{"id":5227,"date":"2019-11-05T09:00:37","date_gmt":"2019-11-05T14:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/?p=5227"},"modified":"2019-10-30T11:43:57","modified_gmt":"2019-10-30T15:43:57","slug":"how-cerrejon-tackles-risks-and-prevents-accidents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/how-cerrejon-tackles-risks-and-prevents-accidents\/","title":{"rendered":"How Cerrej\u00f3n tackles risks and prevents accidents"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cThis is a great benefit to the safety performance of the company.\u201d \u00c1lvaro Uribe of Cerrej\u00f3n\u2019s Production Safety Committee<\/p><\/div>\n

Extending more than 270 square miles (690 square kilometers), Cerrej\u00f3n in Colombia is the largest open-pit coal mine in Latin America and the 10th biggest in the world. Complete with its own railway system and shipping terminal, the mine employs thousands of people operating hundreds of vehicles.<\/p>\n

A Hexagon film crew visited Colombia to document Cerrej\u00f3n\u2019s commitment to safety. Staff shared the benefits of Hexagon\u2019s MineProtect Collision Avoidance System, (CAS) including how the mine puts data to work towards strategic safety objectives. CAS has not only helped the mine to minimize the risk of accidents, it has also addressed other safety challengesProtecting its people is a priority for Cerrej\u00f3n, whose zero-harm culture is enshrined in all aspects of the business. The company turned to Hexagon for a comprehensive collision avoidance solution. Hexagon shares Cerrej\u00f3n\u2019s core belief: that the most important asset coming out of a mine isn\u2019t what\u2019s extracted \u2013 it\u2019s the people who make it possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe put in place a system of random monitoring and preventive monitoring of compliance with stop signs in the mine and in the company,\u201d explained \u00c1lvaro Uribe of Cerrej\u00f3n\u2019s Production Safety Committee.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd this allowed us, from 2014 up to date, to gradually, decrease up to 90% non-compliance of stop signs. This is a great\u00a0benefit to the safety performance of the company. We are being preventative, and we are identifying and correcting wrong habits in our operation.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Cerrej\u00f3n in Colombia is the largest open-pit coal mine in Latin America and the 10th biggest in the world.<\/p><\/div>\n

Amid heavy traffic, large equipment, poor visibility and blind spots, CAS delivers 360-degree proximity detection via a non-intrusive cabin display unit. It provides a call to act if an unwanted event is about to occur. It empowers Cerrej\u00f3n\u2019s operators to prevent collisions and avoid accidents.<\/p>\n

Operator acceptance was essential to success, said Rafael Mazzilli, Cerrej\u00f3n\u2019s Operational Integrity Coordinator.<\/p>\n

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Zero-harm culture is enshrined in all aspects of Cerrej\u00f3n\u2019s business.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThere was a lot of evidence from alarms and as time went by and with training, the alarms were diminishing,\u201d said Mazzilli. \u201cUntil today, where the reports show the operators respond to the alarms. Operators\u2019 acceptance was also very important, because we made surveys, we trained and inquired of everybody; we ask them to express the benefits and the improvement opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hexagon\u2019s Mining Safety Portfolio Manager, Marcos Bayuelo, oversaw the CAS deployment at Cerrej\u00f3n and has been a regular visitor to the mine for the past decade. He credited the company for its proactive approach to safety.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike Hexagon, Cerrej\u00f3n is serious about safety,\u201d said Bayuelo. \u201cAll the times we had an opportunity to save someone, where the system worked and did its job, that\u2019s when we can say we have contributed. For me as a product manager, it gives me satisfaction that one more person makes it home safe.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are sincerely grateful to the busy staff who participated in the video and Cerrej\u00f3n\u2019s communications team, who made it possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Learn more about the implications of mining accidents and the Hexagon’s safety portfolio from Marcos Bayuelo in his Mining Magazine webinar, “Serious about safety: the wisdom of investing in a protective solutions portfolio”.<\/p><\/div>\n