Aggregates Manager

July 2017

Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine

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36 AGGREGATES MANAGER / July 2017 A series of first quarter fatalities prompts MSHA to announce a working alone initiative. Peter S. Almass is an associate in Jackson Kelly PLLC's Denver office, where he practices in the Commercial Law and Occupational Safety and Health Practice Groups. He can be reached at 303-390-0178 or palmass@jacksonkelly.com. Keep Solitary Workers Safe I n January 2017, two miners died in fatal accidents within 24 hours of each other, while working alone. These accidents prompted the Mine Safety and Health Ad- ministration (MSHA) to issue a fatal accident alert. Unfortunately, the trend of exposure to the dangers of working alone continued in early 2017. In response to five fatalities of mi- ners working by themselves on mine proper- ties in the first three months of 2017, MSHA launched an initiative to focus on the hazards associated with working alone. Two of the fatal accidents occurred in coal mines, while three occurred in metal/non-metal mines. The initiative was announced at MSHA's quarterly training and stakeholder conference call in April. In announcing the initiative, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor Patricia Silvey stated, "Mine operators should have proce- dures in place so they can account for the whereabouts of every miner, at the beginning of the shift, while they are working, and at the end of the shift." Deputy Secretary Silvey went on to say, "They should assess whether a particular task can be safely completed by a miner working alone and always follow established communication procedures." The MSHA initiative requires MSHA inspectors and training specialists to perform "walk and talks" with miners during regular inspection visits. The purpose of the MSHA "walk and talks" is to reinforce the importance of accounting for all workers at all times, while also focu- sing on providing operators with best prac- tices to implement when their employees are working alone. These best practices include: thinking about the task, informing a res- ponsible person about where miners will be working and travelling, identifying hazards, avoiding shortcuts, and following customary check-in/check-out procedures. Thinking about the task includes ensuring miners have received adequate training and possess the necessary knowledge, skills, and equipment to perform the assigned task safely. Par- ticular attention should be paid to identifying hazards that are made more significant by the fact that the miner is working alone. Mine workers may be faced with working alone when accomplishing critical production tasks on the mine site. Working alone can increase the danger faced by mine emp- loyees, especially when dealing with the na- turally hazardous conditions present on mine sites. While working alone, miners must be aware of their surroundings to an even grea- ter degree than is usually demanded. To help ensure the safety of miners, MSHA provides specific regulations covering working alone in metal/non-metal surface and underground mines. While neither regulation prohibits miners from working alone, each regulation imposes requirements that must be met. Both standards must be complied with at all times. Although working alone presents similar difficulties in coal mines, no specific MSHA regulation exists for coal operations. by Peter S. Almass ROCKLAW

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