On Monday, November 7, 2011, a 47 year old mine foreman, with approximately 26 years of mining experience, was killed when he was pinned between a battery-powered, rubber-tire personnel carrier and a coal rib. The personnel carrier had become stuck in reverse and the victim was positioned on his knees in front of the personnel carrier. When the operator placed the directional switch in forward, the personnel carrier traveled forward, striking the victim. A wooden crib block had fallen onto the control pedals and restricted their use.

Best Practices

• Never transport supplies or extraneous materials in a vehicle or on top of equipment that is not appropriate for the task.
• Never obstruct the vision of the equipment operator with the load.
• Do not operate a vehicle with debris, loose material, or trash in the operator’s compartment.
• Never position yourself in an area or location where equipment operators cannot readily see you.
• Be aware of your location in relation to movement of equipment, especially in lower coal seams.
• Train miners to use effective means of communication between themselves and equipment operators.
• When operating mobile equipment, ensure that other workers are in a safe area before moving the equipment.v
• Conduct Task Training for each type of personnel carrier or equipment being operated.
• For more information on preventing these types of accidents:
  http://www.msha.gov/Safety_Targets/UGEquipCoal/EquipOpUGCoal.asp

On Monday, July 11, 2011 a 26-year-old supply motor operator, with 6 years 1 month of mining experience, was killed while transporting materials using a diesel powered 15-ton locomotive. When the locomotive approached a low, steel, over-cast beam, the victim placed his head outside of the operator’s compartment and was struck by the steel beam and the locomotive’s canopy.

Best Practices

• Keep all body parts within the operator’s compartment while the equipment is in motion.
• Ensure that all track mounted equipment has adequate clearance throughout mine.
• Always look in the direction of equipment movement and exercise caution in low clearance work areas.
• Conduct proper workplace and travelway examinations to identify and mitigate the hazards presented by low clearances.
• Install warning signs that tell operators to reduce speed in low clearance areas.

On Thursday, January 27, 2011, a 19 year old underground miner with fifteen weeks of mining experience was killed when he became caught between the “V” shaped coal discharge guides adjacent to the discharge roller of the section conveyor belt. Both belt conveyors were operating at the time of the accident.

Best Practices

• Train all employees thoroughly on the dangers of working or traveling around moving conveyor belts.
• Never attempt to cross a moving belt conveyor, except at suitable cross-overs or cross-unders.
• Install proper belt cross-overs and/or cross-unders at strategic locations, when height allows.
• Be aware of locations where new miners are working or intend to travel.
• Provide belt conveyor stop and start controls at areas where miners must access both sides of the conveyor. These areas should be provided with adequate crossing facilities (e.g. cross-overs or cross-unders).
• Install adequate guarding at all conveyor belt pinch point locations.

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