OMSHROffice of Mine Safety and Health Research

Hazard Recognition and Risk Perception: Discussing the Mine Worker's Perspective

Brianna M. Eiter, PhD Carin Kosmoski, PhD

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Mining is a major undertaking.• It involves the use of complex heavy machinery,

equipment, and processes.

• There are also numerous and diverse worker activities that take place in dynamic, challenging environments (Schraff et al., 2001).

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Stone, Sand and Gravel MiningU.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) injury database:• Fatalities: number increased in 2013 and continues to

be high in 2014.

• Non-Fatal Days Lost (NFDL):– Handling material– Slip or fall of person– Powered haulage

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Stone, Sand and Gravel

• Frequently cited Standards (30 CFR)

– Missing guards around moving machine parts– Electrical hazards– Inspection and maintenance of equipment– Inadequacy of berms and guardrails

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The Question

• Why are miners working at Stone, Sand and Gravel operations still being injured or killed?

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A Few Additional Questions

• Are miners recognizing hazards?

• Are miners recognizing hazards but inaccurately assessing the associated risk?

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Goals of Research

• Identify hazards miners think are critical.

• Understand risk from the miner’s perspective.

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Interviews

• Visited 4 mine sites– Interviewed 9 miners– Conducted 1 focus group with 4 miners

• Mine worker demographic information– Experience: 4 months to 27 years– Job title: Foreman, Haul truck operator, Loader

operator, Maintenance, Pit loader operator, Primary operator, Utility

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Interviews

• Conducted on site, took approximately 1 hour to complete

• Followed an interview guide:– First, miners were asked to identify hazards critical

to them and then rank order based on perceived risk.

– Additional questions were included to identify differences between hazards that were ranked as more risky than others.

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Analysis and Results

• Applied a Thematic Analysis to the data.

• Several themes emerged across miner interviews.– Identified hazards are variable– Experience– Routine vs. Non-routine activities– Behavior related hazards– Risk assessment

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Theme 1: Identified Hazards are Variable: Job Type • Locus of Control: the mine worker may have more

or less control of his surroundings. Customer trucks are ranked #1 because I spend a lot of time at the loading bins where the customer trucks are. The rule here is “yield for equipment.” 95% of the time they don’t really yield. I guess it just boils back down to you don’t really know what they are thinking and what they are going to do.

• Schema: the mine worker may or may not be exposed to hazards. Welder Maintenance Utility

1. Heat 1. Heat 1. Berms

2. Snow – on the roads

2. Close quarters 2. Traffic

3. Stored energy 3. Traffic in quarry 3. Stored energy

4. Close quarters 4. Ice 4. People

5. Burns 5. Burns

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Theme 2: Risk Assessment• Severity: the extent to which miner will be hurt

Weather conditions (heat and ice) are the most risky because he can’t control the consequences of heat and ice. Burns are least risky because he knows what happens with burns.

• Susceptibility: likelihood of getting hurtGetting debris in the eye is most risky because it is dusty and it happens most often to him.

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Theme 3: Experience: Positive Impact

• Experience can positively impact hazard recognition and decrease risk associated with hazard or task.It is less risky for him because he has done the task many times, has done it the right way, has done it the wrong way. He knows the task inside and out. It is still a risky task, but having a lot of experience with it makes it less risky for him than for other employees.

• Inexperience can positively impact hazard recognition and decrease risk associated with hazard or task.There are 3 miners with under 3 years of experience. He reports that these guys bring new ideas to the team. They have a new set of eyes and can propose changes that make the site run more efficiently.

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Theme 3: Experience: Negative Impact • Experience can negatively impact hazard

recognition and increase risk associated with hazard or task. I don’t know if it’s he don’t notice it or if it’s just kind of doesn’t acknowledge it because of experience, but, because I would think even though you have a lot of experience you still know there is a hazard or a danger there you just don’t really acknowledge it as much.

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Theme 4: Routine vs. Non-routine Activities• Routine jobs and tasks that happen on a regular

basisOn a daily basis I am safe, but there are some things I get complacent with. For example, I sometimes shovel the chutes without gloves on and sometimes I step or stand on the hand rails, and I don’t always wear my hearing protection. Working at heights, especially lower heights, but still above the MSHA rule, is a big issue for me. Sometimes I can stand on a guard to reach something instead of going and getting a man lift.

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Theme 4: Routine vs. Non-routine Activities• Non-routine jobs and tasks that happen infrequently

If it is a big job, like a plant tear down, there is a lot of planning ahead of time and we identify all the potential hazards. We spend a lot of time on safety when it is a big job that we don’t do very often. But it is still risky because we aren’t all that experienced at those jobs and hazards can just pop up.

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Theme 5: Behavior Related Hazards • Communication

Communication is the most risky for him because if he needs to communicate about a hazard that means that the hazard is real and exists and it is a hazard for everyone involved. How well he communicates about it can impact whether or not someone else is able to avoid that hazard.

• AttentionWhen they do bigger tasks with more than one person, you look out for other more and attend more to the task.

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Theme 5: Behavior Related Hazards • Complacency and Comfort

– He pointed out that miners should have confidence, but shouldn’t become complacent. They shouldn’t say ‘well I’ve done this before.’

– ‘there is always a potential for risk, every day. It’s what you get comfortable doing and your level of experience with the job that affects how you do the job.’

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Summary• Hazard recognition and risk assessment are

complicated processes.– Hazard recognition is dependent on job type which influence

miner’s sense of locus of control and exposure to hazards. – Miner’s assess risk differently, some place more emphasis on

severity while others focus more on susceptility. – Experience and inexperience can both positively and

negatively impact hazard recognition and risk assessment.– How often a task occurs affects the way miners think about

and work together to perform the task. – Behaviors can be considered hazards.

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What Can Trainers Do Now?• Take into consideration hazards specific to job types

during hazard recognition training.

• SOPs and safety meetings are critical before non-routine tasks.

• It is also critical to revisit SOPs and hold safety meetings about routine tasks on occasion to remind miners of potential hazards.

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Where Do We Go Next?

NIOSH research project developed to further investigate issues related to hazard recognition. 1. Design and conduct laboratory study to understand

the cognitive processes involved in hazard recognition and to identify the factors that influence whether a miner recognizes a hazard or not.

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Where Do We Go Next?

NIOSH research project developed to further investigate issues related to hazard recognition. 2. Create training materials to address cognitive

processes identified through laboratory testing. 3. Field test training materials to ensure cognitive

concerns have been adequately addressed and that training materials do increase hazard recognition abilities.

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Question?

• How have you trained for hazard recognition in the past?

• What do you see as the pros and cons to this approach?

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Question?

• What type of training materials – related to hazard recognition – do you need?

www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining

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Disclaimer: The findings and conclusions in this presentation have not been formally disseminated by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and should not be construed to represent any agency determination or policy. Mention of any commercial product does not imply endorsement.

Thank you!

Brianna M. Eiter, PhDBeiter@cdc.gov412-386-4954