The Language of Safety

Richard Marshall holds a degree in Mineral Processing from The University of Queensland, and an MBA from Deakin University. For the last 22 years Richard has worked in the mining industry as an engineering consultant (in construction and operations) and as a data analyst.  Richard formed Endellion Technology in 2014 to explore how to best leverage language to enable us to identify new opportunities for and within businesses.  Endellion is currently utilising its methodologies in the tech development, maintenance and safety industries.

David Smith is the Operations Manager of Holcim's raw material business in Queensland, which is comprised of 16 quarries across the state.  David holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering, Master of Maintenance & Reliability Engineering and a Post Grad Diploma in Management.  David has 24 years experience in underground and surface mining, quarrying and mineral processing through Holcim, Sibelco, BHP Billiton and MIM/Xstrata.  He is currently a Fellow & Deputy Chair of the QLD Committee of the Institute of Quarrying Australia.  David was recently appointed to the Extractive Industry Reference Committee,  tasked to advise the federal government on industry related training requirements and standards.  He is a team member of the BHP Billiton International Safety Excellence Award 2008.  During his career, David has had the unenviable experience of managing through a work place fatality and witnessing first hand the impacts that this has on families, colleagues and the wider community.

When considering safety, especially in operating mines, the reporting of incidents and the language used to describe them really matters.  Natural Language Processing can now be used to classify and detect new classifications of incidents and detect previously unseen combinations of hazards and behaviours, allowing for the development of meaningful and targeted safety intervention programs.