The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) honored Richmond, Va.-based Luck Stone with its inaugural award for Mine Safety and Health Technology Innovations for the stone, sand and gravel sector. The award was presented at the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association (NSSGA) Annual Convention General Session on March 6 in Las Vegas.
Luck won the award for its work to further improve safety through technological innovation, by successfully modifying a Cat 988G loader so that the operator could run the machine either remotely or traditionally from the cab. This innovation was needed because the operator of a pit loader can be exposed to increased hazards during some mining activities, such as loading from a muck pile that has a boulder on top, mining a slot or certain scaling operations.
NIOSH Associate Director of Mining and Director of the Office of Miner Safety and Health Research, Jeffrey Kohler, Ph.D., commented, “NIOSH is proud to present this inaugural honor for technology innovation in the aggregates sector. He continued, “Luck Stone exhibited genuine leadership in going above and beyond mandatory requirements to utilize technology to reduce hazards.”
NSSGA President and CEO Michael Johnson, said, “NSSGA is very pleased that one of its leading member companies has received national recognition for its commitment to safety and health. While we are pleased to have seen our 13th consecutive year of a reduced injury rate, we are committed to continued innovation until we reduce injuries to the lowest-possible level.”