John Heberger - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by John Heberger

Mining Engineering, 2018

Advertisers bring the products, services and support information that your job requires, increasi... more Advertisers bring the products, services and support information that your job requires, increasing your company's productivity, efficiency and profit. This section is a complimentary categorized listing from active Mining Engineering advertisers. For more information on participating in this section, contact us at

Ergonomics, Jan 26, 2017

The development and testing of ergonomics and safety audits for small and bulk bag filling, haul ... more The development and testing of ergonomics and safety audits for small and bulk bag filling, haul truck, and maintenance and repair operations in coal preparation and mineral processing plants found at surface mine sites is described. The content for the audits was derived from diverse sources of information on ergonomics and safety deficiencies including: analysis of injury, illness, and fatality data and reports; task analysis; empirical laboratory studies of particular tasks; field studies and observations at mine sites; and maintenance records. These diverse sources of information were utilized to establish construct validity of the modular audits that were developed for use by mine safety personnel. User and inter-rater reliability testing was carried out prior to finalizing the audits. The audits can be implemented using downloadable paper versions or with a free mobile NIOSH-developed Android application called ErgoMine. Practitioner Summary The methodology used to develop erg...

Journal of safety, health and environmental research, 2016

In a mine emergency where refuge is necessary, miners may sustain injuries that will render them ... more In a mine emergency where refuge is necessary, miners may sustain injuries that will render them unable to walk or crawl. In this situation, a miner may have to rely on others for transportation into the mobile refuge alternative (RA) while on a stretcher. Since requirements for mine first-aid stations were developed before RAs, stretchers should be evaluated to determine whether they are usable in an RA and within the physical capabilities of miners in a refuge. The size of the RA airlock is a concern, as it has not been determined if current airlocks will accommodate a miner on a stretcher. This study evaluated the time required to move three types of stretchers into two commercially available RAs. The splint stretcher had the longest average time to move into each RA as compared to the backboard and soft stretcher. This increase was mostly due to the increased time requirements for getting the splint stretcher into the airlock. For all stretchers, it took approximately two to thr...

Several tools are sold and recommended for closing and sealing flexible intermediate bulk contain... more Several tools are sold and recommended for closing and sealing flexible intermediate bulk containers (bulk bags) which are used to transport product that has been mined and processed. However, there is limited information on the risks, physical demands, or the benefits of using one tool over another. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the physical demands involved with two closing methods and several sealing tools in order to provide recommendations for selecting tools to reduce exposure to risk factors for work-related musculoskeletal disorders. In this study, twelve participants completed bag closing and sealing tasks using two different closing methods and eight sealing tools on two types of bulk bags. Physical demands and performance were evaluated using muscle activity, perceived exertion, subjective ratings of use, and time. Results indicate that using the " flowering " method to close bags required on average 32% less muscle activity, 30% less perceived exertion, 42% less time, and was preferred by participants compared to using the " snaking " method. For sealing, there was no single method significantly better across all measures; however, using a pneumatic cable tie gun consistently had the lowest muscle activity and perceived exertion ratings. The pneumatic cable tie gun did require approximately 33% more time to seal the bag compared to methods without a tool, but the amount of time to seal the bag was comparable to using other tools. Further, sealing a spout bulk bag required on average 13% less muscle activity, 18% less perceived exertion, 35% less time, and was preferred by participants compared to sealing a duffle bulk bag. The current results suggest that closing the spout bag using the flowering method and sealing the bag using the pneumatic cable tie gun that is installed with a tool balancer is ergonomically advantageous. Our findings can help organizations select methods and tools that pose the lowest physical demands when closing and sealing bulk bags.

International journal of industrial ergonomics, 2015

Many mining commodities are packaged and shipped using bags. Small bags are typically loaded onto... more Many mining commodities are packaged and shipped using bags. Small bags are typically loaded onto pallets for transport and require a significant amount of manual handling by workers. This specific task of manual bag handling has been associated with the development of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), especially low back disorders. This study evaluates the biomechanical demands of different work layouts when performing manual palletizing of small bags, and evaluates the biomechanical stresses associated with different stacking techniques. Results indicate that peak forward bending moments as well as spinal compression and shear forces are higher when the pallet is situated at the side of the conveyor as opposed to the end of the conveyor. At low levels of the pallet, controlled bag placement results in higher peak forward bending moments than stacking at higher levels and when dropping the bag to lower levels. The results of this study will be used to inform the development of an a...

IIE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors, 2015

No specific guidelines or regulations are provided by the Mine Safety and Health Administration f... more No specific guidelines or regulations are provided by the Mine Safety and Health Administration for the use of inclined grated metal walkways in mining plants. Mining and other companies may be using walkway materials that do not provide sufficient friction, contributing to slip and fall injuries. The purpose of this study was to determine if there are significant differences in the required friction for different grated metal walkways during walking in diverse conditions. The normalized coefficients of friction were measured for 12 participants while walking up and down an instrumented walkway with different inclinations (0°, 5°, 10°, 15°, and 20°) and with and without the presence of a contaminant (glycerol). Self-reported slip events were recorded and the required coefficients of friction were calculated considering only the anterior/posterior components of the shear forces. Additionally, the available coefficients of friction for these walkway materials were measured at the 0° orientation using a tribometer, with and without the presence of the contaminant, using a boot heel as well as Neolite as the test feet. The number of slips increased when the inclination angle reached 10° and above. Of all materials tested, the diamond weave grating was found to have the best performance at all inclines and when contaminated or dry. A high number of slips occurred for the perforated grating and serrated bar grating at 20° when contaminated. Results of this study suggest that the diamond weave grating provides significantly better friction compared to serrated bar and perforated gratings, especially at inclines greater than 10°.

International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 2015

PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2012

A large proportion of fatal and non-fatal injuries in mineral processing and coal preparation pla... more A large proportion of fatal and non-fatal injuries in mineral processing and coal preparation plants can be attributed to maintenance and repair work. Maintenance work in the mining industry has received little attention due to the challenges associated with collecting and evaluating information on exposures to risk factors and possibly due to the adverse working conditions. The goal of this study was to develop a reliable method to systematically quantify exposures to environmental attributes and physical task demands for maintenance work in mineral processing and coal preparation plants. Hierarchical task analysis was carried out for commonly observed and reported maintenance tasks. A detailed taxonomy of environmental features and physical task demands thought to contribute to injury was created. Two raters independently coded 41 videos using the Multimedia Video Task Analysis™ software to measure the percentage of task time that workers were exposed to each of the variables defined in the taxonomy. For most exposure variables, the mean differences in exposures coded between raters were low and the correlations of exposure durations were high. For variables in which the mean differences in exposure were considered to be too high, modifications to the approach were made to improve measurement reliability. This study provides some evidence to suggest that video based ergonomic job analysis is a viable tool for characterizing the environmental and physical demands of maintenance work in mineral processing and coal preparation plants.

PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2000

Bagging operations are common in the mining industry and are associated with numerous musculoskel... more Bagging operations are common in the mining industry and are associated with numerous musculoskeletal injuries. To better understand the physical demands of bagging operations, field evaluations quantifying low back loading and physiological costs of bagging tasks were performed at two bagging operations. A biomechanical model employing electromyography (EMG) and goniometry was used to estimate lumbar compression and a portable metabolic system used to assess heart rate and oxygen consumption. Manual palletizing of bags was found to generate a load of approximately 1,500 Newtons on the spine, with a few larger loads of 2,000-3,000 Newtons. The average oxygen cost for stacking was 5.3 METS, indicating moderately intense physical activity. Bag filling resulted in lower lumbar loads and a reduced physiological cost (3.2 METS), or a moderate level of energy expenditure. Use of a vacuum hoist resulted in a 39% reduction in the peak compressive load on the worker's spine compared to manual lifting when palletizing 75-lb bags.

Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering, 2014

ABSTRACT Purpose ‐ The purpose of this paper is to identify key tasks, tools, and equipment assoc... more ABSTRACT Purpose ‐ The purpose of this paper is to identify key tasks, tools, and equipment associated with maintenance and repair injuries at US mines and to provide some mitigation strategies to reduce these types of injuries. Design/methodology/approach ‐ This study analyzed incidents resulting in injuries reported to the US Mine Safety and Health Administration from 2002 to 2011. Incident reports were limited to those occurring at mining plants, shops, yards, and aboveground locations. Incident reports were analyzed to determine which activities contributed to injuries and were due to machine maintenance and repair, non-powered hand tools, and powered hand tools. An in-depth analysis of the root causes of these injuries was then performed. Findings ‐ Maintenance and repair in mining is associated with a significant number of hand and finger injuries with a range of severities and averaging over 20 amputated fingers, 180 fractured hands and fingers, and 455 hand and finger lacerations per year. Many of these injuries are caused by hands being struck by or caught in tools and equipment. Back and shoulder strains are found to be associated with the most days lost from work and are mostly attributed to materials handling. Practical implications ‐ Occupational injuries and fatalities still occur with high incidences in the mining sector. The mission of the Office of Mine Safety and Health Research (OMSHR; part of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, NIOSH) is to "eliminate mining fatalities, injuries, and illnesses through research and prevention." As part of this work, OMSHR acquires surveillance data from MSHA to quantify the types and sources of injuries at US mining facilities. The authors evaluated maintenance- and repair-related injuries at US mining sites (excluding underground coal mines). Results of this study suggest a need for improved design of machine guarding, improved hand protection through gloves and equipment design/redesign, and manual materials handling solutions. Originality/value ‐ The findings indicate that maintenance and repair in mining include occupational risks that may be managed through modifications to machines, proper usage of hand tools and hand protection, and improved manual materials handling processes.

Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 2013

Objective: Our aims were (a) to perform a system atic literature review of epidemiological studie... more Objective: Our aims were (a) to perform a system atic literature review of epidemiological studies that examined the interaction of force and repetition with respect to musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) risk, (b) to assess the relationship of force and repetition in fatigue failure studies of musculoskeletal tissues, and (c) to synthesize these findings.

OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONS This analysis identified patterns in fatalities during maintenance and ... more OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONS This analysis identified patterns in fatalities during maintenance and repair operations in mining. U.S. mining maintenance and repair fatal reports (2002–2011) were reviewed and used to develop a classification scheme. Fatalities were classified using this scheme, and proximal causes, tasks performed, and contributing factors were identified, as well as differences in patterns between coal and metal/nonmetal mines. Based on the results, possible interventions to reduce fatality occurrences are discussed. Primary suggestions include ensuring that workers are knowledgeable about and understand the importance of following proper de-energizing and lock out/tag out procedures, particularly in coal mines where the proportion of electrical-related deaths is significantly higher than in metal/nonmetal mines, and proper blocking procedures. Effort should be made to ensure that safety equipment and personal protective equipment are available and used where needed, e...