Dryer Operator

An employee was in the process of removing a metal dumpster from the bottom floor of our truck unloading building using a hoist. When they removed the dumpster from the building the hand rail was not put back into position and the employee fell into the lifting bay of the hoist. Fall was approximately 37 feet to the bottom level.

On Tuesday, August 20, 2019, at approximately 8:00 a.m., Thomas Flinspach, a 20-year-old Yardman/Laborer with less than 6 months of mining experience died when he fell 37 feet from an elevated work position. The victim was attempting to empty a waste bin at the top of the shaft in the grinder building when the accident occurred. The accident occurred because the waste bin dump safety procedures were not followed.

1. The waste bin dump safety procedures were not followed causing the safety gate, located at the top of the shaft, to be open when the accident occurred. Also, the miner did not use fall protection while working from an elevated position.

   Corrective action: The mine operator redesigned the equipment and process to eliminate exposure to the hoist shaft while this work is performed. The safety gate was replaced with a fixed handrail that doesn’t open. Also, the waste bin was replaced with a smaller waste bin. The trolley hoist now moves the smaller waste bin over the fixed handrail. Additionally, a switch at the top of the hoist shaft now controls the trolley hoist so miners will not be below a load while they operate the trolley hoist. This creates an engineered, fail-safe, control which prevents the need for the previous safety procedures while miners are performing this task.

Findings from MSHA's final investigation report, which supersedes the preliminary narrative above.

Activity at time of incident

Walking, Running

Subunit / location

MILL OPERATION/PREPARATION PLANT

Accident type

Fall to lower level, (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Source of injury

ELEVATORS,CAGES,SKIPS,ETC

Nature of injury

MULTIPLE INJURIES

Body part affected

MULTIPLE PARTS (MORE THAN ONE MAJOR)

Total mining experience

0 years

Experience at this mine

0 years

Experience in this job

0 years

Degree of injury

FATALITY