Avoiding death at work

By |  March 5, 2015

Michael_Heenan_150x120Fatal accidents are increasing in stone, sand and gravel mines. These operations have experienced 20 of the 37 fatalities since October 2013. Nine deaths occurred in mines with 10 or fewer employees. Twelve occurred in mines with 20 to 40 employees. Frequently, victims were experienced workers who made mistakes.

MSHA is calling on the industry to focus on the events that commonly cause accidents. Producers can help their employees and employees can help each other by recognizing where they are most at risk. Two main categories stand out: hazards related to mobile equipment and being in insecure positions.

No one thinks an accident will happen to them, but here are examples of some of the sudden fatal accidents that occurred in the last 15 months:

Mobile equipment hazards

■ A haul truck driver veered off the haul road, traveled through a berm and overturned in a settling pond.
■ A driver of an articulating haul truck went through a roadway berm and into a large pond.
■ A deckhand fell into the water while stepping from a dredge to an attached barge.
■ An experienced truck driver backed to the edge of a dumpsite to dump a load of material; the bank failed and the truck fell, overturning 30 ft. below.
■ A company co-owner was operating an all-terrain vehicle to place perimeter signs. The ATV rolled over on him when he lost control on a steep hill.
■ A longtime foreman was struck by a water pipe being moved by an excavator.
■ An experienced truck driver who exited his truck while it was being loaded by an excavator was pinned against his truck by the excavator bucket.
■ An experienced truck driver who exited his truck to remove the tarp was hit by a loader backing down a ramp.
■ A 21-year-old new employee was crushed when a forklift he was using to haul a bag of dust overturned.

Unsafe position accidents

■ An experienced utility worker standing near the edge of a bank was engulfed when the bank collapsed.
■ An experienced supervisor at a sand-and-gravel operation was engulfed when an 80-ft. bank at a backfill site failed.
■ A maintenance employee working on a forklift was pinned against a pole when the forklift moved.
■ A plant operator working under the raised bed of a truck was pinned when the block supporting the bed failed.
■ A 20-year-old new employee was caught in the feed end of a sand-and-gravel conveyor.
■ A worker cleaning a return roller inside the frame of an operating belt conveyor became entangled.
■ A driller was entangled when rotating drill steel caught his clothes.
■ An electrician pulling cable in a 480-volt electrical cabinet at a crushed-stone operation contacted an energized conductor.
■ An electrician standing on a ladder installing a cable in an outdoor cable tray fell 5 ft. when the cable tray pulled away from the building.
■ A mechanic on a mobile equipment platform fell 5 ft. while installing a water pump.
■ A truck driver who climbed on loaded pallets in a storage building to retrieve wooden planks fell 8 ft.
■ A lead man at a crushed-stone operation was standing only 153 ft. from a blast he initiated and was struck by fly rock.

Preventing fatalities

Employees can prevent fatalities, but not on their own. They can resist unsafe behavior, but employers must demonstrate what is important. Statistics show employees with less than one year at work are at risk more than other employees. Employer reminders, training and oversight are especially important for new employees.

Still, the same is true for experienced employees. A large portion of accidents involve very experienced people. If inexperience can make one vulnerable, experience can make one too comfortable and sometimes careless.

MSHA is encouraging operators to focus on risks. The agency wants employers to emphasize compliance requirements in discussions with employees. This may not be enough. Sometimes discipline is essential to get attention.

The law does not hold employees responsible – except for supervisors and managers. MSHA considers it a company duty to enforce safety with employees. MSHA will cite an employer for negligence, even when an hourly employee was the sole actor.

MSHA believes it can curtail risk taking by enforcement actions against operators, but while operators strive for compliance, avoidance of risk is something more. Often, risks are not recognized as MSHA violations. It is incumbent on the employer to identify unacceptable behavior and what employees must do to be safe.

Most importantly, employers must be credible by setting a good example.

Take note

Statistics show employees with less than one year at work are at risk more than other employees.

Allison Kral

About the Author:

Allison Kral is the former senior digital media manager for North Coast Media (NCM). She completed her undergraduate degree at Ohio University where she received a Bachelor of Science in magazine journalism from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. She works across a number of digital platforms, which include creating e-newsletters, writing articles and posting across social media sites. She also creates content for NCM's Portable Plants magazine, GPS World magazine and Geospatial Solutions. Her understanding of the ever-changing digital media world allows her to quickly grasp what a target audience desires and create content that is appealing and relevant for any client across any platform.

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