Mining Publication: Musculoskeletal Stress on Miners Performing Roof Screening Operations

Roof screen is often bolted to the mine ceiling to help control hazardous rock falls in coal mines. While the screen prevents rock fall injuries, its installation may expose the miner to musculoskeletal stress. The purpose of this study was to evaluate methods of handling roof screen. Subjects performed installation tasks under a normal and intervention condition while trunk kinematics and muscle activity data were collected. Trunk kinematics were not affected by the intervention but were significantly higher in the morning than in the afternoon. Muscle activity did not differ significantly with seam height but was significantly reduced by the intervention. Overall, this study showed that musculoskeletal stressors during screen installation were reduced by the proposed intervention.