NELSPRUIT – In a bid to reduce accidents, Eskom and its partners in the logistics and the mining industry have stopped the trucking of coal to its power stations between 18:00 on Fridays and 06:00 on Sundays.
This intervention will result in increased rest time for truck drivers and all transporters’ staff, which will aid in fatigue management and allow for regular intervals to conduct in-depth maintenance and mechanical performance testing of trucks to further minimise incidents resulting from mechanical failure.
Eskom’s power generation fleet operate around the clock (24 hours, seven days a week) and therefore require constant and predictable coal supplies. Coal is transported by conveyors, rail and road. Last year Eskom’s contracted coal road-haulage companies trucked around 14 million tons of coal and a further 20 million tons was transported by companies contracted directly with mining companies that supply Eskom’s power stations.
Due to a recent spate of public and driver fatalities, Eskom has over the past three months consulted with its stakeholders in the transport and coal mining industry to review options to improve safety on the coal haulage routes in Mpumalanga.
Eskom’s analysis had found that the period from a Friday 18:00 to a Sunday at 06:00 has accounted for 36% of the fatal road accidents. Incident information of the last three years, received from the Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison – DCSSL (Road Safety and Law Enforcement Division) for the Gert Sibande District, in whose jurisdiction falls the majority of the coal haul road network, corroborated these findings. The findings concluded that speeding, fatigue, visibility, road conditions, adherence to the rules of the road and alcohol were some of the main factors contributing to accidents.
Eskom and each of its partners in the logistics and the mining industry with the support of the Chamber of Mines and the DCSSL, are implementing a massive safety drive which will include the changing the operating hours of all coal road transportation over weekends and as a result all coal trucking operations will stop, from Friday evenings to Sunday mornings with effect from evening, October 11, thus coinciding with and further supporting the Department of Transport’s October Transport Month campaign for 2013.
The DCSSL’s Road Safety and Law Enforcement Division support along with each of Eskom’s partners has continued to be a vital element in the coal logistics chain. All stakeholders will continue to review the implementation of this safety initiative to ensure that operations continue to run smoothly.
