Mining Publication: Hazard Recognition Training Program for Construction, Maintenance and Repair Activities

Many miners are involved in tasks at the mine site that are similar to those sub-tasks performed in general construction, maintenance and repair (CMR) type work activities. as a result, many of the injuries in the mining industry today can be traced to employees performing these CMR type work activities. Indeed, a recent analysis of a major aggregate company revealed that 65% of all injuries documented originated from performing such CMR activities. It is hypothesized that the number of injuries to miners performing construction, maintenance and repair (CMR) work activities on mine property may be reduced through improved training that focuses on better hazard recognition using the numerous visual and other cues that are available for evaluating workplace health and safety hazards. To this end, researchers at NIOSH's Pittsburgh Research Laboratory has merged two proven methods of training miners to recognize hazards, stereoscopic (3-D) slides and the concept of degraded images, into this training program.