On February 27, 2017, a 43-year-old plant attendant, with approximately 13 years of experience, was fatally injured when he fell through a 27-inch opening in a plate press. The victim had climbed a ladder to repair a damaged plate when he fell about 19 feet onto a moving refuse belt. The victim was found in a transfer chute, approximately 55 feet down the belt from where he had fallen.
- Provide and maintain safe access to all work areas. Train miners on how to safely access all work areas.
- Protect and guard all openings through which persons may fall. Use fall protection, maintaining 100 % tie off, when fall hazards exist. See Fall Prevention Safety Target Package.
- Establish specific policies and procedures for the use of fall protection.
- Ensure workers are trained in the use of fall protection. Monitor work practices to ensure fall protection is being properly used.
- Conduct a risk assessment of the work area prior to beginning any task and identify all possible hazards. Use the SLAM: Stop, Look, Analyze, and Manage approach for work place safety.
Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).