MSHA Publishes Final Rule on Proximity Detection Systems

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A Rule That Will Save Lives

Filed in Safety by Joseph Main on January 17, 2015

Probably no regulation issued by the Mine Safety and Health Administration over the past five years has received as much labor and industry support as the one we published on Jan. 15. This final rule, whose technology was developed through efforts of the mining industry, will require operators of underground coal mines to equip continuous mining machines with proximity detection systems. It represents a major step toward preventing miners from being crushed and killed by large continuous mining machines as they change locations in an underground coal mine.

Wielding a large rotating steel drum equipped with tungsten carbide teeth, a continuous mining machine scrapes coal from its seam and loads it onto conveyor belts or coal haulers like shuttle cars for transport to the surface. As it maneuvers from one place to another in a confined underground area, the massive machine leaves little room for miners in its path. It’s one of the most efficient methods for extracting coal, yet not without its risks. In fact, since 1984, 35 coal miners have died in accidents in which they became pinned, crushed or struck by these machines.

To combat these kinds of accidents, MSHA collaborated with the mining industry, manufacturers and others to develop a technology that uses electronic sensors to detect motion or the location of one object relative to another. These systems can be programmed to send warning signals and stop machines before they injure or kill miners working in the confined space of a coal mine.
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Approximately 425 continuous mining machines already have been equipped with proximity detection systems, and MSHA believes the majority of these systems will meet the provisions of the final rule with only minor changes, such as adding warning signals. There are about 863 continuous mining machines in underground coal mines.
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Joseph Main is the assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health.

MSHA Assistant Secretary Joseph Main observes a continuous mining machine at Gibson North mine in Princeton, Ind. Photo credit: Timothy D. Easley/The Associated Press