For clients and friends of Jackson Kelly PLLC
Volume 12, Number 1
©2016 Jackson Kelly PLLC
On January 13, 2016, Neal H. Merrifield, Administrator for Metal and Nonmetal Mine Safety and Health, issued a Lock-Tag-Try Alert announcing that the Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”) plans to devote additional resources to enforcement and education concerning lock out/tag out issues at Metal/Nonmetal mines. MSHA cites the motivation of this initiative as the death of 28 metal and nonmetal miners since 2005 in which energy sources were not controlled before work began.
Using the slogan “It’s not locked out until you’ve tried it out,” MSHA hopes to raise awareness of the importance of using appropriate lock out/tag out procedures. Metal and Nonmetal inspectors and Educational Field and Small Mines Services personnel will visit mines and hold walk-and-talks to discuss safe lock out/tag out procedures. MSHA’s requirements for lock out/tag out include:
- power must be disconnected;
- switches must be locked out;
- warning notices must be posted and signed by those performing the work;
- power to machinery or equipment must be off, and;
- machinery or equipment must be blocked against hazardous motion.
The alert states that this process should be used whenever:
- removing or bypassing a guard or other safety device for maintenance, repair, cleaning, or clearing jammed mechanisms;
- placing any part of one’s body where it could be injured by moving machinery parts or release of stored energy (hydraulic or pneumatic pressure, steam, springs, objects that could fall or pivot), or;
- placing any part of one’s body into an electrical energy or hazardous substances danger zone.
MSHA already focused upon both mechanical and electrical lock out/tag out before this alert. The electrical standards affected by the lock out/tag out alert include 30 C.F.R. §§ 56/57.12006, 30 C.F.R. §§ 56/57.12016, and 30 C.F.R. §§ 56/57.12017. The mechanical lock out standards are 30 C.F.R. §§ 56/57.14105. MSHA’s Rules to Live by Standards initiative, which prompts inspectors to issue S&S citations for violations and also focused upon fatalities include 30 C.F.R. §§ 56/57.14105 and 30 C.F.R. §§ 56/57.12017.
Among its best practices to comply with the alert and standards above, MSHA recommends that operators identify stored energy and proper lock out locations, review and train miners upon the lock out procedures, develop machine specific procedures, and most importantly, remove miners from the vicinity and test the machinery to insure that its motion is arrested. Mine operators should review the affected standards with their miners in preparation for MSHA’s focus on this issue.
This article was authored by Benjamin J. Ross, Jackson Kelly PLLC. For more information on the author, click here.
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH PRACTICE GROUP
Denver, Colorado
Responsible Attorney
Kristin R.B. White
(303) 390-0006
kwhite@jacksonkelly.com
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