Coal Inspectorate | Alert | No.390 V 1 | 18 May 2021
A dragline hoist drum was to be rotated to enable rotation of a hoist motor. This was to allow conditioning work to be done on the hoist motor commutator. The rotational energy would come from the release of the bucket and hoist rope movement. No other controls were in place. One hoist brake was released at a time until hoist drum rotation commenced. Seven out of eight hoist brakes were released until this movement was achieved. The bucket started accelerating into the pit from boom point until it reached maximum velocity. With no controls to stop this movement, the hoist ropes (127mm) continued to unwind off the drum until the end of the rope was reached and the 16 hoist rope clamps were ejected from the drum, becoming projectiles in the machinery house area. During this time, hoist brakes were trying to be set manually and as they were applied large quantities of brake pad dust was released into the machinery house area. No one was injured during this event. The incident is still under investigation.
The uncontrolled release of hoist brakes and bucket from a significant height, combined with no controls contributed significantly to this event. The hazards posed by the uncontrolled release of the hoist brakes and dragline bucket were not identified by the personnel in any formal process.
There was no formal instruction or procedure for the rotation of the hoist drum in this manner. This was also a contributing factor.
Investigations are ongoing and further information may be published as it becomes available. The information in this publication is what is known at the time of writing.
We issue Safety Notices to draw attention to the occurrence of a serious incident, raise awareness of risks, and prompt assessment of your existing controls.
Contact: Greg Napper, Inspector of Mines (Electrical) , 0475 596 318 QldMinesInspectorate@rshq.qld.gov.au
Issued by Resources Safety & Health Queensland
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All information on this page (Dragline hoist drum uncontrolled movement - https://www.rshq.qld.gov.au/safety-notices/mines/dragline-hoist-drum-uncontrolled-movement) is correct as of time of printing (Mar 19, 2024 10:28 pm).