January 27, 2011

 After loading up the scoop bucket with long hole gear the operator put the scoop into first gear and began backing out of the stope area. As he was backing out he hit a bump, so he turned his head to check his load. He continued backing up when he felt something pushing/rubbing against his back. He immediately stopped the scoop, but he had already sustained injuries.

 The operator had backed into a stope access gate and the end of the gate entered the operator’s compartment.  Injury Sustained: Scratches and reported bruising to right hip and lower back area.  Potential Loss: Operator could have been badly injured or killed by being impaled with the end of the gate.  Filed as: Incident (Report Only).

Substandard housekeeping: excessive amounts of muck was allowed to build up along the walls causing the gate to stay away from the wall and making it difficult to secure the gate tightly to the wall.

Inadequate guards or barriers: the design of the gate did not allow enough room for muck build up.

Failure to secure and make safe: gate was not secured tightly to the wall.

Improper motivation: Operator and others failed to properly secure gate to wall.

Inadequate equipment: Walls did not have J- hooks in place to secure the gate chain to the wall.

 Inadequate maintenance: Supervision and workers allowed the muck to accumulate along the walls making it difficult to close the gate tightly against the wall.

Inadequate work standards: a work standard for gate installation needs to be developed.

 Inadequate Program: It was recognized that there was no work standard in place for installing gates. One had to be developed and put in place.  Inadequate compliance to program standards: Not complying with the 5 point safety system stating that you must check travel ways and entrance to place of work. This hazard should have been identified and repairs made before entering the work place.

 Immediate discussion with affected crew. And immediately alerted all supervisors to notify and discuss with all crews.

 Develop and implement a work standard/procedure for installing gates.  J- hooks installed at all open hole gate locations.  Screen on the bottom end of all gates trimmed to allow it to be properly secured to the wall.  Removed all excessive muck build up along walls.  Talked to all crews of the importance in using the 5 Point Safety System regarding workplace hazard identification, repair and reporting.  Talked to all the crews of the importance of using the IRS concerning the repair and reporting of hazards.

 Ensure that all actions and recommendations are in place to prevent and/or control similar occurrences.  Questions