spRING 2011 GlobAl MARKETs INTERNATIoNAl - Willis

When your HR people interview prospective
staff members, they’re not thinking about
what disaster management skills these people
might bring to your organisation. They want
to know whether these people are good blast
engineers, good mine planners, successful
plant maintainers etc.
Now, as you finish that second drink and await
with some sense of anticipation (or, perhaps,
trepidation) the arrival of the entree trolley,
come back to the reality of your temporary
aerial home and imagine for a second the
sudden onset of some significant, perhaps
aircraft-threatening, malfunction that could
jeopardise the timely service of your paté de
fois gras and contemplate the likely range of
outcomes of the impending aviation disaster
depending on the level of training and skill of
the plane’s crew to respond to that disaster.
In aviation, it’s awfully lonely up there when
things go wrong – there are many lives at stake
(as well as an extremely expensive aircraft)
and there are no 24 hour hotlines to call for
assistance. Pilots only become pilots when they
have passed all the necessary assessments,
primarily of their ability to respond to disasters.
The people you employ in your organisation
will have a range of skill levels and personality
types – if they stand out in the crowd, it is
because of their skills in their niche within the
mining industry, NOT because of their skills as
disaster managers.
" a world Class
mInIng oPeratIon
set uP a CommIttee
to manage ‘tHe
dIsaster’, wItH 15
PeoPle meetIng
eVery two days, But
notHIng was BeIng
aCHIeVed..."
Willis | Mining Market Review 2011 | 93