Mining Publication: Technology News 552 - A New Visual Warning System to Reduce Struck-by and Pinning Accidents
Original creation date: August 2013
This NIOSH Technology News describes a new visual warning system that reduces the risk of underground mine workers being struck-by or pinned by mobile mining equipment such as the continuous mining machine (CMM).
Mobile mining equipment poses a significant safety risk to workers who can be accidentally struck-by or pinned by the equipment, resulting in worker injury or death. Because of their severity and frequency, these machine-related accidents are at the forefront of NIOSH stakeholder concerns. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) accident data from 2002–2011 indicates that 44 fatalities and 4,754 nonfatal days lost (NFDL) occurred in the underground coal mining industry and were described as struck-against or struck-by and caught or pinned in-under-between. An MSHA report [MSHA 2011] indicates that 33 fatalities involving a CMM occurred from 1984 through March 2011.
To address this problem, NIOSH researchers developed the Visual Warning System (VWS), which visually alerts miners of impending machine movements and conveys the type and direction of machine movement.The VWS is a simpler alternative to other mitigation strategies.
Authors: JJ Sammarco
Technology News - August 2013
NIOSHTIC2 Number: 20043026
Pittsburgh, PA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2013-151, TN 552, 2013 Aug; :1-2
See Also
- Assessing and Monitoring Open Pit Mine Highwalls
- Developing Random Virtual Human Motions and Risky Work Behaviors for Studying Anthropotechnical Systems
- Engineering Considerations and Selection Criteria for Proximity Warning Systems for Mining Operations
- Machine Injury Prediction by Simulation Using Human Models
- Recommendations for Evaluating & Implementing Proximity Warning Systems on Surface Mining Equipment
- Test Results of Collision Warning Systems for Surface Mining Dump Trucks
- Toolbox Training For Construction Aggregate Miners
- Using Major Hazard Risk Assessment to Appraise and Manage Escapeway Instability Issues: A Case Study
- Verification and Validation of Roof Bolter Simulation Models for Studying Events Between a Machine and its Operator
- Visual Performance for Incandescent and Solid-State Cap Lamps in an Underground Mining Environment
- Content source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Mining Program