Something I’ve been aiming to do with the Full Production podcast and FACE, in general, provides resources for those in the mining industry — be it career planning, financial advice or mental health resources.
As far as mental health, we have a lot of ground to cover in our industry. With long work hours, strenuous conditions and fly-in-fly-out keeping our miners from seeing their families, working in mining can take its toll.
I’ve put together a few resources that could help miners get the help they need. It’s by no means exhaustive, but hopefully, it’ll get the ball rolling for those who need it.
Fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) workers are what make our industry successful. But it’s also an incredibly demanding lifestyle.
This website has blog posts complete with videos, tips and links about a wide variety of mental health topics. There is also Take 5 for Mental Health, an extensive online directory of mental health services.
It’s a great resource for FIFO workers who are struggling to acclimate to the lifestyle.
Resource Minds is a massive online effort from Rural and Remote Mental Health. They run training workshops for supervisors, managers, OH&S/HR personnel, shift bosses and front-line responders to get them up to speed on mental health in our industry.
There is also a suite of 13 Toolbox Talks, which are programs that include videos, presenters guides and promotional material that you can share with your workforce.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Visit their website to see the other resources they have, like instruction books and handouts for your employees.
Guidance from the Government of Western Australia
Leave it to the good ol’ government to come through with some great resources.
The government of WA has a host of resources on their website to educate our miners about things like fatigue management, working hours and other general mental health topics.
Free Apps to Help Miners Stay on Top of Mental Health
Technology has made it easier than ever to stay on top of our mental health issues. Take a look at this article from Australiasian Mine Safety Journal that features some free apps that are helpful for us in the industry.
Listen to my entire conversation with Barry here.
