Undermining the client – again

*Written 6 May 2003 during a project visit down a coal mine. (One of my colleagues co-wrote this article with me)

Coal (we wish it was diamonds) on the soles of our shoes
How often do we work on a client engagement, and truly step into “their shoes”?
Understanding the impact of a new system or structure, or defining an employee’s new responsibilities is a difficult and risky deliverable to achieve. Especially when performed without exploring a “day in the life” of a client employee…

With this in mind, a few members of our team attended an excursion of the “under world” of Khutala Colliery. It was difficult to establish who was more excited - the mine manager and his team of guides (Mine Overseers), or us!

What indemnity did I sign?
Once introduced to all the safety regulations and instructions, and made to sign various forms saying that we have been shown, and understood all the regulations and process, as well as safety and escape information - an aspect taken very seriously by all mine employees - I am sure a few of us, were feeling a little less gung-ho about what can go wrong underground. It was probably also not the best time to find out that coal mines (next to asbestos mines) are the most dangerous in the world.

Underground Fashion
Gearing up for the trip of 60meters below surface (a mere ditch, compared to the depths of gold mines) involved donning a veritable suit of armour comprising the trendy and comfortable overall (with its strategically placed slits on either side!), woollen socks, gloves, gum boots, and then the infamous hard-hat and lamp… Oh, and of course the temporary life pack that houses breathing equipment, to be used for up to 40 minutes during an underground emergency – (yes, very comforting!).

Getting technical
I certainly had a naïve understanding of the expanse of a coal mine, and was surprised at the kilometres travelled to reach the coal-face. It was also unsettling to imagine how normal structures such as highways, buildings, and massive power stations were sitting snugly above us. This is possible due to the clever placement of the blocks where they leave the coal pillars to hold up the ground above. This results in approximately 42% of the coal being left in the ground.

Flame-proof vehicles?!?
We were taken to two of the seventeen Coal extraction sites, through various hanging walls with big signs that read NO NON-FLAME PROOF VEHICLES PAST THIS POINT – so the bakkie in which we were transported had to wait behind. Safety is certainly taken very seriously, and all the vehicles are modified to ensure that they do not cause sparks that may ignite the mine, necessitating the use of the personal safety equipment, and rushing in a non-orderly fashion for the nearest safety bay!

Each site is independently equipped with its own Continuous Miner or XXX multi-million rand machines that drive rotating teeth through the coal, breaking off coal ‘chunks’, to be scooped up onto a shuttle car, a large tractor like truck that carries the coal from the CM to the conveyor belt. Both the Continuous Miner and the Shuttle Car move small slight distances, cutting coal off in planned-out squares – a very impressive thing to watch, from a vantage point which few will have the opportunity to view the cutting – getting faces splashed with coal dust and water from the teeth of the huge machines. The operators of these large, noisy and energy consuming monsters crafted perfectly sculptured square pillars out of a coal seam, and are able to produce XX tonnes per shift – equating to a turn over of RXXX. Not bad for a morning’s work.

Client acceptance equals getting down and dirty
Contrary to what you may expect, the air is clean, fresh and moist, and the environment cool, with little or no dust in the air – in adherence of the health regulations whereby mines have to comply with a minimum dust level underground. In order to achieve this; fine mists of water are showered on the coal being mined, as well as the already mined areas. Consequently, the challenge lay in avoiding the piles of soggy black dust lying in the lifeless knee-deep pools of black water. At one point we were gingerly contemplating a large pond, and our guides defaced our squeaky clean consultant appearance, fearing that one of us would leave the adventure looking ‘un-touched’. Unlike “normal” mud, this black coal mud was difficult to wash off. Our first clue should have been when the GM told our guides to bring us back clean – a curious comment that we only understood when we were soaked from head to foot with a wall of freezing coal sludge sent by the feet of our guides…Luckily, there were soap bars and shampoo waiting for us in the change rooms.

Once we had recovered from the cold, and were all washed and clean again, we could laugh about the experience. All in all, it was very interesting, and we were all glad to have been to see it. The adherence to safety is extraordinary, and the maxim Safety First, Production After holds true.