It’s easy to think of mining safety as something handled by paperwork and policies. But for apprentices at Komatsu, safety week wasn’t about reading rules or watching presentations. It was about getting up, getting involved, and seeing first-hand how small decisions can have big impacts.
Across several days, young workers stepped into situations they’re likely to face on site. They lifted, secured, tagged out equipment, and ran through mock incidents where the wrong call could have meant real harm.
For many, it was their first taste of how fast things happen in heavy industry — and how important it is to think ahead, not just react.
Why Komatsu Focuses on Apprentices
Mining and construction are among the most high-risk industries in Australia. Safe Work Australia data consistently shows higher-than-average rates of workplace injury across these sectors.
Komatsu, like many major operators, sees apprentices as the future of its safety culture. If safety thinking is built in early, the theory goes, it sticks. The goal isn’t to scare new workers. It’s to give them confidence and practical knowledge before they set foot on active sites.
Facilitatwere amazed at the discovery that accidents don’t simply “happen” — most of the time, they are the culmination of a chain of tiny errors, any of which could have been detected.
Why Hands-On Learning Stuck With Them
Ask any miner who has ever spent time digging coal — safety is not something that can be learned in a book. That’s why Komatsu’s solution involved so much more doing than listening.
Apprentices didn’t sit in a room and talk about risks. They walked through real configurations. Saw risks for themselves. Loose wires, unattached equipment, stuff that would catch your foot if you weren’t watching.
They ran through drills — how to isolate machinery. How to lock it out properly. How to check for leftover pressure in a line. Things that sound simple until you’re standing in front of it.
One of the apprentices put it into perspective during a break: “This feels different when you’re the one that has the tag. It gets to you.”
Mental Strength: The Quiet Part of Safety
Physical dangers are obvious. But Komatsu aimed at something that you can’t see — the psychological load. Coal mining is hard work. Long working hours, away from home, stressful work.
So there was some of the week learning about coping. How do you know when you’re getting stressed. How do you look after your crew, and not your equipment.
Teachers shared examples where fatigue or worry resulted in close calls. The lesson: headspace matters just as much as hard hats.
Mining work is hard work. Long hours, isolated country, and dangerous operations all have a cost. The apprentices were encouraged to feel free to speak of challenges and to look for causes of burnout — in themselves and in others.
One of the mental health facilitators defined unresolved stress as a well-documented cause of lapses in attention and decision-making errors, both of which can lead to safety incidents. By addressing those from the front end, the company is hoping to establish an employee base that not only works safely but is also caring for one another.
Apprentices carrying out lockout-tagout procedure under Komatsu safety week. Source: hsse world
Broader Impact: Beyond Komatsu
Komatsu’s apprentice program is a sector-wide program. More apprentice safety training is among the Resources and Energy Skills Alliance’s 2025 recommendations to get the workforce ready.
With nearly 10% of Australian miners aged under 25, there is increasingly an awareness that young people need more than induction packs — they need lived experience. Initiatives like Komatsu’s could be the new standard for what that might look like. One market commentator clarified, “We’ve talked for years about embedding safety culture.” This is what it looks like in practice.”
The Long-Term Payoff
Komatsu’s goal is not a standalone feel-good moment. Apprentices who go through this program are meant to take those lessons to the job. Managers are charged with making the learned material stick, with safety an open, day-to-day visibility.
Future growth includes refresher courses, in-job coaching, and more specialized workshops as apprentices mature. Intake monitoring is also of interest — following injury rates among participants over the longer term to see if early intervention is making a difference.
Source: Linkedin
Final Word
The Komatsu safety training program teaches us that safety is not a poster on the wall. It is built by experience, by thought, and by working together. Safety week gave those apprentices more than information; it gave them assurance that they can overcome the challenges ahead of them. And as mining tries to hire and retain fresh professionals, programs like these can assist in playing a critical role in showing the industry cares about individuals — not necessarily what they do.
