APMS (As Per Mine Standard) Rules to find out about

As professionals it will be your job to set the As Per Mine Standard that the workers follow. Take into consideration that a slow job is not always a safe job nor is a fast job that is not well thought out going to be any better.

The jobs that the miners are doing require the operator to be quick by repeating the same few tasks over and over again. The higher the standard of the operator, the safer, the better, and the quicker the job comes out, simple as that. The smoother the operator, the more cuts means more tons. It’s like the old army line ‘slow is smooth, smooth is fast’. Your operators should be operating the machines at a rate that would make you stop and think how fast they are doing that job, and is it safe then you come close to having the right speed that a crew come together and work safely at. The reason is these smooth operators have become good at making companies lots and lots of money. What these mining crews do each day is measured in $$$ there are very few jobs around like that.

As Per Mine Standard (APMS) what does this mean? Each mine in Australia is like its own little country with each state having its own mines inspectorate to oversee the mines in their states. These standards are set by the owners of the mine or their representative (resident manager) using each states rules of mining. Why do the states do it like this?

Responsibility is the simple answer. Mines Inspectorates around the country will never tell you how to run a mine because if they did then the mines Inspectorate would be responsible for anything that went wrong. An example of APMS is changing an LV (light vehicle ute) tyre. On one Minesite you may be required to chock one wheel before changing the tyre. On another site in the same state a different owner may require 3 wheels to be chocked before the tyre can be changed. The mines Inspectorate doesn’t care how the job is performed as long as the job is done safely.

A mines Inspector will never tell the mine how to do something, they will only issue an improvement notice or stop work notice, it’s up to the responsible people running the site to fix the problem. This is why you have to do an onsite induction and onsite tickets at each mine you work at. These inductions and tickets are non-transferable and must be retained onsite. The owner or their representative (resident manager) have to do this to prove they have fulfilled their “Duty of Care” to you, the employee. It means that if something goes wrong then the employer has to be able to prove that they have made every effort to train and supervise their employee’s (you) to the satisfaction of a court of law. What does it mean to you?

Paper work and lots of it on each new Minesite you go to. They do this by using site inductions, site tickets and SOP’s that will have to be completed and signed off APMS (As Per Mine Standard). If the owners rely on an outside source this leaves the owners open to legal action if something goes wrong. This is why TAFE can’t run an Australia wide course that the mines will use because each mine has its own standard and again if something went wrong it’s up to the owner of the mine to prove to a court of law that they have met their duty of care to their employee’s. This is the system we have and the state governments will not change it because at the moment all the responsibility is with the owner of the mine and not the government as long as their Inspectors make regular checks of the Minesite in their states.

Below are examples of As Per Mine Standard, and each procedure will be different on each site.

How to fill out a pre-start.

How to change a tyre.

How the tagging and isolation system works.

How the emergency system works, numbers to call and places to go.

Wet and dry mess standards and times.

Fly in and out standards and times.

Start, stop & crib times. Any special rules?

Mining Record

Try to keep a daily record even if everything is alright, write something like AG (All Good) on the page and sign it. If something happens then write it down it will help you remember it later. These records can also help with proof of work for your shift boss ticket.

Things to enter into a miners log:

Incidents and accidents

A good crib

A good day

Anything new you may have learnt

Damage (cartons owed)

Time training or mines rescue

Anything you really want