GHS Pictogram Quiz

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Clip from the NSC GHS pictogram game.

I’m continually surprised by how many workers in my class don’t know the GHS pictograms. Why is that an issue?

  1. They aren’t that difficult. There are only 9 (only 8 actually required by OSHA – the environmental one is optional) and many of them are familiar for decades.
  2. If they don’t know them your company is out of compliance. The deadline for the training was December 1, 2013, yes, 2013!
  3. Most importantly if they don’t understand the pictogram they probably don’t understand the hazard and don’t know how to safely handle the chemical. There are serious implications for their safety and the company’s bottom line.

National Safety Council has an interactive game to test their knowledge. You can have them play it online. You can see their score. Even though the program gets complimentary of any decent score, 100% is the only one that actually counts. You can refresh the page and do it over and over. Try it out here.

Reminder to Report Your Quarterly Mining Hours

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This is a friendly reminder to report your hours for January – March. If you don’t report them by today some inspector is bound to ask to see them and will issue you a fine. It’s easy to report them online… BUT WAIT! The MSHA site is down AGAIN for maintenance! It was down 5 days in February. Why can’t these guys keep the lights on. I have NEVER discovered any other site down for maintenance. I hope you don’t have to look up a number to report a serious accident or anything. If you do and they say you took too long to call or your quarterlies were filed late just show them this..

What I saw when I went to file my quarterly MSHA report.

2019 Fatality #5 / Coal #3

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On Thursday, March 7, 2019, a 38-year-old miner with 10 years of mining experience received fatal injuries while he was working on the pad of a highwall mining machine (HWM).  The miner was contacted in a pinch point between a post and a section of the HWM (i.e. push beam) that was being removed as part of the normal mining cycle.

Best Practices: 

  • Establish and discuss safe work procedures for removing push beams.  Identify and control all hazards and develop methods to protect miners.
  • Determine the proper working position to avoid pinch points.  Monitor personnel to ensure safe work procedures are followed.
  • Always follow the equipment manufacturer’s recommended maintenance procedures and discuss these procedures during training.
  • Train miners to recognize potential hazardous conditions and understand safe job procedures before beginning work. 

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

2019 Fatality #4 / MNM #2

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On March 7, 2019, a 46-year-contractor with three years of experience was fatally injured when he lost his balance and fell backwards through a narrow gap between two log washers and landed on a cable tray approximately 12 feet below.  The victim was changing drive belts on a log washer motor when his wrench slipped off of a bolt he was tightening, causing the loss of balance.

Best Practices: 

  • Always use fall protection equipment, safety belts and lines, when working at heights and near openings where there is a danger of falling.
  • Always be aware of your surroundings and any hazards that may be present.
  • Have properly designed handrails, guards, and covers securely in place at openings through which persons may fall.
  • Train personnel in safe work procedures regarding the use of handrails and fall protection equipment during maintenance and construction activities and ensure their use.
  • Conduct workplace examinations in order to identify and correct hazards prior to performing work.

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

MNM Fatality – March 6, 2019

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On March 6, 2019, a 35-year-old contractor with 35 weeks of experience was fatally injured when he was struck by a relief valve that was ejected from a 500-ton hydraulic jack.    The hydraulic jack was being engaged to make contact with the frame of a P&H 4100A shovel when the relief valve was ejected.

Best Practices: 

  • Inspect, examine, maintain, and evaluate all materials and system components used in the installation, replacement, or repair of pressurized systems to ensure they are suitable for use and meet minimum manufacturer’s specifications.
  • Test systems at lower pressures to verify connections and flow rates prior to full pressure use.
  • Position yourself in a safe location, away from any potential sources of failure, while pressurizing systems.   
  • Consult and follow the manufacturer’s recommended safe work procedures.
  • Establish and discuss safe work procedures that include hazard analysis before beginning work. Identify and control all hazards associated with the work to be performed and use methods to properly protect persons.

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

Coal Fatality – 1/14/19

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On Monday, January 14, 2019, a 56-year-old survey crew member with approximately 30 years of mining experience was fatally injured after he was struck by a loaded shuttle car. The victim was measuring the mining height in an entry that was part of the travelway used by the shuttle car to access the section feeder.
Best Practices:

  • Before performing work in an active haulage travelway, communicate your position and intended movements to mobile equipment operators and park mobile equipment until work has been completed.
  • Never assume mobile equipment operators can see you.  Always wear reflective clothing and permissible strobe lights to ensure high visibility when traveling or working where mobile equipment is operating.
  • Be aware of blind spots on mobile equipment when traveling in the same areas where mobile equipment operates.
  • Place visible warning and barrier devices at all entrances to areas prior to performing work in active travelways of mobile equipment.
  • Operate mobile equipment at safe speeds and sound audible warnings when visibility is obstructed, making turns, reversing direction, etc.  Ensure sound levels of audible warnings are significantly higher than ambient noise.
  • Ensure directional lights are on when equipment is being operated.  Maintain all lights provided on mobile equipment in proper working condition at all times.

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

Coal Fatality – 1/5/19

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On Saturday, January 5, 2019, a 55-year-old contract miner received fatal injuries when he was pinned between a pneumatically powered air lock equipment door and the concrete rib barrier located near the shaft bottom.
Best Practices:

  • Design and maintain ventilation controls, including airlock doors to provide air separation and permit travel between or within air courses or entries.
  • Ensure that airlock doors are designed and maintained to prevent simultaneous opening of both sets of doors.
  • Ensure miners are trained in the proper use of automatic doors and procedures to follow in the event the doors malfunction.
  • Provide means to override automatic airlock doors and allow manual operation in case of an emergency.
  • Keep the path of automatic doors clear of miners and equipment.
  • When changes in ventilation are made, test automatic doors to ensure they operate safely under the new conditions.
  • Perform thorough examinations of airlock doors to assure safe operating conditions.  When a hazardous condition is found, remove the doors from service until they are repaired.

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

MSHA Changing How it Counts

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Lost and Confused SignpostI rarely if ever have used this platform to express an opinon, preferring to have the site just report facts, but I have a fact to report that I definitely have an opinion on and so, here it is.

MSHA is changing how it counts fatalities. It’s seemingly part of what the Assistant Secretary said at TRAM last October about his desire to “Blur” the lines between Metal-Nonmetal and Coal. As a trainer who does his best to satisfy MSHA by providing relevent material it’s not only helpful but necessary to divide the two. The rules are different and miners most often are going into just one type of mine, not both.

The announcement appears on the MSHA web page that fatalities not be seperated and indeed fatalities number one and two occured in coal mines and three and four were in metal-nonmetal mines. Without a careful counting as the year goes on it will be difficult to compare to previous years or tell how the very different industries are doing. Other helpful training materials that MSHA has provided in the past to help us understand where we are even within the various industries of metal-nonmetal have disappeared. Secretary Zatezalo rightly said last October that as we approach zero fatalities we have to change our approach to continue to make advances, but blurring lines and failing to interpret and publish data isn’t a change in the right direction. If anything these changes will simply make it more difficult to understand where we are and if we don’t know that we certainly can’t tell where we’re going.

We will continue to seperate the industries here even in the title to fatalities, referencing them both by MSHA’s fatality number and numbering them by Metal Nonmetal and Coal. You can also select the Categories and click on tags on the right side of the page to further select industries. I started this page to assist in my own training material design. If there’s any way I can help in yours by interpreting data here let me know. MSHA doesn’t seem to be doing it much anymore.

-Randy