On October 20, 2021, a 50-year-old mechanic with 12 years of experience was fatally injured at a mine with 10 employees* when he was struck by the bucket of an excavator while assisting in repositioning a hopper.
Best Practices:
- Never position yourself between mobile equipment and a stationary object.
- Do not work in pinch points where inadvertent movement could cause injury.
- Carefully inspect and secure the pins in an excavator’s bucket before each use.
- Before beginning work, analyze all tasks, establish safe work procedures, train miners, and eliminate hazards. Be alert for hazards that may be created while the work is performed.
- Identify and apply methods to protect personnel from hazards associated with the work performed.
- Monitor all employees to ensure safe work procedures, including safe work positioning, are followed.
Additional Information:
This is the 30th fatality reported in 2021, and the 5th classified as “Machinery” (*details added by safeminers.com from MSHA data.)
Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).