Author: renewcomer

Confined Space Safety Alert

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Between 2017 and 2020, three miners were fatally injured after entering confined spaces to clear material and obstructions. These confined spaces included a sand and gravel bin, a sand-filled hopper, and a cone crusher. All three miners were engulfed by falling material.

Best Practices: 

  • Operators should identify and eliminate or control all hazards before miners begin work and when clearing blocked material. Miners should be trained in these practices.
  • Lock-out, tag-out. Never enter a confined space until the supply and discharge equipment is locked out.
  • Never lock-out using the start and stop controls. These do not disconnect power conductors.
  • Assign a safety harness and lanyard to each miner who may work at material supply and discharge areas or any areas where an engulfment hazard exists. Do not use lanyards that depend on free-fall speed to lock.
  • Place warning signs:
    • “Fall Protection Required Here”
    • “Confined Space – Engulfment Hazard” warning signs at all access points to hoppers, bins, and chutes.

Click here for: MSHA Confined Space Safety Alert (pdf); Safeminers EZ Compliance Helper: MSHA on Confined Spaces (pdf).

October is National Protect Your Hearing Month

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There is no cure for hearing loss! The good news? You can prevent noise-induced hearing loss by protecting your hearing. Avoid loud noise whenever possible and turn down the volume on personal listening devices. If you can’t avoid loud noise, use earplugs or noise-cancelling earmuffs to protect your ears. – CDC

Get more materials from the CDC for Protect Your Hearing Month HERE!

September Fatality Updates

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Final Reports posted:

  • 7/9/20 MNM – Sand & Gravel – Electrical (updated 9/17/20)
  • 6/19/20 MNM – Limestone – Falling, Sliding Material (updated 9/18/20)

Fatalities awaiting Fatality Alert to be posted:

  • None

Fatalities awaiting Final Report to be posted:

MNM Fatality – 9/16/20

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On September 16, 2020 (at a New Jersey mine with 9 miners and 3 contractors on site*), a truck driver (37 years old with 20 years experience*) attempted to adjust the brakes on his tri-axle truck while the engine was running, the automatic transmission was in drive and the parking brake was not set. The truck moved forward and fatally injured the victim.

Best Practices: 

  • Before exiting, place the transmission in park, set the parking brake, turn off the engine and activate the hazard warning lights.
  • Block equipment against motion and place high visibility cones or other flagging or signage to caution oncoming traffic before working on equipment.
  • Maintain equipment braking systems and repair and adjustment as necessary.
  • Conduct pre-operational examinations using qualified personnel to identify and repair defects that may affect the safe operation of equipment before it is placed into service.
  • Train miners on site-specific hazards.

Additional Information: 

This is the 17th fatality reported in 2020, and the third classified as “Powered Haulage.” (Italicized details added by safeminers.com)

Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).

MNM Fatality – 8/26/20

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On August 26, 2020, two miners were preparing a mobile track mounted jaw crusher for shipping off-site (at a Washington mine with 2 employees*). The crusher was missing the upper wrist pin from the hydraulic cylinder that raises and lowers the right hopper extension. The right hopper extension was secured in place by wedges. The victim was removing wedges, and when a wedge was removed, the extension fell, crushing the victim (a 52 year-old crusher foreman with 23 years and 4 weeks experience*).

Best Practices: 

  • Block equipment against hazardous motion before dismantling equipment.
  • Follow manufacturers’ recommendations when dismantling equipment.
  • Conduct adequate workplace examinations and correct any defects affecting safety before dismantling equipment.
  • Establish and discuss safe work procedures before beginning work.
  • Stay clear of suspended loads and raised equipment.
  • Position yourself in a safe location and away from potential “red-zone” areas.
  • Use ladders or other means of safe access to perform maintenance.
  • Train miners to recognize potential hazardous conditions and understand safe job procedures.

Additional Information: 

This is the 14th fatality reported in 2020, and the fourth classified as “Machinery.” *(Italicized details added by safeminers.com)

Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).

MNM Fatality – 5/21/20

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On May 21, 2020, two miners were working to hoist an electric motor from its base by anchoring a hoist to an overhead, unsecured steel pipe (at Missouri underground limestone mine with 51 employees*). The steel pipe slid out of place and struck one of the miners (60 year-old plant maintenance worker with 27 years and 9 weeks total mining experience*) in the head and back. The miner died on May 23, 2020, due to complications from his injuries.

Best Practices: 

  • Ensure load anchor locations are stable, substantial and adequate to support the load.
  • Establish and discuss safe work procedures before beginning work and ensure those procedures are followed.
  • Identify and control all hazards associated with the work to be performed and the methods to properly protect persons.
  • Follow the manufacturer’s recommended safe work procedures for the maintenance task.
  • Examine work areas for hazards that may be created as a result of the work being performed.
  • Position yourself in areas where you will not be exposed to hazards resulting from a sudden release of energy. Be aware of your location in relation to machine parts that can move.

Additional Information: 

This is the first fatality in 2020 classified as “Hand Tools.” *(Italicized details added by safeminers.com)

Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).

MNM Fatality – 9/1/20

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On September 1, 2020, a miner (53 year-old plant helper in Texas with 2 years and 8 weeks of experience*) died when he fell while attempting to close a hatch on the top of a bulk material trailer (at an industrial sand plant with 20 employees). The miner was wearing a fall protection harness but his lanyard was not attached to a secure anchorage.

Best Practices: 

  • Encourage the use of automated hatches on tanks and trailers.
  • Provide and ensure the use of an effective fall arrest and secure anchorage system.
  • Provide safe access to all work areas and ensure truck and trailer access and work platforms are properly designed, maintained, and used.
  • Examine work areas and equipment. Don’t use unsafe work areas and equipment until repairs are made.
  • Refresh miner training on safe work procedures after returning from periods of shutdown, and routinely monitor work habits.

Additional Information: 

This is the 15th fatality reported in 2020, and the fourth classified as “Slip or Fall of Person.” *(Italicized details added by safeminers.com)

Click here for Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).

National Safety Stand Down

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Join the Annual OSHA Stand Down for Falls in the Workplace this week. “Fatalities caused by falls from elevation continue to be a leading cause of death for construction employees, accounting for 320 of the 1,008 construction fatalities recorded in 2018 (BLS data). Those deaths were preventable. The National Safety Stand-Down raises fall hazard awareness across the country in an effort to stop fall fatalities and injuries.” [OSHA]

Get training materials and videos at OSHA’s site here.

TRAM Virtual Summit

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If you’ve never had the opportunity to travel to West Virginia for a Training Resources Applied to Mining (TRAM) conference the pandemic may be making it easier, not harder to finally attend. The meeting will be virtual on October 14 & 15. No travel involved!

Stay tuned! We’re anxious to see if there will be any virtual social exchanges as well, and if not, Safe Miners and Complete Safety Solutions will be providing some. You can let us know you’re interested by completing a short form here.

Register with MSHA below.”See you there!”

Register with MSHA here.

MNM Fatality – 8/18/20

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On August 18, 2020, a miner (21 year-old laborer in California with one year and twelve weeks of experience*) was killed while attempting to clear a material blockage (at a sand and gravel mine with 20 employees*). The miner entered the cone crusher to begin work when the material shifted and engulfed him.  He was extracted from the crusher and taken to a hospital, where he died the next day.

Best Practices: 

  • Properly design chutes and crushers to prevent blockages. Install a heavy screen (grizzly) to control the size of material and prevent clogging.
  • Equip chutes with mechanical devices such as vibrating shakers or air cannons to loosen blockages, or provide other effective means of handling material, so miners are not exposed to entrapment hazards by falling or sliding material.
  • Establish and discuss policies and procedures for safely clearing crushers.
  • Train miners to recognize and safely remove all potential hazards before beginning work and when clearing blocked crushers.

Additional Information: 

This is the 13th fatality reported in 2020, and the second classified as “Fall of Material.”  – * (Italicized details added by safeminers.com)

Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).