The Mine Safety and Health Administration has released a serious accident alert in which a miner was injured while removing the teeth from an excavator bucket with a sledgehammer.
As the miner was striking one of the teeth, a small piece of metal sheared off the sledge hammer and struck the miner in the leg.
Best Practices:
- Examine your work place for all possible hazards and correct them before you perform work.
- Inspect hand tools before and after use.
- Remove defective tools from service.
- Follow the manufacturers’ recommended safe work procedures for the maintenance task and monitor work to ensure procedures are followed.
- Wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) while performing work.
