He will also address other questions around current practices in mining inductions and his discussion will consider how additional training could have a positive impact on safety and health outcomes.

"Queensland legislation requires all coal mines, mineral mines and quarries to have an induction process," according to Shorthouse.

"These inductions, including the current Standard 11 mine induction, address a wide range of topics including risk management, vehicle interaction, fire-fighting and a generic isolation procedure.

"The underpinning knowledge that is required and crammed into two days only allows for a brief amount of time to focus on the main points and not given the attention and time they require. This makes the induction more of a ‘tick in the box' exercise rather than a valuable strategy aimed at training the worker to stop and think about what is required to safely accomplish the task they are about to perform." 

As a past councillor for the Australian Institute of Training and Development, Shorthouse had the opportunity to network, share ideas and philosophies about how to enrich vocational education in the mining industry.

He has also showcased the benefits of virtual reality immersive training to the Queensland mining health and safety industry, international government representatives and national and international mining companies.

Shorthouse's presentation at the Queensland Mining Industry Health & Safety Conference will also seek to promote discussion about  what metrics should be used to gauge mining induction's effectiveness.

"How can the delivery of the course be improved to increase knowledge retention and improve the decision making choices of mining personnel?" he will ask.

"Are meaningful inductions even more important with the casualisation of the workforce? What additional training could decrease the amount of injuries, accidents, high potential incidents and equipment damage?"

The Queensland safety conference will be held at the Gold Coast from August 19-22.