Residential workers at high risk of fatigue: mine boss

Pilbara miner Roy Hill says residential workers are more prone to becoming fatigued during 12 hour mining shifts than fly-in, fly-out workers.

Speaking at last week’s Hedland chamber of commerce business breakfast, Roy Hill chief executive Barry Fitzgerald said the government’s fatigue management guidelines encouraged miners to employ FIFO workers.

“If you are running a 12 hour shift and you are (on a) night-and-day shift (roster), you can start running into fatigue management issues … if you have people (living) residential,” he said.

“Because the idea is if you go work for 12 hours, you travel there, you travel back, you get home, you cook … you help … the kids … and then you don’t have a good night sleep … and you end up with a fatigue management problem.”

Mr Fitzgerald’s comments come despite Federal Government agency Safe Work Australia identifying FIFO and shift workers as among those at a higher risk of fatigue.

Mr Fitzgerald also said that while Roy Hill had 25 residential homes in Hedland, the bulk of its workforce resided in the Gateway workers’ camp.

He said Roy Hill had tried to initially set up a temporary camp for its construction workforce.

But when it could not secure the land, he said it was forced to partner with Compass to fund the Gateway camp and now has a long-term agreement to rent units for its workers.

“So there is a significant disincentive for us to move away from that facility to any other facilities, such as private housing,” he said.