On May 18, 2019, a 34-year-old plant operator with 8 years of experience received fatal injuries when he was ejected from a man lift basket. The victim was tramming while elevated at 28 feet. The miner was wearing a fall protection harness with a retractable lanyard but it was not secured/tied off to the man lift basket.
Best Practices:
- Always stay connected/tie off. Always attach the lanyard of the approved fall protection device to the designated attachment point.
- Use boom functions instead of tram functions to position the platform close to obstacles.
- Ensure that persons are properly task trained regarding safe operating procedures before allowing them to operate mobile equipment.
- Do not place yourself in a position that will expose you to hazards while performing a task.
- Ensure that access gates or openings are closed.
Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).