Queensland Mines Inspectorate | Bulletin | No.215 V 1 | 15 September 2023

Counterfeit items

What happened?

The Mines Inspectorate has been made aware of allegedly counterfeit, potentially dangerous, heavy-duty bearings and components that may be installed in equipment and plant at a Queensland mine.

Installation of counterfeit components or components with unknown technical design and manufacturing specifications could pose a risk to plant and mine worker safety should they fail prematurely or catastrophically.

How did it happen?

An organisation contracted to install bearings and components at a mine contacted a reputable bearing manufacturer. The supplied bearings were inspected by the bearing manufacturer’s expert, who determined that the products were counterfeit, i.e., not produced by the company, and illegally marked by the company’s trademark.

Key issues

• The reputable bearing manufacturer cannot confirm the technical and manufacturing specifications of the supplied counterfeit bearings.
• Counterfeit products could pose a risk to plant and mine worker safety should they fail prematurely or catastrophically.
• Mines safety & health legislation imposes obligations on coal mine operators, site senior executives, designers, manufacturers, importers and suppliers of plant, erectors and contractors, service providers etc. amongst others to ensure the risk to persons from the use of the plant is at an acceptable level.

Recommendations

All obligation holders should:

• Review their obligations imposed by safety & health legislation and make sure procedures and processes are in place to ensure plant supplied is at an acceptable level of risk. This includes reviewing the adequacy of:
  • technical specifications for procured items and replacement parts,
  • procurement processes for goods and services,
  • quality assurances process to make sure only goods of an acceptable standard are supplied.