METAL/NONMETAL MINE FATALITY – While spotting for a dump truck, a contractor stepped directly into the path of a bulldozer and died at the scene on November 16, 2019.
Best Practices:
- Safety first. Before starting work, establish and discuss safe work procedures. Identify and control all hazards associated with the work and properly protect workers.
- Know where people are. Be aware of body positioning around equipment, traffic patterns, dump sites, and haul roads.
- Train miners and contractors on traffic controls, mobile equipment patterns, and other site-specific hazards.
- Stay alert. Do not place yourself in harm’s way.
- Communicate with mobile equipment operators and ensure they acknowledge your presence.
- Ensure travelways are clear before moving a vehicle or mobile equipment.
- Look behind you. Install “rear viewing” cameras or other collision warning systems on mobile equipment. When backing up, look over your shoulder to eliminate blind spots. When using mirrors, use all available mirrors.
- Wear reflective material while working around mobile equipment. Use flags, visible to equipment operators, to make miners and smaller vehicles more visible.
Additional Information:
This is the 21st fatality reported in 2019, and the fifth fatality classified as “Machinery.”