NIOSH Mining: Haulage Topic Page

NIOSH Mining Safety and Health Topic

Haulage

In the mining industry, haulage refers to the horizontal transport of workers, ore, coal, supplies, and waste (hoisting is the vertical transport of the same). The industry employs large, powerful, sophisticated equipment to move millions of tons of ore and rock. A wide array of smaller vehicles transports workers and supplies, which commonly share the roadways with the massive ore hauling equipment. This equipment is often in use around the clock, in poorly lighting and adverse weather conditions. This interaction of equipment and less than ideal working conditions creates numerous potential hazards, with the result that in underground mines, haulage accounts for over 17% of the fatalities and 14% of the lost time accidents. In surface mines, haulage accounts for over 37% of the fatalities and 9% of the lost time accidents.

See the NIOSH Mining Products page for software, guides, training materials or other items related to this topic.

Measurement & analysis

Haulage Truck Dump Site Safety: An Examination of Reported Injuries (PDF, 381 KB, 2001-03)
Dump site injuries occur in all major mineral industries. Working in elevated areas near an edge is a common hazard for operators of off-highway mobile mining equipment. In this Information Circular (IC), serious injuries involving haulage trucks working at dump sites are examined for the period 1988 to 1997.

Safety Analysis of Surface Haulage Accidents (PDF, 128 KB, 1996)
Report on research analyzing single and multiple causes of surface haulage accidents.

Safety Concerns Associated With the Use of Electrically Powered Haulage to Remove Workers from Mines During Main Fan Stoppages (PDF, 372 KB, 2002)
The roles of main mine fans in underground mines are to induce airflow and continuously remove hazardous gases and dust. While most larger mines use multiple fans to accomplish these tasks, many smaller mines employ only a single fan. This paper concentrates on those mines having only one fan to provide ventilation needs.

Static and Dynamic Loads in Ore and Waste Rock Passes in Underground Mines (PDF, 572 KB, 1999)
This paper describes research to improve safety during transport of ore and waste in underground mines.

Engineering controls

Concluding Evaluation of a Continuous Haulage Guidance Sensor (PDF, 420 KB, 1998-10)
The mining industry has the highest average annual fatality rate among major U.S. industries. To address this, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Pittsburgh Research Laboratory (PRL), is conducting major research programs to reduce the hazard exposure of miners. One of the recently concluded programs at PRL developed the enabling technology for remote-controlled mining.

Design of Surface Mine Haulage Roads - a Manual (PDF, 703 KB, 1977)
A Bureau of Mines manual for the design of surface mine haulage roads. Covers such aspects as road alignment, construction materials, cross slope, drainage provisions and more.

A Guidance Sensor for Continuous Mine Haulage (PDF, 982 KB, 1996)
Reports on the application of near infrared sensor technology for the automatic guidance of a continuous haulage system

Preventing Collisions Involving Surface Mining Equipment: A GPS-based Approach (PDF, 833 KB, 2003-04)
An average of three workers a year are killed in surface mining operations when a piece of haulage equipment collides with another smaller vehicle or a worker on foot. Another three workers are killed each year when haulage equipment backs over the edge of a dump point or stockpile. Devices to monitor the blind areas of mining equipment are needed to provide a warning to operators when a vehicle, person, or change in terrain is near the equipment. Our tests have shown that it is feasible to add proximity warning to existing systems as a safety feature.

Recommendations for Evaluating & Implementing Proximity Warning Systems on Surface Mining Equipment (PDF, 10429 KB, 2007-06)
Researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Spokane Research Laboratory, studied technology and methods that could reduce accidents involving surface mining equipment that collides with other vehicles or workers, or drives over an unseen road edge. These proximity warning systems included radar, sonar, GPS, radio transceiver tags, and combinations of radar and cameras. A summary of test results is presented in this report, along with guidance on effective proximity warning technology, installation and maintenance considerations, and recommendations for effective implementation.

Technology News 484 - Devices to Monitor Blind Spots Near Large Haulage Equipment (PDF, 210 KB, 2001-01)
CDC/NIOSH Technology News brief on several technologies available to monitor the blind spots of large haulage equipment.

Technology News 502 - A New Training Video for Aggregate Operators: Aggregate Training for the Safety Impaired (PDF, 644 KB, 2003)
Discusses a video developed by NIOSH to provide safety training for workers in aggregate operations. Although the target audience was primarily new hires, the finished video was also to be relevant to more experienced workers.

Training exercises

Belt Haulage Accident

Belt Line Problem

Main Haulage Scaling Exercise

Prep Plant Belt Problem

Scoop Accident, First Aid Problem

Videos

Aggregate Training for the Safety Impaired
This 2003 video follows two new hires through their first week on the job. In the course of the week, they are fired from four different mines and learn the hard way what can happen if the dangers of surface mining are ignored. The video uses humor to present 15 different hazards, as well as safety tips on how to avoid these hazards. This video is also available in a Spanish language version.

Hazards In Motion
Discusses mobile equipment safety for underground miners.

Information gateways

Highway Work Zone Safety
Construction Equipment Visibility page gives a list of construction vehicles for which there are blind area diagrams and has links to those diagrams.