Workplace safety should always come first regardless of the amount you’re bound to earn from the job. Having safety measures in your workplace may help minimize accidents and injuries. Dangerous work sites require stringent safety measures to protect everyone from hazardous conditions and incidents that can affect your workers’ health or cause any other type of injury.
One of the top places requiring maximum safety is underground mining or open area mining. Underground mining poses a risk of collapse of the overhead wall and needs to be supported to avoid danger. Open spaces are exposed to harsh conditions such as scorching heat or cold weather. During such situations, suitable structures that can regulate the temperature, such as fabric buildings for mining operations, can come in handy. Effective ventilation and cooling systems may also reduce the risk of workers experiencing adverse effects to extreme temperatures.
If you’re thinking of a career in the mining industry, you need to be aware of ways to enhance safety on the site. Here are some tips that may help you.
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Institute High Safety Standards
Study the required standards of safety in mining areas and enforce them. Conduct a training and sensitization program for all your employees to know what is expected. Flouting such rules should not be taken lightly, thus, hold everyone responsible for any ignorance on safety standards. Injuries or accidents at the mining site can cause your mining business to lose hundreds if not thousands of dollars if a worker files a worker’s compensation lawsuit.
Additionally, ask your workers to continually provide feedback on areas that they think need improvement for their safety. Finally, work towards creating a culture of safety in which new hires can quickly blend in.
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Wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
All labor-intensive jobs require that workers should have personal protective gear while at work. Full-body protection should always be present to keep workers away from dangerous chemicals and adverse temperatures. As such, you need to create a culture where every individual should wear full-body gear at all times.
Your workers need steel-toed work boots and head helmets. Besides, they should put on aprons and gloves to protect their fingers from injury by machines. Moreover, you can give them goggles to protect them from dangerous chemicals from splashing into their eyes. In addition, they need earmuffs to be safe from loud sounds that can damage their eardrums over a long exposure to such noise. Remember to ensure that all defective personal protective equipment is replaced for maximum protection.
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Enhance Visibility
Work vehicles should have well-functioning headlights. Quality lighting can remove any possibility of crashes of vehicles or automobiles or with workers.
Underground tunnels should also have good lighting. This helps lower the rate of accidents that can be caused by poor vision. Ensure that workers have personal lighting devices such as forehead lights. Aside from that, you may install stationary lights everywhere. Remember to have a backup source of lighting in case of a blackout.
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Have Standby Lifting Precautions
Underground mining is a risky activity that requires speedy evacuation in case of any impending danger, such as walls that have started to collapse. Besides, when working, someone’s standing position might cause musculoskeletal injuries making it difficult to climb a ladder. Thus, a lift will be a handy alternative. Lifting machinery should be regularly serviced to keep them in good working condition.
Apart from lifting personnel, you can have lifts for heavy objects that can cause injury to the back or neck of your workers. Moreover, encourage your employees to ask for help when lifting heavy materials to avoid back injuries. In addition, train your employees how to lift heavy objects without subjecting one’s back to possible injury.
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Control Noise And Vibration Levels
Quarrying explosions produce a high-pitched sound that can threaten the hearing of your workers. Also, some powerful machinery may be a source of increased noise and vibration. Therefore, employ strategic drilling to help lower tremors, such as drilling buffer holes in advance. You may also use millisecond blasting that delays the frequency of blasting and shaking. Additionally, you can use sound suppression supports or blast mats that can absorb detonation force and reduce the emission of some dangerous gases.
Wrapping Up
Mining is a lucrative business, especially if you’re dealing in highly precious materials like diamonds, gold, gemstones, among others. Just as essential as these commodities are, so is the safety of everyone in the mining site. Your workers should be protected from injuries and exposure to harmful chemicals and extreme weather conditions. Therefore, you need to establish a safety culture that prioritizes workplace safety practices. This list of safety methods mentioned above can help you keep a mining site and your workers safe.
