Author: renewcomer
Now We Can Chat!
SafeMiners.com now provides a live chat feature! Click on the lower right of your screen and say hi! I will keep some regular hours but you can also catch me by chance. If it says I’m online I can answer. If it says I’m offline you can still click on it and send me a message. I’ll get back to you as soon as I’m finished mowing the lawn or whatever else is keeping me from being available. The new Office Hours page will show you when I expect to be around along with other training and event dates and links.
MSHA Training both from Complete Safety Solutions and Eduwhere will also appear on the calendar with links to more information and registration.
May Fatality Updates
Final Reports posted:
- 10/18/19 / Coal – Fall of Face, Rib, Pillar or Highwall (updated 5/7/20)
- 2/27/20 Coal – Powered Haulage (updated 5/12/20)
Fatalities awaiting Fatality Alert to be posted:
- 6/1/20 MNM #8 Desert Aggregates, Goodyear, AZ – Slip or Fall of Person
Fatalities awaiting Final Report to be posted:
- 8/27/19 MNM Sandstone – Other Hazard
- 2/10/20 Coal – Powered Haulage
- 2/29/20 MNM – Sand & Gravel – Machinery
- 5/2/20 MNM – Sand & Gravel – Handling Material
June is National Safety Month
Now, more than ever, safety is crucial both inside and outside the workplace, which is why the National Safety Council will still be recognizing National Safety Month® in June. Observed annually by NSC, the nation’s leading nonprofit safety advocate, National Safety Month focuses on saving lives and preventing injuries, from the workplace to anyplace. – National Safety Council.
Check out free materials for non-members or join and get more here.
Or take the pledge to do your part here.
MSHA Initiative: Seat Belts
One of the easiest things an equipment operator can do to stay safe is to fasten his or her seat belt. Wearing a seat belt protects against injury in the event of a serious accident. It can also help the operator maintain control during sudden extreme movement. Nevertheless, we continue to see serious injuries and fatalities resulting from lack of seat belt usage. MSHA engineers estimate that 3-4 miners’ lives could be saved each year if seat belts were used universally. MSHA regulations require the use of seat belts in most equipment and circumstances. Seat belt design is evolving in terms of operator comfort and responsiveness. For example, some will tighten when equipment reaches a critical tilt point. There are also a growing number of tools available to ensure that seat belts are used by operators and visible to supervisors. These range from standard reminder chimes to cab-top lights that change color when the seat belt is buckled. What’s important is that functioning seat belts are made available and are used by all equipment operators at all times. – MSHA
Going Back to Work???
OSHA has been working on ways before the pandemic to get the Whistleblower Protection Program out to workers who don’t understand they have this important freedom. It’s even more critical now. Click on the image above for more or click HERE to see the MSHA version. Note that protecting one another’s health is the same as protection from other hazards.
There’s also good information on the Department of Labor site explaining what to do in just about any workplace to protect all involved from Corona virus here.
MNM Fatality – 5/2/20
On May 2, 2020, a miner entered a dredged sand and gravel bin through a lower access hatch to clear an obstruction. The miner was clearing the blockage with a bar when the material inside the bin fell and engulfed him.
Best Practices:
- Lock-out, tag-out. Never enter a bin until the supply and discharge equipment is locked out.
- Train miners to recognize and safely remove all potential hazards before beginning work and when clearing blocked hoppers.
- Equip bins 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.
- Follow manufacturer recommendations for clearing out blockages.
- Establish and discuss policies and procedures for safely clearing bins.
- Install a heavy screen (grizzly) to control the size of the material and prevent clogging.
Additional Information:
This is the 7th fatality reported in 2020, and the second classified as “Handling Material.”
Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).
Recent Fatality Updates
Final Report added to 1/8/20 / MNM – Slip or Fall of Person (updated 3/23/20)
Final Report added to 7/30/19 / MNM – Powered Haulage (updated 3/30/20)
Final Report added to 7/15/19 / MNM – Slip or Fall of Person (updated 3/31/20)
Final Report added to 1/23/20 / MNM – Slip or Fall of Person (updated 4/20/20)
Final Report added to 12/23/19 / Coal – Machinery (updated 4/24/20)
Final Report added to 2/29/20 / MNM – Handling Materials (updated 4/30/20)
Fatalities awaiting Fatality Alert to be posted:
- 5/2/20 MNM #5 Enon Sand &Gravel, Clark, Ohio – Handling Material
Fatalities awaiting Final Report to be posted:
- 8/27/19 MNM Sandstone – Other Hazard
- 10/18/19 Coal – Fall of Face, Rib, Pillar, or Highwall
- 2/10/20 Coal – Powered Haulage
- 2/27/20 Coal – Powered Haulage
- 2/29/20 MNM – Sand & Gravel – Machinery
National Safety Council Extends FA/CPR Expirations & Offers Online Training
Training has been difficult or impossible due to restrictions placed on areas due to the Corona Virus pandemic. Because of that the National Safety Council has stated that companies have the option to extend the expiration date on First Aid and CPR certificates for 120 days. The policy will be re-examined on May 31.
Meanwhile the largest portion of training can be completed online. Skills testing will be required in addition to the online portion but NSC has also extended the deadline for completing that portion to within 90 days of doing the online portion. Complete Safety Solutions and other NSC Certified Trainers conduct the skills testing portion for an additional fee. Be sure to check out the availability with one before taking the online portion.
Coal Fatality – 10/18/19
A miner was repairing a personnel carrier while standing between a rib and the carrier. A section of the adjacent rib corner, weighing approximately 1,250 pounds, fell on the miner causing severe injuries. The miner died 16 days later.
Best Practices:
- Make roof control plans that contain safety requirements. Rib support may be necessary when the mining height increases, when rock partings are present in the rib, or when encountering deeper cover.
- Mine operators must control roof and rib conditions. Plans should include provisions requiring that mine operators recognize adverse or changing roof and rib conditions.
- Be aware of potential hazards when working or traveling near mine ribs, especially when geologic conditions could cause rib hazards.
- Pay attention to deteriorating roof and rib conditions when working in, or traveling through, older areas of mines.
- Avoid areas of close clearance between ribs and equipment.
- Train all miners to conduct thorough examinations of the roof, face and ribs where miners will be working and traveling.
- Conduct frequent examinations in areas where mine conditions change.
- Correct all hazardous conditions before allowing miners to work or travel near them.
- Adequately support loose ribs or scale loose rib material from a safe location using a bar of suitable length and design.
- Install rib bolts on cycle, with adequate surface coverage, and in a consistent pattern.
This is the 26th fatality reported in 2019, and the third fatality classified as “Fall of Face, Rib, Pillar or Highwall.”
Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).