Development of a Mine Rescue Support Vehicle

Details

• Personal Author:
  Patts, Larry D. ; Rohrbaugh J ; Schall J
• Description:
  The underground mining industry and its partners work tirelessly to improve mine safety and to develop controls that address the dangers inherent to working in the dynamic underground environment. Nevertheless, the potential for hazards exists every day for mine workers, and should accidents occur and impair the miner's ability to self-escape, specially trained mine rescue teams and support personnel respond to these events. These responders often place themselves at a high level of risk and are required to perform intense manual labor in extremely difficult and unpredictable conditions. The highest priority of the mine rescue team is determining the location of trapped or injured miners and their subsequent rescue. Team members often must hand-carry injured miners as well as the supplies needed to accomplish the rescue, while also wearing heavy, protective self-contained breathing apparatus to guard against a potentially toxic atmosphere. ... With these specialized needs of mine rescue teams responding to an emergency in mind, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) contracted with ROHMAC, which manufactures mine-duty utility equipment and attachments, including equipment that can be operated via remote control, under extreme conditions, and in confined spaces. As a result of this contract, along with participation and substantial input from the mining industry and mine rescue community, a prototype mine rescue support vehicle was successfully developed and tested in rigorous conditions to simulate the mining environment. ROHMAC is currently in the process of making further improvements to the prototype and will be applying for Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) approval for permissible use. This article details the development of the prototype and describes the additional capabilities that are being integrated into the mine rescue support vehicle. Importantly, the key design features for the support vehicle grew out of focused and repeated discussions with mining company safety representatives, mine rescue team members, and MSHA mine emergency operations personnel. The common needs expressed by these groups were that the vehicle should be mine-worthy (built to operate reliably in the rugged post-event environment), remotely controlled (to allow machine operators to remain a safe distance from the machine), compact in size (able to navigate the tight spaces of a mine), and able to carry and operate a variety of tools and implements that might be required post-event. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Automobiles Confined Spaces Emergencies Emergency Responders Mining Occupational Health Safety Workplace
• Keywords:
  Confined Spaces Emergency Equipment Emergency Response Equipment Design Equipment Operation Equipment Testing Mine Rescue Mine Safety And Health Administration Mining Equipment Mining Industry Motor Vehicles MSHA Performance Tests Remote Control Rescue Technology Rescue Workers Underground Mines Work Environment

  More +
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• ISSN:
  1091-0646
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania ; West Virginia
• 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:
  40-42
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20054209
• Citation:
  Coal Age 2018 Dec; 123(10):40-42
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2019
• NORA Priority Area:
  Mining
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Coal Age
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:1e466de0586f9b0be8d29785666ff59d0336c0bf511d2a6ee47ff9abae1ce04ccf85c602443e6f326848d1548f5c90a41fd80b78078392f8611b37a2e4f42264
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/227792/cdc_227792_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 254.02 KB ]