Developing a playbook on powered haulage safety

ErgoMine, meanwhile, is a mobile application designed for the mining industry to help mine workers and mine safety and health professionals conduct safety and ergonomics evaluations, with the goal of preventing injuries, illnesses and fatalities.

ErgoMine is designed for both iOS and Android and can be used on smartphones and tablets. The app has four main components: safety and ergonomics audits; slip, trip and fall prevention checklists; musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) assessment forms; and a fix list to document hazards and track hazard remediation.

The app helps users conduct thorough safety and ergonomics audits for haul trucks, bagging operations and maintenance and repair work. Each audit is divided into sections, and users respond to simple questions to audit the workplace.

After conducting an audit using ErgoMine, the app automatically generates recommendations to help users fix any hazards identified. The slip, trip and fall prevention checklists help users identify hazards on walkways, stairs and fixed ladders. Like the ergonomics audits, the app automatically generates recommendations to help remediate any hazards identified based on the responses to the checklist items.

The recommendations, along with responses to the audit and checklist items, can be emailed to anyone directly from the app.

MSD forms include a hand tool assessment, manual tasks assessment, ergonomic workplace improvements assessment, risk factor reporting card and a musculoskeletal symptom evaluation based on the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. All of the MSD assessment forms help identify the key risk factors associated with overexertion injuries and MSDs, which include forceful exertions, extreme postures and repetitive tasks.

The fix list can be used to make note of hazards identified when using the app, and users can add in any other hazard they identified. The fix list helps track the needed changes, and the hazards can be checked off the list once fixed. Throughout the app, users can take pictures of the hazards identified to help document and track them.

NIOSH developed ErgoMine as a tool that can be used by mine workers to conduct safety and ergonomic evaluations at mines – even those with varying levels of safety and ergonomics knowledge. ErgoMine helps with the first item that mine operators need to include in a written safety program – namely, to proactively identify, collect and review information about hazards at mines.

ErgoMine takes it a step further by providing recommendations to help fix the hazards. It provides an entire audit dedicated to haul trucks, which are often associated with injuries and fatalities. The haul truck audit includes all aspects of use, including training, policy, roads, pre-shift inspections, ingress and egress, driving, cab layout, loading and dumping. Most elements of the haul truck audit could also be used for other mobile equipment.

The maintenance and repair audit, ladder checklist and MSD assessment forms could also be used to identify hazards related to mobile equipment use for tasks such as ingress and egress, refueling, and routine and unscheduled maintenance and repair.

Keeping track of hazards and ensuring they are fixed in a timely manner is also an essential part of a safety program. The fix list in ErgoMine allows users to enter any hazard they identify in the workplace, take a picture of it and track if the hazard is fixed.

Toolbox Talks

Safety & Health Toolbox Talks provides materials for a series of presentations and discussions about safety- and health- related topics at surface mines.

Each of the 13 topics includes information that can be shared with miners along with questions to encourage discussion about hazards miners may encounter in their work environments. Toolbox Talks are based on a combination of information, including interviews with stone, sand and gravel mine workers about hazards and risks at their worksite, as well as MSHA nonfatal and fatal injury data. Topics include slips and falls, ground control, lockout/tagout, customer traffic, seat belts and powered haulage. Toolbox Talks are available as an interactive web-based tool, as an Android app and as a PDF file.

NIOSH developed Toolbox Talks as a tool supervisors or foremen can use to inform and engage miners about safety and health topics at mines. The tool not only trains miners about safety and health hazards, but it can be used to start a discussion about safety and health as it relates to the unique hazards at a worksite.

The Toolbox Talks are suited for a brief safety talk during the workday when miners can be reminded about specific safety and health hazards or be informed of site-specific hazards. The Toolbox Talks can also be used as part of a more detailed training session, such as the annual refresher training.

Toolbox Talks has modules related to traffic, seat belts and powered haulage. Hence, they can be used as part of a safety program to train miners to be aware, identify and address or avoid hazards related to surface mobile equipment.

Going forward

Before formalizing its proposed rule, MSHA sought comments and feedback from the mining community to determine the best approach to safety programs for surface mobile equipment.

Within the proposed rule, MSHA indicates that keeping programs flexible – not imposing mandates – and allowing mine operators to develop their own safety programs is essential to success. While MSHA endeavors to finalize the proposed rule, NIOSH already provides tools that can be used as part of a safety program. Access all three NIOSH tools at cdc.gov/niosh/mining/works.

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Brianna M. Eiter and Mahiyar Nasarwanji are with the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health. The findings and conclusions in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the NIOSH, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Mention of any company or product does not constitute endorsement by NIOSH.

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