MAINTENANCE FITTER KILLED BY FALLING BELT CLAMP BEAM

INCIDENT

A coal mine maintenance fitter was fatally injured when the lifting cables of two hand winches failed and he was crushed under a heavy steel conveyor belt clamp beam.

A maintenance crew had completed the replacement of a head end pulley on a long conveyor, which was being used to move overburden from an open cut coal mine to a dump area. Two fitters then proceeded to remove the top and bottom belt clamps. These clamps were permanently located at the head end and storage brackets were fitted to the conveyor frame. To move the beams to and from their storage brackets, small fixed hand winches were located at each end of the beam. As the two fitters lifted a top beam back to its storage position, cables on both winches failed and one of the fitters was crushed under the falling beam.

COMMENTS

The preliminary enquiries reveal the following:

• The cause of the cable failure has not yet been established
• Just prior to the incident, it is probable that the fitter was at or under the belt clamp's top beam, which had weight of 700 kilograms
• No other fall prevention device was fitted to the beam
• The hand winches were mounted behind a steel column, making it difficult to see the position of the top beam during lifting
• The hand winches were not fitted with an upper limit stop and there was no method for ensuring the automatic alignment of the storage bracket boltholes with storage boltholes in the top beam
• The storage bracket boltholes were located at a height which were difficult to reach from the walkway.

RECOMMENDATIONS & PREVENTATIVE ACTION

• All mines and quarries review all operations, which utilise lifting equipment. Identify hazards, assess risks and identify controls for these operations. Consider compliance with the relevant Australian Standards - in particular AS2550.1 Cranes, Hoists and Winches - Safe Use
• Ensuring all persons in the vicinity of a crane's or winches' load are in a safe location.
• Implement an inspection and maintenance regime to ensure ropes and other lifting devices are fit for purpose.

FURTHER INFORMATION

• Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 & Occupational Health and Safety (Plant) Regulations 1995
• Minerals Industry Safety Handbook. (Available from the Department.)
• MPR and Victorian Work Authority Guidance Notes and Significant Incident Reports at, www.dpi.vic.gov.au
• AS 2550.1-2002 Cranes, Hoists and Winches - Safe Use and AS1418-2002 Cranes, Hoists and Winches.

Director, Minerals and Petroleum Regulation