Friday, September 24, 2010

Remote Control Miners

Sixty-two percent of machinery accidents involving continuous miners were operated by remote control. There were eight fatals using remote control miners from 1990 to 1995. The continuous miner operator and helper should follow these safe practices: Wear reflective clothing as outer garments.
- Take shorter cuts when adverse roof conditions are encountered.
- Do not go inby the continuous miner operator except when required to operate the coal haulage equipment at the face.
- Be aware of the location of haulage equipment when they approach the continuous miner.
- Always be sure that everyone is in a safe location when starting the continuous miner.
- Do not position yourself anywhere beside the continuous miner during tramming operations. (This should keep persons away from any possible pinch points.)
- Ensure that all persons are beyond the continuous miner's turning radius during remote control tramming.
- Be aware that wet and muddy floor conditions, dips, and rolls can cause sudden, unexpected movement of any machine.
- Avoid visibility problems when tramming the miner.
- Don't set the remote control unit on the continuous miner while operating it.
- Ensure that all remote control continuous miners on the section are on separate frequencies. This applies to all remote control equipment on a section.
- Make sure any spare transmitter kept underground is in a secure location to avoid inadvertent operation.
- Take extra precautions when taking the first cut of a crosscut; the position of the operator is critical.
- Ensure a crosscut is permanently supported (roof bolted) prior to taking a cut inby or starting the proposed opposite crosscut. (No work or travel shall be inby an unsupported crosscut other than when required for safety exams.)
- If continuous miner breaks down inby permanent roof support, properly support the roof before repairs are made.
- Lock, tag out, and block all mining equipment before attempting repairs.