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Dragline Moves No's 3 and 4: Beckville mine to Liberty mine — twin D-32 and D- 33 draglines — August 2014 The Liberty mine, near Henderson in east Texas, is Luminant's newest operational addition. The 4,000-acre mining site began production in September 2014. Its pres- ence is a large part of the company's future, according to officials, especially as the Beckville mine nears the end of its mine life. "The state's energy consumption con- tinues to grow along with the economy, and Luminant's new Liberty mine is there to help not only by producing more lignite for powering Texas, but also creating jobs and a positive economic impact for [the region]," Gadt said of the Rusk County l i g n i t e m i n i n g c o n t i n u e d 26 www.coalage.com November 2015 Luminant's Human Factor Company-wide safety programs are commonplace in today's mining community, and the typically lofty goals respective operations set for themselves have varying levels of success. Luminant took the idea of a safety strategy and brought it full-circle with its comprehen- sive Human Performance Initiative (HPI) that is literally moving its people into an even safer future. Dubbed HPI and rolled out across all of Luminant's operations in 2010 with the ultimate goal of achiev- ing error-free performance, the plan is a different approach to work, according to Big Brown mine director and HPI mining fleet sponsor Don Johnson. "HPI…helps to ensure each of us has the proper tools, materials, instructions, and procedures to com- plete our work and prevent situations where mistakes could be made," he said. "When used properly, it will help make us better at everything we do. We're about learning, growing and continuously improving and HPI is a significant part of that effort." The program's tools include the phonetic alphabet, pre-job and post-job briefs, three-way communica- tion, self-checking, and procedure use and adher- ence. All work together to help prevent operational scenarios where errors could be made while also adding clarity to verbal communications and strengthening working environments. "HPI tools are essential components of Luminant employees' dedication to safety, continuous improve- ment and reliable operation," Johnson noted. Its mission is quite straightforward for what, on the surface, seems like a complex endeavor. Designed based on materials from the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) and the Department of Energy (DOE), the principles of HPI include: • People come to work to do a good job. • People are fallible and even the best make mistakes. • Error-likely situations are predictable, manageable and preventable. • Individual behavior is influenced by organizational processes and values. • People achieve high levels of performance based largely on the encouragement and reinforcement received from leaders, peers and subordinates. • Events may be avoided by understanding why mis- takes occur and the application of the lessons learned from past events. One of the key principles of HPI focuses on recogniz- ing positive behaviors and encouraging in-field coach- ing. HPI also encourages contractors to strive for error reductions. With the ultimate goal of zero recordable injuries across Luminant's fleet, HPI helps employees engage in continuous learning and reduce human error. The fruits of these efforts are evident, according to Johnson. "[Our] near-miss reporting has increased signifi- cantly over the past five years," Johnson said. Over the long term, the company's expected bene- fits from HPI's excellent human performance include a reduction of the number and consequences of errors across the organization, both in the systems and at the individual level and a near elimination of significant events. Additionally, it is projecting increased involvement by employees in the organization to achieve its goals, improvement of core and supporting processes in the organization, attention to issues at a lower level before they become significant issues; an improve- ment in quality and safety a reduction in total operat- ing costs; and an increased trust by the organization's stakeholders. Workers at the company's Thermo mine review their Human Performance Improvement tools. HPI was designed as a comprehensive safety initiative for continuous improvement and safety excellence across all of its facili- ties. With disassembly and reassembly often taking many months, sometimes much longer, the producer and utility was pleased to wrap up each dragline move in a matter of weeks with no teardowns.