
SAFE WORKING
AT HEIGHTS
WRITTEN PERMISSION
FOR NON-ROUTINE WORK
CORRECT
WEIGHT HOISTING
AUTHORIZATION TO WORK
WITH HOT MATERIALS
PROPER USE
OF EXPLOSIVES
KNOWLEDGE OF
EMERGENCY PROCEDURES
“Our number one priority, at all times, is ensuring that our people return
home to their families at the end of their shift, healthy and safe.”
Guillermo Adrian, General Manager, San Dimas
Health and Safety
from our successes and to improve our training and riskidentification, with the continuing objective of Zero Harm.
At every Primero operation and project, we strive to
protect the health, safety and welfare of our people and
Health and Safety Governance
their communities.
The key to building and maintaining a safety-first culture
We focus on safety leadership and fostering a safety-
is employee participation. We operate a variety of
first work culture through programs like our Zero Harm
safety-focused committees and groups. At San Dimas,
program and our Circles of Prevention. The Zero Harm
214 employees - or more than 16% of the mine’s
program at San Dimas focuses on 10 critical tasks - such
workforce - participated in safety committees or
as rock scaling, driver accreditation, and explosives
continuous improvement teams in 2014. At Black Fox,
handling - to ensure that employees performing those
50 employees or 13% of the workforce participated in
tasks have the prior training and, if appropriate, the
safety initiatives.
accreditation.
At both Primero mines, Joint Health and Safety
Our results: in 2014, our overall Total Reportable Injury
Committees (JHSC) provide forums for employees from
Frequency Rate (TRIFR) declined by a remarkable 36%.
the workforce and management through which they can
While this is a major improvement, of which we are proud,
identify workplace hazards and make recommendations
we must report a workplace fatality at the San Dimas
for employee safety and/or to prevent equipment or
mine involving a contractor. It reinforces the challenges
property damage. JHSC members also participate in
that we in the mining industry face, and the need for a
Operational Procedure reviews and take part in Accident
relentless emphasis on safety. We will continue to learn
Investigations that relate to their scope of work.
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At Black Fox, employees use
10-point “Safety Cards”.
The cards provide safety
messages and allow workers
and supervisors to report injuries
or near misses, or to take note
of any damage or substandard
conditions that are observed.
Key Performance Indicators
for Health and Safety
We have developed a number of Key Performance
Indicators (KPIs) for Health and Safety that have helped
us target the greatest risk factors, and focus on early
corrective measures. As a result of emphasizing these
KPIs in our safety programs, safety statistics markedly
improved - in many KPIs, the improvement is more than
100% over 2013.
San Dimas has instituted daily planned observation
checklists of each KPI. At Black Fox, employees use
10-point “Safety Cards”. The cards provide safety
and the mill twice. No noncompliance issues were
messages and allow workers and supervisors to report
identified and minor work orders were corrected.
injuries or near misses, or to take note of any damage or
At San Dimas, state regulators made four visits.
substandard conditions that are observed. The cards are
One was a follow-up to a previous visit to San
collected and documented so any situation can be acted
Dimas operations, while the other three visits were
on by management and employees.
to different contractors working in the mine.
Health and Safety Performance
Table 4 S
afety system key performance
indicators
San dimas kpis
We at Primero recognize the dangers inherent in the
type of work we do. Accordingly, we place enormous
% of Completion
emphasis on building and maintaining a strong safety
2013
2014
Health and Safety
Committee Meetings
82%
82%
Supervisor Safety
Meetings
68%
107%
Scheduled Inspections
75%
100%
and a 31% drop at Black Fox. At San Dimas, this is the
Planned Hazard
Observations
33%
105%
Injury Frequency rates and the fifth consecutive year as
Corrective Actions
Closed
75%
culture. Our efforts have resulted in a steady year-onyear decline in overall accident frequency.
In 2014, our Total Reportable Injury Frequency was
down significantly over 2013: a 40% drop at San Dimas,
ninth consecutive year of reductions in Total Reportable
a Primero mine. San Dimas received special recognition
for its safety performance from the Durango State
79%
Secretary of Labour and Social Welfare. In June 2014,
Black Fox celebrated more than one year without any
lost time injury - a significant achievement in the
Compliance with Safety Standards
mining industry.
No examples of non-compliance were identified at
either Primero mine in 2014. At Black Fox, the Ontario
For 2015, our goal is an overall reduction of 15% in our
Ministry of Labour Regulator visited the mine six times,
All Injury Frequency Rate.
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“The Mine Rescue Team members from Black Fox were very pleased
to have won the “First Aid Trophy” in the Ontario Mine District
Competition in Timmins in 2014. Emergency training is an imperative
part of our jobs and we were especially proud considering
it was only our second year competing.”
Graham Reid, HSE & Security Manager, Black Fox
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Bringing Home the Gold
Black Fox wins the “First Aid Trophy” in the Ontario
San Dimas and its two unions receive special recognition
Mine District Competition in Timmins
for Primero Health and Safety Policies from the Secretary
of Labor and Social Welfare (STPS)
Table 5 Injury frequency
Injury Type
2011
San Dimas
2012
San Dimas
2013
San Dimas
2014
San Dimas
2014 (Mar-Dec)
Black Fox
Fatalities
1
1
0
1
0
Lost-time injuries
3
6
3
4
0
Total reportable injuries
27
20
17
13
3
Significant potential incidents
65
42
29
10
13
0.18
0.36
0.17
0.26
0.0
0.67
1.08
LTIFR
(lost-time injury frequency rate)
Total reportable injury frequency rate
LTIFR is the number of lost-time injuries per 200,000 hours worked. LTIFR = (Lost-Time Injuries x 200,000 hours) ÷ Total Hours Worked.
TRIFR is the number of reportable injuries per 200,000 hours worked.
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Health Protection and Training
Primero’s Safety System goes far beyond injury
prevention. It seeks to improve the health and welfare
of our workers, their families and the surrounding
communities. Through ongoing monitoring and checkups, we identify and prevent sickness. Checkups include:
Preventive programs for disease detection
Epidemiological disease-detection programs for all
employees exposed to noise, dust, hazardous chemical
substances, etc.
Biological & environmental monitoring
Annual medical exams
Anti-doping and alcohol tests for workers
The San Dimas mine maintains on-site hospital facilities,
with x-ray, ultrasound, a surgery room and clinical lab, which
are available for all employees and contractors. To the best
of the company’s knowledge, there were no workers with a
high incidence or high risk of specific diseases.
Table 6 Staff breakdown – December 31, 2014
Location
Toronto Office
Full-Time
Employees
Union
Contractors
women
men
total
29
0
2
14
15
31
Vancouver
Office
6
0
0
3
3
6
San Dimas
Mine
534
694
92
94
1,134
1,320
Cerro del Gallo
Project
17
0
2
5
12
19
Mexico City
12
0
0
5
7
12
Black Fox Mine
356
0
73
50
306
429
Total
954
694
169
171
1,477
1,817
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Ongoing, monthly safety campaigns focus on specific
Everywhere we operate, we seek to be recognized as an
topics. The campaigns include awareness talks, training
employer of choice by offering competitive wages, above-
courses and revision of standards. Topics have included
average benefits, by preferentially hiring locally and
among others: lock out/tag out, defensive driving, safety
recognizing and rewarding employee performance.
in work at heights and safe handling of sodium cyanide.
Health and Safety Agreements
Management Approach to Labour Practices
Health and safety agreements apply to all employees
Throughout Primero, we foster a culture of inclusivity
and include:
and acceptance of gender, race, cultural background,
Personal protective equipment
age, religion and disability. We are committed to fair and
Joint management-employee health and safety
committees
equitable labour practices in every operation and office.
Participation of worker representatives in health and
safety inspections, audits, and accident investigations
Table 7 gender distribution
Training and education
171 (10%)
Female
Right to refuse unsafe work
Periodic inspections
1,477 (90%)
Male
1,648
total
Worker and Management Training
Primero runs an annual training program for
Distribution of Employee Training (San Dimas)
superintendents, area managers, supervisors and hourly
workers. The training is developed for each on the area,
based on the needs of each department.
3%
51%
At San Dimas in 2014, training was up 31% over last year,
with 27,088 hours dedicated to theoretical and practical
training, with topics including:
Safety leadership
46%
Underground heavy-equipment operations
Explosives handling
First aid and mine rescue training
Operators and
labour workforce
Management
and staff
Rock mechanics
Contractor
development
Environmental awareness in the workplace
Computer training
Project management
English classes
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