On March 12, 2021, a 63 year old mine manager with 43 years mining experience and 7 years at the task* was fatally injured while attempting to insert a steel pin into a spud beam at a sand & gravel mine with 5 employees*.
Best Practices:
- Always assure hoisted equipment movement has stopped and the hoist operator has set the brake before working on hoisted equipment.
- Assure the hoist operator can see miners working on hoisted equipment.
- Establish an effective communication protocol, which includes confirmation of instructions, between the hoist operator and miners working on hoisted equipment.
- Position yourself in a safe location to maintain balance and protection from any energy of cantilevering tools or objects.
- Stay in a Safe Zone when working around cables and sheave wheel systems.
- Always maintain a work area that is clean and clear of debris.
- Train equipment operators in the safe performance of their tasks and potential hazards.
Additional Information:
This is the seventh fatality reported in 2021, and the first classified as “Handling Material.” (*details added by safeminers.com from MSHA data.)
Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).