Machinery

Fatality #4 for Metal/Nonmetal Mining 2015

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m04On January 26, 2015, a 57-year old heavy equipment operator with 36 years of experience was seriously injured at a phosphate mine.  He was operating an excavator near a water filled ditch when the excavator tipped forward and went in the water, submerging the cab.  The victim was removed from the cab and transported to a hospital where he died later that day.

Best Practices

  • Task train all persons to recognize all potential hazardous conditions and safe job procedures to identify and eliminate all hazards before beginning work, specifically the limited visibility of large equipment.
  • Discuss safe work procedures before beginning work.  Identify and control all hazards associated with the work to be performed and the methods to properly protect miners.
  • Provide traffic patterns and roads that minimize the danger of machines traveling near bodies of water.
  • Conduct examinations of travelways to evaluate hazards.
  • Install barriers, markers, or other warning devices to aid equipment operators where travelways are not recognizable or hazards are not apparent.  Limit travel of mobile equipment and inform mobile equipment operators of hazards.
  • Do not travel into areas where ground conditions can’t be verified.  If necessary, use the bucket of the machine to probe the travel/work area to check the ground conditions.

Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), MSHA Investigation Report (pdf), Overview (powerpoint), Overview (pdf).

Fatality #10 for Coal Mining 2014

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c14aOn Monday, September 15, 2014, a 53-year old bulldozer operator, with 28 years of experience, sustained fatal injuries when the bulldozer he was operating went over the edge of an approximately 50-foot highwall. The victim was preparing a bench for drilling when the accident occurred.
Best Practices

  • Be familiar with the work environment. Before beginning work, walk around and check the area. Plan the safest way to move the material and maneuver the equipment.
  • Train all employees adequately on the equipment they operate, safe work   procedures, hazard recognition, and hazard avoidance.
  • Be attentive to changes in ground conditions and visibility. Watch for surface cracks and loose material.
  • Keep the dozer blade between you and the edge when operating close to drop offs.  Dump loads short of the highwall edge and push one load into another to maintain a safe distance from the edge.
  • Maintain all equipment window glass clean and in good repair.
  • Maintain a safe distance from the edge of the highwall.  Use a spotter or other technology to assist equipment operators when working near highwalls.
  • Perform additional checks during the work shift to ensure ground conditions have not changed when the edge of a slope cannot be seen from the operator’s position
  • Ensure that personnel operating mobile equipment always wear a seat belt.
  • Monitor work activities to assure safe work procedures are followed.

Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf)

Fatality #7 for Coal Mining 2014

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ftl2014c07On Wednesday, June 4, 2014, a 25-year-old contract equipment operator with 24 weeks of experience was killed when he was crushed between the hood and frame of an impact crusher.  The victim had just finished clearing a large rock from the crusher area when the accident occurred.

Best Practices
  • Establish policies and procedures for safely clearing plugged material in a feeder hopper or crusher.
  • Consult and follow the manufacturer’s recommended safe work procedures for conducting the task.
  • Ensure that persons are task trained and understand the hazards associated with the work being performed.
  • De-energize and lock-out/tag-out all power sources before working on equipment.
  • Ensure moving parts on machinery are blocked against motion before beginning maintenance or repairs.
  • Ensure that blocking material is competent, substantial, and adequate to support and stabilize the load.
  • Maintain equipment in safe working condition.  Ensure safety devices are working properly.
  • Do not place yourself in a position that will expose you to hazards.
  • Monitor all personnel, with an emphasis on miners new to a task, routinely to determine that safe work procedures are followed.

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

Fatality #6 for Coal Mining 2014

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ftl2014c06On Wednesday, May 14, 2014, a 25-year-old roof bolter operator with 1 year and 44 weeks mining experience was killed when he was pinned between a roof-bolting machine and the coal rib. The victim and another roof bolter operator were in the process of tramming the roof-bolting machine in the outby direction in the No. 3 entry on the No. 1 Longwall Tailgate. They had trammed the roof bolting machine from the 151 crosscut to approximately the 89 ½ crosscut when the accident occurred. The victim was found on the left side of the roof-bolting machine between the machine and the coal rib.

Best Practices
  • Ensure everyone, including the equipment operator, is outside the machine-turning radius before starting or moving equipment.
  • Walk behind moving mobile equipment when traveling in the same entry and maintain a safe distance between yourself and any equipment that is moving.
  • Never position yourself in an area or location where equipment operators cannot readily see you.
  • Develop policies and procedures for starting and tramming self-propelled equipment.  Train all miners that would be exposed to the hazards.
  • When moving self-propelled machines where the left and right traction drives are operated independently, low tram speed should be used.
  • Never defeat any of the machine controls.  Ensure that all operating devices function as designed.
  • Install and maintain proximity detection systems to protect personnel and eliminate accidents of this type. See the proximity detection single source page on the MSHA website.

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

Fatality #10 for Metal/Nonmetal Mining 2014

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ftl2014m10
On April 28, 2014, a 53-year-old miner with 32 years of experience was killed at an underground gold mine. The victim was drilling with a jackleg drill when his clothing became entangled in the drill steel of the machine.
Best Practices

  • Ensure that persons are trained, including task-training, to understand the hazards associated with the work being performed.
  • Establish and discuss safe work procedures before beginning work. Identify and control all hazards associated with the work to be performed and use methods to properly protect persons.
  • Conduct work place examinations before beginning any work.
  • Do not place yourself in a position that will expose you to hazards while performing a task.
  • Stop the drill rotation when performing tasks near the rotating steel.
  • Provide safe routing of hoses and cables so they are not close to the rotation of the drill.
  • Do not assign a person to work alone in areas where hazardous conditions exist that would endanger his or her safety.
  • Do not wear loose fitting clothing when working around drilling machinery.
  • Keep work areas clean and free of tripping hazards.

Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), MSHA Investigation Report (pdf), Overview (powerpoint), Overview (pdf).

Fatality #9 for Metal/Nonmetal Mining 2014

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ftl2014m09On February 27, 2014, a 27-year-old contract mechanic with 2 years of experience was injured at an underground limestone mine.  The victim was repairing a hydraulic pump on a scaler when fell from an attached walkway approximately five feet to the ground.  He was airlifted to a hospital where he died the next day.

Best Practices

  • Ensure that persons are trained, including task-training, to understand the hazards associated with the work being performed.
  • Establish and discuss safe work procedures before beginning work. Identify and control all hazards associated with the work to be performed and use methods to properly protect persons.
  • Conduct work place examinations before beginning any work.
  • Do not place yourself in a position that will expose you to hazards while performing a task.
  • Ensure effective gates, safety chains, or railings are used and properly maintained where openings may exist that could pose a hazard.

Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), MSHA Investigation Report (pdf), Overview (powerpoint), Overview (pdf).

Fatality #8 for Metal/Nonmetal Mining 2014

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ftl2014m08On April 24, 2014, a 50-year-old contract dozer operator with 23 years of experience was killed at a fire clay mine.  He had been operating a dozer pushing clay in the pit and was found lying five feet behind the dozer.

Best Practices

  • Ensure that persons are trained, including task-training, to understand the hazards associated with the work being performed.
  • Establish and discuss safe work procedures before beginning work. Identify and control all hazards associated with the work to be performed and use methods to properly protect persons.
  • Do not place yourself in a position that will expose you to hazards while performing a task.
  • Maintain control of mobile equipment while it is in motion.
  • Set the parking brake and lower the bull dozer blade to the ground before dismounting equipment.
  • Never jump from mobile equipment.
  • Always wear a seat belt when operating mobile equipment.
  • Monitor persons routinely to determine safe work procedures are followed.

Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), MSHA Investigation Report (pdf), Overview (powerpoint), Overview (pdf).

Fatality #7 for Metal/Nonmetal Mining 2014

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ftl2014m07On April 17, 2014, a 58-year-old truck driver with 3½ years of experience was killed at a sand and gravel mine. An excavator was loading material in a haul truck parked at the pit. When the victim exited the truck, he was struck by the excavator bucket and pinned against the truck.

Best Practices

  • Establish and discuss safe work procedures before beginning work. Identify and control all hazards associated with the work to be performed and use methods to properly protect persons.
  • Task train all persons to recognize all potential hazardous conditions and to understand safe job procedures for elimination of the hazards before beginning work.
  • Ensure that haul truck operators remain in their trucks when being loaded.
  • Communicate with mobile equipment operators and ensure they acknowledge your presence.  Stay in the line of sight with mobile equipment operators.
  • Ensure that you make eye contact with mobile equipment operators before approaching their work areas.  Never assume the equipment operator sees you.
  • Never place yourself in a location where equipment operators can’t see you.
  • Before operating equipment, always ensure other miners are clear and safely  positioned.
  • Monitor persons routinely to determine safe work procedures are followed.

Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), MSHA Investigation Report (pdf), Overview (powerpoint), Overview (pdf).

Fatality #3 for Coal Mining 2014

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ftl2014c03On Tuesday, March 25, 2014, at approximately 1:45 a.m., a 41-year-old mechanic trainee with 23 weeks of mining experience was killed while working on a belt feeder. The victim was cutting through the inner left side plate of the crawler assembly that connects the hopper jack assemblies to the crawler frame. When the cut was completed, the crawler assembly pivoted upward, pinning the victim between the crawler track and the frame of the feeder.

Best Practices
  • Ensure that all stored energy is released or controlled before initiating repairs.
  • Securely block equipment against all hazardous motion at all times while performing maintenance work. Take extra precautions if it is possible for the equipment to move in multiple directions.
  • Always be aware of your location in relation to machine parts that can move.  Examine work areas for hazards that may be created as a result of the work being performed.
  • Establish and discuss safe work procedures before beginning work.  Identify and control all hazards associated with the work to be performed to ensure miners are protected.
  • Study the manufacturer’s maintenance manual for safety precautions and recommended blocking securing procedures BEFORE initiating repairs.
  • If specified, always use the manufacturer’s safety device(s) or features for securing components against motion.
  • See additional information on blocking against motion here.

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

Fatality #2 for Coal Mining 2014

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ftl2014c02On Friday, February 21, 2014, a 24-year-old continuous mining machine operator with 5½ years of mining experience was killed when he was pinned between the end of the boom of a continuous mining machine and the right coal rib. The miner was tramming the remote controlled continuous mining machine in the last open crosscut toward the Number 1 entry.

Best Practices
  • Install and maintain proximity detection systems to protect personnel and eliminate accidents of this type. See the proximity detection single source page on the MSHA website.
  • Ensure everyone, including the equipment operator, is outside the machine turning radius before starting or moving equipment.
  • Develop policies and procedures for starting and tramming self-propelled equipment and especially remote controlled continuous mining machines. Implement measures to assure their use which includes training all miners that are exposed to the hazards.
  • Avoid the “RED ZONE” areas when operating or working near a continuous mining machine especially when setting over or place changing a remote controlled continuous mining machine.
  • When moving continuous mining machines where the left and right traction drives are operated independently, use the low tram speed.
  • Assign another miner to assist the continuous mining machine operator when it is being moved or repositioned.
  • Frequently review, retrain, and discuss avoiding the “RED ZONE” areas.

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