Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/113147
SAFETY WATCH out Tear this ith your e w nel and sharperson plant Be Careful Around Conveyors Caution is the order of the day when working on and around belt systems. compiled by Therese Dunphy, Editor-in-Chief tdunphy@randallreilly.com When working around conveyor belts, operators should exercise the necessary caution and care. During a 10-year timeframe between 2000 and 2010, nearly 30 miners lost their lives while working around these systems. To safeguard workers, use the following best practices. • Do not work under a conveyor when it is operating, and do not attempt to place your arm or a tool near a roller or other moving part when the belt is on or may start. • De-energize the belt by switching off the power and disconnecting the electrical circuit at the breaker panel or motor control center. • Once the power is disconnected, lock and tag to assure the conveyor belt cannot be energized while you're working on it. • Secure the belt from unintended motion, such as that generated through stored energy. • Establish policies and procedures for conducting specific tasks on belt conveyors. • Ensure proper task training and identification of the associated hazards before performing maintenance tasks. • Maintain communication with all those performing the task. • Provide and maintain a safe means of access to all working places. Consider taking lock out/tag out procedures one step further by not only using lockout/tagout cards, but by putting the worker's photograph on the card. When it comes to protecting workers, it's personal. AM Information from this Safety Watch is from an actual accident and is provided by the Mine Safety and Health AGGREGATES MANAGER March 2013 On Feb. 24, 2011, a 56-year-old front-end loader operator with 10 years of experience was killed at a sand and gravel operation. He was cleaning a tramp metal magnet on a conveyor feeding the operation's jaw crusher when the plant foreman started up the plant by switching on the power to the tramp metal magnet, conveyor, and crushing plant. A warning siren was used, but the horn could not be heard above the plant noise when the conveyor was started. Administration. It is meant for general information purposes only. Sponsored by