A dozer operator’s quick thinking averted a potential disaster this week at a New South Wales mine after the dozer drove over the edge of a face.
According to the NSW Resources Regulator, a dozer was preparing an access and windrow at an open cut coal mine at night.
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The Regulator said that the operator became disorientated and inadvertently trimmed over the rill face. The operator was able to bury the blade into the rill material and halt the machine. The mine’s emergency response team retrieved the operator, who was uninjured.
The incident has highlighted the need to ensure that when dozer operators or other plant operators are working at night, work areas must be inspected prior to the commencement of works, and potential hazards must be identified and communicated to relevant workers. Suitable windrow and lighting should be installed to define the work area.
Four months ago a dozer operator unintentionally collided with an excavator after it slewed adjacent to the dozer’s position.
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