Best Practices for Ensuring Safety in Field Studies: A Comprehensive Guide for Mining Researchers and Operators

Details

• Personal Author:
  Compton, Craig S. ; McElhinney M ; Minoski T ; Sears M
• Description:
  In an effort to advance the science underlying ground control engineering, researchers with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) are frequently involved in field studies at collaborating mines. Often, these field studies involve visiting the mine site, instrumentation installation, and data acquisition. Each of these aspects involve potential risks to NIOSH employees. As an organization whose mission it is to promote the health and safety of mine workers, the health and safety of our workforce is paramount. This paper provides documentation of the best practices followed by NIOSH employees who are tasked with visiting and conducting work at underground and surface mines. This includes Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) approved training, mine site specific training, and hazards associated with all aspects of mining that could be encountered by the employee. Additionally, this paper details best practices associated specifically with instrumentation installation including the mitigation of hazards associated with the proper equipment handling, drilling, and the mine environment. The information showcased in this paper can be used as considerations for industry practitioners such as mine operators, consultants, and academic researchers engaged in the installation of instrumentation in the field. Furthermore, the best practices detailed in this paper can be used as a foundation for agreements made between mine operators and researchers to ensure safety procedures will be followed while on mine property. This will result in enhanced safety of both researchers involved in field studies as well as mine employees tasked with assisting and accompanying those researchers. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Mining Occupational Health Safety Staff Development
• Keywords:
  Drilling Ground Control Materials Handling Mining Equipment Mining Industry Safety Practices Training Underground Mines
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• Publisher:
  Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  PMRD - Pittsburgh Mining Research Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-14
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20069431
• Citation:
  MineXchange: 2024 SME Annual Conference & Expo, February 25-28, 2024, Phoenix, Arizona, preprint 24-012. Englewood, CO: Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration, 2024 Feb; :1-14
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2024
• NORA Priority Area:
  Mining
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  MineXchange: 2024 SME Annual Conference & Expo, February 25-28, 2024, Phoenix, Arizona, preprint 24-012
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:2c15d389d599bb19281c8c8485a3d2f28c22317e48409990ab07f5534920ba8fb8fc4eb948b7f265b3ef554e75f0787f8016f6c21a262596ef8cbf6a73a9d5b8
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/215668/cdc_215668_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.20 MB ]