TY - THES

T1 - EHS as a Business advantage for mining equipment suppliers to Northern Europe Mines

AU - Svennelid, Albin

N1 - embargoed until null

PY - 2015

Y1 - 2015

N2 - The purpose of this report is to determine what mining companies in North Europe expect of their suppliers in the area of EHS. Several interviews were conducted at 3 major mining companies, LKAB in Sweden, FQM Kevitsa in Finland and K+H Zielitz in Germany. This represents 3 countries and 3 different mining methods to cover as many aspects as possible. A total of 14 interviews were held with people in various positions, from operators to mine managers, to get the opinions from all perspectives. The general trend in the results shows that the mining companies in North Europe are not mature in the EHS area. There are scattered islands in the organizations working with EHS and tries hard to promote it, but there is still a long way to go before EHS is an integral part of the way they do business. Complying to local regulations is the target for most. For a supplier this means that promoting EHS and expecting customers to pay more for a product with increased safety features will be difficult. The suppliers instead need to focus a lot on the EHS work of their service organizations to ensure that they are at a very high level, as their accidents will be included in the mines safety statistics which is unwanted from the mines. Also it is important to promote the increase in productivity related to the improved EHS features, as productivity is still the most important factor when selecting new equipment. Other things for suppliers to focus on, which generated some interest from the mining companies are safety bulletins, integrated fatigue management systems, proximity detection and courses to learn how to operate equipment more eco-friendly.

AB - The purpose of this report is to determine what mining companies in North Europe expect of their suppliers in the area of EHS. Several interviews were conducted at 3 major mining companies, LKAB in Sweden, FQM Kevitsa in Finland and K+H Zielitz in Germany. This represents 3 countries and 3 different mining methods to cover as many aspects as possible. A total of 14 interviews were held with people in various positions, from operators to mine managers, to get the opinions from all perspectives. The general trend in the results shows that the mining companies in North Europe are not mature in the EHS area. There are scattered islands in the organizations working with EHS and tries hard to promote it, but there is still a long way to go before EHS is an integral part of the way they do business. Complying to local regulations is the target for most. For a supplier this means that promoting EHS and expecting customers to pay more for a product with increased safety features will be difficult. The suppliers instead need to focus a lot on the EHS work of their service organizations to ensure that they are at a very high level, as their accidents will be included in the mines safety statistics which is unwanted from the mines. Also it is important to promote the increase in productivity related to the improved EHS features, as productivity is still the most important factor when selecting new equipment. Other things for suppliers to focus on, which generated some interest from the mining companies are safety bulletins, integrated fatigue management systems, proximity detection and courses to learn how to operate equipment more eco-friendly.

M3 - Master's Thesis (University Course)

ER -