Successful prosecution in the mining industry (South Gauteng)

Abstract: Successful prosecution in the mining industry (south Gauteng) Abstract The Mining Industry Occupational Health and Safety Hub (MOSH) hub, Mine Health and Safety Council (MHSC) has numerous safety interventions (zero harm inter alia) in partnership with the mining houses. Despite those safety interventions there has been a significant increase in the number of mine injuries over the past two years. The Mine Health and Safety Act (MHSA) is the legislation that the mining sector should comply with in order to prevent accidents that may lead to fatalities. In the case of a fatality the MHSA (Section 60) states that ’the Chief Inspector of Mines must instruct an Inspector to conduct an investigation into any accident that resulted to the death of any person’. This is followed by the application of Section 65, which instructs the Chief Inspector of Mines to direct an Inspector to conduct an inquiry into any accident or incident at a mine that results in the death of any person. Section 72 (1) (b) follows, which specifies that at the conclusion of the inquiry the person presiding must prepare a written report of the findings, recommendations, and any remedial steps. Section 72 (3) then states that the Chief Inspector of Mines may submit a copy of the report to the appropriate Attorney-General (MHSA, 1996). The process alluded to above is a result of the decision made by the 1995 Leon Commission. The Commission recommended against the reintroduction of the Mining Court. It further concluded that ’its recommendations concerning the inspectorate, the introduction of a legal section therein, as well as a stronger regulation with regards to actual inquiries, should be sufficient to serve a purpose of a mining court’. This study investigates the impacts that the abovementioned recommendations have on prosecution as a compliance enforcement tool. Prosecution, though contentious, it is part of the Mine Health and Safety’s preventative and punitive system. This study focuses on the mines in southern Gauteng Province, and stresses that mine fatalities may have adverse impacts on all mining stakeholders, especially families

Guidelines for the improvement of teaching science at colleges of education

M.Ed. (Curriculum Studies)Dozens of Teaching Science practitioners and educational administrators are asking fundamental questions today about the objectives of teacher education programs, the content of programs, instructional methods and quality of education of teachers. They recognised that current Teaching Science practices must be examined, evaluated, and in some cases, developed. There are obvious limits to the effectiveness of these Teaching Science programs to give prospective teachers skills necessary to be successful in their classrooms. This study investigates the guidelines for the improvement of Teaching Science at Colleges of Education that can ensure prospective teachers with ways of understanding the culture of classrooms and schools. The research was based on the assumption that, for prospective teachers to learn to teach effectively, they should be inculcated with an enriched structure and content of the subject Teaching Science curriculum, and valuable teaching knowledge should be communicated to them during their professional training process. In order to understand this problem in its total context an in depth study of the literature survey on the process of teacher education in the Republic of South Africa and the selected areas in the world was done. Data was collected from the interviews with the Heads of Education Department and beginner teachers and questionnaires were administered with principals of schools, Teaching Science lecturers and second and third year student-teachers. The data corpus includes case observations from prospective teachers on Teaching Practice. Their lesson plans, presentation of the teaching skills and post class reflection notes were analysed. Their subject expositions were also audiotaped to provide contextual descriptions. Findings indicate that there are many areas in which the subject Teaching Science curriculum needs improvement if it is to maintain its high degree of producing school teachers which the community will recognise and respect. The findings corroborated the hypotheses that the subject Teaching Science curriculum helps prospective teachers to be autonomous and active agents in their classrooms. The following are some of the most important findings: With regard to their lecturing, the majority of students claimed that many Teaching Science lecturers are ineffective classroom practitioners. It is revealed that Teaching Science lecturers who are less qualified are unfamiliar with the subject Teaching Science lecturing strategies whereas the highly qualified staff is always satisfied with its lecturing. Many student-teachers regarded Teaching Practice as a stressful time because they were not guided effectively by their Teaching Science supervisors on how to write genuine lesson preparations and schemes of work. Teaching Practice sessions are usually held at the beginning of the professional course. At that time students do not have maturity and knowledge of the theory on which teaching is based. Overall it appeared to show that theory and practice at Colleges of Education are still far apart and student-teachers are not given direct experience with the children they are going to teach. -In all Colleges of Education, Teaching Science facilities such as micro-teaching laboratory. dark room and media centre, are inadequate, -The study also revealed that the subject Teaching Science curriculum at Colleges of Education is more boring, less fun, more repetitious, discouraging, unattractive and less competitive. Students are not equipped with the subject Teaching Science curriculum to present interesting lessons. Beginner teachers are incapable of controlling their classes. marking registers and writing accurately on the chalkboard. It is because of this and other reasons that most student-teachers were always absent for Teaching Science periods. -The survey further revealed that the majority of beginner teachers are shy, self-centred and unable to establish good order in the classroom. -The traditional lecturer/teacher-centred approach in which the educator transfers information to learners is outdated, It was found that new approaches to assist prospective teachers may have important potential which needs to be explored diligently. -Based on the data collected and literature review the researcher provides proposals for the improvement of the subject Teaching Science curriculum at Teachers' Training Colleges. It is the wish of the researcher that this set of recommendations be effective tools in helping preservice teachers become successful teacher

Application of the event chain project management methodology to a mining stope

Abstract: Although South Africa possesses more than 80% of the world’s platinum reserves, its reputation for reliability in supplying platinum to global markets is under threat. This is due to the 49% decrease in output per worker (1999–2014), while the domestic costs have risen by more than 10% annually for the past 5 years. In addition, the continued decline in the commodity price by 38.3% (2012–2016) has resulted in a significant portion of the sector producing at a loss in 2015. The Chamber of Mines (now the Minerals Councilof South Africa) has suggested that solutions to improve productivity and reduce cost pressures are required. This research aims to provide operational excellence through the application of event chain project management (ECPM) to improve productivity and reduce operational costs. A case study was used to carry out research in platinum mines, with data collected using a motion-time study to measure the current efficiency of operations in each mining stope through actual activity durations. The results indicate that through the application of the event chain project management methodology, risks affecting the mining stope schedule can be managed, the efficiency of operations was improved by reducing the time spent on each activity, productivity was increased by shortening the project duration, and operational costs were reduced in the process

A project management approach for a mining stope

Abstract: Continuously increasing costs and weakening commodity prices have forced mining companies to focus on improving their efficiency in order to enhance production rates. Because of this, more companies are treating their daily mining operations as a project for the purpose of achieving this goal. This paper focuses on an underground stoping panel project where platinum group metals (PGMs) are extracted using conventional drill-and-blast mining methods. A conventional stope can be classified as a project due to its uncertain and unpredictable characteristics, many variations, and a large number of interdependencies. These interdependencies may be minor linked activities with characteristics that tend to increase the risk of failure. The ’project management approach’ to be applied to this case study should consider the risks associated with each event and be able to serve as a method to avoid disruption caused by unforeseen events. In project management, specific methods are applied to achieve objectives. In this study the critical chain project management (CCPM) approach and the event chain project management (ECPM) approach are compared to determine which is more applicable for use in an underground stope. The aim is to improve the efficiency of day-to-day stoping activities using a project management approach. The day-to-day operations are guided by a definite goal – achieving the most effective blast. This approach will improve project planning, therefore assisting in preparation for any uncertainty