Working in mining is one of the most dangerous professions that you can take on. Across the world, there are mining incidents that take place every year, some of which require major rescue efforts. If you are working in a mining environment there are some essential safety tips that you can use to reduce your risk for accidents:
Always receive professional training:
Before you even consider entering a mining site make sure that you’re undergoing a safety briefing and getting some form of professional training. Knowing how you should react in an emergency can save your life and will require pre-training before you enter the environment.
Plan for success:
Any task requires proper planning and communication. Without proper strategy meetings and mapping, you could be risking an accident. Planning and communication in mining is the only way that you can boost the quality of work while keeping a safe working environment.
Do not neglect safety equipment:
Always wear applicable safety gear including vests, helmets, safety glasses, and any additional PPE that is required for running special equipment. Neglecting safety gear can put you in danger and eliminate lines of defense when you are involved in an accident.
Get the right supervision:
Supervisors need to be in place to troubleshoot problems in the mining site and to know the location of staff throughout their shifts. A coordinator or supervisor during a shift needs to be on hand to prevent accidents and keep things running smoothly.
Keep proper records and documentation:
Documentation can log anything from elevated gas levels in areas of a mine down to problems with equipment. Properly logging what is happening on each shift helps with carryover and ensures that appropriate repairs and concerns can be addressed in a timely manner.
Innovation:
Keeping up with the latest required safety standards and innovating for future standards of safety remains important. If you are not able to adapt and meet the latest standards in safety, you could be putting yourself and your co-workers at risk.
Consider some of these top tips to stay safe in mining.
This post was written by Justin Tidd, Director at Becker Mining Communications! For over 15 years, Becker Communications has been the industry’s leader in Gas Monitoring System and electrical mining communication systems. As they expanded into surface mining, railroads, and tunneling they added wireless communication systems, handheld radios, tagging and tracking systems, as well as gas monitoring.