Top 10 Causes/Preventive Tips for Mining Back Injuries
Posted on 03/07/08 @ 4:10pm by Max Griffin
Back injuries are the most frequent type of nonfatal injuries at small underground mines.
- Ergonomics can help to reduce the costs associated with these injuries.
- Mines can institute committees to help solve ergonomic problems. These committees can include representatives from management, the labor force, and the medical department.
- Various analysis techniques, such as a job safety analysis, task analyses, materials-handling flowcharts, and preliminary hazards analysis can be used to identify ergonomic problems in and around a mine.
- Once hazards have been identified, then solutions can be formulated and implemented.
- Back injuries are responsible for a great deal of suffering and can account for from 30% to 40% of worker compensation costs at underground coal mines.
- Miners working in thin seam mines must handle materials and perform other duties while in unusual and somewhat awkward postures, resulting in stress to the lower back.
- Lifting capacity can be significantly lower, however, if the task is being performed in low coal, where the miner must work in constrained postures.
-One way that tasks can be designed to fit within a worker's capacity is to reduce the weight of the object being lifted. (E.g. rock dust packaged in 18-kg (40-lb) bags is a more appropriate size than 23-kg (50-lb) bags, given the reduced lifting capacity in restricted postures.
- After any ergonomic solution is carried out, it is crucial that a follow-up analysis be performed.
- This follow-up is done to ensure that all ergonomic problems in the original job design are resolved and to guard against the introduction of any new ergonomic or safety hazards. Worker selection and training techniques alone are not an effective control for low-back injuries and the ergonomic redesign of jobs and workstations is the preferred approach. However, it is often impractical, if not impossible, to design a job in such a manner that no training was required.
- Training should be an integral part of an effective ergonomics program. Training should include an introduction to biomechanics (the study of the mechanics of a living body, especially of the forces exerted by muscles and gravity on the skeletal structure) (including safe lifting), anthropometry (the study of human body measurement for use in anthropological classification and comparison), and work physiology (the biological study of the functions of living organisms and their parts). In addition, ergonomic stressors common to mining, such as thermal stress, vibration, noise, and lighting, should be discussed.
- Annual refresher training can provide an excellent forum for such instruction.
- Another strategy that supplements job redesign strategies to reduce occupationally related musculoskeletal injuries is the implementation of an exercise program.
- Exercise leads to improved strength and cardiovascular fitness that can, in turn, lead to a reduction in the costs associated with musculoskeletal injuries.
However, one must be careful when implementing such a program: Workers should consult with a physician prior to participation in any exercise program.
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