Pit & Quarry, December 2016

BY MICHAEL T HEENAN AND MARGO LOPEZ MSHA THE LAW FEWER FATALITIES OR MORE T he Mine Safety Health Administration MSHA announced that the 2016 fiscal year ending Sept 30 had the lowest fatality incidence ever recorded for the more than 13000 operating U S metal nonmetal and coal mines This historic low includes nearly seven months with only three fatalities at metal nonmetal mines That is extraordinary Can the accomplishment be improved MSHA relies on enforcement to drive down fatalities but may have more success with education and outreach aimed at helping management be more informed on causes and prevention MSHA reports all accidents and seeks to identify root causes and best practices for prevention MSHA also publishes near miss alerts FATALITIES IN FISCAL YEAR 2016 Here are some of the fatal accidents that occurred at surface metal nonmetal mines in 2016 Most involve issues with mobile equipment safety At a sand operation a haul truck driver backed over a dump site and died after the truck fell 60 ft At a stone quarry a haul truck operator positioning to dump over a highwall died when the truck rolled over the edge and fell 90 ft At a granite mine a long experienced haul truck driver was fatally injured when his truck went over a berm and fell 150 ft from a highwall edge A dozer operator working on a haul road leading to a pit was fatally injured when he either fell or stepped on the left side dozer track as the machine moved backward down a slope A haul truck operator and an excavator operator were fatally engulfed when an adjacent waste material embankment failed An excavator operator loading shot rock into haul trucks at a limestone quarry was killed by material falling from a highwall onto his equipment cab There can never be too much encouragement supervision and example to instill cautionary habits During the forklift unloading of large polyurethane pipes each 50 ft long and weighing 1750 pounds from a tractor trailer a single section of pipe unexpectedly rolled off while the forklift was away The truck driver on foot was struck and killed At a cement plant barge load out temporary chute rigging gave way while an employee tried to tighten lift cables causing him to be fatally pinned to the chute At a processing plant an employee fell 50 ft to his death through an opening near an elevated walkway A mechanic hit his head when he fell from the ladder of a front end loader and lost consciousness for several minutes Upon regaining consciousness he was sent by ambulance to a hospital but his condition worsened and he died MSHA RECOMMENDED BEST PRACTICES Here are some of the best practices MSHA recommended following these accidents Thoroughly examine work areas Establish and discuss safe procedures before beginning work Avoid positioning yourself in places where you could be hurt if something goes wrong Look listen and evaluate ground conditions daily and whenever there are weather events Make sure embankments with waste and moisture are constructed for stability Keep mining a safe distance away from waste embankments Always wear your seat belt in mobile equipment Set parking brakes and drop blades and buckets before dismounting equipment Dump material behind previously deposited material and use other equipment to push over Always maintain a temporary safety berm with the newest dumped material deposited PLANNING FOR PREVENTION Will there be fewer fatalities in 2017 or more Accident prevention is not an accident There can never be too much encouragement supervision and example to instill cautionary habits Luck will save lives but luck is not a safety program Workers are not safe unless everyone in the workforce develops a habit of being cautious There can be no higher management goal Cautiousness will save lives P Q Michael Heenan and Margo Lopez are with the national labor employment and safety law firm Ogletree Deakins michael heenan@ odnss com margaret lopez@ ogletreedeakins com 58 PIT QUARRY December 2016 pitandquarry com