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A prerequisite to reduction in the number of roof/side fall occurrences-a stated goal of DGMS for enhancing workmen safety in underground coal mines-is risk identification through application of appropriate assessment techniques. This article presents the outcome of a study undertaken to identify, analyse and evaluate the roof/side fall risks. WRAC and Risk Matrix tools have been used to provide a qualitative measure of the risk magnitude. Outcomes of a case study performed in an Indian underground coal mine are presented in the present work. It could be inferred that hazard severity increased because of the existence of ''geological disturbances and weak roof and sides''. Operational lacunae, such as non-determination of RMR, non-framing of SSR, and non-availability of support material, enhance roof/side fall risks.

Management of large projects, especially the ones in which a major component of R&D is involved and those requiring knowledge from diverse specialised and sophisticated fields, may be classified as semi-structured problems. In these problems, there is some knowledge about the nature of the work involved, but there are also uncertainties associated with emerging technologies. In order to draw up a plan and schedule of activities of such a large and complex project, the project manager is faced with a host of complex decisions that he has to take, such as, when to start an activity, for how long the activity is likely to continue, etc. An Intelligent Decision Support System (IDSS) which aids the manager in decision making and drawing up a feasible schedule of activities while taking into consideration the constraints of resources and time, will have a considerable impact on the efficient management of the project. This report discusses the design of an IDSS that helps in project planning phase through the scheduling phase. The IDSS uses a new project scheduling tool, the Project Influence Graph (PIG).