In recent years, powered haulage equipment and machinery has been the leading cause of serious and fatal mine accidents. In 2023, the mining industry lost 40 miners, with accidents classified as machinery (16) and powered haulage (10) being targeted as the primary causes.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is requiring mine operators to develop, implement and update (periodically or when necessary) a written safety program for surface mobile equipment at surface mines and surface areas of underground mines.
The written safety program must include actions the mine operators will take to identify hazards and risks to reduce accidents, injuries and fatalities related to surface mobile equipment.
When Vehicles Collide, There Are No Positive Outcomes
When large mining equipment and conventional vehicles collide, the mining equipment will come out on top every time. This van was out of the hauler operator’s line of site and is the type of incident MSHA’s Powered Haulage & Equipment Program is targeting.
OmniPro Vision AI is an easy-to-deploy safety plan solution for pedestrian and vehicle blind spot alerting.
Other Matrix Surface Mining Safety Ideas
Dozer Kits
In the event of a cave in, the Matrix Dozer Kit system provides 6 hours of oxygen
and carbon dioxide scrubbing plus other life-sustaining
features inside the dozer cab.
Mining-Grade LED Lights
Good lighting is a requirement for safe nighttime or low-light operating environments. Matrix has a cost-effective lighting solution for converting mobile equipment to bright, clean mining-grade LED lighting.