Safety in Maintenance: An Improvement Framework

Safety in maintenance is concerned with the freedom from danger, protection from or not being exposed to the risk of harm or injury during the process of carrying out maintenance procedures. Zambian mines possess some of the world's most sophisticated equipment and machinery and the past two decades a dramatic increase in mining equipment and technological complexity has resulted in higher maintenance expectations. A case study approach was used to assess safety in maintenance at a mining company in Zambia. The results indicated that workers were aware of the safety practices during maintenance works. Nevertheless, maintenance related accidents occurred as a result of miscommunication, loose connections and wrong application of devices. Based on the findings and literature review, a framework was developed to improve safety during maintenance practices.