Slip or Fall of Person

Coal Fatality – 1/14/22

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On January 14, 2022, a 44-year-old contract laborer with 13 years of total experience received fatal injuries when he fell 27 feet to a concrete surface.  At the time of the accident, the contractor was on a belt conveyor in a preparation plant and was working to replace a belt conveyor roller. 

Best Practices: 

  • Establish and follow safety policies and procedures, when working at heights.
  • Train miners to use fall protection when a fall hazard exists.
  • Ensure fall protection is available and properly maintained.
  • Provide identifiable and secure anchor points to attach lanyards and lifelines.
  • Provide mobile or stationary platforms—or scaffolding—where there is a risk of falling.

Additional Information: 

This is the fourth fatality reported in 2022, and the first classified as “Slip or Fall of Person”

Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).

MNM Fatality – 7/26/21

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On July 26, 2021, a 33 year old contract iron worker with 8 years 13 weeks experience*, who was not wearing fall protection, was performing maintenance on a cement cooler at a mine in Stockertown, PA with 128 employees* when a wooden board broke, causing him to fall 23 feet onto a concrete floor.

Best Practices: 

  • Assure a safe means of access is provided and maintained to all working places.  Use personnel lifts or ladders to access elevated work areas safely.
  • Use fall protection when a fall hazard exists.  Ensure fall protection has a suitable fall arrest and secure anchorage system.
  • Examine work areas, tools, and equipment. Report and correct defects. Do not use unsafe equipment.
  • Assess risks and eliminate or control hazards before beginning maintenance activities. Do not place yourself in a position that will expose you to hazards while performing a task.
  • Train miners and ensure they perform work safely, use tools properly, and utilize personal protective equipment correctly.

Additional Information: 

This is the 20th fatality reported in 2021, and the second classified as “Slip or Fall of Person.”(*details added by safeminers.com from MSHA data.)

Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).

MNM Fatality – 2/25/21

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On Feb. 25, 2021, a 26-year old plant operator died after entering a cyclone discharge box at an industrial sand mine with 9 employees in West Valley City, Nevada*.  The local fire department recovered the victim lodged in an 18-inch wide discharge pipe that was full of water.

Best Practices: 

  • Wear a fall protection harness, properly tie off to a permanent support structure, and attach a lifeline when entering a bin or other confined space.  Have a second person monitor the lifeline to make sure there is no slack in the fall protection system.
  • Use personnel lifts or ladders to safely access elevated work areas.
  • Always use fall protection when there’s a potential fall hazard.
  • Examine work areas and equipment.  Report defects and do not use unsafe work equipment.
  • Assess risks and hazards before beginning maintenance activities.
  • Train miners to safely perform their tasks and properly use their personal protective equipment.

Additional Information: 

This is the fifth fatality reported in 2021, and the first classified as “Slip or Fall of Person.” (*details added by safeminers.com from MSHA data.)

Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).

Need a New Pair?

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When do you need a new pair of work shoes? Don’t wait until they cost you a painful slip and fall. This CDC/NIOSH graphic is available in English and Spanish. Download it and use it in training or post for employees to read. Of all the tools we should inspect before use your shoes may be the one you actually use the most but don’t even think about it. A new pair of workshoes may seem expensive if you think you can extend them a few weeks with some duct tape, but they don’t come even close to costing as much as a hospital visit even if you aren’t paying the bill.

Check it out here.

MNM Fatality – 9/1/20

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On September 1, 2020, a miner (53 year-old plant helper in Texas with 2 years and 8 weeks of experience*) died when he fell while attempting to close a hatch on the top of a bulk material trailer (at an industrial sand plant with 20 employees). The miner was wearing a fall protection harness but his lanyard was not attached to a secure anchorage.

Best Practices: 

  • Encourage the use of automated hatches on tanks and trailers.
  • Provide and ensure the use of an effective fall arrest and secure anchorage system.
  • Provide safe access to all work areas and ensure truck and trailer access and work platforms are properly designed, maintained, and used.
  • Examine work areas and equipment. Don’t use unsafe work areas and equipment until repairs are made.
  • Refresh miner training on safe work procedures after returning from periods of shutdown, and routinely monitor work habits.

Additional Information: 

This is the 15th fatality reported in 2020, and the fourth classified as “Slip or Fall of Person.” *(Italicized details added by safeminers.com)

Click here for Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).

National Safety Stand Down

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Join the Annual OSHA Stand Down for Falls in the Workplace this week. “Fatalities caused by falls from elevation continue to be a leading cause of death for construction employees, accounting for 320 of the 1,008 construction fatalities recorded in 2018 (BLS data). Those deaths were preventable. The National Safety Stand-Down raises fall hazard awareness across the country in an effort to stop fall fatalities and injuries.” [OSHA]

Get training materials and videos at OSHA’s site here.

MSHA Fall Protection Safety Alert

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MSHA issued 92 imminent danger orders for people working at heights without fall protection between January 2019 and June 2020. The most common violations were truck drivers climbing atop their vehicles, and maintenance and quarry personnel climbing to or working without fall protection in high places. Supervisors have been ordered down from dangerous locations.

Deaths from falls have increased from 8% to 19% of mining fatalities in the last two years.

Download the MSHA Safety Alert here (pdf).

MNM Fatality – 6/1/20

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On June 1, 2020, a contract truck driver died after falling from the top of his trailer.  The victim received first aid/CPR at the scene and passed away after being transported to a local hospital.

Best Practices: 

  • Discuss work procedures; identify all potential hazards to do the job safely.
  • Train everyone to recognize fall hazards and ensure that safe work procedures are discussed and established.
  • Include safe truck tarping requirements in site-specific hazard training.
  • Provide truck tarping safe access facilities where needed.
  • Provide an effective fall arrest secure anchorage system. Ensure that people wear and attach fall protection connecting devices where there is a danger of falling.
  • Use automatic tarp deploying systems to prevent people from working from heights.

Additional Information: 

This is the 8th fatality reported in 2020, and the third classified as “Slip or Fall of Person.”

Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).