Michigan State Grants Mine Safety Training Newsletter 98-1 Program Updates Proposal for Current Year's Funding Approved Schedule Your Training Now New Trainers First Aid Training Mine Injuries and Fatalities Show 1997 Increase - Can We Avoid It? Leading Cause of Death Involving Construction Cranes Ergonomics - What's in it for you? Core Elements of Ergonomics Programs Truck Incidents Analysis Costs of Accidents New Hire Reporting - Believe it or Not! Contractor Compliance - MSHA or OSHA You Must Notify MSHA when: Michigan Holmes Association Chapter Planning Winter Workshops Manager - Dave Carlson 906/487-2453, Email dcarlson@mtu.edu. Mining Engineering Department Mary Ewert - Clerk 906/487-2272 Michigan Technological University Program Director/Department Chair - Francis Otuonye 906/487-2610 Houghton, MI 49931 Contact Dave Carlson at the phone number listed above for assistance with setting up a safety training workshop. Contact Mary Ewert for locating suitable videos and other training materials or handouts for your in-house workshops. If we can't answer your safety-related questions we will find out or put you in touch with someone who can. See our internet home page at the address listed above. Program Updates Proposal for Current Year's Funding Approved. The Program will continue to emphasize providing annual refresher training for miners and training and materials for supervisors in cooperation with the Michigan Chapter of the Holmes Safety Association. A detailed description of the Program was presented in Newsletter 97-1. Schedule Your Training Now. A phone call to Dave Carlson (906/487-2453) is all that's needed to schedule training. Companies which schedule training on the dates and locations listed on the attached schedule will not be charged for the trainer's mileage, motel or meal costs. New Trainers Roger Chandonnet of Muskegon, our Southern Michigan trainer has retired from training. Recently, Roger has been substitute teaching and coaching golf at Muskegon Catholic High School. During the 1998 training season, Sharon Regan-Brown will take over Roger's areas with the help of Ron Gebbie. Ms. Regan-Brown, lives in Gaylord, and has performed OSHA and MSHA-related training to employees and puts on a program for supervisors. Mr. Gebbie, who is located near Detroit, has worked as a safety director in various tunneling projects and also has OSHA and MSHA training experience. Mine Injuries and Fatalities Show 1997 Increase - Can We Avoid It? We've all been made aware of the above fact. Does the current increase in injuries and fatalities indicate that we're becoming lax? If mining activity increases, fatal and nonfatal incidents are likely to increase. Both the mining and construction industries have been booming during 1997. The increase may also be due to the recent need to add new inexperienced employees into an expanding workforce along with reduced qualifications of applicants as job opportunities increase. Are further improvements in injury statistics possible or are we attempting to combat fate? According to the principle of diminishing returns, as we approach perfection in any endeavor, greater effort is required to make incremental improvements. And this seems to be where we are at with the conventional approaches to improved safety performance: increased training, more safety meetings, and increased penalties or incentives. Then how do we make further improvements? Let's first determine if our employees want to improve workplace safety? If we asked our employees who wants to be hurt or killed during the coming year, would we find any takers? The answer better be no! The goal of all rational employees must be zero injuries. Now that we've established the fact that employees want a perfectly safe workplace, how do we reconcile the fact that some employees don't seem to give a rip about their own safety or that of others. Or, what is lacking? Motivation is the answer and this leads to the question: how are employees motivated to be safe? We'll have to look into ourselves to answer this question. Is a bonus or other monetary award suitable motivation for me to improve my performance or is the satisfaction I receive from my supervisor's acceptance of my efforts more important to me? Those who have participated in award programs know that awards/bonuses tend to lose their effectiveness because we come to expect them and to count them as part of our pay even before we receive them. On the other hand, unless the employee-supervisor relationship has been damaged beyond repair, most employees are highly motivated by their supervisor's acceptance of their efforts. How then can a supervisor send the correct message to employees concerning their safety behavior? By demonstrating that he/she is sincerely interested in the employee's safety and making the employee a participant in the safety process. If, for example, an employee expresses a concern about dangers in performing a certain task and a supervisor responds negatively (for example, "no one else has had a problem with this!"), the supervisor has sent a message and the message is that your suggestion isn't valued and safety is not really important here. On the other hand, if the supervisor takes the time to discuss the employee's concern, seeks suggestions for improvements, and either takes action or explains why none was taken, the message is that the employee's safety suggestions are valued. This employee is now motivated to look for other improvements and is convinced that safety is a high priority. Are employee suggestions likely to be worth anything? Or phrased differently -- Who best understands how to do a job safely and recognizes its associated hazards? The supervisor?, The trainer? The employee? Experience teaches that even one who has had both hazard recognition and task training must perform a job for a while before fully recognizing its associated hazards. Think about the first time you drove a car, truck, boat, motor- cycle, or snowmobile, the first time you drove on icy pavement, gravel, wet pavement, or the first time you operated a new machine, used a new tool etc. After these "learning" experiences, many of us have to admit that still being alive and whole is no less than a miracle. Thus motivating employees by encouraging their safety suggestions is the key to opening up this wealth of experience and available resource on ways to improve workplace safety. And once communi-cation with this valuable resource has been established, expect help in other areas including quality, efficiency, and productivity. Sound too simple? Try it out, and expect positive things to happen. Work at improving these skills and the payoffs will never cease. Leading Cause of Death Involving Construction Cranes A recent report published by The Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health at the University of Utah entitled, "Crane-Related Deaths in the U.S. Construction Industry, 1984-94." The study revealed that electrocutions and injuries during crane assembly or dismantling are the leading causes of death from injuries involving construction cranes. The cases covered incidents that occurred from 1984 to 1994 in 50 states and the District of Columbia. Ergonomics - What's in it for you? Ergonomics injuries often result from repetitive types of physical activity that cause wear and tear which the body is unable to repair. Employers must realize that body parts wear out over time from excessive use. The following are ways that some operators have found to reduce health care costs while increasing productivity. 1. Lighten loads that must be lifted - for example, if an employee is handling 75 lb bags of cement, purchase the material in 40 lb bags. 2. Eliminate lifts that involve twisting and turning at the same time. 3. Put handles on bulky equipment items that must be lifted repeatedly in the normal work cycle. 4. Design tools to reduce strain. 5. Make use of lifting and materials-handling equipment whenever this is possible. Using elevators to lift and wheels to carry saves feet, legs, back shoulders and other body parts. 6. Make employees aware of the need to minimize heavy lifts, to carry smaller loads and to get help when it is needed by familiarizing them with the serious long-term effects of inattention to these precautions. 7. Make every task as easy to accomplish as possible. If it's difficult or awkward to do (causes fatigue, sore shoulders, arms, back, legs, hands, feet etc.), it is probably harmful to the person's long term physical health and will eventually cost you. Macho and "doing it the old way" may be very expensive. 8. Provide the most comfortable vibration and shock-absorbing seats you can buy for mobile equipment. 9. Lower speed limits or do more frequent grading and spill cleanup of all travelways. 10. Lift smaller loads with loader which won't raise the rear wheels from the ground. 11. Rotate jobs and plan shorter work shifts to reduce exposure. 12. Equip pickup trucks and other vehicles used to transport equipment with hoists to load and unload heavy items. 13. Store heavy boxes etc. above floor level to reduce the need to bend down to handle them. 14. Substitute lighter tools and materials wherever possible. 15. Look at detailed steps in all tasks to determine how to reduce the number of motions required. 16. Provide vibration-free handtools 17. Substitute powered hand-tools for hand-powered-tools. 18. Position control switches etc. so they are easy to get at. 19. Provide stool or sit or stand bar, foot rail, floor mats to relieve foot and back fatigue where worker must stand in one place for long periods of time. Core Elements of Ergonomics Programs A recent GAO Ergonomics report investigated how some employers address musculoskeletal disorders through ergonomic programs and named six program elements it found necessary to control ergonomic hazards: -management commitment -employee involvement -identification of problem jobs -development of controls for problem jobs -training and education for employees -appropriate medical management By incorporating those core elements into an ergonomics program, "positive results can be achieved," the report states. Truck Incidents Analysis A September 1996 Homes Safety Association Bulletin article entitled "Analysis of Surface Powered Haulage Accidents January 1990 to July 1996" discusses factors which contributed to 640 surface haulage incidents which produced traumatic occupational injuries. The incidents involved water trucks, front-end-loaders, tractor/scrapers, or carrier/large trucks, or haulage trucks, or other utility trucks. 139 were fatal and involved mobile equipment. Contributing factors in the 640 incidents involving traumatic injuries, were: roads/control - just over 200, dumping - just over 100, mechanical failure - just under 100, berms - 50, visibility - about 30, loading/ unloading - less than 10, and repairing - less than 5. Recommendations from this study were primarily directed at actions MSHA and others can take, in the area of development of materials and guidelines to assist the mines in reducing the various hazards. 1. 117 incidents occurred on road gradients exceeding 7% and 36 fatalities occurred where haul road gradients ranged between 8% and 23%. Numerous specific causes are listed, but the severity of incidents caused by broken drive shafts, failed brakes, and overloaded trucks was increased when the vehicles were operated on steep grades. MSHA has already assembled a traffic control manual to establish uniformity in the implementation of traffic control methods. This booklet entitled "Guidelines for Traffic Control at Surface Mines and Installations", OT-26, 1997 and another excellent booklet published in 1995 and loaded with practical information on mine haulage vehicles, roads etc. entitled "surface Haulage Safety" are available from MSHA's National Mine Academy by either calling 304/256-3257or faxing 304/256-3368. 2. 112 of the traumatic injury incidents were caused by failure of the brake, steering, or drive-train systems, some of which were attributable to vehicle overloading. Twenty fatalities on surface haulage equipment were directly attributed to the failure of the vehicle's braking systems, generally directly related to poor equipment inspection and maintenance practices. 3. 136 trucks and other haulage vehicles overturned while dumping material at edges of dump locations. 25 fatalities were reported while trucks or other haulage equipment, such as front-end-loaders were backing up or end-dumping at edges of elevated dump locations. The most frequent cause was backing onto unstable fill materials that gave way, or backing through a perimeter berm. Some were attributed to insufficient illumination. Keeping a bulldozer per-forming continual maintenance of berms and maintaining the dump perimeter so that vehicles must back up a slight grade is recommended. Also avoidance of the practice of end-dumping over edges. It is safer to dump a few feet from the edge and push the material over with the dozer. Also recommended were designs of cabs and mirrors to improve operator visibility and improved training on dumping procedures. 4. 55 incidents occurred when trucks over-traveled road berms. Eight fatalities occurred. Road berms are to warn haulage equipment drivers about the close prroximity of roadway edges andcan effectively impede over-travel from elevated roadways. 5. 46 incidents occurred when haulage truck driver vision was obstructed due to the configuration or location of the cab. 15 were fatal. 87 incidents occurred when haulage trucks ran into stationary objects, loading equipment, or another haulage truck. Eight fatalities occurred because of such collisions. 6. 60 incidents involved trucks sliding on slick road surfaces. 5 were fatal. Poor drainage and failure to properly surface roads often creates very slick road conditions during inclement weather. Not slowing down production when conditions have deteriorated is also listed as contributing to these incidents. 7. 46 of the obstructed-vision incidents may have been avoided with adequate communication between the drivers of vehicles involved in the incidents and/or a central dispatching operation. 8. Eight fatalities resulted from sudden movement of vehicles being repaired - unchocked wheels, falls, improper operation by untrained driver. 9. 14 fatalities occurred while truck drivers and others were attempting to load or unload material/supplies (inadequate task training, lack of communication/misunderstood signals, and unsafe rigging practices are some of the specific causes). 10. Seat belts contributed to more serious injuries or fatalities in several of the incidents. Costs of Incidents In an October 1997 Pit and Quarry article (page QS8) entitled "Safety Pays", Glen Aiken, Safety Director for Benchmark Materials, Midwest Region, Northern Division states that insurance companies put the direct cost of an incident at $2,000 per day. Studies are cited in the article which indicate that the total cost may be as much as six times the direct claims cost for an average incident. New Hire Reporting - Believe it or Not! You must now report every person you hire to the government. This includes all persons who will be issued a W-2. The purpose of the report is to locate parents, establish a support order, or enforce an existing child support order. For information on reporting in Michigan call 517/373-3190. Contractor Compliance - MSHA or OSHA The moment an independent contractor goes onto mine property to perform work, the contractor becomes responsible for MSHA compliance, not OSHA. Mine operators must insist that contractors register with MSHA, acquire legal identification numbers, and obtain miner training and instruction in MSHA standards. You Must Notify MSHA when: 1) opening an operation, 2) moving a portable plant, 3) closing an operation including a winter shutdown. Failure to do this costs MSHA valuable resources in tracking you down and will also cost you when they find you. Michigan Holmes Association Chapter Planning Winter Workshops Workshop dates have not been set yet. However, tentative dates currently under consideration are: February 17 in Marquette, February 19 in Gaylord, March 3 in Ann Arbor, and March 5 in Grand Rapids. The program is still being planned. One of the topics suggested has been a supervisors legal responsi-bilities and accountability with regard to safety. Call Ken Cunningham at 517/792-8734 for further infor-mation or if you have suggestions for workshop topics.