Performance Summary of Continuous Mining Machine Proximity Detection Systems

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bissert PT ; Carr, Jacob L. ; DuCarme, Joseph P. ; Jobes, Christopher C. ; Yonkey JA
• Description:
  Since 1984, remote controlled continuous mining machines (CMM) have caused 40 crushing and pinning fatalities in the United States. Due to limited space in the underground environment and visibility needs, CMM operators typically work close to the machine which exposes them to the danger of being struck or pinned by it. Because of these fatalities, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has published a rule requiring proximity detection systems (PDSs) on all CMMs except for full-face machines. To test PDS performance, researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducted a series of field tests in underground coal mines throughout the United States on CMMs equipped with PDSs. The field tests collected data under a variety of conditions to evaluate the warning and shutdown zone performance of these systems. A baseline test condition was measured when the machine was operating in non-mining mode. Three additional conditions discussed in this paper include testing of the PDS while the machine was operating in mining mode, examining the possibility of parasitic coupling to the trailing cable, and examining the effects of the presence of a shuttle car. The results of this study indicate that the average warning and stop zones vary minimally between non-mining mode and trailing cable influence measurements, as well as between the mining mode and shuttle car presence tests. A majority of the measurements for warning and stop zones showed repeatability within +/- 5 inches (12.7 cm). Additionally, parasitic coupling to the trailing cable was not experienced during this field testing. However, these results show that the range of stop zone measurements varied by 4.7 ft on average and as much as 11.7 ft in different field sites. This is most likely due to individual preferences by operators during installation when the warning and stop zone distances are set. While a PDS should effectively stop a CMM when an operator gets too close to the machine, the large variations between field test measurements indicate that there is a wide variation of performance established during system installation. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Coal Coal Mining Mining Mortality Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Accident Prevention Coal Mines Coal Mining Fatalities Injury Prevention Mining Equipment Mining Industry Proximity Detection Remote Control Robotics Traumatic Injuries Underground Mines Underground Mining Warning Devices Warning Systems

  More +
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• ISBN:
  9780791850664
• Publisher:
  American Society of Mechanical Engineers
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  Arizona ; New York ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 9 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  PMRD - Pittsburgh Mining Research Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  12
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20049234
• Citation:
  Proceedings of the ASME 2016 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition (IMECE2016), November 11-17, 2016, Phoenix, Arizona. New York: The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2016 Nov; 12:IMECE2016-65536
• Contact Point Address:
  Peter T. Bissert, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Proceedings of the ASME 2016 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition (IMECE2016), November 11-17, 2016, Phoenix, Arizona
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a442939b71e3a9db84140249c541efd74fe7e14d3c83f89e9dc72f34caf76878ac25976a2d8f6ca70a2ffac7fa76dea49a1125ea35c7069f686e98310c958102
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228341/cdc_228341_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.46 MB ]