On April 28, 2014, a 53-year-old miner with 32 years of experience was killed at an underground gold mine. The victim was drilling with a jackleg drill when his clothing became entangled in the drill steel of the machine.
Best Practices
- Ensure that persons are trained, including task-training, to understand the hazards associated with the work being performed.
- Establish and discuss safe work procedures before beginning work. Identify and control all hazards associated with the work to be performed and use methods to properly protect persons.
- Conduct work place examinations before beginning any work.
- Do not place yourself in a position that will expose you to hazards while performing a task.
- Stop the drill rotation when performing tasks near the rotating steel.
- Provide safe routing of hoses and cables so they are not close to the rotation of the drill.
- Do not assign a person to work alone in areas where hazardous conditions exist that would endanger his or her safety.
- Do not wear loose fitting clothing when working around drilling machinery.
- Keep work areas clean and free of tripping hazards.
Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), MSHA Investigation Report (pdf), Overview (powerpoint), Overview (pdf).