Measurement & analysis

Haulage Truck Dump Site Safety: An Examination of Reported Injuries (PDF, 381 KB, 2001-03)
Dump site injuries occur in all major mineral industries. Working in elevated areas near an edge is a common hazard for operators of off-highway mobile mining equipment. In this Information Circular (IC), serious injuries involving haulage trucks working at dump sites are examined for the period 1988 to 1997.

Safety Analysis of Surface Haulage Accidents (PDF, 128 KB, 1996)
Report on research analyzing single and multiple causes of surface haulage accidents.

Safety Concerns Associated With the Use of Electrically Powered Haulage to Remove Workers from Mines During Main Fan Stoppages (PDF, 372 KB, 2002)
The roles of main mine fans in underground mines are to induce airflow and continuously remove hazardous gases and dust. While most larger mines use multiple fans to accomplish these tasks, many smaller mines employ only a single fan. This paper concentrates on those mines having only one fan to provide ventilation needs.

Static and Dynamic Loads in Ore and Waste Rock Passes in Underground Mines (PDF, 572 KB, 1999)
This paper describes research to improve safety during transport of ore and waste in underground mines.

Engineering controls

Concluding Evaluation of a Continuous Haulage Guidance Sensor (PDF, 420 KB, 1998-10)
The mining industry has the highest average annual fatality rate among major U.S. industries. To address this, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Pittsburgh Research Laboratory (PRL), is conducting major research programs to reduce the hazard exposure of miners. One of the recently concluded programs at PRL developed the enabling technology for remote-controlled mining.

Design of Surface Mine Haulage Roads - a Manual (PDF, 703 KB, 1977)
A Bureau of Mines manual for the design of surface mine haulage roads. Covers such aspects as road alignment, construction materials, cross slope, drainage provisions and more.

A Guidance Sensor for Continuous Mine Haulage (PDF, 982 KB, 1996)
Reports on the application of near infrared sensor technology for the automatic guidance of a continuous haulage system

Monitoring Blind Spots: A Major Concern for Haul Trucks (PDF, 4355 KB, 2001-12)
Discusses off-the-shelf technologies for monitoring areas that an equipment operator cannot see from the cab, including radar, video cameras, and radio signal detection systems, and their effectiveness in detecting objects near an off-highway dump truck. Also, guidance is presented for mine safety personnel who are planning to evaluate collision warning systems or cameras on their haulage equipment.

Preventing Collisions Involving Surface Mining Equipment: A GPS-based Approach (PDF, 833 KB, 2003-04)
An average of three workers a year are killed in surface mining operations when a piece of haulage equipment collides with another smaller vehicle or a worker on foot. Another three workers are killed each year when haulage equipment backs over the edge of a dump point or stockpile. Devices to monitor the blind areas of mining equipment are needed to provide a warning to operators when a vehicle, person, or change in terrain is near the equipment. Our tests have shown that it is feasible to add proximity warning to existing systems as a safety feature.

Technology News 484 - Devices to Monitor Blind Spots Near Large Haulage Equipment (PDF, 210 KB, 2001-01)
CDC/NIOSH Technology News brief on several technologies available to monitor the blind spots of large haulage equipment.

Technology News 502 - A New Training Video for Aggregate Operators: Aggregate Training for the Safety Impaired (PDF, 644 KB, 2003)
Discusses a video developed by NIOSH to provide safety training for workers in aggregate operations. Although the target audience was primarily new hires, the finished video was also to be relevant to more experienced workers.

Training exercises

Belt Haulage Accident
You are a general inside laborer. You and Douglas Tackett are shoveling loose coal onto the belt. While pitching a load, Douglas catches the tip of his shovel on the moving belt. Douglas' arm is thrown up and back as he is spun around and the shovel is flung down the entry. Douglas swears and holds his right shoulder with his left hand. His shoulder looks deformed and he says it hurts. You must decide what to do.

Belt Line Problem
You are a laborer. You and Doug Sanders are shoveling onto the belt. While working, Doug catches the tip of his shovel on the moving belt. Doug's arm is thrown up and back as he is spun around and the shovel is flung away. Doug swears and holds his right shoulder with his left hand. His shoulder looks deformed and he says it hurts. You must decide what to do. need to work through the exercise answering questions about the diagrams.

Main Haulage Scaling Exercise
You are running the lead locomotive pulling twenty empty coal cars into 3 East. Lynnbo is running the trail locomotive behind the trip. When you are done putting the empties on the section tipple, Lynnbo asks if you noticed the area of bad roof outby the firecar on the main line. You answer that you hadn´t, and you ask Lynnbo how bad it looked. Lynnbo said he thought that the roof looked ugly to him, but since he works in the shop, it all looks ugly. This is your section and you know it has been recently rebolted. However, you decide to look at it. You tell Lynnbo that you will follow him to the area in question. You must decide the safest course of action in determining if there is a problem, then you must decide the safest course of action to take in fixing, or having the bad roof fixed.

Prep Plant Belt Problem
You and Carl are maintenance workers at a coal preparation plant. A belt is misaligned because fine wet coal is sticking to the tail pulley roller. You decide to shut the belt down so the roller can be cleaned. Carl says he knows a faster way to do the job. He begins a dangerous work practice. You try to stop him, but it is too late. He gets caught between the moving tail pulley and its guard. He is hurt. You must act fast to save Carl but avoid injury to yourself.

Scoop Accident, First Aid Problem
After 9 months of unemployment, Joe has recently completed the required training to reenter the mines as well as an advanced first aid course. He has been hired as an experienced roof bolter at a drift mine. This is his first day on the job. A scoop loaded with supplies pulls up and six other miners start climbing on top Of it. Two miners get into the bucket next to the supplies. Joe is instructed to ride on top of the scoop. The mine roof is low and the roadway is rough. As the scoop approaches the dinner hole, someone screams "Stop!" Paul has fallen off. Paul is lying on his back in a puddle of water on the mine floor, just behind the scoop bucket. The scoop has run over him. There is blood on both of Paul's legs just below the knees. No one takes charge. Joe must decide what to do.

Videos

Aggregate Training for the Safety Impaired
This 2003 video follows two new hires through their first week on the job. In the course of the week, they are fired from four different mines and learn the hard way what can happen if the dangers of surface mining are ignored. The video uses humor to present 15 different hazards, as well as safety tips on how to avoid these hazards. This video is also available in a Spanish language version.

Hazards In Motion
Discusses mobile equipment safety for underground miners.