PORT WARATAH COAL SERVICES COMMUNITY NEWS

Transcription

1 PORT WARATAH COAL SERVICES COMMUNITY NEWS Edition Four 2017

2 WELCOME TO THE PORT WARATAH COAL SERVICES COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER Welcome to the final edition of our community newsletter for As the year draws to a close I would like to look back over our achievements and lessons from the past 12 months. After a disappointing start to the year in our Health and Safety performance I am pleased to report that we have seen a significant improvement over recent months. With eight recordable injuries from January leading into July, we have now been injury free since August. Despite the injuries being minor in nature, at Port Waratah we continually strive for the goal of zero injuries we want our people to go home the same way they came to work. This year we have placed a strong focus on redefining the way we think about safety, with all our employees undertaking an innovative training program Work to Live, to further develop a shared responsibility towards working safely. Operationally, the Hunter Valley coal chain volumes have been consistent again this year with our end of year throughput forecast at 105mtpa. Coal prices have increased in recent months and the global demand for coal remains steady for the foreseeable future. We continue to focus on delivering our services to our customers without negative impact on neighbouring communities. The second half of 2017 has seen dry, windy conditions and, as always, we are committed to managing environmental impacts, in particular dust. Continuous improvement, new monitoring technology and our proven dust management process outlined in this issue demonstrates that we are well prepared for the summer months ahead. Port Waratah s Relationships & Reputation element of our Licence to Operate framework is a key function to create outcomes that are in the best interests of our stakeholders, including the community. Our engagement activities connect us with residents and businesses to ensure we are making the best of opportunities and are quick to respond to any concerns. This year we have held four Community Terminal meetings with local representatives, at one of which our attendees were given a tour of the newly commissioned shiploaders at our Carrington terminal. We also hosted a successful community clean up at Throsby Creek mangroves, with a data collection component to aid in the implementation of the Throsby Catchment Action Plan, in an effort to maintain this integral natural asset. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Port Waratah Another one of our notable achievements is the ongoing support of our local region through the Community Investment and Partnership Programme. So far this year we have invested over $650,000 towards 97 community organisations, events and activities that contribute to a smart, sustainable and vibrant Newcastle. We are busy finalising current applications and commitments to reach our community investment target of $750,000 by the end of the year. The support provided to our partners comes in many forms, which you will see featured in this issue from funding, to volunteering and donations of equipment. All of which help to fill areas of need within our community. Thank you to all our community partners for working with us and I look forward to sharing our value with the community again in On that note, I wish all of you and your families a very safe and joyous festive season and a happy new year. Kind regards, Hennie du Plooy, CEO

3 SHIPLOADER TOUR Port Waratah s Community Terminal Meeting Group connects us with local residents and businesses to help understand the issues and opportunities out in the community. Recently, attendees were given a behind-the-scenes look at our operations with a tour of our new Carrington Terminal shiploaders. The attendees had an exciting afternoon, donned in personal protective equipment (PPE) and scaling the heights to see the shiploaders up close before enjoying afternoon tea in the wharf building. To find out more about how we connect with our community, visit the Community Relationships page on our website. MOBILE MONITORING EQUIPMENT Port Waratah is enhancing its onsite environmental surveillance capabilities with the introduction of portable monitoring devices for dust and noise. 2,020 BY 2020? Here at Port Waratah we have set ourselves a goal to plant or donate 2,020 trees by the year In late September, we kick-started this initiative with a tree planting day at our Kooragang Terminal. More than 30 Port Waratah employees planted 600 native trees and shrubs at our eastern end, close to the Hunter Estuary Wetlands RAMSAR site. Once established this planting will attract birds and improve the biodiversity of fauna on site. These mobile devices will complement the existing real time dust monitoring network and routine noise measurement and modelling already established across our operations. The equipment will provide greater capability to investigate and identify the dust and noise contribution from a particular area or process on site. The compact and easy to set up equipment will allow for rapid deployment in almost any location or environment. Equipped with either an internal battery or solar power source the equipment can be left in place over extended periods of time to capture and relay actual onsite dust/noise information in real time. The data collected will be instrumental in notifying when levels are detected above established thresholds and also in determining the effectiveness of any modifications or improvements implemented. Above: Mobile Monitor being used on site at Kooragang.

4 7.09 LED LIGHTING UPGRADE At night, our beautiful harbour is illuminated by the soft glow of lights on infrastructure from the various port activities. Our 7.09 shiploader has over 150 light fittings alone. Originally fitted with industry standard 70 Watt High Pressure Sodium (HPS) lights, which give off an orange coloured light. But you may have noticed some changes recently, after our Electrical team at Kooragang identified improvements to the shiploader lights. Firstly, the older HPS lamps consist of a ballast, capacitor and lamp. When one of them fails the whole lighting circuit can be lost. This resulted in the shiploader being in darkness until the Electrical team could attend and repair the fitting. Secondly, with the rise in LED lighting technology, HPS lights were inefficient to maintain and posed a higher energy consumption to modern alternatives. The team retrofitted the existing fittings on the shiploader to suit readily-available 18 Watt LED lights the same kind you may have at home. These lamps produce a natural white light, which has the added benefit of being more aesthetically pleasant. The result of this upgrade is that all lights are now fully operational and the possibility of a lighting circuit failure has been significantly reduced. Even more pleasing is that the electrical power consumption of the lights on the shiploader have been cut by over two thirds, a reduction of 74%. KOORAGANG TERMINAL 7.09 SHIPLOADER LED LIGHT UPGRADE 150x 70w High Pressure Sodium (HPS) Lights Consumed 53,655 kwh per year Changed to 18W LED Will now consume 13,797 kwh 74 % Reduction THESE SAVINGS ARE EQUIVALENT TO THE ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION OF 7.7 AVERAGE NEWCASTLE HOUSEHOLDS, AND 33 TONNES IN CARBON EMISSIONS

5 CLEAN SWEEP FOR THROSBY CREEK In partnership with Hunter Local Land Services and our Community Terminal meeting group we recently hosted a clean up of Carrington s Throsby Creek. The clean up was a little different this time, as we not only collected rubbish, but valuable data to improve the environmental standard of the catchment in the future. Our team of Port Waratah employees, ARTC employees and members from the local community removed 272kg of rubbish. An additional clean up by Hunter Local Land Services yielded a further 51kg. Samples of the litter were analysed and recorded for uploading to the Australian Marine Debris Initiative database by rangers from Taree Indigenous Development and Employment (TIDE). The analysis beyond the clean up is important to help keep this integral part of Newcastle s environment in the best possible shape. This data will be used by agencies such as Hunter Local Land Services to refine, implement and improve the Throsby Catchment Action Plan. Among the litter was two large tires and 69.5kg of recyclables. High numbers of consumer and packaging items, such as straws, confectionery wrappers, cups, drink bottles, plastic wrapping, were noted kg Rubbish 2x TYRES 272kg Material Collected 69.5kg Recyclable 10x ALUMINIUM CANS Thanks to all the volunteers on the day Port Waratah employees, ARTC employees and members from the local community. 50x PLASTIC FOOD PACKAGING 49x SMALL PLASTIC REMNANTS 30x PLASTIC FOOD UTENSILS 32x PLASTIC DRINK BOTTLES 17x CARDBOARD DRINK BOTTLES * data from analysis of two sample bags

6 DADEE PROGRAMME GAINS NATIONAL RECOGNITION The DADEE programme has been going from strength to strength, recently gaining national recognition for its efforts to create a safer, healthier and happier environment for children and young people. The NAPCAN Play Your Part Award was presented by His Excellency The Governor General Sir Peter Cosgrove. Port Waratah CEO, Hennie du Plooy, attended the ceremony at Government House in Canberra as a proud partner of DADEE. To celebrate this achievement Port Waratah treated some DADEE programme participants to a night at the Westfield Matildas v Brazil game in Newcastle. The latest round of DADEE has kicked off with sessions at both Carrington and Hamilton Public Schools. To learn more about the programme or get involved visit Above: DADEE alumni and Port Waratah employees at the Westfield Matilda s v Brazil game. R U OK? During September Port Waratah provided a mobile coffee van on site for employees and contractors to grab a free coffee and consider the importance of asking the question R U OK? R U OK? is a not-for-profit organisation that believes in the power of staying connected and having meaningful conversations. R U OK? inspires and empowers people to connect with those around them and support anyone struggling with life. The official R U OK? Day was Thursday 14 September. This initiative is part of the implementation of our Diversity & Inclusion Strategy. Port Waratah covered the cost for the coffee from the van over the two weeks, but employees could make a donation. Over $600 was donated to the R U Ok? charity. Above: Port Waratah employees taking time to connect and have a conversation while enjoying a free coffee.

7 OUT AND ABOUT IN THE COMMUNITY Above: Port Waratah proudly sponsors the Maritime/Industrial Award category of the Newcastle Art Prize presented by the Society of Artists Newcastle. This year s winner was Bob Saxon with a wonderful piece depicting the industrial rail landscape which he kindly donated to us to display at our Kooragang administration building. Pictured: Bob presenting the winning artwork to Libby Delgatto. Above: The Hunter s largest support group for mentors, Mentor Support Network (MSN), received a welcomed boost from Port Waratah through a $5,000 community investment donation. Port Waratah s donation will help fund MSN s informative networking events where key presenters share their knowledge and experience about youth issues and challenges. Pictured: Graham Hawkins, Superintendent Maintenance Carrington Terminal and Jon Chin, MSN Chairperson. Above: Our team were out in the sunshine at the Carrington Village Markets on September 9 with some fun tech items on display. The kids spent plenty of time playing with the Lego bucketwheel excavator, while the big kids were intrigued by the 3D printer. Above: Port Waratah recognises the value of the beneficial reuse of our equipment after its business life. We recently donated some of our IT equipment to Soul Café, offering them greater capability and technical resources to carry out their important community services. Soul Café provides over 700 free meals per week and essential services to highly disadvantaged members of our community. Pictured: Ben McMurray presenting the equipment to Nick at Soul Café. Above: The University of Newcastle s Science and Engineering Challenge Discovery Days aim to engage children with STEM-based learning to help demonstrate that a career in science and engineering is fun, rewarding and achievable. Over September 4-9 more than 800 primary school students took part in hands-on activities. Pictured: Trevor Thompson overseeing one of the students great inventions.

8 HOW DUST IS MANAGED AT PORT WARATAH WHERE POSSIBLE WE ENCLOSE AND INSTALL SPRAYS IN: Rail receival stations Transfer houses Conveyors We have also developed and implemented our award winning INTELLIGENT DUST MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (IDMS) We also design our equipment for soft flow transfers and minimal drop heights to reduce the risk of dust creation The IDMS aims to prevent dust lift-off, stopping dust at the source IT THEN CALCULATES Uses detailed weather forecasts from the Bureau of Meteorology and on-site real time weather data THE IDMS Characterises the types of coal we are receiving and handling by their Dust Risk Rating FORECAST AND CURRENT RISK RANKINGS FOR DUST GENERATION The IDMS then uses this information, along with on-site real time dust monitoring to trigger automated water spray cycles over coal stockpiles to keep surfaces moist enough to prevent dust lift off WE HAVE OTHER DUST MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES IN OUR TOOLBOX All of these systems work together to make sure that we manage dust before it becomes an issue Wetting down hardstands Utilising mobile water carts Manually hosing/spraying coal Delaying, restricting or stopping coal movement Sealing, revegetating or rehabilitating disturbed areas Clean up of spillage coal Produced on 100% recycled paper Cover Page: Port Waratah Community Terminal Meeting Group touring the new shiploaders at the Carrington Terminal. If you would like to comment on Port Waratah Community News, please FIND US ON