In the past several years, the number of work-related injuries due to falling has increased significantly. There has been an uptick in fatalities while workers mount and dismount mobile equipment, specifically from the top of trucks and aerial lift baskets. One of these fatalities occurred in the cement industry in early 2020, when a truck driver fell from the top of his bulk trailer while opening the trailer lids. Workers have also fallen while not wearing proper fall protection and performing maintenance on crushers, screens, conveyors, and other fixed equipment.

Additionally, approximately 26% of fatal falls from 2000-2020 occurred at a height of 6 feet or less. Shortcuts should never be taken at any height.

MSHA issued 92 imminent danger orders between January 2019 and June 2020 for climbing on top of vehicles or conducting maintenance without fall protection. This number only reflects times an inspector saw an unsafe situation where someone was working from height unprotected – just think how many times this happens when the inspector is not there and may not be recorded and/or corrected.

We encourage all operations and personnel to review and adhere to the following best practices: 

• Proactively enforce fall protection use and safe work-at-height policies and procedures with all employees and contractors; make sure supervisors lead by example.
• Establish procedures where fall hazard concerns are emphasized and addressed; encourage workers to speak up about concerns or potential hazards.
• Reduce hazards. Design work areas and develop job tasks to minimize fall hazards.
• Have a program. Establish an effective fall prevention and protection program. Provide task and site-specific hazard training that prohibits working at unprotected locations.
• Provide a personal fall arrest system to each miner who may work at an elevated height or a location unprotected by handrails. Inspect before use every day. Ensure their use.
• Provide mobile or stationary platforms or scaffolding with identifiable, secure anchor points to attach lanyards at locations and work projects where there is a risk of falling.
• Provide safe truck tarping and bulk truck hatch access facilities.
• Encourage and train miners to use three points of contact when accessing machines and vehicles. Reach out to your transportation partners to share best practices.

The health and safety of our employees are one of Argo’s core values. We are committed to everyone working safely and going home well and uninjured at the end of each and every day and shift.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Fatal work-related falls to a lower level increased 26 percent from 2011 to 2016 on the Internet at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2018/fatal-work-related-falls-to-a-lower-level-increased-26-percent-from-2011-to-2016.htm