a. What was the man's position with respect to his surroundings? This should state his position in relation to those parts of his surroundings which had anything to do with the accident. As an example, "Fifteen feet inby the third loading station and 8 feet from the right rib."

b. In what manner was he performing his job step? One example might be the following: "He was striking a safety post with an ax with his back to the right rib."

C. What triggered the accident? Continuing with our example, the following might be written concerning the timberman: "Vibrations produced by the ax striking the post carried into the roof and to the right rib, thereby loosening the coal brow, allowing it to fall."

d.

How did the accident end?

This question refers to the type of accident or the agent of contact, as for example, "Struck by falling coal and/or rock."

e. What did the man, or some other person, do or fail to do? This is one of the more important questions that you, as an investigator, will need to know in order that possible corrective measures can be evaluated since it attempts to establish mancauses of the accident. The answer to this question will be evident if you have written a good description of the accident. must be specific in stating your answer, which should always be related in terms of actions or omissions that contributed to the accident. In the case of our example, the timberman, failing to detect the unsafe condition, contributed to the accident.

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f. What were the underlying reasons for the man's actions? This question attempts to establish the personal factor causes of the accident and quite often is difficult to determine. Every effort should be made to identify these reasons, if possible, and the investigator will have to rely on his own individual knowledge and experience of the job in order to base an opinion if the reasons are not readily apparent. Examples of personal factor causes are: Unaware of job hazards, inattentive to hazards, unaware of safe method, acting to avoid extra effort, defective visions, and influence of emotions. There are others that could be mentioned, but the cited examples should be sufficient to aid the investigator in adding his own personal items to the list.

8. What conditions of the surroundings contributed to the accident? The answer to this question will establish the direct environmental cause of the accident and can usually be traced to tools, equipment, structures, or work area. Environmental causes

may have existed before the start of the job, may develop during the performance of the job, or may be the result of the man's own actions or the actions of others. In the case of the timberman, the surrounding condition that contributed to the action was the uneven rib line, namely, the coal and/or rock protrusion. Usually environmental conditions have a direct relation to the accident, as in the case of the uneven rib line, but in some instances, the relationship is not as obvious. One example of this nature would be a poorly-located switch that could cause some men to hesitate before walking the short distance to shutdown a machine before attempting repairs.

h. What items were responsible for conditions that contributed to the accident? Knowledge of these reasons will often, if not always, indicate need of corrections to prevent a recurrence of the conditions. Referring again to the accident of the timberman, the items responsible for the overhang could be traced to either the manner in which the cutting machine operator allowed the bar of his machine to drift into the solid coal when "sumping" or in the placement of the shot holes along the right rib. this case, cutting and drilling straight ribs would be proper corrective measures.

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Recommendations

The report of any accident is not complete until proper corrective measures have been developed for the prevention of recurrences. In most instances, recommendations will be obvious, becoming readily apparent during the course of the investigation. On some rare occasions, corrective measures may require considerable thought and discussion and possibly legwork. Depending on the circumstances surrounding the accident, the number of measures to be taken may range from one or two to several. Recommendations may vary from reinstruction of the individual involved, reassignment of the individual, improved design or construction, or possibly the job should be studied for a revision of performance procedures. Regardless of the nature of the corrective measures to be introduced, they should be as specific and detailed as possible, with definite and clear-cut instructions. Vague statements, such as "The man should be more careful," are meaningless and can do little to prevent accidents. All persons performing similar duties in the mine should also be advised of these recommendations; otherwise, the investigation will have limited benefits.

Sketch of Accident Area

A sketch of the accident area is always helpful and, when possible, should be included in the accident report. Most companies assign

the duty of the sketch to their engineering departments, but a preliminary sketch, drawn by you, will help to more fully understand the accident while the investigation is being completed.

One procedure for obtaining an underground sketch of an accident is as follows: Locate some reference point near the scene of the accident as your starting point. This can be a survey station number or the center of an intersection may be used if a station number is not available. A tape measure (25 or 50 feet in length) is stretched on the bottom along the approximate centerline of the accident area with the zero of the tape measure at the reference point (station number or center of the intersection). Progressing along the tape measure toward the actual accident area, record all pertinent data, such as information concerning distances of roof supports and rib lines, both right and left, from the centerline, and noting the distance from the reference point. This procedure is continued until the complete area is measured. When equipment is involved in an accident, dimensions of length, width, and height should be recorded, and the position of the equipment noted relative to the overall accident scene. Other features of the accident scene should be recorded on your sketch, such as positions of eye witnesses and roof and rib abnormalities, if present. It is, of course, easier to delete unnecessary information from a sketch than to attempt to recall to mind some needed data which was missed during the investigation.

As a member of a mine safety committee, one of your responsibilities is assisting, whenever possible, in the training of your fellow workmen. From necessity, this training takes many forms and must be a continuing process if the workmen are to be safe and fully productive in their efforts. Why is everyone so concerned about accidents and injuries, and what relationship does training have to a safe operation?

Suppose we take a look at a disabling injury case and determine who gets "hurt" and the costs involved.

An employee, during his usual job, allowed an object to fall; it landed on his foot, and he received a fracture.

The employee's work record was good; yet, his injury record was only fair. The accident was definitely traced to inattention to the job. This man is in his thirties, is married, and has two children.

First: We know the man suffered pain from his broken foot. We also know he worried about loss of income, and this worry was shared by his wife. This distress did not last only for the 25 days the employee lost from the job but was actually a financial setback which took him months to recover.

It is particularly of interest that this employee's record shows him to be efficient and dependable, with practically no absenteeism, until the time of the accident. Shortly after returning to work, he was notified of a garnishment of wages. Following that, his record discloses a large percentage of absenteeism, explained as sickness and personal business. Following conferences with the man, it was found that he had taken a second job in an attempt to catch up on bills. Proper guidance and assistance eliminated this potential for further serious accidents and eliminated the absenteeism.

Second: Did the foreman get "hurt?" Not in his personal physical condition, but:

1. He lost time when he took the man to first aid..

2. He lost the services of an experienced employee on a particular job.

3.

He had to rearrange employees and work assignments.

4.

He lost production and, to an extent, quality.

He had to take time to investigate and write reports of the accident.

5.

6. He had to answer questions of concerned fellow employees.

7. He had to inform his line organization.

8.

He lost again when the employee returned unable for a time to perform as quickly and efficiently as he did prior to the accident.

Third: Did the company lose? This case cost the company more than $1,000 in compensation and medical treatment. This was a direct cost and did not include the cost of company first-aid facilities. If we were to take the nationally-established ratio of 4 to 1 to determine the indirect cost, this accident cost the company $4,000 in indirect costs and $1,000 in direct costs or a total of $5,000 for a fractured foot caused by inattention to the job.

With these facts, we can state that the man, his family, his supervisor, his department, and the company lost through the occurrence of this accident. On the other hand, nobody won.

I am sure that you will agree that accidents are 100 percent losses to everyone. Hazards exist in nearly all jobs, and there are safe and unsafe ways to do these jobs. Employees must know the existence of these hazards and the precautions to take if they are to work without injuries; hence, the need and development of safe job procedures. Employees should be trained to recognize unsafe practices and to know why they are unsafe.

As has been previously indicated, every individual must be taught to be concerned with and held responsible for his own personal safety within the limits of his ability to control his surroundings and his actions. Many individuals, working at hazardous occupations, such as coal mining, tend to become complacent after gaining experience on their jobs and are therefore "ripe" for an accident.

As a safety representative of your union, you are confronted with the necessity of helping to keep before your fellow workmen, at all times, reminders of the importance of their own individual safety effort, which means that such reminders do not become so repetitious or tiresome that, instead of stimulating greater effort, they become routine.