The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) reported that on April 12, a 60-year-old customer truck driver was killed at Rye Dredge and Plant, Liberty County, Texas, when he fell from, and was run over by, his truck while scanning into the operator’s check-in system. The victim was found underneath the belly dump of the semi-trailer, and the truck was still in gear.
This is the third fatality reported in calendar year 2018 in metal and nonmetal mining. As of this date in 2017, there were three fatalities reported in metal and nonmetal mining. This is the second Powered Haulage fatality in 2018. There was only one Powered Haulage fatality during the same period in 2017.
MSHA recommends the following Best Practices for safety around check-in systems:
- Implement check-in system technology that can be scanned remotely from inside the vehicle such as a RFID tag or indicator.
- Commercial and customer truck drivers should remain in their trucks while on mine property, unless a safe area for tarping and checking their loads has been designated.
- Operators should place their equipment in neutral and set the parking brakes before exiting the operator compartment.
- Rules establishing safe operating procedures should be posted.
- Ensure workers who operate heavy equipment are adequately informed, instructed, trained and supervised.