Author : Rebecca Macfie
Publisher :
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 14,40 MB
Release : 2014-07
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781877551901
On a sunny afternoon in November 2010, in the beautiful Paparoa Range of the South Island of New Zealand, a massive explosion rocked an underground coal mine. Later that day two ashen men stumbled from the entrance. Twenty-nine men remained unaccounted for.
Author : Rebecca Macfie
Publisher :
Page : pages
File Size : 42,67 MB
Release : 2021
Category : Accident victims
ISBN : 9781927249796
Winner: New Zealand Post Book Award, Best First Book, Non-fictionWinner: Bert Roth Award for Labour HistoryShortlisted: New Zealand Post Book Award for Non-fictionAustralasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy AwardOn a sunny afternoon in November 2010, a massive explosion rocked the underground Pike River coal mine, deep in a mountain range in New Zealand's South Island. More than an hour and a half later, two ashen men stumbled from the mine's entrance to report that 29 men remained trapped inside. Samples revealed extremely high levels of carbon monoxide in the mine and the presence of fire. For five agonizing days the men's families and friends waited and prayed until, after a second violent blast, all hope was extinguished. Tragedy at Pike River Mine is a dramatic, suspenseful account of a disaster that shook the nation--and the world. Pike River was no ordinary mine. It had been touted by the company and by government ministers as a showcase of modern mining. Shares in the company had been rapidly taken up by investors, swept away by predictions of extraordinary returns. Beneath the hype, though, lay mismanagement, mistakes and willful blindness that would cost men their lives. Based on extensive research and more than a hundred interviews, this powerful book provides chilling insights into the causes of the tragedy and puts a human face on the people who suffered.
Author : New Zealand. Royal Commission on the Pike River Coal Mine Tragedy
Publisher :
Page : 40 pages
File Size : 15,14 MB
Release : 2012
Category : Coal mine accidents
ISBN :
Details the tragic events at Pike River Coal Mine on 19 November that resulted in the loss of 29 lives. Propsoals and recommendations for improvements to the safety of people working in mines.
Author : Rebecca Macfie
Publisher :
Page : 304 pages
File Size : 36,84 MB
Release : 2021-12
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781927249789
Winner: Post Book Award, Best First Book, Non-fictioOn a sunny afternoon in November 2010, a massive explosion rocked the underground Pike River coal mine, deep in a mountain range in New Zealand's South Island. More than an hour and a half later, two ashen men stumbled from the mine's entrance to report that 29 men remained trapped inside. Samples revealed extremely high levels of carbon monoxide in the mine and the presence of fire. For five agonizing days the men's families and friends waited and prayed until, after a second violent blast, all hope was extinguished. Tragedy at Pike River Mine is a dramatic, suspenseful account of a disaster that shook the nation--and the world. Pike River was no ordinary mine. It had been touted by the company and by government ministers as a showcase of modern mining. Shares in the company had been rapidly taken up by investors, swept away by predictions of extraordinary returns. Beneath the hype, though, lay mismanagement, mistakes and willful blindness that would cost men their lives. Based on extensive research and more than a hundred interviews, this powerful book provides chilling insights into the causes of the tragedy and puts a human face on the people who suffered.
Author : Michael Quinlan
Publisher :
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 41,70 MB
Release : 2014
Category : Technology & Engineering
ISBN : 9781862879775
Why do mine disasters continue to occur in wealthy countries when major mine hazards have been known for over 200 years and subject to regulation for well over a century? What lessons can be drawn from these disasters and are mine operators, regulators and others drawing the correct conclusions from such events? Why is mining significantly safer in some countries than in others? Are the underlying causes of disasters substantially different from those that result in one or two fatalities?This book seeks to answer these questions by systematically analysing mine disasters and fatal incidents in five countries (Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the USA) since 1992. It finds that there are 10 pattern causes which repeatedly recur in these incidents, namely:engineering, design and maintenance flaws,failure to heed warning signs,flaws in risk assessment,flaws in management systems,flaws in system auditing,economic/reward pressures compromising safety,failures in regulatory oversight,worker/supervisor concerns that were ignored,poor worker/management communication and trust, andflaws in emergency and rescue procedures.The vast majority of incidents entailed at least three of these pattern causes and many exhibited five or more. The book also demonstrates these pattern deficiencies are not confined to mining but can be identified in other workplace disasters including aircraft crashes, oil-rig explosions, refinery and factory fires, and shipping disasters. At the same time, the examination finds no evidence to support other popular explanations of mine safety which focus on behaviour, culture or complex technologies. It finds that there is little to differentiate the failures that lead to single death or multiple deaths and 'disaster' studies would benefit from also examining near misses.The book examines why pattern causes have proved so resistant to intervention by governments while also identifying instances where lessons have been learned. How, for example, do governments strike a balance between prescriptive regulation and risk management/system-based approaches? Only by understanding and modifying the political economy of safety can these problems be addressed. It concludes by proposing an agenda for change that will address pattern causes and contribute to safe and productive work environments. The book is written for those studying OHS, mine safety and risk management as well as those involved in the management or regulation of high hazard workplaces.In the news...Ten steps from disaster, The International Trade Union Confederation - Health & Safety News, 20 April 2015 Read full article...Disasters in high hazard workplaces are 'predictable and preventable', Hazards Magazine, March 2015 Read full article...Mine Accidents and Disaster Database, Mine Safety Institute Australia, March 2015 Read full article...OHS Reps - Research News, SafetyNetJournal, 12 February 2015 Read full article...The 10 "pattern" causes of workplace disasters, OHSAlert, 11 February 2015 Read full article...New book challenges current OHS trends, SafetyAtWorkBlog, 2 February 2015 Read full article...Tasmania needs more mines inspectors, Australian Mining Magazine, 2 October 2014 Read full article...Australian mine deaths preventable if warnings heeded, WorkSafe seminar hears, ABC News, 2 October 2014 Read full article...Lessons from Tasmania's mining industry for all workplaces, TasmanianTimes.com, 1 October 2014 Read full article...Auditor Says Tasmanian Mine Safety in need of Urgent Review, Australasian Mining Review, 16 July, 2014 Read full article...Damning report on Tasmanian mine safety finds inspectors over-stretched, poorly paid, ABC News, 15 July 2014 Read full article...Call for support for grieving families backed, The Examiner, 22 April 2014 Read full article...
Author : Rebecca Macfie
Publisher :
Page : 416 pages
File Size : 40,76 MB
Release : 2021-05-18
Category : Labor movement
ISBN : 9781927249741
When Helen Kelly died in October 2016, with her partner by her side and a bunch of peonies by her bed, New Zealand lost an extraordinary leader. Kelly was the first female head of the country's trade union movement, and much more: a visionary who believed that all workers, whether in a union or not, deserved fair treatment; a fighter from a deeply communist family who never gave up the struggle; a strategist and orator who invoked strong loyalty; a woman who stirred fierce emotions. Her battles with famous people were the stuff of headlines. She took on Peter Jackson, the country's icon. She was accused in parliament of doing 'irreparable damage' to the union movement, and by employers of exploiting bereaved families of dead workers. While many saw her as a hero, to others she was 'that woman', a bloody pain in the neck. In this brilliant book, award-winning journalist Rebecca Macfie takes you not only into Kelly's life but into a defining period in New Zealand's history, when old values were replaced by the individualism of neo-liberalism, and the wellbeing and livelihood of workers faced unremitting stress. Through it all, Helen Kelly stood as an electrifying figure.
Author : Graham Hutchins
Publisher : Exisle Publishing
Page : 381 pages
File Size : 27,90 MB
Release : 2015-10-01
Category : History
ISBN : 1775592499
A full train plunges into a raging river at Tangiwai; the Wahine is tossed onto rocks at the entrance to Wellington Harbour; an Air New Zealand DC-10 plunges into Mt Erebus; an earthquake destroys Christchurch … disasters like these are known to all New Zealanders: they are part of our history. But New Zealand has experienced many less well-known disasters, some of them shocking and brutal. Graham Hutchins and Russell Young describe some of the most extraordinary events in New Zealand history. Who knew that a fire killed 39 people at Seacliff Mental Hospital in 1942? That 10 people died in a lahar on White Island in 1914? That a yacht race between Lyttelton and Wellington in 1951 resulted in 10 fatalities? That a tornado ripped through 150 houses in Hamilton in 1948? A fire raging through Raetihi in 1918 was so fierce it destroyed houses, shops and 11 timber mills. Drownings were so common here in the 19th century that they were called ‘the New Zealand death’. These and many other remarkable stories are told in this eye-opening book. While it describes accidents and tragedies, it also reveals acts of heroism. For when human beings make mistakes, others often achieve daring feats of rescue. Some of the stories show that we underestimate Mother Nature at our peril, but many also testify to the courage of the human spirit. Few books are genuine page-turners; this one is.
Author : Andrew Hopkins
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 183 pages
File Size : 43,18 MB
Release : 2020-07-16
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 1000259439
Many organisations live with hazards that have the potential to cause disaster. This was the case at Moura underground coal mine in Central Queensland, where 11 men died in an explosion in 1994. Andrew Hopkins shows that the explosion was the result of organisational failure, and uses it to draw lessons about managing major hazards. He argues that there are always tell-tale signs of impending disaster, and that organisations need to find ways of gathering this information and reacting to it appropriately. The Moura story also demonstrates the need to move responsibility for risk management up the corporate hierarchy to ensure that it is not overshadowed by production pressures. Otherwise disasters will repeat themselves in horrifyingly similar ways. Managing Major Hazards is a gripping story and essential reading for occupational health and safety professionals, executives working in hazardous industries, policy makers, and readers interested in risk management and disaster studies.
Author : Les Roberts
Publisher : Gray & Company, Publishers
Page : 230 pages
File Size : 15,17 MB
Release :
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 1598510770
The stately homes of Pepper Pike house some of Cleveland's biggest movers and shakers. And one of them--an advertising exec named Richard Amber--is missing. Private eye Milan Jacovich follows a trail that leads from posh private gun clubs to sleek corporate offices--and into the terror of murder. Reissue.
Author : Maria Gill
Publisher :
Page : 64 pages
File Size : 37,25 MB
Release : 2021-02
Category :
ISBN : 9781775436218
Inspiring stories of courage, resilience and determination in the face of disaster. New Zealanders have endured phenomenal natural and human disasters throughout the ages. This inspiring book documents some of these key moments in our history and, more importantly, how we responded and grew stronger; what changes/improvements were made as a result. Cyclones, tornadoes, earthquakes, landslides, floods, volcanic eruptions, fires, plane crashes, pandemics and other disasters are just some of the many themes covered in this comprehensive, vibrantly illustrated account. Includes: Outcomes, Safety Tips, and What to Do in an Emergency.
