In 2020, the contingency led the Operational Health and Safety Training Center to become the Division's largest antigen testing center. Four years later, the CESSO returns renovated and with new features to contribute to El Teniente's safety culture with innovation and technology.

Between January and June this year, 41 courses were organised in the refurbished facilities, with 32,442 participants.

“Online training was useful while we were in the pandemic, but there are practical topics whose in-person training is much more efficient. That is why we have been moving forward in migrating so that the CESSO is once again the main training focus of the Division,” said the manager of Occupational Health and Safety at El Teniente, Maximiliano González.

Preventive culture

“The priority is to strengthen the preventive culture and develop, through training, the best technical capabilities of workers to prevent the occurrence of high-potential incidents (HPI), serious and fatal accidents, occupational diseases, damage to assets and allow operational continuity,” added the executive.

The mining company's objective is to advance knowledge, learning and preparation through first-class training using cutting-edge technology, which are essential for dealing with emergencies associated with Critical Risks and making safe decisions in the field.

“Technology is an excellent way to train ourselves because it brings us closer to the reality we are living today. We have to be at the forefront and align ourselves with innovation. Safety requires constant training because safety is the law and must always be complied with,” said Luis Vásquez, metal car master number 2.

Field training

Bringing training to work areas with a high standard of technology is one of the qualities that could be enabled by the new truck with which the Occupational Health and Safety Department is evaluating to strengthen the training of workers.

The vehicle, which has four-wheel drive, allowing it to access even the underground mine, has capacity for 12 workers and also has a satellite internet connection antenna, an electric generator, fire extinguishers and an interactive screen where all the virtual reality tools can be used.

The machine enables occupational health and safety training activities to be carried out in any area of El Teniente and linked to current courses that are associated with critical risks.

Victor Medel, electrical maintenance technician at Crushing Primary, highlighted the use of technology in training activities. “I am not a technology expert, but I found the virtual reality tools we learned about during the training to be very novel and interesting. Anything that contributes to safety is welcome, because safety must always come first.”