WorldWide Drilling Resource

32 APRIL 2019 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Open the Doorway to all the Event Photos during Texas Ground Water Association 2019. To see all the photos from this event, go to www.worldwidedrillingresource.com or click here. Feel free to download at will and print the photo(s) of your choice. Compliments of WorldWide Drilling Resource ® . Photos are copyrighted and released for personal use only - no commercial use permitted. Powered Haulage Remains a Key Issue in the Mining Industry Adapted from Information by the Mine Safety and Health Administration The final numbers for mining fatalities in 2018 are in and this was the second lowest number ever recorded. During 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) reported there were a total of 27 mining fatalities - 18 at surface mines and 9 in underground mines. There are approximately 250,000 miners working in 12,000 metal/nonmetal mines, and 83,000 miners working in the nation's 1200 coal mines. Although this is a great milestone for the industry, one death is still too many. In a continuing effort to improve the safety of our country’s miners, MSHA analyzed the fatalities and determined powered haulage, which accounted for nearly half of the annual total, as the leading cause. The category covers the haulage of materials and personnel, which also accounted for half of the 28 U.S. mining fatalities in 2017. To address the issue, MSHA launched a campaign to educate miners and miner operators of the hazards associated with powered haulage. MSHA’s initial focus is on three areas: Far too many miners have been injured or killed in accidents involving powered haulage, make sure you do your part in preventing them. Large Vehicles Hitting Small Vehicles Surfacemining vehicles can be sever- al stories tall and are capable of destroying smaller vehicles not seen by the operator. Traffic controls, training, and avoiding distractions are key. Collision warning and avoidance systems can also help. Conveyor Safety Belt conveyors and their components pose serious risks to miners working on or around them. Install adequate guarding to prevent contact; provide and use crossovers and cross unders; lock out energy sources and block motion when doing maintenance. Seat Belt Usage MSHA engineers estimate 3-4 miners could be saved each year if seat belts were provided and worn. Warning systems such as chimes can remind drivers to buckle up, while interlock systems can prevent vehicles from moving if the belt is unbuckled. A miner was fatally injured when his light- duty truck was run over by a haul truck. Re- member to keep smaller vehicles out of the path and potential path of large trucks. Mini- mize situations where smaller vehicles need to approach large vehicles. Equip smaller vehicles with flags or strobe lights posi- tioned high enough to be seen from the cabs of haulage trucks. Install and maintain proximity detection systems and cameras. A miner was injured when the belt conveyor he was standing on unexpectedly moved. He was standing on the conveyor to repair the crushing plant engine. Once repaired, the engine started, activating the belt conveyor. The miner was knocked down and conveyed feet-first up to the head pulley. He was then discharged into a feed hopper six feet below. Lock-out and tag-out power supplies before working on conveyor belts. A quarry manager was fatally injured when he lost control of the haul truck he was driving. The victim was operating a haul truck down a steep grade, traveled through a berm, and over a short drop-off. He was not wearing a seat belt. Between 2007-2017 there were 38 fatalities involving mobile equipment where miners were not wearing a seat belt; 92% may have survived had they been wearing one. MIN